Tsunami anniversary

Today is the second anniversary of the south Asian tsunami that struck on December 26th 2004. I remember vividly the moment I heard about it. Being alone at home with my family away on vacation I was filled with horror when I saw the pictures on TV. Initial news reports said over 150 dead, and I remember thinking “oh my God”. At that moment I didn’t know about the extent of the damage or what a tsunami even was.

My friends were to come over to my house that day, being ideal with no adults around. A day of fun turned out to be a day filled with horror as it became increasingly clear what had happened. My friends and I just sat there, alternating between CNN and BBC. We tried frantically to get in touch with two of our teachers who we knew lived in coastal areas, hoping that they were ok. All in all, it turned out to be a day I will not forget.

As the days went by, the extent of the damage and loss of life emerged. I watched the outpouring of grief and continued to hear inspiring stories of survival for weeks. Estimations are that over 120,000 people died in the greatest natural disaster of the world.

"Mommy, this Santa is fake"

I accompanied my cousin to a bowling alley the other day where the cub scouts were having an outing. In no time Santa came along and all the kids got excited as they lined up to take pictures with Santa. After some time, one of the kids came running up to her mom, highly excited and told her "mommy, this Santa is fake". Her mom said "how do you know?" and the kid replied "his belly is fake". My heart went out to her, she sounded so disappointed.

The mom on the other hand was in a fix. The look on a her face conveyed that she was lost about what to do. Obviously, she wanted a couple more years to go by before she had to help her daughter confront the fact that Santa is fake. She recovered pretty quickly and replied "maybe it's Santa's helper". Her daughter seemed happy with that explanation and went of to continue her game of bowling. Whew!

The thing is, I always knew that Santa was fake. Santa, or Christmas for that matter isn't a big deal back home. There are the people who celebrate it, but its a very small minority. Since Ive been here, I have had to answer questions like "does Santa come to Sri Lanka too?" and "what did Santa give you for Christmas last year?" and I have no answers. I don't want to burst the bubble and tell them the whole thing is fake. At least, not yet.

Ever since I knew I was coming here to study, I have been preparing for it. Never did I think though that little things like Santa would create such confusion. I have been completely unprepared for moments like this, and though they pass soon enough, they remind me that it is not only in the classroom that I have things to learn.

Rosie trumps "The Donald"

Talk about entertainment! Home for the holidays, bored with nothing to do, I'm channel surfing. Given that there are over 500 channels, this can be a exhausting task. I happen to stop at on E, expecting to see another absurd story about the Lohan - Spears - Hilton thingy (I have no idea what its called). I was in for a treat. On comes a clip of Rosie O Donnell's tirade about "the Donald's" role in the Miss USA issue.

A M A Z I N G!! She was mocking him left right and center! Pure entertainment is what it was. I couldn't stop laughing. The moment when she flicks her hair over her head to imitate Trump was simply priceless!

Of course, "the Donald", being the obnoxious, self obsessed, egocentric guy that he is, reacts to Rosie in typical Donald style. He is going to sue her "fat ass". This guy epitomises arrogance in my mind and what ever action he takes, we all know will be a result of what the ratings for his show look like. Rosie gave him a real "thumping" and I saw a day I never thought I would see: some one put "the Donald" in his place.

The reflecting has begun

December 16th, and the reflecting has already begun. Best of this or that, the worst of this or that, reflecting on the year gone by. The best of music this year, the best of movies this year, the worst celebrity moments, the best moments in sports, the best gadgets released, the best cars. The list goes on.

One thing in particular that I have been looking forward to the past couple of years is Time's Person of the Year. At the end of every year, Time Magazine names the person they think had the most influence, good or bad in events in the world. Last year it was Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono, in 2004 it was George W Bush, in 2003 it was the American soldier. The Person of the Year 2006 according to Time is YOU. I agree with Time's decision entirely. This has been the year of the individual, more so than previous years have been.

The sub heading to the article reads "Yes, you. You control the Information Age. Welcome to your world". The article explains that the growth of the web has not only changed the world, but changed the way the world changes. It notes that the individual has been empowered, citing examples like youtube and myspace. All this made possible courtesy the new World Wibe Web version 2.0.

Thomas Friedman must be overjoyed that his prediction in his book "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" is coming true. I am.

By the numbers

I came across some staggering figures the other day. According to technorati.com, there are 100,000 new blogs created every day! They also estimate that 1.3 million posts are added daily. Wow!

Once upon a time, I would have blogged to join an elite group of a few hundred bloggers. Today, I'm posting this so as not to be left out.

Too much money syndrome?

I'm beginning to think that there is such a thing as too much money syndrome. The symptom: planning to build a permanent base on the moon for long-term human settlement off the planet. This is NASA's latest plan. Apparently they have gone so far as to make plans for recycling human and manufactured waste, regenerate the outpost's air and water and establish lunar agriculture to provide both food and oxygen for residents.

If I could meet any of the geniuses making these plans, here is what I would tell them: time to come back down to Earth. If you have time and money to come up with plans to solve problems of the world that aren't even problems yet, how about focusing on the ones that are real problems? I'm referring to Darfur, Sudan. I'm referring to HIV/AIDS, to Afghanistan that is struggling to curb it poppy production, to the melting ice caps in the Arctic, to the depleting fuel reserves and search for alternative fuels, to the millions who don't get three meals a day or ever go to school. How about focusing on those who don't have access to clean drinking water or have to walk miles to get a bucketful? How about giving houses to the survivors of the South Asian Tsunami or hurricane Katrina?

I mean really, there is no shortage of problems here on Earth that are actual problems. Ask anybody from Oprah Winfrey to Bono to Bill Gates to Wangari Mathai to Mohammed Yunus to Shirin Ebadi to Al Gore. If they aren't your kind of people, ask Brangelina. Any of them will tell you that there is a better place to put your money and focus your time than attempting to make life on the moon possible. For some, even life on Earth is still not possible.

Cheney's Dilemma

The best news I have heard in some time: Vice President Dick's lesbian daughter is pregnant. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this on CNN last night. I was so excited, I couldn't stop smiling at the thought. Forget the slap across the face the Baker Hamilton commission is giving Bush, forget the President's approval rating, forget that Cheney's sidekick in spreading neo conservative bullshit - that man fondly known as Rummy was fired, and most of all, forget that the Democrats now have control of the House and the Senate. If there ever was a dilemma for Cheney, it is that his lesbian daughter and her long time lesbian partner are expecting a baby! Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard wall.

The Associated press reported that "Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces "a lifetime of sleepless nights" for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples".

In the same report, there was also this: "Grandfather Cheney will no doubt face a lifetime of sleepless nights as he reflects on the irreparable harm he and his administration have done to the millions of American gay and lesbian parents and their children."

All I have to say is this: kudos to Mary!

You know, its true. Nothing hits as hard as when it hits close to home, or in this case, at home. Michael Moore's book "Stupid White Men" comes to mind. I recall the part where he asks God to bestow republicans with gay children, sickness that can be cured only through stem cell research and for them to be shot by an unlicensed gun owner (among other things). I thought that to be a little extreme, but it seems to be working. Cheney's stand on the whole gay rights issue seems to be changing.

I'm not for gay marriage or any of that, but I'm all for people living their lives as they see fit without the government telling them how to live it. Mary's child I think is somehow helping out in that aspect.

Totally random

Ive not really had "absolutely homesick and just want to go back home" moments since I've got here, and I'm grateful for that. Being in another country can be very difficult and I know some of my friends have had that moment more than once. I have had moments of remembering something or the other from home and missing it, but they have been mild moments of homesickness if it can even be called that. I just call it moments of reminiscence. One moment comes to mind. I was in English, bored as usual and remembered a random moment I had with a cousin back home and started smiling. I don't know if any one noticed that I was smiling, but I guess they would have put it of as a "Sri Lankan thing" because the topic of discussion was nothing to smile about.

Yes, I miss the food (kottu, appa) and friends and family sometimes, but every one in college does. It doesn't really qualify in my mind as a desperately homesick moment. Tonight though, I had one. I was in the library, studying for a final and had some biscuits to munch on so that I would stay awake. I was doing good, covering a lot of work, when I bit into something with a distinct ginger flavor. Suddenly I was reminded about one of my aunts back home who I am extremely fond of and was desperate to talk to her. I don't know whether it was the ginger biscuit that triggered this, or it was random coincidence, but I rushed back to my dorm to call her, hoping that my calling card still had credit. I knew it would be early morning back home, but I didn't care.

Yes, my card had credit (don't know what i would have done if it didn't) and yes I woke her. I was relieved when she answered the phone. We chatted for a few minutes until my credit ran out. I was content when I put down the phone. The feeling that had initiated the call passed just as abruptly as it had hit me. I don't know what it would be categorized as, but that to me was a "absolutely homesick and just want to go back home" moment.

Memo here, memo there, memo, memo everywhere

I'm finding it extremely curious that these memos are starting to turn up. The one by Steven Hadley isn't at all surprising. It follows the administration trademark of blaming mistakes on anyone but the one responsible. It cant blame the lack of any sense of normalcy in Iraq (or whatever they are calling it this week) on Clinton. So the Iraqi Prime minister is responsible for this one. Never mind the fact that the prime minister is trying to bring together three factions that have never seen eye to eye on anything. Then again, this was not considered in pre war plans, so I don't expect it to be considered in any postwar plans. Apparently, Mr. Bush didn't even know about the Sunni's, Shia's and Kurds that make up Iraq until they started their resistance.

Its not like the administration is loosening up on the ignorance. Just after the elections, when Nancy Pelosi was slated to be the next speaker, I heard an administration official rant on about Nancy Bin Pelosi and her liberal agenda on TV. Bin is for sons and literally means "son of". Therefore, its Osama "son of" Laden. In the case of Nancy Pelosi, it would be "binte" which means "daughter of" and hence, Nancy Binte Pelosi. It is this kind of ignorance about a culture, region, language and country that continues to make plans for the future of Iraq.

While we are on the topic of naming things correctly, here's a thought: lets call Iraq what it is - a civil war. I come from a country that has a civil war older than I am, and I assure you, Iraq is a civil war. Making up new names for old things seems to be another trademark of Bush. "Passionate Conservatism" any one?

Back to the memo's, and this peculiar newly leaked one authored by Rumsfeld. All we hear for months is "no change in direction" and "stay the course". Then out comes this memo which goes against all that rhetoric. It is causing consternation all around. I frankly don't know what to make of it. Is this administration making an exerted effort to look stupid and clueless? If a change in course was being considered, why not come out and say it? It might have saved the Republicans the loss of the Senate and some seats in the House. If this apparent shift in thinking was hidden to keep the President from having to admit mistakes, its OK. I for one don't need him to admit it anymore cause every one knows his current strategy is a mistake. We don't need Bush to tell us so. What we do need, and desperately so is to stop the loss of life.

Vote and bitch about things

Around the time of the midterm elections last month, I was speaking to a friend about the issues in the election and how they mattered to the young people in America. I was talking about Mark Foley, the deficit, the national debt, depletion of social security funds and the rest. He was unaware of all the issues and seemed surprised to hear some of the things I was saying. When I urged him to go vote and make his voice heard, he was carefree about it and just shrugged his shoulders saying that he wasn't registered and that he didn't even know that these were the issues and that no one was telling him about it and that he will vote when he is older. When I pointed out that all these issues were being covered in the news, he responded "I don't watch the news".

This kind of apathy about issues of the day seems prevalent on campus. Some people didn't even know that it was the day of the election. An election that the entire world was watching. At which point are you old enough? How can you expect to know what the issues are when you make it a point to stay uninformed? By the time you think you are old enough to vote, the damage might already be done.

Only one person responded positively when I asked her if she voted. My reaction was to show surprise and her response was "hey, the way I see it, I cant bitch about things if I don't vote".

I don't think Americans around my age realize how lucky they are to be able to go vote and make it count for something. Many countries still are unable to hold free and fair elections, mine being one of them. It pains me to see people throwing their vote away.

If for nothing else, vote so that you can bitch about things.

Red

World AIDS day is about generating hope about the fight against AIDS. However, all that I'm hearing today is bad news and scary predictions about the search for a cure. Africa we all know is struggling but so is South Asia and very surprisingly, some parts of America. This is a truly global war that more and more people are teaming up to fight, but not soon enough.

Now, Bono and Bobby Shriver have come up with Red. It is a new idea and a truly good one at that. The best part is that every one of us can now be a part of the global fight against AIDS. The Independent (a newspaper in the United Kingdom), Motorola, myspace and youtube are part of Red, with more corporations slated to join in.

This post is me playing my small role in this war by drawing your attention to the Red campaign. I strongly urge you to check out their website.