Karachi ‘Klean Up’ August 16, 2009
Posted by 78clifton in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
- Klean Karachi Campaign under I OWN Karachi
I was skeptical when I first heard about it: a bunch of students from elitest families coming together to clean Burns Road/Guru Mander for a day.. what difference will that make? The first thing that you’ll think of, if you’ve been up to date with the kartoots of the upper middle class teenage populace, is that it sounds very familiar - something, possibly, from the recent spurt in ‘community projects’ by kids who have the money but which, to be frank, don’t really help the community as much as bring them together to further their cause partying and drugs. But it turned out, I was wrong on both cases.
I did decide to go check it out for myself, and the first thing which struck me was that on the whole the crowd was very, very diverse. Most of the people were from YLC – where itself I had encountered people from every possibly outlook that might exist in this country, and the fact that all of them were coming together again for a project aimed at cleaning up their city proves to make a statement.
But then did their actual approach make any difference? After all, sure you pick up jharoos and tokris and planks of wood (yes, I have now officially worked as a roadsweeper) and clean the streets for one day, but what next?
Surprisingly, it proved to be a very positive initiative. The people who owned shops circling the area thanked us and were both impressed and happy… One shop owner gave our contingent free water by the gallons.
When we went to speak with them later, all seemed to understand the problem and claimed to be already doing something about it…. (which is the case when you go anywhere) and yet whatever the efforts may be, the garbage ornamenting the streets tells a different story. We told them this, and they agreed. A few admitted to their lack of efforts and told us they’d do something – if we can come all the way to make a point, they can at least pick up from it and if nothing else keep the area in front of their particular shops clean. That was encouraging. The fact that even one or two people might have picked up something from this makes the entire effort of some thirty people worth their time, in my opinion.
Of course there were some who had given up, as would be expected. One uncle yelled ‘47 saal ho gayay mujhay idhar, kuch faraq nahi honay wala. Bolna asaan hai, lekin koi sunnay wala nahi hai… Lekin aap bachay ker rahay hain, shayan kuch faraq ayay.’
Government hired cleaners joined us half way through, having worked their way all along from Saddar to Burns Road and despite which, they were way less tired than us – I’m not sure how well they are paid, but it is evident that the government does do something to keep our streets clean.
I’m not going to derive any ‘lesson’ from this but just end by saying that unlike what I previously thought, I think I’m learning to realise that taking the first step can most definitely lead to a series of next.
Rabbis Reach Newer Heights Fighting Swine Flu – Mystic Style August 12, 2009
Posted by arataster in Jews, Swine Flu.Tags: H1N1, Jews, Swine Flu
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Imagine boarding a plane with a contingent of Jewish mystics armed with blowing horns and prayer books. Now imagine these rabbis beginning to collective chant prayers and blow horns once the plane reaches considerable height, with enough passion to wake the dead. One of three things will come to mind:
- the plane has been hijacked and the Jews, with their prior knowledge of this act, chose not to alert security but to take matters into their own hands (and rosary beads);
- The Jews are attempting to purge the plane of some unseen evil;
- the Jews are.. being Jewish.
The thing that will absolutely NOT come to mind, is that they are fighting swine flu:
A group of rabbis and Jewish mystics have taken to the skies over Israel, praying and blowing ceremonial horns in a plane to ward off swine flu.
About 50 religious leaders circled over the country on Monday, chanting prayers and blowing horns, called shofars.
The flight’s aim was “to stop the pandemic so people will stop dying from it”, Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri was quoted as saying in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
I have no idea how to react to this except passive excitement. I simply love the Jews, they’re so direct with their endeavors. No pretenses, no underhand means. And I think there’s no doubt that they’re pretty.. innovative with their methods. I recommend everyone to watch the accompanying video here.
The Return of The Uniform August 3, 2009
Posted by arataster in Charity, Miscellaneous.Tags: Akanksha Foundation, Sheena Matheiken, Uniform Project
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I love it when creativity and functionality go hand in hand, a concept which Sheena Matheiken illustrates with her Uniform Project. May 2009 marked the beginning of her twelve-month experiment which consists of her donning the same dress daily, accessorized differently each time for variation. In her own words:
Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accoutrements, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir.
Kudos to her for managing what most women would promptly declare a “wardrobe crisis”. This is how she individualizes uniformity, and for a good cause too. The project also acts as a fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, an organization providing free education to the underprivileged which thrives on charity.
Head over to her website to find out more about the project, and donate some accessories to this quirky New Yorker.
We live in strange times August 1, 2009
Posted by 78clifton in Non Political World Affairs.Tags: china, communism, koro
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We always knew the Chinese were weird, what with their strayed version of communism and the occasional sporadic bursts of concerns such as Koro, the fear of genitals retracting. But here’s something (though comparatively less) strange to drive the fact further home – this I’m stealing off a news agency’s wire, because I know for a fact they’re not going to publish it either way and it would be sad to let it go unread. (The covert advantages of internships):
BEIJING: Police officers contemplating cheating on promotion exams met their match this week in northwestern China – 18 serious-faced fifth-graders walking the beat.
The students were decked in blue and white school uniforms, standing behind podiums and sauntering up and down aisles of various classrooms to monitor 265 police test-takers in Liangzhou county in Gansu province. The experiment was implemented after adult supervisors were found to allow some cheating during police exams. Of all of the exam takers vying for 66 district-level judge, prosecutor and investigator positions, students identified 25 alleged cheaters whose test results were disqualified.
”It was exciting. I learned why there must be supervisors and how important it is to rely on yourself in tests,” Liang Liang, a 12-year-old supervisor, was quoted Friday as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Hmm… I wonder if Orwell/Huxley/Wells ever considered this as a possible psychology to fix future generations… but then again, they weren’t Chinese.
While Spain is having Campus Parties, we are… July 31, 2009
Posted by 78clifton in Non Political World Affairs.Tags: campus, need to start earning money, party, spain
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Here’s one party I probably wouldn’t mind spending endless days at…. and I’d say this even if you threatened to take away my comic collection. No, really, this is serious.
People attend the annual 'Campus Party' Internet users gathering in Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The meeting brings together over 6,000 people in various arenas completely devoted to computing and the opportunity to take part in an e-entertainment network.
Computer and technology fans, more than 6,000 this year, gather from July 27 to August 2 to surf the internet, play, share information and technology
Campus Party is considered to be the "biggest electronic entertainment of the world online".
More pictures here. I haven’t been this jealous in a very long while.
But why not us? The question of course is why we in Pakistan are still lagging behind as far as technological advances are concerned. It is not the lack of resources or potential – it is the focus and direction. Recently I attended YLC, where one of the days was themed ‘Science and Technology’ – the occasion provided ample opportunity for people from all over the country to interact with the CEOs and engineers of leading firms, including Pakistanis who have worked among the titans of Wall street. Instead of a healthy intellectual debate which would have benefited the majority of the people there working in the IT industry, the question and answer session unveiled something quite opposite and disappointing.
Most of the queries revolved around a central need for clarification on the topic ‘what should we do to make the most money.’ How can I get a better job, higher pay, better bandwidth, basically – make the best use of the latest technologies for my own improvement. Notice the inherent focus on adopting that which already exists, to whatever degree of advantage is irrelevant, but the idea comes almost subconsciously. With a new development it becomes necessary to make it an instant norm, and then sit by and wait till another Biz Stone or Steven Jobs comes along.
And starting an argument here ‘but we invented the virus’ isn’t really going to help, we are losing our innovative edge to the rest of the world.
Admitted, we still have a long way to go in even basic education, but the resources are there even if in a minority and it is the outlook which needs an alteration. Instead of a hopping on the bandwagon we need to hop on and simultaneously regard changes which might make the ride more comfortable. I will not forget the half hour of the one hour IT discussion wasted on job and resume queries, whether I should do an internship or not, I’ve heard the recession has cut down on jobs, etc etc. Our change in priorities has toned our discussions down to mere intellectual redundancy.
Yes, we need our own campus party very soon. Mostly because I can’t afford a return ticket to Spain right now.
The Jews Take Cue From Obama July 30, 2009
Posted by 78clifton in Jews.Tags: southpark, working at news agencies means access to cool pictures
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The White House condemns their settlement along the Palestinian border, and as illegal as their actions are, the Jews strike back with a reply as blatantly comprehensive as could get …. an ‘in-your-face’ statement completely in line with their own game, and one the White House probably did not see coming. The ingenuity of the act might have paralysed their American brains for a moment while they thought ‘hey.. hang on a second here….’ and what a most perfectly Jew thing to do. I can subsequently imagine a verbal tussle:
‘Yes we can’
‘No you cant’
‘YES WE CAN’
‘NO, YOU. CANT! GOD.DAMMIT CARTMAN’
How apt such a situation would be in a Southpark episode revolving around one new world order or another (Cartman vs. Kyle… no duh. Or no wait, replace him with Kenny). No better way to get a theory across to the masses than to air it on their favourite cartoon.
On a more world-in-real-time note, Isreal has finally allowed cement into Gaza for the first time since the war. So while on the one side they’re slowly creeping into the West Bank further, the other side is providing compensation through a noble limestoned philanthropic effort. Good for the muslims, I say: you’re going to need as many buildings as possible to provide roofs over your heads when they finally bomb you. You wickedly sadist Jews, you.
Greetings, Stranger. July 29, 2009
Posted by arataster in Miscellaneous.Tags: Brandon, Flowers, skinny jeans
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Let me be the first to commence an unfortunately long train of relatively intelligible posts on this cyberspace with a dash of what successive ones may or may not look like.
Let’s first establish some indisputable rules.
- Brandon Flowers is the only one justified to both be male and wear skinny jeans at the same time.
- Brandon Flowers makes keyboards look sexy.
- 2:33 to 4:11 is the definition of dynamic:
The Llama people have arrived July 28, 2009
Posted by 78clifton in Uncategorized.add a comment
Houston, we are landing, 3… 2… 1… 7 x 6…
42, bitch.
