Steve, I'm sure you're listening to this:
"Mistaken for Strangers" (from Boxer)
15.8.07
14.8.07
Jana Gana Mana
A beautiful version of the Indian national anthem, featuring some of our best classical musicians jamming together. Its pretty good stuff, even if you can't understand the language.
Independence Day
It's always a wonderful feeling to celebrate your nation’s birthday. Its not that I'm a nationalist, I tend to be anything but. However, what warms me to my country's freedom is only the fact that peace and non-violence triumphed over aggression.
Gandhi, who formed the Indian consciousness, built his message on the edifice of "non-violence" and "non-violent resistance", which at times brought the mighty British Empire to its knees. As I have been researching for my organisations' website, I have going through tons of video footage showing peaceful civic disobedience. It's hard to hurt someone when he is armed with nothing but his body and mind. This victory is helpful to idealists like me; it's nice to know that fairytales come alive...sometimes.
It's funny how history picks the most bizarre personalities to alter its courses. For Christianity, it was the odd carpenter and his band of twelve fishermen who protested religious fanaticism. For Islam, it was the uneducated and illiterate Mohammed, who altered the thinking of an otherwise brutal society. More recently, in Bosnia it was a musician (Vedran Smailovic) who bore sniper attacks to play his cello in the streets of Sarajevo. And in India's case, it was a frail old man who "could have been physically crushed by anyone" - said his friend and fellow freedom fighter, Ms. Sarojini Naidu.
For those of us who look around us with the intention of bringing about social change, it's important to remember that the true change comes from the heart and the pen, and not from the barrel of a gun. In peace,
Gandhi, who formed the Indian consciousness, built his message on the edifice of "non-violence" and "non-violent resistance", which at times brought the mighty British Empire to its knees. As I have been researching for my organisations' website, I have going through tons of video footage showing peaceful civic disobedience. It's hard to hurt someone when he is armed with nothing but his body and mind. This victory is helpful to idealists like me; it's nice to know that fairytales come alive...sometimes.
It's funny how history picks the most bizarre personalities to alter its courses. For Christianity, it was the odd carpenter and his band of twelve fishermen who protested religious fanaticism. For Islam, it was the uneducated and illiterate Mohammed, who altered the thinking of an otherwise brutal society. More recently, in Bosnia it was a musician (Vedran Smailovic) who bore sniper attacks to play his cello in the streets of Sarajevo. And in India's case, it was a frail old man who "could have been physically crushed by anyone" - said his friend and fellow freedom fighter, Ms. Sarojini Naidu.
For those of us who look around us with the intention of bringing about social change, it's important to remember that the true change comes from the heart and the pen, and not from the barrel of a gun. In peace,
8.8.07
Parkwood 2008!!!
Here here, Boss-man. Smashing idea. Ahhhhh !!! (In my British aristocratic accent)
Absolutely agree with you. Good on Serg, for keeping this blog alive inspite of everything.
Yeah, lets work on something for Parkwood 2008. Is anyone in touch with Myers and Hyewon? I need to speak to Jackie and Ryan and Budd. No news from Lanre. We could have a darts competition and a cook-off. My contribution as always will be "Brown stuff in a brown sauce" :-) A barbeque. Crash into some undergrad party, drink their booze and play some frisbee. Just like old times :-)
Just a quick update. I have accepted a position as "Service Learning Coordinator" with Georgetown's School of Foreign Service in Qatar. It's really is exciting and it keeps me connected with international development work, which is all I'm concerned about. And I can continue with some of my research and my NGO in India. So I'm thrilled about the whole deal. This would mean that I would travel to the US sometime soon, so will have a chance to catch up with my free and brave friends.
In the meantime, I am working on my NGO in India. Setting up a website and re-building the team. I leave to Kerala (southern-most state) today for the Nehru Cup. Chcck out this site for a better idea http://www.nehrutrophy.nic.in/home.htm Although I will be posting more once I get back on Monday, with some pictures as well.
Anyway champs, have to run now. You all be well. Cheers !!!
Absolutely agree with you. Good on Serg, for keeping this blog alive inspite of everything.
Yeah, lets work on something for Parkwood 2008. Is anyone in touch with Myers and Hyewon? I need to speak to Jackie and Ryan and Budd. No news from Lanre. We could have a darts competition and a cook-off. My contribution as always will be "Brown stuff in a brown sauce" :-) A barbeque. Crash into some undergrad party, drink their booze and play some frisbee. Just like old times :-)
Just a quick update. I have accepted a position as "Service Learning Coordinator" with Georgetown's School of Foreign Service in Qatar. It's really is exciting and it keeps me connected with international development work, which is all I'm concerned about. And I can continue with some of my research and my NGO in India. So I'm thrilled about the whole deal. This would mean that I would travel to the US sometime soon, so will have a chance to catch up with my free and brave friends.
In the meantime, I am working on my NGO in India. Setting up a website and re-building the team. I leave to Kerala (southern-most state) today for the Nehru Cup. Chcck out this site for a better idea http://www.nehrutrophy.nic.in/home.htm Although I will be posting more once I get back on Monday, with some pictures as well.
Anyway champs, have to run now. You all be well. Cheers !!!
7.8.07
My Response
...This is my response to Ross and Amber's idea.In fact I'm so excited with the prospects of a reunion that I'm already here, waiting for you.
Filipa will arrive in January. How about you?
6.8.07
Hothe Court Reunion?
Hey Gang,
I hope everyone is fairing well these days, despite being strewn about the globe (which is pretty cool if you think about it). I know it can be hard to take time and look back on our Hothe Court days. Sergio has done a great job keeping the flame alive and carrying the torch. This blog is a really great idea and I, like most of us, am guilty of not participating in the conversation. This is bizarre considering all the evenings spent in heated discussion of world affairs with all of you (I'm looking at you Steve and Uday).
Nevertheless, here is topic that we MUST all consider and comment on: What does everyone think about a Hothe Court Reunion for Summer 2008. I know Sarah has mentioned the idea a couple times, but it would be nice to see a show of hands. Just think, we could stay in Park Wood, BBQ, play some Footie, drink the obligatory beer/ale/stout/bitter/pilsner (or whatever your preference) and catch up on old times... Any thoughts??
I hope everyone is fairing well these days, despite being strewn about the globe (which is pretty cool if you think about it). I know it can be hard to take time and look back on our Hothe Court days. Sergio has done a great job keeping the flame alive and carrying the torch. This blog is a really great idea and I, like most of us, am guilty of not participating in the conversation. This is bizarre considering all the evenings spent in heated discussion of world affairs with all of you (I'm looking at you Steve and Uday).
Nevertheless, here is topic that we MUST all consider and comment on: What does everyone think about a Hothe Court Reunion for Summer 2008. I know Sarah has mentioned the idea a couple times, but it would be nice to see a show of hands. Just think, we could stay in Park Wood, BBQ, play some Footie, drink the obligatory beer/ale/stout/bitter/pilsner (or whatever your preference) and catch up on old times... Any thoughts??
5.8.07
Some Family History...
Here's some family history: my great grandfather giving a speach and then standing outside Lisbon's city council, in 1910, after his group just had our last king killed and started the first Portuguese Republic. He's the tall crazy hair guy, second from the right in both pics. See any resemblances anyone?
Englishes
David Lavery, an important American scholar in Television Studies, editor of volumes on The X Files, Seinfeld, Twin Peaks, Deadwood, The Sopranos, and others, father of Buffy Studies, is now Chair of Film and Television at Brunel University, London. He's been commenting on the differences between American English and British English on his blog. Two examples:
(1) I just finished serving as the external examiner on a PhD thesis at Brunel University, and reading through the candidate's three hundred+ pages on Doctor Who fandom, I was struck by the author's frequent (and not uncommon) use of the word "whilst." The forty undergraduate essays I just slogged through also showed the word in common usage.
In the room in which I teach, a message on the remote control keypad tells me to wait "whilst the projector warms up."
Not surprisingly, the American Heritage Dictionary notes that this archaic word is "mostly British" in usage. Use of "whilst" in the US would produce, I think, snickering if not outright laughter.
It is impossible to conceive of an American using this in conversation or in print. If he did, he would have no friends. To my ear it sounds pretentious--sounds like something a Pythonesque contestant in an "Upper Class Twit of the Year" contest might utter.
It is snowing today in London. As soon as the sun comes up I intend to go out amongst my fellow Londoners.
(2) On British television a week ago an advert for the Korean car manufacturer caught my attention because the very British announcer pronounced the name "High-an-die." It made me wonder if I had been pronouncing the name wrong all these years.
But watching Fox News (trying to keep up-to-speed on what the enemy thinks) on my newly installed SKY satellite television I heard an American Hyundai commercial. "Hun-die" the voice-over intoned, the pronunciation with which I was familiar.
"Two countries separated by a common language" (George Bernard Shaw)--a paradox I thought I understood. But "two countries separated by different pronunciations of a third language"--that will need further explanation.
The relation between British and American English is similar to the one between Portuguese Portuguese (?) and Brazilian Portuguese. The firsts have archaic traces and the seconds are simpler and more creative. But it's somehow misleading to talk of British English and Portuguese Portuguese forgetting regional differences. There are regions in Portugal where the spoken Portuguese is difficult to understand even for native speakers — the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, for instance.
Sometimes it doesn't come naturally for me to speak with a british accent — even though I pronounce "duty" as "dyuty" instead of "doody", "militry" instead "military" is a bit of a stretch. I've basically learned English by reading and listening American English. But I'm becoming accustomed to use certain words. Not "whilst" instead of "while" — I've noticed that too! —, but, for example, in the recent paper that presented at the conference on Battlestar Galactica, I automatically wrote "lounger" instead of "chaise longue" and "trousers" instead of "pants".
(1) I just finished serving as the external examiner on a PhD thesis at Brunel University, and reading through the candidate's three hundred+ pages on Doctor Who fandom, I was struck by the author's frequent (and not uncommon) use of the word "whilst." The forty undergraduate essays I just slogged through also showed the word in common usage.
In the room in which I teach, a message on the remote control keypad tells me to wait "whilst the projector warms up."
Not surprisingly, the American Heritage Dictionary notes that this archaic word is "mostly British" in usage. Use of "whilst" in the US would produce, I think, snickering if not outright laughter.
It is impossible to conceive of an American using this in conversation or in print. If he did, he would have no friends. To my ear it sounds pretentious--sounds like something a Pythonesque contestant in an "Upper Class Twit of the Year" contest might utter.
It is snowing today in London. As soon as the sun comes up I intend to go out amongst my fellow Londoners.
(2) On British television a week ago an advert for the Korean car manufacturer caught my attention because the very British announcer pronounced the name "High-an-die." It made me wonder if I had been pronouncing the name wrong all these years.
But watching Fox News (trying to keep up-to-speed on what the enemy thinks) on my newly installed SKY satellite television I heard an American Hyundai commercial. "Hun-die" the voice-over intoned, the pronunciation with which I was familiar.
"Two countries separated by a common language" (George Bernard Shaw)--a paradox I thought I understood. But "two countries separated by different pronunciations of a third language"--that will need further explanation.
The relation between British and American English is similar to the one between Portuguese Portuguese (?) and Brazilian Portuguese. The firsts have archaic traces and the seconds are simpler and more creative. But it's somehow misleading to talk of British English and Portuguese Portuguese forgetting regional differences. There are regions in Portugal where the spoken Portuguese is difficult to understand even for native speakers — the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, for instance.
Sometimes it doesn't come naturally for me to speak with a british accent — even though I pronounce "duty" as "dyuty" instead of "doody", "militry" instead "military" is a bit of a stretch. I've basically learned English by reading and listening American English. But I'm becoming accustomed to use certain words. Not "whilst" instead of "while" — I've noticed that too! —, but, for example, in the recent paper that presented at the conference on Battlestar Galactica, I automatically wrote "lounger" instead of "chaise longue" and "trousers" instead of "pants".