Wanna go to jail? Display the national flag.

Or do something with it. That's what the Indian government is telling everyone now. Narain Karthikeyan, who has now entered the world of Formula 1, has just been told to change his helmet. Why? It displays the national colours - saffron, white and green. The guy works assiduously for his country, gets it into the highest zone of the motorworld and he's not allowed to show his pride in being an Indian. Karthikeyan feels that it's the government's loss that he can't display the tricolour. Without those colours, he gains extra space on his helmet, which he could give to sponsors.

Even the cricket team has been asked to withdraw all forms of the national flag from its uniform. The reason given was that the Indian flag embossed on their helmet or their costume was "violative of Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act, 1971". Nineteen Seventy One. What the hell was the government doing all these years??!! These sportsmen are merely trying to bring glory to the country, not to defame the national flag.

According to the act, "The scope of the law is restricted to overt acts of insult to and attack on, the national symbols by burning, trampling, defiling or mutilating in public." If the government really intends to follow this act, most of the Indian population should be serving time by now; for every year, on Independence Day, they "mutilate" the national flag with a pin that holds it to their clothing.

Something is terribly wrong with the government. God help us.

For more news about Karthikeyan's helmet being banned - Click here. To read the act which brought about all this fuss - Click here.

How Bloggers Blog.

Disclaimer: This post is not a tutorial on how to blog. Too many people have done that already. Also, this is not a factual report of how bloggers blog. I don't do surveys. End of fine print.



Please read the above fine print before continuing. (Yes, I do realize that if an idiot who follows instructions blindly were to read that sentence, he/she would never read the rest of the post. I'm assuming that you aren't one, for if you were one, you wouldn't have gotten this far).



When I first started out as a blogger, back in February last year, I was blogging under my real name. After a month though, I stopped entirely. I came back in August, with a new blog, and a pseudonym for myself. The pseudonym prevented people from knowing who I am. Temporarily, at least. Now there are quite a few people who know this blogger.



Pseudonyms are quite common in the blogosphere. To some it's obvious why. Most bloggers don't want people who know them personally to come across their blog, for there might be some kind of incriminating words about them. For instance, if I knew that my parents were reading my blog (and I know that they don't), I wouldn't have written half the stuff I have.



For others, it could be a totally different issue. If the blogger knows that a particular person is reading his/her blog, the blogger might try to blog in a manner completely different from the usual, to paint a different picture in that person's mind. I don't fall into this category, but for the sake of an example, if I knew that a certain someone I know is reading this blog, the words I use might tend to be the words I would want to use when in conversation with that person. Too confusing? Forget it. Skip to the end of this post. If not, read on.



People forget that they have the freedom to write what they want to, what they feel they need to. They fear rejection, or feel that they might hurt somebody. The social nature of human beings restricts them from expressing their emotions. Alas, that cannot be helped, because humans are social animals.



Now for some general stuff, which has nothing to do with what's written above.



Lately, I've seen numerous photos and wallpapers of sports cars. Add that to a weekly dose of "Top Gear" on BBC, and a primal desire for hot wheels has been stirred in me. I'm talking with someone, and my mind drifts away to a Jaguar or a BMW. Especially the BMW Z4. I just want to drive it for one day. I'm actually planning on leasing the BMW Z4, if I ever visit one of those places where it's been released, and if I ever get enough money. On second thought, leasing a BMW Z4 sounds impossible...



Something about the current template bothers me, I can't figure out what. I wonder if I should revert to the first one. If you've never seen the previous templates of this blog, check them out : 1, 2.

Changed the template. Again. Yes, in just 5 days. I know.

I just felt that the whole thing was too dull. And I might have been infringing some copyrights by using those anime pictures. Now here's a brand new template, created entirely by me! Again!



Since I'll be busy studying for my exams, I won't be posting for a while. So, to keep you occupied, here are some of my previous posts, cuz you'd probably be too lazy to dig into my shallow archives. Read them at least now.



Chances of aliens finding Earth disappearing?



Matrix or Ghost In The Shell??



Spiderman 2 is quite disappointing



Power implant aims to run on body heat



Why do we exist?



Is anyone truly selfless?



Handwriting problems...



Death : something to fear or something to look forward to?

Bart Simpson's Chalkboard Exercises

If you're a fan of The Simpsons, you would've noticed how Bart writes exercises on the board during the opening credits. The following is a list of most of those writings, guaranteed to make you chuckle:

• I will not carve gods.
• I will not spank others.
• I will not aim for the head.
• I will not barf unless I'm sick
• I will not expose the ignorance of the faculty.
• I saw nothing unusual in the teacher's lounge.
• I will not conduct my own fire drills.
• Funny noises are not funny.
• I will not snap bras.
• I will not fake seizures.
• This punishment is not boring and pointless.
• My name is not Dr. Death.
• I will not defame New Orleans.
• I will not prescribe medication.
• I will not bury the new kid.
• I will not teach others to fly.
• I will not bring sheep to class.
• A burp is not an answer.
• Teacher is not a leper.
• Coffee is not for kids.
• I will not eat things for money.
• I will not yell "She's Dead" at roll call.
• The principal's toupee is not a Frisbee.
• I will not call the principal "spud head".
• Goldfish don't bounce.
• Mud is not one of the 4 food groups.
• No one is interested in my underpants.
• I will not sell miracle cures.
• I will return the seeing-eye dog.
• I do not have diplomatic immunity.
• I will not charge admission to the bathroom.
• I will never win an emmy.
• The cafeteria deep fryer is not a toy.
• All work and no play makes Bart a dull boy.
• I will not say "Springfield" just to get applause.
• I am not authorized to fire substitute teachers.
• My homework was not stolen by a one-armed man.
• I will not go near the kindergarten turtle.
• I am not deliciously saucy.
• Organ transplants are best left to professionals.
• The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with "Hail Satan".
• I will not celebrate meaningless milestones.
• There are plenty of businesses like show business.
• Five days is not too long to wait for a gun.
• I will not waste chalk.
• I will not skateboard in the halls.
• I will not instigate revolution.
• I will not draw naked ladies in class.
• I did not see Elvis.
• I will not call my teacher "Hot Cakes".
• Garlic gum is not funny.
• They are laughing at me, not with me.
• I will not yell "Fire" in a crowded classroom.
• I will not encourage others to fly.
• I will not fake my way through life.
• Tar is not a plaything.
• I will not Xerox my butt.
• It's potato, not potatoe.
• I will not trade pants with others.
• I am not a 32 year old woman.
• I will not do that thing with my tongue.
• I will not drive the principal's car.
• I will not pledge allegiance to Bart.
• I will not sell school property.
• I will not burp in class.
• I will not cut corners.
• I will not get very far with this attitude.
• I will not belch the National Anthem.
• I will not sell land in Florida.
• I will not grease the monkey bars.
• I will not hide behind the Fifth Amendment.
• I will not do anything bad ever again.
• I will not show off.
• I will not sleep through my education.
• I am not a dentist.
• Spitwads are not free speech.
• Nobody likes sunburn slappers.
• High explosives and school don't mix.
• I will not bribe Principal Skinner.
• I will not squeak chalk.
• I will finish what I sta
• "Bart Bucks" are not legal tender.
• Underwear should be worn on the inside.
• The Christmas Pageant does not stink.
• I will not torment the emotionally frail.
  
  

New Template

I finally got the time to create a new template for the blog. I was tempted to use one from BlogSkins.com, but I decided to create one on my own again. I'm a big fan of Rurouni Kenshin, more popularly known as Samurai X, and the Get Backers. This template isn't complete yet; I want to spice up the background and the sidebar headers. Maybe later.



There are "Tsunami Relief" organizations popping up everywhere. Some of these aren't really aiding the victims of the South East Asian tsunami disaster, but actually cashing in on the disaster by putting up fake websites and asking for donations. Yes, they are cold-hearted, rotten sneaks who don't deserve to live. If you want to help the real victims, you need to contact official organizations. To help you out, I'm providing a list of websites through which you can contribute your little bit to help the unfortunate:



Google's list Tsunami Relief organizations

Indian Prime Minister's Office

Sulekha Tsunami Relief Fund

Sarvodaya - A Sri Lankan Foundation

DEC - Tsunami Earthquake Appeal

ReliefWeb

Why is it always blondes and Sardars who are dumb?

Before you ask, no, I'm not a Sardar or a blonde. But I find it increasingly irritating to read a dumb blonde joke or a Sardarji joke. Nearly every SMS I get these days is a joke based on Sardars.



An example :



"Sardarji was filling up an application form for a job. He promptly filled the columns titled NAME, AGE, ADDRESS etc. Then he came to the column Salary Expected: He was not sure as to what to be filled there. After much thought he wrote: Yes"



We have a couple of Sardars in our College and one of them is quite intelligent. Though I admit, I don't know any bright blondes, but that's probably because I know very few blondes.



Forget dumb Sardars. Ever played the game Grand Theft Auto 3? All the Taxi Drivers in the game are Sardars. There aren't so many Sardars in USA who drive taxis, are there? I wonder what they felt when they played the game...



Update: I had a kind of an adventure last Saturday. I've narrated it at my College Life blog, since it's something that happened on my way back from College.



A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Desires of the Heart

I quite clearly remember my mindset last year. Seeing no valid reason for the existence of this universe and influenced by the sagacity of the sages depicted in epics, I concluded that life is unreal; I lost interest in this material world. I was peacefully content, with no wants whatsoever. I never cared for worldly events.

But things aren't the way they were before. At this point of time, I yearn for a lot of things. Here's a brief list, in no particular order.

I want:

1. To get out of my college's hostel.

2. The best 128 MB AGP card money can buy.

3. A reasonably fast broadband internet connection.

4. The best portable pocket-sized MP3 player.

5. A high resolution digital still camera, bluetooth enabled.

6. A Wi-Fi enabled notebook computer for obvious reasons.

7. The best keyboard(music) ever to hit the market.

8. A violin. Any violin.

9. The money to satisfy wants 2-8.

10. To practice euthanasia on myself provided no one will miss me, there's no such thing as an afterlife, and I'm not reborn.

Actually, a lifetime supply of Pepsi and daily necessities, and a computer with a fast, unlimited internet connection, free for life, would suffice.

Anything you want?