Tuesday, May 16, 2006

BBC Error

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Schooling

I've been teaching these little kids on a weekly basis. They come to this centre with their homework or to practice their math and english. (The centre takes 1 1/2 hours to reach and 2 hours to get back home from, but that's another story.Don't ask why... I would've adopted Marxism/(hardcore) socialism, if it came to me now too. Its that time of life when you need to do "good things" to make yourself content). Anyways, where were we...

Yeah, some of these kids need quite a bit of help. While it does brighten up my day to teach them a thing or two about subtraction or the times table of four, but you wonder what's the point of schooling then. Yes, the school system in Britain does not charge fees (mostly) but at least the investment in time and effort that the children and parents put is significant. How can they be going to school every day and not be learning anything significant. Doing something EVERY day is scary enough, but not getting anything from it is just out of this world. What's the point then? And this is the developed world. The industrialized/OECD/modernized part of the globe.

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, No one knew me
Hello teacher tell me whats my lesson
Look right through me, Look right through me
- Gary Jules, Mad World (Donnie Darko OST)
(Thanks to Assel for introducing me to the good 21st century music).

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

(Google) Vdo's that keep you going...

Q: Omer Bhai, how can you keep going despite hours of heavy academic paper-reading (with breaks for dinner/tea)... when you cannot take it any longer... when your eyes are droopier than Droopy's and your brain is half-asleep (fried?)... when the distinction between sanity and sanity is as porous and hazy as the Afghan/Pakistan border...

Bayta, actually I resort to google videos. At one such instance (just a few minutes ago) the ones I had the pleasure of discovering were...

1. Censored http://censored (Leave a comment and I'll judge whether I can divulge to you, this blog is rated "G"). Hint: "Miandad"

2. Ali Zafar "Channo"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2922662474110217212&q=channo&pl=true
Saw it after a long time. Can't believe I squirmed at this video when it was first released. 3 Cheers for Ali Zafar. Rock (pop) on.

3. Ali Azmat. "Mc Arabia Kofta."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8007250596088801269&q=ali+azmat&pl=true

4. Eminem live in Colombo "Angulimala Devdath Eminem Death Match"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5821321694034757719&q=eminem&pl=true

5. Shoaib Akhtar "Very Best of"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7042540919365967777&q=cricket+pakistan&pl=true
Please be warned... last scene is a bit... gory.