Updates from December, 2006 Hide threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Typo takes tourist 13,000 km out 

    BD 11:18 am on December 30, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.

    Dressed for the Australian summer in T-shirt and shorts, Tobi Gutt left Germany on Saturday for a four-week holiday.

    Instead of arriving “down under”, Gutt found himself on a different continent and bound for the chilly state of Montana.

    Reuters

    via Indiauncut

    I have a friend who has this uncanny ability of committing the most creative of typos. But this story beats her :D

     

  • BD 7:24 pm on December 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    The Tiger and the Snow: Another chance to witness Roberto Benigni’s magic! If you liked Life is Beautiful, you wouldn’t wanna miss this.

    Synopsis:

    Soon after the start of hostilities in Iraq, Rome-based lovestruck poet and lecturer Attilio heads to Baghdad when he learns from his friend, Iraqi poet Fuad, that the woman he loves, Vittoria, has been critically injured in a bomb explosion. Attilio does everything in his power to save her, risking his own life amidst the chaos of war.

    Link to the Trailer.

     

  • I know not who I am 

    BD 12:42 am on December 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    Not a believer inside the mosque, am I
    Nor a pagan disciple of false rites
    Not the pure amongst the impure
    Neither Moses, nor the Pharoh

    Bulleh! to me, I am not known

    Not in the holy Vedas, am I
    Nor in opium, neither in wine
    Not in the drunkard`s craze
    Niether awake, nor in a sleeping daze

    Bulleh! to me, I am not known

    In happiness nor in sorrow, am I
    Neither clean, nor a filthy mire
    Not from water, nor from earth
    Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth

    Bulleh! to me, I am not known

    Not an Arab, nor Lahori
    Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri
    Hindu, Turk (Muslim), nor Peshawari
    Nor do I live in Nadaun

    Bulleh! to me, I am not known

    Secrets of religion, I have not known
    From Adam and Eve, I am not born
    I am not the name I assume
    Not in stillness, nor on the move

    Bulleh! to me, I am not known

    I am the first, I am the last
    None other, have I ever known
    I am the wisest of them all
    Bulleh! do I stand alone?

    Bulleh! to me, I am not known

    (Translation courtesy: Rabbism)

     

    • Tamanna 6:50 am on December 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Bulle shah’s other compositions are also good. I find Sufism interesting.

    • BD 2:30 pm on December 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      I find Sufism interesting.

      Me too.

      This blog has some interesting sufi stuff (check the links on the sidebar).

      Moreover check this and this on Orkut. Interesting discussions!

    • I Me My 4:54 pm on January 2, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Beautiful lyrics; could solve many a problems today if only there were listeners!

  • BD 5:52 am on December 24, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    Next time your flight gets delayed, you can just smile!

    “Every airline operating from Delhi shall pay a minimum compensation of Rs 10,000 to every domestic passenger in case there is delay in departure and arrival of two hours or more than the schedule time,” Justice J D Kapoor, President of the Commission, said in a common order.

    The Commission also ordered that all the affected passengers of international flights would be paid Rs 20,000 each as compensation.

    Indian Express

     

    • I Me My 4:52 pm on January 2, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      That’s great, but what if the delay is due to unforeseen circumstances like say the weather?

    • BD 8:52 pm on January 2, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      In the same article it says:

      The Commission, however, observed that the delays caused due to inclement weather, tyre bursts, which are beyond control of the service providers, did not entitle passengers to get compensation.

      So I guess the passengers are out of luck in that case :P

  • Betrothal Prospects 

    BD 9:33 am on December 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    So, this concerned father’s daughter is getting older. In true desi style he frantically searches online for his daughter’s prospective partners — and blogs about it too :) . I must admit, it’s got to be the most interesting blog of the year! (Ok, this onetoo)

    (via desipundit)

     

    • shirazi 10:26 am on December 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      “Surest way to smartness is through massive dumbness,” sure but you are smart otherwise as well. Neat blog.

    • Ranjit 10:51 am on December 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Hey, Ginga and BooBoo thank you for the link

    • BD 7:36 pm on December 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      @Shirazi
      Thanks :D

      @Ranjit

      Tell Ginga and BooBoo that the pleasure is all mine, and thanks a bunch to you too for dropping by :)

  • EC to help Nepal conduct elections 

    BD 4:06 am on December 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    Before Nepal, the Election commission of India was invited to assist elections in Iraq (also had a small stint in Afghanistan).

    Bleh! The EC has conducted elections in Bihar! Iraq and Nepal are peanuts compared to that.

     

    • ayesha 6:34 am on December 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Hehe. Interesting comparison between Bihar and the rest. Point taken though!

      Actually, as a confidence building measure Mushy ought to invite ECI for general elections in 2007. …

    • BD 7:38 pm on December 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Interesting comparison between Bihar and the rest.

      There is no comparison! Bihar is class apart :D

  • Netaji’s death - Mystery or a Cover-up? 

    BD 3:44 am on December 22, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    You tend to ask this question, particularly when the Government acts like this:

    The Prime Minister’s Office has refused to furnish data on documents and records it held on the mysterious disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, saying the disclosure would harm India’s relations with foreign countries. HT

    Now what kind of bullshit reason is that? We’ve no way of knowing how relevant those documents are, but the fact that the Govt. is so adamant about their secrecy, hints something is fishy.

    Also worth checking – Mission Netaji. It contains tons of info related to Netaji’s disappearance and subsequent investigations.

     

    • Mihir 11:58 am on December 25, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      I wonder what will come out of this. Whether Netaji died in Formosa or whether he went to the Soviet Union is unimportant. The bottom line is that he dared to fight for the freedom of country, and his actions continue to inspire many to this day. Let us just end it at that and let Netaji rest in peace!

    • BD 2:32 pm on December 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Netaji is resting in peace anyways. What’s bothering me is why the hell is the Indian government sitting on the documents?

    • MN nuts 12:20 pm on April 29, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      A billion Indians watch indifferently as a 60-year- old battle for truth is smothered. Injustice has a new and most unlikely symbol. But then, there’s hope…

      http://justiceforsubhas.blogspot.com/

  • Supreme court against blanket ban on obscenity 

    BD 9:26 am on December 21, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    New Delhi, December 12: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which sought a ban on the publication of obscene and nude photographs in newspapers of the country.

    A bench headed by Justice A R Laxman, however, directed the Union Government to consider suggestions made by Press Council of India for bringing certain regulation in the publication of such objectionable matter. Indian Express via Blogger’s collective.

    The petitioner, Ajay Goswami’s position:

    The petitioner Ajay Goswami, an advocate, had moved a PIL alleging that some of the leading newspapers were indulging in unethical practices of publishing nude and obscene photographs and material which tended to corrupt the young and impressionable minds, Further, he argued that the publications were publishing sex-oriented material like masturbation, pre-marital sex and other issues which may not be obscene but still caters to prurient interest of the minor.

    New Kerala

    The Supreme Court had this to say:

    “An imposition of a blanket ban on the publication of certain photographs and news items etc. will lead to a situation where the newspaper will be publishing material which caters only to children and adolescents and the adults will be deprived of reading their share of their entertainment which can be permissible under the normal norms of decency in any society,” …

    …Dismissing the petition, the bench said, “Any steps to ban publishing of certain news pieces or pictures would fetter the independence of free press which is one of the hallmarks of our democratic set-up.”

    It noted that nudity per se could not be described as nudity.

    Yahoo India News

    Although laws against “obscenity” exist in the Indian penal code, it’s heartening to see the highest court laying emphasis on self regulation. (Id, I know you’ll be jumping with joy :P )

    [tags]Obscenity, Supreme Court of India[/tags]

     

    • IMeMy 2:00 pm on December 21, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      You are right! I am heartened by this ruling. People have to self regulate on matters such as these or next we’ll be mandating our daily ablutions!
      I wonder how this ruling was received…

  • INRSS 

    BD 7:22 am on December 20, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    ISRO continues to surprise!

    India wants to set up the “Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System” (IRNSS), that would be totally under its control. Under the other systems, denial of access to satellite signals or the degrading of signal accuracy, especially in a conflict situation, remains a distinct possibility.

    When implemented, the IRNSS would provide positional accuracy similar to the GPS system for 1,500 km around the country, according to the Notes on Demands for Grants from the Department of Space. A configuration with eight satellites was being studied, say officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The Hindu

    Although it’s to be noted that India already has huge money invested in GLONASS and GALILEO($350 million) (check my earlier post on this).

    According to this Space.com report, India is going to spend $316 million and start launching operations as early as 2008. The entire constellation is expected to be in place by 2011.

    This post happens to be the third in the space hegemony series (may be I should create a category now).

    Another interesting (but unrelated) article about ISRO.

     

  • CoComment 

    BD 4:29 pm on December 19, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    Unfortunately many blogging platforms (Blogger being one of them) don’t publish feeds for comments. There’s no way to track comments unless you have a way of reminding yourself to periodically visit that post to check for new comments. This is laborious and irksome. Moreover, if you post occasional comments while on your daily visit to random blogs, it’s all the more difficult to retrace your path back to check if someone else has responded to your comments. You may bookmark those posts, but you would still need to check each and every bookmarked post.

    Even if we did have comment feeds (like in wordpress blogs), subscribing to them through a newsreader can sometimes be quite overwhelming, especially if the blog gets a lot of traffic.

    Blog comments are as important as blog posts. They bring out the diversity of opinions on a particular topic. We have email clients for checking mails, Aggregators for checking blog updates; we need a separate tool for checking comment updates.

    Thankfully we have a solution in the form of cocomment. From their website:

    coComment helps you

    • track all comments you make on blogs and other comment enabled platforms
    • track the comment based conversations you are involved in, as well as those you want to follow as an observer

    Keep track of your web based comments and conversations. You don’t need a blog to find this service useful! As a registered user, whenever you leave a comment on a compatible platform (see here for the ever growing list of platforms we support) coComment will automatically begin tracking the resulting conversation stream – updating you whenever someone adds a follow up comment. If you don’t make a comment, you can still have coComment track a comment stream if you are interested in following the discussion as a reader.

    expl_inbox.gif

    Just what I needed! :D

     

    • Ritesh 5:13 pm on December 19, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      I think the new blogger has comment feeds (beta.blogger.com). But I am still trying to figure out the feed address!

    • BD 5:59 pm on December 19, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      I am still trying to figure out the feed address!

      ROFL! :P

      But still, as I pointed out in my post, tracking comments in the same feedreader that you use for tracking blogposts can be quite overwhelming.

    • Sharique 9:18 pm on December 19, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Thats why WP rocks. BTW you can install that plugin ’subscribe to comments via email’ so that people who leave a comment here can use it.

    • BD 4:20 am on December 20, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Thats why WP rocks. BTW you can install that plugin ’subscribe to comments via email’ so that people who leave a comment here can use it.

      Yeah that’s a good idea, as far as my blog is concerned. not the best thing to do with popular blogs.

    • Ritesh 12:36 pm on December 21, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Hehe.. I still couldnt find the comments feed on boooooger

      So I tried cocomment. Awesome find! :)

  • Google patent search online 

    BD 4:41 am on December 16, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    Google cares! So that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel!

     

  • Kabul Express 

    BD 1:09 am on December 16, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    The wait is over! Saw the movie today.

    As usual, no spoilers, just some highlights.

    To begin with, the movie explores unexpected areas. For example the depiction of the dilemma faced by Pakistani soldiers post 9/11 was convincing(I hope).

    It equally bashes the Talibs and the US, with some Pakistan bashing here and there (though I have a feeling that Kabul Express CD’s would sell a lot in Pakistan).

    The haunting appeal of the war ravished afghan terrain, coupled with an excellent background score , makes you yearn for more. Thankfully there are no songs(or item numbers) in the movie. The movie is 2 hours long, but never slows down for a second.

    Kabul Express 1

    The interplay between the 5 main characters was fantastic.

    Depiction of a sad outcome of gruesome geo-politics with a strong flair of humor is difficult, but not when you have Arshad Warsi around! Although it’s Salman Shahid who steals the show in terms of performance.

    Kabul Express 2

    I usually avoid first day first show. I made an exception today, and absolutely no regrets! Fantastic movie!

    If ratings matter at all, I’ll give it 4 stars.

     

    • Ritesh 1:29 pm on December 16, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Nice! Good to see you liked it. I am hoping I will too. The trailers looked good. Just waiting for the movie to come to theatres in san diego.

    • BD 3:20 pm on December 16, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      How come the movie is yet to reach San Diego?

    • Ritesh 2:55 am on December 17, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      San Diego is Sad.

      We have a modest number of Desis here, and so they play indian movies once or twice every week (usually 1 show every sunday). Very sad. :(

    • Ritesh 10:43 pm on December 17, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Saw it today. Loved it! The most surprising aspect of the movie was the comedy. Arshad definitely stole the show. What was the role of the American girl, btw?

      Madhuri dedo, Kashmir lelo :D

    • Tamanna 6:48 am on December 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      ^
      madhuri america chali gayi .-> har acchi cheez amrica chali jaati hai :-D

      I too liked the movie. they portray the tragedy thats afghanistan without any melodrama.
      So the whole of afghanistan really looks like that!! just open terrain!! would like to see wat it was like some 30-40 yrs ago. when it was peaceful (maybe)..

    • BD 2:31 pm on December 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      like to see wat it was like some 30-40 yrs ago. when it was peaceful

      It was definitely not peaceful 30-40 years ago [:P]

  • Revisiting Kailash Kher 

    BD 9:19 pm on December 13, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    Teri Diwani — A beautiful song with an equally beautiful video.

     

    • shirazi 9:59 pm on December 14, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Ya, this is a nice song. And thanks for stopping by Light Within and leading me here.

    • BD 2:13 am on December 16, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Shirazi, thanks for dropping by! Your blog already on my daily reading list! Keep up the good work :)

  • Junoon Documentary 

    BD 3:14 am on December 13, 2006 Permalink | Reply

     

    • ayesha 11:42 am on December 14, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      I wanna see the rest!!

      ps. going on my blog too. fundo documentary yaar!

  • Space hegemony revisted 

    BD 3:35 am on October 18, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    A new space defence policy recently set by United States President George W Bush opposes any arms control treaty that would limit US actions in space, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. Rediff

    Related post: Space hegemony being broken

    [tags]Space warfare[/tags]

     

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