Monday, November 16, 2009
Susan boyle a true embodiment of determination and will power!!
Susan is a reminder that it's time we all looked a little deeper. She has lived an obscure but important life. She has been a companionable and caring daughter. It's people like her who are the unseen glue in society; the ones who day in and day out put themselves last. They make this country civilised and they deserve acknowledgement and respect. Susan has been forgiven her looks and been given respect because of her talent. She should always have received it because of the calibre..
I suspect it is because Susan Boyle has reminded us of something we’ve forgotten for too long. Hypnotised by Madison Avenue and Hollywood and the culture of youth, we’ve forgotten that the things they offer to us as “the norm” are ideals, and mostly fake ones. In embracing those fake ideals (how much money was spent last year in cosmetic surgeries and teeth-whitening?) we’ve forgotten that beyond all of those superficialities, we each have within us something of much greater value than perky breasts and unlined skin: the divine spark, the God-kiss, that lives in each and every one of us - no exceptions.
I suspect it is because Susan Boyle has reminded us of something we’ve forgotten for too long. Hypnotised by Madison Avenue and Hollywood and the culture of youth, we’ve forgotten that the things they offer to us as “the norm” are ideals, and mostly fake ones. In embracing those fake ideals (how much money was spent last year in cosmetic surgeries and teeth-whitening?) we’ve forgotten that beyond all of those superficialities, we each have within us something of much greater value than perky breasts and unlined skin: the divine spark, the God-kiss, that lives in each and every one of us - no exceptions.
I think we look at Susan Boyle and her artistry (and she is clearly an artist) and we think, “wait a second…that’s not the narrative! Ordinary people who look ordinary, and live obscurely and who don’t run with the herd are not supposed to be great.” And then we dare to think: “what if there is greatness in all of us?”...excerpts from the you tube...
Science a boon or bane..?
Here are excerpts from one of the posts i found online......very intresting..
SCIENCE: A BOON OR A BANE?
Humans incessantly explore experiment, create, and examine the world. This urge to know more and explore the unexplored has given birth to the field called science. The active process by which physical, biological, and chemical occurrences are studied is known as science .The origin of science has been lost in the mists of time.
Science- this single word itself has a lot to say. Science has truly been the burning topic of the century. Today, you just need to think about any sector and the word science will surely come up. Science technology has made an immense impact on nearly every sphere of daily life. Science plays a major role in today’s society.
Science is like a knife. A knife can be used to cut vegetables. The same knife can also be used as a lethal weapon .In the same way science can be used as a tool for the development but like every coin has another side, science, when it is in wrong hands can be abused. The exploitation of science can result in several disastrous consequences like nuclear wars, catastrophic pollution and ruinous bloodshed.
It is only due to science that we stand where we are today. Science has given us lot-computers, technology, electronics, gadgets and the list goes on and on. Science has beyond doubt been a boon for us.
Science has made life easier for man. Thanks to science we can travel from one corner of the world to another within seconds. Transportation has become a million times easier due to science and technology.
Through telecommunication and technology science has brought the world closer. Today a man in India can communicate through the internet to a person in another nook of the world. Science has truly made us say that this is a small, small world.Infact; the world has become so small for us that we have started exploring the space and are even thinking of settlements on Mars.
Science has done a great service to mankind by giving birth to medical technology. Today, science has greatly augmented the longevity of life. Once incurable diseases like small-pox have completely been eradicated and dreaded maladies like Cancer are no longer without a remedy.
Through the advent of hybrids farmers have received a boon. Today farming is a lot easier than it was a decade ago. After the green revolution farming has become a lot easier and the yield has increased tenfold.
Like every coin have two faces. The same science which has been of such great assistance to mankind has another face. Science which has bestowed us with development, progress, expansion and growth has also brandished us with hostilities, destruction, violence, ruin, devastation, annihilation bloodshed, carnage and obliteration.
Gone are the days when peace and tranquility used to prevail throughout the world. Today a gun booms in one corner of the world or another everyday. Wars are fought between countries for years and years together at a stretch. Families are torn apart and friends are lost forever, never to be reunited .By giving birth to weaponry, warcraft and armaments it can be indisputably said that science is the root of battles, armed conflicts and international disputes. Thanks to science we are plunging headlong into an era of nuclear wars.
Due to the advent of science the longevity of life has greatly increased. But, this is paving the way for over-population and population explosion. This has resulted in mass deficiency of land.Today, due to this we are even auctioning of land on the moon!
Thus, I have illustrated some of science’s advantages and disadvantages. But can we really blame science when it comes to the disadvantages? I believe that the culpability lies with those who misuse science. The radar of blameworthiness, in my opinion, should never fall on science. Hence I can state indubitably that science is a great boon for humankind, but when it is misused it can prove to be the most worst of banes...
SCIENCE: A BOON OR A BANE?
Humans incessantly explore experiment, create, and examine the world. This urge to know more and explore the unexplored has given birth to the field called science. The active process by which physical, biological, and chemical occurrences are studied is known as science .The origin of science has been lost in the mists of time.
Science- this single word itself has a lot to say. Science has truly been the burning topic of the century. Today, you just need to think about any sector and the word science will surely come up. Science technology has made an immense impact on nearly every sphere of daily life. Science plays a major role in today’s society.
Science is like a knife. A knife can be used to cut vegetables. The same knife can also be used as a lethal weapon .In the same way science can be used as a tool for the development but like every coin has another side, science, when it is in wrong hands can be abused. The exploitation of science can result in several disastrous consequences like nuclear wars, catastrophic pollution and ruinous bloodshed.
It is only due to science that we stand where we are today. Science has given us lot-computers, technology, electronics, gadgets and the list goes on and on. Science has beyond doubt been a boon for us.
Science has made life easier for man. Thanks to science we can travel from one corner of the world to another within seconds. Transportation has become a million times easier due to science and technology.
Through telecommunication and technology science has brought the world closer. Today a man in India can communicate through the internet to a person in another nook of the world. Science has truly made us say that this is a small, small world.Infact; the world has become so small for us that we have started exploring the space and are even thinking of settlements on Mars.
Science has done a great service to mankind by giving birth to medical technology. Today, science has greatly augmented the longevity of life. Once incurable diseases like small-pox have completely been eradicated and dreaded maladies like Cancer are no longer without a remedy.
Through the advent of hybrids farmers have received a boon. Today farming is a lot easier than it was a decade ago. After the green revolution farming has become a lot easier and the yield has increased tenfold.
Like every coin have two faces. The same science which has been of such great assistance to mankind has another face. Science which has bestowed us with development, progress, expansion and growth has also brandished us with hostilities, destruction, violence, ruin, devastation, annihilation bloodshed, carnage and obliteration.
Gone are the days when peace and tranquility used to prevail throughout the world. Today a gun booms in one corner of the world or another everyday. Wars are fought between countries for years and years together at a stretch. Families are torn apart and friends are lost forever, never to be reunited .By giving birth to weaponry, warcraft and armaments it can be indisputably said that science is the root of battles, armed conflicts and international disputes. Thanks to science we are plunging headlong into an era of nuclear wars.
Due to the advent of science the longevity of life has greatly increased. But, this is paving the way for over-population and population explosion. This has resulted in mass deficiency of land.Today, due to this we are even auctioning of land on the moon!
Thus, I have illustrated some of science’s advantages and disadvantages. But can we really blame science when it comes to the disadvantages? I believe that the culpability lies with those who misuse science. The radar of blameworthiness, in my opinion, should never fall on science. Hence I can state indubitably that science is a great boon for humankind, but when it is misused it can prove to be the most worst of banes...
euthanasia -mercy killing?
Read recently bou't it fr an essay ..thought would share da info wid u guys.....
Euthanasia is defined as the "mercy killing" of a person who is brain
dead, terminally ill or otherwise at death's door. This usually, but not
necessarily, affects people who are are separated from death only by machines.
Whether you personally believe "mercy killing" is a viable solution in a
hopeless situation or not the proponents for both sides provide arguments that
can be quite convincing. Supporters of euthanasia say that it is such an
improbability for a miraculous recovery and a return to a normal life that it is
not worth putting the patient through all the suffering and agony that
prolonging their life would cause or the fortune of hospital bills that you
would pay. The opposition feels that it is not right for people to abandon other
members of the human race because there is always a chance, even though it is a
small one, that they will regain all functons and return to a normal life.
There are many cases in which euthanasia is acceptable. Brain death is
one situation which merits euthanasia. It is also one of the more common cases
where euthanasia is requested. Brain death is when all brain activities cease.
The lines are fairly well drawn in the law about patients who are
suffering but are still compotent, but when the law is asked to determine the
fate of a lingering, comatose, incompotent patient the lines begin to blur. In
many cases the courts turned to the patient's family, but what if there are not
any or they disagree? In such cases who decides? In a controversial decision a
Massachusetts court allowed that it would invoke its own "substitute judgement"
on behalf of a mentally ill woman. In a second case mentioned in the January 7
issue of Newsweek, a Minnesota Surpreme court turned to three hospital ethics
committees to review a dying loner's case, followed their collected wisdom and
ordered him off the respirator so that he could have a dignified death. "It is
the first time ethics committees played a significant role in the court" says Dr.
Ronald E. Cranford. Still the easiest way to know and respect the patient's
wishes is through a simple piece of paper called a living will. (18)
It was stated, in the Bible, by the same preacher in Ecclesiastes who
said there is a time to be born and a time to die also said there is "A time to
search and a time to give up" (Ecclesiastes 3:6)
We need the honesty to admit death and the courage to discontinue life
extending measures, because of the extreme amount of funds that go into
supporting a brain dead, comatose, or terminally ill patient for any amount of
time. Although brain dead and comatose patients do not feel pain terminally ill
patients do, so is it not better to stop the pain that prolonging life would
cause?
It also seems to me that the brain dead patient lying in the hospital
bed coupled to machines is unlike the person that you knew and loved. In U.S.A.
Today a situation was written about that promotes this way of thinking, it says
"Typical is the inert body of an eighty two year old woman, victim of a massive
coronary, lying day after day hooked up to tubes and wires with no prospect of
returning to consciousness, much less to last week's vitality which her daughter
remembers as she says, 'That is not my mother lying there'." (34)
Many think that "We should be very careful in terms of our technological
miricals that we do not impose life on people who, in fact, are suffering beyond
our ability to help."
In Christianity Today January, 1990 there is a statement that I think is
the epitome of all that advocates of euthanasia say and believe, "In todays
society, where technological advances have given us the power to prolong the
quantity of life long beyond what many believe is life with any dignity or
degree of quality, pulling the plug or removing the tube should not be
considered a sin of commission, murder, or suicide ; but a humble
acknowledgement of our finitude." (6)
Should we ever give up on our friends and family, isn't there always a
chance of normal life? "After an accident that seems to wipe out all or most of
its victim's vital functions, it is often impossible to read the future. The
person might someday surprise us, wake up, and walk." (Christianity Today Jan
1990 p.6)
Is it not better to attempt to keep them alive and they still die a
natural death than to not try and give up all hope on our loved ones? The
Cruzan case is one example where a comatose girl named Nancy needed a loving,
praying, and caring family. She did not need a family that would just give up on
her and let her slip into the eternal sleep of death.
Is it fair that people that barely new the patient are the ones to
choose the patient's fate. Like the time a Minnesota Surpreme Court turned to
ethic committees, followed what they said and killed a dying man. (Newsweek Jan.
7,1985 p.18) I do not see how people who never even met the patient before he
was condemned to die are knowlegeable of the patient's wishes or realy even what
the family desires. (18)
The Holbrook case is one example where a man was miraculously revived
after being in a coma for eight years after he was hit on the head with a piece
of firewood. Effie Holbrook said that she never gave up hope on her son. Her
prayers were answered February 25, 1991 When Conly Holbrook, called her name.
Holbrook then told his mother the names of the two people he said hit him. After
the assault, he was in a coma for three months before they had to remove part of
his skull to relieve pressure on his brain. He had been in a comatose state ever
since.
Living Wills are growing in popularity since the numbers of "mercy
killings" have grown. A living will is a declaration of the desire for a natural
death. It is a means of retaining control over what happens at the end of your
life, even when you are no longer able to express your wishes. ....
Euthanasia is defined as the "mercy killing" of a person who is brain
dead, terminally ill or otherwise at death's door. This usually, but not
necessarily, affects people who are are separated from death only by machines.
Whether you personally believe "mercy killing" is a viable solution in a
hopeless situation or not the proponents for both sides provide arguments that
can be quite convincing. Supporters of euthanasia say that it is such an
improbability for a miraculous recovery and a return to a normal life that it is
not worth putting the patient through all the suffering and agony that
prolonging their life would cause or the fortune of hospital bills that you
would pay. The opposition feels that it is not right for people to abandon other
members of the human race because there is always a chance, even though it is a
small one, that they will regain all functons and return to a normal life.
There are many cases in which euthanasia is acceptable. Brain death is
one situation which merits euthanasia. It is also one of the more common cases
where euthanasia is requested. Brain death is when all brain activities cease.
The lines are fairly well drawn in the law about patients who are
suffering but are still compotent, but when the law is asked to determine the
fate of a lingering, comatose, incompotent patient the lines begin to blur. In
many cases the courts turned to the patient's family, but what if there are not
any or they disagree? In such cases who decides? In a controversial decision a
Massachusetts court allowed that it would invoke its own "substitute judgement"
on behalf of a mentally ill woman. In a second case mentioned in the January 7
issue of Newsweek, a Minnesota Surpreme court turned to three hospital ethics
committees to review a dying loner's case, followed their collected wisdom and
ordered him off the respirator so that he could have a dignified death. "It is
the first time ethics committees played a significant role in the court" says Dr.
Ronald E. Cranford. Still the easiest way to know and respect the patient's
wishes is through a simple piece of paper called a living will. (18)
It was stated, in the Bible, by the same preacher in Ecclesiastes who
said there is a time to be born and a time to die also said there is "A time to
search and a time to give up" (Ecclesiastes 3:6)
We need the honesty to admit death and the courage to discontinue life
extending measures, because of the extreme amount of funds that go into
supporting a brain dead, comatose, or terminally ill patient for any amount of
time. Although brain dead and comatose patients do not feel pain terminally ill
patients do, so is it not better to stop the pain that prolonging life would
cause?
It also seems to me that the brain dead patient lying in the hospital
bed coupled to machines is unlike the person that you knew and loved. In U.S.A.
Today a situation was written about that promotes this way of thinking, it says
"Typical is the inert body of an eighty two year old woman, victim of a massive
coronary, lying day after day hooked up to tubes and wires with no prospect of
returning to consciousness, much less to last week's vitality which her daughter
remembers as she says, 'That is not my mother lying there'." (34)
Many think that "We should be very careful in terms of our technological
miricals that we do not impose life on people who, in fact, are suffering beyond
our ability to help."
In Christianity Today January, 1990 there is a statement that I think is
the epitome of all that advocates of euthanasia say and believe, "In todays
society, where technological advances have given us the power to prolong the
quantity of life long beyond what many believe is life with any dignity or
degree of quality, pulling the plug or removing the tube should not be
considered a sin of commission, murder, or suicide ; but a humble
acknowledgement of our finitude." (6)
Should we ever give up on our friends and family, isn't there always a
chance of normal life? "After an accident that seems to wipe out all or most of
its victim's vital functions, it is often impossible to read the future. The
person might someday surprise us, wake up, and walk." (Christianity Today Jan
1990 p.6)
Is it not better to attempt to keep them alive and they still die a
natural death than to not try and give up all hope on our loved ones? The
Cruzan case is one example where a comatose girl named Nancy needed a loving,
praying, and caring family. She did not need a family that would just give up on
her and let her slip into the eternal sleep of death.
Is it fair that people that barely new the patient are the ones to
choose the patient's fate. Like the time a Minnesota Surpreme Court turned to
ethic committees, followed what they said and killed a dying man. (Newsweek Jan.
7,1985 p.18) I do not see how people who never even met the patient before he
was condemned to die are knowlegeable of the patient's wishes or realy even what
the family desires. (18)
The Holbrook case is one example where a man was miraculously revived
after being in a coma for eight years after he was hit on the head with a piece
of firewood. Effie Holbrook said that she never gave up hope on her son. Her
prayers were answered February 25, 1991 When Conly Holbrook, called her name.
Holbrook then told his mother the names of the two people he said hit him. After
the assault, he was in a coma for three months before they had to remove part of
his skull to relieve pressure on his brain. He had been in a comatose state ever
since.
Living Wills are growing in popularity since the numbers of "mercy
killings" have grown. A living will is a declaration of the desire for a natural
death. It is a means of retaining control over what happens at the end of your
life, even when you are no longer able to express your wishes. ....
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Chetan Bhagat is the author of three blockbuster novels, Five Point Someone (2004), One Night at the Call Center (2005) and The Three Mistakes of My life (2008). All the three books have remained bestsellers since their release and have inspired major Bollywood films. The New York Times called Chetan the 'the biggest selling English language novelist in India's history.' Seen more as a youth icon than just an author, this IIT D/ IIMA graduate is making India read like never before.
His writing style is largely similar in all the first 3 novels. However, it is seen that the seriousness of the novels gradually went on increasing. Each novel has the basic character set. The Protagonist is a very normal kind of boy whom any Indian teenager can easily relate to. He is moderate in terms of thoughts and views and is not to assertive. However the agnostic stance of the Lead character in Three mistake is an exception. Besides, a special importance to sex is given in each of his books. The friends of the Protagonist are also of very common nature. The girls in the novels are shown in virtual bondage by their respective families. Yet even the girls can be easily compared to an average Indian girl. Thus, the novel has no weird characters and is really set in a typical Indian setting. The characters are all typical neighbourhood characters and this is what makes the novels a success.
Chetan also writes op-ed columns for leading English and Hindi newspapers, focusing on youth and national development based issues. Many of the issues raised by Chetan’s columns have been discussed in Parliament and among the top leadership of the country.
Chetan quit his international investment banking career in 2009, to devote his entire time to writing and make change happen in the country. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Anusha, an ex-classmate from IIMA and his twin boys Shyam and Ishaan.
His writing style is largely similar in all the first 3 novels. However, it is seen that the seriousness of the novels gradually went on increasing. Each novel has the basic character set. The Protagonist is a very normal kind of boy whom any Indian teenager can easily relate to. He is moderate in terms of thoughts and views and is not to assertive. However the agnostic stance of the Lead character in Three mistake is an exception. Besides, a special importance to sex is given in each of his books. The friends of the Protagonist are also of very common nature. The girls in the novels are shown in virtual bondage by their respective families. Yet even the girls can be easily compared to an average Indian girl. Thus, the novel has no weird characters and is really set in a typical Indian setting. The characters are all typical neighbourhood characters and this is what makes the novels a success.
Chetan also writes op-ed columns for leading English and Hindi newspapers, focusing on youth and national development based issues. Many of the issues raised by Chetan’s columns have been discussed in Parliament and among the top leadership of the country.
Chetan quit his international investment banking career in 2009, to devote his entire time to writing and make change happen in the country. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Anusha, an ex-classmate from IIMA and his twin boys Shyam and Ishaan.
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