Fear Is An Adrenaline Rush

Six months ago, the nightmare I might have woken up from (bathed in cold sweat) would have been Sarah Palin sitting in the Oval office, smiling vapidly as she asked Joe the Plumber what he does to keep his head so shiny.

Now my nightmare is vastly different. In it, I see a figure dressed in KKK white, who walks up to me and takes off the conical mask to reveal the snarling face of Rush Limbaugh.

No, really - the man makes my skin crawl. And not just because he has strong opinions, nor only because his opinions are hugely popular and apparently reflect the sentiment of a vast majority of Republicans. I realized to my utter amazement, that he makes my (liberal) heart beat doubly fast precisely because he comes across as a villainous stereotype - the embodiment of the ugly, dark side of the conservative party. In other words, when I see him, I see clenched in his fat fist, an alarmingly huge population of racist, gun-toting, environmentally unfriendly, redneck, homophobic, greedy capitalist, intolerant, sexist religious fanatics. He makes me want to lock my doors, board up my windows and hope that the San Andreas fault swallows me whole before his creationist fans can come anywhere near me.

The funny thing is, I haven't the slightest doubt in my mind that Keith Olberman and Bill Maher elicit the same reaction from many Republicans.

I am supposed to be more open-minded, more tolerant, open to discussion, willing to accept differences, agree to disagree and all that jazz. But if I allow this fear, resentment and blinkered perception of the GOP to brew, how am I any different from the very people I accuse of harbouring those feelings?

At any rate, Limbaugh's star is on the rise, making it ever more unlikely that I will come face-to-face with him. But if our paths do cross, and he looks at me and screams "Terrorist!" I promise not to throw up my hands, yell "Racist!" and run in the opposite direction.

It's No.1 vs. No.2, mate

After an otherwise completely insipid, sometimes downright disappointing series of preliminaries, the Aussie Open this year has finally brought about the confrontation we actually paid for - Nadal vs. Federer. No.1 vs. No.2.

(Side note: strange how "2" and Fedex seem so utterly mismatched, but there you have it. Besides, Rafa really earned it.)

I was severely disappointed when Djokovic was forced to forfeit his quarter-final match with Andy Roddick on account of ill health. A Djokovic-Federer match might have been predictable, but at least it would have been entertaining. Still, Roddick put up a fight in the last two sets, but didn't stand a chance against Federer's lethal combination of sixteen aces, zero double-faults and four breaks. Fed won 6-2, 7-5, 7-5.

Nadal, on the other hand, didn't have it quite so easy. He had to endure a five-and-a-quarter-hour long battle against his fellow countryman, Fernando Verdasco (rank 14), before he could move into the finals. Verdasco was powerful, but made far too many errors, salvaging himself only every now and again at the net, and the No.1 seeded Nadal prevailed with some rather brilliant forehands and a tremendous, highly memorable passing shot that drew a standing ovation from the crowd. Final score - 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (1-7), 6-4.

I'm not one for predictions, but if Nadal's fortunes are far too dependant on errors on the part of his opponent, the upcoming final is anyone's guess. Fedex seems to have regained his lustre - he can break as well as he can ace through a game, and has more experience winning on a hardcourt than Nadal.

Either way, the ball begins at midnight.

Channel Surfer

One word. (Or is it really two?)

YouTube.

Here are some channels that I think are really awesome:

1. Today, Papa Benedict himself, keeper of the keys to the kingdom of Christianity, started a channel for the Vatican!
2. Starbucks is getting into community, environmental and global initiatives in a big way - here's their channel. Mocha, anyone?
3. (You knew this was coming) - Another in President (yes, President!!!) Obama's list of firsts - a separate channel for the White House!
4. UC Berkeley has a really nice channel with lectures on a range of topics from Einstein's Theory of Relativity (which I completely understood for the first time listening to the lecture), to politics and law. Definitely worth a look.
5. I can't say I've found a talk as gripping as the one given by Sir Ken Robinson on Schools and Creativity, but the TED channel does have some pretty good ones.
   
6. National Geographic. Need I say more?
7. Rajshri - truly professional desi channel, which also has all episodes of Mahabharat and new movie trailers
8. An ongoing contest for an online collaborative symphony orchestra, planned and hosted by YouTube - I'm going to be listening.

P.S. On a separate note - apologies for the long silence. Loved the inauguration just as much as you all, though. Change is here!

Rest In Perdition?

There is no doubt that we are an angry nation right now. Across radio stations, newspapers, television and the internet, our fury has broken loose - at the government, the terrorists, Pakistan..... Everywhere you look, the message appears to be the same - don't forget, always remember, don't get complacent.

Part of the anger is also manifesting in the notion of "sending the enemy a strong message." One powerful Muslim group in Mumbai has taken on that task in its own way. Excerpt from an AP article:

A Muslim graveyard has refused to bury nine gunmen who terrorized Mumbai over three days last week, leaving at least 172 people dead and wreaking havoc at some of its most famous landmarks.

[... ...]

"People who committed this heinous crime cannot be called Muslim," said Hanif Nalkhande, a trustee. "Islam does not permit this sort of barbaric crime."

While I genuinely admire the courage of this group, I am a little conflicted as to this decision. Quite beyond the fundamental philosophical questions that could fuel a separate debate, there is the matter of whether the message would really work. After all, had these men decided to be suicide bombers, they wouldn't have required a burial. 

That said, I hope it does send a message to those involved - that their Muslim "brothers and sisters" disown them emphatically, and that no whisper of prayers for their redemption will escape the lips of true believers and patriots. 

Enough

[Adding my own letter to Animesh's series and to Apeksha's own series of posts]

Enough with the fear. Enough with the terror. We are not afraid anymore. Especially of cowards like you.

That's right, I said it. You're a bunch of cowards. Misguided fools. Real men die in war, fighting face-to-face with the enemy. They command the respect of the people they protect. They care for the innocent, protect women and children. They don't walk into a hotel under the cover of night and start shooting down everyone in sight. They fight in a battlefield, beginning at dawn and ending at dusk. And they fight soldier-to-soldier. Not soldier-to-civilian.

They fight and die for their country, not some far-fetched notion of heaven. For them, heaven IS their country. They are heroes, who their children look up to. Their parents walk tall in the world, proud of their sons, never having to explain their boy's religious affiliation, never having to wonder how he went so bad.

Real men know love, friendship, courage, the meaning of family and the vitality of peace.

So, when you aren't even real men, give me one good reason why we should be afraid of you.

Arigato For the Future, Japan

Now we're talking.

Seriously, what sort of oil sludge-like time warp have the Big Three been stuck in anyway? Not a single thing "Big" about them but their pocketbooks.

Speaking of which, their executives should definitely take a leaf out of this guy's book:

Marhaba Atlantis

Wow.

Nuff said.