facebook and all that jazz

Ok, I know, but how could I NOT have a post about this?

First of all, you're considered an outcast if you don't have a Facebook account. And then it promotes voyeurism. Which is very hard to resist unless you're a saint in the Himalayas. But then last I heard, even highly reputed spiritual organisations have Facebook pages-to promote culture. Oh the irony.

Second, it is very, very disturbing to see little girls of twelve and thirteen change their "relationship statuses" every few days. Honestly, just how "complicated" has life gotten for a thirteen year old? I can already see anthropological studies in the future named "Social changes and stigma - The Facebook Era", or "Effect of networking - how Facebook transformed behavioral trends of a generation".

There is a barrage of statuses: moods, locations, love life (eeekkk!), blah, blah and more blah. Since when did we develop the sudden need to publish every single thought, action and non-action? Or did we always have this major craving to let the world know what brand of toothpaste we use, and couldn't, and then Zuckerberg gave us just the way out?

I still find some of the stuff pretentious. Sworn enemies being so courteous on Facebook they could put Michelle Obama to absolute shame-
 "yes dah-ling, you have SUCH a beautiful baby, it must feel great!" (I hope you never lose all that unwanted weight),
"Gorgeous babe" (Wait till you see MY pictures b****)
"very nice pic" /"you look great" / "wow" (I have nothing to say, but am obligated to because YOU said that to ME)

 The Facebook wall, is simply, a way to advertise just who you are, where you go, and what you do. Therefore the "My feet are killing me with all the dancing (million !!!'s ) that was such a killerrr parrtyyy yaarrr such-and-such place is very happening".

There are tons of things that are great, too. Who would've thought that the best way to advertise your candle-making skills, and increase your sales without having to pay a consultant, was a social networking site? At least I never thought that an author who's book I read would be my "friend". Also, there are some geniuses out there who make my day by posting some unbelievably hilarious links that get me through a very monotonous workday. And whether you are an entrepreneur, small business proprietor or a big time retail outlet, you just have to have a Facebook "presence". Social Media Marketing, is the next big thing, apparently.

I guess you have to take the good with the bad, but how does "liking"  Save The Tiger page, save the tiger? Or putting the colour of your un-mentionables help women with serious illnesses?

Food for thought : A newsfeed on my Facebook homepage read " Socalled Somesuch Likes Children With Disability"

Of cab rides and the internet.

Cab rides can change your life! Believe you me!

There is a certain thrill in riding a cab. It's definitely not as simple as boarding a cab and then un-boarding it.
It in fact involves : Run for cab like your life depends on it / wait on road for cab while a bum appraises you critically and a random jogger feels free to peer at you weirdly. Then you listen to the cab driver give you an earful in the local language that always starts with "eeen madummmm yake.....". Then the ride. Can be harrowing the first few days. The cab driver will show you skills that make you feel stupid for ever thinking Fast and the Furious was, in fact, fast and furious. Any cab driver believes that fighting against time comes with the job description. And then, two days, later, you don't think twice about letting the cab driver be the owner of your life and limb for the entirety of the ride.

Honestly, listening to Vivaldi, while the human race is rushing past you in all its glory (bumpy roads, cows, jaywalking men,overflowing buses, the driver consequently shaking his fist while miraculously driving the whole time) is a thing of beauty.

And then the internet has me possessed like never, ever before! It is beginning to take a toll on my social life, and my reading. It's amazing, having been off it, to realise just HOW much of a change you can affect. From leaking cables to fixing your leaking pipes. Although I have my reservations about the lack of control this generation (dam, I feel old) has about keeping private things private. (I honestly don't want to know what you ate where you went and how your broken heart can never be fixed, OR the colour of your shoes today.)

But then again, changing with the times is inevitable I suppose. And discovering a new and awesome website gives you almost as much of a high as the afore mentioned cab ride does! Twitter?

Patriotism?

Is it just me, or has love for the country as a concept died out?

The week that was, and wasn't.

The week that was: (Well technically last week, I left it to rot in drafts)

Hectic. I didn't get to eat on time, missed out on sleep, generally went crazy with the demands of a job on the suddenly (unsatisfactorily) employed! (but the details of that are the story for another post altogether)

Boring. When it boils to it, work, is, simply put, mind numbingly boring. I wish I could find a job that involves a lot of reading, writing and surfing the internet and pays well. (Dream on, I hear?) Sigh.

Hard hitting. Julian Assange was in and out of jail. I admire the people who were able to dig out such obscure Swedish laws to put this man in jail. (there is something very very irresistibly appealing about a man like Assange, with his eccentric mannerisms, just like there is something irresistible about Arundhati Roy)

Nostalgia-inducing. A dear friend I've known since kindergarten is now engaged and is going to be tying the knot. Nothing brings reality pouring down on you like a bucket of ice, like knowing your best friend's life is going to transform beyond your comprehension.

Expensive. Onions are expensive. A friend took a dig at it by posting pictures of a cheap bag of onions from the UK where he is currently settled. And to add insult upon injury, not a lot of people here even KNEW about the oh-nion saga. I am beginning to wonder how the common man is going to survive,eat grass?? We certainly seem to have a lot of politicians who'd take the "eat cake" road. I hope a revolution is brewing. ( A girl can dream.)

What it was not:

The much anticipated nerd attack, Anonymous's horde of nerds fighting back (enlisting the help of the common computer-owning man's support, of course) did not have a great outcome. It was definitely not a week where the freedom of speech won. (for everything else, there's Mastercard?)

It was not a week to blow up cash, the new job hasn't paid (off) yet!

Was a terrible week, nation wise, accusations hurling like nukes from Ratan Tata to Rajeev Chandrashekar, scams galore, raids, more accusations, more scams. Just another day in India, right?

Definitely not the week to consider joining Twitter.

All in all, the mundane in this country is anything but. sigh. And here I was dreaming about Change. What a lot of *&^%%$@##$.