Monday, January 8th, 2007

Time	Event
9:21a	A very Good And Rant-ish morning to me. The best part about waking up in time for breakfast is waking up in time for breakfast. That is the singular reasonable excuse. And I'm up in time for breakfast today after ages. I only hope it's not some disgusting moong daal chilla or some such shit. That ruins everything. On other things, Shalimar the Clown, by Shalimar Rushdie (Ref: Some post earlier.)is not a bad book but the problem with pirated copies is the bad printing. But the MOST annoying problem is when pages are repeated haphazardly or worse still, they don't exist. This book has thankfully no missing pages. And Rushdie is a good writer regardless of the faux pas on the cover. Hehe... Though yeah, that's still no reasonable excuse for the disgusting printing quality. Makes my eyes bleed, reading it, at times, it does. The last and final term here, begins its end today. Relief is but a job away now. Also, pigeons are dumb. I know I've said it earlier, but the fact bears repetition as they have start invading my room post the holidays again, flying in and out (There's one sitting on the door cooing obnoxiously. The sound is extremely disturbing to anyone who's ever been subjected to it. It sounds guttural and retarded.)with previously known but now forgotten, alacrity. I blame the holidays! And a couple have laid two more eggs on the telephone stand again. I won't even start on the dead baby pigeon I needed to bury the last time because they did the exact same thing last term. But then again, they ARE dumb. pleiades Current Mood: awake Current Music: Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz (Comment on this)
10:33a	Lessons in Ethical Corporate Communications and Media Broadcasting There was this article by Abhishek Bondia from Center For Civil Society in the ToI editorial I happened to come across at the mess during breakfast today and it speaks of the thin or not so thin (perhaps) line that distinguishes a good CSR activity from a bad CSR activity. It's got mostly to do with staying a healthy distance away from charity, as he sums it up in the last paragraph of the article: Having said that, it is also important that one should not always aim to get a direct benefit from what one invests in society. Such steps need not always be directly beneficial to business but certainly must be relevant to the objectives of the organisation. I am in complete agreement, but (as always) there's a slight problem with the acceptance of this logic by companies. It is in direct conflict with the altruist's true nature more often than not, IMHO. Also, among other news: The Media Idiots who choose to call themselves the I&B Minstry and command significant authority over all information broadcasted in the country, are at it again. An excerpt from the article: "The I&B ministry is back to doing what it does best inventing new ways to stymie private broadcasters. It has firmed up the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharti) Bill that will come before the cabinet shortly. If approved, it would be mandatory for broadcasters to share live feeds of major sporting events with Prasar Bharti, the body that oversees the management and functioning of DD and AIR. If that were not bad enough, there's more. The government will invest itself with the power to determine the conditions under the new Bill." It is dystopian. Though I shouldn't really complain, much. I am not an avid sporting events enthusiast, not even remotely so, rather. But this paragraph from the article sums up the Media Industry's fear best: "What is more worrisome are the implications for a truly free media. Though not overt, the ministry's various machinations are a throwback to times where propaganda was the order of the day. The argument that it is in the greater common good that content must be shared with DD is, at best, specious." Especially, as the article rightly points out, (And So does NRS), the growing number of Satelite TV households in rural India. However, I don't quite agree with the paragraph that follows the above: "Satellite television's penetration in the country, both rural and urban, is widespread and more people want to tune into the channel that gives them superior coverage. Consumer choice is the casualty of government's move to place curbs, at every turn, on private broadcasters." The last sentence is way too complicated. In simpler words, and I think this is what the article wants to say: Consumer's choice increases, but it's bad for the broadcasters since the average OTS (Opportunity to see) reduces with more channels broadcasting the same stuff. That, is the problem, I guess... Finally! I see at least some visible advantage to sitting through day-long lectures in Media Broadcasting I've never really cared about much before. You do learn to use some nifty jargon. OTS. Heh! pleiades Current Mood: awake Current Music: You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon (Comment on this)
12:24p	On Birthday Parties or Why I Am An Atheist This one Strip from Suki reminded me of a friend today. One of my closest friends, who was (and still is) also a Jehovah's Witness, is against celebrating birthdays. She is also against a lot of other things such as blood transfusions etc. Her reasons were based on what the Bible said. I tried looking at it from her point of view a number of times, but I just couldn't understand them. She gave me a lot of stuff to read on how such a complicated world is nothing but a result of intelligent design and suchlike. I attended quite a few Kingdom Hall meetings as well. But I just didn't get the reason till I came to live in a hostel, which is occupied by some 60 students in one batch usually. This makes it an average of 5 birthdays a month. Celebrating 5 birthdays a month can get a little taxing, at times, with all the noise. I don't attend birthday celebrations in the courtyard. That makes me weird, I suppose, but I'd rather stick to sending out personal emails indicating my pleasure on the date of their arrival to the world, nevertheless. I was glad when I heard that my birthday would be spent at home with family and some good time with myself since it occured during the term break. But, since celebrating birthdays is so darn unavoidable, my birthday was celebrated too, with someone else' birthday, as much as I'd've liked to avoid it. My reasons therefore, are of a very personal nature, unlike my friend, who had the Bible to prove her reasons, perhaps. Maintaining your personal POV and avoiding being a party pooper is tough. But one's got to manage what one's got to manage I suppose. You can't have your cake and eat it too, to use the old adadge. But even though I understand the reason behind people trusting written words more than spoken. Them being more definitive and all. I don't think it's fair that my friend gets a valid excuse to skip birthday parties 'coz she carries with her a personal excuse of a strong nature but I don't. Ah well... C'est La Vie as they say in France or Carpe Diem elsewhere, in the language of your preference. pleiades Current Mood: apathetic Current Music: Give It Away - Zero 7 (Comment on this)
9:20p	Pardon sil vous plait. Alternate Title: So Long and Thanks for all the fish. I'm not a fan of practical jokes. I've never been. They're not funny. Disclaimer to the above: Not meant for human(e) consumption. Please leave the post alone. pleiades Current Mood: tired Current Music: In The Waiting Line - Zero 7 (Comment on this)

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