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Jay

Jay

"People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading."
- Logan Pearsall Smith

26 year old Indian. Techie. Avid reader. For as long as I can remember.
The genres have changed over the times. Nowadays it is more non-fiction - economics, business. Also, nowadays finding that I spend way too much time on my google reader...more »
  • Davenport, IA
  • member since Thursday, August 16 2007

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Public Notes

  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    Ha ha, I like that story! Yes, there is quite a lot of English bashing amongst Scottish people, and it goes in the opposite direction, too. Most of it's taken in good part, though.

    My experience of the US so far is mixed. I agree with you that yes, they aren't shy about discussing "delicate" issues but from what I've seen, no one really wants to actually do anything about these things. For example, whenever I watch the local Pittsburgh news, there is quite often stories about people being shot dead and such like, and because these incidents occur in poor, predominantly African American areas nobody really cares that these people are dying for no reason and so no attempt is made to stop these things happening. I could be wrong, but from what I know in the UK (in certain areas at least) there is more of an attempt at integration and people have at least some appreciation of different religions and cultures.

    I just can't understand why people think America is the pinnacle of culture and enlightenment. My neighbour is from Kazakhstan (where Borat is from, if you've seen that movie) and she says she is treated like a movie star when she goes back to visit, just coz she lives in the US!! Bu I do agree with you that globalisation isn't all bad and bringing technology to more people is definitely a good thing. And it is naive and idealistic to think that cultures and traditions will remain unaffected by modern advances, I suppose things are constantly shifting and evolving whether we like it or not.

    OK, I think I let my fingers go on for too long also! :)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    In my last post I meant to say I didn't know there was such a thing as the braveheart experience, not bagpipes, as it reads. Apologies, it's late!

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    So you like the sound of the bagpipes, then?!? That's, funny, I didn't even know there was such a thing. What did they do, take up the Wallace monument and then showed you some bit of grass that was the site of some ancient battle? (Sorry, I don't mean to be sarcastic).

    I really like your blog - you are really articulate. There is no way I would be able to put down all the mess of thoughts that are in my head so well. The best I can do is a facebook and a bebo page that just has a few random details about myself.

    I particularly liked your story about Jack the taxi driver, it reminded me of when I was walking round the area where I live in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago and saw an old white man wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Obama and Hillary on it. After a closer inspection I noticed a slogan beneath the pic that read "Bros Not Hoes". I just stared at him in disbelief (I was too shocked to say anything to him, actually I still am), but he was oblivious to me and everything else around him....

    Obviously you know way more about economics than I do - all I know is that it really pisses me off when every city or large town I visit has a McDonalds or a Starbucks on every corner. And the fact that areas of the major Indian cities could be mistaken for NYC just makes me really depressed. Not that I have anything against Manhattan, but if I went to India I would want to see India, not some American clone (OK, rant over, sorry!)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    I loved The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy made Kerala sound so beautiful, in contrast with the story. I would love to visit India, so far I've only seen Western civilisations, which definitely get a bit repetitive after a while thanks to globalisation. I'm from Scotland originally and have only been in Pittsburgh for just over a year. In the city they have done their best to sweep aside its industrial past (they built a shopping mall on top of the site of the former major steel plant in the city - typical for Americans I suppose!) so I think you'd have to go beyond the city itself to see any evidence of its former glory. I did see pictures of downtown Pitt taken in the early 1900s where it was pitch black first thing in the morning due to all the smog, so its probably no wonder they want to forget.

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    No, the brain is a far too complicated organ for my mind to get around - so far I have only stuck to the nervous system in the periphery, much more simple!! Sorry, don't mean to boe.

    I have never come across Phantoms in the Brain before, sounds like a really interesting read.

    Where in India are you from (if you don't mind to me being nosey)?
    I used to be friends with a really lovely girl from Bangalore, whom I met in Queensland, Australia, but I sadly lost contact with her.

    Thanks for being my friend! :)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    Hey, I thought I'd report back. I just finished Zen and the Art... and felt really inspired by it. I'm a scientist by trade (neurophysiologist to be more precise) and I found all the bits about the limitations of science, or more specifically how we're all causing chaos rather than finding answers, really interesting. It definitely has made me think a lot more deeply about what I'm doing.

    Would you recommend Lila also? I was going to read Think on These Things by Krishnamurti next, have you read this?

    Apologies for the multitude of questions....

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    Cool, thanks for the info. I've just picked up a copy of Zen and the Art...., and I'll look into Krishnamurthy & Osho once I get back home. Your help is much appreciated.

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Katrina R

    katrina r says

    Hi, I thought I'd stop by and say hello. A bit random, I know but I'm looking to read more non-fiction particularly eastern philosophy/meditation (after reading Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse), which is how I stumbled by your shelf. Anything in particular you'd recommend?

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • AthenasDaughter

    athenasdaughter says

    Wow - you enjoy T Jefferson as well?? You're the first one who's ever expressed that! What do you like about him? What sort of book would interest you (policies, personal history, etc). :)

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Rain

    rain says

    Thanks for the note. To be honest? i read " the road less travelled" in 1999. It was an assignment in one of my subjects.... I just remember that its about psychology of love, traditional values and Spiritual growth

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Rain

    rain says

    i havent encountered any of your faborite books but you are welcome to discuss them with me.... will you??? thanks.....

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Anuradha C

    anuradha c says

    Hey , thanks, my blog has some other posts other than travel:)
    The book is on my reading list, haven't yet found the time to get to it . Like you a bit of reading happens via google reader.
    You seem to be an avid reader as well..
    Cheers

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • rob

    rob says

    wellll...the thing w/ Eco is that he never writes the same way twice, every one of his books is different from every other...The Name of the Rose is nothing like Foucault's Pendulum, and FP is nothing like The Island of the Day Before, which is nothing like Baudolino...his most popular and easily accessible is The Name of the Rose, which is an historical-fiction mystery, everyone loves that one, myself, I hated it, lol...my fave of his though is Island of the Day Before, it's a beautifully fable, his funniest is Baudolino, which is a satire, and his trickiest is Foucault's Pendulum, so you're mostly picking what you're in the mood for...if you go w/ FP though, one thing to keep in mind, the thing that makes people hate it cause it doesnt seem to make sense, is that, Eco, who can be a very diabolical writer, is making fun of everything he's writing about, and he's also making fun of you, the reader...you have to remember that he was laughing his ass off while he wrote it, then it's easier to 'get'...

    (grins) hope that helps a bit...

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sneha

    sneha says

    still stuck with old man and the sea??

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • martinanewberry

    martinanewberry says

    What a lovely thing to say! Thank you so much.

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sneha

    sneha says

    hiya thr....u din't give me a feedback my friend....have u read the book?....the old man and the sea if u have forgotten...

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sneha

    sneha says

    well this what i feel about the book...u may or may not like it. happy reading!!

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sneha

    sneha says

    well old man and the sea is a magnificent story. at one level it is a tale of a man and a fish,and at another a story of man versus nature. it is a stury of the culture of manhood, courage, bravery in the face of existence. the story is told with an incredible economy of words and descrition. it is worth a read. it also has a side tale. i think this is enough and do get back to me when u read it.

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Suze

    suze says

    Top five favorite books? :)

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • blonde_oxymoron

    blonde_oxymoron says

    You are welcome x3.

    :)

    ~k

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )


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