"POMMY good manners cost them their lives"

One of the news at today's BBC website was an article about why more British passengers died in the 1912 Titanic crash. It says the "more polite" Britons suffered higher mortality than the Americans, because they were "gentlemanly" while Americans were "individualist".

Obviously, there have been various reactions to this claim.

This blogger at wordpress goes so far as to say that "the idea of lining up for something is completely alien to the Americans" (and Russians, sic).

Some serious reading at news.com.au and softpedia.com suggests that this survival of Americans is curious, given the fact they were not well versed with survival techniques at sea, especially compared to the passengers from water-locked Britain.

Ironically, this same fact could have served to the Americans' advantage because they tended to rush to the lifeboats while the Britons realized that by panicking and running around desperately they would only delay the overall rescue effort.

The conclusion seems to be that given the circumstances and the participants, the Darwinism theory of "survival of the fittest" did not really matter; social norms and altruism prevailed.

IMHO, this is incorrect; the fittest did survive! The altruist Briton perished, didn't he?

On a lighter note, as with all news this one was also toyed with, as is evident by this conversation at forums.somethingawful.com

The Moment - 44th President of the United States of America

In an attempt to generate a 3D panorama of the Presidential inauguration ceremony, CNN has requested contributions from spectators present at the function. Contributors will need to e-mail their original photographs to CNN. The photos will also be used on CNN's iReport.

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/44.president/inauguration/themoment/

One shot on CNN TV showed a massive collage, with an almost 360 degree panoramic view of the oath ceremony.

Musing .. about a young friend

Musing

; verb, Reflect deeply on a subject
; noun, A calm lengthy intent consideration
; adj, Persistently or morbidly thoughtful

I expect the nature of my writing here to shift between the first and the second forms. I'd like to steer them clear of the third, but only the end will tell.

I have lately entered into a lovely new friendship. Calling it a relationship would be inadequate. I strongly support the construct that in a friendship of opposite genders, either one of them has been or will be in love with the other at some point of time. The beauty of such a relation is that, if love happens to both simultaneously then the friendship matures into love. Otherwise it takes a different kind of maturity to overcome the obstacles of unfulfilled love and get the friendship onto a solid basis.

While there is no danger that I may be any such situation I still find myself loving my new friend. That we are determined not to turn into lovers is socially the right thing, but naturally the antipodal.

I love my friend in more than one ways.

I respect my friend's determination and understanding. The small ways in which he (could be she, but am making it easier by using he) shows his caring towards people all around him is a pleasure to watch. More than once have I caught myself wondering whether I could ever be such a caring demonstrative person?

The enthusiasm with which he faces life head-on is something only a person with superb self-confidence can handle.

He is so full of life and so has so many interests that almost border on passion. I have seen, felt and heard how he excitedly discusses interesting facets of the things he likes and the passion is very easy to see.

And I wonder how long it will last. I have a sense of loss in me, for when I see him I see what I have lost in myself. The exuberance of youth, does not apply to him simply because he does not qualify for it. I recognize this is something to do with his core being and I pray that it outlive him. How otherwise will he have it all his life?

If there was anything I could give him, it would be the lesson of my experiences, and how not to take the path that I took. I realize that his nature and character are a matter of upbringing, so there is no fear of him losing them. But if I could, I would will him to keep his passion afire forever. Let not the passage of time dull the intensity of his passion. Let not a few grey hairs reduce the cheer of his smile. Let his gaiety not be endangered by the barrage of experiences.

When You are Old - by W. B. Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

-- written on 20-Nov-2006

3WQ - Threee Word Quotes

While looking around for some brief quotes to put on my Orkut profile I stumbled upon this nice collection on Scribd. It's a collection of really abbreviated quotes, just three words, each making profound sense.

Here is a sneak peek .... Accept or Change ----------- Let go Now ................ Be the Change ----------------- Wise men discuss ............... and so on.

The alphabet soup of Recessions

Here I was, thinking all recessions are the same.. no money, no jobs and lot of headless-chicken attitude (sic!) Obviously that is not the case, and as with all sciences, the science of recessions does include a tidy system to classify recessions.

An article on thebigmoney.com explains ....

Why are downturns labeled with letters?
By Martha C. White Posted Monday, January 12, 2009 - 7:42am

A popular question for economists lately has been what shape this recession will take. Will it be a “U,” a “V,” or maybe an “L”? Could we even find ourselves caught up in the roller coaster of a “W,” just when we think we’ve finally voted out that letter once and for all? What’s with the alphabet soup?

This categorization is a kind of verbal shorthand for describing the shape of the ups and downs of the gross domestic product and the broader economy.

The complete article is here

And then there was ice...

Last night's experience driving home from the gym and trying to park the Honda Accord was ample warning of things to come. But even I wasn't prepared to see icicles right there on my own balcony !

Gone in 7 seconds !!

This was the scariest snowfall I've experienced till date. One moment it was all sunny and bright outside, the next it was a whitewash of large snowflakes hurling themselves tumultuously against one another!

I was reminded of the show by Tony V & Kenny Rogerson at the Boston First Night 2009, when he cracked a joke about the New England weather; "it's bright sun outside, you bend down to tie your shoelaces to step out and get some beers, when you are done and look up..... " :-)





PS: CNN news at 4:00 PM finally mentioned Burlington, Bedford and Billerica as impact sites for the snow storm ;-)

Where does this leave PricewaterhouseCoopers ?

With the very disturbing news of fraud at Satyam Computers comes the bigger question that has nagged the economy for all of 2008, why wasn't this detected earlier? Were telltale symptoms deliberately ignored?

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the statutory auditors for Satyam released a statement saying "its audits were 'supported by appropriate evidence'".

Where does it leave the efficiency of audits? Aren't these practices supposed to identify shortfalls and deficiencies in processes followed? How much of this fraud should be shouldered by PwC? Can the world economy afford to have such carelessness by the very people who are responsible to ensure that things don't fall apart?

And what about all of Satyam's clients and their auditors in turn? Don't they deserve to share the blame-pie for not paying attention to whom they did business with?

Whose responsibility is it finally, to audit the auditors?

Thank you for your time

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important..... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture..... Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said.

"What box?" Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. "Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."

Revolutionary Road

It's been quite a while since a movie was so heavily laden with undercurrents. Dreams and disillusionment, hope and hopelessness, the essence of life and the practicality of survival, all aspects of humanity are portrayed in this movie based on the novel by Richard Yates.

It's about a young couple who believe in the beauty of life and dream of living it on their terms, but become unwitting participants in the shallowness of social trappings. Kate Winslet is her natural self as a young mother who longs to satisfy her yearning for a life beyond the cliched "normalcy". Leonardo DiCaprio as the husband and father struggling with his emotions is equally good, if not quite natural.

Frank and April Wheeler are "that wonderful Wheeler couple" who have everything going for them; a large house, two lovely kids, a well paying job and a respectable neighborhood. Frank knows that whatever else he gets in life, he definitely does not want to have the ordinary life his salesman father lived. April urges Frank to explore himself and find his own essence to life. However their failure to come to terms with their existing life spreads a sheen of darkness.

When they decide to get their life out of the rut and move to Paris with their two children the movie becomes a vivid tapestry of emotions. Friends explain the futility of pursuing dreams but there is a strong thread of feelings. Resentment at their happiness, wistfulness at their excitement, envy at their freedom, and a sadness at the realization of failure to do something similar. Sensing all these emotions almost takes ones breath away. It is as if each character wants to break free just like the Wheelers, but they cannot, or will dare not. Then there comes a point where Frank Wheeler faces the chance to redeem the emptiness of his father's life by ironically accepting the same emptiness for himself.

The movie does not make any judgments nor passes any verdicts, but there is a feeling of some comparison going on, some involuntary fight going on. Revolutionary Road is not about doing the right thing or even the best thing, it is about feeling what is alive and doing what you feel is alive.

In a way it is ironic that the only character in the movie that gets even close to understanding the Wheelers is John Givings, the institutionalized son of local realtor who is able to sense the eagerness for life shimmering beneath their dull existence.

If a movie can be judged by the mood of the crowds exiting the movie hall Revolutionary Road is a movie that forces each of us to take a truthful look within ourself. When the book was published in 1961, it received critical acclaim, and the New York Times rightly reviewed it as "beautifully crafted... remarkable and deeply troubling". The same goes for the movie.