vindaloo

Just finished reading an interesting book called: Why the nations rage: Killing in the name of GOD. It provides an interesting perspective on the entire jihad ideology followed by certain men. I liked the way the author went systematically into the history of the entire war and dated event back to the 6 and 7 hundred AD. I love history and this book added a lot to my kitty.
Actually i read the book twice from cover to cover, still some of the terms in the book, I just could not comprehend. In reality I am probably going to rent the book from the library one more time and read it again. Well the content in the book is more of a study and I read the book in a story reading format and have not been able to grasp all the content as yet, especially the parts on the history of the balkans. Well the balkans are a very interesting part of the world because they have always been in the thick of things and that is what makes their history so interesting. I will have to get a few books more on the topic though as this one just has brief entries in it.
inspite of the fact that title of the book would suggests it is a book on Religion it is more about Nationalism, and how people cofuse nationality with their religious beliefs and the problems that the confusion creates.
There were a few very interesting quotes in the book,

Self-determination becomes... dangerous when a nation state becomes exclusive rather than inclusive... This is because “as a cultural ideal, nationalism is the claim that while men and women have many identities, it is the nation which provides them with their primary form of belonging.”

This is a good book for anyone who wants to get a perspective of the rationale behind religous wars. This book is based on the writings of several other authors. The thought the author is trying to portray is A person’s identity — their sense of self and of who they are — will be made up from many different elements: religion, family, gender, community, ethnicity, race, and so forth. In the modern world, nationality is a part of this list and there is nothing wrong with that. Nationality is no more an invalid ingredient in one’s sense of personal identity than ethnicity or race.

With this book I promised myself to get back to reading more about Eastern European history.

Last week was another reason for my friends to call me a nomad. I was of to Calgary for some personal work. A few odd things happened on the way. The first major hinderance was the flight tickets. I found it ridiculous how I could not get a single ticket to go directly to Canada from JFK or Newark. What was even more ridiculous was the fact that all flights to Calgary were from Phoenix. Phoenix! I want to go further North..and to do that Ive gotta go South..why do they have these weird routes. So I tried another route I decided to drive to Toronto and catch a flight from there...well no the Air companies are much smarter...the only flight from Toronto was a flight to Phoenix and back to Calgary...
So Finally on Tuesday I caught the flight from Newark to Calgary..the temperature changes on the way were huge..I started at 48 F in newark and went to a 93 F in phoenix to a 29 F in Calagary...
Calgary is a small place and I was really sad that there was not a lot to explore..though didnt feel like exploring a lot in the city on a cold subzero temperature day..
Must say that officially I hate kids on a flight I have had it with cute things kicking my butt when Im desperately trying to catch some zzz's after 40 hours of work. Another observation that I have always felt is that male pursors are so much more cordial compared to air hostesses. Just an observation I must say.
Another tick mark on my chart...Canada visited Arizona visited Seattle visited...
I've got just about some 500 mor ecountries and 30 more states to visit...
hope I can make all the states by the end of 2006...I dont think I can make it to all the coutries but would love to do a lot of them Mexico, England next on my list.

The other day I found this rose in my backyard. I am not really sure how it got there, must be the neighbors, but it really brightened my spirits. Yeah a rose in the winter, when every other tree with waning foliage has a insepid look to it, here I have a rose in full bloom. I dont know what lesson I was to learn from this, but looking at the only flower in my backyard, at the start of winter I guess the rose was a sign of good times to come.

Friend. The term seems very relative to me. Recently I have lost perspective in the true definition of the term friend. What or who is a real friend? If someone is your friend are there any rules the so called friend follows. Are there certain duties one has to do to keep the coveted title. What is it that makes someone a friend.
I always thought of a few people I knew as close friends. People I called up regularly and spoke to in detail about my problems, actually more than often I was on the receiving end and listened to their problems. People I went out regularly with, who I could call any time I needed company. People who knew a great deal about me well not a great deal may be a little.
Well I am not particularly good at making friends. Don’t get me wrong here. I love social gatherings and love to make acquaintances but am not good at keeping long term relationships and with these people. Basically I like to inhabit a particular group of living beings, adapt to their ways and then mix around with them. Then after a period of 2 years or so move to a different environment. I like to meet new people. But in doing so I have kept a few people in the loop for a long time, and it is these people I credit as being friends. But I wonder if they still fit the role as I don’t speak with them that often now, I don’t see them more than once in 2 years. The only method of contact is a card or two on a b’day or an anniversary.
As a kid I’d always hear my parents talk of their friends, the group of people they grew up with, and had known for more than 15 to 20 years. I’m 28 and there is no person that I know that I have kept in contact with for more than 5 or 6 years at most. Guess my nomadic habits have a big part to do with this.
So back to the real question how does one designate some person as a friend. Are my friends the group of people I come in contact with daily. The guys I lived with for 2 years, the group of people I hung out with in college, the guys that I spent 10 years of my life in school, the youth from my parish, my colleagues at work.
How do you guys out there tag your friends ?

I wonder whether I will ever fit the image created by this
Simon and Garfunkel Song.

Old friends, old friends,
Sat on their parkbench like bookends
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
of the high shoes of the old friends

Old friends, winter companions, the old men
Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city sifting through trees
Settles like dust on the shoulders of the old friends

Can you imagine us years from today,
Sharing a parkbench quietly
How terribly strange to be seventy

Old friends, memory brushes the same years,
Silently sharing the same fears