tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64045123086798356102011-09-12T00:10:04.149-04:00I call it cultural dyslexia - that flipping of continents like an 'A' becoming an 'O' before it becomes a scream. To love becomes To live and in certain light my brown skin seems black while in other light I wonder if it could be white. My accented voice mourns, sings dirge after dirge of hollow yearning for a continent I can call my own where I can swim, naked like a fish, and maybe, for once, be beautiful.bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-37754513739086591392010-03-26T10:45:00.005-04:002010-03-26T11:51:23.897-04:00

I know that everyone (except the wingnuts) is celebrating the passage of this "landmark" health insurance bill, and without wanting to sound like a merchant of gloom on a sunny day, I really wish someone would explain to me how forcing people to buy a for-profit product doesn't scare the bejesus out of you. Personally, it really freaks me out.What also freaks me out is the tea partiers yelling

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-73499872626860631892010-03-18T00:44:00.003-04:002010-03-18T01:01:01.861-04:00

{(Watching too many documentaries on corporate takeover)}Is a sustainable system of life so unreachable? I, personally, don't want all my grain coming from 6 megalithic agro-industrial businesses.... I don't want farmers dying over the food I have to consume.(I'd rather starve)What has happened here?The tigers are dying. The bears are dying. The wolves are dying. Fuck climate change!We're killing

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-22968363009036852892010-03-17T00:23:00.002-04:002010-03-17T00:41:27.135-04:00

1. Wild ducks are arriving in the Northern Hemisphere upon the advent of Spring. 2. No corporation owns the wild ducks. 3. Can art change the world? 4. No. 5. Can art change the world? 6. Yes. 7. The wild ducks are signaling their arrival with loud hoots in the midnight sky. 8. Which corporation owns the wild ducks? 9. Which corporation owns the sky in which they fly? 10. Which corporation owns

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-85355019216519376302010-02-17T13:19:00.003-05:002010-03-17T00:54:41.299-04:00

Time ZonesYou are late I have been waiting a long time. Here in New York it is midnight - the snow is silent beneath the brownstone streets except for the occasional footfall or the arbitrary ambulance - splash of dirty tires upon feral cat - Across the compound someone turns out the light. It reminds me that here in New York It is midnight. I have been waiting a very long time. In London it

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-35307910378036753812009-11-13T10:03:00.006-05:002009-11-24T16:37:21.696-05:00

Fuck it, I'm coming out of the closet: I love Ralph Nader. I think he is this country's only hope, and all the Dems screaming bloody murder at him for getting Bush elected eight years ago need to take a chill pill and think clearly for a second.The two party system in this country is a facade. As Arundhati Roy said a few years ago, "It's not a real choice. It's an apparent choice. Like choosing a

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-35728170573707291362009-11-05T09:53:00.008-05:002009-11-05T22:30:12.388-05:00

I forgot to wish Obama a happy anniversary on Tuesday.And while I might be forgetful, I've been noticing that his progressive base is suddenly turning critical! This is the title of an article by Ariana Huffington: The Audacity of Winning vs. the Timidity of Governing. Here is one by Bill Maher: Is This as Good as it Gets From Obama?All this criticism is lining up well for me with the release of

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-15028557679028121462009-11-02T22:46:00.002-05:002009-11-02T22:54:07.720-05:00

Sorry, in advance, loyal Mac users, but I find the commercials of your Lord and Master incredibly offensive. Classist, even.JUST BECAUSE SOME OF US CANNOT AFFORD SHINY MACS DOES NOT MAKE US DORKS WEARING UGLY BROWN SUITS.Frankly, I think the PC is far more egalitarian as computers go. Yeah, maybe we don't have the sexy graphic cards and other gizmos, but we're all about accessibility and The

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-68932491223016204252009-11-01T20:23:00.004-05:002009-11-01T20:47:58.595-05:00

Gather round me, children, I have a story to tell you. It is not one of big men, nor one of little men. It is one of the disappearing Bush.Once upon a time, adult human beings sported hair between their legs. The function of this hair was oft debated, but it masked the most private regions and lent an air of mystery to the concept of copulation. Those were wild times, indeed. Now, now, little

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-24332866477738995692009-10-28T10:48:00.006-04:002009-10-28T12:14:33.688-04:00

It's incredibly difficult for me to pretend I care about Global Climate Change. A few months ago, my very good friend came to visit and we ended up arguing about the issue. It was strange for us to disagree -- we've always been on the same page about things, or perhaps I never quite said what I felt. Anyhow, it led me to spend some time thinking about my position on this supposedly dire issue.Let

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-58104002287211344122009-10-06T12:42:00.003-04:002009-10-06T13:05:08.998-04:00

This whole health debate is really starting to make me sick. And the fact that more people aren't protesting this idiotic mandate makes me seriously angry. It was bad enough that the discussion about health reform turned into one about insurance reform, but to not see the fascist overtures of a mandate really boggles my mind.Honestly, I've had a hard time even accepting car insurance mandates.

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-18796658036116759272009-06-05T16:33:00.005-04:002009-06-05T18:13:21.100-04:00

Look, it's really simple: the concept of health insurance is bogus.For that matter, car insurance (liability), the way American society mandates it, is also bogus. The idea of paying a premium to safeguard against the potential loss or damage of property is the basic premise of "insurance" as we know it. You have a $200,000 car, you want its value secured, cool, you can take out a policy to

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-34978445296358107892009-06-01T22:30:00.006-04:002009-06-01T23:01:05.877-04:00

Are you Pro-Life?If you support Capital Punishment, you're not Pro-Life.If you buy conflict diamonds, you're not Pro-Life.If you have shares in companies that foster the arms' race and create military technology, you're not Pro-Life.If you support totalitarian regimes like China, buy their goods and turn a blind eye towards their practices, such as pretty much funding the genocide in Darfur, not

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-17948413817828054722009-06-01T15:16:00.007-04:002009-06-01T22:58:40.862-04:00

For all my ranting and raving, I keep my Pro-Choice Voice down most of the time, because, well, part of being Pro-Choice is that you respect the choices of others, however bizarre they may seem at times. But today, the senseless murder of Dr. Tiller in Kansas has my blood boiling and my PCV (Pro-Choice Voice) is deafening me with its screams.Here I go...Hey you Pro-Lifers!! Are you out there

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-76124468106879801522009-03-20T17:12:00.005-04:002009-03-20T17:15:51.367-04:00

The six year anniversary of war in Iraq, and the most emailed article in the New York Times is about the Obamas growing a vegetable garden in the White House. People weren't paying attention then, and they're not paying attention now. Sure, we're all glad the Obamas eat their vegetables but I'm more concerned about what's on his plate politically.This confirms my argument that the NYtimes is

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-68737350069622022742009-01-31T01:11:00.002-05:002009-01-31T01:18:47.075-05:00

Slumdog Millionaire. Charming film. Honest. Sensitive. I liked it. Felt it was unflinching in its portrayal of Mumbai. I just discovered (about 2 weeks too late) that Indian demi-god, Amitabh Bacchan, has completely criticized the picture for depicting India in a negative light. Mr. Superhero writes:"If SM projects India as [a] third-world, dirty, underbelly developing nation and causes pain and

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-7837992890571811492008-12-15T22:11:00.007-05:002009-11-05T22:34:21.689-05:00

So. I've been reading pretty much everything I can get my hands on regarding the Mumbai terror strikes, but most of the mainstream articles make me nauseous with their litany of praise for the "heroes" and the maudlin photographs of people with candles and ridiculous placards asking for MORE security from the government. Though I tried to articulate my thoughts, there was too much to say and so I

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-90343336045678600252008-12-03T16:30:00.017-05:002008-12-14T22:01:49.585-05:00

I was twelve when the Babri Masjid was destroyed in Ayodhya. My only memory of the riots that followed in my city of Bombay was the game of chess I played by myself. I had no one to play with. School was closed and we couldn't go out. That was before satellite news, and what seems like an eternity before the internet. I taught myself to play chess, but it is only now, sixteen years later, that

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-8888675790705439722008-11-29T22:41:00.004-05:002009-11-05T22:33:40.802-05:00

... or words like "spirit" or "resilience."This is not even the time for anger, but the time for questions. We feel the heat of these attacks because it was our 'hood, our South Bombay, our Taj, our Leo's. Our bubble has burst, or as I've said elsewhere, the Ivory Tower crumbles.I was in upstate NY when 9/11 happened and then I was too afraid to express what I really felt. What I really felt was

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-8683453058358105082008-09-14T15:55:00.004-04:002009-11-01T20:49:56.249-05:00

Not to generalize or anything, but what is wrong with Indian males? Where is this horrible sexual repression coming from?! I know, I sound naive, but I'm as surprised by it now as I was at thirteen.The other day I was taking one of my characteristic walks around the city when I passed a construction sight. Some dust from the construction flew into my eye and I unwittingly blinked, winked, shut

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-15701135736153282752008-09-02T16:06:00.002-04:002008-09-03T02:02:59.345-04:00

Cynics of the world, Unite! In a country like India it’s hard to ignore god. He and she and it and them are everywhere, seizing the seasons with their festivities and creating a good deal of pandemonium wherever one cares to look. So, for a general non-believer like myself, I find that there are few opportunities to celebrate the ultimate hopelessness and despair at knowing that the world is

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404512308679835610.post-6441852537109826242008-09-02T16:04:00.001-04:002008-09-03T02:03:31.554-04:00

They say that no elephants are harmed in the making of ivory towers, but I think something more precious is placed in jeopardy. Especially when the elephant’s name is identity and it construes your entire being, its tusks magnificent and full of the fighting spirit it takes to survive. Trust me, I speak from experience. In a city like Mumbai It’s far easier to escape into one’s own world than

bagheerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055152679362005875noreply@blogger.com0