A strongly recommended read for this year.
If you are obsessed with “whys” — Why we do what we do, why we feel things, why we work, why we have a moral code, and why things are the way they are, there is a book you should read.
The answer to these questions is hard mostly because almost all theories in science and religion explain the Hows and the Whats.
The Why itself is a question buried in the meta. The answer could be in philosophy, in metaphysics, in evolutionary biology, or just plain acceptance.
In search of the why I found these relevant books which connect…
I think of myself as Pac-man collecting pointless dots on its way to certain death.
Hi. Nice to meet you, what’s your name?
(Also, n2mywyn is my current ear-worm. Feel free to let it play in the BG while you read further.)
Will this bite me in the backside when I’m famous?
I’ve recently established a foolproof benchmark of self-evaluation.
I ask myself this: “Will this bite me in the backside when I’m famous?”. Think about how would it look on the title page of The New Yorker.
It is what I ask myself when I am about to do what the demon on my shoulder just asked of me. (happens way more often than it should, btw).
Yesterday, he ordered me to give myself…
Language Lessons for the layman from Wittgenstein
This week I chanced upon a baffling theory, located precariously at the mid of logic, language, and philosophy. I was endlessly intrigued by this school of thought. Without riddling this post with jargon, I’ll just call this the “Wittgenstein’s school of thought” (WST) here on, after the swiss philosopher who came up with this theory. With this article, I want to convey one simple idea that can be implemented in the reader’s daily life, which derives from Wittgenstein’s school of thought. The reader should of course bear in mind that the purpose, course, and the bottom line of Wittgenstein’s philosophy…
Leaving your country for a good life is not fun.
In one gut-wrenching moment in the documentary “Cuba with a Cameraman” a four year old Cuban girl in New York gets to go to see her grandmother in Cuba for the first time in her life. The girl’s mother breaks down in tears of joy on reuniting with her mother.
They were Cuban exiles whom Fidel Castro allowed returning to the country for a visit.
I am a free woman.
Unlike a Cuban exile, I can go home whenever I want. But there is a catch. I can’t.
When I see my German friends visit home for Christmas, easter, weekend…
Travelogue
I was near the end of the cup of salted cashews when I realized that they were not up-for-grabs, we had to order them. Their legitimate owner seemed to be focused on his black-jack game while my friends and I camouflaged ourselves into the colorful slot machines.
That was the story of my first time in a casino on the water — or any casino for that matter.
Goa, the land of illegal gambling! (for as long as you are on land). The Goans explored this caveat and built the most bedazzling, Bollywood-star-studded casinos on water.
That was already our…
A country song on the meaning of life
I really wanted to write a song, but I have never been much of a singer or a music player. So I decided to write it to one of those tunes that tickles me.
This song was written in the tune and chords of Family Guy’s “Have you ever put butter on pop tarts”. Feel free to sing it that way. Link at the end.
All my life I have been waiting,
to see something true
All my life I’ve been waiting,
to find out what is new
I talked to many people, by the mighty church steeple, I tried…
If there is such a thing.
How to be free? where are my wings?
I dream about the outside but I am always in.
Why is the clock always counting down?
when I know that at the very end, I will still not be done.
Why can’t I abandon my projects?
Why isn’t every day new?
I want to name red rocks,
Why should my interests be of any value?
I want to wander off, not have a map,
sleep under a leaf, and never come back.
Why did my mom not kick me from the nest?
to fend for myself, and find my own friends?
…
3 anecdotes that demonstrate conversation killers
Close friends might accept you for how you are. No matter what your tastes in food, people, music, or movies, they will let you be.
Such a friendship only develops with time. No matter how much you “click” in the first meeting — real, deep, and honest friendships form only over years. There is no way around that long road.
As kids, conversation meant simply hurling the first thing that came to mind, and thankfully, it was accepted. Adulthood is harder. What kills off a budding friendship in adulthood is bad conversation.
Regardless of whether you want to make new…
Books that were not worth it.
I read anywhere between 30 and 50 books a year. I try to review them all on Goodreads.
The average of all ratings I gave on Goodreads is 4.22 out of 5. This is to say I am not one of those internet trolls screaming indirectly “It is unfair that you did something which I didn’t, I should be more famous”. The books I don’t enjoy reading, I would still rate high if they have a new thought, perspective, or interesting research.
If a book is a literary disaster but offers a nice perspective, I would still rate it well…
An interview with Manasa’s family.
What if all your dreams come true?
What if you considered yourself a “commoner”, and one day you are shot to fame, and the world realizes that you are a star?
This is the story of Manasa Varanasi, 23, crowned VLCC Femina Miss India 2020 this February.
Her cousin Advait Valluri is a friend and lives across the street from me. Advait and Manasa grew up together and talked regularly right until the night before her winning.
I followed this thread to see what Advait and his wife Sivani Saraswatula had to say about their sister’s sensational rise to fame.
…
Sruthi Korlakunta
I laugh at stuff for their pointlessness and smile at others because they don’t know | I live in Germany and help them make Audis |
