Meaning of Gadfly

I found something very interesting - why I didn't know about it before, I don't know. And it makes so much more sense esp with respect to my favorite book: The Gadfly by E.L.Voynich. Anyway Wiki defines Gadfly as:

"Gadfly" is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempt to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant.

The term "gadfly" was used by Plato to describe Socrates' relationship of uncomfortable goad to the Athenian politician scene, which he compared to a slow and dimwitted horse. It was used earlier by the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 46 of his book. The term has been used to describe many politicians and social commentators.

During his defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's writings, pointed out that dissent, like the tiny (relative to the size of a horse) gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high. "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me," because his role was that of a gadfly, "to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth."

I think it is also a very appropriate name for a blog. Damn I surprise myself!! :-P

Styx post

Check out an interesting blog post by sticky-pie Styx about the new laptops from the One Laptop Per Child foundation.

Misc.

I read a weird article about this new type of by called "Modesty Buses" in Israel. Men and women are segregated with men sitting at the front and women sitting at the back. The sad thing is that this is what is actually happening right now in Iran. Men claim it is actually for the women's sake but come on - the moment you enforce these rules and remove freedom of choice you discard the option of claiming something is for the good of a group.
Like the hejab in Iran - women should cover themselves up... why? if you believe it, you should do it and if you don't...? I read the following quote in an article from Playboy the other day: In Iran, before the revolution, people used to pray in private and party in public. Now it is the other way around.
Somehow I think the more you try to enforce something, the more it backfires in the long run.
Btw the Playboy article is here and i haven't finished reading it but it seems interesting. You can download the pdf.
[Note: Unfortunately, there are no dirty pictures on this site! :-) ]

I am going to finish up with the following picture which I thought was really funny!! Essentially, be nice to the US!

Check out this goal by Messi

Gol de Messi al Getafe 18/04/07

Very Pretty!

Zzzzznoina

It seems another Juan is sneaking in here and trying to compete with the big girls and boys. I am caught in a dilemma - do I offer encouraging words or do I taunt him? I mean seriously, what is a girl to do? I know what... until he really becomes a threat, I will encourage him :-D Go JuanA you can do it!!

I will leave it to the reader to decide if that was a taunt or encouragement! :-P

New Topic:
Do You Feel Holy? why don't you converse with God and Repent.

The Age of the Gadphly

Oh yes Juan can attest, I am beating him senseless. He considers himself a gamer? huh - but then that would make me, lets see, the Queen of the Gamers. It is a new age... The Age of the Gadphly.

For those who have no idea what is going on, Juan and I have been competing against each other in the Towers TD game and lets just say, he is eating my dust.
Oh how rude, may I offer you some water with that dust?! :-P

To see a ranking of the score, search for the group Juanpwns here. I guess the group is a misnomer now huh!

Regret?

You know I have been feeling weird since writing that post last night - does it seem that I am not being sympathetic enough for the Virginia massacre? Because I am - I think it was horrible. I am a very good candidate for knowing how horrible the loss of a loved one is and how terrible a time is spent trying to cope and make sense of it all. The loss of any human life is tragic, full stop. And comparing tragedies is wrong I know but it is massacres like the one on Monday that should remind us how horrible and tragic the situation in Iraq is. Can anyone make sense of the loss of 171 lives in one day? the number of people that are effected because the dead in Iraq also have families and friends. But since we are removed from the situation, we don't think about it. Here we see pictures of the families and friends of the affected, we see people grieving because of what could have been but fortunately wasn't, alumni of Virginia Tech that are grieving simply because of the shooting happening in their school. We are witness to this and we realize the magnitude of the horror. Can anyone say we are realizing the horror happening over in Iraq? and iraq is just an example country - think of Darfur, Palestine/Israel, Somalia, etc. Why is it that we prefer to change the channel to Friends, than watch what is going on over there? because we are responsible for them?

I don't understand the world - I know that if I turned on the TV and only watched all the bad things happening around the world, I would become very depressed - we need to see the beauty around us and the hope and the joy but we need to do it in an informed way. Then and only then do we end up really appreciating the beauty, the hope that we have and the wonder of it all.

Probably it's time I get off my soap box, but the inequality in the world is tragic.

One human life is not worthier than another.

Ignoring it and turning a blind eye on it is a crime itself.

Numbers

Tonight's episode of the Daily Show had a very interesting moment - John Stewart had invited an Iraqi author and they were discussing the war in iraq. At one stage JS mentioned the Virginia shootings and then mentioned how difficult it is for people to deal with this crime and how many innocent people had died and how their families were trying to cope - he followed this by mentioning that Iraq goes through higher number everyday - how do the Iraqis deal with it.

It is true, you look at the news today and there is an article in NY Times about how 171 people died today - TODAY!! and this is just one normal day in Iraq. All of US is obsessing over this shooting and then you have this violence caused by the US on the other side of the world.
Preemptive strike right? And then they wonder why there are these shooting rampages occurring so frequently in US. Not that I want to take away from the tragedy of it, but putting it in perspective, what is 33 deaths against 171? and that is one time only thing as well.
Probably I am sounding callous but haven't we turned callous when dealing with Iraq? The numbers pile up and we don't even notice them anymore.

A Gem in South Park

Seriously is South Park just improving and improving?!! The new episode of South Park called D-Yikes, making fun of the movie 300. Oh there was so much to laugh about - so many different layers! I am too sleepy to write about it - tomorrow. But make sure you watch it. It has to do with mostly Persians and then there are some mexicos and their eses. :-P Si si. and the persians and their gucci's.

Random

Last night my friends and I played charades - it was so much fun! I love these kinds of games, just hanging out and playing games. I get so competitive with them!! I got one phrase which I found very difficult to act out: "Once Upon A Time". How do you do that one?!!
I think I need to create a group for people who want to get together once a week and play different kinds of games, like cards or charades or ... But how do i advertise for such a thing? "Wanted: Playmates!" Please apply!

Btw except for the ultra cool music of kiosk which i have been listening to non-stop for the past week, I have been trying to find a nice version of "Sway" which is the English version of "Quien Sera". Surely Dean Martin or someone like that sang it well. Anyone know? what about the spanish version? Does anyone know a nice version of it? Here is an instrumental version that I found. And here is the american idol version from last week - which I really liked. Which reminds me... they had a latin theme last week and guess who they had as their latino representative? oh yes, taco taco, burrito! :-P Ms J.Lo. (I hope you all got the South Park reference!). Anyway is she really a good representative I ask you? Didn't someone mention she doesn't even speak Spanish very well... although maybe all that hanging out with senor Marc Anthony has improved it. Anyway i don't know why I am giving her a hard time. May be it's also because not only is she not that big a latina but also she is not that big a singer!! So this is what happens when i don't miss out on watching american idol. I usually miss it because I am at my flamenco class.

Btw, this was really funny - a comic about World of Warcraft. It kind of reminds me of the South Park episode. Hil-arious. :-P

Oh Mein Gott!!

Dorian Gray is just awe inspiring. I am not sure if I am happy to see this video.

Have I mentioned how i dream in blocks now? not the blocks of tetris like in the past, but now the blocks of towers. the game is killing me. but softly. gently. with love. I sacrifice my hours with love.

Coolest Music Video

Today I have discovered the coolest music video ever - it is an iranian group called Kiosk and the song is called Eshgh e soraat (love of speed). For the iranians out there, enjoy the "pizza e ghorme sabzi" (!!) and for the non-iranians out there, enjoy the myriad of scenes from Iran! I love both the music and the clip!!

Oh and I am definitely going to the concert of the Abjeez later on this month! Yay!

Addicted

omg you guys have got to try two of the games on the side i have here - the first one is the DesktopTD (War Game). It is so addictive!! and the second one is the 3d cube.

I love these games!!! :-D
ps I am gradually getting better. finally.

pps look on the side menu for the online games!!

Who Am I?

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When you are sick...

the world seems dim somehow. You really miss being in the bosom of your family. You miss someone hugging you and giving you energy. You miss being fussed over by someone. You miss having someone bring you medicine or drink or food or whatever when you are lying in bed and are too weak and tired and sick to move.
When you are sick... when I am sick, this is my world.
I have a cold :-(

Easter and Bunnies

Tonight I watched the funniest episode of South Park - it was a parody of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I don't know how much of the episode to reveal but basically Stan questions the meaning of Easter (ie the resurrection of Jesus) and its relation to the tradition of coloring eggs and the easter bunny and then he finds out about this secret society called the ... hmm - I was about to reveal all the info! suffice it to say the morale of this story is that the Pope should not really be head of the church (not this pope, but any pope) and that they should not tell people or Christians how to live. Very nice message.
It always amazes me that those who are most religious cannot understand that religion is a personal thing and cannot be forced upon people. Who are they to dictate the word of God. Religion ideally should be spiritual, something that is felt within, something that you want to do yourself. Why is there this institution? Why is there a pope, an imam? why is Judaism a race?

I was listening recently to the radio and they were saying that Pope Benedict was pushing for the sainthood of Pope John Paul to be ordained. It seems that recently and especially in the time of Pope JP, there was an explosion in the number of people who were sainted - especially in their own countries. The idea was (is) that people relate better with contemporary saints. Therefore... Do you know why they claim Pope JP is a saint? because a nun who had parkingson's disease, said she and her fellow nuns prayed to Pope JP and then she was cured. She didn't want to call it a miracle, but... the church should call it that!! Seriously does this make sense? If JP needs to be distinguished because of his actions, say that. Why bring in the idea of holiness, especially when this holiness is given by fellow men, for this is how a pope is chosen right?
Anyway, the bottom line is that why the whole idea of sainthood? why is does religion like the classist way of life? Shouldn't all men be equal?