Ronin.

Nationless is on long term haitus...
All the individuals involved have moved on in their respective lives.
Perhaps its nationless nature not to stick around too long.

But anyhow...Here's where to go to the NEW blog.

http://www.ahmedriaz.com/words/

Seeya There.

Mangled Family Structures

My Ba (grandmother) is my biggest fan. Our connection is as strong as sugar and candy; I am a hybrid incarnation of her. I am her and she is me. You would think that our spiritual connection would manifest in us living in proximity. I live in Florida and my Ba lives in Baroda (India). She lives alone, alone in a grand two story house that I bet my Dada (grandfather) dreamt would be filled the laughter of his grandchildren. I never lived in that house.

The unfortunate consequence of being a modern nomad is that you must sacrifice family ties and since family is the core of most cultures; you must sacrifice culture. Is that too high a price to pay? I think it is.

The cornerstone of human success as a thriving specie is the family structure. Generations living together meant distribution of work, increased productivity in finding food and most important of all companionship. My grandmother never finished elementary school; she got married and spent her life raising her family. And her reward for her life long labor, she gets to live alone. Dreams should never go unfinished, because Dreams have ghosts too. Raising a family is like no other job, your hard work does not get rewarded with a salary increase, but I think you should be able to at the least enjoy their company.

In my pursuit of my Dreams I have made myself a nomad, Diwali could have been filled with the smells of my Ba’s cooking, this year I spent it talking to my mother on the phone. In pursuit of my dreams I have killed my Ba’s Dreams, I am a Dream killer and their ghosts haunt me.

- Paayal Patel

nationmaster

A massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. Using the form above, you can generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics with ease.

Loverly... It's seems like its a pretty decent stat site. The really cool bit though is you can get a firefox search plugin to search anything on the site. Right from you little browser there.

<link>

Surely there is better poetry out there

Patient and steady with all he must bear,
Ready to meet every challenge with care,
Easy in manner, yet solid as steel,
Strong in his faith, refreshingly real.
Isn't afraid to propose what is bold,
Doesn't conform to the usual mould,
Eyes that have foresight, for hindsight won't do,
Never backs down when he sees what is true,
Tells it all straight, and means it all too.
Going forward and knowing he's right,
Even when doubted for why he would fight,
Over and over he makes his case clear,
Reaching to touch the ones who won't hear.
Growing in strength he won't be unnerved,
Ever assuring he'll stand by his word.
Wanting the world to join his firm stand,
Bracing for war, but praying for peace,
Using his power so evil will cease,
So much a leader and worthy of trust,
Here stands a man who will do what he must.

Pakistan deletes 'pro-Bush' poem

An Ideal Boy

There's a certain way good desi boys should act. An ideal boy is an illustrated guide to teach you exactly how you should behave. <link>

Whatever sells Ms. Dixit

"The hip gyrations have gotten so ridiculous that I sometimes feel like we are frustrated animals desperately trying to discover sex"

-Film legend and top dancer (right up there with Sri Devi), Madhuri Dixit on todays Indian filmi dance numbers (quote from 90's)

Bollywood stars in kiss dispute

Have we not learned anything from 20+ years of having musical sex through wet translucent clothes in the rain outside our basti's?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4102459.stm

Brian Lara: A tribute to 15 years of fine cricket

Pakistan won the cricket World cup in 1992. Up till then I didn’t give a damn about cricket, I barely even knew the rules. But all that changed when England was bowled out for 227 in Melbourne and Imran Khan held that Waterford crystal trophy over his head. I vividly remember watching the match live at my grandparents’ house in Quetta. There was a young kid by the name of Inzamam who refused to wear a helmet and would chew gum while batting. “How unorthodox and improper” I’m sure most cricket purists at the time thought. I was simply impressed by his ballsy stroke play and his ability to rack on those precious runs. All of a sudden, I was really into cricket!

2 years earlier in Lahore, Brian Lara was making his test debut. The mighty West Indies had gone a decade without losing a single test series during the 80’s and had won 2 of the 4 cricket world cups held up till then. They had the likes of Vivian Richards, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh on their side. Not only did they have strong batting and bowling. I remember thinking what amazing fielders they were. Only they at the time were able to collect balls mid-flight while still running (I also remember thinking this was unfair to other teams since they didn’t have as long arms as the West Indians, who were the only black cricket team at the time). As it turned out, a steady fall from the top was in the cards for the Windies. And yet, over this same time, Brian Lara was to become one of the World’s premier batsmen. His rise happened to coincide with my new interest in cricket. I almost feel like I grew up having Brian Lara around because I’ve been watching him play since I was 12. And what a spectacular player he has proved to be! Every time he came to the crease against Pakistan, I would pray for an early dismissal because I knew his potential. A good Lara inning could change the outcome of a match, sometimes single-handedly. Yesterday en route to his knock of 226 off 298 balls against World No. 1 Australia, Lara broke the all-time record for highest test run scorer, adding to his other all-time records for highest test score (400 not out) and first-class score (501). Hell, he now has 8 double centuries in test cricket, that might be an all-time record in itself (OK, I checked. He is second after Donald Bradman). Congratulations Brian and well done! I’m going to continue to be a Windies fan as long as you play cricket!

This collection of essays, memoirs, poems, stories, and artwork looks at globalization as a worldwide exchange of art and ideas. Writing the World focuses on the cultural realities of globalism -- the opportunities it provides to learn from other cultures. This knowledge, argue David Rothenberg and Wandee Pryor in their introduction, can be power: "When all of us learn enough about our differences to respect the diversity that exists, we will be unable to pretend we are the same. We will never accept the old innocence and ignorance bred by oppression and exploitation." For the contributors to Writing the World, to dream of the global village is to see the world not as a vast market but as a place of shared values and linked wonder.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

This has the potential of being really bad... but it seemed interesting.

The hilarious story of what happens when the U.S. Government sends comedian Albert Brooks to India and Pakistan to find out what makes the over 300 million Muslims in the region laugh. Brooks, accompanied by two state department handlers and his trusted assistant, goes on a journey that takes him from a concert stage in New Delhi, to the Taj Mahal, to a secret location in the mountains of Pakistan.


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