tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64236412024-03-14T11:33:13.345+08:00Epiblast!csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-17449662913249822752012-02-04T12:54:00.002+08:002012-02-04T12:54:54.611+08:00The Spectre of Death<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">One morning, I was walking past a cubicle in the wards. There was someone wailing inside. Usually there is a nameplate with the patient's name on it, but it wasn't there outside this door. I remembered her name though. I had seen her yesterday. I kept walking till I reached the nursing counter. There was a pad of forms, the first one was half filled. It was a Death Certificate. I wasn't entirely shocked. The old lady had taken a turn for the worst, yet there was something ... </span></blockquote><a href="http://medschneverends.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/the-spectre-of-death/">Read More</a> </div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-37776326439362534342011-07-31T17:46:00.001+08:002011-08-01T21:50:52.982+08:00I promise, to Follow the White Rabbit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
I'm finally getting down to writing this because I met a bunch of Belgian students in school. When I was in Brussels on the way back from the US, I walked around the airport and and I saw this at Duty Free :<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/252015_10150285998476473_516886472_7430721_608200_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/252015_10150285998476473_516886472_7430721_608200_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I don't really know what the Duty Free marketing department intended when they made that their slogan.<br />
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The phrase, as far as I can tell, originates from The Matrix. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdAMq5LdAvs">The video clip</a> (it won't allow me to embed the video) will give you a better idea, rather than me narrating the story.<br />
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It was extremely amusing, watching that movie on the plane ride and then bumping into that poster at the airport. I recalled the scene from Alice in Wonderland (the Tim Burton version) where Alice is being harassed by her relatives to marry that chump from her childhood. It seems like such an apt metaphor and when it all clicked, I smiled, and promised to follow that White Rabbit.<br />
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A lot of times, we live in our own little bubble when moving in the world around us. There's a tunnel vision that restricts what we can see, what we can imagine, and hence, the opportunities available to us.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/2009/11/alice_rabbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/2009/11/alice_rabbit.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><u><br />
</u><br />
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I don't think Alice would have noticed the Rabbit if she was caught up in that conversation with her future Mother-in-law. She first saw it from the corner of her eyes, and even then she wasn't sure. It was clearly a non-event to the other lady, who tried to bring Alice back into the conversation, she also threatened to send her dogs behind the rabbit. That is precisely what other people (and sometimes we) do to our rabbit. A lot of times we simply ignore it and focus on "more important" things.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/07/24/article-1201852-05D319AD000005DC-297_634x335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/07/24/article-1201852-05D319AD000005DC-297_634x335.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Yet she persists. Later on in the scene, the rabbit's near a bush, just out of everyone else's sight but clearly visible to her. He's frantically pointing to his watch. Time is running out and she needs to make a decision. It's not an easy decision, there's a garden full of people pressuring her into accepting a wedding proposal, there's a chump on his knees with an expectant expression on his face.<br />
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It's an uncomfortable situation. It's not a clear cut decision, but Alice (and later Neo) decides to take a plunge, and she runs after the rabbit like she's never run before. And the Rabbit takes her to a world beyond her wildest dreams.<br />
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I just rewatched that scene from the movie and, keeping in mind all those little nuances, it's a powerful message. In every aspect of our lives, our careers, relationships, hobbies, there's a little, mischevious rabbit lurking just outside our field of view. Everything conspires to distract us, make us ignore him, our "priorities" stop us from trying to follow him. It's sometimes uncomfortable because it means getting off the beaten track. Sometimes, we also have to compromise on something else, or someone is going to disagree (or worse, shout) at us. We do not have forever to make a decision. Yet, he dangles in front of us, a possibility of taking us to another dimension. When you follow the White Rabbit, be prepared for an adventure.<br />
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<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-2739690912772764262011-07-15T18:02:00.001+08:002011-07-15T18:04:33.870+08:00The Tibetan Diaries : Day 5 Nyalam<a href="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/261600_10150270042271473_516886472_7280716_927700_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/261600_10150270042271473_516886472_7280716_927700_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>We've been slacking enough at the little <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyalam_Town">town of Nyalam</a>. I've had two days to settle down and adjust to the altitude and I'm ready to get some action.<br />
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The other groups are going for warm up hikes and my friends and I decide it'll be a good idea to join them. I jump into my trusty army boots and pick a nice episode of Tiesto's <a href="http://tiestoclublife.wordpress.com/">Club Life</a> and I'm off.<br />
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There's a hill right behind the guesthouse and that's the one we're climbing. It looks like no big deal, the length of the slope is about four hundred metres, but you climb in a zig zag to make it less strenuous and easier to balance.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262135_10150270041896473_516886472_7280711_1327706_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262135_10150270041896473_516886472_7280711_1327706_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-tab-span">It's an odd feeling. Here you are far away from civilisation and you're listening to club music. The Electronic kind, you expect to hear on the second level of Attica.</span></div><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSufioCrvUsWSH_H9umZX-8ytvUT852WSKcbDKQJMbBbZCYE3lvoIQp2Xuyz9_ext3xpvE8UbB3gD6Zx6uLPMClRDztypkVoebefMcazuMe999euGb4gTFhzAoNxL3dIYd8JT/s1600/577103991214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSufioCrvUsWSH_H9umZX-8ytvUT852WSKcbDKQJMbBbZCYE3lvoIQp2Xuyz9_ext3xpvE8UbB3gD6Zx6uLPMClRDztypkVoebefMcazuMe999euGb4gTFhzAoNxL3dIYd8JT/s200/577103991214.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Ravi Shankar Karedla</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>The climb itself is relaxed and enjoyable. Relaxed because the air so high is thinner and you really don't want to push it. Every once in a while, I'll turn back and soak in the view. I am no rush to reach the top, but eventually, I'm there. It's one of those things about a Himalayan hike. You are absolutely not concerned about reaching the top because you are taking your time and enjoying the journey. Every step of your trek, you turn back and have a slightly different view of the landscape.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRvkab6RCgQSFq8m5O39LwZhwKhjDOCal7g2gruzfcWb2Mf2xvTT3zIqVSdM7GwjFRygcT5xdhU-v48tghilE-IxefNvbllCOzWYN4T9itzL7Tj8ecPKj_oudNKFh58eamHkx/s1600/448013991214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRvkab6RCgQSFq8m5O39LwZhwKhjDOCal7g2gruzfcWb2Mf2xvTT3zIqVSdM7GwjFRygcT5xdhU-v48tghilE-IxefNvbllCOzWYN4T9itzL7Tj8ecPKj_oudNKFh58eamHkx/s200/448013991214.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Ravi Shankar Karedla</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At the top of the hill is a plateau, rolling hills and in the background, five or six snow capped peaks framing the slightly cloudy sky. The sheer vastness of that scene is so contrary to the expectations you form as you are climbing that small, generic slope.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While I'm walking further on the plateau, I notice a few of my group members sit down, close their eyes and meditate. This initially strikes me as natural but there was something odd about it. And then it hits me, "if you're in the fucking Himalayas, you don't close your eyes to meditate. You OPEN your eyes wide and meditation happens".<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Of course, I'm polite and don't actually say this out to anyone. I'm just standing there in awe and smiling to myself. I help my friends take a couple of photos and we're back down.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Later in the evening, news spreads around that I'm a medical student (some mistake that to mean doctor, or feel that some qualification is better than none). People start coming to me with all sorts of problems, diarrhoea, vomiting, existential angst, boredom, allergies and I promptly direct them to my friend, who though not medically trained, takes these trips regularly and is more familiar with those conditions. I think I manage to cure some of their boredom by doing magic tricks.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One incident stands out. This gentleman (not so obvious at first), perhaps in his thirties or forties, comes over, asks for the "doctor saab" and tells me he has a dog bite. His long story of how he go bitten by a dog but his teeth didn't penetrate his flesh, and so he doesn't need an injection drowns out my pleas to stop treating me like a doctor, because I'm absolutely not qualified.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He wants me to take a look at his wound and I think I might as well. In the corridor outside my room, in full view of everyone, he proceeds to drop his trousers and show me a little bruise at the back of his thigh. I believed medical school would have adequately prepared me for this, but I am still mildly amused and am just able to suppress a smirk. I of course, direct him to my friend, find an excuse and go to bed.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is going to be a fun trip.<br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>You can view some of the photos from this trip on my Facebook page.</i></span></div><br />
<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-9286699375224493822011-06-25T14:09:00.000+08:002011-06-25T14:09:46.062+08:00quit calling it western medicine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px;">Modern medicine is “Western” only in the trivial sense that its historical roots were found in Europe and North America. It is distinguished by its reliance on science. The principles of biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology do not vary according to location, nor does the capacity of science to follow evidence wherever it may lead, whether to new discoveries or to discrediting long-held opinions. Many of those discoveries—statins, for example (see below)—have been made in non-Western settings. Modern medicine is thus universally applicable. It is no more Western, in any important medical or scientific way, than the physics of Einstein was Jewish.</span></blockquote>from <a href="http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2011/06/ccas2-1106.html">“CAM” Education in Medical Schools—A Critical Opportunity Missed</a>, Virtual Mentor<br />
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<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-13984888163905414772011-05-22T06:33:00.001+08:002011-05-22T06:34:08.651+08:00M for Magic Ep VI and sneakiness in the Maldives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5gWWOet8YI0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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The episode features Godwin and Timothy, founders of <a href="http://reddotmagic.com/">Red Dot Magic</a> . I'll let their performance speak for themselves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm reminded of an amusing anecdote. This happened in about March '06. I was overseas on a community service trip to the Maldives. Apart from the thrill of the sheer beauty of the country, there was this guilty pleasure of skipping an exam :). I was the tallest, biggest of the lot and the locals affectionately called be bodu-be, big brother.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One warm night after dinner, we were chilling with one of the local boys. This was a period where I was rediscovering magic after a hiatus and I nervously suggested performing a magic trick. I did one or two simple ones to "warm up" and I moved on to the climax where a card disappears and appears in my pocket.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As I was talking, making my moves, the card disappears and I look at him, smile and point to my pocket. He's got mixed feelings; surprise and skepticism. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When he puts his hand in my pocket and takes out this warm, slightly bent card with his signature on it, I expect some kind of silent shock, but he quickly snaps at me, "Bodube, are you a messenger?", and stares at me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I, reflexively blurted out, "No".</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maldives is an Islamic country so Mohammad, believed to be a messenger from god, is held in high esteem. Although you might call him gullible for jumping to that conclusion, I wouldn't.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is a natural appetite for astonishment in even the most rational of people. Myself included. With the kind of blogs and news outlets I subscribe to, every once in a while, someone claims they have found a miracle cure, som berry that magically makes you lose weight or an herb that can cure cancer. I would really love for that to be true. In fact, I think in an ideal world, doctors would be unemployed, pharmaceutical companies would be poor because people lead healthy lives, have perfect genes and do not fall ill much. Yet, I must defer to the evidence and investigate whether these treatments actually work. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In a similar fashion, the layperson who sees a magic trick may be placed in an uncomfortable position of knowing that someone is performing some conjuring and there is no supernatural force involved, yet wanting to believe there is. I think part of the fun in watching magic, even for myself as a performer, is the tension between the rational and the emotional, and hence my advice to people who might end up watching some live magic for the first time is to simply relax, and enjoy the moment. To take delight in the mish-mash of logic and emotion the performer so skillfully takes you on.</div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>About the Project</b> : Sinema is an independent arts company based here in Singapore. The arts scene here is beginning to flourish and Sinema did their part by coming up with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SinemaTVSG">SinTV</a>, an online arts channel. M for Magic is their first installation featuring 14 local magicians. Here's their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-pretend-to-be-busy-on-my-phone-so-you-will-stop-talking-to-me/193185640710645">facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.sinema.sg/">main site</a>.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Do your part by sharing this note with your friends.</div></div></div><br />
<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-88613055684069768682011-05-19T20:56:00.003+08:002011-05-23T07:42:44.872+08:00M for Magic Ep V and Women in Magic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qGy-dG-OVgU" width="560"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/qGy-dG-OVgU">Watch Ep V</a> on Youtube<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the previous post, we talked about <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2011/05/m-for-magic-ep-iv-and-popoff.html">charlatans</a>. I was intending to share a relevant anecdote but this episode is special and I'm going to postpone that.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today, I'm thinking about women.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. Women. The lack of women in magic, and also the larger context of female representation in other fields. Even in medical school, I think the gender ratio has increased from women being a minority in the past to the ratio being about fifty-fifty right now. I do not have specific statistics apart from heresay from tutors.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I've seen an informal <a href="http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/why-have-women-magicians-vanished-8369/">survey</a> on why this is so and the responses ranged from the usual nature vs nurture; about why women (in general) might be psychologically less suited to magic, to the fact that magic being male dominated, every aspect of it is geared towards men and thus women might feel out of place.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I believe that is actually what happens in many fields . People once said that that <a href="http://www.mylearning.org/jpage.asp?jpageid=1341&journeyid=272">science was unsuitable for women</a> because, perhaps they thought differently. Over time as more women entered the field both men and women got over those biases. Same with education. I forsee that the same might happen with magic.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I find "sex appeal" being thrown around a bit when it comes to women in the performing arts. Women (and men) are definitely free to garnish their performances with sex appeal as they feel fit. As a performer with lots to learn, I would, however, want to look beyond the sex appeal. In the context of Singapore, I am happy to say that the handful of women I have seen performing magic have been extremely skilled in their technique.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Getting back to the video, is Adeline going to be the next Magic Babe Ning? No, I think she has a different style. Could Adeline be the next big thing in magic? That's a resounding "hell yeah!"<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>About the Project</b> : Sinema is an independent arts company based here in Singapore. The arts scene here is beginning to flourish and Sinema did their part by coming up with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SinemaTVSG">SinTV</a>, an online arts channel. M for Magic is their first installation featuring 14 local magicians. Here's their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-pretend-to-be-busy-on-my-phone-so-you-will-stop-talking-to-me/193185640710645">facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.sinema.sg/">main site</a>.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Do your part by sharing this note with your friends.</div></div><br />
<br />
<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-90192426508067890292011-05-17T05:30:00.002+08:002011-05-22T06:34:42.472+08:00M for Magic Ep IV and Popoff<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QpzEET-yNHk" width="560"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/QpzEET-yNHk">Watch Ep IV on Youtube</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2011/04/m-for-magic-ep-iii-is-out.html">last post</a>, we concluded that magicians have a special appreciation for the art of magic. A sense of wonder which is, for various reasons, inaccessible to lay people.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The episode opens with JC turning water to ice. I just noticed that about two thousand years ago, a similarly initialed man turned water to wine.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In this video, Harapan does some sweet card magic while Matthew bends spoons. With the right kind of story and in a slightly less skeptical audience, Matthew would might have been labelled some kind of psychic with supernatural powers. In 17th Century Massachusetts, he would have been tried as a Witch and hung.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It simply happens that since the show is presented as as conjuring, people expect some kind of trickery. We have been in a sense, immunised by anecdotes of previous charlatans. As such, our criteria for what constitutes a miracle is very much different from what it could have been many years ago.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Popoff">Peter Popoff</a> is a very classical case. In the 1980s he organised huge Faith Healing rallies, where he could apparently tell people's addresses and their ailments simply by looking at them. Sort of like Dr House. Upon investigation by skeptics (including the famous James Randi) a rather mundane explanation emerged. The faithful filled out prayer requests before the show, from which his wife was feeding him information via a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7BQKu0YP8Y">wireless microphone</a>.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I would at this point want to draw a parallel with science prodding nature to reveal its rather fascinating secrets, but that's a long topic for another day.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
For now, I'm leaving you with a quote.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. ~ <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/arthur_c_clarke.html">Arthur C Clarke</a></blockquote><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>About the Project</b> : Sinema is an independent arts company based here in Singapore. The arts scene here is beginning to flourish and Sinema did their part by coming up with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SinemaTVSG">SinTV</a>, an online arts channel. M for Magic is their first installation featuring 14 local magicians. Here's their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-pretend-to-be-busy-on-my-phone-so-you-will-stop-talking-to-me/193185640710645">facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.sinema.sg/">main site</a>.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Do your part by sharing this note with your friends.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><br />
<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-62300458437592579722011-04-29T13:42:00.000+08:002011-04-29T13:42:10.314+08:00Review : Quantum Zoo by Marcus Chown<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Zoo-Tourists-Never-Ending-Universe/dp/0309096227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304055547&sr=8-1"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TAHBEZW6L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Unlike the title, this book actually tries to cover two (not one) major ideas in 20th Century Physics, Quantum Theory (which deals with the absolutely tiny) and Relativity (talking about pretty darn massive). The cover is littered with fun (and counterintuitive facts) about the consequences of these theories, when made analogous to the world at our scale.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Quantum Zoo is a science book aimed towards the layperson, which means, it doesn't contain equations, tries not to use too much jargon or go into much detail. Although I have enjoyed other books in this niche, particularly the ones about the biological sciences, something about this one struck me as missing. I get the impression that I'm supposed to understand what is going on, but at the same time, things haven't been explained to me properly.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>However, the problem may not lie with the writer or the book. Modern physics is challenging precisely because it is so counterintuitive. When dealing with things on the scale of the very tiny or the very massive, a lot of our usual commonsense rules do not apply.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My experience in school has taught me that to be able to really understand a worldview, you need to have been given the opportunity to apply it and think through various scenarios while using it. This is well, not always possible to pull off in a 150 page book.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Just to give you a heads up, Chown, covers a range of topics such as the probabilistic nature of things Quantum, the Uncertainty Principle, Entanglement, E=mc^2, Space-Time Contraction and Dilation and so forth. I won't pretend to have understood these clearly. There's a chapter called E=mc^2 and the Weight of Sunshine. I thought that was quite poetic :)<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nonetheless, I think Quantum Zoo gives a reasonable overview of these two revolutions in Physics and serves as a good starting point for someone curious. Plus, it's small and very readable. Recommended, if that's what you're looking for.<br />
<div><br />
</div><br />
<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-9325010613191537262011-04-19T19:02:00.002+08:002011-04-20T17:17:48.026+08:00M for Magic Ep III is out!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">And some thoughts on Skepticism and Wonder.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1-lh4lvLJA">Watch Episode III</a><br />
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The description of that episode on youtube is wrong. This episode is in no way "soothing". Alexander and Samuel are doing some classic effects with some of their own refinements. I've done that trick that Alex performs on this video and honestly, he's tweaked the effect in such a simple way that converts it from a cool trick to basically, something mind-blowing.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to the point we discussed in the <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2011/04/episode-ii-is-out.html">last post</a>. Now that you know how a magic trick is done, do you lose that sense of wonder? Short answer, yes. Long answer, depends on what you mean by wonder. Yes, we do lose the sense of "mystery" in the trick, but at the same time, because we have a different appreciation, an understanding of the mechanics of the trick and also an eye for the nuances added in by the performer in combination with the way he or she takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster, I think, ironically, magicians might enjoy watching <b>good</b> (thanks JC for clarifying) magic more than lay people.<br />
<br />
In comparison, a layperson, sees a trick a few times, might figure it out(or assume) the mechanics of it, and the trick loses its magic. Where as a magician, might see different people performing the same trick, mind you, they know what's happening, but in their minds, it "matures" like fine wine when you see how the various elements of it interact and how it is made unique by each performer.<br />
<br />
Just to drive the analogy further, it's pretty much like the enjoyment of a fine wine by a connoisseur.<br />
<br />
There's one more aspect to this which I'll talk about next week, and perhaps I'll share some relevant personal anecdotes.<br />
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Just a note for those who've seen me perform and are dying to see my episode, it's episode number ... I'm not telling. This project isn't really about me. It's about the talent in the local scene. As much as it looks like we work in "isolation", it's really a lot of teamwork, whether it's explicit or not.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>About the Project</b> : Sinema is an independent arts company based here in Singapore. The arts scene here is beginning to flourish and Sinema did their part by coming up with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SinemaTVSG">SinTV</a>, an online arts channel. M for Magic is their first installation featuring 14 local magicians. Here's their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-pretend-to-be-busy-on-my-phone-so-you-will-stop-talking-to-me/193185640710645">facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.sinema.sg/">main site</a>.</div><div><br />
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<i>Reading this on Facebook? Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></i></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-90663557424492013352011-04-11T07:22:00.002+08:002011-04-20T17:18:02.620+08:00Episode II is out!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY5-3L4zKgE&feature=channel_video_title">Episode Two</a> and leave a comment.<br />
<br />
This week, Ning put's a n*** up her n*** and Kyle Ravin does some freak magic. Do not try this at home. Just because I'm somewhat medically trained doesn't mean I'll let you try it at <b>my</b> home.<br />
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I've been doing magic for about eight years now, on and off. There's a ton of stuff I've learnt from the process but if there's one thing I want to talk about today, it's the whole skepticism business.<br />
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I cannot believe in the supernatural anymore. Simply cannot. Once you become an insider, the person behind the magic, and you see how it's done, it challenges your idea of "impossible". Imagine an object (a card, coin, elephant) disappearing and appearing in another location. Conventionally, it's not like a dance move where you can, in your mind, imagine some intermediate steps of doing this, then this and finally this. The whole point about magic is that there are no "intermediates" you can imagine and hence it takes your reasoning mind and smashes it against a brick wall.<br />
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Now when it comes to tales of the supernatural or miraculous events, for most people, it is their intellect being smashed against a brick wall. It's an exciting and emotional moment for those who've experienced it first (and second) hand. For us, however, we've had those "simulations" before and when someone tells us an incredible story, we smile knowingly. Even if we can't specifically figure out how the charlatan did it, we have a vague idea, and there's this awesome joy of knowing.<br />
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Does this mean we've lost our sense of wonder? Ill talk about this when the next episode comes out.<br />
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Read the <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2011/04/spicing-up-local-arts-scene-m-is-for.html">previous post</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>Update : The <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2011/04/m-for-magic-ep-iii-is-out.html">next post</a> is out.</i><br />
<br />
<b>About the Project</b> : Sinema is an independent arts company based here in Singapore. The arts scene here is beginning to flourish and Sinema did their part by coming up with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SinemaTVSG">SinTV</a>, an online arts channel. M for Magic is their first installation featuring 14 local magicians. Here's their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-pretend-to-be-busy-on-my-phone-so-you-will-stop-talking-to-me/193185640710645">facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.sinema.sg/">main site</a>.<br />
<br />
Do your part by sharing this note with your friends.<br />
<br />
Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-42577140653886305062011-04-05T23:17:00.005+08:002011-04-20T17:18:14.853+08:00Spicing up the local arts scene. M is for Magic I<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We always say "sh*t happens". There is however, the opposite end of the spectrum. It's called serendipity. I noticed this little request for magicians for a small project on JC Sum's facebook page.<br />
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I sent in a quick resume and proceeded to gather my friends to sharpen my thaumaturgical edge. I met them in a hot sweaty hostel corridor and got them to film a few short quick videos of me in the act....<br />
<br />
I'll tell you my story later.<br />
<br />
The project was for Sinema, an independent arts company based here in Singapore. The arts scene here is beginning to flourish and Sinema did their part by coming up with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SinemaTVSG">SinTV</a>, an online arts channel. M for Magic is their first installation featuring 14 local magicians. There isn't much more I can say about this because you need to see to believe.<br />
<br />
Due to formatting constraints, I suggest you take a look at the video directly on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qcniaP6kLM&">youtube</a> and leave a comment there. Also check out Sinema's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-pretend-to-be-busy-on-my-phone-so-you-will-stop-talking-to-me/193185640710645">facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.sinema.sg/">main site</a>. You can do your part by sharing this note with your friends.<br />
<br />
I'll tell you more of my story when the next episode comes out.<br />
<br />
<i>Update : Read the <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2011/04/episode-ii-is-out.html">next post</a>.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-78136837804409529452011-03-30T21:42:00.000+08:002011-03-30T21:42:38.865+08:00Instead of praying<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">WARNING : SATIRE!<br />
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This morning, I'm running slightly late and I rush to the bus stop. I'm panting, my forehead is moist from the brisk walking and I see, vaguely, a double decker bus about half a kilometer down from the road. Some time back, I would have prayed for it to be my bus. Now, a couple of years later, things are a bit different. You should have noticed. I stopped believing.<br />
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Things are not that different though. I know that there are five buses which come to that bus stop. A double decker means, the other two are out. So it could be one of three. So, assuming that there is equal probability of either three popping up (not perfect, but not necessarily a bad assumption), there's a 1/3 chance of that being the bus I sooo desperately need. I hold my breath. As the bus rolls into clear view, I am overjoyed. Its the 143 that takes me directly to work. Probability calculations work.<br />
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What if it wasn't the 143? I would have sighed ... and forgotten about it.<br />
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I'm not kidding. Probability calculations got me into medical school. I remember walking into the hall where we were writing our essays. There were about 800 candidates competing with me. There were 250 seats. My trained-for-engineering-school brain said there was a .31 chance of me getting in, by sheer chance. Now I had spoken to a handful of those candidates and many just apply because they have the scores or the want to try their luck. I know many of those kids aren't getting in. Which means my probability of getting in is higher than 1/3. Which is pretty awesome!<br />
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Suck it up, calculating your odds helps you achieve what you want. Now on to figuring out if it can save the lives of the terminally ill.<br />
<br />
Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-59134951174837542942011-03-05T11:18:00.000+08:002011-03-05T11:18:24.132+08:00Yuvaveer : a new Adventure about to start<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Yuva · veer<br />
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Yuva (adjective) being young or youthful, embodying the qualities of vigour, curiosity, enthusiasm<br />
Veer (noun) the strong, brave, excellent.<br />
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It's been two years since I did my Yuvaveer (or YEP) course at an Ashram near Pune. It's been a milestone in my life and I'm still slowly releasing entires from my journal. They're littered all over my blog. If you have talked to me long enough, a reference to this has probably come up :)<br />
<br />
The course for this year is starting on 1st June 2011. Its free of charge as long as you continue with the service term. If you cannot, I believe you can drop them an email, and make some arrangements. You can take a look at the following brochures :<br />
<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4rr6Rge53bEMzhlMTQwOTEtYzU2Zi00NTc4LWEwN2MtZTU0MTQ5NDViMGY2&hl=en&authkey=CO38w9YB">Mailer</a><br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4rr6Rge53bEY2I4NDUyZmItMzExYy00YmIxLTlkMDQtYWMwZTE2YTNlNGE2&hl=en&authkey=CNiHlqcO">Poster</a><br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4rr6Rge53bEM2Q2ODdiZDAtYWU1NS00ODgxLTg5MmMtZjdmMWYzNzE0ZmYz&hl=en&authkey=CMPTpu0E">Sign up</a><br />
<br />
Feel free to share this note with someone who might be interested :) Get in touch with me if you need clarifications or advice.<br />
<br />
Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-9737628188671013592011-02-03T13:11:00.000+08:002011-02-03T13:11:17.246+08:00Yuvaveer : Locked in a room<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Day 43 Monday 13th July 2009</b></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><br />
</b></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6c6159; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">[Note: This is a page from my diary when I was at a course at this Ashram. I was in a quiet room for 24hrs. It was an exercise meant to give time for the student to observe the tendencies of one's mind.]</span></b></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6c6159; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></b></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> Swamiji seemed a little pissed for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4FUQxn4CnY">Bhaja Govindam</a> class. He had told us on Saturday that he wants us to know the how to chant the shloka and its meaning for all the verses we have been through. Myself and a couple of friends had spent our Sunday at Pune City proper, so expectations were that we had done our studying. He asked one of my friends to start chanting a particular verse. She couldn't. He asked her to do another one, she couldn't. And another. She gave up. My balls fell. Actually I was sitting on a chair so they couldn't have fallen, but I can't think of a better way to put it. He said in English “Day and night ...”[1] hoping I knew which Sanskrit verse he was talking about. I hesitantly chanted and passed. He moved on to someone else. He asked and asked but no one could answer him satisfactorily. Phew.</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> I remember Swamiji calling me to his room during breakfast. We chat about the Bhaja Govindam scene for a while and he mentions how he only gets really angry when the name of the mission is at stake. Apparently, apart from that, he's just pretending. He then told me that I was to go it the silent room that afternoon. Perhaps for forty-eight hours. I ran off, rushed my breakfast and reported a little late for sanskrit or chanting class.</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> I don't remember what much happened till the afternoon. There were a couple of guests from Hong Kong or something and one of the girls was getting married. They ooed and aahed over my name and they asked me what I was wearing around my neck. It was my ID tag and two silver rings. I explained the significance of the tag (being an identifier for your dead body when you die in a war). They giggled and thought I was a fuckin retard. I packed my stuff and got ready to go. </div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> Sumedha lead me to the room and gave me a few last minute instructions. Swamiji's advice was to simply watch the mind. I made a mental note to try it out some of the little experiments I thought I would do while I was there.</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> The location was some sort of semi-detached bungalow. It occupied the section on the right. It was cozy and everything was kinda new. They folks had left me a jar of chivada, a jug of cold water and biscuits on the teapoy and Sumedha told me that she would send me lunch the next day. She locked my room and wished me luck. I put my stuff down, took a shower and settled in.</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> I stuck to my usual observing the breath technique. I had absolutely all the time in the world to do my stuff so it was fun. The technique is damn simple. You sit down, semi-relaxed. Keep your back straight and your head facing the front. Make sure that your sitting position is stable and not too difficult to maintain. You can rest your hands face-up on your lap. Take a few deep breaths and then just stop trying to control your breathing just observe your breathing and how your body feels. Being fully conscious of the present moment occupies your mind and it doesn't need to think too much. It calms you down and you can just relax and enjoy the good feeling.</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> So one of the first things I noticed was that the kinds of thoughts we have on a daily basis are kind of fuckin boring shit. We either fantasise about the future or re-enact the past. Or sometimes imagine what the past ought to have been like. Plus in terms of time span, they often revolve around the immediate past, often the past few days at most. And you just keep rotating over and over in the absence of new stimulus. Imagine all the thought power you might be preserving by not thinking when you don't need to.</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> I sporadically had a few handfuls of chivada, a biscuit to change the taste and water to moisten the dryness. I think I spilled some on the floor and had to sweep it up. Swamiji or someone left a bone on the shelf. It was about a foot or so long and about the circumference of an “O” you would make with your index finger and thumb it distracted me for a while when I contemplated what kind of animal it would come from and which part of the animal it was.</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> <br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"> At some point I thought it was dark enough to sleep so I switched off the lights, lay down and did the meditation business again...</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">Read <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2010/12/yuvaveer-seeing-ghosts.html">Day 44, Seeing Ghosts</a></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">[1]</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 10px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 10px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Day and night, dusk and dawn, winter and spring come and go. In this sport of Time entire life goes away, but the storm of desire never departs or diminishes. ॥12 </span></b></span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 10px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 10px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">॥</span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 10px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 10px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></b></span></span></b></span></div><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 10px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 10px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">दिनयामिन्यौ सायं प्रातः,<br />
शिशिरवसन्तौ पुनरायातः।<br />
कालः क्रीडति गच्छत्यायुस्तदपि<br />
न मुन्च्त्याशावायुः ॥१२ </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 10px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 10px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">॥</span></b></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 10px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 10px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><br />
Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-59960999340777419752010-12-24T18:04:00.005+08:002011-02-03T13:11:59.625+08:00Yuvaveer : Seeing Ghosts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><b>Day 44 Monday 14<sup>th</sup> July 2009</b></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><b><br />
</b></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">[Note: This is a page from my diary when I was at a course at this Ashram. I was in a quiet room for 24hrs. It was an exercise meant to give time for the student to observe the tendencies of one's mind. I left shortly after this day, so I didn't actually write about the other experiences during that session] </div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">Read <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2011/02/yuvaveer-locked-in-room.html">Day 43, Locked in a Room</a></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><b> </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">I woke up sometime at midnight. Lying on the bed, I was facing the wall. They had switched off all the lights in the area. Even the street lamps. Everything was so dark that I could not make out the borders of things in the rooms. It was blurry because I wasn't wearing my glasses. I flipped over and there was a white figure suspended about a metre away from me. This is freaky because I recall locking the doors and windows before going to sleep. I shifted my gaze around and noticed that the figure sort of shifted. Not in some geometrical fashion but it shifted. And it kept shifting in a consistent fashion as I moved my eyes around the room. All this is very difficult to explain because the figure was so fuzzy and hazy that I cannot even be confident of locating it spatio-temporally. Then I remember that there was some kind of white light that leaked through the curtains before I fell a sleep it might have been from some machine or lamp outside the bungalow. The light poked through the curtains and bounced off one of the doors illuminating part of the door and its frame.</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">In absolute darkness, you cannot differentiate objects and a patch of light becomes de-contextualised, plus I'm myopic, so it's blurry. Now the resolution of your peripheral vision (so called corner of your eye) is also poorer, compared to that of your central vision (the area in front of you). This is compounded by your finely tuned pareidolia, good for recognising faces. Pareidolia is the ability of your mind to perceive patterns. It relies on the data that your senses provide your mind. Put the hazy figure, without well defined borders, which would otherwise look like a patch of white on a wall into something that hovers mid-air with the tendency for us to see purpose, intentions and agents. All of these together and you get a “ghost” which shifts or morphs when you shift your gaze. Genius. When I figured this out, I gasped and played around with the illusion a bit before going back to sleep. </div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-65520137859723191142010-12-12T18:00:00.002+08:002010-12-12T18:11:08.229+08:00I didn't make it<div>Hello :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for all the support but I didn't make it to the top three. Some of the endorsements you guys wrote for me were very uplifting! I honestly thought a lot of my competitors were a bit myopic but I am happy that <a href="http://www.nrimatters.com/nripowerpodium/visitor-view/neena/popular">Neena from UAE</a> made it to the top 3. I think she raised a couple of interesting points.</div><div><br /></div><div>This morning, I happen to be browsing through this old journal I kept when I was a student at an Ashram for a few months. This was in 2009, yes, some of you might be like, "what's this atheist dude doing in an ashram" but I had my reasons.</div><div><br /></div><div><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none"></p></div><blockquote><div><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none">For quite sometime, I have stopped asking myself the question, “Why me?”, at least when I had done so, I sort of knew the answer and it was more of an expression of frustration rather than a serious question of purpose. If we look at the complexity of the world around us, about how small changes add up to larger ones, about the randomness, and we can stomach it, I feel we have upped our maturity and ability to cope with adversities up by a notch. Shit happens sometimes and there are often proximal causes, distant causes but I highly doubt there is a larger purpose. That of course does not mean that we cannot learn a lesson from a disaster, or that we cannot, upon reflection, see it as symbolic. Yet, to look at it as if it was “meant” to teach us a lesson would not just be delusional but also potentially gravely insensitive to the people who to whom the tragedy has affected.</p></div><div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>I believe this was when a friend of many of the attendees had passed away when he was in his thirties. I was annoyed when they said it was his "destiny" or the fruits of his past karma. I needed to vent :/</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-30549241896754206162010-12-10T22:40:00.003+08:002010-12-10T22:59:18.073+08:00I'm a step closer to Delhi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltvS1xIzfWe2Cfi6zkYfgBDd9zoMsaZ1-Prl0cSuTmzCiz20bulHOYOFDFn1ThHNHP9UKDwrCVaQagwoA3xFellLFDRWJDnSf_X2ZushlDIQgu4bvaF38xDXyFgxGQXkyl7ua/s1600/top+25.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltvS1xIzfWe2Cfi6zkYfgBDd9zoMsaZ1-Prl0cSuTmzCiz20bulHOYOFDFn1ThHNHP9UKDwrCVaQagwoA3xFellLFDRWJDnSf_X2ZushlDIQgu4bvaF38xDXyFgxGQXkyl7ua/s320/top+25.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549065253401351522" /></a><br /><div>Hellloooo :)</div><div><br /></div><div>I basically made it to the final 25 list of competitors. I need more votes. I noticed that some folks are not very familiar with the issues I raised, which is fine, I think what the judges need affirmed is that I am the right person.</div><div><br /></div><div>Can I request readers to <a href="http://www.nrimatters.com/nripowerpodium/visitor-view/chinmaya-joshi">go here and drop me an endorsement</a>, explaining to others, what you know about me! You can post this on Facebook, tag your friends and let them know.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-66434734613440977122010-12-07T22:25:00.003+08:002010-12-07T22:44:00.223+08:00India ... here I come!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nrimatters.com/images/power-podium/global-images/nripower.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 82px;" src="http://www.nrimatters.com/images/power-podium/global-images/nripower.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div>There are times when you have this feeling of knowing what is wrong, but not knowing what you can do to fix it. I have been to numerous parties and social events before with my parents. Usually the kind where expatriate Indians hang out. Now that I am in my twenties, I tend to sit and chill with the uncles and the discussion tends to shift, eventually, towards Money, Films or Indian Current Affairs. Usually, it starts off on an interesting tangent but usually ends up discussing the angle of how messed up the whole system is, sometimes making the situation seem hopeless. You have probably been there too. At about this point, myself and my dad are silent onlookers, I have the option of going and joining the younger kids. I usually do just that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not this time.....</div><div><br /></div><div>Post exam, post massive amounts of school work, I bumped into this event called <a href="http://www.nrimatters.com/nripowerpodium/home">NRI Power Podium</a>. It's a lead up to the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2011 (hindi for NRI Day) where big and powerful Indians from across the world gather to discuss issues of interest. The event opens the floor to Indians across the world to raise issues which are important to them. We create a profile, put it up to a vote and the top 25 are shortlisted, remarketed and Judges are brought in to vet <a href="http://www.nrimatters.com/nripowerpodium/visitor-view/chinmaya-joshi">our profiles</a>. <b>Winners will get an all expenses paid trip to India to attend the conference and speak out!</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Being in a scientific field, money and law are not my strong points, though in school they teach us enough law to know how to protect ourselves (Medico-Legal, Ethics). However, there is one means of voicing out opinions which are valuable to me. There is a category called "Cultural Matters" which is admittedly vague, but which I am using to air my views.</div><div><br /></div><div>The improvements I am suggesting (supposedly to Dr Manmohan Singh) are about <b>Reservations, Hate Speech Laws and an improved Security Framework</b>. You can see what I feel about these at my full <a href="http://www.nrimatters.com/nripowerpodium/visitor-view/chinmaya-joshi">profile here</a> . As readers of my writing, I know you are concerned about at least one of the above and it would be great to drop me an endorsement! I have also placed a little counter on the right. Do <b>help me spread the word</b> and gather more votes, I'll need at least five hundred. This is a small step we can take towards change.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you have any concerns or queries, drop me a comment here.</div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-27347555118563487522010-10-10T17:32:00.004+08:002010-10-10T18:33:55.503+08:00I want to drown myself<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/still_no_sleep.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 688px; height: 249px;" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/still_no_sleep.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We've all had that feeling before. You forget to put a plus or minus in a math problem and get a wrong answer. Once you realise that, you think you should go drown in a bucket of water. Perhaps on a more serious note, you might not be coping with work/school (or maybe you killed a patient) and you go back thinking that you're worthless. For a while, for some reason, you start to genuinely believe killing yourself might be an option.</div><div><br /></div><div>We've all been there, you're probably not the only one.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why am I talking about this? Today is World Mental Health Day. If there is one thing you take to heart today, it's this. Our bodies are varied, some of us are short, tall, thin, fat. We have different levels of everything in our body, hormones, enzymes, cells it's the reason why when you go for a test, your doctor will try to find out if your values are within the normal <b>range</b>. Not everyone can run a mile in five minutes and we don't feel inferior because of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Similarly, not everyone's minds are the same. We have varying desires, inclinations, dislikes and different things give our lives meaning. It's ok. Not everyone is going to be a top student and there is nothing wrong with that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Every once in a while, you've probably fallen down and cut yourself. Maybe the cut wouldn't heal on its own and got infected. It's normal to seek treatment. Correspondingly, when the going gets tough and you can't handle it or you don't feel your normal self, there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking medical attention, nobody can or should ostracise you for it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Destigmatise Mental Illness. We're in the 21st Century for God's sake, we shouldn't be demonising people like in the middle ages.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Institute of Mental Health has some<a href="http://www.imh.com.sg/patients_visitors/mental_health_edu.html"> great resources</a> on a range of mental health issues such as how to cope with bereavement.</div><div><br /></div><div>And BTW, if you're reading this blog post because you are in some way contemplating suicide please call the Samaritians (Singapore number) 1800 221 4444. Don't worry, it's confidential or if you are the type who needs to read something<a href="http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/"> check this out</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Spread the word! Share this note!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-13583835160134602362010-09-21T11:19:00.004+08:002010-09-21T13:28:16.873+08:00A Year in Review<div>This is kind of like how newspapers do a lineup of all the things that happened in the past year. This is a long one and it's a kind of written "Catching-up" if I have not seen you in a while. (I've linked to my previous blog posts)</div><div><br /></div><div>The year (including the academic one) started on a high note as I came back from that awesome two month course at the ashram in India. I was all empowered and everything (read the "Sitting on a Rock" post under my FB notes). I started off very idealistically. The only exposure I had to university life was when I hung out at my sister's college in the US (I didn't attend lessons) and with a group of peers (during pharmacology and anatomy lectures) those were fun moments but not entirely representative.</div><div><br /></div><div>I spent my <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2009/09/birthdays.html">last birthday at a cemetery</a> among other things. In October when my Granny passed away, I spent a lot of time reflecting about death and dying, especially how to handle it as a materialist, I read Richard Dawkin's <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2009/09/death-prelude.html">"To be read at my funeral"</a> over and over.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were a lot of fun things going on in school too. I switched gears to do Medicine from Computer Engineering because I was so awestruck by the wonder of Life. Although the lectures seemed boring and I always felt behind and couldn't catch up with work, in year 2, on hindsight, I learnt a ton of cool things. It almost feels like I have X-ray vision now, because I know how the body is structured and what goes on "under the hood". It's a breath-taking feeling :). Outside academics, I picked up a bit of Muay Thai (but I quit when I damaged my shoulder, outside of class), did salsa, which is still going strong and wrote a few articles (2 to be exact) for the Student Magazine. One of them required us to go to the Red light district and interview a prostitute. I also contributed to a script for a school play which got us best Script for the competition. A lot of action, I'm still getting used to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometime in December, in fact the exact same day I dislocated my shoulder, my friend, who is a dating coach, invited me for a documentary filming. If you look carefully, you can see me giggling at him from the corner during a mock lecture. I flew off to India a few days after that. That year, was the first time I ventured out of the state of Maharashtra for the first time. I had been up north to <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2009/05/travelogue-siddhabari.html">the Himalayas</a> earlier in the year and I hit Chennai in December. Both were very eye-opening trips.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometime around this time, I made the decision to leave the house and go live in the hostel. It was a big shift as I have never been out on my own. This kind of independence was unprecedented. I imagined it to be a four month long, hedonistic party but, oh well, it was tough at the same time. I had my moments and one of the memorable ones were the pre-exam studying sessions I had with my buddies (the other moments? Shhh).</div><div><br /></div><div>I started doing a couple of small, adhoc things to Change the World. There was <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2010/03/this-valentines-day-make-love-not-money.html">Free Hugs day</a> (you can see my gorgeous friend holding up the sign) coinciding with Valentine's Day. Gunther von Hagen's Body Worlds was also in town so I hit the idea of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdR2l1LRGY4yfXIRdwmX2jQ-p-jskDvLym_XJKiPP8CEbl7yj5MsXin1OZVp-uD97B0BHPDWzdfMcuJQidG9lzy-w6D0FnDz-MhssZ3eGjvkCcF0ctTmxPa01vZfJIesBaAHf/s1600/LDEIB+copy.jpg">doing guided tours</a> for various groups of people. I wasn't officially affiliated with any of the organisers (had to pay to get in) so I took the liberty of giving it a philosophical bent of my own. On the last day, no one showed up. I was half tempted to give up but my friend told me that he would be coming by, even if he was late. I started out the tour with just him and me. Slowly, some of the kids next to me started eaves dropping and asking questions. At some point they ask if they can join in (you know what I did, right?) By the end of the exhibition, there is a crowd following me. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm planning on doing another Free Hugs soon and this thing called Gandhi Awareness Week. Watch out for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometime later, our anatomy sessions in the lab were coming to an end. The tutors wanted people to go and share their reflections with the rest of the class. I couldn't help myself. I had been through the whole process and basically shared the bits I had talked about in my Death posts. I thought it would be nice if everyone had thought deeply about their own mortality culminating in their enthusiasm for signing up for a more comprehensive organ donation. I am yet to address this with my parents and do something about it. Nudge me if you will.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the academic year drew to a close, the self-doubt started piling up. Going through the notes, I started to realise there was way too much to try and remember and the temptation to just give it up was too strong. I was lucky to have friends. And also, being a skeptic (the kind who doubts a lot of things, the supernatural, UFOs ...) I began to doubt my doubts. That helped a lot and I managed to pull through.</div><div><br /></div><div>The holidays were crazy, but you might already know that. When I got back from the USA, I got ready for a bit of catching up with this "Big Green Organisation" The one where you wear a uniform and be patriotic. Oh, wait, how could I forget .....</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2010/07/experiment-conceiving-khushwant.html">KHUSHWANT</a> <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2010/07/experiment-khushwants-embryology.html">SINGH</a> SODHI! (part III is saved somewhere on my com)</div><div><br /></div><div>I have been averse to commitments since forever and I felt that was preventing me from achieving my potential. When school finally started (last month), there was a day when last year's Class Rep (the awesome guy who made sure the class ran smoothly) asked if anyone wanted to serve for this year. My hand shot up. I got it. I am in the process of doing crazy things and it has not been easy, but it's certainly fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a lot more things to talk about but my wrist is hurting. A couple of you asked why it says v0.22 on my Facebook profile. It's because I am still a work-in-progress. I hopefully will always be. Every year goes by and although you might not always feel the changes, there is this transformation going on. A couple also asked about my dating life. I'm still single (though I have been upto something ;) ) and in the process of having so much fun, I don't think I'm available for a relationship, but I could change my mind. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for being on my journey, for the coming year, I hope to up the notch on the adventure, maybe two or three, and if you have not been infected by the spirit of fun, just wait ....</div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-43549082883766986342010-09-10T11:46:00.005+08:002010-09-10T13:13:56.988+08:00Burn a Qur'an Day(comic from XKCD.com)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/book_burning.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 740px; height: 178px;" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/book_burning.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Book burning has been so common in history that there is even a name for it, it's called Biblioclasm. I think this whole issue has gone so out of hand, its time some non-believers started to open their big mouths and speak up. PZ Myers (the rock star of atheism) has a slightly <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/09/setting_the_koran_on_fire_vs_s.php">different angle on this</a>, I've got my own.</div><div><br /></div><div>I cannot relate to this issue on many levels. I feel that the "moral outrage" is rather disproportionate to the event. It helps to look at the facts first. </div><div><br /></div><div>Pastor Jones, leader of the 50 strong non-denominational church, Dove World Outreach Centre, decides it would be nice to burn Qu'rans (I'm meticulous with spelling) to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11. Apparently, Pastor Jones thinks Islam is evil (its extra biblical) and the Qur'an incites violent behaviour. This he cites as his motivation. He stood defiant against global criticism of his idea until it seems that the Islamic Centre being built in Manhattan came up as a bargaining chip. Imam Musri, of the Islamic Society of Florida seems to have said that he might be open to negotiating over the proposed location of the Manhattan Islamic Centre if Jones were to refrain.</div><div><br /></div><div>I got that from a <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/quran_burning">Yahoo News </a>article. Good enough for discussion. I tried putting myself in the shoes of the people whose book is being burnt as a Hindu of course (to piss off an atheist, you need to burn something more, like people) but I could not relate to it. Here's what I imagined.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jones: "You hindus, you're evil! How can all religions be true? We are going to burn your books because on 11th Sept 1893, your Swami Vivekananda was<a href="http://hinduism.about.com/od/vivekananda/a/vivekananda_speeches.htm"> in Chicago and said blasphemous things</a>." Ok, I'm trying to be funny here, but the point is there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Burning a Bhagavad Geeta does not matter to me because</div><div>a) it's not my copy you're burning (mine was a memorable gift)</div><div>b) the knowledge contained there-in is independent of the physical book</div><div>c) I have the important bits memorised</div><div>d) there are tons of copies around the world</div><div>e) I already know you hate me</div><div>f) I know you are just trying to piss me off</div><div>g) there are greater evils to fight</div><div><br /></div><div>I was going to write long elaborate arguments but I think those points do the trick.</div><div><br /></div><div>Going back to the media frenzy, I thought it was funny how if</div><div><br /></div><div>a) the media did not report this (Singapore media has refined this art)</div><div>b) the Army general did not complain about it</div><div>c) Obama ignored it</div><div><br /></div><div>It would just be a bunch of stupid fundies doing what they do best and we could go on an enjoy a nice weekend with our muslim friends (Happy Eid!). One of the ways to dissolve religious misunderstanding and hatred is to start talking about religion to your friends and being cool with disagreement. Any thoughts?</div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-18217804609837073582010-09-03T17:48:00.002+08:002010-09-03T17:51:10.154+08:00Quotable Quotes<div><blockquote>I have seen a xylophone exactly three times in my life. I think we should change the alphabet books from "X is for Xylophone" to "X is for Xenophobia" both big words, but the latter one is more useful </blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;">- Me</blockquote></div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-42208089802801777872010-09-03T17:38:00.002+08:002010-09-03T17:42:57.037+08:00I had a dream<div>Last night I had the craziest dream.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was walking down a street at night. I bump into a group of migrant indian construction workers and for some reason or the other( cannot remember what happened in between) I end up chatting with one of them about his medical issues.</div><div><br /></div><div>At some point, he tells me in formal, flawless english : "I am concerned about autoimmunity"</div><div>I reply, word for word from my immunology notes: " Everyone's lymphocytes are somewhat self-reactive. What you need to worry about is autoimmune disease, where there is tissue damage"</div><div><br /></div><div>I cannot remember what happens next but I can imagine him punching me in the face.</div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-30848618380582986102010-07-14T11:37:00.004+08:002010-07-14T22:18:43.488+08:00Experiment: Khushwant's Embryology<div>I'm a med student, I can use medical terminology with wanton abandon. I'm referring to the process of building up the identity and logistics of this character and I think embryology is a fine analogy.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you have not check out the previous one, you need to read <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/2010/07/experiment-conceiving-khushwant.html">Experiment: Conceiving Khushwant</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Mindsets</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>I was in this for fun and personal development. If it failed, it would be one big joke and we would all have a good laugh (which would still mean it was successful) and if it worked out, I get to partake in one of the biggest Mindf***ks my friends would have ever seen. You can get to see this in action when I'm doing magic as well. In my mind, I'm thinking, "These guys want to have fun" and I go and do my tricks. This is in contrast to the time I started out seven years ago. About half the time I performed, one thought that was on my mind was "how can I prove myself?" Usually in magic, this translates to wanting to <b>fool</b> your spectators and prove <b>them wrong</b>. There is a subtlety here. Contrast this to wanting to entertain your audience and for <b>us</b> to have a good time. All performance arts have this element of making the fictitious appear real and magic is no different. What is different with magic is that in some instances, novices especially, turn it into a battle of wits.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other concept that I use is what Troy Dizon calls X=X. You attract what you project. Yes, it sounds like "The Secret" and I am not fan of new age woo, but there is a sense in which it is provably useful. In the most practical sense, X=X is the principle of reciprocity that governs most social interactions, people are attracted to a vibe that is a reflection of them or something they want. Freshies basically come to orientation to have fun and make friends (I hope) maybe they want to hook up as well, but let's focus on the bigger picture. As a consequence, when your predominant attitude is to have fun and make new friends, you click, effortlessly. You need to chill and remember that <b>at no time is someone going to even think that you're not a real freshie.</b> So do not go around with that thought in your mind.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>The History</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>I realised that since my character was from a different land, he needed a plausible history. I couldn't do this on my own so I enlisted the help of my mumbaikar friend. She was nice enough to dig up some places to live, a good high school to attend and a fabulous engineering college to be from. There was a limit to how much I could make up so a lot of the anecdotes/emotions/opinions were basically mine with slightly different labels. This basically sold the genuineness of Khushwant. This was emphasised by the fact that I was comfortable in my own skin most of the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Performing magic also means you sometimes need to make stuff up as you go along. Improv skills definitely helped alot when people asked me why I didn't have a full beard like most sikhs (I had to go for army training the week before), I made up a story about miscommunication with the barber. I was prepared to tell people why my turban looked different, of course back in Mumbai, my mom has helped me tie it ever since and over here, my sleep cycle was screwed up meaning I had five minutes to get ready for stuff.... You can get away with anything if you say it confidently and with a straight face. Furthermore, people give you the benefit of doubt alot when you are from a different culture.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>The logistics</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Sikh boys don't always wear turbans. I realised this at the camp. It seems that more boys are wearing just the sikh bangle, without the turban. I am not sure how "authentic" that is but it seems to be becoming the norm. I tried to learn how to tie a turban online, from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkXQZit1DPo">Baljit Singh</a>. The video is extremely informative, however, it's edited and it makes the whole process seem way easier than it actually is. Remember that you are trying to tie a 1.5m x 5m. The other aspect is that without a substantial amount of hair on your head, it can be tough to tie a firm one. Your best bet would be to head down to the Sikh Temple at <a href="http://www.sikhs.org.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=38">Silat Rd</a>, they are supposed to teach you how.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I was in town, I bumped into this sikh shop and got two turbans for seven bucks each. I managed to get a bangle as well, unfortunately, I realised I might be wearing the bangle on the wrong (left) side. That was the natural choice for me since I am those few funny people who wear a watch on their right. I was contemplating getting a cheap prepaid SIM card, the short cut option is to simply act and ask for everyone's number. Once I got a call and answered it. When I put it down, I looked at this guy next to me and said, "that call is on roaming, it's going to be shit expensive" and he agreed.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the next post, I talk about the execution and some of the surprising things I observed</div><div><br /></div><div>(To be continued)</div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a><div><br /></div>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6423641.post-56251361840744452010-07-10T22:42:00.003+08:002010-07-14T11:42:01.411+08:00Experiment: Conceiving Khushwant<div>I just got back from orientation camp for the freshies. My classmates put in a ton of hardwork over months, the freshies were enthusiastic too. All I can say is that it's been epic, thank you for the crazy memories I'll rave about to my grandchildren.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's time for Khushwant's story.</div><div><br /></div><div>I cannot remember exactly how when or where this whole idea came about but there were a couple of factors precipitating this chain of events. As much as it is going to contain anecdotes about orientation, it might read to some as a primer on magical theory and social dynamics.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>I'm a magician</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>For a start, that means that I enjoy performing in front of people and sometimes am capable of thinking creatively, albeit in a twisted manner. In magic, we always try to push the boundaries of how much we can get away with and also how violently we can surprise and amaze people. Similarly, we explore how we can do the same things in a different manner, preferably in a more effective and undetectable way. I do not know how many of you have known magicians intimately (no, not in the biblical sense), but you'll realise how much attention we give to detail and how we have contingencies for almost every possibility you can think of. I think the seven years of performing magic have also driven home the mindset of trying to win the war, even though you might lose a battle here or there (also called looking at the big picture, in Raj Speak). Yet most importantly, we know how to have a truckload of fun.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>I once went for a tea session in '08</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>When I first got my little brown envelope (metaphorically : golden ticket), I made it a point to head for the pre-camp tea session, even though I would not be joining medical school that year. I remember bumping into several old friends, making a few new ones. Yet this dude stood out conspicuously. I cannot remember what exactly it was, but he stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn't his attire, accent or anything. It was this vibe he gave out ... he was just too friendly, too confident, too at home. I can't really put it into words, but that was when I found out about this tradition. I think I made a mental note to myself. When it's my turn, I'm going to do this in a way that is going to be epic.</div><div><br /></div><div>It looks like I am exposing this tradition of fake freshies for future generations, and it won't seem like much fun anymore. Though honestly, the ones who really give the game away are the ones who do not execute their roles properly. Like the senior I mentioned above. Trust me, I can expose a magic trick for you, and do the same one again, and you won't notice a thing.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Small attention span</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>My buddies from the dorm and myself have a short attention span. We realised that we were in trouble. But we were medical students so it meant that if we quit, we would be $444,000 (4 in Chinese, symbolic of death) in debt with no job so we came up with a brilliant idea. We would talk medicine to each other so we wouldn't have to spend so much time playing with out books. It worked. Every once in a while, we would switch accents, Indian, Malay, Cantonese ... We once read an entire chapter of Moore's Essential Clinical Anatomy with an Indian accent. We would make good actors.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>My name is Khan</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>I recall sometime early this year, this movie got popular. My mom and her friends were talking about it. And the ad came on TV. One of the iconic moments of the film is when the character Shah Rukh Khan plays in the movie gets pulled into a special room for an airport security check and gets rudely whisked. He looks at the security guy in the eye and goes : "My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist". Somehow, in my mind I went : "My name is not Singh, and I am not actually your classmate". Nice. I've been Hindu all my life though not conspicuously. I do not wear vermilion or holy ash on my forehead. I wanted to explore another religious identity and I thought it might be interesting to be Sikh, since it was one I was not totally ignorant about and it was plausible to be one, considering my cultural background. I got the first name from that of a famous indian writer; the surname, stolen from a friend. K.S.S was born.</div><div><br /></div><div>At some point during an anatomy lecture, all of this clicked... Khushwant was conceived.</div><div><br /></div><div>(to be continued)</div><div><br /></div>Facebookers: Check out the rest of the blog <a href="http://csjoshi.blogspot.com/">here</a>csJoshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611807069326825884noreply@blogger.com0