you walk around anywhere, in the ttc, in the malls, in stores, and you see the same goddamn thing

i’m talking about those girls, all of them who look the exact same, you can tell they’re in high school — perhaps even junior high — and they might as well have come off an assembly line

first the hair, the shiny hair that looks like it’s been ironed down to the skull
then the same stupid arrogant glare that each one of them has with the make-up over-applied to the eyes
the skimpy tops covered by some odd wind-breaker type clothing
or those fleece sweaters or hoodies from gap
and the same types of jackets, either a white columbia jacket — always worn the same way, or a white tight bubble jacket but with a hood that is lined with fur
the same small stocky black purses (or colours that match the jacket or other clothing items)
and the tight jeans that bell out slightly (not too much) near the bottom

and the number one thing, the singular thing that unites them all is the goddamn shoes
the same goddamn shoes
either the air force ones or stupid look-alikes
with the tongues out, over the tight jeans
and the laces loose or undone
and if there’s a velcro strap which there often is it’s undone and off to the side
and the goddamn shoes are always white, or some other pretty ass colour to match perhaps the purse or the jacket or some other crap

what the hell is going on there

it’s pissing me off

it’s as if they all go to some dumbass factory and step into a machine where they select from a pre-screened selection of colours and come out all looking the goddamn same with minor differences in colour

bloody hell

and let’s not forget the guys, all the guys who act as if they’re tough and crap with their horrendously long shirts and their pants hanging around well below their asses restricting their movements and forcing them to walk with a side-to-side shift as if they’re goddamn penguins, and the same baseball hat over bandana look — very original
and the goddamn air force ones, the same god damned air force ones and lookalikes worn the same goddamn way as the girls, with the tongue out, the laces loose or undone and the velcro strap off to the side
hey but some of them do get original what with the rolling up one of their pant legs for some goddamn inexplicable reason

it’s grand

like a mass production of non-thinking drones

http://www.despair.com/loneliness.html

(got that off niall’s msn name)

so i went to a typical desi party and as usual the males gathered in one room to discuss international politics, as usual
more often than not i don’t dip my foot into these forays as the uncles believe they can solve the problems of the world in their living rooms
but today, i decided i’d step into the fray because, well, it’s been a while since i had a debate

many muslims have this paranoia about zionist jews, that everything the united states does is because of the zionist desire to establish the true eretz israel (or the true land of israel — some call it greater israel) which extends really really far and takes a massive chunk out of the rest of the middle east
interpretations vary, some renditions go north into syria and iraq, west into egypt, some go … well, a lot more than just that

and so many muslims believe that the only reason america is waging a war in iraq is for the territorial expansion of israel, saying that those who believe the war is being waged for the entrepreneurial expansion of corporations are being blinded by a zionist agenda

well that’s fine and dandy, but that doesn’t explain american involvement in virtually all of south america and the far east (vietnam, korea), and so on so forth
because, hey, eretz israel doesn’t stretch that far — unless for some odd reason you think eretz israel stretches from venezuela to vietnam

which, to say the least, is a load of crap, i don’t think even the hardliners at ahavat israel are pining for that sort of territory

and i’m not saying that capitalism does not serve the purposes of zionism or vice-versa, because there is a massive israeli lobby in washington
and the fact is, the war also benefited israel because iraq has tangibly attacked israel before (with scuds) and was financing suicide bombers — or their families anyway, and so israelis wanted saddam out of the picture

but hey, get real

american involvement in all these areas, and yes even iraq (especially iraq), is particularly for the benefit of the corporate interests that grow richer and richer as the poor grow poorer

stephen bechtel: “We are not in the construction and engineering business. We are in the business of making money.”
(bechtel‘s is one of the companies contracted for the reconstruction of iraq)

if you have the will-power, please do read this article from zmag to understand what i’m talking about:

reconstruction’s bottom line

The problem is, as evidenced most clearly by the case of Bechtel and KBR, the job is not even getting half-done. Profit-maximization has not resulted in the most efficient restoration of power and oil production possible. On the contrary, it gets in the way of doing things right. The power plants will eventually be built and the oil refineries will run again, but not after unnecessary deprivation on the part of Iraqis and not after Bechtel has made the most of the opportunity.

This war to liberate Iraq was never about liberating the Iraqis.

you see, there’s a religion that neo-con’s and right-wingers practice, forget judaism, christianity, islam — capitalism

corporations worship the almighty dollar

have you or a friend ever worked at mcdonald’s and felt oppressed by it’s fat cat capitalist owners making money off your hard work and sweat that goes into every burger and fry that you shell out?

well if you’re tired of it and want to strike back at the corporate world, and you work at mcdonald’s, then this web page is for you:

mcdonald’s workers resistance on stealing

There is plenty that is of value- happy meal toys make nice presents for young relatives. We used to know someone who swapped hash browns for hash, you can keep friends and family supplied with tea bags, household equipment, sauces, etc. Get stuck into the black economy. McDonalds owes us, we could be robbing them blind for years and not get back half of what they�ve stolen from us.

this is one of the funniest, and most confusing, web pages i’ve come across recently

mind you they have a disclaimer too: “We hope you enjoyed this humorous, just for entertainment article. Please remember that theft is a criminal offence.”

viva la revolution

i’ve noticed that in the past few days i’ve been receiving a lot less junk mail than i usually do … wasn’t there some anti-spam law passed in the states?

also, if pasta is good before a marathon, is it also good for marathon studying before an exam?
during the exams earlier this month i ate pasta every hour or two to keep myself awake and studying for one of them … i don’t recall how well that went because i woke up realizing i hadn’t completed my studying
i don’t even remember what exam that was

ah well

they stood outside the math class handing out red pieces of paper
he took one and read it, ah yes, operation christmas child, fill a shoebox with candies, condiments, and items of personal hygiene — treats for kids who usually wouldn’t get something like this — in “third world” countries
“ah, and then you’ll slip in a pamphlet about jesus won’t you” he said
“that would be the best part!” one of the girls said
“right — receiving a pamphlet about jesus would just make my day” he retorted as he walked into math class

the fire alarm went off, he paused, “well,” he said to himself

he walked out, “you see this is what happens when you pass out red pieces of paper”
“no,” she replied, “this is what happens when you make fun of jesus”
“really? hey jesus, if you have a problem with me, why don’t you strike me down right now” he said, assuming a crucifix position and half-expecting the ceiling to fall on him
“you shouldn’t do that”
“naw, i don’t think jesus minds — i think jesus has a sense of humour”

they exited the building

“promise me,” she said as she stared intently into his eyes
i never make a promise i don’t intend to keep, he sang to himself
“promise … me … ” she repeated urgently
“i’ll try, that’s all i’m saying — i mean that’s why i’m going there, i have no other reason to go…” he finally replied
“good.”

he didn’t do it

i went to the zoo saturday morning with my uncle (who came to visit canada) and sanjeyan

every time i go to the zoo, i love it just as much as the last time — it never grows old for me
the zoo is a splendiferous place

i saw this bugger grow right in front of my eyes! he was fairly small the last time i saw him (nearly two months ago), and he used to do a lot more sitting around
he moves a lot more now, and he’s grown rather large

this is aisha, she also grew in front of my eyes. she was much shorter — if that’s anything to say — the last time i saw her she was towering over me anyway
she’s grown less shy, at any rate

now here, these two were just playing with the ropes, the one on the bottom got interested in playing only after the one on top started playing

two of the three famed just-born tiger cubs playing with their mother, brytne

the third one is sitting way off to the left

these animals are awesome

today, i saw five chinese people who i know
that’s not an all-time high, but i find it significantly banal enough to post here

i did my research the night before, there was a math tutorial in MP118 that began immediately after my lecture ended in MP203 on friday
i asked adam if he wanted to play a prank — on who? a whole class
so we made our way to MP118
there were several students waiting outside, including a girl from agincourt — who i nodded at (though it took her a while to recognize me)
i decided to open the door, and seeing that no one was in there, walked in
as i did so the girl from agincourt gave an expression that said “that works” and followed and asked “you’re not noaman are you?”
in a hushed voice i said, “indeed i am, but sshhh and watch”
the students entered the class and i went to the teacher’s table
i put my bag on it and proceeded to extract the math textbook and solutions manual (i don’t usually carry it around, but did so specifically for this purpose)
putting on my british accent i asked if this was the math tutorial class, students said yes, i said — i’m your TA
“this class is supposed to start ten minutes after the hour, but we’re here now on the hour — and that’s good, it’s good to be early, but we’ll start ten minutes after the hour from now on”
and before i even wrote anything a girl came up to me and said “i have a question for you — i know we have a quiz next friday, but that day is also my commencement, so do you know what i can do about that”
i simply said “you know what, i’ll get to your question in a few minutes, why don’t you take a seat”
then i turned to the class at large and said “my name is captain nomes” and wrote it on the board
“don’t ask why i have such an odd name, i have odd parents and i am odd myself”
then i wrote my ‘e-mail address’ under it — captain.nomes@math.utoronto.ca
i noticed several students copy down the information from the board
i then turned to the class and said “basically, this tutorial is me answering questions from the book, from your homework — the problem sets. i’m not going to be teaching anything from the course… so … are there any questions?”
a youth put his hand up and asked “yeah, i have a question about a problem in — i think it’s section 2.6 –”
i interrupted him and said “oh, i have a class plan and i’ll be going according to that — i was saying does anyone have any questions about the course in general?”
no one said anything
so for a few seconds i waited there, kept glancing at the door to make sure the real TA didn’t come in
then i asked the class, “how many of you have seen catch me if you can?”
and quite a few of them put their hands up
so i said “well you know the scene where he walks into the class and pretends to be the teacher, but he’s not really there teacher? well i’m not really your TA” and as i switched back to my normal accent smiles sprung up on many faces and i said “i’m actually a first year student in life sciences, and i’ve just played a joke on all of you” and erased “captain nomes” off the board
i then asked “how many of you believed me?” and none of them put their hands up “oh yeah, right, you miss came up and asked me a question about your commencement — btw, i think the answer is that you go and talk to mr. professor lam about it”
a student asked me why i didn’t use the real TA’s name — “i don’t think mr. roberto-gonzalez would be too happy” i said
i then started packing up and said “i’m not even in this tutorial, you’ll find them pretty useless, i skipped mine” and started walking out, adam walked out before me
and before i actually left i turned around, did a semi-bow and put my hand up
all the students were looking at me, some smiling
the agincourt girl was smiling throughout the joke and it was all adam could do to stop from bursting out in laughter

basically a repeat of the prank i pulled on tuesday, but this time better done

unfortunately i don’t think i’ll be able to do a repeat any time this year
because these were the first time the math tutorials took place

perhaps for the CHM138 and CHM139 tutorials as they start later this academic year

lots of fun, more fun than a barrel of monkeys