Scenes from Pakistan

The government of Pakistan announced on Monday that it would accept Islamic Sharia Law to be implemented in its Swat Valley region, as part of a truce with local Taliban leaders. Militants had been demanding Sharia law, attacking opponents, burning scores of girls' schools and banning many forms of entertainment. Gun battles between Pakistani security forces and militants have killed hundreds, while up to a third of the valley's 1.5 million people have fled. A nuclear power with a growing economy, Pakistan's government is still struggling for control of the country, coping with internal clashes and terrorism, that can bleed over and involve neighbors and allies, including militant attacks in India, and excursions into Afghanistan - inviting U.S. military operations that follow the attackers back into Pakistan.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/scenes_from_pakistan.html

Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?

Psychologist Dan Gilbert challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel real, enduring happiness, he says, even when things don't go as planned. He calls this kind of happiness "synthetic happiness," and he says it's "every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for."

Why you should listen to him:

Dan Gilbert believes that, in our ardent, lifelong pursuit of happiness, most of us have the wrong map. In the same way that optical illusions fool our eyes -- and fool everyone’s eyes in the same way -- Gilbert argues that our brains systematically misjudge what will make us happy. And these quirks in our cognition make humans very poor predictors of our own bliss.

Simple Life = Hard Decisions

Making life simple is no easy job. One of the first steps is to make the tough decisions - the ones that have been kept on hold, the ones that have been ignored, the ones that you never even thought about before.
And the key to making these tough decisions - knowing yourself and what you really want. Once you have got that nailed down, you just gotta take the plunge and be ruthless in execution. I guess this is just Life-101, but then I never gave it much thought before.

Life... part 2

Back after a long hiatus. And with a new look. There are still tweaks to be done to the look but it gives an idea of how it is going to form. Simplicity - that's what I am aiming for, in blog and in life.

Weekend Beckons

Jungle Safari, River rafting, Campfires, Coracle Rides, Forest Trekking, soccer and Frisbee on the beach, Ocean-view sunsets.... I sure am looking forward to this weekend :)

Indian Blogosphere

Want a quick and funny introduction to the Indian blogosphere, along with the links to the "top" Indian blogs?
Check this out

Tagged

RJ tagged me ages ago and I discovered it just now only. Here goes...

I am thinking about...
doing something unusual on the coming long weekend. Wink

I said...
something very hurtful to someone yes'day. Sorry

I want to...
go to Goa for a week. Hic

I wish...
life was simpler. Sigh

I hear…
the sound of silence - its 4 in the night. Yawn

I wonder...
is the worst over ?

I regret...
........... ...

I am...
very restless.

I dance...
and look like a fool.

I sing...
terribly. Really terribly. Ahem

I cry...
when I regret. ...

I am not always...
sensible. Duh

I make with my hands...
maggi. my fav nighout companion. Slurp

I write...
poems that only I read. ThankGod

I confuse...
my parents.

I need...
to lose some weight. Burp

Tanushree, Ms N - your turn to carry the flame.