Excursions

Liked a review for The Trial of the Chicago 7 – sums up my thoughts about the movie really well.

Aaron Sorkin is way too good a writer to be forced to work with such a mediocre director as Aaron Sorkin.

With the way IPL has played out this year, I’m sure the mood in many teams room is a tad dreary. Many performances picked up late causing reshuffle of the points table towards the later half. Though only Mumbai Indians have been consistent, I hope we get a new champion.

I just created an account at Letterboxd, I’ve been delaying this for no reason. I love Goodreads because I can track and get the recommendations for books. I’m sure Letterboxd will do the same for movies.

I wonder though, can I rate a movie high, yet still not like it?

On Motivation and Writing Prompts →

Prompts don’t “force” us to be creative: they give us an excuse to practice, to play with our tools, and, if we’re lucky, to make discoveries we might not otherwise have made.

I agree with Robert - prompts are to get you practice writing.

I came across this opinion from Jack Baty about static sites and I completely agree with him.

[P]ublishing a static site is like sending a document to a printer. I have to make sure everything is connected, that there’s paper in the machine, and then wait for the job to finish before seeing the output. If something needs editing, and something always needs editing, the whole process starts over.

There was a time when I enjoyed building my site with Hugo, but I never got comfortable with the writing flow then. Once I got tired and moved away, I’d made up my mind that I won’t ever sign up for a static site for my blog again. I firmly believe that blogs aren’t the right candidates for static site generators.

Blogging platforms need to be light, free - something that static site generators, with the way they are setup, can never be. Jack’s got just the right metaphor to express my thoughts. Writing does feel like priting a document with static sites.

Before there was Pixar, I had studied under this Pixar lamp. Those were the days when priorities were pretty clear.

There was a time when I loved using Last.fm. The recommendations were brilliant; they had also nailed the social aspects around music consumption. But once the music went streaming, I felt no need for this service. Does anyone still uses this service? For what?

I’ve been under the weather since a last few days & felt the worst yesterday evening. I haven’t fet this uneasy since a long time. I could neither sit nor sleep - walking too was difficult. I’d a terrible couple of hours - the only comfort was I was around people closest to me.

An apt reminder from John Gruber on why leaders still matter, they instill virtues.

A sense that we’re in this together, and that the quickest (if not only) way out is via short-term collective sacrifice. Wear masks, stay apart, don’t gather. Find more patience.

There are elections in US and then there are elections in India. I don’t know how it’s in US, but boy, the dance of democracy is in full flow here in India. You look at some rallies and wonder if we are really living through a Pandemic.

My quest for simplicity wins me over again. Simple is always better. It’s a lot less friction prone.

I have always¹ wondered when is it that I write the most? What makes me active at writing? Or when is it that I stop (or pause) writing? Is the ease of putting the words out? Or is it the clarity of thoughts inside? I spend a lot of time on what’s outside, the immaterial material stuff. Rarely, do I spend time to peek inwards.

May be, just maybe, it’s not the CMS. Or the the blogging engine. It is the storm within that’s causing me to halt.

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1. Since the time I have started writing on the Internet. ↩︎

I wonder if I would be ok to post mainly from mobile, but as a regular micropub post. WordPress always allowed me to post so much more. I am not sure what m.b allows. It should be good enough, but is it really? That would be a test.

I have been writing a lot less recently - I wish I knew why. I think the prime reason for that is the recent change in routine. I’m not sure the blame lies completely there though. I just dont feel I’ve enough time.

Yesterday marked the beginning of Navratri, a nine-day festival for us Indians. And again, as has been the trend this year, the festivities are dampened by the phantom presence and talks of pandemic rampaging outside.

Each year, Ganesh Chaturthi, the long 10-day festival begins the season of festivals here in India. Everyone accepts that once the August dawns, it never is too long when we are already ringing the new year celebrations. We and our families are too busy with one festival after another.

This year the festivals did arrive, but the festivities were lacking. In India, we love celebrating our festivals outside, and with others. With our extended families and friends. We welcome them at home, and we don't hesitate to visit them and wish them loads of happiness.

So no surprise this year's festivals have been a lot different and a lot less fun. I understand the gravity of the situation that all us in the world find ourselves trapped in. But we Indians are known to dance away our fears and stresses together, as we celebrate our festivals.

From North to South, East to West of India, there are different names for the each (and at times the same) festival. But the purpose is common - celebrate the feeling of togetherness and of happiness that that togetherness brings to us. In that sense, this year has been dampening.

Anyway, Navratri began yesterday. Unlike each year, we are all working from home and hence have got a chance to be with our parents. Usually, my wife and my mother fast throughout these nine days of Navratri. They are not changing there routine, they will fast even this year. To keep me appreciative of how difficult that is, I have decided to fast today.

But the DJs blaring the loud sounds from the pandals set up for Garba are missing this year. Also missing are the endless debates between left and right on how we should stop spreading the noise pollution. Missing are the colourful stalls selling Gagra cholis and missing is the excitement of getting ready as per the colour schedule for each Garba night.

Sure, I understand the reason for all the gloom and also realize that we have bigger problems in front of us. But I abhor this year because it's stripping away the opportunities from us to celebrate and gain the strength we need to face the problems.

I also binge-watched the complete final season of The Good Place. I didn't like it at all - such a disappointing finale for a brilliant series overall. With unnecessary blabbering and too much of gyan, it just went downhill with each episode. About an hour-long final one was a drag - half-an-hour too long, maybe. I wonder which are the shows that have a timely, yet brilliant end - where once it's done, you go, "Is that over? So soon?" The Newsroom?

As I read this post that I wrote exactly 12 years back, I wish I could be more like that guy. He didn't care about how random the thought was. He was fearless. He may not make sense always, but he never let that hold him back. He didn't worry about what the reader might think about him. The thoughts and the writing sounds so immature, but am sure today I can write about the same idea a lot more cleanly. But then why don't I word such thoughts?

Well, I am no longer him. I wish I could be. I guess growing up has made me rigid and a lot more fearful.

One of my senior colleagues delivered a timely reminder of one truth -- we don't take any good or bad decision. Because no decision is good or bad until we get to the result that decision leads to. And given the fact that no one sensible can predict the future, you can only judge a decision in retrospect. So don't get paralyzed. Just take the decision.

We never call anything that’s good ‘content’. Nobody walks out of a movie they loved and says, ‘Wow! What great content!’ Nobody listens to ‘content’ on their way to work in the morning. Do you think anybody ever called Ernest Hemingway a ‘content creator’? If they did, I bet he would punch ‘em in the nose.

Greg Satell

I came across this short little post I'd written 9 years back, ruminating on how we are so different. I believe if there's anything that this year has proven, it is that just my small wish of uniting us my name was so naive.

We, the people of India; the divided people of India.

We are divided by states. We are divided by religion. We are divided by language. We are divided by accent. We are divided by names. We are divided by color.

Writing in Markdown is not always easy. If you are providing an interface, an editor of any form, you shouldn't force your users to write in markdown. Especially if you are expecting them to use your application on a mobile device. It's a complete mess on the smaller mobile screens.

Every time I've to write in Markdown on my smartphone, I shudder. Especially if I've to insert a link. Do not make me type all the markups. It is just not easy.

It is a lot simpler to select some text and tap a button, either to make it bold or insert a link. Sure, insert the markup in the background or in the editor, I don't mind that. Just don't make me type the whole damn stars and brackets sequence.

Don't get me wrong. I love Markdown. It is the simplest markup format, a lot better than writing the posts as HTML. However, it's not too intuitive to write on the smaller screens, without a physical keyboard.

So please don't force me use that. Provide me an option of a toolbar.

I recently wanted to attempt meditation again. I have already tried getting into a habit of regular meditation sessions many times before this. However, as always, even this time, I couldn't go through the sessions for any significant duration of time. I can't seem to understand what I am missing.

Maybe my mind is just not wired to be able to get something out of the process. Or maybe my surrounding, my current lifestyle is too chaotic to lend me space, the time to meditate. Thoughts always rush into my mind. From work. From home. From things done well. From things not yet done. I would never get into the zone where I am listening to my breathing. Maybe I am just too distracted within.

And the fact that meditation can probably help me overcome that inattention is also why it is even more frustrating that I can't appreciate this practice. I have heard many people claim how meditation calms their mind. Get the clarity of thoughts. Focus. So I feel this can help me be not this distracted. But then while I am meditating, I feel helpless to control how my mind wanders around.

I have tried multiple apps. I have tried guided sessions. Nothing seems to help. At times, I am even judging the voice that guides me. And I just sigh in disappointment.

I had heard CGP Grey talk about a similar experience in one of the episodes of Hello Internet where he just can't get himself to meditate.

I gave meditation a real try. It's not that I hate it. It's not that it's hard. It's just that my brain does not want to do this. It's really pushing back.

I was nodding incessantly as Grey spoke about his frustration of not being able to appreciate the benefits of meditation. I feel equally frustrated when I hear someone talk about how the sessions leave them more mindful, more relaxed. It just doesn't do it for me.

I spent the last weekend idling around; I did not do anything that I have always considered "productive". No reading novels. Or catching up on my read later lists. Or writing. Or working on the short story in progress. Nothing. I spent the whole two days lying on my sofa, enjoying a movie marathon with my family. I did all that without judging myself, as I had recently decided.

It's so easy to idle the whole days away. As James Clear has said, "our real motivation is to be lazy and to do what is convenient". It's only understandable then that it takes too much effort to break this built-up inertia of not doing anything. Time, then, is spent generously lazying around, scoring easy joys.

The thought also reminds of this exchange between Dan Buettner and James Hamblin during one of their interviews.

Buettner: In the long-term view, you’re better off buying experiences than some new gadget. Buying things does produce some spike in joy or appreciation, but that wears off over time. A good experience actually gains luster.

Hamblin: Despite knowing that, when I actually go to spend money on traveling or even just tickets to something, I think about how soon that will be over and gone. And if I buy a couch, I have it for years.

Buettner: But the joy from the couch wears out. You’ll still flop down on it, but it won’t provide that bump of joy.

With time as the most valuable currency, what is, then, the parallel in real life to the "gadget", the thing that time can buy? Is it the worthless, hollow hours that one spends on streaming the same, old movies or TV shows? Or is that an experience?

What Buettner refers to as joy when talking about the product vs experience discourse, is satisfaction when moved over to real life. We should judge if the activity is an experience by the longevity of the satisfaction it brings.

There's no doubt that a whole day of movie marathon can lend momentary joy. But does it do that without being a burden on your mind? If so, then it is an experience. Else you have just carelessly wasted the most valuable currency for owning a thing and it will soon stop giving you joy.

What are other examples of such experiences that time can buy?

I just watched Hamilton and am left breathless -- what an experience this was. I'm so glad that Disney decided to release it digitally worldwide so that the people world over can witness the extravaganza. There were so many moments when I was singing and swaying along or sitting stunned in my seat mesmerized. No doubt, the live experience would be many-fold grander. But there's no chance in hell I would get to see this show live ever. At least, I can appreciate now why it is praised so much by anyone who has been lucky to experience this live.

I never knew I would enjoy a Broadway Musical so much. This makes me wonder what else have I missed. Are there any such great shows that are available to stream? I do want to explore and watch more from this form of art too.

I am making sure I stay sane, healthy. I am spending time on, for and with myself. I am taking care of myself to the extent that I never did before.

What else could I do?

I am making sure my family stays safe. I am sharing stories, laughing a lot with them. I am playing with my daughter. All her games, without judging them. I go on an unplanned date with my wife right at home every now and then, spend a cosy morning with her in the balcony with a cup of hot tea. I am spending time with my family to the extent that I never did before.

What else could I do?

As I go outside, I always wear a mask. I do not have or present any justification to not wear one. There can't be one. I try to enlighten others, closed ones and those that aren't so, the importance of being responsible once outside of homes.

What else could I do?

Well, there is so much more that I could do. I do not openly express my anguish looking at the adverse situation the impoverished lots are going through. I do not stand for the rights of minorities world around as much as I should. Or contribute towards changing the clearly imbalanced societal status quo.

Or speak up openly when I see a gender bias in play. I haven't yet told that one guy to not keep saying "guys" in a meeting with many of my female colleagues. It is wrong. I cringe every time. But I could also speak up.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” -- Mother Teresa

Change doesn't always need radical corrections. I could bring the minor shifts in my behaviour and make my surrounding a fair place for all.

So, what else could I do?

Well, I could not ask that question because I know there's so much that I do not do. Let me make an effort to be a better version of myself because there's no doubt that I can never be perfect.