Mental Health: Joker  

Joaquin Phoenix more than lived up to the hype. I’m sure Heath Ledger will be smiling down from Heaven. Brace yourselves for a whole new set of laughter ringtones after this movie. 

Coming back to the character of Joker. His brand of justice, as gory and aggressive as it may be, is understandable at some empathetic level. You put yourself in his place and see what you may have felt if the world had shut you out. It really is a scary world out there when you think of how our personal interests get in the way of basic human courtesy. The shock value aside, the instant gratification and validation Joker felt with his escalating violence indicates there really was something missing in the society he was dealing with. I wonder how many people we have around us that are also at their breaking point. 

Mental Health is no laughing matter. Period. 

Wanderlust

I was caught by the wanderlust bug ever since I was a kid. I would frequent the Ontario Lake Shore as often as I could just to get my fill. Being away from your mundane routine is very liberating. It often breeds creativity and allows you to be more yourself than whatever society tries to pigeonhole you into.

As the old adage goes, one of the best ways to learn about someone is to either lend them money or travel with them. Travel brings out many of our wonderful qualities, and some not so good ones, believe you me.

I can recall taking a friend on a road trip down to Miami. Things seemed great until the sandy shorelines were not enough to take my mind away from how annoying some habits can really get. One of my major pet peeves is bad eating habits. Imagine being stuck with someone, who smacks their lips with every bite, for a full weekend. Needless to say, that was the last time I was on a long trip away with that friend. I do hang out with him otherwise; I just pretend I’m not hungry or watching my weight.

I have been around some great travel companions as well. One of my best traveling partners is my youngest sibling. We are always in sync on many things. Interested in the same activities; matching my energy step for step. And it doesn’t hurt to have the same taste in food or know how to carry a boujee lifestyle. Those trips couldn’t have been shorter.

Each trip has given me a new perspective on life. Despite the anxiety that comes with airports, and the cramped spaces on trains/cars, I have always returned home a more well-rounded person. From Dune bashing in Dubai, to the great outback, to somber evenings in England, to the cobblestone streets of Roma, I have learned to appreciate culture and people.

Travel is great for the mind and soul. It installs you in a different place, outside of your comfort zone. To make you adapt, learn new ways of life, peer into the lives of complete strangers, or even find a new comfort zone.

A few days away is sometimes all we need to get a B-12 shot in our tired lives. So go ahead and plan that weekend. You can thank me later.

I’ll be back when the mood strikes, but until then, Happy Travels!

Resurrection

Before I tell you about this new show I have been watching, I need to make a confession. I am probably the worst person to ask for recommendation on new shows. This is mainly because I don’t watch a lot of TV. I am not really into Movies either. Something about sitting idle for 2-3 hours just rubs me the wrong way.

Having said that, I have watched all the critically acclaimed shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and House of Cards. I feel House of Cards doesn’t get as much credit as the other two. May be it’s the political jargon they use that many people in the United States won’t even know. What the heck is a filibuster again? But Kevin Spacey, despite all his recent personal issues, is nothing short of Genius. My anticipation for its last season dropped massively when I heard it wouldn’t have Spacey. But I digress.

Ertugrul is set in the 13^th century. The nerd in me wanted to watch this show for its historical reference. I had read about the Knights Templars and the Crusades. Ertugrul is about Resurrection. All the difficult times the Turks faced, at the hands of the Templars, and the Mongols. It is how the Ottoman empire came about and grew to be one of the most powerful states in the world. It is how Muslims reclaimed their long lost glory. 

A history lesson, dramatized for tv audience, filled with drama, treachery, and sword wielding knights? Sign me up!  

I am on the Third season of the show. So I must have watched about 200 episodes. Yes, that’s right! 200 something episodes in, I am still not bored. Did I mention I don’t watch a lot of TV? This show is so riveting; I don’t want it to end. Now I have heard Netflix only carries the first 3 seasons, which is a bummer. I am not really good with Torrents and I don’t know where to find episodes online with English Subtitles.

For those who are looking for the next show to binge watch, I would highly recommend Ertugrul. Those little snippets with “Ibn-al-Arabi” will surely put you in a trance. And who knows, you might even pick up some Turkish.

Vallahi, this show is çok Guzel.

Aye-Wallah 

Guess who’s back

‘Guess who's back, back again
Shady's back, tell a friend
Guess who's back, guess who's back?
Guess who's back, guess who's back?’

Yes i’m back from the Dead. I didnt even know i had a blog. But a very special reader has inspired me to continue. So i shall be providing you more brain candy, if thats your milieu! 

In Layman's Terms: Inflation

It would seem as if the public’s cry for control over increasing prices fall on deaf ears, or at least our leaders do little to convince us otherwise. As the political realm gears up for another round of unfulfilled promises, one issue that will rear its ugly head is the burden on the common man’s pocket.

Be it budgeting for chicken instead of lentils (after Musharraf’s infamous solution) or the grand larceny at the pump, what matters most to people is how far their hard earned rupee could be stretched.

With all the talk about possible relief in the past budget for the poor or the lack of, it is imperative to understand the concept of inflation and how this menace has plagued our economy for as long as it has. Also, we must understand what our leaders can do to rid ourselves of this problem, and whether they can at all.

Inflation is the upward trend in general level of prices of goods and services in an economy. An inadvertent upside of the rising inflation is the reduction in unemployment. Inflation and unemployment are two of the most closely watched indicators of economic performance.

The price of oil and petroleum related products have soared in the recent past, and as such, this has created a supply shock that has sent inflation through the roof. Worse yet, such supply shocks receive monetary validation from the state bank through increase of money supply (i.e. printing money). This in turn causes the prices to go up even further, making each rupee less valuable.

State bank of Pakistan can control inflation by controlling the quantity of money. State bank can lower the rate of growth of money supply, creating an excess demand for money. This in turn would spike the interest rate, reducing real aggregate demand and also any inflationary gap. Much to our dismay, this is easier said than done. Reducing inflation takes time and incurs significant costs.

A direct result of reducing inflation is a decline in the national income, caused by greater unemployment. A dip in the amount of jobs created in the economy is severely frowned upon, as we already suffer from a huge brain drain, the effects of which, is a topic for another day. Also, the temporary increase in interest rate translates into lesser borrowing and as a result, reduced economic activity.

Therefore, reducing inflation is a catch 22 situation. It is one that requires short term pain for long term gain. The real question is whether we can tinker with a fragile economy, already on crutches. Whichever policy we choose, the only thing certain is that we will feel its effects.

birthdays?

The following excerpt is from the infamous comedy series Seinfeld. For those of you who don’t know about the show, it’s about a few friends trying to go about their routine life and the problems they face, to which many of us can easily relate. In one of the episodes where George meets a Chinese lawyer, I couldn’t help but indulge myself in a comical yet very captivating thought about how people treat birthdays. Those loiters who are bored by now can amuse themselves with the music player at the bottom of the page. So here it goes:

[Well, birthdays are merely symbolic of how another year has gone by and
how little we've grown. No matter how desperate we are that someday a better
self will emerge, with each flicker of the candles on the cake, we know it's not
to be, that for the rest of our sad, wretched pathetic lives, this is who we are
to the bitter end. Inevitably, irrevocably; happy birthday? No such thing.]


Birthday off course can be a grim reminder of how life just went on by another year. Instead of beating ourselves down for wasting another year, I’m sure the religious ones amongst us would concur that we should be thankful we got to live another year. Are we not responsible for how we choose to indulge ourselves and how we spend our time? Sure, you must deal with whatever luck throws your way, but who is to blame for the guy who spends all his days locked in a basement just because he is too lazy to get out or has a serious confidence problem? Where does the blame lie when a girl becomes obsessive about non-issue things like some stranger not wanting to be friends with her?
How our days go by depend largely in part on our priorities and what we stress about. I’ve seen many people enjoy their lives even in the toughest of times. So is it always luck or is it us too? Are we just robots leading lives according to a script written for us or do we make things better or worse for ourselves?

That’s it for my useless drivel. Now, what’s your take?

Right, right...raaaaaaaaaaaaight!

When is right actually right? Or is that becoming more of a self-set standard than a rule. It’s not right until its right for “you”? Leaving the black and white, more and more just fade into those grim and dim shades of grey. When it comes to most of us, we break and bend rules but immediately shoot it down if we are at the receiving end of it. When everyone is gunning for the others’ heads, understanding or empathizing is nothing but a far cry. How do you hold one accountable for such behavior? And what if the supervising or controlling authority is at fault itself? Crooked cops anyone? Or more like a drunk cop asking you for a DUI test. Off course god forbid should anyone say anything about those overly myopic control freaks.

Correct me if i am wrong but does that say....................

Brain Candy II

Everything happens for a reason.. and many events and ideas in our lives are related.. If you could go back and change one thing about your life, you have no guarantee the rest of your life will turn out the same way.. it might be totally different. Bear in mind, coincidence plays a major role in how things turn out in one's life.. there is no certainty that those coincidences would co incide again.. or happen at all for that matter.

How often have we heard, "that one thing changed my life" .. certain events stem out of previous actions or ideas practiced .. getting a good job because you decided to finish university, for example.. although it is still quite possible to attain such stature without having done a pre-requisite but it is highly unlikely for it to occur out of the blue.. more often that not, our present is our future's raison d'etre.

Joke of the day

What's the difference between a goldfish and a goat?

-> A goldfish mucks about in a fountain!

(Hint: 'Ruck Fules')

Brain Candy

Often you wonder if you could have started doing something earlier. It could be your weekly workout at the gym; it could be new activities in your social life; it might even be a change of attitude towards certain things. You might have given up on some things or have done something really positive, and then you are left to wonder if you could have done that thing a long time earlier ... But where do you draw the line? How far ahead can we really get of ourselves? When does one become content with what he/she has? I guess making friends with everyone on earth and doing everything there is to do is all great but impractical, let alone impossible.

But does that suggest we sit on our backs and let it hit us as it comes... or could there be a balance between the two unusual, but all the while interesting, extremes... Do we let life be a ‘hypnotic flow’ and live every day as if it’s our last day... or do we pull ourselves back in hopes of savoring a slow baked turkey?

A bit abstract but surely something to get you thinking when you are sipping your next coffee or tea, (or milk for all the big and small kids reading this)

Movie: V for Vendetta

The following is a short synopsis by yours truly.

This movie is not one of your regular types. V, the protagonist, is locked in an epic struggle with the British government for all the atrocities committed against rebels to their hard lined rule. Natalie Portman complements V as the heroine in the film.

V, a super being in certain ways, under a Guy Fawkes Mask, sets out to exact revenge on the supreme dictator Sutler, the high chancellor of England.

Parts of the movie reverberates the holocaust and Hitler’s reign. I am not surprised at the success this movie has had on rating charts.

Conclusion: Watch it. 2 hrs well wasted!

YOU ... might be a redneck!

Seeing how I have about 14 more days to spare untill I return back to my normal routine, I thought may be I should do something different than just play cricket or go to the gym.

Apparently, all my hangout buddies are still writing their exams, which is a real shame, because each missed day is day off from fishing, pool or hanging out at concerts or parties… There is nothing much on TV, apart from the sorry run the Jays are making at the playoffs… so before I let life pull a double whammy on me, I went to the nearest Rogers Video Store to rent a movie.

Now the collection at Rogers is, lets just say, not so up to date. I ended up searching titles of movies I have already seen. I didn’t give up though… I decided i better head to the comedy section for salvation… and that 2 min stroll to the end of the store didn’t disappoint... It was time to give Chappell a break, so I picked up this DVD titled “Jeff Foxworthy”… Now for those who don’t know anything about him, he is the white version of “Russell Peters”… Really, he is a red neck trying to poke fun at other rednecks, all in good spirit, mind you.

By the time my DVD player had clocked 40 mins, I was already rolling on the floor. What really cracked me up were his satirical “you might be a red neck” lines. I highly recommend this stand up comedy, because this is something definately worthy of appearing on comedy central. Now I think a few excerpts, if you will, from the DVD are in order.

Laugh Out Loud:

“If you go to the family reunion to meet women, YOU might be a redneck!”

“If you see a sign readying ‘say no to crack’, and it reminds you to pull your jeans up, YOU might just be a redneck”

“If your dad walks you to school because you are in the same grade, YOU might be a redneck!”

“If the UFO hotline limits you to one call per day, YOU might be a redneck”

“If your family tree doesn’t fork, YOU might be a redneck”

“If you have been on the TV more than 5 times describing what the tornado sounded like, YOU might be a redneck”

“If your richest relative bought the most expensive house he could afford, and you had to help take the wheels off of it.. you guessed it.. YOU might be a redneck”

Gentlemen, start your engines!

These days it seems like everyone is writting a blog. And that got me thinking; why am i so behind of the game? I always wanted a place to dump my thoughts and may be hope it sounds even the slightest bit amuzing or helpful to someone.

Now y'all might be wondering what the abbreviation AK-47 confers and if i am just one of those geeks easily fascinated with fancy names associated with a weapon.. Not really the case here! AK stands for Asim Khan, my name offcourse, and i will let you figure out the 47!

There is plenty going on around me these days. I just finished my examz and i am sitting at home thinking how i will keep from boring the hell out of myself for the next 15 days, before i enter into what would be my last year in University. Yes, it's as true as it sounds, last year at University of Toronto. And, no i don't think i am a big star, but hopefully i might end up doing your taxes or pull you out of financial trouble when you turn 20. Now that might have sounded like a callous joke to many, but lets not kid ourselves, we are all in some sort of financial trouble in our 20s. And that's discounting what your parents are willing to lend you or let you have for free, atleast in the case of many Asian parents.

Now the word Asian and it's meaning is a conundrum all in itself. My fellow chinese folks seem reluctant to give up even an inch of that word and the rest of us are just left wondering how long it will go on for. Boy, if i had a penny for everytime a chinese girl reminded me 'Asian' was just meant for them. No, lets make that a dollar!

Now you are normally expected to write a long first blog but i think i am a little more merciful than those who share that grasp. With that being said however, I assure you there will be plenty more coming from this end, because this is one AK-47 that never runs out.

toodle-oo,

AK