The Maharashtra government has decided to take the fight to the opposition, even if they have to go it alone. With the Indian government choosing to keep mum on the China issue, state government officials have decided to hit back at the Red Empire in a way that would hurt them the most ? by banning all reports pertaining to China from the public view, deeming China offensive to Indian culture. The government plan to contact all news and entertainment TV channels as well as publications to notify them of the decision to ban any information about China reaching the public for hurting Indian sentiments.

?I am sick and tired of hearing stories about China,? said Deputy Chief Minister R. R. Patil, ?we have decided to use language that they will understand the best.? Patil, who has been credited with coming up with this idea said that he refused to believe that China is that far ahead of the game as India and refuses to believe that Shanghai is any different from Mumbai. He also refused to believe that China would want to overrun Arunachal Pradesh. ?Why would they pick such a far-flung state,? he said, ?if everybody is saying that the Chinese are so smart, why are they not trying to takeover Mumbai or Karnataka, why pick Arunachal Pradesh??

Patil explained to the gathered press corps that what China was indulging in was nothing more than rabble-rousing and an empty PR exercise. He believed that the tourism department of China is the only one who is financing the Indian media to spread such stories about them in the country. ?Our Indian culture is being mocked by these people,? he said, ?Indians are a proud race and through our long history, we have always taken a stand against injustice. This time will be no different.?

The state government?s decision has unfortunately set off unforseen repercussions with members from the Humara Hindu Sangh taking out protests outside Chinese restaurants in Mumbai demanding them being shut and refusing to listen to any pleas by the owners, most of whom are Punjabis. In another incident, a student from the J. J. School of Art and Architecture was attacked by protestors because he was buying red-coloured oil paints. The Prime Minister of India has appealed to this group to restore calm and sensibility but stopped when he realised he was talking to right-wing fanatical groups. ?I intend to personally look into the allegations against our esteemed neighbour,? Singh said, ?any decision we take will have to be followed across the length and breadth of our country.? But until that decision is made, ordinary Indian citizens will have to look elsewhere for their Manchurian fix.

World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz has been invited by the Gujarati Businessmen Association of America to host a day-long seminar on ?The Advantages and Ethics of Family Businesses? in New Jersey, sources confirmed. The invite is said to have nothing to do with Wolfowitz introducing the concept of family business in the workings of the World Bank. The workshop will be held towards the end of this month because he is currently up to his neck in work and would have some amount of free time towards early June.

?Yes, I have been invited and I would be honoured to lead the seminar in front of the Gujarati businessmen in New Jersey,? Wolfowitz said, ?in fact I am a little apprehensive because these people have been conducting family businesses for years and this is actually my first attempt doing it.? Wolfowitz said that the World Bank has been an excellent platform for him to lern about the core values and work ethics involved in running a family business including the tricky issue of salaries and perks that non-family members of the organisation would not necessarily be entitled to. ?It is a new realm as far as the board-room is concerned but the key to staying in power is to constantly re-invent yourself and I am doing just that,? he added.

The seminar would be open to all businesses in the New Jersey area but seating preference would be shown to Gujarati family businessmen preferably those who have settled in the USA for the last five generations. While the conference costs are said to be ?fairly reasonable,? discounted rates would apply to owners of motels and gas stations. While there has been no confirmation as to where the conference would be held, several local motels are said to be aggresively pitching for the exclusive right to host this once-in-a-lifetime event. Kaushik Gandhi, fifth-generation Indian-American and owner of the Kamal Makan Motel off I-28 said that he was looking forward to being a part of this event. ?It is very heartening to know that there is effort being made to promote the interests of Gujarati businessmen. It has been very difficult for us to establish an identity in this country and this is just the opportunity we have been waiting for.?

The World Bank has not commented on this seminar or Wolfowitz?s attendance deeming it a private matter that does not require the organisation to be involved. A spokesperson for the organisation said that they ?were extremely confident that Wolfowitz would bring the highest personal ideals to the seminar in the very same way that he did as President of the World Bank.?

I have to admit I was very happy that Jericho was cancelled. Last year it took the place of Smallville as the show I love to hate but just can't stop watching. With Smallville, it wasn't the Superman or Kryptonite mutants that I found unbelievable, it was the fact that no one used cell phones, Clark was way too old in the first season, and the ever shrinking distance between Smallville and Metropolis. With Jericho, it wasn't the unlikely event of nuclear holocaust that I find hard to believe. It's not the fact that the whole thing was home grown terror. It's the complete breakdown of society which I find hard to believe. And why was there an EMP days after the explosions? And they've greatly underestimated what a remote town the five thousand would have, like a high school and a regional airport. In a town of 5000, they could have put up a resistance with at least 1000 people, yet they only have 50. And how could all the countless military bases be unavailable that the Army has to set up a tent city in Nebraska? But the canvass has been great for story telling. In the finale, New Bern, the home of the nearest Costco, declared war on Jericho. Mayor Dad was killed in the attack on one of the farms. In the end that Army came to the rescue, but only because they wanted to get the ex-CIA guy who knows too much. The series end with a shot of a new American Flag with only 24 stars.

Or did it? CBS has been inundated with letters from fans that they are likely going to bring it back as a mid-season replacement. Since the show runner has moved on, there is a possibility it would be much better. Irregardless, they would tie up the loose ends from the finale last month. I hate when shows end with loose ends. I think network should be obligated to tie up show with at least a TV movie after a show has been cancelled with a big question mark hanging over it.

The new AOL Mail website layout is destroying my computer at work - each time I check my mail, it freezes my IE browser and I have to reload it. Which brings up my homepage, http://www.msn.com, and that has a big, bright article about American Idol. It's taken a lot of willpower not to read it, because I know it's not going to have any spectacular or earth-shattering in it.

Glad I added the MSN messenger last night, because AOL and AIM have been less and less satisfying for me for years now.

Saturday Hobbit is having a barbeque at his house, and I'm excited because I haven't seen him since his housewarming party. Feel kinda bad that I didn't tell him about the Palahniuk/Welsh reading that was two blocks away from his office.


Last night was the finale of Idol, and I wasn't very interested nor impressed. The songwriting competition ended in a dud about being inspired and filled with lots of empty platitudes - those two writers, if they really do believe in writing songs as a way of expressing their true selves, should kinda be ashamed of themselves. And while the song was perfectly pretty and vapid for Jordin to sing to her sweet little heart's content, Blake just looked...umcomfortable singing that song. Those lyrics, the lukewarm ballad tempo, it was all wrong for him. He completely got overshadowed by Jordin, and I couldn't be happier about that.

We're hoping, all HOPING, that Jordin wins out and that the Blaker Girls suddenly got poisoned by the ink in their BG Inc. t-shirts.

The first performance, Blake reprised You Give Love A Bad Name, and once again, he kicked it out of the park. He changed up the beatboxing a little in the middle, and the drummer changed accordingly - it's such a great performance and I can't wait to see it live. (Because you know that's going to be a show-stopper on the tour.) But there was something...lacking in the performance, in his very eyes. When he first did this on Bon Jovi week, he wanted to kick it out the fucking park, but this week...he didn't want the crowd cheering for him and reaching for their phones. You can see that he doesn't want to win it, even in this utterly winning performance.

Jordin started with a song by Christina Aguilera - Fighter. Although the message is appropriate for American Idol (haven't I said enough about the dangers of singing ironic songs when there's a chance of you being eliminated? Doesn't anyone remember Phil and "Blaze of Glory"?!), I was a little put-off by the song choice. Jordin's been singing Aguilera since the very beginning - she sang "Because You Loved Me" for her audition and "Reflection" during the Top 20 - I thought this song didn't really show off her voice as much as it should. Though everyone else really liked it, so maybe once again I'm pulling a "Have A Nice Day" and disliking the performance because of the song.

Cake tidbits: And after Blake's performance and judging, the cameras went to Chris in the audience, and he was BEAMING with pride for his boyfriend. He was the first to stand and give him a Standing O (which I'm sure Blake gave him his own version of a big standing "o" after the show), and it made my heart soar. These boys are so completely love.

The second performance, Jordin sang Broken Wing, which was done very well, I'm just not a huge fan of the song. That happens a lot to Jordin, but I feel like she's been primed - hell, even genetically manufactured - to be American Idol. I don't really see her having any other objectives in life. She's kinda like Al Gore in the 2000 elections, and Blake is the goofy guy who just wanted to do something to see if he could.

Did I just make an AI analogy with the 2000 election? Tell me I didn't.

Blake sang a fairly bland version of She Will Be Loved, but once again, the crowd loved it. The crowd'll love Blake if he farts on stage, giggles and then leaves to fuck his boyfriend. Because gender-specific songs be damned, Blake sang that song to Chris last night. The Idol contestants were to the right of the judges last night, and Blake wouldn't stop looking over in that direction - especially during that song. And this is despite his parents and friends sitting to the extreme left of the stage. There was a smile in his eyes when he sang it, and our cakeforever spies said that Chris was CRYING during that performance.

Wedding song, anyone?

But seriously now, I've lost all doubt for weeks that Chris and Blake are in a relationship, because best friend or not, their actions and emotions speak of way more than just a really close friendship. The way Chris looked so adoringly at Blake when he sang - and distinctly DIDN'T look that way when Jordin performed - and the half-wink Blake gave in Chris's direction that was distinctly NOT to the girl everyone thinks he might be dating. These all add up, people. I'm not going to further delude myself into thinking that Blake's mouthed "I Love You" was to Chris, because it didn't look like it was in his direction, but I'll sure wish it was.



Seriously can't wait for the finale results tomorrow, when all 12 contestants come back to perform. So happy to see Cake together again; they definitely fuel each other, make each other so energized and alive.

Jordin for the win, but Cake 4 LIFE.

I just recently dropped the $5 Sports Tier as it was mostly Mexican Soccer and obscure college sports that were usually taped.

Now just today I got some wonderful news from Comcast, that the NFL TV channel that used to be part of my Digital Service package, will now be moving over to the sports tier along with OLN/Vs. and a smattering of other channels that I am quite sure Comcast's marketing team chose in order to suck the most money from their customers.

The Digital Service package, about $12 where I live, is already an annoying joke. They purposely leave out a few key channels that many people want and dump them in this package to get folks to fork over addition change. Same thing with this sports tier modification. NFL TV plays a ton of Thursday and Saturday night games during the regular season. It's going to be very popular with a lot of people. And a lot of people are going to see a rate increase, at least indirectly, if they expect to catch a Thursday night NFL game this season.

Comcast is not the only company that does this, it's widespread problem. It is the exact opposite of what the consumers really want. Most of us would like to be able to pay for only those channels we want to watch and leave everything else out. No more free rides of bloated junk that would never stand on it's own without some package deal between the networks and the provider conglomerates. And I don't want to hear how it makes the other channels more affordable as any money saved or earned goes directly into the pockets of the already wealthy or some commercial with turtles, but never to the consumer.

It seems to me that these channels are split in such a way to ensure the most profit, which is fine for a business, if only there were any other viable options. So it is not really a sound business practice, but more of an underhanded scheme to take more money from the people.

Edit: I should say that $5 for the sports tier is only for now, as I am sure the price will double before summer is over.

This article was originally publish on May 7th, 2006 at americanchronicle.com

My youngest son has been having problems in school lately. His teacher has been calling me at work to let me know about it. It seems he hasn?t been doing his homework. This isn?t a new problem. In fact, we?ve been dealing with it all year.
Now, I?ve never been a big fan of homework, especially at the elementary school level. When I was that age, I don?t recall ever getting any homework. We did all our learning and work during the school hours. After school, in the evenings, I?d go over to one of my friend?s or they?d come over to my house. When the weather permitted we?d run around outside. In the winter on many days we?d play in the snow. When it was nasty outside we?d stay in and watch TV, play board games, or play with our toy cars, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, or some other such thing. Back then, kids were allowed to be kids. We were supposed to have fun. I sometimes wonder if the same is true today.
But, enough nostalgia. I?ve accepted the pressures of this ever quickening modern world, even those increased pressures we?ve put on our children. Every night earlier this school year I would ask my son if he?d done his homework and he?d always tell me he?d finished it at school during his study period or that he didn't have any. I was happy to hear this as I?ve always been of the opinion schoolwork should be done at school where the teacher is there to help.
One day I got a call from his teacher. It seems my son hadn?t been doing his homework. He had been telling his teacher he?d forgotten it at home. Not only that, but he?d copped an attitude in school. He?d become distant and uncaring and just wasn?t trying any longer. This would not do.
Upon further investigation we discovered all this had started since he?d been hanging around this other kid who had a rather unsavory reputation. I don?t like to judge people, especially children, but my wife had warned me about this kid. I had told her we couldn?t pick our son?s friends, but she had insisted she had a bad feeling about this kid. Now our son had a bad attitude at school, wouldn?t do his necessary homework and had taken up telling lies. It was especially disconcerting he?d been lying to us. Drastic action needed to be taken. I grounded him for a month and forbade him from seeing his friend, all with my wife?s approval.
Things improved tremendously after that. My son?s attitude changed. I kept in touch with his teacher and he was keeping up with his homework. The school actually did their work and found out he did much better in small groups and studying in school with help. For a time, everything was rosy. Then, a couple of months after the grounding, his teacher called me to tell me he once again was not doing his work. I threatened him with another grounding and he straightened up, for a while at least.
Apparently, much like certain government officials, my son is someone who needs constant monitoring or he slips into old habits. Recently, his teacher called me to once again complain that he hasn?t been doing his work. My wife suggested that I take away his Game boy, which is something he loves dearly. When he got home that evening I confronted him and told him to hand over his Game boy and that he could no longer play any video games. This upset him greatly and sent him crying to his room. His older sister stepped up to the plate for him and told me she felt I was being too harsh. She told me her brother had it tough at school and I should have given him a warning before taking away his Game boy. Well, I?m not an unreasonable man and I listen to my kids, so I considered what my daughter had said. Besides, I?m an old softy. I hate seeing my kids so upset.
Later, when things had settled down, I questioned my son about what was going on in school. He told me that everyone at school hated him. I reminded him of all the friends I knew he had at school and he acknowledged them. I knew that some of his friends have a hot and cold relationship with him, as is typical of boys his age. He insisted all the kids at school teased him. Questioning him further, I found that there was one boy in particular who had told him his whole family was retarded. I guess my son had taken this comment to heart and it had affected him profoundly. He had taken one boy?s animosity and turned it into the entire class hating him, having no friends at school, and he was going to cop an attitude and not do his work. I explained to him that kids not liking him was no reason not to do his homework, let him have his Game boy back, and warned him that if his teacher called me again I would take the Game boy away. Once again, things have been going along well now, but I can only guess for how long. Hopefully, it will last at least to the end of the school year. Stay tuned.
It was later in the evening when I was approached again. My daughter had been helping her brother with his homework. Once it was completed they both came up to me and asked me if my son could start playing with the friend I early described as unsavory. Now we got to the meat of the matter. Had I been conned? Was this just a set up to see if I would allow this kid to once again play with my son? Or, did my kids simply see an opportunity and now they were trying to grab it? I think the latter. I also explained to them that it was up to their mom, who really had the misgivings about the boy and whose judgment in such matters I defer to. They never asked her. Still, I know I can?t keep my son from seeing his friend forever and that if he really wants to he will, even if it means sneaking around to do it. Perhaps I don?t have to teach him dishonesty after all. Perhaps the world will do that for me. This is somewhat worrisome as we are ordinary middle class people, not the privileged elite. I?m afraid dishonesty will only get him into trouble, not make him a success. But, I suppose he will learn what he needs to learn.

It is safe to say that we all love Netflix. I don't believe I am exaggerating when I say that it has changed my life. What else would you call the ability for an addict to be given unlimited access to their drug of choice? In my case it is movies. I am currently at the level of 5 movies at home at one time. There are definitely points throughout the year when I definitely consider going all the way up to 8.


However, right now that would seem very extreme. You see, I am going through what i refer to as Netflix fatigue. Netflix Fatigue is when your film-watching decreases to a minimal level and thus your queue remains stagnant. You become disenchanted with the choices you currently have at home and this only further perpetuates your lack of viewing. This condition can be brought about by several different factors.


In many instances it is merely a cause of a time crunch. The person simply lacks the time during the week to watch a decent amount of movies. Coupled with that is also the movie length intimidation factor. During a week where you are already exhausted you tend to eye the movie times on your choices more frequently. Even though when at your best you could easily crank through a whole season of Arrested Development, suddenly any movie over 2 hours seems daunting.


For me the biggest cause is the swings of my genre mood. When it comes to music, television and movies I like to partake in different types based completely on my mood. My queue has hovered around the 470 to 500 range for nearly all of my account's existence. When I created the queue I tended to lump certain genres together. I do love dramas, independent and foreign films and they are highly represented there. But, as much as I love them, I definitely go through periods where I just can't bring myself to sit through them. So when I hit those pockets of one genre on my queue, if I'm not in that mood then there is going to be a problem.

Your movies may sit there for a week. Each night you watch something else either on tv or what you own. You tell yourself that you will watch a Netflix movie soon. Pretty soon another week has passed and before you know it you have had certain movies for over a month. At that point you start to contemplate returning the movie without watching it. You tell yourself it just wasn't meant to be and that it can be re-added to the queue for another time.

So what is the big deal with Netflix Fatigue? Well it can cause a waste of money. You are paying a monthly fee and if you aren't watching a good share of movies then you are just flushing money down the toilet. Plus, at least for me, it is a pride thing. I am proud to have over 2,000 ratings. How can I improve upon that number and my overall pop-culture knowledge when I am stricken by Netflix Fatigue? Unfortunately right now there are no known cures for Netflix Fatigue. But with your help we can assure that at least one scientist somewhere will be working on this problem day and night until it is defeated.

P.S. I did create the little Netflix guy after an embarrassing amount of time spent with Microsoft Paint this afternoon. It goes to show that creative impulses don't always coincide with actual talent.

I like to rate movies that I watch. I have Netflix, so I can use the rating system on there. But years ago I started rating movies on IMDb as I watched them. I even devoted a whole week to rating every possible movie I could remember ever watching. (I also keep a list of the movies I?ve recently watched/rated on my blog.) With Netflix my only complaint is that you can?t give ?half-stars,? so everything is just 1 to 5. I prefer rating on a scale of 1 to 10 like I do on IMDb.

I think I?m pretty lenient when I rate movies?rarely anything gets below a 4 out of 10. Or maybe that?s because you can usually tell if a movie is going to be below a 4, and you don?t waste your time watching it.

Why am I babbling about my own personal ratings system, you ask? Because I was reminded of what was possibly the worst movie I have EVER seen in the theater. Yes, I said ever. A movie that I actually rated a 1 out of 10. Of all the movies I?ve seen, less than 0.5% have ?earned? a 1 out of 10.

The movie I speak of is Autumn in New York.