Whoa….!!! Lean Mean Hate Machine..!!!

Been following this for a few days now…. It’s quite insane….! Read the comments…!

http://equalground.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/lgbtiq-organisations-together-in-solidarity/

The Guilty Popsicle - Repost

I posted this sometime back, but felt it was apt to re-post it….

Here was I sitting around with a smoke and not doing or thinking about anything in particular, when the sight of an ice cream cart trundling by, took me back in time. All the way back to 1983. Strange huh? 

Well, not really, when you consider the fact that I have a very good reason to associate ice cream carts and popsicles in particular with what happened in July of 1983. Now for most of you the very mention of that specific month in the year of ‘83 will hold many memories, none of which I’m sure have even the remotest connection to ice cream. So why then do I? 

While my memories of that day are not totally complete, I do have this series of snap shots that somehow don’t seem to leave my mind, so let me take you through them and hopefully you’ll see the connection for yourself. 

Snapshot 1: Me playing with some of my classmates (not sure what the game was) during the morning interval. 

Snapshot 2: Panicked parents arriving and dragging my friends away. The words they were saying are total gibberish. 

Snapshot 3: My brother, his classmate and myself making our merry way down the leafy lanes of Mount Mary. Quite thrilled to be allowed to leave school early. 

Snapshot 4: A very loud and violent crowd screaming and shouting around an overturned ice cream truck. 

Snapshot 5: A cash box being flung high up in the air and money tumbling like rain out of the sky. 

Snapshot 6: A sarong and vest clad man (scary looking, like the ‘gonibilla’ we had been warned against) shouting something unintelligible at us. 

Snapshot 7: This same scary man offering us a huge bag full of popsicles and icy chocks, which we promptly refused saying we didn’t have any money to pay for them. 

Snapshot 8: The bag being shoved into our hands and being cheerfully waved away as sudden flames sprouted from the ice cream truck. 

Snapshot 9: The three of us continuing on our merry way, now even merrier thanks to the generous stranger. 

Snapshot 10: (which is not too clear, maybe it didn’t happen) Being scolded by my brother’s classmate’s father for taking the popsicles. 

Snapshot 11: My dad’s relieved yet tense face when he came to pick us up. 

Snapshot 12: Sitting on the petrol tank of my dad’s bike and seeing lots of scared and angry people. 

Snapshot 13: Burning cars, burning buildings, lots of fire and smoke. 

Snapshot 14: A moth balls factory on fire and looking like the gateway to Hell itself. 

Snapshot 15: My mom’s scared face and hearing the panic in her voice as she spoke about my uncles and aunts. 

Snapshot 16: the worried faces of our house owners as they spoke to my dad about the gang planning to visit our home in the night. 

Snapshot 17: Standing at the rear fence of our house and watching another house burning. 

Snapshot 18: My dad speaking to the leader of the gang and explaining in broken Sinhala that we were burghers, not Tamils. 

Snapshot 19: Sitting in the house with no lights on as yet another house down the lane was broken into and set on fire. 

Snapshot: 20: screams of terror and rage in the night. 

Snapshot 21: Walking with my dad through the refugee camp set up in the Kollupitiya Methodist Church Grounds and seeing friends from Sunday School sleeping on mats and wearing someone else’s clothes. 

Snapshot 22: Wondering if the Ice cream truck owner was there and watching me… 

Up to date I still feel a sense of guilt when I remember how much I enjoyed those free popsicles, and wonder if while I was happily feeding my face, some poor family was being burnt alive.  

So is it really all that strange that I associate ice cream trucks and popsicles with July of 1983?

 

Stupid Attention Attempt (by) Rajapaksa Clan

Judging by the goings on in the country, this would probably be a better definition of the letters SAARC…!

In the midst of our country’s economy going from bad to worse, the wise rulers of our land have hatched yet another brilliant plan to shut down the commercial hub of the city of over a week! In addition to forcing many businesses to incur losses they can ill afford, we are spending almost 3 Billion Rupees to host the conference!

The questions that remain to be answered is, do we as a country really need to be hosting this conference in the first place? We obviously have loads of other pressing matters to which this vast amount of time and money could be better used. But obviously the powers that decide everything on our behalf feel this is the perfect thing for Sri Lanka.

I wonder if any of the powers that be have even thought for a moment about the hundreds if not thousands of daily wage earners who work in and around their proposed high security zone? Very obviously with the security cordons in effect, the wholesale traders will not be able to get their lorries through without immense amount of hassle.

This in turn would probably prompt them to either reduce the number of shipments or shut down totally for those few days. The moment this happens hundreds of porters who depend on the wholesalers for daily work lose any chance of being able to sustain themselves. Have any measures been put in place by the government to look into their plight?

Most likely, the entire Rajapaksa Clan will be seen swanning around with their multitude of security goons, hobnobbing it in style with the visiting dignitaries and getting their grinning mugs flashed worldwide courtesy of the foreign journo’s. The rest of Colombo on the other hand have 2 choices, grit our teeth and put up with being told for the umpteenth time where we can and can’t go in this “free and Democratic” country of ours, or pay through our noses and take a week long vacation to other parts of the country.

Whichever way one looks at the upcoming summit, it makes no sense. other than if you look at it with the new definition…..

The Stupid Attention Attempt (by) Rajapaksa Clan summit….!!!!

Even the Royalty must bow…!!

Over the weekend, another prime example of how the ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ works to protect and uplift the common man, was highlighted in the newspapers.

Apparently, the son of a well known politico and 4 others, were found guilty of breaking and entering into a school master’s room in order to steal some files. These files pertained to a previous inquiry into the violent behaviour of this ministerial offspring. So not only was he committing a crime by breaking and entering and stealing the files, he was also trying to subvert the due process of the school.

The principal of this ‘royal’ establishment of course had decided to take the necessary disciplinary action with regard to these boys. And in any other country, other than our democratic paradise, that would have been the end of the story.

But, as we well know, what’s normal in other countries is not the accepted norms in Sri Lanka. especially when it happens to involve the offspring of the ruling party! After all, what’s a crime under the penal code of Sri Lanka, is perfectly normal behaviour when it comes to politicians and their offspring.

As soon as he heard of the fate about to befall his beloved son, the minister had decided to take the disciplinary matters of the school into his own hands. Accompanied by his official bodyguards, the minister had paid a visit to the principal. In no uncertain terms, the principal had been instructed to withdraw the punishment imposed, or face the full consequences the minister would be able to visit on his head!

Matters have been made even more hilarious (or sad), by the fact that the esteemed Minister for education, also felt the need to call the principal up and give him more instructions on how to run his school! In fact, the principal has been asked to let this budding young housebreaker off with just a token slap on the wrist! After all, he was a prominent minister’s son.

It seems the minister in question is more worried about teaching his son about the value of being on the ‘right’ side of the law, than in letting him learn a valuable lesson in taking responsibility for his actions. But then again, what more can you expect from a minister, when the entire govenment seems hell bent on proving just that same point?

So, as the Executive President continues to turn a blind eye to the hooliganism of his most prominent ministers, it’s the old boys of this educational institute who have come to the support of the principal. They have offered him their support and legal expertise in helping him battle this government thug.

Of course, with the track record of the ‘Chinthanaya’ lot, I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised to see the said principal transferred out to some little village school and the ministerial offspring strutting around the school like the true ‘royalty’ of this banana republic we live in!

A Police State Called Sri Lanka!

Have been hearing more and more horror stories of people being picked up by the police for no apparent reason. Otheer than of course, the cops decided in their infinite wisdom that these people were behaving in a suspicious manner!

Of course, this was brought home to me in a much better light, when I decided to take a late night drive last Friday night…..

Having thought to drive a certain distance, I soon realised that I was a little too drowsy to continue. So decided to turn around and make my way back home. This didn’t seem to be working too well either, so I decided to stop for a little while, have a smoke, and then get home. Little did I know that it would have been better for me to risk meeting with an accident than stop on today’s roads.

Having gone through half the smoke, I noticed a police jeep making it’s way towards where I was parked. I naturally switched on the interior light of the car in order to let them see that I was alone in the car and there was nothing funny going on.

This apparently wasn’t enough as they thought they would anyway stop and investigate. That of course, seems quite reasonable. When asked what I was doing, I informed them about the fact that I was stopping awhile and would be leaving as soon as i finished my smoke.

Having checked my licence and my car documents, they then proceeded to search the car. Again something that’s quite understandable. What happened next, however, was not.

I was asked to accompany them to the police station. When I inquired to the reason for this, I was told that they were suspicious of me. I then tried to reason with them, probably a mistake with people of such low intelligence, but it was to no avail.

Having no choice but to go along with them, I followed their jeep to the station. Having parked outside, I was quite udely informed to follow them inside. At which point they asked me for my mobile, which was then switched off and deposited in a cop’s pocket. My wallet too was taken from me and emptied on to the table top. Having further questioned me, and tried to pin everything from being involved in the drug industry to being a pimp, they said they would be detaining me overnight.

This was quite a shock to me, as I thought as a citizen of this country, I had the right to drive around and even stop on the side of a main road if I felt like it! This is obviously not the case anymore in Sri Lanka.

Having requested for a phone call to inform someone of what had happened, I was again quite rudely told that as I was a suspicious character (even though I possessed a valid identification, and my official visiting cards giving contact numbers), I was not entitled to a phone call.

The next step was to ask me to take off my shoes and empty all my pockets. Afetr which I was asked to step into the single cell they possessed. This of course was by now occupied by around 10 other people, so even sitting down, let alone trying to sleep was totally out of the question. Even if it hadn’t been so crowded, the smell emanating from the hole-in-the-ground toilet was not very condusive to sleep!

So, having stood from around 2 in the morning till around 10 in the morning, I was finally allowed a phone call. The person I called turned mighty quick, but was told that he would have to wait as my stement needed to be recorded. This meant me staying in the cell for another 4 hours as it was only the cop who had aressted me who could take my statement!

So after a 12 hour hotel stay courtesy of the police department of this country, I was released with my hands all covered in ink, because of course they had to fingerprint a suspicious character such as myself!

So, it looks like the former ‘Paradise Isle’ has been changed to the ‘Policeman’s Paradise Isle’ thanks to Mr. Chinthanaya and his war mongering. Decent citizens who are trying their best to get along and contribute in some small way to keeping this country’s economy alive are now at the mercy of Uneducated louts in khaki uniforms!

Well, what can we do but write a rant on-line? After all, trying to do anything more, will get you thrown in remand, as I was informed by a smirking cop who had a constant dribble of betel juice dripping on to his uniform….

If…… on a lighter note!

This is dedicated to most of my Account Servicing colleagues….

 

If you can bow your head humbly when all about you
the creatives are screaming and blaming it on you,
If you can accept that compared to the creatives

You’re just a bad smelling pile of dog poo.

If you can admit that you’re not fit to kiss the ground

That the lowliest of creatives trod,

If you can dream and then to the fact come round

That creatives truly dream while you just mournfully plod.

 

If you can think – but wait a minute, you can’t

So please let the creatives fight that battle for you,

If you can stop trying to be the super star you aren’t

And admit the creatives are laughing at you.

 

If you can manage to stop tripping on your two left feet

And also get your head out of your ass,

If you can stop staring at all the women you meet

And stop acting like you’re totally on grass,

 

If you can pay homage to the gods in creative

And accept with thanks their vile invective,

If you can bend over to be really persuasive

And enjoy the agony in the correct perspective.

 

If all of these things you can someday achieve

The creative gods you will never aggrieve,

Promotions and increments you will accrue

And be an ad man true and true.

 

(With apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

I hear the gunships….

I hear the gunships roaring, and wonder who’s going to die today.

I see the faces smile in pride, until a bomb blast wipes the smiles away.

Some people smile when they hear of air-strikes, and talk of national pride.

While others laugh when bombs explode, and towards their own independence stride.

How many lives must be lost, how much blood must be spilled,

Until our eyes will finally see the hate and chaos we have willed?

Why me….???

It’s happened again! And it’s the same person who did it to me the last time! What am I ranting about? the fact that I’ve been tagged!!! It was a real struggle the last time, cos I get sort of tongue tied when asked to reveal details about myself. And just as I heaved a huge sigh of relief, it’s happened again!

This time around I’ve been asked to tell people some little known facts about myself. So having run through many hundreds of totally embarrassing ones, I have whittled it down to stuff that will still let me show my face in public.

1. I was born on Good Friday. Unfortunately that seems to have had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the way I behave!

2. Unlike most other kids, I didn’t learn to read using the traditional spelling books. I learnt to read on Asterix and Tin Tin comics. Which probably explains why I still love all forms of comic books.

3. I used to unload lorries during my first job (which was at 17 years of age).

4. I really, really hate people picking food off my plate. What I’ve served / bought is what I want to eat, so leave it alone!!

5. I have a second cousin in Australia who has the exact same name! Major difference is…. he’s a priest!

6. I have a very short term memory, so I can read the same book 3 or 4 times over. Of course it also means I have to be introduced to the same people more than once!

7. I was nicknamed ‘Rocket’ in school. For reasons I shall definitely not reveal here!!

OK…. So that’s that. Unfortunately, I’m clueless as to how I add links on here. So I guess a few people are going to get off easy for now. But as the wolf used to tell the rabbit…… Just you wait!!!

 

‘Think Freed’ is no more…

Just clicked on a link on my blog and was led to a page that said the blog I was looking for no longer existed. And then I remembered, it was after the 1st of June, and that’s when ‘Think Freed’ was going off line.

It’s sad in a way, I liked reading the stuff he wrote, even if I didn’t always agree with it.

But, I guess we all move on, hopefully to bigger and better things.

So here’s wishing you luck mate.

“Every new beginning is another beginning’s end”.

 

Tagged…!!

OK….. here was I minding my own business and suddenly discovered that I’ve been tagged! So here goes…..

1. My dogs : With all their infuriating behaviour, they still have the talent to make me feel good inside.

2. A good book : This is something that has been able to make me feel good from the first time I started reading Asterix and TinTin.

3. A good movie : It needn’t be of any particular gendre, as long as it fits into my definition of ‘good’ it makes me smile.

4. The smell of rain : Have loved this since I was a kid and it still makes me feel nice inside.

5. Misty hills : There’s something about being up country and seeing the mists drift in.

6. Time alone : At times, just being alone and not having to share my space with anyone else makes me happy. Sort of recharges the batteries I guess.

7. Time with my friends : While it may seem to be directly opposite to the earlier point, my friends do make me feel happy.

8. Christmas : Everything about it makes me feel good inside and makes me smile a lot more.

9. Food : Not all that much of a priority with me, but still the right stuff can certainly make my mood better.

10. Having a drink : Last but not in any way least. It always seems to bring my mood around.

So there…….! Not going to tag any others as most everybody here on Kottu seems to have been tagged already (at least everyone I know)….