Sunday, June 28, 2020

working-class

belonging to a social group that consists of people who earn less than other groups, often being paid only for the hours or days that they work, and who usually do physical work rather than work for which you need an advanced education:

working-class people/families

He was born to Irish immigrants and grew up in a working-class neighbourhood.

the group of people in society who use physical skills in their jobs and are usually paid by the hour:


a working-class neighborhood/family

belonging or relating to the social group that consists of people who usually do physical work, and usually do not have much money or a very high level of education:

Most of our voters come from working-class backgrounds.
a working-class area

a working-class family

the working class

the social group that consists of people who usually do physical work, and usually do not have much money or a very high level of education:


She is a County Commissioner who fights for the working class.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Excerpt from my Blog post...

French is a good language. But we need to learn Sanskrit first. We've to take pride in being an Indian. A race that's shy of their own forefathers has no conscience. Particularly when their ancestors were people of indomitable courage and lofty values.

Favor Bank? Paulo Coelho (because this world is made up of contacts and nothing else.)

‘What is this Favor Bank?’
‘It was an American writer who first mentioned it. It’s the most powerful bank in the world, and you’ll find it in every sphere of life.’

‘What favors could I do for anyone?’
‘That doesn’t matter in the least. Let me give you an example: I know that one day, you’ll be very influential. I know this because, like you, I too was once ambitious, independent, honest. I no longer have the energy I once had, but I want to help you because I can’t or don’t want to grind to a halt just yet.
I start making deposits in your account – not cash deposits, you understand, but contacts. I introduce you to such and such a person, I arrange certain deals, as long as they’re legal. You know that you owe me something, but I never ask you for anything.’
‘And then one day…’
‘ One day, I’ll ask you for a favor. You do what I ask, I continue to help you, and other people see that you’re a decent, loyal sort of person and so they too make deposits in your account – always in the form of contacts, because this world is made up of contacts and nothing else. They too will one day ask you for a favor, and you will respect and help the people who have helped you. You’ll know everyone you need to know and your influence will keep on growing.’

‘I could refuse to do what you ask me to do.’
‘You could. The Favor Bank is a risky investment, just like any other bank. You refuse to grant the favor I asked you, in the belief that I helped you because you deserved to be helped, because everyone should recognize your talent. Fine, I say thank you very much and ask someone else into whose account I’ve also made various deposits, but from then on, everyone knows, without me having to say a word, that you are not to be trusted.

‘And…’
‘You’ll grow only half as much as you could have grown, and certainly not as much as you would have liked to. At a certain point, your life will begin to decline, you got halfway, but not all the way. Neither frustrated nor fulfilled. You’re neither cold nor hot, you’re lukewarm, and as an evangelist in some holy book says: “Lukewarm things are not pleasing to the palate.”‘

___________________

as told to the main character, the writer, in THE ZAHIR

Where did you learn to speak Arabic like this?

I find that this's the most hilarious scene in the movie:  Body of Lies.

Golshifteh Farahani asks Leonardo DiCaprio...

LOL ROFL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tezz15pLGi8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTeY6H581pg

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Reprint: Sisyphus is in you.

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Mettle: Strength of spirit: Ability to continue despite difficulties.

There is no magic wand that could change boys into men but sheer, mammoth grit.
This is your life.
If you are a closet escapist opt for hot-air balloon ride. No one would ever suspect your timidity.
But if you have even a wee bit of pathfinding spunk --
Invoke the pygmy Sherpa-like relentlessness of spirit in you.
It would metamorphose into a real giant. Eventually.
Buckle down to Sisyphean ordeals.
Don't shy away from 'em.
Sisyphus is in you.
Listen to your inner voice.
Try not to muffle or squelch those echoes.


Monday, June 15, 2020

Reprint: Unconfessed mortal sins...

SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2013

Unconfessed mortal sins...

I write for so many reasons. My writing is a mirror image of what I'm -- or what I've become. I write autobiographical accounts. I write to influence people. I write to change their mind-set. My life has always been a game of Snakes and Ladders. There're more snakes than ladders. I write to tell my comrades to watch out for Snakes. That's my way of being a Good Samaritan. I'm a modern-day samurai. My writing instrument is my sword.

This is my warped and deviant thinking: I believe there's no real and absolute fiction. It's reality morphed radically. And, it's almost autobiographical or semiautobiographical always -- inadvertent or deliberate. It's so -- at least in my case. In my offbeat monologic poems. In my wacky soliloquies. It's cathartic. It works just like medicinal leech. It's penance for unconfessed mortal sins. I don't know if this phenomenon is widespread universal -- or merely a personal idiosyncrasy of a schizophrenic wannabe writer like me.

POSTED BY MAQSOOD QURESHI AT 12:02 AM  

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Thursday, June 4, 2020

modus vivendi

an arrangement allowing people or groups of people who have different opinions or beliefs to work or live together

English Language Learners Definition of modus vivendi
formal : an arrangement that helps people, groups, or countries work together peacefully even though they do not agree with each other