The War Against the Terrorists: How to Win It by Gayle Rivers

Terrorism is war, says Rivers, a blunt, hard-shooting New Zealander, whose previous book, The Specialist was a blood-and-guts account of his counterterrorist activities. The latest is a tough-talking primer for the naive and innocent (and the civil libertarians) about the terrorist threat and what the Western community must do to combat it. Rivers is critical of most current measures and his call for a war-like mobilization of international forces, gathered around a shoot-first-ask-questions-after strategy, leaves no doubts that counterterrorism is not a dinner party. Terrorism is a trendy topic these days, and Rivers's "how to do it" scolding will give readers a taste of what may lie ahead.

Let's go to the movies: Out of Africa

The most acclaimed motion picture of 1985 stars Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in one of the screen’s great epic romances. Directed by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack, Out of Africa is the fascinating true story of Karen Blixen, a strong-willed woman who, with her philandering husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer), runs a coffee plantation in Kenya, circa 1914. To her astonishment, she soon discovers herself falling in love with the land, its people and a mysterious white hunter (Redford). The masterfully crafted, breathtakingly produced story of love and loss earned Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (based on material from another medium), Cinematography, Original Score, Art Direction (Set Decoration) and Sound.

The Human Zoo: A Zoologist's Study of the Urban Animal / Desmond Morris

How does city life change the way we act? What accounts for the increasing prevalence of violence and anxiety in our world? In this new edition of his controversial 1969 bestseller, The Human Zoo, renowned zoologist Desmond Morris argues that many of the social instabilities we face are largely a product of the artificial, impersonal confines of our urban surroundings. Indeed, our behavior often startlingly resembles that of captive animals, and our developed and urbane environment seems not so much a concrete jungle as it does a human zoo. Animals do not normally exhibit stress, random violence, and erratic behavior until they are confined. Similarly, the human propensity toward antisocial and sociopathic behavior is intensified in todays cities. Morris argues that we are biologically still tribal and ill-equipped to thrive in the impersonal urban sprawl. As important and meaningful today as it was a quarter-century ago, The Human Zoo sounds an urgent warning and provides startling insight into our increasingly complex lives.

What’s happening in my life?

What’s happening in my life?

Dad and Brother #1 are going to India for two weeks.

Mister Cuckoo is okay but starving. Crickets aren’t available at the Pet Shop. I’m going to feed him tropical fish – tiny, little tropical fish. I’m not cold-blooded. Food chain – remember! (totally warped in this context!) -- Like Jains I believe in nonviolence toward all living creatures unless I’m obstinately copycatting, role-playing Jim Corbett! :-) Trigger-happy hunting isn’t good.

Nicorette nicotine gum isn’t available. I’m seriously thinking that I’d quit smoking. What do you think?

What’s happening in your life?

Missing me eh? :-)

You’re my Junie B. I love you so much.

That’s all for now.

Bye.

Teary-eyed / Self-delusion . . . .

Saroo:

You know -- I’m still in DENIAL – deep down - I feel you’re still here – love makes you delusional - absurdly! – my instincts - intuition -- Conking out? --- Triggering false alarms? -- Comatose - irreversibly?

Wish I’d fly! Wish I were a Jinn! :-)

Daedalus-and-Icarus like experiment! I’ll give a serious try to something like that! :-)

I miss you so much. You’re my Talisman!

Love you like a MANIAC!

Altruism

al•tru•ism Pronunciation: (al'trOO-iz"um), [key] —n. 1. the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism).

2. Animal Behav.behavior by an animal that may be to its disadvantage but that benefits others of its kind, as a warning cry that reveals the location of the caller to a predator.

altruism (ăl'trOOiz'um) [key], concept in philosophy and psychology that holds that the interests of others, rather than of the self, can motivate an individual. The term was invented in the 19th cent. by the French philosopher Auguste Comte, who devised it as the opposite of egoism. Herbert Spencer and John Stuart Mill, English contemporaries of Comte, accepted the worth of altruism but argued that the true moral aim should be the welfare of society, rather than that of individuals.

Unshed Tears . . . .

"He did not say good-bye. There is no word for good-bye in Navajo."

Saroo:

I deleted my profile from Shaadi.com today. Of course, I wasn’t logging in on there. Of course, I wasn’t looking – but still as a symbolic gesture I deleted it.

I’ll wait for you – indefinitely.

I love you so much.

I’m praying. And, I’m patient.