These are excerpts from a eulogy given by the Australian Prime Minister P.J. Keating MP on November 11th, 1993, at the funeral service of an unknown Australian soldier (am I the only one who immediately thought of the Doors' song?)

We do not know this Australian's name and we never will ( Read more... )

Although I knew very little about Australia going in, it has somehow managed to be exactly what I (quite unfairly) expected. I expected an easy going place with picturesque beaches that could be the salve to cure, if only temporarily, most ailments. And with every passing "no worries, mate" and beer on the shore I think that is exactly what I found ( Read more... )

a selection of some of my favorite lines ( Read more... )

scorned again

in other news, accepted to stanford while Columbia is interested but noncommital.

Bombay (or Mumbai, as they say) is a really cool city. There is actually a little diversity downtown with the tourists, an interesting blend of Indian and British architecture, and a gorgeous skyline set across the sea, reminiscent of New York or San Francisco. There is the liveliness and energy of a city with too many people to ever really sleep. ( Read more... )

A glance sidelong down the immigration booths at Chicago O'Hare airport reveals the new Department of Homeland Defense "US-VISIT" digital fingerprinting machines and the US-VISIT posters alerting immigrants that they are required to submit 2 digital photographs and their fingerprints before passing in to the States ( Read more... )

over the weekend, i visited the temple at thiraputhy; the world's richest religious institution. yeah - richer than even the vatican. the temple is built on gold reserves, past some seven hills, the temple itself being made of gold ( Read more... )

just a status report, for those few who may be interested.. as seen, obviously, through my eyes ( Read more... )

I've spent the last week and a half or so in the state of Kerala where my dad's family is from (and even my mom's, originally), located in southwest India; it's often called God's Own Country, and until now, I had no evidence for such a claim ( Read more... )

Note: paraphrasing is necessary due to the ineptness of my memory ( Read more... )