Reading - A complete waste of time ??

Recently a friend of mine who is not into reading in any form observed - "You like reading books but don't you think it is a complete waste of time ? Especially since your books are not even related to work. In the time you are reading you do nothing productive !!!! "

Of course I bristled at this but she being a friend - I did not shoot off acerbic comments; even though uncharitable observations about her serial-watching-time did occur to me !!! :))) Ha ha ....

Nobody likes to be told they are wasting time !! :)

Still .... I decided to actually think about her observation ... :) I know anyone can go on and on about the benefits (and disadvantages) of reading so I am not getting into that .... :)

I am going to play devil's advocate [ any offense in unintended ! ]

If we are to think of reading books as a waste of time then anytime spent in not foraging for our basic needs is a waste of time.

So letz see -

1. Time spent in listening to music is a waste of time - unless it is how you earn your bread-and-butter.
2. It goes without saying that only people involved in movie making should watch movies. [ What about the associate industries of Advertising, Toys, T-shirts, Games ...... :) No idea ! ]
3. Serials are a complete waste of time of-course - never mind the neighborhood boutiques ... that sell sarees and jewellery inspired by the serials !
4. Reality shows ? Ha .. toss it out of the window .... :)
5. You would like to learn the piano ? Why ? Read a trade magazine instead ! :))
6. Watching cricket / football / tennis by any one other than the players is an absolute no-no ! Never mind if your spouse starts to resemble a grizzly bear on losing his/her relaxation time with a favorite sport. :)

And so on and on ..... :))

To stretch it to a crazy level .....

Your child should decide what he/she wants to be in childhood and based on that should learn / read only skills related to the same !! Ouch ....

How would the world fare in this kind of environment ? I shudder to think .... :))) So next time I am tempted think of any specific recreation as a waste of time I am going to remember that the lateral impact of our recreations are many and varied [ both on self and others :) ] and I should realize each person chooses his/her own brand of poison ! :)
 
As for my friend - When I showed her this blog post she groaned and said "Blogging is creation of more material to read and ...... wasn't that where all this argument began ?" ! ;)) "

Books to Movies - Gripes ......

I think it is always dicey when books are converted to movies ....I mean just take the Bourne series .. !!! The movie(s) have not captured the book. They have taken "Bourne Identity" and made it into 3 movies with bits and pieces from the second and third book. The books "Bourne Supremacy" and "Bourne Ultimatum" hardly have anything in common with the movies of the same name. :)

While some adaptation in the storyline is expected; I wonder why glaring mistakes are made while casting .... One would think this area at least can be close to perfection .....

Yet ..... when I think of Lord of the Rings and the role of Galadriel played by Cate Blanchett -

She is supposed to be absolutely beautiful .. in fact so beautiful that the Dwarf and Elf keep arguing on the point - Arwen vs Galadriel. I know beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and all that but she looked terrible in the movie instead of gorgeous. Absolutely disappointing !!! Arwen as Liv Tyler was so much more better and she looks ethereal the way it is in the book. [ For those of you who forgot ; Galadriel is an elf queen and one of the 3 keepers of the rings. She gives Frodo the Star of light ].

Same for Marie in Bourne Movies - I don't think the actress fit the bill for this role ......

Another famous series - Harry Potter just seems to have too many wrongly depicted characters ... think of - Voldemort - He finally completely appears in "Goblet of Fire" and what a disappointment. Honestly as the main villain-of-the-piece in Harry Potter isn't he supposed to be so scary that nobody can mention his name ? Isn't he supposed to look more menacing ? Instead he looks like a caricature of a villain or a comic portrayal gone wrong !! Jeez .. no chills at all... ends up looking silly in fact ..... And then his eyes are supposed to be red slits !!!

Fleur Delacour - She is a Veela and has an ability to entrance and mesmerize men ... well .... she seems to have no appeal at all in the movie !!! :)

And I can go on .... :)

These look like glaring examples to me ... but may be this comparison is something obsessed book-readers observe and like to critique ..... :)

In recent times - the best movie adhering to the book descriptions IMHO is "Twilight". I found no issues with any of the characters - be the main characters or the lesser role characters - they have chosen exceptionally well. Yet how much does this diligence in casting convert to profit for the movie ?

[ Twilight - New Moon - is not very riveting as a book so I think it may not do much at the box office when compared to part one... :) But then that is the storyline .. not the character ..... so I digress .... ]

I did think it was an interesting question as regard casting but I know I do not have enough data to analyze ... :)) May be getting the main characters right is sufficient ....

Mom ? Or just a doubtful indecisive person ?

With a child every decision  is fraught with doubt ....

-- If you quit your job you wonder if you are sending the wrong signal by not working but if you work you bemoan the lack of time with your child ... :)

-- When you send your child to classes on drawing , piano , swimming etc you question if you are not allowing the child free time ... if you lessen the classes you ask yourself if you are not exposing the child enough to new ventures that he/she could learn ....

-- When you prepare food you ponder if you are getting the nutrients right .. if you don't and instead have a cook .. you feel guilty for not cooking every meal and snack yourself ! :)

-- If you scold the child you feel guilty for hurting him/her but if you don't you contemplate whether you not making the child too soft emotionally and tied to your apron strings .... :)

-- If you spend lots of time playing with your child you speculate if you are making him/her dependent on you for entertainment; if you don't you feel like a heel for not spending enough time with the child...

-- If you read many story books to the child you wonder if you not paying enough attention to physical development and motor skills ... if you don't spend enough time reading you feel you are not preparing your child for future study ! :)

-- When you are firm you deliberate if you are being too authoritative and if you are lenient you mull over if you are spoiling the child ! :)

-- When you allow your child to play in the rain you muse if you have lost your senses ( :) ) lieu of the swine flu scare and but if you don't, you feel the child has lost an opportunity of spontaneous fun under the raindrops ...

And the list goes on .... damned if you do and damned if you don't !!! :)

  I believe this is not a question of right or wrong .. which I think would be easier to handle ..... it is a question of balance with respect to the individual nature of the child ..... and who knows what the balance is ... ??? :)))

I wonder if this is a common obsession / compulsion that makes me over-think every step I take .......

However even though I cannot help but think that my daughter deserves so much more better than the kind of parent I am .... when she unexpectedly gives me a hug and says "I love you Mama" ... I think may be ... just may be ....I am not doing such a bad job after all .....

Human beings are divisive social animals

When I consider Aristotle's quote - "Man is by nature a social animal" - it occurs to me it is not completely true. We seem to have come a long way since we killed each other just because we occupied different turfs but the lines of differentiation are always present.

We slice and dice people based on various criteria -

• South Indian ?
• Indian ?
• Language 
• Caste ( but ofcourse ... )
• Economic status
• Lineage ( my father's cousin's-cousin's was royalty ! ;) )
• History ( my folks came with the Mayflower ! :) )
• Religion - More people have died from this cause than all epidemics put together !!! And all religions advocate non-violence ! :)
• Geographical teritory 
• Education
Humans need to be part of a faction and yet be unique

I think the list can go on .... So while we have travelled in the road to equality I cynically think that we will never be able to quell the need to be distinct.

While by nature humans are social animals - I think this bonhomie extends only to the point of feeling part of a group and at the same time being able to feel a cut above others ! :)

And this is not a new observation - Am sure this is a part of some human behavior course material ! :)