4 basic rules of debating…

…for a vigorous, enlightening and healthy argument session (and competitive debating in general):

1. Do NOT to vilify each other or make fun/demonize each others intellects. This is strictly off limits.

2. Do not appear as if you’re debating/trying to “win”. Talk, don’t debate.

3. A little sense of humor goes a long way.  Sarcasm, self reflexive irony are most potent weapons.

4. Be calm. Never EVER raise your voice unless necessary. Screaming, yelling will never work to win over your rival.

My father is a university debating champion. So is my mother. She’s a living legend for leading her institution and students to win countless debating titles in her 27 year teaching career in that city.

It’s a shame they’re still to learn the basic rules of healthy, fruitful debates.

Redux

Apparently, I didn’t make myself quite clear. This will abate for now. But a dialogue would have to initiated come June 4th. And of course, the tongues will wag.

Misunderstandings. I hate it when these things happen.

Snappy happy

date		Sun, May 25, 2008 at 9:13 AM
subject		mailing
mailed-by		gmail.com

“Ei kakimoni, (wife of my father’s youngest niceguy brother who’s in pataliputra)
please don’t send me those bloody forwarded mails. It’s not cool. They are very annoying and I fail to see the humor in them. I delete junk mails without even thinking of reading as soon as they invade my inbox. As far as I can deduce most people don’t have much affinity for them. I greatly appreciate personal mails and I myself send personal mails quite often.
Translation: a personal mail, even a single liner, will be greatly appreciated.”

date		Mon, May 26, 2008 at 10:37 AM
subject		Re: mailing
mailed-by		gmail.com

“Dear S……,

The mail that I had sent you was of good quotations and not any mere rubbish joke. Please use proper words rather language – and never use words like ‘bloody‘ and all. I do not appreciate such languages. Have some respect for your elders. I will not send you anything which is absurd or indecent. I don’t like sharing anything indecent with people younger to me.
What I feel is some times you should be lighthearted to appreciate these forwarded mails – specially good ones. Life will become a hell if you always try to remain serious unnecessarily. It is unlike your age.

Kakimoni.”

date		Mon, May 26, 2008 at 11:45 AM
subject		Re: mailing
mailed-by		gmail.com

“Kakimoni,

you misunderstand me.

My inbox gets filled with spam and dozens of mindless forwarded mails every few days. I have ran out of patience trying to deal with junk mails. That’s why I asked not to send forwarded e-mails.

The word bloody, if you read it carefully you’ll see t’was directed to junk forwarded mails, NOT to YOU. Those mails deserve such language and worse. I generally don’t read those mails and I give a pig’s wing whether such mails have virus/indecent content (as they have most of times) or good quotations from Deepak Chopra/Winston Churchill.

Perhaps you overlooked the last few lines of my last mail. So I reiterate, I adore personal mails directed to me. I take the pains to send a lot of those myself at regular intervals.

Please, tell me if you will, where is the warmth, care and most importantly sincerity in forwarded mails one’s sending to dozens of family, friends and strangers alike?

Is sending Mother Teresa Or Bhagavad Gita quotes to 50 people in the mailing list without a single personal word from the sender be a sincere or thoughtful way of showing the sender cares about the recipients? Whatever it is, it’s not funny or “lighthearted“. Yes I know. My sense of humor is not very refined.

And I am serious when I say I feel disturbed by the fact that someone I admire lumps me with rank strangers whenever she thinks of sending a mail which she didn’t even spend a few minutes to write. If that kind of seriousness makes my life hellish then so be it.

And for the record, I DID see your forwarded mail. It’s nice but it’s still forwarded mail. Ergo, it’s junk.

I apologize if I hurt your feelings. They were intended to hurt the feelings of forwarded junk mails, not of yours.
– S.”

People can be such snappers over virtual com.

I think I was wee li’l harsh on her replying.

On second thought, I think I made myself pretty clear.

Mess

Boy meets girl. Boy ignores girl.

One fine day boy discovers girl.

Boy goes away. Months pass. Boy can’t help himself sinking in the quagmire.

Boy reinvigorates contact with the girl with 21st century communication techniques.

Boy charms the socks off girl (that’s what he thinks). Girl provides her contact number to the boy.

Boy in his momentous boyhood moment of glory goofs up and loses her contact number.

Boy panics and does something tactless. Girl gets all the necessary wrong signals and commences treating boy like dirt on the side of her shoes.

Boy is in a mess.  He is, to paraphrase The Beatles, half the man he used to be.

There. That’s the story of m’life.

I am an utter and complete disaster.

Excuses excuses

This celebdouche here with the toxic cocktail of manufactured   “faded” jeans, wristdana,  chin pubes and most importantly dollops  of  hair gel is the icon for what’s wrong with this world.

The hair gel puts the final nail in the coffin.

In fact, Emraan Hashmi is the biggest douchebag in the douchebag industry aka Bollywood. He is the icon, the grand daddy of the Grand Clan of Douchebags every budding doucheling aspires to be.

He is, as Aristotle succinctly put it, camel poo.

Meanwhile on Driftwood Life, I had to regretfully (*cough cough*) call off the evening meetup today eve with Miss Basu. She makes for most wonderful 80 minute Cafe Coffee Day conversations if I say so meself. Had to come up with a most elaborate excuse. Or rather two elaborate excuses. On phone later she swore she called me names about 15 times when informed of the evening letdown. And she promised to kill me. Which is exactly the thing I need now, no kidding.

On other note, yes, I am too poor to go to Barista (although I must admit to not being a fan of cafes altogether). Seriously, these guys should have a conscience. It’s highway robbery!! This is India for God’s sake. Not Orange County, CA. Ah well, who am I kidding?