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Forward: I didn’t edit this post. It’s meandering.

Part I

So way back in the day there was this relatively large organization called the SNA which almost all area Ezhava (and non Ezhava, but mostly Ezhava) Malayalees were part of.

It was big. I mean, we were a pretty good community. Until infighting and what not broke it up. Now it’s really only a few families.

Fast forward to September 11 of this year, and on the backs of some very determined individuals, the SNA managed to put on a reasonably good Onam celebration. They rented out the hall in the back, and they had some performances by the children of the community which included singing, dancing, and speeches (one of which was given by me, but that’s another story).

It’s gratifying in one sense that they finally recognized my dad (and a lesser extent, me) for what he was trying to do twenty years ago: he begged, then demanded that the SNA find a central place of worship instead of flitting from one place to another. This is actually what started the in-fighting: some of the members, especially those elected to the board, did not want to do that. A slight majority sat silently, which was in deference to the board.

Now that slight majority have their own kids and realize that the board stabbed them in the back by both breaking up the community and not doing anything with all those dues they collected over thirty plus years.

In the meantime, my dad kept opening and closing spaces under the banner of Guru, more often than not they remained unused… until we opened this office with that hall in the back. I’m not sure what it is about this hall but it seems the Ezhava community has taken to it.

It’s funny in another sense: I swore off the community after two separate incidents where I told off those board members. And yet, when I learned that the group was trying to get their act together, I had hope (yet again). So when they asked me to show up and give a speech, I obliged, even after Lisa told me to back out. It wasn’t a great speech, nor a good speech, but it was received well enough and I’ll leave it at that.

And in a third fit of funny, my dad (unexpectedly) received an ironic award for his continued dedication for the teachings of Guru… it was a pointed jab at the current president of the SNA and something of an overture for my dad to run for president once the other guy’s term ends. Also in a strange twist, they also thanked me for my continued dedication and support, another jab to the current president.

I don’t know. I want to be excited about this, I really do. I grew up in that community. That community watched me grow up before it broke apart. If I could help build up that community for the kids (like my own), it would be a great thing.

But, is this a fool’s errand? It’s a funny thing.

Part II

I disagree with the hue and cry that the first responders should’ve been at the ceremony. I don’t think they belonged there, given the unveiling of the memorial.

The last nine years have been focused principally on the heroes of 9/11, and rightfully so. However, I don’t think there has been enough focus on the victims of 9/11. There’s a couple of reasons for this.

The victims are generally treated as a bloc of people: innocent people who didn’t ask to be part of any war or movement. They were there to do work. See the towers. Do business. To that end, their stories are mundane and they were there for mundane reasons. Maybe they helped their fellow co-workers, or maybe they fled for their lives.

Further, the victims died in the same way: they were vaporized, from smoke inhalation, from the rubble as the towers, or a combination of three.

Except for the jumpers.

Those who jumped, well, we’ll never know why they jumped. Maybe they didn’t jump – maybe the smashed the glass open trying to get fresh air and were sucked out of the building. Or maybe they saw the flames racing toward them and decided to control their own destiny. Or maybe they were trying to scale the building to get to the roof and fell off.

We don’t know.

But what we do know is that you can’t discuss the victims without discussing the jumpers, and to discuss the jumpers you’d have to deconstruct why they jumped. And if you do that, then you have to take into account the religious/moral beliefs of the jumper and of the family.

Was jumping from the building heroic?

Whatever your answer might be, I personally think this is one very important reason why the memorial service was held closed to just family.

I’ve found myself enrolled in only one class and technically no required clinical work this last week, so I looked to see if the local library had the HP books available. No dice.

I found one of the HP books at my parents’ house (belongs to my sister – and I believe she has most of them, but I can’t find them) but it was the British edition and having read the British edition of 1,001 Arabian Nights, I decided not to subject myself to that again. So, using Stanza I ‘acquired’, read and deleted them within 24 hours*. Having finished them, I intend to buy a box set as I’m absolutely certain I’ll be rereading them.

Some thoughts:

Rowling is an engaging writer. I can see why the books sold so well. Having read a ton of free books on the Kindle, I was shocked to read something contemporary that was so well written. I feared writing was a lost art. This is clearly not the case here.

I didn’t realize HP was considered YA. The tone of the first few books followed that line; however, HP ‘grew up’ with the reader. I understand HP is still YA, but there’s a lot of heavy themes across the last few books. I especially love the character of Dumbledore – the classic Shakespearean tragic hero, though this isn’t revealed to us until the final two books.

The HP series weaves all sorts of fantasy and fairy tales into the story, such as King Arthur, Grimm’s Fairytales, Tolkien, etc. but what Rowling does exceptionally well is makes them accessible – not just through her writing style but by making the wizarding world part of the ‘real’ world: not something accessible only through Wardrobe or alternate universe but through the most mundane of places and things (e.g., St. Mungo’s hospital or portkeys). Further, anyone can be a wizard – its not simply lineage or birthright but some inner talent. By doing this, the Harry Potter books engage the reader in a way that other fantasy tales simply haven’t.

Rowling did a nice job with the multiculturalism which blends quite nicely with the aforementioned intertwining with reality. In hindsight, it seems like common sense, and yet…

I thought the pacing was a little off in the first two books – honestly, I disliked the second book for a number of reasons – but books five, six and seven make up for this.

There are obviously morality themes woven throughout the story, but they aren’t heavy handed religious metaphors as found in the Chronicles of Narnia, for example. While the morality plays out rather childishly in the first few novels, the last half certainly begs for further reflection.

I’m not ashamed to say that I’m completely smitten by the series in a way I haven’t been by anything other series. Not only will I re-read them but I hope Nora and Isaac read them as well. Rowling certainly deserves the wealth she’s amassed by writing these books.

We had to go to the genius bar at the apple store because my nifty ipod 4g was suddenly less nifty when the camera started acting funny. By funny I mean took pictures like so:

While we were there, Nora played the same old Dora game on one of their wonderful designed Mac computer things (I don’t know the names of any of the models other than the Air, I apologize) and the shelves stocked the same old tired games.

In a fascinating and striking contrast, Apple’s ipod and iphone have attracted developers both big and small to the platform, making it a formidable force. It’s gone from ‘eh, that’s nice’ to ‘this is actually really good quality!’ since my purchase of an ipod a year ago.

Contrast this to Nintendo’s latest handheld, which has, to date, sold 700K units WORLDWIDE, and has seen a huge price cut to bolster sales. But in an age of the app store and indie gaming, what does the future hold for Nintendo?

Compare and contrast: the SDK from Nintendo is in the five figures, Apple’s is $99/year. Nintendo has actively dissuaded and even denigrated indie developers, calling them ‘garage developers’, whereas Apple has received them with open arms. $40 will buy one new 3DS game, whereas a $40 gift card could potentially buy 15-20 games, and if you’re patient and wait for a holiday, easily 40 games. This doesn’t even include the number of quality titles that go free on a regular basis, which can easily double or triple that number.

As someone who still plays a GBA and dingoo, I can honestly say that these apps are fairly close to par to AAA quality titles in some cases. But more importantly, in this fast paced, tech savvy world, games really only need to scratch an itch, not necessarily provide a console like experience, especially when battery life is also a premium.

I have no dog in this fight. I like my wii, I like my ipod, and the company I hitched my fanboyism to long since died a tragic though not unexpected death (though naturally, when Sonic and Sega All Stars racing was released for the iOS, it was a first day purchase for me). I’m curious to see where this is going, especially with the announcement and somewhat lukewarm reception of the Wii U and Playstation Vita.

But who would’ve thought that Apple, of all companies, would be a driving force in the gaming world?

While I’d love to repost some of the conversations I’ve had with my co-workers, I can’t. But I will say that I’ve had the opportunity to say the things I wish I could say to people I know outside of the hospital among this group with great revelry.

I knew from the get-go that the group of people there are awesome, and it’s been getting better since the month has gone on. Almost all the RTs there moonlight at the big hospitals in the area, and all of them take more hours at my hospital just because of the camaraderie. They all help each other regardless of personal conflict, if there is any. “No one watches anyone else drown.”

In retrospect, it’s been pretty miserable at the family business for a variety of reasons, so it’s nice to be around people who are both affable and comport themselves professionally.