To Kill a Mocking Bird Book Review

Each time I read this book, a different “universal truth” jumps out at me. When I was younger, I pondered the themes of prejudice, kindness, and dignity that run through the book, but now that I’m considerably older, what stuck out to me this time were the themes of innocence, and loss of innocence running through the whole book.


This reading I was particularly caught by the child-like perspective that the book gives each of the events. From the kids all thinking anything that touches the Radley property is poisoned, to Scout’s minimal understanding of the words used in the trial, but her complete understanding of the concepts. Likewise, with the exception of the trial, throughout the book innocence trumps experience. A particular example was when Scout first finds the goodies in the Radley tree. She finds the gum, ponders its origins, and decides that she’d like chewing the gum better than being all grown up about it. Jem, who always represents a more mature (but not much more until near the end) perspective, and he makes her spit it out when he finds out where she got it from. In the end though, Scout’s innocence let her get a good chew out of a wad of gum.


I think the fact that the book takes place over three years helps show the contrast between the innocent time at the beginning of the book, when Scout was six, and Dill, Jem and she played as relative equals, to Scout’s first day of school where Jem begins to brush her off as the “little sister.” By the end of the book, when Scout is nine, she may be physically older, but it seems that she is even more sheltered by Jem, who thinks the concept of the trial may be too grown up for her. He moves through the story from her equal to her protector, which only helps to keep Scout innocent through the book.


In the end though, the book really proves that there is something magical and golden about innocence. There is a purity and truth in innocence—whether it’s a dignified response to an unfair world, or simply an acceptance of things even if they are strange and different.

PS- Download Link will be posted as a comment ;-)

SWOT Analysis of an Engineer

Strengths- Male engineers are the only species on this planet that can sleep with males from their own kind for around 4 years and still not turn homosexual. Such self-restraint usually stems from the prevalent delusion in the mind of an engineer (which, by the way, is a big empty town hall). He firmly believes that upon the completion of his engineering, he will be handed over a ‘Kingfisher model meets Arundhati Roy’ kind of bride along with his degree. Forget the former, only a few are actually able to receive the latter even. Talking of delusions, female engineers have their own set. They think they are God’s ‘beauty with brains’ prototype. However, the amount of attention received by them can be attributed to the old adage that beggars (read male engineers) cannot be choosers. But such delusions are what keep the economy going. No delusion means no engineering. No engineering means no engineers. No engineers mean no investment bankers, no authors, no social workers, no ad makers, no janitors etc. Get the point?

Engineers seem to have mastered the art of survival. Food- good, bad, ugly, none- engineers just don’t care! You can run an engineer on a 2Mbps internet connection for days without a break. Engineers don’t even take pee-breaks. That is because the only time an engineer pees (in his pants) is when the semester results are out, which is once every 4 months. A very modest frequency, if you ask me. Engineers love night-outs- Sleep is for mortals, not engineers. An engineer uses lesser water in a year than a normal human being does in a day. (However, the statistics for consumption of deodorant are reversed.) If you have a pack of cigarettes, you can easily employ 20 engineers for a day. But please mind the fact that their efficiency is inversely proportional to the number of days left to the deadline. Engineers can share everything from books to boxers. They are adept at adapting to unadoptable situations. Rajnikant was an engineer before he became Rajnikant.

Weaknesses- Contrary to popular belief, mathematics, and not girls is an engineer’s Kryptonite. Engineers stopped understanding math after standard 5. Since then, they have been only pretending to understand it. If you are wondering how come then, do engineers pass in engineering entrance exams? There’s a plain and simple logic to that. The entire gig is being run by engineers. They make sure that only the worst get through. Students with the potential to suck at math are selected and made to suck at it for another 4 years. At an engineering college, the only guys who really know math are the mess workers, the laundry man, the newspaper guy and the hostel guards. If your son can calculate 2+2 in under a minute without rushing to grab a calculator, then I’m sorry but I don’t think he’ll make it through JEE!

Girls finish a close second on the list (totally overrated) followed by TV series breathing down their neck at the third spot. Engineering students have been known to suffer from epileptic fits and seizures if they are unable to find the torrents for the latest episodes of American sitcoms. The only backlog an engineer actually dreads is a backlog in sitcoms. Again, an engineer’s method of watching sitcoms is entirely opposite to the conventional ‘one episode-per week-for several years’ approach that lesser mortals follow. The engineer adopts the ‘million episodes-from several years-in one week’ strategy to devour TV series like a black hole devours matter.

This addiction is a direct result of the enormous free time at the disposal of an engineer coupled with a belief that the central character of Sitcom X will one day transfer his traits to his devotee if he stuck with him for long enough (around 10 seasons). That explains why Barney and Dexter are so popular among engineers. After all, sense of humour and crisp looks definitely help in getting laid.

Opportunities- Numerous. No aspect of human life has been left untouched by engineers. From call centers to ‘One night @ call center’, from Deutche Bank to Dominoes, from Avatar to Avantador, from technicians to terrorists, you will find engineers all around you. The boogeyman under your kid’s bed-he’s a computer engineer who failed to make it to TCS. Engineers diversify and multiply faster than any bacteria or virus known to man.

Threats- Rajnikant, actual bankers, actual authors…basically every generic worker from a particular line of work. And Justin Bieber. And Lady Gaga.

Courtesy: The Pyjama Warriors-Battling stupidity with sarcasm. 

Google Doodle for 2nd October

Google Doodle on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday

Wall Graffiti !

Wall Rail Graffiti

Green Graffiti!

HipHop Graffiti @ Ingenious Art

TiTAN- John D. Rockefeller

          A National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, "Titan" draws on unprecedented access to John D. Rockefeller's private papers to reconstruct the story of his troubled origins and his single-minded pursuit of wealth.

          Seldom does an author so thoroughly reveal the essence of a man; Ron does an amazing job in revealing even the tiniest details of a man who was legendary both in the way he changed our industrial world and in the way he reinvented charitable outreach. Such a fascinating person. John D. was the richest man in the world of his time and the world's first billionaire. John D. Rockefeller was a study in contrasts, and from the dirty details of running his first oil enterprise to the even dirtier details of how he kept his grip on oil production, refining and transportation, Jon Chernow illustrates Rockefeller's merciless business side while also revealing to us a man so meticulous and generous in his giving that he single-handedly formed colleges and even the way medicine was practiced not only in our country but around the world. 

I really enjoyed this book.  And one only reaches such heights through dubious means; including extortion, bribes, back door deals, payroll politicians, and general cruelty to all the little fish below. 

There are many reasons to demonize someone such as him, but what surprised me, was how I often found myself liking him. He was excessively frugal, never ostentatious, and extremely charitable. He had a nice Baptist simplicity, and a pleasant air. His philanthropy revolutionized medical science and education. He also contributed to African American causes, feminist causes, and even Helen Keller, who was an outspoken socialist. 

I also enjoyed reading about his family; his scalawag of a father, who was a bigamist and a conman; his envious brothers, and his children, grandchildren, and in laws. Proof that inherited money can't buy happiness. 

I don't mean to say his good justified his bad, but it's very important to recognize the complexity and dichotomy of such powerful figures, and to take from it what you can. 

         If you've ever wanted a view inside the life of a man who has been both reviled and praised throughout the last century, you'll find no better source than Titan.

You can download it here:
Titan-Biography of John D. Rockefellar PDF Download-eBook
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George W. Bush’s Intelligence Quiz

George W. Bush’s Intelligence Quiz

While visiting England, George W. Bush is invited to tea with the Queen. He asks her what her leadership philosophy is. She says that it is to surround herself with intelligent people. He asks how she knows if they’re intelligent.
“I do so by asking them the right questions,” says the Queen. “Allow me to demonstrate.”
She phones Tony Blair and says, “Mr. Prime Minister. Please answer this question: Your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or sister. Who is it?”
Tony Blair responds, “It’s me, ma’am.”
“Correct. Thank you and good-bye, sir,” says the Queen. She hangs up and says, “Did you get that, Mr. Bush?”
“Yes ma’am. Thanks a lot. I’ll definitely be using that!”
Upon returning to Washington, he decides he’d better put the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the test. He summons Jesse Helms to the White House and says, “Senator Helms, I wonder if you can answer a question for me.”
“Why, of course, sir. What’s on your mind?”
“Uh, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or your sister. Who is it?”
Helms hems and haws and finally asks, “Can I think about it and get back to you?” Bush agrees, and Helms leaves. He immediately calls a meeting of other senior senators, and they puzzle over the question for several hours, but nobody can come up with an answer. Finally, in desperation, Helms calls Colin Powell at the State Department and explains his problem.
“Now look here Colin Powell, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother, or your sister. Who is it?” Powell answers immediately, “It’s me, of course, you dumb ass.”
Much relieved, Helms rushes back to the White House and exclaims, “I know the answer, sir! I know who it is! It’s Colin Powell!” And Bush replies in disgust, “Wrong, you dumb ass, It’s Tony Blair!”

Source
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokebushintelligence.htm