Even the dog knows...

The wall marking our house has a lettuce through which the little kids from the neighbouring houses call and pet my dog, Diego. He is very popular among the streets' inhabitants and also among the ever present stray dog population. He is most famous for his penetratingly loud barks. So much so it is often considered a nuisance. Unless in a scenario like this when I actually think that a dogs' bark may mean something.


I woke up yet again to find Diego barking at something through the lettuce. He was halted at the doorstep, as he dared not get closer to the wall. I steeped to his level and squinted trying spot anything peculiar outside.When I couldn't find anything remotely exciting, my mother said "He is been barking at the Poster of Kuruwitage pasted on the gate across". And yes he was! point blank barking at Mahinda Kuruwitage!


The most direct explanation for this, as told to me by a friend, is that dogs expect faces to move all the time. A poster is a non-moving picture of a face, a concept a dog cannot grasp. He expects the face in the poster to move as he has seen mine, my parents and pretty much every other human faces move.

But there is always a double meaning (isn't there always?). The irony is that my dog is barking at a politician. He is been influenced by the human race(guilty as charged) or he seem to understand that all these politicians are just talk and no work. Genuineness of politicians cannot be judged by the reaction of a dog, but I couldn't ignore the reality of it.

As I watched Diego barking I thought 'What if dog ruled the country?'. Then again MP's bark like dogs at the parliament, it would hardly be different. I recently told male friend of mine that men are like dogs and I remember him going completely berserk on that remark. Let me enhance that remark to you. Its insulting for a dog to be compared with men, because I think its easier to work with a dog than it is with a guy. And dogs seem to understand your requirements and feeling than most humans we've met.

So tell Diego barks again...Woof!

War- Vengeance? Truth?

Amos Roberts did a report from Sri Lanka about the 25 year old war against the Tigers that had seen thousands killed and how an estimated 150,000 civilians are trapped in the middle of this brutal conflict.

As Roberts reports, no independent journalists are allowed near the war zone and those who dare criticize the government or the military are either detained or murdered by shadowy forces.The clip below was posted on YouTube on the 15th March, as shown in an Australian TV channel.

As stated in the clip itself, the interviews seemed to have been staged. Opposing to this segment, a video of an IDP (internally displaced people) camp shows otherwise, questioning the credibility of the video above. The IDP's are kept in these camps for over a year. Are they imprisoned? Are they happy with the conditions? What will become of them?
The clip below was taken when the camp at Visuamadu was attacked. The scenarios are contrastingly different.

While one clip shows the IDP's well looked after , another shows them hiding in sand holes dug to the ground at the camps. Roberts mentioned that journalist are not allowed near the war zone, it seems that the handful that were allowed haven't done a good job reporting, considering the fact that now we are faced with two contradictory sets of evidence witnessed. Again I ask what are we to believe ? Or more like What is happening?

If the war was in Colombo instead of in Jaffna, then we would be living their life wouldn't we? For all we know, the situation can change as such, never know what will happen next, so isn't it least bit essetial for us to see what happening ?

Are Bloggers Cynical?

Are they?

Looking back at my last two blog entrees and re-reading them, I realized it sounds so whiny.Is it me or is it a part of the 'Blog Culture' to be pessimistic at times?

So surfing through few blogs, I came to the conclusion that I'm not the first to be a pessimistic blogger and it's not bad being one either. Being what they are or being what I am, very querulous as you see, makes people think "Oh yeah...". Opening readers to a different point of view, an angle to which they were previously blind to.

Bloggers are like Journalists, they should be able to strike a balance between negative and positive. Can't be too heavy to one side. Sometimes it's not the bloggers who are cynical, but the blog annotators(like this). The blogger writes a genuine piece, which the annotators fiest on like a flock of crows fighting over a piece of cheese! (pardon me for my imagination...).Such as:


Maybe this trend is what Sri Lankan bloggers are making. Blogging + Sri Lankaness combined results the best of our circuit of local bloggers and annotators. So possible for a nation of grumbling happy-g0-lucky people.

Blog annotators are bloggers themselves. So its all connected, Sri lankans-Bloggers-Blog Annotators, like Bermuda Triangle.And Bermuda Triangle is what bloggers are I think, because we never know who they really are or what happens to them ,because we dont know them. So there is nothing wrong being a Bermuda or being cynical, because its what blogging is all about. Being what you are and writing what you think. =)

Err.. So what is your name?

How come visiting lecturers don't introduce themselves first thing at a lecture ?

So we are going to this lecture, and we wonder who this guy is, what's his name. But instead of having answers to these questions we hear a detail description of his lifetime of achievements, leaving us yet pondering..err sir, so whats your name? (fault at our part- we don't ask him either, which we should do the next time)

There are two ways in which we come to musing over this Million Dollar( Rupees in SL) question.

1. Five minutes in to the lecture, we realize that its dead boring. Nine in the morning, a small neutral voice, with no expressions, speaking away. An excellent combination for us to doze off! So we are like Who Is This Boring Guy?! My friend turns to me, saying "Kill me! this lecture is beyond boring!

2. The type that screams 'Wake Up!' with their lively facial expressions, voluminous voice and Energized hand movements. He tell us an interesting story, gets us thinking that the lecture is worth listening to. Then we speculate, Gosh! Who Is This Guy? He rocks! Naive and pessimistic as we are, we come into the Auditorium dreading the thought of enduring a 3 hour sermon. Only a spirited lecturer can erase those ideas.

But I'm not talking about that. This Blog is about lecturers not introducing themselves, lively or not. Half the time we leave without knowing their names. Or luckily we see there names in the slid show or in handouts(which we don't get half the time). Some write their name and contact number on the white board before they leave( Hello!? Its essential that we know the name at the beginning! It completes the picture and makes it easier to listen to someone with a name!)

It disturbing to hear them mumble their names and for us to walk out at the end of it all, knowing the entire CV of Mr.Mumble's (Mrs or Ms.) instead of their name.

I wrote this while at a lecture, conducted by an accomplished middle aged man, who mumbled his name and droned for 3 hours monotonously about, god know what. "Kill me", my friend says again as we both wonder for the umpteenth time who this guy is, trying not to drown ourselves in this grey sunshine.....

P.S- Any Blogger/Lecturer's (or who are in the prospect of becoming a lecturer) reading this,( not many I know) please keep in mind to say your names properly even if you hate it.Thank You.