Dear Readers,

Hi,

I am sorry but I haven’t been blogging for a long time.

A multitude of issues came up and I am sure you will understand.

First, my mom was diagnosed with appendicitis and required an operation. As many cousins and well wishers repeatedly told me, appendics is not a major operation now-a-days but then as with everything involving close family members, reason and logic somehow does not come into play. I was worried sick and being so far away did not help matters either. My sis reaced home yesterday and it’s only now that I am a little relieved.

The other matter which was giving me constant headaches was the search for a new house. The landlord of my current building is demolishing a perfectly fine building. The reason for that is that since there is a lot of space in between the two buildings (it’s a twin tower) that is equilavant to millions of dollars going waste every year. So they will be building a huge block instead. The problem is that the accommodation allowance I am entitled to has not kept pace with the rise in real estate prices (the govt hasn’t done much to check inflation either) so finding a decent house in my budget is near impossible. I went via countless real-estate agents (2/3rd of them are fake) who showed me mini rooms further partitioned to make 2 rooms. Just when I was giving up hope I finally found a flat from my company itself. There are many more details in this story but I will not bore you with them. I should be moving in within 2-3 weeks so expect some blogging interruptions again.

Just a couple of thoughts for this blog….

Have anyone of you watched a program on MTV called “My Super Sweet 16”.

It is as decadent a show as you can possible watch.

Its kind of a reality show which follows the trails and tribulations (quite literally) of some guy/girl who is turning 16 and somehow finds it necessary to throw the most hedonistic & self indulgent party ever.

I was 16 once and can understand the need to impress friends and I also understand that 16 isn’t quite the age where reason and practicalities figure very highly but what the fcuk is wrong with the parents? Aren’t they supposed to be the mature sensible ones?

For those of you who haven’t watched this show let me warn you that it isn’t great television but like a very bad accident on the road it is also impossible to turn away from.

16 year olds are taken to showrooms by indulgent parents where they get to choose expensive and very powerful cars.

All this even when it is amply clear that they can barely even keep their ever escaping bosoms inside their skimpy tops much less control a 3.2litre 540bhp 240kmph super-car.

1 hand for the mobile, 1 for the starbucks, 1 for the lip gloss, 1 for ….

Wait a min…

Don’t they have only 2 hands???

Precisely my point.

Now even as I am writing this I am fully aware how old and fuddy-duddy it makes me sound (which let the record show I am NOT but then someone’s got to bell the social cat)

Americans are worried that their children aren’t learning values, that they are perciecved as arrogant self-absorbed ignoramuses and that most youth after 21 can't find a decent job to sustain themselves without federal help.

With the 'values' that shows like these propogate is it really surprising?

And let’s not be coy here because the impact MTV has on the youth is hugely under-estimated.

There was a report in the Washington Post recently that this is becoming more than a trendand it has almost become a teen-obsession, to out-do each other with outlandish theme parties (one show had a Cleopatra theme but guessing how much ‘studying’ actually gets done in school it wasn’t surprising that Cleopatra was somehow more Roman than Egyptian) and dresses (one 16yr old was dressed worse than a slut in a strip joint in a feathered costume which, lord have mercy, was designed by her own mother).

The next time you hear about limousines, red carpets, paparazzi and custom-made gowns it probably won’t be the Oscars they are referring to .

And then they complain that Latinos and Asians are taking up all the good jobs.