Dear Sleep,

I do not hate you. In fact I miss you more with every daaay! I know I sound like a Backstreet Boy, but what to do, I'll go anywhere for you.

The reason I've been giving you such less time is because my days aren't mine no more. They're rented to a monster machine that don't know you. Never been enamored by you. Never really tasted your sweet sweet breath. I know thats not your fault but baby you gotta understand. I work not just to fill my stomach, but because it is something I must do. Be gainfully employed they said. Do something! they said. So here I am. Doing me job. But in the pursuit of acceptance and credibility in an alien (and often abnormally stoopid) world, I have lost that which is most dear to me. My life.

Hence, in the darkness of the night when I'm all by myself, I fight to keep you away in order to live a little. Listen to 'em old tunes of rebellion and grey numbed pain; read about 'em wise kings, conceited gods, lustful queens, vengeful princes and the unnamed soldiers; stay awake a bit and spend some time with the person I love the most...myself; and lastly but nevertheleast smoke a sweet 'un.

So bear with me my love. Give me time, for that is what I do not seem to have no more. Be patient. Do not hold me back and quarrel like you do when I try to leave you in the mornings. For even when I push thee away, know that I still yearn for thee.

Love.

Me.

Of Corporate Arrogance

Facebook has recently started attempting to register the word "face" as its trademark with the United States Patent & Trade Mark Office (USPTO).

Technically, no individual may solely be vested with the exclusive rights on the use of the word "face", it being a common word in the English Language. However, Facebook's claim may be accepted if they are able to show that the word "face" has become distinctive in respect of the services provided by applicant by way of continuous use over a considerable period of time.

Now, it makes sense to apply for the mark 'Facebook' as a whole using the aforesaid arguments and the claim that 'Facebook' as a whole is a newly coined term using two English words in conjunction with one another, which were unused in relation to the given services of the applicant, and that tremendous cross-border reputation has accrued in respect of the same in favour of the applicant. In fact Facebook would be well within its rights to do so and thereby diligently protect its valuable intellectual property. What is unsettling however, is Facebook's insistence on getting the word "face" and probably later the word "book" registered in its favour. The effect of such registration is to say (loosely, depending on other facts and circumstances) that any instance of the use of the word "face" in relation to online service providers (regardless of the nature of such service) shall be held to be an infringement of Zuckerberg's great intellectual property that is Facebook. Notwithstanding the unwanted precedent it shall inevitably set which is likely to be followed by various other multinationals applying for exclusive rights on regular words of the English language.

So far, even without a valid registration, Facebook has successfully threatened and gotten a travel website to change its name from Placebook to TripTrace. They are also likely to initiate legal action against Teachbook, which is an online portal for teachers, for the use of the term "book". This reveals the sincerity of their intentions of following up the application on "face" by another for "book", probably using their first application as a precedent.

While it is unlikely that "face" will be granted registration one can never be too sure when it comes to financially resourceful multinational corporations. In any case such an application or claim is an example of a humongous ego and arrogance on the part of Zuckerberg & Co. that probably believes itself to be the sole reason for the existence of Law and not the other way round. I hope such arrogance is nipped in the bud by the USPTO.

Of Liberation

I have de-activated my facebook account. For the first time ever. The reason was simple and provided by one of those multiple choice questions that facebook keeps asking. It being "I spend too much time on facebook"... and might I add doing nothing at all. In my defence, its all this job's fault. I never really had the facebook bug and hence it made sense to be on it. Presently, I sign in after every other assignment on the pretext of taking a break. Hence, its time to call quits. Lets see how long this lasts. If my Quit Smoking campaigns against the self is anything to go by, it won't last long. But I'm hoping against it.

Eid Mubarak and...

... another bhai is about to bite the dust. The parents are gonna be meeting tomorrow, and well you know you know. The bhai and the probable bhabi seem to like each other though. Tons. That can't be too bad except for maybe the inevitable.

That's 2 down 7 to go by circa 2011.

The only question on everyone's mind.... WHO'S NEXT??

Yesterday

A man walked into Arambagh's Food Mart and asked for a tube of Fair and Handsome face cream for men.

Calcuttans, like Calcutta, never cease to astonish.

The Last of The First

August 30, 2010 witnessed, among other things, the passing away of the last surviving footballer to have participated in World Cup 1930, in Uruguay. Senor Francisco "Pancho" Varallo, Center Forward for the Argentine national team circa 1930-1937. At 20, he was the youngest player in the 1930 World Cup thereby becoming the youngest player in the World Cup Finals in 1930 (Argentina lost the finals to Uruguay 4-2).

Varallo in action against Italia (you gotta admit the pants rock!)

I have never watched him play, nor seen any footage of this man in action. In fact I hadn't heard of him till I came across an article citing his death. However, I did read up on his life, and the man is an Argentine legend having scored 180 goals in 210 league games for his club Boca Juniors; a record that lasted till 2008 when it was broken by Martin Palermo. He even jokingly expressed his desire to come out of his retirement upon hearing the news of his record being finally broken by Palermo. He was 98 years old in 2008.

Senor Varallo lived for a 100 years. RIP.

ps: Picture from here.

Ja saala, My heart goes shala-la-la-la ..

HOTTIE OF THE MONTH : Caroline Dhavernas

She makes me heart squeak ..

Picture from here.