I wanted to interject some media into the blog, as I feel its somewhat relevant, and also because I want a break from writing at the moment….
First is an article that my friend Jessie posted up on Facebook a while back. She is currently in Hyderabad, India in a study abroad program offered by Occidental College in Pasadena. In the midst of all her status updates about how her malaria pills are making her sick and how she would probably prefer to risk her life to malaria than take the pills, or her adventurous ambulance ride to the hospital when she was very ill that also put her life at risk, or how she likes the Indian beer there, she put a link to the article up to share with everybody, which I will post in its entirety. I just wanted to post it because I thought it was completely ridiculous... Not because it's shocking (that is relative) but just because this is actually happening. I dont have a real point to include it other than that:
India’s richest man has moved into world’s biggest private residence
by Liz Goodwin
Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101014/bs_yblog_upshot/indias-richest-man-has-moved-into-worlds-biggest-private-residence
Marking the end of seven years of construction work, India's richest man is planning a housewarming party for his 27-story palatial new home in Mumbai, replete with no fewer than three helipads and an air-traffic control station on its roof.
The 570-foot-tall glass tower, called Antilia, "features a swimming pool, a health club, a salon and a mini-theatre," reports the Times of India. "The first six levels comprise the garage where more than 160 cars can be parked. Atop the parking lot is Antilia's lobby, which has nine elevators." The house also has a garden that can accommodate trees, according to the Telegraph, and a separate ballroom. About 600 staffers will be required to run Antilia, named after the mythical island in the Atlantic.
The house belongs to Mukesh Ambani, who owns much of the oil and retail giant Reliance Industries. He is estimated to be worth about $27 billion. Experts told the Guardian that "there is no other private property of comparable size and prominence in the world." Ambani, the fourth-richest man in the world, co-ran Reliance with his brother before the two had a falling-out and split the company.
Some were surprised at the conspicuous show of wealth, since Ambani is known as a deeply private person not fond of hanging out with India's super-rich. "Perhaps he has been stung by his portrayal in the media as an introvert. Maybe he is making the point that he is a tycoon in his own right," Hamish McDonald, author of the book "Ambani and Sons," speculated in the Guardian.
In a 2008 New York Times profile, friends described the tycoon as something of a contradiction: a cold-blooded businessman whose heart also "bleeds for India." He wants to help pave the way for a better life for the country's poor, they said. A Reliance spokesman told the Times the house would cost about $70 million, but the Guardian says it's closer to $1 billion
Next, I would like to put some song lyrics up that I think sums up our class in regards to finding nationalist identity within a new nation.
“Strange Terrain” by Circa Survive, from album Blue Sky Noise, 2010
We read the signs completely backwards
No one could see if we ended up
Where we needed to be
To find out how it all works with so many partners
And nobody wants, nobody wants to sit
Behind the wheel, behind the wheel
Who’s the one pounding the gears
Avoiding the crowds
Keeping their ear to the ground?
Oh, I’ve made a mistake
I never learned how to get back to the place
Where have all the signs gone?
I don’t know where I am without them in our lives
We made designs completely backwards
And nobody knows if we’re even close
To where we need to go
To find out how it all works with
So many artists and nobody
Wants to sit behind the wheel, behind the wheel
(Get your own map)
Who’s the one pounding the gears
Avoiding the crowds, keeping your ear to the ground?
Oh, I’ve made a mistake
I never learned how to get back to the place
Where all our confidence kept us behind a shield
Only light could get through
Where all our confidence kept us behind a shield
Only light could get through
Where have all the signs gone?
I don’t know where I am without them in our lives
Here is a youtube web URL to the song performed acoustically:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIfcpgkQC7k
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