Musings of an Idiot

Elections

It is 2.30 AM in the morning and I just got away from the television set watching the election results. The results are out - there is no party which has a clear way to form a government. Hell...it almost looks like a repeat of the american election from 2000- with the two leading parties neck to neck - Labour sitting at 50 seats while National sitting at 49 seats, and another 10% of the votes categorized as special votes {votes by kiwis abroad + people who voted early, etc..} yet to be counted. It is a tough tough call..there will be negotiations and hopefully we will still remain sane. I haven't voted even though I am now a permanent resident because of some stupid rule which says that you got to be a resident for atleast an year before you are eligible for voting... I seriously hope that National Party doesn't come to power {even though the current trends show that they won't -politics is might unpredictable}. A right wing party coming to power is never a good thing - case in the point BJP in India came to power in the previous elections based on their right wing agenda, and they created havoc - even though they were leading a coalition. The thing with right wing parties is that they exploit the public's primal fears and gain mileage on their insecurities - they do well to mix things up by promising populist policies. And it never ever bodes well for the society. The most distinct thing I can see from this election is that NZ has become severely polarized and divided in it's vision of the country. I am not saying that the Labour government is entirely good because they have become arrogant and started squeezing everyone for money but in the bigger scheme of things - i think they are the lesser of the two evils. If Labour is able to form a government this time, it will be with a lot of negotiations and that too with parties which might not have anything in common with them, hopefully that will take the arrogance out of them and make them more responsive to the people. It is amazing that I have written this much about politics, especially when I dislike it so much. I guess the stakes are high now, NZ is a good and peaceful country {I would go as far as to say that it is a paradise -maybe not to kiwis, who sometimes forget how lucky they are} and there is nothing worse than the country going to dogs because of right wing politics coming into play.

Saturday has been a really interesting day. I got the bike delivered to me in a box at 11.00 and the better part of the day has been spent assembling the bike. I had lots of help from Greg, my flatmate -otherwise I would have been stuck for ages. I am an Indian and I am not used to doing building things up myself while NZ has a 'Do-It-Yourself' culture, so my lack of hands-on experience at assembling bikes or minimal knowledge of mechanical parts and logic, did not help the matter at all. The bike is nearly assembled - the only thing I need to fix now is the front mud-guard and it is all ready to go. It was weird trying to cycle in the limited space in the house and riding a 21 gear bike for the first time was a little un-nerving {my last bike was a single gear, no-frills mountain bike with no-suspension gear}. I think I will practice riding it a little today, so I get used to it. I did take a break and get myself a helmet as well as a lock but need to go to the bike shop again later today morning, to have the lock replaced -since I seemed to have screwed the lock combination up.

I did cook the seekh kebabs....hmmmmm...it was an interesting experience. I wouldn't say that the kebabs were perfect but they were definitely yummy. Greg, my flatmate- liked them a lot, which is always a compliment coming from him. I think I put in a little too much onion- and I did not roll them thin enough -they look all wobbly shaped {I forgot to buy skewer sticks}. I guess it all comes with practice - hopefully will improve as time passes.


Greg had been watching a 4 hour special on National Geographic on 9/11 Attacks and the investigations. It was an interesting listen, since I could not watch most of it as I was cooking as well as assembling the bike. It was only one side of the coin and at times it felt like propoganda, which then reminded me that I had finally rented 'Farhenheit 9/11' from the video store. I asked Greg, if he was keen to watch it and he said yes and we sat down and watched it after a couple of hours break.

It was alright - I think it ran out of gas at the 85-86 minute mark and after that it was just waiting to see how the doco would wrap up. I think it is the other side of the story but it is still not a balanced doco. It is way too preachy and I really did not like the storyteller taking a higher moral ground instead of simply telling the story and let the audience decide for themselves. I think in comparision I like 'Control Room' way better than F-9/11 -if only more people could see that movie.

An interesting film to view in such an environment would be 'Lord of War' - the latest film by Andrew Niccol. You can read an interview with the director about the film as well as the topic of making a movie about arms dealing. Be sure to check out the movie trailer because it is a good trailer and gives you a feel for the movie.

Anyway - I think I have written enough for now..will update you later on what happens in today's netball game. And as a sign off note - I hope that you spare a moment to read this article.

Ciao,
Amit

posted by Amit @ 1:36 AM