Fuzzy Logic

http://fuzislippers.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

So I was going through blogs today, and I came across one which was quite interesting. I agreed with what this person had the say about the current American president at first, and really like how they had their facts right. Call me biased, but maybe it's because most of the Americans I've met all my life, are perhaps kind of egocentric and never really have their facts right, but tend to go on about how great they are and how great the US is. (Ofcourse, no citizens criticize their own countries...with the exception of the Pakistanis ofcourse, who only seem to remember their love for Pakistna on 14th of August). I've yet to see an American criticize America, even the ones who are originally Pakistanis, they somehow find justifications for everything the their country does.

But that's all okay. Biasness is understandable. Specially when your country is a super power and has tonnes of nuclear weapons. But one thing I canNOT understand is how you can criticize something that you just "heard" of. And sometimes, all I've seen these people do is just be told by some people what something is, and without any proper research, believe i so firmly that they won't even take any criticism against it. Getting back to this American blogger however, in one of her posts 'What's this about the flag of Islam flying over the White House?' She talks about how there's apparantly someone who announces that the Islamic flag will be one day over the White House and muslims are willing to evne use violence as a means. She/He goes on to criticize some of the facts/censuses and says that it is a lie what the census say that Muslims are anti-suicide bombings, infact, many Muslims living in the USA actually support such bombings if it is for the sake of their religion.

And all i could say to that was "=|". I mean..seriously? If she says that those facts in the censuses aren't true according to some other censuses, then how can a person know the authencity of the facts that she is stating? The sad thing is, the guy declared it and there is undeniably a movie of it. But what i'm afraid these Americans are too ignorant to see is that the RELIGION does not support bombings.

Ofcourse, I have noone but ourselves to blame. We are causing this, declaring this, though it is true that the American media tends to highlight thse bad things so much more boldly than the Muslims who practice Islam right. I've lived in the west for half of my life before moving back to Pakistan, and I've never seen a news report on how Islam talks about peace or how Muslims do good deed and are anti-war. So, you can't really blame these people, or even us, for thinking that it isnt something that exists in this world- the right kind of Muslims that is. They are undoubtedly here. But ofcourse, if the media has been showing us as the bad guys for the past decade, can't really change it's views suddenly.

10 Things I Hate About Birthdays

1. They build up. The day you came into this disease-ridden world, naked and squealing, is a special and magical day. Amazing things are going to happen to you on the day that fate and your parents randomly decided to set your misery in motion. So you had better start counting down to the day four-and-three-quarter months before and telling all your friends about it.

2.  The midnight celebrations. It's the witching hour when demons are let loose and this is when your birthday actually begins.

3.  The cake. So you're another year closer to eventual organ failure. Let's celebrate by clogging our arteries some more and piling on the pounds. And while we're at it, let's rub each others' faces with cream and chocolate. So what if you spent nearly five grand on a facial yesterday?

4.  The phone calls. Oops sorry, it's three in the morning, were you sleeping? Just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday. Hope you have a great day tomorrow/today. What's that? You're an insomniac and have trouble falling asleep and you didn't want to look like a deranged raccoon on your birthday so you took sedatives but now they wont work because I woke u up with my once-a-year phone call? Oh well at least I reminded all my friends that it's your birthday and they'll be calling next.

5.  The Facebook wishes. I don't know you, I've only ever met you once at your third cousin's third divorce GT but I really do sincerely hope that you have a great day and an awesome year ahead because i actually care. Winky Smiley Face.

6.  The surprises. I have a weak heart which gets weaker as I grow older but I really appreciate the fact that all of you broke into my house while I wasn't around and howled like banshees when I walked in after a 13-hour work/uni/college day. Oh look at that, you guys all dressed up because you KNEW there was going to be a party and I haven't even showered. Ha Ha Ha.

7. The gifts. I just love the anti-ageing cream that you so considerately picked out for me. And no, it's completely okay that all 20 of you showed up to my expensively catered birthday bash without any gifts at all. Who needs material gifts when I have precious friends like you? And it is the thought that matters after all.

8. The number. You're a quarter-of-a-century old. Fun! Do you know how people look like when they're a hundred. Fuunn! What's the average age of women in our country? FUUNNN!!!

9.  The angst. Another year gone by without you achieving any of the milestones that you had set for yourself. Being rich, young and famous is for losers who have nothing better to do but achieve amazing stuff. You are now on the wrong side of 20 and more prone to all sorts of diseases and ending up alone with cats for company. Bring out the champagne.

10.  The end. The day that you had hoped will change your life has come and gone without any of the magical special things that were supposed to happen to a magical special person like yourself. So what? There's always next year - if you don't succumb to heart disease from excessive cake consumption, that is.

The Secret Powers of Time- Philip Zimbardo

Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side. --The Talmud

Time just passes by, regardless of how we feel about it... right? Not according to Philip Zimbardo. He's been studying how people think of time for decades and has some amazing findings. For instance, did you know your cultural background could determine how fast you walk? Or that children's use of technology makes class pass by more slowly? "Many of life's puzzles can be solved by simply understanding our own time perspective and that of others," he states.

Zimbardo's writing appeared in Greater Good Magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center of the University of California, Berkeley. Zimbardo's contributions include the interpretation of scientific research into the roots of compassion, altruism, and peaceful human relationships. His most recent article with Greater Good magazine is entitled: "The Banality of Heroism", which examines how ordinary people can become everyday heroes. In February 2010, Zimbardo was a guest presenter at the Science of a Meaningful Life seminar: Goodness, Evil, and Everyday Heroism, along with Greater Good Science Center Executive Director Dacher Keltner.

Be The Change:
Here's a few things you can do if you're interested in what Philip has to say.

1. Notice your perspective of time as you find yourself in different situations today.

2. Practice awareness of your own time perspective - think through what drives major actions in your life and consider possible changes.

3. Next time you're in a conversation, focus more on asking questions than speaking - understand the perspective of the other person deeply.

4. Learn more about the deep research of Dr. Zimbardo, who is famous showing how 'good' people can change easily.

Be Careful Of What You Post

I read an article the day before yesterday, which alarmed me. It talked about how an employee decided to say some stuff about her boss, who later found out and actually SUED her. Though some things I was aware of, something surprised me. So, I decided to share it's gist here at my blog for my viewers.

These days, folks should definitely watch what they say on massively popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, because you never know who’s reading what you’re writing. The article goes on to talk about how CNN asked experts how they felt about the issue and offer some tips on how to conduct yourself on the Internet so that you don’t go through a similar situation. Check out the tips below!

1. Think before you post

Imagine if the comment you posted or tweeted will appear in the local newspaper the next day, says Tyson B. Snow, an employment attorney at Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar LLC in Utah. While that rule of thumb may sound extreme, Snow says it is a safe way to manage your content.

On a social media site, the audience is unlimited, and the content is permanent. An employee may post one photo and quickly remove it, but someone could still archive the page or make a copy, he says.

2. Be picky about who you friend

Only allow people you trust into your social network, says Shanti Atkins, president of ELT Inc., an ethics and compliance training company. Instead of casually accepting all the co-workers or managers who ask to friend you, be selective about who you allow to view your posts.

Atkins says employees may forget who they let into their network and that could lead to problems later on.

3. Do it on your own time and computer

Try to limit your Facebook and Twitter activity to your personal computer, several experts say. If you engage in problematic activity on the company property and time, this can provide the managers more leverage, say several workplace experts.

Many employers and workplaces already ban the sites at the workplace to prevent social media spats from becoming an issue.

4. Watch what you post at home

Many workers are unaware that mentioning their company in a negative light on the internet — even if it’s done on personal time at home — could lead to disciplinary measures, says John Lusher, a social media consultant. He says many organizations have departments that monitor social media comments and photographs that pertain to the company.

5. Keep the dialogue positive

Social media can be a great way to foster conversations about an employee’s recent promotion or a company event, says Josh Whitford, president of Echelon Media, a company that specializes in social media. But, he says, certain topics such as trade secrets should never be disclosed online.

6. Figure out privacy settings

Social media privacy settings may be tricky, but take the time to consider all the different settings, says Shanti Atkins, at ELT Inc. She suggests implementing filters and grouping co-workers and bosses so that certain information does not reach everyone.

7. Learn your employee rights

Employees need to make the effort to understand corporate policy regarding the use social media at work and at home, says Tyson Snow, an employment attorney. However, most companies don’t have such policies in place. Only 10 percent of companies had specific polices to deal with social networking sites, according to The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

So to make a long story short, just watch what you say about people on the Internet. If you don’t have anything nice to say, just keep it to yourself or call up your BFF (like the old days)!!

Julie and Julia- Movie Review

Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is turning thirty and questioning what she’s done with her life.  She decides to take on a project and titles it ‘The Julie/Julia Project’.  She created a blog on the internet way back in 2002 and decides to cook her way through Julia Childs’ (Meryl Streep) cook book.  At the same time we get the story of how Julia Childs who plays a bored housewife to a government employee, Paul Child (Stanley Tucci) becomes a master of the French Cuisine and eventually publishes one of the biggest cook books on French Cuisine.

So the question I ask myself, is what do I expect to like going in?  I already know that I have an unhealthy obsession with Amy Adams and I already know that Meryl Streep is one of the greatest actresses still working today, but at the same time as a person that has trouble boiling an egg I know I will almost want to kill myself staring at some of the meals that are going to be in full focus on the screen.  I have to say that even though Meryl Streep defeats Ms. Adams in the acting department of the film I definitely enjoyed Amy Adams section of the film more than Meryl.  While Meryl does her best to bring to life the character of Julia Childs, which I’ve actually never heard of before, who is no more than a great cartoon character for cooking, Amy Adams’ character reminded me a lot of myself.  I forgot to pay attention to the fact that she has friends or a husband or a job and focused completely on her writing/blogging.  I found myself intrigued every time she sat at her laptop writing her posts to her readers feeling all those things she felt, feeling like she’s sending her thoughts out there in the massive space that is the internet and unsure of whether it would find anyone. I could relate it to this blog, searching for someone to comment. Someone to hear my voice, like Amy's character.

However, my biggest problem with this movie is that even though I enjoyed Julie Powell’s character more than Julia Childs, Julie Powell didn’t feel like she had a proper story arc.  She decided to spend a year doing this project and it gave her highs and lows but it didn’t seem like the project helped her life.  I definitely heard that line of dialogue where she says how Julia pulled her out of the rut and you can see that she had some progression in her career but did a year of cooking, eating and blogging do it?  Possibly, but I’d like to think that even without the project all the things that happened for her in the end would’ve happened anyway.  Julia Childs on the other hand has the better arc for sure, as it tells the story of her going from boring wife to being a great cook who brings French Cuisine to America.  Her half of the film felt like a regular biopic where we see her overcome all the hurdles a character would in that scenario.

So in the end while wondering as what to call this movie, I would like to dub it being better than expected but not anything that I’m willing to rave about. In a month I will probably forget about the movie completely and not even think twice about watching it again when it hits cable and I’m flicking through channels on a Saturday morning between football matches.  However, this is a nice date movie since it does cater to the female audience and is light hearted enough about its topic that it can draw in the men like how Iron Chef can.

Just around the corner...

For all you still-crazy-die hard Harry Potter fans-- eeeep! Though the hype that Harry Potter once created has slowed down to a great extent now that all the books have come to an end, there are still some of us who are just as excited by the movies. Even though the books most indefinately were better than the movies..most of us, including me, still can't be seperated from the fabulous world of witchcraft and wizardry which was created when we were tweens. So, it's all for one and one for all for all those who have been waiting to see the first part of the final movie. Just a few weeks left..though it will take a while for the better print to hit Pakistan (sigh), let's see if this movie is worth the watch...(yes, most of the HP movies in the past haven't quite done the right justice to the books...I have a feeling about this one, since it's divided into two parts!)
And as for the amazing stars, one only has to do some reading on them to find out that the young stars are actually not as affected by their fame. Just the beginning of fall, Emma Watson (playing Hermione Granger in the movies) started her new university. Completely normal. "I am a star. but I love being a normal girl. I won't let acting get in the way of my studying plans" she says in one of her interviews. Disney could take notes on how to raise child stars couldn't they?

A Letter To The Culture Around Me...

My answer to all those who think being in a hijab is being locked up. I am sad to see, that even most Muslims here in Pakistan think that. Girls start the hijab, and leave it, because of this culture around us. This is my answer to all of them.


Growing up, you read me the ugly duckling
And for years I believed that that was me
For so long you taught me nothing more
Than a bad copy of that standard
I couldn't run as fast or lift as much
I didn't make the same money
And I cried too often
I grew up in a man's world;
Where I didn't belong
And when I couldn't be him,
I wanted only to please him.
So I put on your make-up and wore your short skirts,
And I gave my life, my body, my diginity
For the cause of being "pretty"
But I knew that no matter what I did,
I was worthy only to a certain degree
As long as I could please my "master"
And so I spent my life on the cover of Cosmo.
And gave my body for you to sell.
I was a slave,
But you told me I was free.
I was your object,
But you swore it was my success.
You taught me that my purpose in life
Was to be on display.
To attract,
To be beautiful for men.
You made me believe that my body
Was created to market your cars.
And,
You still raised me to think that I was the ugly duckling.

But you lied.

My religion tells me- I'm a swan
I'm different- I'm meant to be that way.
And my body, my soul, were created for
Something more.
I am honoured.
But it is not by my relationship to men.
My value as a woman is not measured
By the size of my waist
Or the number of men who like me.
My worth as a human is measured
On a higher scale-
A scale of righteousness and piety.
And my purpose in life-
Despite what the fashion magazines say-
Is something more sublime
Than just looking good for men.
And so I cover myself,
I hide and protect my body,
And tell the world
That I'm not here
To please men with my body;
I'm here to please God.
So those who wish to "liberate" me
I have only one thing to say:
"Thanks, but no thanks"
I'm not here to be on display.
And my body certainly is not for consumption.
I will not be reduced to an object;
Or a pair of legs to sell shoes.
I'm a soul,
A mind,
A servant of Allah.
And thus, my worth is defined
By the beauty of my *soul*,
My heart and my moral character.
So;
I don't worship your beauty standards.
And I don't submit to your fashion sense.
My submission is to something much higher.
And with my veil,
I put my faith on display;
Rather than my beauty.
And my value as a human
Is defined by my relationship to my God,
Not by my looks.
So I cover the irrelevant.
And when you look at me,
You don't just see a body;
You view what I am;
A servant of my God.
So you see,
As a Muslim woman,
I've been liberated from a silent kind of bondage;
And thus,
I don't need to answer
To the slaves of God on earth,
I answer only
To their King.