Blogcritics Author: Theena Kumaragurunathan

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Sri Lanka: Empathy, Education and Ethnicity

Theena Kumaragurunathan — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 18:30:57 EDT

Sri Lanka is close to the abyss. A mere push, in the form of the 'Final War' or something of similarly strong rhetoric or action can, and will, take us over the edge. We will fall into the bottomless pit of lawlessness and chaos that Afghanistan, Somalia, Rwanda and other countries have had the misfortune of falling into.This, then, is a time for reflection and, hopefully, action.Too often now, we - Sri Lankans, Sinhalese, Tamils, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Muslim, UNP, SLFP, UPFA, JVP, Extremist, Peacenik - have been caught up in the quest for the final solution and, in the process, got lost in the maze of political discourse. Our individual political compasses, meanwhile, point in opposite directions.Turn left and go straight to a Federal Solution. Turn right, pick up your weapons and get ready to enter The Final War. North takes you to Eelam. South leads to Communism.We clash because we disagree with the directions that our fellow countrymen wish to travel in.I choose, therefore, to not enter the maze at this juncture. Instead, I find myself posed with the following questions: is it possible that this Final Solution is not all it promises to be? Will it end the war in an honourable manner for all? Will it give us equality for all and remove discrimination? Finally - and this is, I believe, the most important factor- will it teach us the meaning of empathy? My fear is that without empathy, the Final Solution won't be final nor will it be much of a solution.Empathy is a funny word. Empathy is when Dinesh stops bullying his little brother Prassana because he now understands that such behaviour could hurt physically and psychologically. Prassana is happy that his big brother finally understands what he, Prassana, had to go through earlier. Any possible manifestations of anger stemming from this hurt is avoided. There is empathy in both sides. The first seeds of rebuilding relations between the two brothers have been sown.In the great political discussions of the past few decades, 'harmony' and 'peace' are the words of choice across the spectrum of Sri Lankan society. Yet, few seem to understand that for 'peace' and 'harmony', we need empathy. Without empathy, it won't be peace nor will it be harmony - only a situation of 'no war' will take its place instead. And that, as we have found out recently, is possibly worse.How do we, then, go about sowing empathy across Sri Lanka's ethnic, cultural and religious lines? I believe the answer lies in education. More precisely, I believe that a radical overhaul of our educational system is necessary - in parallel, obviously, to whatever political solution is accepted by the masters and the masses of Sri Lanka.The Sri Lankan education system, it seems, is not designed with pluralism in mind. This is a country that is home to four major religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity - and five ethnicities - Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Indian Tamils, Moors and Malays, and Burghers. There is also the language factor, but I digress. Looking at such figures, is it not logical to build an educational system that aims to foster a common identity amongst these disparate segments of the population?As a resident of Colombo, one hears the names of the elite schools - Nalanda College, Museus College, Hindu College, St Peters College, St Bridgets, Zaheera College - and knows the prestige attached to such schools by the respective alumni, students and their parents. We also know that such schools also cater to a specific population, normally along religious and linguistic lines: Nalanda and Museus to Sinhala Buddhists, Hindu College (and by extension, Ramanathan Hindu Ladies College) to Tamil Hindus, St Peters and St Bridgets to Catholics from both Sinhala and Tamil backgrounds (I am referring to the rule - if I could call it a 'rule' - not the exceptions; for the record, I know, and have heard of, Muslims in Ananda, Hindu Ladies College and at all the leading Catholic schools).Such an educational system that disregards diversity - be it in terms of ethnicity, religion or language - is, in my point of view, past its time. Such a system has at its core collectivist ideals. Fair enough. But can't this collectivist idealism be along common lines instead of seeking to sub-divide Sri Lankan society on our differences?International schools are either a bane or a boon to the education system. Regardless of my personal views on their credibility as educational organizations, I view them as positive role models for the entire education system in terms of their student bodies. Here, ethnic and religious lines disappear, at least for eight hours a day. English replaces the student's mother tongue. In doing so, the student makes the first step in branching outside his "group". In time to come, a friendship, we hope, forms between students of various ethnicities and religions. They don't forget their own roots. They merely accept that others are different and they celebrate this distinctiveness.At this point, dear reader, I wish to share a personal event that has since influenced my own thinking in these matters. My entire schooling was at an international school in Bambalapitya where diversity was, thankfully, the rule and not the exception. In my 12 years there, I can proudly say that at no point did the war and the ethnic tensions seep into school life. We were gloriously immune to such things.In ninth grade, the class I was in consisted of ten other students: Shanil, Lalindu, Tharaka, Varuna, Shiraz, Azad, Azam, Abid, Shanjei and myself. To set ourselves apart from the rest of the college, we arranged our desks and chairs in a U-shaped form. A term went and passed like it always does with its dose of exams, cricket and girl matters - lots of girl matters.One day, our warden, Mr Samaranayake, was in the midst of his chemistry lectures when the conversation somehow turned to the war. He then asked each of us to identify our individual religions.Buddhists: Shanil, Lalindu, Tharaka and Varuna, seated together along the horizontal part of the U stood. Hindus: Shanjei and I, seated on left vertical side of the U, stood. Muslims: Shiraz, Azad, Azam and Abid, seated on the right vertical part of the U stood.Without realizing, we had chosen to sit next to a person from our 'group'. Mr Samaranayake's reaction is still fresh in my mind. With his usual smirk, accentuated by an audible 'Heh!'', he simply said, "I don't want to see this again. It is bad enough that I have to see it outside my school, but I won't have it here." We knew what he meant.To this day, those simple words have been my political and moral compass. When the time comes, they will guide me in my personal quest for the Final Solution. I may not find this Final Solution, but I know that I am on the right path. If I fail, my children will continue.Here's hoping that my children and, indeed, our children, dear reader, will have enjoy better fortune - and compasses - than we do.

A 23 year old copywriter based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Theena is also a student of international relations and English literature. His interests include writing, music, theatre, films and reading (mainly fiction, but the trend recently has shown a disturbing - well, it is to him - rise in political science literature). He is regularly seen and heard raving to his girlfriend about his favourite writers, musicians, films and filmmakers, and cricket. Blogging is, therefore, a platform that will allow him to rave to a wider audience.

CD Review: Tool - 10,000 Days

Theena Kumaragurunathan — Thu, 18 May 2006 08:19:16 EDT

Waiting for Tool to release an album can be an odd experience, especially if you happen to be a relative newcomer to the band's legion of fans. On one hand you are curious about the musical direction the band has embarked on whilst making the album (listening to Tool's album in chronological order bears testament to this). On the other, there is the odd mixture of information, disinformation, rumours, hearsay, and whatnot. Much of it, to the delight of the fans themselves, originating from the band itself (Maynard even issued a statement on the Internet saying that the people who downloaded the album ahead of the release date would be very surprised come May 2nd, leading many to assume that this was a decoy).So it was against this background that Tool's latest offering, 10,000 Days came into the horizon.The title, and the subsequent release of the track-listing, generated even more rumours. 10,000 Days? That title was almost normal by Tool standards. Consider the previous albums, EPs, etc. -- Undertow, Opiate, �nima, Salival and Lateralus -- and you begin to see how the title 10,000 Days seems almost out of place in their discography.No matter. The album leaked on the Internet and, like bees are drawn to honey, was downloaded by those who have waited years for something new from Tool. I was amongst those who downloaded."Vicarious," the opening track, is an odd song that will grow on most listeners. Upon hearing it for the first time, I was disappointed. Maynard's vocals sounded muffled and the song sounded like something that was deemed inappropriate for Lateralus. Subsequent listens have resulted in this becoming probably my favourite offering of the album.From this odd beginning, the album begins to take shape and the path Tool traveled becomes increasingly clear. Up until �nima, it was clear that this was a band that was pissed off, certainly Maynard was. Lateralus saw them channeling the anger into a musical plain that can be described as ambient. The angry riffs and vocals were still there, but there was space for the listener to soak him or herself in before letting the anger take hold - sort of like Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin meets Dark Side-era Pink Floyd.With 10,000 Days, it is different. The ambience is, thankfully, still there, but the attitude is missing. In comes an odd grasp of melody that was previously missing. When the listener first realizes this, it is disorienting, but -- at the risk of repeating myself -- subsequent listens are required to come to terms with it. And when that happens, it is a glorious feeling.Central to this new sound, if I could call it that, is Maynard's vocals. He was always angry -- with society, with its materialism -- but here he is vulnerable, and with the vulnerability comes a new dimension to his vocals. No where is this more evident than in the song titled "The Pot." Drug references aside, it contains a vocal performance that is wonderful. If drummer, Danny Carrey's drumming made Lateralus, then Maynard deserves the credit for making 10,000 Days a beautiful experience.As for Danny himself, he is to Tool what John Bonham was to Led Zeppelin and what Keith Moon was to The Who. His odd rhythm patterns recall Lateralus, but it is evident that he continues to grow as an artist. Adam Jones and Justin Chancellor do their thing, but remain in the background. Adam, in particular, is very restrained with his lead work, conscious that there were greater things at play.10,000 Days demands multiple listens, more so than Lateralus did. But that is the great thing about Tool; they take us where their vision -- their pretentiousness -- leads and we follow. With 10,000 Days, like with Lateralus , we don't complain.I probably won't with 10,000 Days, as my MP3 player continues to play it on repeat. It's been worth the wait, ladies and gents.