Night at the club (muses, revelations and speculations)

The concept of clubbing is a multi-faceted and dynamic one. It is unwise to think that one can precisely define the complete extent of it's purpose, potential, use or scope. I, for one, from last night, have stumbled upon some revelations (some of which just needed a finishing surge of clear thought to be complete) .
   Firstly, the moral dilemma between protecting yourself from being at the mercy of unknown (and probably undeserving) individuals and the unequivocal assertion of dominance by getting a mate, is quite taxing. Truly, in these moments, it is easy to think for a fleeting moment, that ignorance is indeed "bliss". Somewhere further down the road of thought, I decided that the key to the moral dilemma lied in the extent to which one lets the said "unknown" parties affect oneself. i.e I, for one, decided to get on with the endeavour of trying to catch a girl's fancy, for I thought that it was worth the possibility of facing a rejection. This came as a result of me realizing that the judgement/rejection of the girl did not mean anything to me in the first place, as I have already delineated her, in the confines of my mind, as "undeserving". This is a conclusion I stand by.
  

Relationship take-1

Relationships or the modern version of how they are delineated, are replete with ostentatiousness and pretentiousness. One is bound by the covenant of "pleasing", thereby, in most cases, indulges in  "sugar-coating" and partial dishonesty which is undesired, but is a sad necessity. This arises out of the need for constant goodwill and "smoothness" between the involved parties. Somehow, as a person who is not in a relationship, I find this notion amusing and redundant, not to mention, sad and pathetic.I say this because, to me, a relationship of note, is aways that between equals. Ideally speaking, an example would be the relationship between Howard Roark and Dominique Francon in "The Fountainhead". The aforementioned example is an ideal-case scenario. i.e it is a slightly fantastic, slightly exaggerated version of the unconditional understanding that I deem necessary in a relationship.
     In some cases (I'm given to understand this through a friend of mine), apparently, one party indulges in forms of said pretentiousness, in order to achieve his/her end through the seemingly ubiquitous methods of Reverse-psychology and guilt-pricking. (Freud's theories anything but redundant huh? lol)

Homer's illliad

The Illiad is considered to be the oldest piece of extant western literature. It continues to be read, discussed and dissected thousands of years after it was written. Literature that survives the test of time is the sort that deals, in most part, with the intricacies of the human psyche. Complex emotions that are encapsulated and elucidated upon, are what are responsible for timeless classics. In this respect, the Illiad shows unprecedented scope for research and pondering.

     It impresses one with it's epic proportions. It presents a glorious and almost magical vision of the age in which the author lived. This was expected out of Homer, as Greeks took the role of historians very seriously. The proportionality is a welcome change to the modern reader, whose choices in Modern literature are dominated by the concept of realism.

    The grandeur does not reach a level where one forgets that the characters are but mortal men. Their flaws are not belittled and nor are their weaknesses ignored. At least, within the realm of the characters that the story deals with, Homer does not take any clear sides. His clear preferences to men who are honorable is evident in his glorification of Hector and Achilles over all else. But, he does fail in his duty as a documenter of happenings. 

   

My favourite character: My choice would unequivocally be Hector. Hector was naturally endowed with a calm mind and sharp rationale. A quality that in Achilles, was either missing or was overpowered by a brash and impulsive mind. Hector's adherence to a reason and his sense of duty make him endearing. He is the ideal prince.  He loves fiercely his wife, father and brothers, but puts his country above all else. He has a strong sense of "right". He is a patriot, but not a jingoist as is evident by his strong desire to establish peace with the Greeks. At a time when a Prince could have his way in almost any way, Hector stays true and faithful to this wife. His acceptance of his fate without complaint or regret sees his glorious end. 

The concept of a "nation"

Ernest Renan, once famously said, " A nation-state is not composed of a single homogeneous ethnic group (a community), but of a variety of individuals willing to live together." True to his words, France has always been accepting of people of any racial background as long as they agree to naturalize. Even during the colonial period, The people belonging to France's colonies in Africa were considered Frenchmen by the law. This concept, although seemingly ubiquitous today, was crucial and novel at a time when in many countries, citizenship was limited by race/descent. For instance, in USA, which is today cited as a foremost example of a multi-cultural society, full citizenship was limited to "free-white-people", until the third decade of the 20th century.
   Although the concept of believing in the superiority of one's race is quite an inherent human trait, the appalling notion that racial make-up has anything to do with one's ability to blend into a society is condemnable. Although, human society as undergone a lot of "progress', one still can see instances of such behaviour. In today's society, although blatant displays of racism have been curbed, one still sees outbursts of xenophobia, hostility and contempt towards people belonging to minority sects. At this juncture, i cannot help but point out that the very feeling patriotism is a highly overrated and romanticized delusion. Drawing the line between patriotism and jingoism is something men throughout history have never been successful at perfecting. 
   The ideal notion that a nation is but an economic, political and administrative division, i feel, will be more easily achievable in a multi-cultural society. Although arguments exist that, a nation sharing a strong sense of cultural unity and pride would be desirable, I strongly feel that this is root cause of all the atrocities one commits in the name of one's country. Following this train of thought, here is a noteworthy anecdote: When the well-renown J.R.R.Tolkien was to visit Nazi-Germany for a book-reading, he was sent a letter by the Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, asking if he was of "Aryan" lineage. Tolkien's hard-hitting response, pointing out that "aryan" refers only to the speakers of the Indo-Iranian family of languages, never made it to the hands of the notorious dictator. After all these years, one can but muse over how far human society has actually come from such days. Opinions would definitely be varied. (At this point, i couldn't help but suppress a snide lop-sided smile)

The battle of the sexes

The very title of this post may cause many to plunge into fits of consternation.  Despite every signs of peace, love or any goodwill between members of the opposite sexes, one still can not but notice the constant tug-of-war between their members. 

   This, in part, is constituted by the constant need to attract the attention of the opposite sex. I was lead into this line of thought by one of my friends' reflective quips. He went "hmmmm....to men, all women are conquests that they succeed or fail in". This, although caused me to spring back in denial, did cause me to ponder. it is but a fact that men put themselves at the mercy of a woman, try various tricks, pretend, deceive just for the pleasure of knowing that he succeeded in his "conquest". I can not but acknowledge the possibility that women, in their own way, are privy to this battle of sexes. It is but a musing of a man, that this may be the obvious reason behind health consciousness, sexy shoes and expensive perfumes. 

  Although this supposed "battle" may be the center of many a person's ridicule, it is true. It's implications may be not readily be acceptable to a majority of us; But, one can definitely not rule out it's existence. Shifting to a more biological perspective, this is nature's way of ensuring healthy offspring. The constant "battle" keeps us on our toes while picking a prospective mate. The better one is at handling the opposte sex, the healthier one's children will be, could be the empirical, rudimentary and theoretical conclusion one may draw from this. considerations of the human sense of logic could very well render this argument moot. Nonetheless, the battle goes on.

Linguistics

Linguistics are a key area of the human intelligence. The domain of linguistic skills is a rough indicator of the rest of a person's intellectual capabilities. Learning languages is a process that begins early in one's life, as an infant. Nevertheless, one can still find many a person struggling to express themselves lucidly in any tongue.

  Languages determine the way we think and in an indirect way, act. A person's thinking is sometimes, limited by the limitations in the language that he/she speaks. Therefore, language has a direct bearing on the manner in which the cognitive senses of a person develop. 

    A recent study by Dr.Janet Werker of The University of British Columbia, has suggested that bi-lingual babies are more likely to have better developed cognitive skills when compared to their mono-lingual counterparts. This has been attributed to the fact that bi-lingual babies are often required to modify speech-patterns when shifting languages thereby, exercising their analytical skills.

   One's grip over a language is often determined by the extent of his/her vocabulary and the correct application of grammar. Building a strong and sufficient vocabulary may take years, and is a slow and gradual process. Conversely, as far as my observations go, grammatical applications are to be learnt in the early stages of the period when one learns a language and are to be retained. If one does not retain the essence of a language's grammar, he/she never quite gains mastery over it. 

   Generally, linguistic intelligence is listed as one of the most relevant spheres of intelligence in day-to-day life, as it determines the extent to which a person can be a successful communicator. I personally feel that being a good communicator always helps establish good relationships with people around. Furthermore, I think that somehow, good linguistic skills and an ability to process profound thoughts are interlinked.

Recognition

Recognition for one's work, however insignificant it may be, is something everyone appreciates. In today's world, thanks to blogging, social networking etc, recognition has easily come to those who deserve it. Be it writing, poetry, photography etc, one can be recognized for one's talents through these vistas.

   One often ponders about the importance of recognition. One might argue that true talent will stand irrespective of whether it gets recognized or not. But one can definitely not deny that being recognized does feel very heartwarming. Nothing is more encouraging than to be lauded for one's work. 

   Looking at this from the receiving end of good art, in the 19th century, for instance, one only had access to the works to a certain amount of writing or poetry. But in today's age, with a little help from google, one can access tons and tons of quality writing from around the world. Thinking of these immense benefits that this seems to offer us, it seems stupid to me that people have a problem with the generation of today's apparent "propensity to document every happening in their lives". Even if this is a big deal , as it is being made out to be, I guess it is a price we would all gladly pay.