Wednesday, December 15, 2004

perfect-and much much more

this is from a weekly column from "the hindu" called "perfect-know your english", one of my favorite columns.
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what is the difference between "childish" and "childlike?"

"some cricket players when they wiin a match take their shirt off and start twirlling it in the air. when a decision goes against them, they kick the ground repeatedly muttering to themselves, or run to the umpire and get into a heated argument with him. these kind of reactions we expect from small children, not from grown men. when you refer to an adult's behaviour as being "childish", what you mean is that he is behaving immaturely; he is behaving like a small child. the word has a negative connotation."
"the childish behaviour of the teacher had everyone in spllits."
unlike the word "childish", the world "childlike" has a positive connotation. it means having some of the attractive qualities that one normally associates with a child-innocence, simplicity, and sincerity.
*revathi took part in the activity with childlike enthusiasm.*
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9TH INTERNATIONAL KERALA FILM FESTIVAL
*fewer kurtas and faded jeans this year
*popularity of hollywood and bollywood films short lived
*indian films too long, too many (1000/yr), time has come to decided whether indians need so many films
*tsai ming liang, taiwanese director, prefers realism, but he has been critisized his films were nothing but an account of life and were dull
*only good and serious films will survive
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yesterday mr. bill was mistaken for arnold schwartzeneger, so he is no longer mr. bill, but gov. arnold. i am begging him to tell the indians who said that "i'll be back, girlie men."
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"every day is not sunday" direct kasmiri rug salesman quote yesterday upon bargaining for silk rugs for arnold
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big swedish lady laying on back completely topless yesterday(giant boobs). each man had someone watching his store as they took turns taking a look, her completely oblivious. we knew something big was going on cause of all the commotion here in boring kovalam.
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strange event at my hotel couple nights ago. a dozen post graduation students move into 3 rooms clad in backpacks. apparently the english do a pilgrimage each year after graduation to india. after all, they once ruled it. these kids were real young-18-21 probably. at 1:30 am i hear a blood curdlilng scream, this girl is part of this brit pack and does not stop screaming. i thought
a. raped? (it's pretty darn safe here)
b. tiger attack? (there's been many leopards wandering into people's businesses and property)
c. giant bear attack? (cept there aren't any bears in kerala)
she would not stop screaming, and i have to wake at 6 to do yoga, and i've been extremely sick and it's been brutal to sleep all night. so i step out and slam my door, to see if that works. no. than i stick my head out the window and scream "shut up!!!." after about an hour, it finally stops, the dozen of them all congregating, crying, screaming.

next day i see they've all gone away and the manager of my hotel is hanging out. he said, "very sorry about last night, madam." i said it was ok, but if it happened another night, i would have to tackle those brits." apparently what had happened was a butterfly got into the girls room. yes, i said a butterfly. they're migrating right now cause of the season change, and india has some of the most beautiful ones i've ever seen. the manager told me butterflys only come to girls, not men. "they are incarnations of our dead ancestors," he tells me. i've always believed if one lands on you, it's good luck.
perhaps these kids should have waited a few more years before taking the plunge into the strange world of india.

bindifry
who feels better and hopes to stay that way for awhile

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