24.1.18
– pare
contrite
gendarme
arête
ridge
commune
commutation
resentencing
Star fruit ~ carambola
preponderate
bestride
flitter
Ted Bundy
unstudied
briefing
– Distinguish:
Consecutive
&
Concurrent
– “Looking for a dog to kick”
Anti-party activities – suspended on disciplinary grounds
– The Christian ethic is primarily religious & social, as opposed to moral or private.
According to the Bible, can a person be righteous without first, or also, being pious?
– What is spiritual capital?
Should I really care??
– Bible verses of the day:
Trusting GOD + religious observance + loving others => unimaginably abundant blessings!
– “Don’t suppose that anyone really learns something from another human being. I can admonish you by the sound of my voice, but if there isn’t within you One who teaches, then my words are only meaningless noise.…
The instruction that comes from others is a kind of help, a call for attention. But the One who truly teaches the heart teaches from heaven.”
— Augustine of Hippo
– News:
Violent protests in many states a day before ‘Padmaavat’ release.
Lalu Prasad sentenced to five years in jail in fodder scam case.
India vs South Africa, 3rd Test: 187 As Good As 300 On This Surface, Says Cheteshwar Pujara.
How Modi gave Davos a new global narrative with India at its heart
Hyderabad Man’s Train Stunt Again Proves That Indians are Dying to Take a Selfie
Karnataka Bandh Over Mahadayi Dispute: BJP’s River Of Trouble?
Pakistan condemns ‘unilateral’ US drone strike on its territory
Haqqani
New Jihadi John
ASEAN
Ex-USA Gymnastics doctor sentenced to 175 years for sexual abuse
Google Lunar X
Identifying other habitable planets & hunting for alien life
Ganguly says Wanderers pitch unfair on batsmen
Apple iOs 11
Indian firm’s anti-diarrhoea vaccine gets WHO nod
Onion type may hold key to combat drug-resistant TB: Study
UDAN Phase II
Recapitalisation bonds for weak banks
Pro-Kannada outfits
Cauvery Stage V Water Supply Project
Cup and Cloth’ campaign pitches for reusable menstrual hygiene products in Bengaluru
Housekeeping staff of IT firm caught recording female employees
– Globalization
Vs.
Protectionism
24.1.18
– I was thinking about our conversations in this group, & how to improve the quality of the interactions…
(These suggestions are for myself first, & then for everyone else too)
1. Reflective listening – repeat the gist of what I have understood about the other person has just said.
2. Interjection – add leading, open questions to make the person who is speaking to explain or clarify what they have said. This is to more deeply know the person who is speaking, not just what is spoken.
3. Try to avoid responding to the other person, until this initial process is complete. Even critical feedback can be given in the form of questions rather than counter-statements.
4. Be fully aware of one’s own “internal landscape” – feelings, memories, thoughts, etc. while interacting with the other(s).
5. I got these ideas from Sublimewe & Socratic Method.
Whenever anyone says anything, it’s good to ask 3 questions:
1. *What* exactly is this person saying, and what does it mean?
2. *Why* does this person say what he/she says? And *who* is speaking here? What are the experiences, personality & cultural factors behind their opinions?
3. *How* does this work out in one’s life & the world? What are the implications & consequences of their position?
One can even try to argue *for* the *other* person (as a thought experiment)!
This would be a great way to form solid bridges of understanding and create the base for the next level of communication in the future……
26.1.18
– “The Dialogue in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu: Humanitarian Despotism and the Conditions of Modern Tyranny”
Escapist magazine
– BITS Goa
“The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind” – Mark Noll
Enlightened tyranny
– The Indian cricket team gave a truly special performance today – Republic Day celebration?! 😉
– Nothing noteworthy from the PM’s R-Day speech?? Not unusual!!
– R-Day parade – military might + cultural diversity
How do they both go together?
– Sports – I must start watching tennis & football also, along with cricket.
Cricket:
Watching a test match ~ reading a novel ~ drawing a portrait ~ meditation camp
What is the South African timezone?
Should I set a reminder for the Australian Open final on Sunday?
Just added some interests in Google Now
Are you keen on following (contemporary) Tamil culture? Always a Tamilian!
– Jesus Christ – everything about him (his name, faith, self-understanding, vocation, etc.) was contextual (historico-cultural) – although unconventional, he was thoroughly shaped by Judaism, but he was never a conformist or traditionalist……
Get soaked in something first, then make your unique contribution to the progress of that field!
– Right now, I’m feeling fine – neither happy nor sad, but not flat either!
That’s a big deal for me……
– How does this thought feel?
And what do you think of that feeling?
Feelings >> thought
Or
Thought >> feelings
Or……?
– I am grateful for the leisure and freedom of choice, provided by financial security, which I enjoy, and never take for granted.
I am also grateful for the hard-earned virtue, & undeserved gift of, intellectual maturity/spiritual wisdom in dealing with the big questions of life.
– Distinguish:
Parental
&
Genetic
– I want us to have something like the EGF (Evangelical Graduates Fellowship) open home – student ministry!
– Research as care
Care as research
27.1.18
– Necessary evils
Impossible life and indecent death
Natural inequalities
“Difficult Freedom and Radical Evil in Kant: Deceiving Reason”
The social authority of reason
Theorizing evil
The atrocity paradigm
mendacity
– Meaning has no life!
– What if desire became the superego (overlord) and morality became the id (underdog), for a change?!
Would that be good for the ego?
– “Guts it out”
“Get stuck in”
Dig deep
– She wants to watch porn with him. But he doesn’t.
Why?
How should they deal with this now?
What if it’s the other way around?
29.1.18
– “The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind”
Ha ha ha ha ha! Booohooo…… 😉
– “Thor: Ragnarok”
Narrative & graphic illustration of Pyrotheology (Peter Rollins)! 😃
“What were you the god of, again??”
– “Masters of Sex” Season 2
How can the huge chasm between research-knowledge and personal-wisdom be bridged??
WOW…… What awesome acting – gut-wrenching and heart-breaking – BRAVO! BRAVO!
“Their work is their passion”
– Citation index
Impact factor
Jocular bloodsucker mockumentary
Eeyore
Wartime humanitarian corridor
coddle
“Autocrats vs. Despots”
Benevolent absolutism
Philosophical popularizers & social commentators
Corrupt clergy & noble landlords
Warlord-entrepreneurs
Forced contributions
Monarchist bureaucracies
Constitutional monarchies
adduce
Incremental reform
Society of orders
The emperor as “first servant of the state”
Mercenary states
– What does geopolitical strategy have to do with ethical principles?
– “Society has a set of constructs that one must abide by and if we don’t manage, the diagnosis is quick. To me, depression feels like having access to a range of human emotions that we are otherwise asked not to feel. It tells me that the world is not a beautiful flowery place and I am in touch with these ‘negative’ emotions and that it is okay to do so.” – Reshma Valliappan >> Deepika Padukone
– What is special about the last of the Ten Commandments (the prohibition against covetousness)?
– Isn’t it ironic (& tragic), that both Judaism & Christianity, which begin with the story of the Fall (where man chooses the knowledge of good & evil over the tree of life), finally ended up being religions with a legal & moral core?!
– “Homo deus”
Christianism
Ambulance bomb
30.1.18
– tincture
heraldic
Academic credit points
Tahiti
Maori
epithet
anagram
Oviri – Paul Gauguin
“Der Führer”
chancellor
bobbin
“Loose change”
First Attempted Assassination of a US President (1835)
Charnel ~ ghastly
Desiderative Vs. Decretive will
India – LOC & LAC
– If, according to the Gospel of Mark (the earliest & most reliable Gospel), the disciples did not get Jesus, then how accurate or useful are their respective accounts??
– “Just think what a dull world it would be if everyone was sensible.”
– Lucy Maud Montgomery
Imagine, a world more boring than this one!
– Bible:
Do not misunderstand the Lord’s patience as weakness, because he is eagerly waiting for you to believe in his Son/Word, and become his children.
– But I thought a supernova was invisible to the naked eye!
– News:
Plan for orange passport for vulnerable laborers dropped. Is there such a thing as positive discrimination?
Shopian & Kasganj
A free press must not undermine a fair judicial system
Grand mufti of Kashmir says Indian Muslims should seek a separate country
Yashvant Sinha launches “Rashtra Manch”, a national forum for political action
Inter-faith prayer meeting on Mahatma’s death anniversary
Youth ‘commits suicide’ on live video call with girlfriend
Donald Trump rejects talks with the Taliban
Yemen: A timeline of conflicts in the nation since the 2011 uprising
Crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia
Ishan Porel
Cricket – 3 demerit points for Wanderers pitch
“Super blue blood moon eclipse”: 17:20 – 20:40 IST
Adults with autism show a diminished brain response to hearing their own name
Chief Economic Advisor
Abetting suicide
“Karni Sena”
– bender
1.2.18
– “The Square” (2017 film)
A good, funny movie, but does it deserve the Palme d’Or??
A satire (& critique) on art (& life) in a capitalist society
I think the chimp in the house and the one in the gala are connected. And this is the interpretive key to the whole movie…
The cruelty of political correctness – distinguish inhumanity from mere brutality!
– casserole
buckshot
craven
instauration
Double bind
Ikigai – devotion to a path + harmony with nature –> masterful artistry!
– looker
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