Rainy Day

We're having some strange weather here today. Or perhaps it's just me that's feeling strange. New Haven is bathed in a delicate drizzle, casting everything in a subtle, eldritch light. There's a strange tingle in my skin, as if it's about to sweat. An anxious current dances across my palms, overstimulating the muscles underneath. I want to sit alone in a large squarish wooden veranda overlooking the Ganges with the rain around me and a fire within. I feel like something is happening, or is about to happen; every fight or flight response within me is singing. Jack London shouts quietly in my head - "I would rather be ashes than dust!". A poor man from rural Bengal gives lottery tickets worth 2.5 Lacs to someone who hadn't even paid for them - simply because he had given his word. Nalini Sengupta stands firm and refuses to give up his fury.

Like I said, strange.

I woke up pretty late this morning, having stayed up till three or four to catch a glimpse of the blood moon [link]. The cloudy sky waylaid my astronomical attempt, and the late night ensured a dilatory awakening - by the time I got out of bed, it was half past eleven. I would have sluggishly slithered back to sleep, but I suddenly remembered that I had to meet some students at noon, so instead, I had to take a quick shower and run to the department.

Went to Avi's class in the afternoon and then to the gym to box (had an excellent workout). Dinner was underwhelming - the dining hall had practically nothing vegetarian (as a friend put it, they need to learn the difference between having vegetables and having vegetarian food); I ended up eating some yogurt with honey. I was going to hang out with a friend in the rec. room, but he told me that a bunch of bio people were already there, and that they were drinking, being loud, etc. On a Tuesday. Ah well.

Today's Things:

• A lawsuit trying to remove a memorial to Korean "comfort women" in LA [link]
• Ukraine launches special ops against separatist militia [link]
• One year after the Boston Marathon bombing [link]
• Iraq shuts down Abu Gharib prison [link]
• Gmail adds to its ToS, saying that it scans all emails [link]
• The Indian Supreme Court officially recognizes transgender people as a third gender [link]

I've been listening to Ehren Starks on repeat; here's a little something to get you started...