Here's to me and here's to you

Here's to me, here's to you
here's to love and laughter
i'll be true as long as you
and not one moment after

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest !

According to research done by Skip Henderson there is an actual "legend" behind this song. The legend, which was possibly devised by Robert Louis Stevenson himself, says that the rhyme tells the tale of a time when Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, marooned a shipload of mutineers on Dead Man's Chest Island, a barren rock in Deadman's Bay on Peter Island near Tortola. The island has high cliffs, no trees, sparse vegetation and no fresh water. The men were equipped with only a single cutlass and a bottle of rum each. The intent was, one would assume, that the men would either starve or kill each other in a drunken brawl. A month later Teach returned to find that despite the blazing Caribbean sun and lack of supplies, fifteen men had survived. The shanty tells in part what became of the rest.

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike
The bosun brained with a marlinespike
And cookey's throat was marked belike
It had been gripped by fingers ten;
And there they lay, all good dead men
Like break o'day in a boozing ken
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of the whole ship's list
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
The skipper lay with his nob in gore
Where the scullion's axe his cheek had shore
And the scullion he was stabbed times four
And there they lay, and the soggy skies
Dripped down in up-staring eyes
In murk sunset and foul sunrise
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Ten of the crew had the murder mark!
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
Or a yawing hole in a battered head
And the scuppers' glut with a rotting red
And there they lay, aye, damn my eyes
Looking up at paradise
All souls bound just contrawise
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of 'em good and true -
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Ev'ry man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
There was chest on chest of Spanish gold
With a ton of plate in the middle hold
And the cabins riot of stuff untold,
And they lay there that took the plum
With sightless glare and their lips struck dumb
While we shared all by the rule of thumb,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

More was seen through a sternlight screen...
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Chartings undoubt where a woman had been
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
'Twas a flimsy shift on a bunker cot
With a dirk slit sheer through the bosom spot
And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot
Oh was she wench or some shudderin' maid
That dared the knife and took the blade
By God! she had stuff for a plucky jade
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight
With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight
And we heaved 'em over and out of sight,
With a Yo-Heave-Ho! and a fare-you-well
And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell
Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

-Robert Louis Stevenson, from "Treasure Island"




(Everything above lifted from Wikipedia)

Everything happens for a reason

I shamelessly copied the lines below from some community in orkut..shame on me. Anyway, here goes:

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away they were meant to be there...to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be but you lock eyes with them and you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair, but in reflection, you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would never would realize your potential, strength, will power, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, love, and lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere, safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and the downfalls that you experience can create whom you are and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart to.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. Make everything count. Appreciate everything you possibly can, for you may never experience it again.

Talk to people whom you have never talked to before and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have ever right to. Tell yourself you're a great individual and believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go out and live it.


Well said! And well copied, Mr. Kaushik!

No Rain

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain

And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But it's not sane, It's not sane

I just want some one to say to me
I'll always be there when you wake

Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I don't understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there's no rain

And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
ya don't like my point of view
ya think I'm insane

Its not sane......it's not sane

-No Rain by Blind Melon

Another night, another dream..

Hello, world!

Here i am, back to doing the futile job of making space in my mind by emptying out all futile thoughts. It doesnt seem to be working, but what the heck, il write whatever comes to my mind anyway!

Today was the start of whats going to be a looooonnnng weekend, Monday and Tuesday are off on account of the American Independence Day. I never thought id say this, but its barely been a month and now ive started to wish that college would reopen soon..wot a ham this is. Sitting at home and nothing to do..well actually theres lots to do, but i just dont feel like doing anything worthwhile. Call it ennui or call it lazyness..well its actually lazyness..Im starting to get fat again, i think.

Surprise, surprise! France sent Brazil packing! I saw the match at this place called Gatti's pizza, while gorging enormous amounts of pizza and gulping down sodas..well its a buffet, and i for wont do my best to get my money's worth! Anyway, it was fun watching the match on a large screen with lotsa people around..good atmosphere..reminds me of my DCE days..sighhhh.


It would be nice to have something happening after i come back from work..if thats what working life is all about, dear God, im scared! But whats the way out of all this? Become someone who is lost in a world of his own, unmindful of the world around? Or spend time with people, eating drinking and being merry? I know the correct answer is a mixture of the two in correct quantities..but i just dont seem to be able to hit that correct formula..truth be told, im finding it hard to be alone after all these years.

I miss coming back with every ounce of energy in my body exhausted from the day's work..the elation and peace one feels when one knows that he did his best is amazing..you wake up next morning raring to take on the world..Carpe Diem, you say to yourself! i used to be like that..i miss that feeling, where has it gone, i know its somewhere inside still..has it been overtaken by sloth and lazyness? or have i not learnt life's lessons properly..that there are some things you just have to let go of. Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you.

Whatever ive written till now has been a classical example of the rubbish thats been clogging my mind..ive got operating systems to run, compilers to code, ladies to woo, and miles to go before i sleep!

Thats about all the rubbish i can pen down today..I'l conclude by pasting one of my favourite poems of all time.."The Tiger" by William Blake. I think it was taught in some class in high school, and i had real problems figuring out what it meant, at that time. Well, but a lot of water has flown down the Ganges effluent treatment plant, since then..so i can make better sense of it now. The picture next to it should add to the "feel"..enjoy!



The Tiger

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies 5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 10
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp 15
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee? 20

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?