Pink Boxing Gloves, formerly known as Chappafine is now on http://pinkboxinggloves.wordpress.com. Old posts from Chappafine are archived. Please leave a comment on this post if you wish to see a specific post.

Thanks.

It’s Christmas! Which means it’s time to go crazy with your credit card. And we have put together a selection of the cool, weird and a bit daft assortments of gadgets to be bought this season.

Gorilla Pod

This thing has been in the market for ages, and is one of my all time favourite “things”. It’s essentially a flexible tripod. The legs of the Gorilla Pod are designed in such a way that you can wrap it around tree trunks, or virtually anything you can think of. Available in two sizes, one for SLRs and one for Compact, this is a must have for any photographic enthusiast.

kcolC sdrawkcaB (Backwards Clock)

Do you feel as if the world is spinning the wrong way round? Here to prove it is the Backwards Clock. No, it can’t turn back time (How disappointing!), but it does look absolutely cool. And it’s the perfect thing to mess with people’s heads. It DOES take some getting used to, but would be a definite head turner, literally.

Nokia 6555

This has to be the most elegant thing to come out of Nokia so far. An elegance flip phone which manages to keep up with today’s cutting edge technology. This 3G enabled phone has a 2 mega-pixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity and a host of other tech marvels to keep you connected entertained and productive on the move.

SonyDSC-T2B

This 8 mega-pixel digital camera shows us where the future of personal digital imaging is headed. It has 4GB of internal storage, which is enough for almost a thousand high quality pictures. Features include a 3x optical zoom lens, and something new, a touch screen. And the slender and sleek black color camera is almost a fashion accessory. This will no doubt bring about competitors just like Fuji’s and Samsung’s stylish cameras did. It’s the perfect gift for someone who’s tech savvy, and fashion conscious, like my friend Ards.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! And if you got some gift this season which you think is interesting, let me know at dinidu.dealwis@gmail.com

This died several natural deaths. And I still try to revive it. Planning on doing a 365. Like some people do on flickr. So, will start from tomorrow.

This was dead. The last post that I've done on this was on the 18th July.

Quick recap,

Congress is over. Employment is over from September. Mixed blessings.

Means I have more time to spend on my "activism" stuff, which has been lacking severely for the past couple of months. Also means I need to work harder to make ends meet.

Planning on replacing my dying laptop with a new one. I had the Acer Gemstone on my mind, but it's way off my budget, so would have to go for a not-so-nice-looking one.

Blog will not (hopefully) get updated, and I would (hopefully) be able to do my thing.

Booze party today to celebrate the "capture" of Thoppigala. Ask Gota for details.

It's actually a pretty simple process.

1. Get some "experts" together.
2. Ger a copy of a good policy from another country (Say, South Africa, for example)
3. Copy and paste.

And you've got a brand new policy! For more info, and for a sample see the new National Youth Policy.

The internet is a powerful thing. It's one of the most powerful communication and advocacy tools Mankind has ever developed. With a click of a mouse, one can send out a million emails (provided your server allows) with a simple message, which can be instantly seen.

And activists around the world are harnessing the power of the internet. From personal blogs, to dedicated activist sites, from RSS feeds which deliver Human Rights alerts, the internet has become a watchdog, an advocate, a monitoring body and a poster wall.

As with every dialogue space, you get the ones who are for a cause, and the ones who are against a cause. And this is what triggered this post.

I got an email from a friend today. A simple poem with an anti choice theme in it. I've quoted it at the end of the post.

I've come to a point where I'm fed up with responding to email forwards condemning abortions and making the people look evil. But knowing the fact that 19,000,000 pregnancies out of 80,000,000 unplanned pregnancies end in abortions that are performed outside the legal system. This is mainly due to the fact that abortion is still seen as a crime in many countries.

Arguments against access to safe and legal abortions are almost always emotion driven, and are not logical. Most of the time it's reasons like "God said so", or "If they are stupid enough to have sex, they should be responsible enough to bring up the child". And these "arguments" shatter into a million pieces when one logically dissects and answers them.

It's simple questions that I ask from all pro lifers out there, and a simple request that I make.

Question: Contextualize. If you are raped, if you didn't have access to emergency contraception, and if you get pregnant, would you continue the pregnancy? If you are 17, went on a date, had a couple of drinks, start to make out, and then you get caught up in the moment, become pregnant, would you continue the pregnancy? If you are 28, and the condom tore, and if you didn't know about emergency contraception, would you continue the pregnancy? If you found out that you are having a serious health condition, and if you would certainly die if you went ahead with a pregnancy, would you continue the pregnancy?

Request: If you don't want to have an abortion, good for you. But don't deny a woman the right to have a safe legal abortion just because you think you wouldn't. And before you tell me that there are no unwanted children, let me tell you something.

There are no unwanted children, only unwanted pregnancies.



"Month One

Mommy
I am only 8 inches long
but I have all my organs.
I love the sound of your voice.
Every time I hear it
I wave my arms and legs.
The sound of your heart beat
is my favourite lullaby.

Month Two

Mommy
today I learned how to suck my thumb.
If you could see me
you could definitely tell that I am a baby.
I'm not big enough to survive outside my home though.
It is so nice and warm in here.

Month Three

You know what Mommy
I'm a boy!!
I hope that makes you happy.
I always want you to be happy.
I don't like it when you cry.
You sound so sad.
It makes me sad too
and I cry with you even though
you can't hear me.

Month Four

Mommy
my hair is starting to grow.
It is very short and fine
but I will have a lot of it.
I spend a lot of my time exercising.
I can turn my head and curl my fingers and toes
and stretch my arms and legs.
I am becoming quite good at it too.

Month Five

You went to the doctor today.
Mommy, he lied to you.
He said that I'm not a baby.
I am a baby Mommy, your baby.
I think and feel.
Mommy, what's abortion?

Month Six

I can hear that doctor again.
I don't like him.
He seems cold and heartless.
Something is intruding my home.
The doctor called it a needle.
Mommy what is it? It burns!
Please make him stop!
I can't get away from it!
Mommy! HELP me!

Month Seven

Mommy
I am okay.
I am in Jesus' arms.
He is holding me.
He told me about abortion.
Why didn't you want me Mommy?

Every Abortion Is Just . .
One more heart that was stopped.
Two more eyes that will never see.
Two more hands that will never touch.
Two more legs that will never run.
One more mouth that will never speak.

If you're against abortion, forward this ...

I don't care if I lose friends over this."

In my previous post about the whole Amnesty International deal, I pointed out how the foam balls are not related to the sport being played in the West Indies.

But the point I fail to see is, why people are making such a fiasco out of it.

Was watching the highlights from the RSA/WI match yesterday, and couldn't help but notice a train advert going at the bottom of the tele screen calling for people to come to the Fort Railway station at 9:30 today, to join a demonstration against NGOs trying to harm our cricket!

It's at times like this that I realize how stupid people can get. Give one of these people enough time and resources, and they will come up with a connection somehow.

I accept the fact that organizations such as Amnesty are ever-broadening the definition of human rights. I'm pretty sure that the day will soon come where one cannot wear a pink shirt, cos it might offend someone who is gay.

This is a result of the ever increasing average global quality of life. It's a bit like BMW selling optional extras on optional extras. "Would you like sport seats in the front sir?" and when you do buy it, "Would you like those seats to be heated sir?", and when you buy that "Would you like your heated sport seats to be electrically adjustable sir?, and next comes "Would you like your electrically adjustable heated sports seats to be in leather sir?", "Custom BMW Exclusive leather sir?" You know where I'm going with this...

This is exactly what happens. Right to life > Right to life with safety > Right to safe life with dignity > Right to dignified safe life with votes > Right to dignified safe life with votes where your are not discriminated >>>>

Where will all this lead?

Self Lifter-Upper

Son what you don’t understand
My words might never explain
So I am hoping that time will.
Things may not go as you planned
Dark clouds might bring you pain
But I will be in your heart still
Telling you…

Don’t Look Down
Don’t feast your eyes on things that are on the ground.
And if it gets hard to focus
When you’re traveling almost at the speed of sound
Feeling nowhere bound
Remember what I told you
And don’t you dare look down!

Don’t look down, no…

No father wants his son
To repeat the wrongs his daddy’s done
I want you to get it right child
I won’t always be here for you
So to yourself always be true
And if you get lost, use your inner light child,
Shine it and…

Don’t Look Down
Don’t feast your eyes on things that are on the ground.
And if it gets hard to focus
When you’re traveling almost at the speed of sound
Feeling nowhere bound

Almost out of control
Burn rubber and not your soul,
Because something lives within,
That you can count on.
There is no hand to hold
When the world seems dark and cold
Remember what I told you
And don’t you dare look down

Don’t you dare look down
Don’t look down
When you’re traveling almost at the speed of sound
Don’t you dare look down.

Amnesty International has distributed foam balls in the Carribean islands with the message saying "Sri Lanka Play by the Rules". This was a campaign to raise awareness and action on the alleged (Who are we kidding here?) Human Rights Violations by the GoSL...

Then the JVP decides to raise opposition about this at the Parliament when the house met, saying that this was a move to demoralize the Sri Lankan Cricket Team. And the really stupid and funny thing is, in a rare move of unity, the Government (Plus some of the UNP members) and the UNP (Sans some of the UNP members) get together to support this claim...

Correct me if I'm wrong people, but how can us (Hopefully) winning the world cup be connected to denying "the Sri Lankan government’s right to save the nation from the clutches of LTTE". I mean, last time I checked, Sanath was clutching a Kookaburra, and not an T-56...

And this brings me to the Peace Talks part. Can someone explain please? Are we at war now? Or are we carrying out peace talks? Is it just me, or is it really confusing(?) what the GoSL is trying to say and do?

But the LTTE has got (at least part of) their act together. Seriously people, taking off in a Cessna from Vanni, coming to Katunayake, dropping bombs, and going home? I mean, I can't do that in Red Alert, with cheats on!

Apparently, the SLAF tracked the thing taking off from Wanni 45 minutes before the attack happened. What did they think it was? An overweight dragonfly coming to mate in the marshes of Negombo?

My previous post was on Guys, Sex, and Bragging. This is just a continutation of it.

I had a couple of intersting reads since then Mainly at Cynically Your's and a a post I saw a long time ago at Ravana.

It's quite sad to see a lot of generalisation happening. Sahini seems to think all guys out there (Except for her best friends) are out there to get into her pants.

But the worst part was at Ravana's post. He opened up the grounds for a good, intelligent discussion. A couple of good comments came up. But then shit hit ceiling.

Just have a read through all the comments. These people are really sexually frustrated. And I'm talking REALLY frustated. They make Ali G look sane!

What is with dong sizes, and the number of guys that one has had?

Guys, sex is a perfectly natural normal thing. It's perfectly normal to be gay, and it's also natural to experiment, that's all in human nature, if you prefer to take it up the "wrong" one, it's again your choice, along with using toys, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, chains, whips and even handcuffs.

But that's not what's happening here. What's with all the "You wanna suck me?"s and "Take my shift lever up your ezhaust" comments? If you have a good sex life, if you get laid every six hours, GOOD FOR YOU! But what in the world makes people think that they need to flash out all the little details and all their perverted fantacies up on public places with the hope of gaining respect? Or mre readership to their blogs?

Grow up, and think maturely about sex. If you can't do that, go to a pharmacy, take a connie, goto Bamba junct around 9:00 in the night, look around, choose one, drive to Marine Drive, bang all you want, pay her, go to Pila, have a cheese roti to get some energy cos your wimpy arse probably couldn't stand your first fuck, go home and SLEEP.

Or just double click your mouse.

Was talking to a friend online today, one whom I haven't met in a while, and asked him is he's going for the match, as he is

a) An avid sport fan
b) A loyal supporter of one of the schools.

His reply was that he's going out with a woman. And as I didn't know that he was in a relationship, he told me that he's seeing a girl who's in grade 12. Saying that he's a "naughty boy" and that the relationship is casual.

What is it with guys like this? The topic of the post, "My Dick is Bigger Than Yours" is the topic of a research paper done on male sexual bragging. Why is it, that they insist on bragging to everybody about the various sexual exploits they (imagined they) had?

Another example. This was over a casual drink once, and one guy was bragging his head off saying how he "had three women at once", and other various stories. Either he was drunk, or he assumed that the rest of us were too drunk to comprehend what he was saying. And the shocking part was, he was relating disgusting little details, in the hope that it would gain him "respect".

What's with all these Steve Stiffler-wannabes? Why are some people so damn proud about the (sometimes imagined) fact that they've had more sex than king Kashyapa himself? What's with the oh-so sexist attitude?

Correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Stiffler-wannabe, but I think, you are seriosly compensating for a lack of something, or getting back at the whole womenkind because something happened to you.

And the irony of it, as Eva pointed out, is that they sleep around to mars and back, and then expect to marry a virgin! Guys, if you screw all the virgins, no virgins left! Comprende?

Tis the big match season. The matches between brother schools are happening all over, and Dialog is apparently sponsoring them with the intention of making a quick buck. Good marketing, I would say.

Back to the point. These three days (Along with the One-day) are excuses to get absurdly drunk, meet old friends, show off your girlfriends, pick a fight, and have one massive booze party. And it gives one a chance to be loyal to one's college. And this is what I'm questioning, loyalty to schools.

A friend of mine from a leading girls school in Colombo bluntly put it at the end saying "It carries a lot of weight, to go to society and to be from *******", and for most, isn't that what it's all about?

To say, "I'm from the school where this great man came from, he played tennis, and captained the cricket team also you know... I didn't you shit in school, but I'm from that school"

But another perspective came from another friend of mine, who is from a very respected school, not for breeding elites, but for breeding intellectuals. He said that people from different stratas come in, but leave educated men.

What the new school structure has done is to create a barrier, to add to the numerous barriers we have. To create a generation of people, who think "I'm better than the rest of the world, cos I'm from.........

The Sunday issue of Lankadeepa proudly displays a small child being taken into the Sangha. Apparently it's part of a programme attract 2550 newcomers to the Sasana in Sri Lanka.

I see a couple of serious issues in this.

1. Most children who are taken into robes are around the ages 8-12. This country has age of consent for sex at 16. If the country recognizes the fact that a child at the age of 15 cannot decide for him/herself whether they can have sex, why doesn't the people recognize that it's impossible for a child to decide whether he wants to sacrifice his entire future to the Sangha Sasana.
2. There was a clip shown a while ago in a TV programme called Atapattama, where an entire family took to robes. This might seemingly be a very religious act. If the parents want to sacrifice their lives for a "cause", it's their life. Why the hell do you drag your kids into it?
3. When I've spoken to the handful of Samaneras in temples that I've been to, and when I ask them where they are from, it's generally areas like Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Hambantota etc. And the reason they took to robes was not out of the passion they, or their parents had for the religion, but because getting into robes is a surefire way of ensuring that your education is payed for, you're well nourished, and you're well looked after. Basically, the Sangha Sasana is seen by poor parents as a fully paid scholarship.
4. And what about the numerous sexual molestation cases against young monks? These people are at the peak of their sexual intensity, and they are strictly expected to abstain. And what happens is, their sexual tensions are relieved by the way of taking it up the wrong one with young monks, who have no idea what's happening to them.

Kill me for saying this, but to me the "conscription" by the Sangha Sasana is worse than LTTE and Karuna put together. At least someone points the finger at them, where as even our pathetic excuse for a leader hails this mass violation of human rights by Buddhist Monks.