Great words to use in speech/writing

complacent/complacency
profound
encapsulation (technical)
redundancy (tech)
buffering (tech)
scalability (tech)
concurrent 
bashing
assumption
synchronous/ asynchronous
sporadic
momentarily
concise
refresher
Ubiquitous
random
inevitable
mandate
necessitate
reliable
specifically
concept/feature/
lucid
approach
trade off

optimal

subtle

astounding
paradhigm shift
counter intuitive
pseudo
outpace
overwhelming
niche
isolate
capability
dynamic
pre-defined (ex: pre-defined role etc)
defunct
definitive verification
consistent
nuances
comprehensive
Magnificent
sophisticated
obsolete
ironic
ironically
alluded
overwhelm
myriad
precise
analogy
multitudes (of problems, errors etc)
flexible
on the fly
apparently
caveat
oblivious
phenomenal
silver bullet
overlap

Gun Violence – A menace with no solution?

If something can be stated as a news staple - it is undoubtedly gun violence. It is in the news always, so much to the point that we are numbed by it. We are only shocked if the violence happens at a scale and in places unimaginable to us.  Indeed. Gun violence is the second highest cause of non-medical related preventable deaths in America, only topped by motor vehicle accidents. More people have died on gun violence than on terrorist attacks since 9/11.  The actual numbers are shocking - many thousands are killed on gun violence every year, in comparison with less than a hundred died in terrorist attacks since 9/11.  No place in the country has been immune to this maddening violence.  Places of worship – churches, temples; places of recreation – shopping malls, movie theatres; place of study – schools, universities and places with high security – navy yard, army bases, have all have been victims of gun violence. Thousands of innocent lives, including some of very young children, have been lost and yet this happens with a fair regularity.  With one out of every three household in America owning a gun and gun advocacy organizations such as NRA having millions of members,  it shouldn’t come as a surprise that gun control is a hugely controversial and a hot topic.  This writing attempts to explore the different dimensions of this complex topic.

Perspective 1 (President Obama disappointed by lack of gun control laws)

In the exclusive interview with BBC News’s Jon Sopel during July 2015, expressing his concern on gun control, President Obama worries, “I've been most frustrated and most stymied by the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common-sense, gun-safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings.”. Obama provides some troubling facts that underline the seriousness of the issue, “If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it's less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it's in the tens of thousands”, Obama notes. He asserts “it is not something that I intend to stop working on in the remaining 18 months.”

In the 2015 article on The Atlantic, Adam Chandler analyzes the various speeches made by President Obama after each mass killing gun violence incident. Chandler points out how the rhetoric of Obama’s speeches has shifted towards displaying more anger and frustration that these gun incidents continue to happen.  Chandler notes the earlier speeches Obama made had a softer tone intended to calm victims and their families with the notable exception being the below assertive section of his speech after Newtown, Conn school shooting, “As a country, we have been through this too many times.  Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago—these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children.  And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics”. In displaying anger in his recent speech, Chandler observes, President Obama deviated from a precedent set in over six years of delivering speeches about mass shootings and gun violence; this time, speaking after Charleston Church shootings, there was the same rhetorical splay of uncertainties, but with an entirely different conclusion: “We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun.”

Perspective 2 (Guns protect people)

David Kopel, the research director of the Independence Institute and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Denver and the co-author of “Firearms Law and the Second Amendment” in his 2013 New York Times article titled “A Divide in the Gun Debate Widened by Misunderstanding” contends the different ways people misinterpret gun issue and argues media disproportionality inflates gun violence and the stories of self-defense are not represented well. Kopel notes that the gun issue has been viewed as a rural issue and people thought that the issue would go away as the nation urbanizes but he points that it is still very much a mixed issues. Another misinterpretation is viewing it as “conflict of individualism versus communal values”, Kopel notes. He argues that there are many people who carry guns for communal good such as individuals carry guns to protect their families and trained teachers carry guns to protect school children. Kopel notes the division between people who insist “it is wrong for anyone (or anyone other than a government employee) to use deadly force” and others who “see self-defense as the most fundamental of all inherent, natural rights”. Kopel concludes that national media demonizes gun usage by “maximize coverage of atrocious gun crimes” and the people who only know guns via media become very angry that anyone could oppose gun control whereas the stories of self-defense are limited to local news. He asserts, “A fairer and less biased media … would help to reduce the emotional temperature.”

Perspective 3 (Children are victims of gun violence)

Geoffrey Canada, president and chief executive officer of the Harlem Children’s Zone and president of the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy Charter Schools, in his 2013 New York Times article titled “The Availability of Guns Affects the Lives of Children” emotionally expresses that gun policy failures “have been responsible for the ongoing slaughter of children”. Expressing his distress, Canada argues that, “I have gone to too many funerals of young people slain by handguns, held the hands of too many weeping mothers” and they are “joined in grief and outrage by other Americans who sympathize -- and who maybe wonder if their loved one is next”. Canada is frustrated that this country “continues to make buying and owning a gun easier than buying and owning a car”. Canada expresses the immense grief he felt for young innocent victims of Newtown shooting and reasons that the founding fathers cannot believe, much less condone, the killing of innocents that is being politically enabled by so called defenders of second amendment. Canada comments that he understands people wants guns for self-defense and for sports but he is puzzled “how anyone can advocate for the easy availability of deadly weapons”

Perspective 4 (Guns and Women Safety)

Caitlin Kelly, the author of “Blown Away: American Women and Guns”, in her Jan 2013 article in New York Times titled “Women Buy Guns to Protect Themselves” argues that women want to feel safe and as long as women feel a reasonable fear they will purchase weapons. Kelly offers some chilling stats on how much women are in danger of horrendous crimes against them - domestic violence, rape, becoming a victim of staking etc. Kelly recalls that how she become a victim of harassment and violence as she was unknowing dating a convicted criminals, how the law enforcement agencies who are supposed to protect her turned a blind eye towards her and how helpless and fearful she felt. In a different 2013 New York Times article titled “Broaden the Base of Support for Gun Control”, Kelly argues that women represent a significant percentage of gun user base and involving them can effect better gun control measures. Kelly reiterates that women feel unsafe and therefore buy guns to protect them. Kelly proposes that, “President Obama should create a multidisciplinary committee that includes those most directly involved in gun use and violence, especially women” and this committee should include people from multiple disciples - emergency room doctors, nurses, concerned individual gun-owners, domestic violence experts, experts in diagnosing and treating mental illness etc. Kelly argues that unless this is done “a viable solution will continue to evade this society”.

Perspective 5 (Solutions for Gun Violence)

    In the New York Times opinion page titled “Here’s a Way to Control Guns.”, The Rev. David K. Brawley, the Rev. Otis Moss III, the Rev. David Benke and Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, members of the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation aimed at building power for social change, argue that as a  largest buyer of guns, the federal government can hugely influence gun manufactures to be more accountable leading to smarter guns that reduce crimes and a vigilant gun distribution making access to guns harder for criminals. The authors note that President Obama assured the country in the aftermath of Newtown, Connecticut shootings that he would do whatever in his power to prevent such future tragedies and notes that he rightly took the first step of using legislation. But when that failed, the president failed to use other ways, the authors note.  As a largest purchaser of guns in the country, the federal government has the most powerful tool: its purchasing power, the authors assert. The authors note that the leading brands of guns used by the government are also leading brands in crimes. For example, while pointing out that Smith & Wesson, a large gun manufacture, turn up frequently in the hands of criminals, the authors assert, “Shouldn’t questions be asked when Smith & Wesson seeks a contract with the federal government?” The authors provide several different ways the federal government can influence this positive change from gun manufactures. “We might measure, for instance, the number of a manufacturer’s guns found at crime scenes as a percentage of their overall sales”, the authors suggest. Distributing the guns exclusively through reputable and thoughtful dealers, making “smart guns” that can be fired only by authorized users thereby preventing accidents and unauthorized use, reviving the smart-gun research program of government and incentivizing gun manufactures for making smart guns are some of the ways to control guns and prevent gun deaths, the authors recommend.

My Views on Gun Control

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”– Albert Einstein.  I think this quote is very appropriate to the gun control discussion as no positive progress had been made on it and the gun instances happen over and over again.  As you look further, there is a well-defined pattern.

Be it a man, who shoots people in a park because he is depressed by his marriage not going well or a teenager who shot his classmates as they are not socializing with him - the pattern is very simple to spot. Somebody is going through a difficult phase in life – just like everyone goes through one time or the other, but the difference here is the person has access to guns. He goes and shoots people shattering the dreams and lives of innocent people. Time heals most things and without access to the guns, these people would have recovered and lead a normal life, but access to a gun changes all that - forever.  This underscores the importance of making access to a gun very difficult.

As someone who has personally witnessed the extremely nervous moments my friend went through for finding whether her children are safe, when the news of a school shooting broke, and as someone who is in complete disbelief that five people including a child had lost their lives in a random shooting, in a neighborhood park our family goes every day, gun control discussion is very important to me.

I understand that there are several dimensions and complications in this issue. Some people argue that stricter gun control laws affect only people who abide by the law to buy weapons and criminals by nature don’t follow the rules and hence they have no problem getting access to a weapon. However, I am sure nobody can deny that military style weapons have no place in private hands.  Even while using for personal safety, there are countless occasions where people were killed by accidental firing, even by children, so they must be regulated as well.

An irresponsible gun owner puts the entire society at risk. By not passing sensible laws that restrict guns, we are putting the innocent lives at risk. So it is important for us to participate in gun control discussion, bring meaningful changes that makes everyone safe.

References:

Sopel, Jon. "Full transcript of BBC interview with President Barack Obama." BBC News. n.p, Web. 24 July 2015.

Chandler, Adam. "President Obama's Hard Rhetorical Shift on Gun Control." The Atlantic. n.p, Web. 19 June 2015.

Kopel, David. "A Divide in the Gun Debate Widened by Misunderstanding." The New York Times. n.p, Web. 6 January 2013.

Canada, Geoffrey. " The Availability of Guns Affects the Lives of Children." The New York Times. n.p, Web. 9 August 2013.

Kelly, Caitlin. "Women Buy Guns to Protect Themselves." The New York Times. n.p, Web. 6 January 2013.

Kelly, Caitlin. "Broaden the Base of Support for Gun Control." The New York Times. n.p, Web. 4 January 2014.

David K. Brawley, Otis Moss III, David Benke and Joel Mosbacher. "Here’s a Way to Control Guns." The New York Times. n.p, Web. 17 July 2015.

Greatness of College education – Hype or Real?

It’s a ritual that happens every year.  Some students will be elated by the news that they have been admitted to their dream school; many others will receive a disappointing rejection news as they prepare for their backup school. Regardless of whether a student lands in his or her dream school or not, students are going to college in record numbers and the numbers are expected to increase. Students go through a complex stressful process that involves multiple steps to get a college admission. The struggles doesn’t end there - only a little over half of all students will be graduating and they’ll have a high debt.  Americans owe more in student loan debt than credit card debt and they have a staggering 1.2 trillion in outstanding federal student loan debt. It’s very depressing, isn’t it?  After all, a college education opens many doors and opportunities and data suggests that a college degrees holder earns double than a person with high school diploma. So, all these struggles are worth it, right? Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt definitely thinks so.

Eric Schmidt, Google Executive Chairman who attended Princeton and UC Berkeley during Sep 2013 in a panel at the New America Foundation also featuring foundation president Ann-Marie Slaughter and Buzzfeed President Jon Steinberg, argues that everyone must seek college education as college provides invaluable learning experience and plays a fundamental role in shaping better people as well as boosting future earnings potential. “So much of college is about not learning through education but how to not live at home, how to work with other people, going through the various rites of passage. I think it’s going to be around for a very long time”, he adds. Schmidt notes the increasing levels of advanced education has served us well and how he has encouraged his children to get higher education. He advocates that, “You should set an expectation for your children to go to college”. He places many arguments such as Economic sense of college education, how college education makes better adults, and how college education provides better job security - when there is a credit boom it creates real-estate boom which employs everyone irrespective of degree and warns, “I don’t think you want to have a child that is subject to the next boom”. He asserts we need more college educated people and notes, “At Google we take all these nice pleasant 22 year olds, we put them through a training program, and they’re phenomenal employees after a training program”.  Schmidt observes that there are issues with college education due to antiquated methods, habits and deep-rooted interests. But he is confident that the efficiency of the college education can be improved with measure and improve methodology. Replacing college with online education is not the solution, Schmidt affirms, the rich experience a college education provides still remains enormously valuable.

I think Schmidt makes a great argument on the need of college education for everyone and gives excellent reasons backing his argument.  His argument is filled with facts. The fact that these words are coming from a person, who himself has graduated from two renowned universities and manages a powerful organization makes the argument very credible. Schmidt makes an ethical appeal when he says college education makes a better individual, as most of believe that it is right thing to do. The logic is spot on when Schmidt says college grads make phenomenal employees after a training program. Schmidt makes an adroit use emotional appeal when he says “I don’t think you want to have a child that is subject to the next boom”,  which is directed towards a powerful human emotion – fear - after all no parent wants their children to experience hardship due to their lack of education.

Schmidt arguments resonates with me and I can vouch for the great learning experience college provides from my personal experience. I am currently attending ENGL-1010 course and it had thought me so many valuable lessons – it made me aware of the different arsenals in the writer’s toolbox and how to effectively use them, how to argue persuasively, how to participate in a productive discussion, how to respond to a critic – just to name a few. I have learned so much and it made me a better person, but mind you, this is just a college level 101 course. Imagine the learning possibilities with advanced courses. Don’t we inherently know the value a college education provides? Assuming there is an option, would you like to be treated by a college educated physician or the one without it? Would you be comfortable being represented by an attorney without the qualifying education? College allows you to explore the vast human knowledge and puts you through intensive practice so you internalize the learnings. It is beyond doubt that college education provides invaluable skills and experience that will make a better person.

Every coin has two sides. Often issues are multi-faced. Though I agree with Schmidt that college education provides invaluable learning experience and makes a better person, I disagree that everyone needs it and everyone must go through it to get there – a better person.  My disagreements are multi-fold and I explain them below. If you go beyond the surface of the Schmidt’s arguments, a different picture emerges. Schmidt’s claim that college plays a fundamental role in shaping better people rests upon the questionable assumption that only colleges can play this role. As any critical reader will quickly spot, there is no need for a person to wait till college to attain this knowledge. In fact, the school education plays a key role in imparting core knowledge that makes students skilled, civilized and knowledgeable people.  If there is any lack in the way this education is given, it is school education that must be reformed.

I disagree with Schmidt’s view that only colleges can provide skilled people suitable for professional work because, as many researchers have shown, blue collar workers gain many of the skills typically associated with formal college education – analytical, time management, people and interpersonal skills, working under pressure, to name a few – as a part of their work. Any skills they may lack can be quickly gained by attending community colleges or online courses; so a 4 year college will be an overkill. A critic might say that a doctor or a lawyer will need extensive study and a college education will provide that. Indeed, these professions benefit from such rigorous education to gain those skills. But these professions are very few in comparison to the overall white-collar professions and requiring everyone go through such stringent education is pointless.

By focusing on the economic payoffs of college education, Schmidt overlooks the deeper problem of how the college education provides the economic benefits. Many professional jobs, though they can be performed by a well experienced person without a college degree, insist on having a college degree just as a way of filtering out candidates. Besides, a top blue collar worker working on a profession they love earns more than a mediocre person with college degree working on a job they hate.

I have mixed feeling with Schmidt argument that experiencing a college education is invaluable. This is an outdated notion that doesn’t consider the alternative options provided by advancement in Internet technologies. You’ll need to note here the technology is just starting and future possibilities are endless.

Schmidt when he advocates everyone should go to college misses a crucial aspect. That everyone is not college ready. That everyone is not academically able to meet the high learning standard college requires from its pupil. We all have different strengths and weaknesses.  By failing to acknowledge not everyone has the academic abilities needed for college education, we are doing a huge injustice to our young population.

What are the social effects of requiring everyone to go to college? This hype of everyone should be going to college has created an unrealistic and unnecessary aspiration among our young people; anyone who can’t complete college is labelled as ‘lazy and dumb’. By having a college degree a requirement for a professional career, not only we are missing out on a talented population, we create a class based society and force people with punishing debt, which forces them to delay key decisions such as marriage and buying home causing negative social and economic ripple effects.

 Educationalists and policy makers should consider the unnecessary financial and mental pressure this places on society, students and parents and make positive alternative measures. Public must be well informed of this serious issue so debates and policy changes can occur. 

An Unforgettable View

 “I am very tired. The grit is getting insane. We have been working tirelessly, day and night for over a month”, my coworker Arun declared in a serious tone in our all hands meeting. “It is a critical project for our company and I am happy to put all the hard work it needed, but I feel that I am nearing burnout”, Anita, the project chief architect, added empathetically.  “Exactly! How about we take a break for few days, we all go together somewhere”, said Arun, the unofficial chief planner for all our recreational activities, he is now enthusiastic that his plan is getting some acceptance. “Work hard but play harder, right?” someone else added. Everyone now curiously looks at the project manager for what he has to say. “Well, Thank you for all the hard work you guys have been putting into this. I must say you guys deserve a quick vacation. It’s been in my mind for some time, but better late than never”, said the project manager. “Woo hoo! Team vacation!” everyone chorused. “Be safe! No selfies from edge of mountain cliffs! I know some of your middle names are adventure”, joked the project manager as the group burst into laughter.

That’s how our trip to Gangtok, a hill resort in the north eastern part of India was born. I must say that some of my coworkers (they are my dear friends as well), are really good in making snap plans. Within no time, all logistics were arranged and we are on a train. We reached there at late night, around 3 am. We exhausted from the long journey and slept moments after checking in the hotel room.

Next morning, I was the first one to wake up. I opened the window blinds and what I saw was an experience I wish to hold with me forever. I was looking at this beautiful mountain in its absolute beauty as the morning sun rays fell on it.  The orange rays of the sun are soaking the white snowcapped mountain.  I feel like I am having an out of body experience and I felt so calm and peaceful. Later I learned that it was Mt. Kangchenjunga, the 3^rd tallest peak in the world. I opened the glass window and I felt a cold breezy wind on my skin; it was very refreshing and I am fully awake now. The breeze, with a scent of mountain flowers, a big relief from the musty smell of the room. The nature’s aroma beats anything man made, hands down. The sky was clear and the view was totally unobstructed. Though this was many years ago, I clearly remember being so ecstatic.

I am now in dilemma. “Should I wake these guys and show them? No bad idea. They barely had few hours of sleep”, I was arguing with myself. Finally I decided to wake up everyone else to share this wonderful moment. My friends, though a bit upset with me initially for rudely disturbing their blissful sleep, appreciated me for showing this. Everyone admired this beauty. Then someone said, “how about a hot tea?” Everyone without a bit of hesitation agreed that it would be wonderful. Someone quickly rang the phone, we all enjoying the moment with the hot beverage. Now everyone felt so fresh, even after having only a few hours of sleep. It clearly provided a perfect start for our 3 day wonderful trip.

Why is this such a memorable moment? Perhaps, because I was least expecting it and a pleasant surprise always spices up things. Or maybe it is because of the creative Mother Nature’s art work through its morning sun rays on this magnificent mountain. I don’t know for sure but I couldn’t care less. All that is important to me is, I have the had pleasure of experiencing this breathtaking moment, something that doesn’t happen very often, that I can cherish forever. 

What a true leader should do - Yield to public opinion or Stick with the principles?

Leading is no easy task. Leaders face many challenges and need to take tough decisions. The challenge for a leader is very significant when they need to take a position that is far from popular opinion.

Mahatma Gandhi is a revolutionary leader. He was fighting an oppressive regime and they are very brutal on any protests. Many people lost their lives. Initially people looked down on non violance as a meek way to protest. Gandhi explained to them it is not a passive process. It is active and indeed a bravest way to protest. He said "they can kill you, then they will have your dead body, not your respect". He aroused million of people to join the non violence freedom fighting movement. But there were so many challenges. Even some of Gandhi's followers resorted to violence. There were other leaders who are also fighting for the same cause - the country's freedom - but their methods are very different. Those leaders said that Gandhi's methods are ineffective. They said we should take eye for an eye. Gandhi said "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" Gandhi, a true leader, has firm belief in his principle. So he was able to convince people and lead the movement to victory. Now we see that the principle of non violent protests is used in many other movements.

If you look the political arena around the globe, leaders are faced with many challenges. Be it how to recover a stalled economy or what type of healthcare should a country have or what sort of education system is best for a country's future. These problems are so massive so sometimes leaders need to take measures that can upset a significant population. The leader must take into account the popular opinion and make his case and convince people that why the approach he is proposing is better. Some reasonable compromises can be made, where needed for the betterment of everyone involved. Together with dialogue, we find the optimal path for the solution. There lies the success of a true democracy.

Is National Curriculum mandatory?

Education is an important part of childhood development that decides the individual and the nation's destiny. How do a nation ensures all its citizens has developed same skills during their school education? Some suggest that the answer is to have a common national curriculum until the students enter college. At the outset this sounds like a great idea as this allows all the students to have access to same education, to be measured against same standards and to allow same skill development. But there are quite a few things to consider before such a one size fits all approach can be taken.


Many nations are very diverse. The demographics can vary widely with people from different cultural, social and economic backgrounds. Their learning needs can be hugely varied too. So the education needs to be tailored to the needs of these groups and this is better done at a regional or at a state level. Also students with disabilities and special learning needs require a curriculum that is designed with their considerations in mind. A national curriculum that does not consider these will place a significant learning burden on these students and risk them being left behind.


Many states have courses to better position their students in a competitive environment or to serve the special cultural, linguistic needs of local population. These courses will be significantly difficult to include in a national curriculum. This brings us to the next very important topic and raises many questions. What will be the standard of the national curriculum? Will it be the best standard any state? This will require more training and need for more resources. Who will bear the monetary burden this places on the states which are already financially constrained? Another, perhaps a bad option is  to lower the standard which effectively defeats the purpose of even having a national curriculum. Either way the standards go, this problem needs to be solved.



The issue of having common national curriculum implies a noble goal to provide equal learning opportunities for all students. But is common national curriculum the best way to achieve this? There are at least a few different approaches. A nation can provide a set of learning objectives and standards on which a student will be tested.
The states can use these guidelines and develop the curriculum that best suits the student's needs locally. This approach can use the best of both worlds -  the national standard done with a local flavor. This also allows the states to compete with each other on their specific learning implementations there by allowing the best approach to evolve on its own. This best approach will then be adopted in other states creating more vibrancy.


A national curriculam is an audacious goal but it is filled with implementation challenges that will undermine its effect. The learning standard set nationally and implemented locally allows a viable alternative that can benefit students, educatioeveryone involved in the process.

Music & Life!

I feel lucky because I have grown up listening to music!
My father is a small business owner who likes music and he thought listening to music makes laborious mundane tasks easy. He was so right. Everyone working in my father's company enjoys it and music became so integral part of their life too! They became versatile in listening to songs and they can tell from the music who the music director is. During that time, most of the songs are listened in radio. They even take quick bets on whether the next song in radio will be a male or a female singer or duo. It was really fun to watch that.

When I was in the middle school I had a friend. His dad had a music player that can also record music. During that time, we find that so fascinating. One problem is that his dad gets really upset if someone is messing with it. So what we do is, we use it when he is not around and when we leave we won't leave a trace. We record our voice and play it and try to decide who is the best singer! We really enjoyed that. His father also owns English classics and I liked them. I had no idea what albums they are. Only recently I found that the albums are Beatles, Boney M etc. In a recent conversation with his dad, I told him about this and he said, I had always known that. Since you guys liked it, I didn't say anything. Wow! so much for our smartness! Parents surely are smarter than they look!

When I was high school, one of my friend played some music. I didn't understand a single word of it but I absolutely love the music. It was Micheal Jackson. We have listened to it so many times and it's so beautiful when we listen to it in full volume. We love it but our neighbors complain. My friends even tried a moonwalk dance in a school function.

I was listening to a interview of a famous music director and he was asked what a good music is. He said even if one person likes it that's a good music. I liked that answer. There is so much good music which we will surely fall in love is out there. You can listen to it so many ways but the problem is knowing about it. For instance, I recently listened to an album from a Egyptian singer. I knew it only because my friend who is living there told me. I feel very grateful when someone introduces me to some music which I like and many of my friends have done that. What I found is typically we can't find this on our own. Surely, You can search in youtube with best songs in german or japanese. The problem is that great songs are not tagged like that. I think technology can solve that problem. Who knows folks at Google or Apple might be already working on it!

Without music, life would be a mistake. Music clears everyday dust from our souls.
I recently read an interesting definition of hobby. Work is something you do for living. Hobby is something you do to keep you human. Many many people have listening to music as their hobby and the power of music is definitely making and keeping them human.