They Call Me Mister Tibes

Hurricane Eloisa cut a swath of destruction through Puerto Rico in 1975. The remains of an ancient community were uncovered in Tibes in the flooding that followed. Fragments of bones and ceramics revealed that the area was first inhabited soon after the birth of Jesus by the Igneri tribe. They abandoned it six hundred years after for reasons that remain a mystery to this day. A different tribe, the Taino, arrived in more recent times to resettle in the area. A model of the ancient dwellings has been created at the Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center so that visitors can get an insight into the lives of the early indigenous people of Puerto Rico.

The large grounds contain structures that show it acted as a guide to the stars, which was important for an agrarian society in determining the dates of the solstice and equinox. A cemetery containing almost 200 human bodies lies within the most important archaeological site in the Antilles. Sports fields, where a soccer style game called batey was played, were also found. Legend has it that after a Christian missionary was captured by the tribe, they decided to play ball to decide his fate. The winning team would get to kill him.

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“The nature of man is always the same; it is their habits that separate them.” ~ Confucius 

Chuanr

Chuanr is Chinese for kebab or skewer. Originating from the Muslim region of Xinjiang, it soon spread to street side vendors throughout the nation. You know that you are pronouncing it correctly if it sounds the same as the noise your stomach makes immediately after your eyes have spotted a chuanr vendor. A variety of delicious meat is normally attached to the sticks, but potatoes, lotus roots, bread, or anything else imaginable can also be skewered in a positive manner. Priced at only a few RMB each, the sticks can make for an affordable snack or a full course meal depending on the quantity consumed.

Some of my best memories of China involve chuanrs - from my first independently purchased meal in the country, to the times spent eating and drinking at local joints, to insect tasting at Wangfujing. Once a friend and I consumed 120 meat sticks at a single sitting, leaving behind only a few chunks of fat, onions, and astonished looks. On another occasion I was strolling the streets with an American-born Chinese, chuanrs in hand. After finishing each stick, he casually tossed it on to the pavement. I arched an ARNABrow at him, intrigued by his penchant for littering. "Just keeping the peeps employed" he wisecracked.

Nanjing - The Purple Mountain

Many of Nanjing's famous sites are clustered around Zijinshan ("Purple Mountain"). By sites, I mean tombs. The Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Ming Tombs are the headliners. Dr. Sun founded the Kuomintang party based on the Three Principles of the People - nationalism, democracy, and social welfare. He went on to become the first president of the Republic of China, naming Nanjing the capital.

Although he died in Beijing, the Father of Modern China was laid to rest in Nanjing. Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1929, four years after his death. About four hundred steps have to be climbed to reach the main hall at the top. A fat child complained loudly to his mother as he approached the halfway mark. A magnificent music stage near the base of the mausoleum is home to hundreds of doves, elegantly blending in with the natural surroundings.

Purple Mountain is very green. A lush canopy covers the roads winding around the mountain. I took a taxi to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and then a bus to the nearby tombs of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The scenic burial ground is made in the traditional manner, with a long pathway leading to the tombs, accompanied by a lake, parks, and hills. Nanjing's Ming Xiaoling shares its World Heritage status with similar tombs from the same dynasty in Beijing and Shenyang, but was still worth a visit.

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“The Revolution has not yet succeeded. Comrades, you must carry on!” — Sun Yat-Sen 

The Headshot Controversy: ArnabSen.com

My namesake website was relaunched, coinciding with the initiation of my job hunt after my return to Canada from China. ArnabSen.com features information about the companies I worked at and types of projects I was responsible for handling, as well as a link to this blog.

The website content is pretty standard, apart from a controversial head shot which steals the show. The background photo of me is so deliciously sinful, that a few nations immediately moved to block access to the website. As always, my friends provided positive feedback on the vivid imagery:

The website seems like a temple to yourself

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Some constructive advice... kindly  remove the 'masturbatory' statements.. and your handsome pics  ... and let your work talk for themselves...

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Holy crap!! That's the only word i can think of. The height of it all is the face profile pic....

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Can't even open the page it's taking so long to load! is there arnaboner in the site hence the block? must be the purported intensity of the profile pic.

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Whao a Bollywood movie star!

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Have posted this picture of you on craigslist with your email address.

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MY EYES!!! BUT MY EYES!!!

Arnab what the hell is up with the bigass picture. that was utterly unnecessary and your potential employer might balk at such blatant display of handsomeness. ur practically bragging. tone it down would ya. or better yet do without it.

Inside the Mind of a Chinese Woman

Although love can never be broken down logically into a set of discrete and measurable characteristics, a noble scientist nonetheless attempts to do so after using himself as a guinea pig for the experiments. The ideal man in the mind of an Indian mother had been studied previously, but the intricacies of the Chinese female brain are an altogether different matter.

1) Categories

Let us begin with ten distinct traits a beautiful Chinese woman would find desirable or undesirable in a man.

Desirable: Is he Chinese, funny, handsome, honest, hygienic, kind, rich, smart, and well-mannered?
Undesirable: Is he scary?

2) Test candidates

Two archetypes, the Indo-Canadian Temptation and the Rich Chinese Guy, will act as the objects of desire on whom the experiment will be performed.

3) Scoring mechanism

The two candidates will be given scores of 1 or 0 for each trait, with 1 going to the man who wins that category. No ties will be accepted, so each category will have a clear winner. If neither candidate merits a win in a particular category, there shall still be a loser. Scores of 0 and -1 will be given with the stronger, though still weak, candidate getting a 0 in this scenario.

4) Test Data

After sorting through real world data, the results were compiled. The Indo-Canadian Temptation secured 7 categories, while 3 were claimed by the Rich Chinese Guy.

Exhibit 1 - Raw Data



4) Weighting

Now that we know who the participants are, the characteristics that will be measured, and the ranking methodology to be used, only one other variable remains. The relative importance of each characteristic must be determined. A weighting must be assigned to see how much impact each trait has in winning a beautiful Chinese girl's heart.

Two tables are henceforth displayed. The first shows the results if an equal weighting is given to all categories. The second shows the results with weightings matching the importance of each trait.

Exhibit 2 - Equal Weighting



As expected, the Indo-Canadian Temptation's strength and consistency across most categories allows him to win the girl's heart with a score of 30. The Rich Chinese Guy hangs his head in shame with a -10 performance.

Exhibit 3 - Relative Weighting



When relative weighting is used according to the preferences of a Chinese girl the Rich Chinese Guy scores an unbeatable 80 by putting all his eggs into the highly weighted baskets of being rich and Chinese. Despite dominating 7 of 10 categories, the Indo-Canadian Temptation falls short of his goal with a lousy -20 rating.

5) Analysis


Exhibit 4 - Average Score and Margin of Victory



When an average of these two measures is taken, the Rich Chinese Guy still comes out on top 2-1. He also has a larger margin of victory over his opponent when he wins. At first glance, the equally weighted index seems to indicate a landslide victory for the Indo-Canadian Temptation based on his across the board excellence. Further investigation reveals that their are some hidden variables that have to be taken into consideration. This tilts the game of love heavily in favour of the Rich Chinese Guy. Although the Indo-Canadian Temptation has delved inside the mind of a beautiful Chinese girl, he still remains outside of her heart.

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“He who studies books alone will know how things ought to be, and he who studies men will know how they are.” — Charles Caleb Colton