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RANDOM HYPERDRIVE
A random collection of written and photographic observations by Matthew Islam on zen, life, kindness, chaos, karma and coincidences.
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Biometrically verified
Biometrically verified
Biometric data collection for issuance of a passport is a prudent thing, but biometric registration for a mobile phone service would be…
Matthew Islam
Apr 7, 2016
Where’s your underwear?
Where’s your underwear?
So, it’s Friday. I’m all cleaned up and in a state of spiritual calm heading into our local mosque. I stow away my soon-to-be-stolen…
Matthew Islam
Apr 7, 2016
Stop self-mutilation
Stop self-mutilation
Our national cricket team deserves more than our on and off love affair
Matthew Islam
Mar 24, 2016
Service Indecency
Service Indecency
The customer service experience in this country is abysmal. As if living in this country doesn’t pose enough of an exhilarating challenge…
Matthew Islam
Sep 10, 2015
Who will speak for the dead? Demand an end to violence
Who will speak for the dead? Demand an end to violence
For all our pride and arrogance-filled daily bedroom rants against those who have destroyed our nation, we forget that we are part of the…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Banana Republicans: Time to pick a side
Banana Republicans: Time to pick a side
There is a very contemporaneous quote by Roy Barnes that is worth considering today: “We are all one or at least we should be — and it is…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
To US, with love: A dying empire
To US, with love: A dying empire
It pains me to admit it, but my favourite empire is dying. It’s slowly descending into a valley where its founding values are being lost…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
The Walmart of moral bankruptcy?
The Walmart of moral bankruptcy?
This is the story of a simple man who became a global icon. His life is an example of how greatness can arise from humble beginnings. It is…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Freezing development
Freezing development
A few Thursdays earlier, while on my daily factory commute from Gazipur, my New York Times app flashed me a notification that read: “US…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Justice has been served
Justice has been served
Ghulam Azam, the mastermind behind heinous crimes committed in 1971 has been found guilty and sentenced to 90 years imprisonment. Justice…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Erdogan and Turkey’s battle for stability
Erdogan and Turkey’s battle for stability
There is a recent movie dialogue that goes: “You die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” It’s an apt…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
The democratic dilemma
The democratic dilemma
Democracies all over the world are showing signs of major decline in popularity. Why is it that a system that was born out of a necessity…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
The forbidden fruit
The forbidden fruit
I’m outraged. How long are we to sit back silently and be abused and used? What will offend us enough to rise up against the shameless food…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Personal bias and personality bias
Personal bias and personality bias
I will just go ahead and say this like it is: in Bangladesh, when we vote for anyone in particular, it depends largely on our personal…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Silly season
Silly season
On September 1 2013, the incumbent party in power, Bangladesh Awami League, begins its campaign activities for the next general election…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
War for peace
War for peace
As I write this, a poignant bit of text is coming to mind. It’s the preamble to the United Nations charter, written right after the end of…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Dilapidation nation
Dilapidation nation
In the face of Dhaka having been rated as the second least liveable city in the world, I was confronted with a lot of friends on social…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
The Apple of my eyes
The Apple of my eyes
The unveiling of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C a few days ago got me thinking. Going by history in technology, it’s unwise to bet against…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Medical mistrust
Medical mistrust
For any relationship to flourish, trust is one of those ingredients without which most would find it hard and difficult to relate to the…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
About respecting and protecting our women
The United Nations in a recent study which surveyed around 10,000 men from nine sites in six countries, including Bangladesh and excluding…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Try continued governance
Try continued governance
Democracy, as many experts would suggest, is an ongoing experiment in governance that which morphs and improves with a lot of time. No…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Your move, BNP
If our past was an indicator of our future, then I had no hopes for an understanding between our main political parties for the days ahead…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Resisting confrontation
Resisting confrontation
Hilary Clinton had once said quite poignantly: “The difference between a politician and a statesman is that a politician thinks about the…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Our ‘Fifth Estate’
Our ‘Fifth Estate’
Most of us are aware of the four estates. Three of which were coined in post-medieval era France, also known as Ancien Régime, where the…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
Complicitous Zen
Complicitous Zen
A famous reworking of a Tolstoy quote is in order, which today would read something like this: “Politicians are an association of men, who…
Matthew Islam
Apr 21, 2015
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