Winners Quit!!

We've all heard the phrase "Winners never Quit; Quitters never Win"... Here is something that sounds better!!

Seth Godin, the guru of smart marketing, says the key to being a good quitter is knowing when you've reached a dead end, not just a rough patch...

First off, what is "the dip"?

The dip is the spot everyone trying to master something new reaches but that few get through. It's quitting organic chemistry on the way to becoming a doctor. It's the hard part that wipes most out.

Conventionally speaking, quitting isn't considered a positive attribute in society, but you take a different approach. Explain.

I think people quit all the time, but at the wrong time. Most quit in the dip, when the new thing they're trying is hard and when they're in pain. In fact, the best time to quit is when you're at a dead end and you aren't going to get any better. The worst time to quit is when you're in the dip. The dip is your friend. If you can get through it, it's worth the journey.

How did you come to theorize in opposition to the old cliché that "quitters never win and winners never quit"

With my blog and work, I hear people from all lines of work—from churches to big companies to small businesses. I look for the trends that separate the winners from the losers. From kindergarten on we teach people to be well rounded, but people who do the opposite are the most successful.

For example, when we're going to hire an accountant, we don't ask her about her golf game, we want a great accountant. Today, everything is one click away. Being the best or most extreme is way more valuable then ever before.

How do you know when you've reached the dip and it's time to move on? How do you know that this isn't just a rough patch that will pass?

If you're running a business but aren't seeing more satisfied customers, or you aren't getting more referrals, or you aren't opening new doors, it's clear you're in a dead end. You can keep doing it, but life isn't going to get better.

Too often people go to work and say that they've got to support their family—it's the best job they could get. They sell themselves short and settle for being average, when it's less than they deserve.

You say that most of the successful people in the world are all quitters. What characteristic do they have in common that allows them to know how to get out of a bad situation and re-focus on something better?

In the 1940s, Enzo Ferrari was in charge of the racing program at Alfa Romeo when he realized he wasn't going to get any further. Rather than saying, "I'm 48," and staying on, he quit his job and started Ferrari.

What I see is that people who aren't willing to settle and have passion are more likely to push through the hardest of all dips. They know what it's like to have mastery. If you teach a kid to learn what it's like be the best in world, they get hooked. Too many of us never experienced that win in the chess tournament or starred in the school play. It's not surprising that Ferrari quit his job or that Steve Jobs got through the dip and came up with the iPod.

What about quitters that just quit?

On the other hand, if you're taught to be average and to stick it out and to be a person that keeps his head down and do what you're told, you're doing your best. But when the pain is too great, you quit. You can't get beyond that. Nobody quits the Boston marathon when there's a mile to go. What distinguishes those who quit at the wrong time from those who don't is that the latter group gets through the dip because they can visualize the other side.

You talk a lot about how this works with major companies. How would you say this applies to the entrepreneur and small businesses?

The first challenge is that you don't want to take on a dip that you can't get through. A lot of people do. If you have a couple million dollars and you want to build a search engine to challenge Google (GOOG), that's too big a dip. Pick a dip that's attainable. Have the necessary assets to put behind it.

Will everyone that quits hit the top?

If you get into the habit of getting good at quitting before you reach the dead end, you will find there are far more resources to focus on future dips.

The Indian Moral Brigade

Now, it seems a Jaipur court has issued arrest warrants against Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty. Whats your problem, boss??

These insecure balls-less moral brigade are hiding behind morality/decency 'cos they dont have any conviction of their own... I think these very people (moral brigade) are fighting a losing battle within to control one's own basic instincts and is resorting to self-denial as a way to cover up their failure..

And as if the courts themselves dont have any better work, what with crores of cases still pending.

Life's like that..

Comon.. Give those guys, Abhi & Ash a break, will ya?.. you stand outside their house for hours together just to catch a glimpse... you feel as if your life's purpose has been served by just a wave of their hands.. you even follow them during their visit to a temple... and make a hue and cry over which hand she is holding the prasad with....

I didnt do any of this.. But then, I also have contributed my mite by following up this story.. I plead guilty!

But then, AbhiAsh can do some bit to avoid people some trouble... why did they have to visit at 9.30am... and not, say, 5am... like how Rajinikanth does everytime, it seems (I doubt if anybody even noticed it till now!)

It seems Anil, Amitabh, Abhishek each contributed 51 lakhs towards some programme (educational or food) of the temple... And i remember they did the same the last time they visited too... man.. the money these guys can give!! Why dont they give me even a half of that and I would bless them with eternity ;-) Guess they just dont know about my powers yet.. The next time you are standing outside the gates of Pratiksha (or Jalsa), let them know... I would get you an autographed photo when they come and visit me :P

A Bar of Soap

Life is like a bar of soap.. Soap seems so fresh and invigorating when it is first opened. But if you start expending it, it would soon have very little effulgence to offer. And if you dont use it, then the soap bar would not have served its purpose!

If you can use it the right way and combine it with the right oils and elements, it would last longer. And when one bar grows so small that it might break, you can attach it to another bar and let it live its full course. But you have to consciously attach it, otherwise the new bar would kick out the older one.

Pardon my hyperbole, but things are best when left to your imagination!!

Books, Quotes and iRiver Tapes(player)

I was surfing the Oxford bookstore (Leela Galleria) for my next bus-book... found that both "The Namesake" and "The Alchemy of Desire" are sold out. Guess I should get back to watching movies... movies on a ipod/iriver ;-)

Was sitting at the Cha Bar.. Happened to read some quotes from a Robin Sharma's book... (But then, you know.. the problem with self-help books is just that: ultimately, only YOU have to help yourself ;-)

Its not worth waiting for a standing ovation to decide what matters to you.

You cannot wait till you reach your (life) goals to be happy; Its like saving sex for the old age!!

A Small Step...!!

A small step for man.. a smaller leap for my blog!!

yeah.. the counter shows there have been 20000+ visits to my blog.

Thank you guys... you rock!!

The Valkyries and a Decision

I finished "The Valkyries" sometime back. Thats one of Paulo Coelho's books that is quite obtuse.. He talks of magic, rituals, talking to angels etc... But (one of) the point he is trying to make is - "people end up destroying whatever good they have created" and the root cause of that is "something that happened in one's childhood and a decision they made based on what they thought had happened".. That decision would guide them into the wrong for the rest of their life.

Let me try to explain from my own life... For example, when I was a kid (dont remember the age, but definitely less than 10 yrs old) my mom told me the story of one of her nephews. This guy was very brilliant. He topped his school in studies and sports and what not. His parents sold their possessions to allow him to study in an engineering college (Salem engg college).

He topped all his college exams too.. He got his job through campus placement and was all set to join one of the top companies of India after his graduation. Just a day before his final set of exams, he died from brain fever. It all happened within a day and his parents couldnt even be by his side when he died. They were left totally shattered.

When I heard this story (and witnessed a couple of other incidents, normal worldly incidents like death in the family), I made a decision. The decision was something like I will not be the best. 'Cos if I am the best, I would die.

This decision, made by a kid, had been running my life. And I was not even aware that it was running my life. But if you know me, you can see a pattern in my life. A series of ups and downs, ebbs and troughs.

But when I realised that this is one of the decisions that has been governing my life, and when I 'broke the pact', I got my power back. Now I need no longer be governed by a 7 year old kid. I got the freedom. I can chart my own life. And I can even talk about it!!

This book is supposed to be based on Paulo's real life. Thanks Paulo for letting me into your secrets and letting me rechart my life!!

Veronika decides to Die!

I got this in email recently...

"Subject: Veronica reffered me to you.

science may representative ! sister some ink it's group in care not sock on lip or hope see fork may talk , rest or thumb and bee it wave may disgust try stop not kiss be judge be value try sister ! stem may water some loss try regret be serious not

key and leather , moon be umbrella it's monkey in umbrella in top on amount see waiting it's door or swim it steel the violent the floor it's soft see feeling but garden it's thunder some balance try shirt it's jump but same the first the girl in division not soap the

wrong it's grass it's shade it's political see surprise , picture a brick , living not sweet ! art it insurance the smoke see cold in sticky it color it's brother see week in fixed , same or engine try grain , manager but rhythm see bent and year or education on
""

Confused?? nah... I CANT make ANY sense at all!!


Anyways, this email reminded me of a book whose title is the same as this post's.
Thats one of Paulo Coelho's books... Its supposed to be quite an intense book... I plan to read that sometime...

Quest for Lust

True love seriously seems romantic and far-fetched.. and seems right for the old age.. With changing times.. there seems to be a lesser belief in the concepts of love and soul mates.

Love seems nothing but the chemistry along with some fond associations and a lot of faith.. (who has the time for all that!) If you are looking for true, unrequited love.. go buy yourself a puppy!!

But lust is immediate.. without any need to believe.. without any strings attached... what say?

Guess what?

Next in the series.. Can you guess what this is? (clue.. think homely!)

Guess what?

Can you guess this one? Clue.. think scientific!



First, Mars had a face, now Saturn has a hexagon. A strange hexagon shape over the north pole of Saturn was first spotted by the two Voyager spacecraft and has been revisited by the Cassini probe. The 26 years between sightings indicate it is likely a permanent feature on Saturn, according to NASA scientists. In fact, Cassini found a second hexagon, significantly darker than the original. This is the first time the feature has been captured on one image.

On NASA's Web site, Kevin Baines, atmospheric expert and member of Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said, "Saturn's thick atmosphere where circularly shaped waves and convective cells dominate is perhaps the last place you'd expect to see such a six-sided geometric figure, yet there it is."

read on..!

Guess what?

Can you guess whats happening here?? (think cryptic!)



Heroic Secret Service Agent Intercepting A Loaded, Highly Charged Question Intended For Bush

White House Secret Service Agent Anthony Panucci is being called a hero after intercepting what could have been a critically damaging question aimed directly at President Bush during a press conference in the Rose Garden Tuesday.

According to eyewitnesses, the press conference began with Bush fielding routine questions about March Madness and the dedication of a World War II memorial near his home in Crawford, TX. However, approximately seven minutes into the event, a lone reporter somehow managed to maneuver to the front of the press corps group and fire off a loaded, highly charged question concerning Bush's role in the controversial dismissal of eight federal attorneys last year.

"I just followed my training and did what I was supposed to do—put myself between the president and irreparable harm," said Panucci, who is credited with safely deflecting the attack away from Bush, as well as acting before the reporter had a chance to get off a follow-up question at close range. "And let's not forget my colleagues who rushed the president from the scene."

ha haa haa! read on...

Dave Barry on Ireland

Ireland, land of Bad Elvis

BY DAVE BARRY

(This classic Dave Barry column was originally published on Aug. 6, 1995. One of my friends who stayed in Ireland for sometime said "Ireland is quite similar to India".. read on...!)

I recently spent a week in Ireland, and I can honestly say that I have never been to any place in the world where it's so easy to partake of the local culture, by which I mean beer. Ireland also contains history, nice people, enormous quantities of scenery and a rich cultural heritage, including (more on this later) Elvis.

Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. It consists mostly of scenic pastures occasionally interrupted by quaint towns with names such as (these are actual Irish town names) Ardfert, Ballybunion, Coole, Culleybackey, Dingle, Dripsey, Emmoo, Feakle, Fishguard, Gweedore, Inch, Knockaderry, Lack, Leap, Lusk, Maam, Meentullynagarn, Muff, Newmarket-on- Fergus, Nutt's Corner, Oola, Pontoon, Rear Cross, Ringaskiddy, Screeb, Sneem, Spiddle, Spink, Stradbally, Tang and Tempo.

These towns are connected by a modern, state-of-the- art system of medieval roads about the width of a standard bar of hotel soap; the result is that motorists drive as fast as possible in hopes of getting to their destinations before they meet anybody coming the other way. The only thing that prevents everybody from going 120 mph is the nationwide system -- probably operated by the Ministry of Traffic Safety -- of tractors being driven very slowly by old men wearing caps; you encounter these roughly every two miles, rain or shine, day or night. As an additional safety measure, the roads are also frequented by herds of cows, strolling along and mooing appreciatively at the countryside, reminding you very much of tour groups.

A typical Irish town consists of several buildings, one of which is always a bar, called a ''pub.'' Next to this there will typically be another pub, which is adjacent to several more pubs. Your larger towns may also have a place that sells food, but this is not critical.

Inside the pubs, you will usually find Irish people, who are very friendly to strangers, especially compared with the British, who as a rule will not voluntarily speak to you until you have lived in Britain for a minimum of 850 years. The Irish, on the other hand, will quickly start a conversation with you, and cheerfully carry it on at great length, with or without your help.

One evening, in a busy Dublin pub, I watched an elderly, well-dressed, cap-wearing gentleman as he sat in the corner and, for two solid hours, struck up a lively conversation with every single person or group who sat within 10 yards of him, including a group of German tourists, only one of whom spoke even a little English. The man spoke to them in a thick brogue on a variety of topics for several minutes while they looked at him with the bright, polite smiles of people who do not have a clue what is being said to them. When he finished, they conferred briefly in German, and then the one who spoke a little English said, quote, ``Everyone is pleased that he or she is welcome.''

You definitely feel welcome in Ireland. But there's more to do there than just talk to Irish people in pubs. You can also drive around the countryside, alternately remarking ''Look, sheep!'' and ''Here's another tractor!'' You can visit a bunch of old castles built by the Normans, who at one point conquered Ireland despite being called the ''Normans,'' which is, let's face it, not an impressive-sounding name. It's kind of like being conquered by the ``Freds.''

Probably the best-known castle is the one in the town of Blarney, which contains the famous Blarney Stone. To get to it, you have to climb steep, narrow, tourist-infested steps to the top of the castle; there, a local man holds you as you lean out over the castle wall and kiss the Blarney Stone.

Legend has it that if you do this, you will give the man a tip. Also at a castle in a town called Kilkenny I saw a local radio station doing a live remote broadcast, featuring a Frozen Food Challenge in which a resident had to answer a multiple-choice question on the history of refrigeration. She got it right, and won a hamper of frozen foods.

''Brilliant!'' she said.

But in my opinion the cultural highlight of the trip occurred in the town of Ennis, where a pub called Brandon's had a sign outside that said ''Traditional Irish Music.'' This turned out to be a traditional Irish Elvis impersonator. I realize that there are literally thousands of quality Elvis impersonators, and I'm sure you've seen some excellent ones, but I am here to tell you that this one, in this unremarkable town in western Ireland, was beyond question the worst Elvis impersonator in world history.

He sang along to a tape of instrumental Elvis tunes, which he played on a sound system that he never, not once in two solid hours, got adjusted right. Every time he'd start singing a song, the sound system would screech and honk with feedback; Elvis would then whirl around and spend minutes at a time unsuccessfully adjusting various knobs while he mumbled the lyrics, so that for most of the evening all you saw was Elvis' butt, accompanied by screeching and honking and vague off-key singing.

Often, by the time he'd finished twiddling the knobs, Elvis had lost track of what song he was singing; he'd frown into the distance, trying various tunes until he thought he was on the right track, at which point the screeching and honking would start up, forcing Elvis to whirl back around, like a man being attacked by bees, and treat the audience to another lengthy view of his butt. The crowd, which I will frankly admit was consuming alcoholic beverages, enjoyed this performance immensely, cheering wildly at the end of each song. They like their fun, the Irish. I'm definitely going back some day. Maybe I'll rent a tractor.

"I Killed Bob"

BREAKING News! Bob Wolmer's murder mystery resolved

In response to the fervent [heart-wrenching] appeal by the Jamaican DCP Mark Shields to "the killers to turn themselves in", Greg Chappel -the coach of the Indian Cricket team - said "I did!".

Professional rivalry and Rage killing are being touted as the reason behind the murder. Greg had worked really hard along with the Indian cricket "think tank" to hog the limelight and ensure the first round exit of the Indian Cricket team from the Workd Cup 2007. But Bob somehow infringed on Greg's idea and undid Greg's humongous efforts by stealing the thunder with Pakistan's 3-day-earlier exit from the first round of the Cricket World Cup.

Another senior player in the Indian cricket squad is also said to have helped Greg in his vengence.

Senior ICC officials, refusing to be named, said "The pressure to FAIL is so high in a forum such as the World Cup that such unfortunate incidents happen. In future we would plan better and give these two friendly yet emotionally charged neighbours an equal chance to fail."

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You know.. the solution to India's [non]performance is not to hire an external coach, but to hire an entire team... maybe we can hire the Australians to play for India. I am sure the BCCI has enough funds, even otherwise, we can invite a public private partnership to fund the buyout... the bookies would more than welcome the effort and join in the process.

Comedy Time!

It is that time of the year when I roll on the floor in the mornings. It is not another form of morning sickness (pun!), just my morning dose of laughs... these full page color advertisements in the Times of India!! ...From IIPM.. that is trying to goad (daring) students into joining their institute.

All those students (and students' rich parents) who would dare(?!) to part with s**t loads of cash... in the fond hope of studying under the 'visionary' Chaudharis and in the lure of 'international' placements.

I dont want to get into the fraud of a newspaper Ad; almost everybody knows about these fraudulent claims. But, I am tempted to compare the IIPMs with the network marketing companies like Amway, HerbaLife,....maybe I should write a case study! Only that there is neither a 'tangible' commodity nor a 'tangible' benefit (being passed across the network) here.

You see these people employing 'mera papa ka sapna' strategy.. ('My dad's dream!')... projecting the father Chaudhuri as a paragon of virtues and minting money for themselves in the process.

I say 'Dare to think beyond the IIMs' AND 'Dare to ACCEPT you are not good enough' for an IIM'. Sure.. there is room for such realists (vs MBA romantics) in the corporate world.

News!

Well... I should have termed it 'new'. I have created a new blog... dedicated to all you Techies.

Techie Rolls

Keep rolling!!

Entrepreneurship & Jam

Here is one funny article... more like a parody of some of the recent popular books.... the best title among them being... "The Monk Wants His Ferrari Back" by Robin Sharmata Hai!!

My guess is... this author is a failed novel writer ;-)

Roses are red
Take Violet to bed
If she refuses
take Scarlet instead.

But, these guys seem to have all the choices!!

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I referred to Rashmi Bansal's blog today to read an article on entrepreneurship... It seems IIMA is giving the campus entrepreneurs a safety net... that they can avail of the institute's placement service upto 2 years after they pass out (just in case their venture fizzles out)

Thats a good move... all IIMs should follow suit.... and increase the time to atleast 3 yrs.. it takes atleast a year to actually get some hang of the business and all...

you an entrepreneur? She is interested in hearing your experience...
"If you fit the profile (first-generation entrepreneur) and have been running your venture for at least 6 months, get in touch with me at rashmi_b@yahoo.com. Would also love to hear from some of you who have dropped out this year or recently quit your jobs and are 'in the process'. "

Well... I would join the gang in some years ;-)

Ind!

This is supposed to be a well-worn aphorism about India, but I saw this for the first time today.. Still it seems quite interesting!

"We're great at running markets and states. The problem is we run our markets like states and our states like markets."

Film-making

All you Youtube junkies, why dont you try your hand at some serious film making?!
(Well, this has started already, but if you are really interested, you should check if you can join now) Check for the next edition..

Course on Film Making

Date : Sun, 4 Mar 2007 - Wed, 7 May 2007

A ten week (weekends)course on film making covering narrative, screenplay writing, cinematography and editing by Prakash Belawadi, film maker Anand Subramanian and actress/director Mallika Prasad.

Venue: Centre for Film and Drama

Contact 22356262/63, 94480-50541 or email prakashbelawadi@yahoo.com

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At a totally different plane, heard that Mira Nair's 'Namesake' (based on Jhumpa Lahiri's novel by the same name) has released in the US to rave reviews. Looking forward to that movie... and then to reading that novel...!

My Experiments with Experimenta '07

There is this festival (simply, screening) of experimental films at the Goethe Institut (Max Mueller bhavan, CMH Road, Indranagar) going on over this weekend. I checked out the picture play y'day.

It was a collection short films ranging from gaming ( Quake III) to Life in Congo after 30 yrs of civil war. There were also abstract videos like 25/75 which was supposed to be about (2 digit) lottery business in Shillong and didnt make much sense to me (And neither to the rest of the audience... nobody clapped at the end of it ;-).

The piece about Congo was good and a li'l depressing too.. (Background: Congo had its first elections since 1970 in 2004... the country has been ravaged by civil war) It showed a group of children (sons of construction workers) playing at the yard. And they were enacting a story... the story of who will win the election and how the winner would be murdered because he is Rwandan and not Congolese. It shows how civil war has seeped into the blood of these youngsters and I think thats probably why we would never have much economic competition from the African continent.

Overall it is pretty good.. I would like to experiment again.. maybe today or tomorrow.

You can find more details and the schedule here!

200 Not Out!

Ha! I have crossed 200 posts! Never realized that I have been writing so much... Now I dont know what to write!! ;-)

Speechless

Till yesterday, I was thinking that she was my best friend. I thought I knew her well and that we were the best pals in the whole school. But, today, we have a new relationship.. she has become my step mom!!

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Well, I havent seen Nishabd... but I guess this could be the tagline... 'yesterday, we were pals... today, she is my step-mom!!'

If you have seen the movie, let me know if I should see it or not....

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Can somebody stop that monkey in the white suit? Upen in Shakalaka... forgot the song...

Order

Setting things right and ready seems to be order of the day.. At work, i have been getting all the accesses and making sure my profiles and details are all updated. The desktop that I was working on had come to have just about 2 MB of free disk space. I had the admin guys uninstall all kinda software loaded by the previous user. Visual studio, .net et al that takes up 5 - 10 GB of space... I have no use for them all now ;-)

At home, I am getting my house repainted.. Its such a pain getting these guys to come the day/time you want them to. After about 2 months and 4 different painter/contractors, I finally got some portion of the work started. Relearning a lot of micromanagement fundas!!

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I dont know if anybody has used this idea. Probably a new form of chatting... When the admin gal was working remotely on my system, we communicated with each other on notepad. Its like she took remote control of the system and started running programs and uninstalls. And she wanted me to tell her which all programs she should uninstall. So, she opened notepad and started typing. And I responded on the same notepad since it is pretty much on my desktop. Do you get what I am saying? There is one notepad application and both can type on the same at the same time. And the best part is each one can see what the other is typing ... letter by letter... all typos and corrections as and when they are doing it.. I think this is much more intimate than our usual chat messengers wherein we see only the completed sentences.... any one has all the time in the world to think and phrase and rephrase whatever they want to say. What do you think?

Well.. if nobody has come up with this form of chatting, its mine to rake in the $$$s!! I shall call it iChat.. or intimate chat :-)

Gracias!

This time, the 79th annual Academy awards was an awesome show. On the whole, the event seemed to have gone up a few notches in our experience. Its probably, in part, from the red carpet 'live on E!' that I watched this time. But, it did seem like a genuine effort to appreciate talent and celebrate performance. Aint it?

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Contrast that with the Filmfare awards and Stardust awards...! Like my trying to boost the visit counter, trying to up the TRPs and individual star quotient would only come thus far ;-)

Buy Indian...

Another testimonial to the Indian Economic Potential and the ever-so-lightly changing landscape of global financial markets. Goldman Sachs is now coming up with an Indian mutual fund unit. Read for more!

At the other end, everybody is buying and the prices are rising. Indian inflation is at one of the highest levels in the last 2 years (and I'm not even talking about the real estate). The finance ministry / RBI seems to be taking some steps to curtail the high inflation. But did we learn the right lessons from the Chinese economy overheating?

Now that I am at it, let me also pay my tribute to TATA entrepreneurship. The $12 billion buy of Corus is another feather in the cap of the TATA's and a great step for Indian entrepreneurship. Lets buy the world! (hic!.. am a li'l high.. ;-)

aASHAyein

Why does Asha Bhosle want to shove her face onto our TV screens? That too with all those remixes..... and her friends' remixes...

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Have found a new time to pursue my interests in reading... during my travels to & fro work. Its almost 2 hours journey each way and I am traveling by bus these days... its either the company bus or the BMTC volvo a/c bus from Majestic bus stand. (Volvo buses are great and BMTC has shown great insight by introducing these buses on long-distance routes within the city. No wonder these buses are going full most of the times!)

I have purchased the Valkyries by Paulo Coelho for the start..

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Saw on AajTak, a couple of days back, the appeal by an emotional father for financial help for the medical treatment of his 8 year old son. His son has blood cancer and needs bone marrow transplant to survive. The treatment is available only outside India, it seems and the costs are a whopping figure.. (dont remember exactly but above 80 lakhs or so)

For a moment, I was totally taken aback by his expectations. Soon, I realized that just TWO rupees from each of us can actually save this kid's life and give him his future.

5 Things You Did Not Know About Me

Pretty interesting meme... I caught on this one from Kiruba's

So, here it goes..

1. When I did not get into the IITs in my first attempt, I stuck to my decision of not joining any other engineering college and started preparing for the IITJEE again. I joined B.Sc. (chemistry) and promptly stopped going to college after a month.

2. Within a couple of months of joining the IIT, I was so homesick and actually sick that I went to the Director and fought to be transferred to Madras. He, of course, refused and stuck to his ground and I survived those 4 years.

3. During my 8th standard, I saved/retained my pocket money of Rs. 25 for the entire year.

4. In 2003, I wrote myself a cheque for Rs. 10 crores. And I have another 3 years to make it.

5. I am a Smirnoff certified (Amateur) cocktail maker. yeah, I can do the 'shaken but not stirred' stuff too..

It sure 'd be nice if the meme continued. Please consider yourself tagged!

Romantic or Realist ?!

For all you romantics... Enjoy your Valentine's day!!

For you non-romantics / realists... here is some funda and a tutorial on "How Kissing Works"!! This would turn you into a believer ;-)

But, I'm cautioning you.... dont you look at this one...The Anatomy of a Kiss

Kissno

Kisna.... what a colossal waste! Made at a whopping budget of $5.48 million, it seems. Just caught some glimpses of the movie on 'Zoom'.

Why at all did Subhash Ghai make this movie? I mean... what was he trying to do with all those hyper-star-cast?? Scenes like Kisna fighting the prince in the middle of hindu - muslim rioting.... Catherine claiming Kisna as her husband and using the chain with a cross around his neck as proof that he is christian....

Another scene wherein curfew is imposed in the town... and the police catch Catherine and take her away in a van... Kisna runs behind the van and all of a sudden, a mob turns up out of nowhere and blocks his way!!!! Its so damn stupid....

Kudos!

Kudos to Kumaraswamy for handling the cauvery verdict fallout and the bandh in the best possible way. Thanks to him peace prevailed. He has shown himself as an able and capable CM!!

Drive..

Was my first drive to Chennai this weekend... What sexy roads... Thanks to Vajpayee and the bureaucrats who were the brains behind the golden quadrilateral, I could cover the distance in less than 6 hours. And it is such a pleasure to drive on these roads.

Though I did not get to beat my land speed record. The current record stands at 100 miles per hour or 160 kmph, on IH35 in Austin, Texas. I came pretty close to the record in this trip, 150kmph on NH46, Tamil Nadu. Anyways, the fun has just begun!!

Time to say "au revoir !!"

Good bye my dear friend...
We have been through a lot of tough times and tough rides (on the company cab) together...
We have sung songs together...
We have seen many a movies together.. shared laughs and tears and what not...
We have even shared our food and drinks...
And all the nights with you have been fantastic...

But now, it is time to say "Au Revoir"
Good bye my friend, my dear laptop!!

Bhaskar

Top 100 Novels

Here is a Top 100 novels' list for you bookworms...

I wouldnt tell you how many I have read... let me just say... I have read 3 of the top 5 in the reader's choice!

Changes in the air!

Well... things are going to change next week... for one.. I am changing my job. A different industry... a different role... From marketing analytics in a computer and peripherals maker to business development in an IT services company... Wish me luck!
---------------------------------

That would also mean that my work timings and associated lifestyle are going to change. I may no longer be a good friend... "It is the friends you can call up at four in the morning that matter" said Marlene Dietrich. Probably a change in the time-zone would help regain my matter ;-)

Well.. how many such friends do you have that matter?!
---------------------------------

This is a gem... tagline of the film 'Closer'

"If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking"!!!

what..why..whatever..

what

In the movie 'Guru', there is this scene wherein Guru goes in a chopper to meet a minister and he has an appointment for just 15 mins. Guru wants approval to setup his petrochemical factory and the minister is not willing to approve. Guru meets the minister and tells him that he has something that belonged to the minister's forefathers. It is something that, once revealed, would shake the entire nation. He wants to know what he should do with it and asks for the minsiter's help in relieving that huge burden off his shoulders.

Well... It is obviously blackmailing, but what is that about? Is it actually some big secret? Or is is just some metaphorical statement to drive home the message that the minister is not unsoiled himself?

why

Why is it that the idiots drive so slowly on the road, especially when starting after a signal-stop, as if they want to spend as much time on the road as possible and probably dont have any intention to reach their destination? May be it is the dread about their managers/wifes waiting to greet them at their offices/homes respectively!

However wide the road is, when the road is relatively empty, the vehicles - especially these bikes and autos which do not require so much space - occupy the middle of the road such that it blocks the way for a faster 4-wheeler. Why the hell?


whatever

I was at this restaurant to have my lunch today and they do have a great continental buffet. But the space is quite limited and they have only one counter. So, obviously, it is pretty crowded and today was even worse. Some 45 guys from a company turned up and there was a long queue to pick up and load their plates. We were all politely standing there in the queue when these two foreigners came in and directly walked up to the counter to pick up their grub.

I look around and nobody is even bothered to stare at them, forget uttering a word in protest. These two (un)gentlemen picked up their choicest stuff and went back to their tables with absolutely no second thoughts. It was as if they owned the place and standing in the queue was just for us lesser mortals.

Whatever you call it... racism, colonial subserviance.... we are equal partners in propagating it by just turning a blind eye....

Again while we were in the queue, one guy wanted to go across. so, he just motioned to the guy in front of me. This guy almost fell on me in leaning backward and trying to make way for him. Couldnt he just move aside??

ruefully,
Bhaskar

Still a long way to go!!

Like 'Govar', I also thought I have seen quite a few movies.... until I saw this list.... Click on the button below and follow to the IMDB 250 list. I have struck-through the ones I have seen... See... I still have a long way ahead!!

Black Love .. part 4 *alternative*

If you havent read the first, second and third parts, read it below!
--------------------------------------

But then, life did what it does best... change its course! After about 4 months, Rahul got the opportunity to go onsite and visit Nisha too. By then, she was supposed to return back to India in a month's time and get married before she is back in the US with her hubby.

Rahul was pleasantly surprised to see Nisha at the airport to pick him up. Nisha, it seemed, had grown so comfortable with the place that it was almost like her second home... The next few weeks she was his chauffer, guide and companion. She even taught him to cook and it was so much fun!! And with her would-be-hubby away at the other coast and busy with his work, he was not too much of a distraction.

One day prior to her departure, Rahul expressed himself and his feelings unabashedly and got a slap from Nisha. Till that day, they had grown together into great friends, shared hugs, held hands. But that day, they had their first kiss... It was the black friday, the day after the US Thanksgiving Day. And they were very sad because they saw that their love was doomed. Nisha did not have the heart to torment her parents by stopping the marriage. And Rahul did not have the clarity/guts to stand up for his love.

They are now at the airport... Nisha on her way back to India to get married...


All my bags are [checked-in], I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside the door
I hate [] to say goodbye

But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn
The [plane]'s waitin', he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

I'm ...

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I'll tell you now, they don't mean a thing

Every place I go, I think of you
Every song I sing, I sing for you
When I come back I'll wear your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time, oh, let me kiss you
And close your eyes and I'll be on my way

Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times that I won't have to say ...

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

And I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

But I'm leaving on a jet plane
(Ah ah ah ah)
Leaving on a jet plane
(Ah ah ah ah)
Leaving on a jet plane
(Ah ah ah ah)
(Leaving) On a jet plane

---------------------------------------

[concluded again!]

lyrics by John Denver
modified by Bhaskar

I prefer the Chantal Kreviazuk version of the song though..

;-)

Bhaskar

Black Love .. part 4

If you havent read the first, second and third parts, read it below!
--------------------------------------

From then on... life was going ok... After about 4 months, Rahul got the opportunity to go onsite and visit Nisha too. But then, she was supposed to return back to India in a month's time and get married before she is back in the US with her hubby. Rahul, in fact, carried her wedding invitations for her from India so she can distribute them to her friends at work.

One day prior to her departure, Rahul expressed himself and his feelings unabashedly and got a slap from Nisha. Till that day, they had grown together into great friends, shared hugs, held hands. But that day, they had their first kiss... It was the black friday, the day after the US Thanksgiving Day. And they were very sad because they saw that their love was doomed. Nisha did not have the heart to torment her parents by stopping the marriage. And Rahul did not have the clarity/guts to stand up for his love.

But then, life did what it does best... change its course! And then, as they say.. the rest is all history... Dil Chahta Hai!! yes, it is true. This story did happen. And the lovely couple now live in Washington DC. They have a cute son, Sanju too!!

[concluded!]
---------------------------------------

Well.. if you are interested in knowing more details on the couple or their love.. ask me the next time you speak ;-)

Bhaskar

Black Love .. part 3

If you havent read the first and second parts, read it below!
--------------------------------------

Well.. Rahul had no idea. He just knew that she had a flight to the US starting at 1am from the Anna International airport on Sunday. He would have known had he gone to the airport to see her off. Anyways, he got the information first-hand on the yahoo chat... on monday morning when she reported for work at the client's place. Nisha had gotten engaged on Sunday. That news shocked him not because the bridegroom was the same distant relative in the US who had been overly keen on her, but because she had let herself be emotionally blackmailed by her parents into agreeing for the match. Oh.. comeon.. that guy looked old enough to be her dad! ok.. maybe not so old... but old enough to be her dad's younger brother!!

[to be continued..]

Tech Rolls .. Part 2

After my last post about the iPhone, I saw this video demo of the same..
Damn impressive!! I may still not buy it for sometime, but this phone is worth a try..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgW7or1TuFk

------------------------------------------

For the record, "With a 6% market share (in India), Dell is the fourth largest PC vendor in India, after HP at 21%, HCL at 12% and Lenovo at 8.8%".

Make your guess... Where will Dell's market share in India be around the same time next year? I would like to refer back at this piece of stats next year and give you the comparison.

Recently, Paul-Henri Ferrand, Dell's regional president, was in Blore. "This (Q3) was our best quarter ever, making India Dell's fastest growing market worldwide", he noted.

-------------------------------------------

If furniture maker Herman Miller, Inc. has its way, users will be able to charge their cell phones, BlackBerrys and other portable devices by simply placing them on their desks. Herman Miller is licensing eCoupled, a system that eliminates the need for dedicated chargers


Bhaskar

Black Love .. Part 2

If you havent read the first part, read it below!
--------------------------------------

Thats when it happened... One evening, as Rahul was planning to leave for home he offered to drop Nisha at the railway station. It was one of those unbelievably cool days in Chennai. And it was the first time any woman had sat on the pillion of his bike, of course, not counting his mom and sister. Well.. ask any man and he would tell you how much such things matter to us ;-)

Nisha was a li'l hesitant but later agreed on knowing that the station was actually on his way home. And thus they got to spend more time in the evenings with each other. He soon knew everything about her and her family. He knew that she shouts whenever she gets angry, though he never saw her shout. He knew about her terrible stomach-aches once in a while. He even knew that her parents wanted to get her married off to her distant relative who was in the US and who was also quite keen on marrying her. And that she wanted to work and earn another couple of years' salary so she can ensure her brother's admission into the engineering college of his choice.

For her part, she knew quite a lot about Rahul too. She knew that he was quite an atheist, who thought that praying to God for oneself was a sign of selfishness. She knew he had a complex about his squintish eye. She knew that he can spend the entire night watching movies. She even knew about his ex-girlfriend from school who was a bombshell, quite literally!

This went on until one fine day that Nisha learnt of her impending long-term assignment at the client's site. She had gotten her US H1B stamped some two months back, but she never imagined she would actually get to travel so soon. She was to leave that weekend...

In a way, she was happy because she would get to earn more. And Rahul was happy for her. Little did they know what was in store for her on her supposed day of departure...

[to be continued...]

Tech Rolls Part 1

Find the odd one out!!
MyZus, TechBrahma, WebYantra, UZanto....

for the answer, reach the end of this post!
-----------------------------------------

Apple has tried to do it again... enhance its own product lines while reinventing consumer electronics. iPhone... got some raving reviews.

As News.com states
"Apple's iPhone is essentially a widescreen video iPod that makes phone calls and can browse the Web, and the company plans to ship it in June for Cingular's cellular network."

It is supposed to be the convergence of computing and communications.. like a palm-top + phone

It does seem nice, but it has some self-imposed restrictions.. some of the questions that dog the iPhone are:
* Why is it not currently compatible with the faster 3G wireless data networks that are driving cellular revenues to sharp gains in the United States?
* Why the closed appliance-style design that restricts the potential for third-party software developers to write applications for the new handset, like ring tones and word processors.
* Why use the Cingular's EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) network? That will get one online at around 75Kbps to 135Kbps, not much faster than dial-up.

I guess Apple would also block the use of VOIP services like skype that conflict with Cingular's.

Instead of paying the $400-500 price premium, I would wait for others to come up with these enhancements.

-----------------------------------------
The Answer:
WebYantra!

WebYantra is a tech blog while the others are the names of technology companies.
I guess we should get used to such names in this age...


Have you heard of Proto.in?
Well, it is a technology roadshow.. that showcases new products, technologies, companies to a select gathering. It is being promoted as the meeting ground for VCs and tech startups and is happening in Chennai, 20-21 Jan.

The short-listed 30 companies list would be up around the event days, but if you wanna see it first-hand, you should register NOW!

Bhaskar

Black Love.. part 1

All standard disclaimers and copyrights apply for this work of fiction :-)
Bhaskar

---------------------------------
They were saying their goodbyes to each other.. lip to lip.. (so the message was not lost in transmission ?!) The americans at the NorthWest Airlines counter were initially amused by their display of affection and later, amazed at the obvious love. They sensed the deep sadness engulfing the young couple. Before I tell you why these two were sad this day, I should probably tell you how they got here in the first place...

--------------------------------

Rahul got to meet Nisha about a month back, when he joined the company. His manager was taking him around on the customary introductions to the team. It was definitely not love at the first sight. In fact, they hardly noticed each other. He probably was nervous, this being his first day at his first-ever job and wanted to get over with the introductions as soon as possible. And she was a year senior in the company and had her project deadline looming over her head.

The next time they met, it was over lunch. Rahul had gotten close to Imran who was in the same project as Nisha. And now, when Imran was going out for lunch with his projectmates, Rahul got invited too. During the ensuing conversations, Nisha came across as this simple and caring girl with no airs about her. And that he noticed. Well.. he then got to have more coffee breaks with the group and her, in particular.

They both had quite similar backgrounds.. middle class.. determined to make it bigger in life.. He went to the IIT... She went to one of the top engineering colleges in the state and finished with a gold medal. Both were quite forward-looking in their outlook inspite of their orthodox upbringings. They were meant to be friends. And they did get close. Thats when it happened...

[to be continued...]

Happy Pongal/Sankranti

Wish you a happy Pongal / Sankranti!

--------------------------------------

Saw 'Guru'.. A good movie.. Mani has weaved his magic again... quite engrossing.. Did not realize how the time went till the Intermission. But some scenes in the second half seems loosely linked.. Guru's growth seems to happen over-night.. And the end could have been better.. Guru justifies his actions and principles by saying he fought against the unjust system (drawing parallels to Gandhi's fight against the British Raj) and trying to link it to the greater good of the common man....

Anyways, the Ash-Abhi chemistry seems ok... neither too passinate... nor too cold..

And then, they have also got engaged in real life now!!
Guess it is upto to Abhi how the manages their relationship.

Bhaskar

New

New year.. neons dazzling everywhere... fireworks in the air..
but the mind is still trapped in its own quagmire!!

Free your mind... free yourself from your mind... And thats when you will have a new life... year and ever!!

Bhaskar

The Kundli of Arranged Marriage!

"When you dont know where you want to go, any road would take you there!"

When you dont know what you (really)want in your wife, any girl is as good as the other.

And soon, the other man's wife seems more attractive!
--------------

Indian marriages used to be a marriage of families not individuals. But with the falling out of joint families and the predominance of nuclear families many of the supporting structures are not available any longer.

Indian marriages - arranged marriage - have again been built around a lot of assumptions. For one, it is based on a simple and straight-forward way of living.. like you can know a person by his position (personal achievements), her way of carrying herself, his/her family background etc. For another, it supposes that the man and woman have undergone all the education in life (brahmachariya phase) and have mastered their egos, have control over themselves and their wants, respects others as their own and in short, know their real self.

In such a perfect life, any man and woman can get together and lead a perfect married life.

But, With time, we started growing imperfect or were not yet at the destination on the road to perfection.

And the institution of arranged marriage got tweaked a lot... compromises galore..

And then it got to be "you both have your entire lifetime to discover perfection together". So, all they wanted was two individuals who would make a decent couple and they would be put together to churn perfection...

And now god knows what!!

;-)

Bhaskar

UTS

Talking of movies... (these days I have a lot of them to talk about :) I saw 'Pyar ke Side Effects' by chance, on the local cable tv, when I was in Karwar. Its a pretty funny movie! Initially I didnt like the documentary-like commentary by Rahul (Bose), but slowly grew to it.. Scenes like when they have their first drink together and the subsequent KLPD, when he accompanies his would-be father-in-law to the golf course and smashes his car windshield, when he exclaims to Mallika that he is not bothered if she choses to marry Mr. Vivek Chadda to become one Mrs. Chaddi... Awesome!! I guess anyone who has been in love for a while (and fought) would enjoy the movie..

--------------------------------------------

I saw her first in 'V for Vendetta'... But I noticed her in 'Closer'.. She gave a very convincing performance in the movie... And I got reminded of her today in 'Garden State'

She is Natalie Portman..

--------------------------------------------

Some idiot UP minister, who is also Mulayam Yadav's brother, has termed the Noida killings as "small and routine incident"... How I wish he meets his fate too in such a "chhoti-moti ghatna" ....

--------------------------------------------

Sidhu's wife is contemplating contesting in the Amritsar elections in case he is finally sent to jail, it seems.. All in the family!!

Panditji Batai Na Bhyaah Kab Hoi!!

Wondering what this is? This is a movie title (meaning 'Panditji, can you tell me when our marriage would happen')!! yes, I saw this movie.. Its a bhojpuri movie and a superhit movie (2005) at that. Starring Ravi Kissen, Nagma et al...

It was fun watching.. was missing Mithun da's movies and this one made me relive those golden days ;) Its the story about 2 brothers and their fight against the evil forces in the form of the local politician and his goondas. The first 20 mins has four songs.. yeah, all the main characters are introduced via songs.. back-to-back!!
And of course, it has all the right formulas... family sentiments (one of 4 back-to-back songs is a song by a kid in praise and respect of his mom and moms in general!)
love stories.. comedy sequences.. rape and murder... fights... and good prevails.

Just looooooved those dances... all those sexy curve-tracing moves and one song where Nagma holds her flowing gown in place, ala Marilyn Monroe!

---------------------------

Well... I saw this one finally.. D2 aka Dhoom2.. pretty ok movie... good catchy songs and dances.. fantastic stunts... Hrithik and AB carry themselves with panache.. And Uday funny and flashy..

Some people were lamenting that Bipasha did not have much role to play.. For them, we say... 'everyone has their own role to play..their own karma to fulfill and Bips played her part to the hilt!!'

But Aish... I dont know what she was trying to portray... a frightened chicken? Guess she misunderstood 'chic chick' part of the script... ;)

Bhaskar

Microsoft & blogging

Microsoft has been having a tough time with the bloggers. The bloggers have been highly critical of MS's policies and products in the past.

Guess, MS wanted to make amends and generate some good reviews this time. So, they gave away expensive Acer Ferrari laptops loaded with its new Windows Vista operating system to some 90 bloggers. (It pays to be a reputed tech blogger ;)

Now, these bloggers are definitely happy, but others are fuming!... calling it bribery and lack of ethics on the blogger's part.. Read this and let me know what your think...

Bhaskar

Happy New Year 2007!

Hey!

May you have a spectacular and fulfilling 2007!!

Have fun, Be safe ;)
Bhaskar

Splendid! Goa

"Splendid!" Goa - The beacher's paradise

For more, check this!

Palolem beach


Here, getting ready to see the dolphins


The cottages


Butterfly beach on the other side of the island


Colva beach


Vagator beach


Anjuna beach


Calagute beach - the Queen of goa


The 500 year old body of St. Xaviers


The bridge across Panjim


Bhaskar

Lovely! Karwar

"Lovely!" one word that describes Karwar.

For more, check this!

Karwar is a small town with nothing much to offer except the Rabindranath Tagore beach.


And the children's park and museum.


The Museum is actually a warship that took part in the IndoPak wars of the 60s.


But, some 15 kms away, the Devbagh beach and Jungle lodges is an awesome setting for that perfect peaceful holiday.







Bhaskar

Off I go!

Off I go.. As planned a li'l while ago, I am going to go.... on my vacation!! you still didnt get the hint?! Arre... go jump! Its Goa re!!!

Ha ha! yes, barring the sky falling on our heads, I am going to be strolling the midas-kissed beaches and drooling over the (sun)bathing mermaids by the Arabian sea... Off Karwar and Goa..

Bookings open... for the pics ;-)

Auf Wiedersehen!!
Bhaskar

Sights and Scenes - Vol. 1

For a while, I have been wanting to create my photo blog. Well.. here it comes!

From my li'l Olympus Stylus 740, with love!!

I have uploaded some of the pics that I took during my recent visit to the US.. Brace for more ;-)

Let me know what you think...
Bhaskar

Donnie Darko!

I am midway into this movie... I started watching 'cos I liked the cast.. But the movie - it seems quite weird / intriguing (I'll say which when I finish seeing it)!!
But I liked this opening song...
---------

Under blue moon, I saw you #
So soon, you'll take me #
Up in your arms, too late to beg you #
Or cancel it, though I know it must be #

The killing time #
Unwillingly mine #
Fate #
Up against your will #
Through the thick and thin #

He will wait until #
You give yourself to him #
In starlit nights I saw you #
So cruelly you kissed me #
Your lips a magic world #
Your sky all hung with jewels #

The killing moon #
Will come too soon #
Fate #
Up against your will #
Through the thick and thin... #

-----------------------------------------

Well.. Its an intriguing movie alright! The director has tried to weave together a science fictional topic like time warps with the weird stuff like schizoprenia into an intriguing plot.. Though it has come well in most of the places, on the whole it does seem that only the cast carries it all the way to the climax.

"Donnie Darko" is an extraordinary look at one teenager as he attempts to come to grips with the theory of time travel, the search for answers to the existence of God, and the secret knowledge the world will soon end, while battling an assortment of hallucinations and delusions. The film's a dark coming-of-age tale told by way of a provocative script, and superbly acted out by Jake Gyllenhaal and a highly recognizable cast of supporting players. It's strange and twisted, yet charming, thought provoking and highly original.

To quote the first-time writer/director Richard Kelly, "Maybe it's the story of Holden Caulfield, resurrected in 1988 by the spirit of Phillip K. Dick, who was always spinning yarns about schizophrenia and drug abuse breaking the barriers of space and time. Or it's a black comedy foreshadowing the impact of the 1988 Presidential election, which is really the best way to explain it. But first and foremost, I wanted the film to be a piece of social satire that needs to be experienced and digested several times."

BTW Drew Barrymore is one of the executive producers of this movie and she is also her kissably cutie best in the movie ;-)

Ye Qaida...

Qaida in tamil slang means donkey/ass.

Abbe saalae log... tumko aur kuch kaam daam nahi hai kya... 'kisko maarna hai', 'kahaan bomb rakna hai', 'kisko udaana hai'... yahi sochthe rahte hain kya?

go bu**ers.. get a life! (not take a life)

I'm talking to you guys only... the Al Qaidis... I hear news reports (Isreali intelligence reports) that you are planning to bomb Goa around the Christmas/New Year time....

I am going to be there too and I'll kill ya if I set my eyes on ya!!

Bhaskar

The Legend

Ithe padichu eppadi naan kannir vittano adhei maadhiri neenga ellorum kanneer vidunga....


Oru voorla, oru Onion, Takkaali and Ice Cream moonum frensa irundhadhaam.. Oru naal 3-um beach ku kulikka ponaangge, appe solla solla ketkaame, Ice cream, thannile poi karanji poiduchaam..

Takkaaliyum Onion-um anggaiye porandu porandu azhuvuthu..! Veetuku varra vazhile Lorry le accident aagi, Takkaali nasunggi pochaam.. Vodane Onion, azhudhukittey God kitta poi "Ice settappe naanum Takkaaliyum azhudhom, ippo Thakkaali settappe naan azhuthen.. but naan naalaiku settennaa yenakku nu azhe yaaru irukkaa" nu kettuchaam..

Adhuku God, sari inimele nee saagum bothu yaarellaam pakkathule irukkaanggalo ellaarum azhuvaangga nu sonnaaram..!


Inimele Venggaayam narukum bothu kannula yen thanni varudhunu yaarachum kettaa.. thiru thiru nu mulichikittu irukkaame.. idhe solli escape aagidungaa.. okva?

----------------------------
For you morons who couldnt understand the sophisticated legend above, here my 'Onion legend for dummies' ;)
----------------------------



This is a legend... Let the world be filled with tears just like I was reading this sad story...

There once were 3 friends - ice cream, tomato and onion... one day, all the three went to the beach to take bath. The ice cream, not heeding to the others' pleas, went into the sea, dissolved and disappeared from the face of the earth.

Tomato and Onion were absolutely uncontrollable in their sorrow.. so much so that they were wailing at the beach for a long time.

After some time, when they could finally console themselves a li'l, the onion and tomato started their journey back home. On the way, the tomato got hit by a lorry and got sqeezed to death. Onion started weeping terribly and went up to God and said.. "when ice cream died, me and tomato were crying from the terrible loss. And now when tomato has also died, I am alone in my remorse. Tomorrow when I die, who will be there to shed tears?"

God took pity on the Onion and granted that when the Onion dies, everyone around would weep.

When you are peeling onions and the next time someone asks why we shed tears, dont keep blinking foolishly... narrate this legend and escape!

-------------------------
Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Dori for the original email and for inspiring me to translate this legend so the world can benefit!!

Bhaskar

Give me an Angel!

I only ask for an angel!!

But "A known devil is better than an unknown angel"

Yeah, give me a known angel!!!

------------------------------------------------------

Aish for Abhi

Latest predictions say that they would get engaged by March and get married by June/July.

Let me try (use my rusty logic) and predict myself...

Is Aishwarya a known devil or a known angel?

Nobody calls Aish an angel... sure she may look like one... (there are people accepting that she looks like one)

But there are people calling her the devil.. for whatever reason (what she did to Viveik, etc)

So, I would deduce she is more of a devil than an angel..

Now, Abhi... would he live with a devil? I think he is a simple shy guy who can make compromises in life. For one, I dont think he has had a girlfriend. And for another, he seems to be accepting the arranged marriage.

So, I think he would.

Hence, I deduce that their marriage would survive. :P

Jis Des Main..

One of the better takes on the rising India..


One billion reasons to care!
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1674437


Bhaskar

Clean slate!!

"













"
;-)

Ms. Basu !!

hi,
short and sweet mail.thank you.
will do. all the best to you too.
love
Bipasha.



She seems to be doing a good job... A neat site and she even responds to the fanmails www.bipashabasunet.com

Pretty impressive!!
Bhaskar

Netas Beware!

It seems to be that time of the evolution in Indian democracy when the Netas are being held more and more accountable. Or rather the message seems to be that even if you are a big-shot, you still cannot escape the arms of the law. (How I wish this is the truth!)

First, it was Salman Khan's conviction (was it? my memory seems short-lived). Then this Sanjay Dutt's conviction in the 'possession of arms' case. Now, it is Navjot Sidhu being convicted for the 1988 murder. And to top it all, Shibhu Soren is being convicted for the murder of his secretary, Jha.

Another example is the Priyadarshani Matoo's rape and murder which turned its head around and finally the accused is being booked. But, there still are those yet scot-free like the accused in the Jessica Lal's murder.

Anyways, guess this is a good turn in the life of the Indian Judiciary and our associated fate. Or is it?

Thanks

Thanksgiving day is just round the corner... and thanks to the thanksgiving, i have a couple of days off... I am going to be in chennai during the time.. I have a house-warming to attend... May be I can catch up with some of my friends too...

I wanted to drive down to the place.. but the rains and the aftermath made me drop the plans.. Hope the skies are clear, atleast.

And yes, I saw the Bond, Daniel Bond.. He is pretty cool... Maybe not as stylish as Pierce, nevertheless, pretty good. He is definitely more human and humane. It seems this was the second story written by Ian Fleming (of 13). This Bond even falls in love and gets hurt when he cannot unite with his lover. Apparently, that's why he grows cold and humping.. anyways..

I loved the movie. The stunts (esp. in Uganda) are awesome.. And the locales are breath-taking. The cars and the babes, of course... ;)

I am gonna watch this again.. and probably own a copy soon!

cheers!
Bhaskar

Been a while..

Been a while since I wrote a decent post.. But then I dont pretend to be such a decent guy anymore ;-)

First, a li'l update on things.. I am watching the new bond movie tomorrow - got exclusive couple tickets for the show from my car company! It seems Ford Mondeo is part of the star cast and hence, these guys are pretty excited about it. Let me update you after I watch the movie. BTW, there's still time if you gals wanna join me at the movie.. call me!!

I also have with myself quite a collection of movies that I got from the US. Maybe I can post a few reviews in the coming days.

That brings me to the update on my US trip... I had a whale of a time... first in Austin for abt 3 weeks and then in NY another 4 days. You would have known it seeing my photo albums linked below. One of them is from my first Halloween party ever.. Awesome! is the word... I had myself dressed up as a pirate and it was a lot of fun just preparing for it!! And then there were all kinda costumes... from the sandwich to the naughty nun ;-)

Met quite a few friends in Austin and the York.. I even spoke to a fellow blogger from here. It was nice catching up on the real world!

Forgot to mention... I got a cute li'l Olympus Stylus 740... 7.1 megapixels.. 5x optical zoom... special image capturing effects and the like... I love Olympus!! (And you 'll get to see more pics on my site ;-)

later,
Bhaskar

Classic Dave Barry's!

(This classic Dave Barry column was originally published April 16, 1995.)

It's a gloriously sunny day in Miami, and I'm standing in a semicircle of maybe 500 people on a carpet of lush, sweet-smelling, green-glinting grass, the kind that makes you want to get naked and roll around on your back like a dog.

But the people around me are not doing that. They're silent and solemn, like a church congregation, except that a lot of them are smoking cigars. They're staring intently at some tiny figures way off in the distance. I'm staring, too, but I can't quite make out what the figures are doing. Suddenly the crowd murmurs, and 500 heads jerk skyward in unison. I still can't see anything. The crowd holds its breath, waiting, waiting, and then suddenly ... PLOP ... a little white ball falls from the sky, lands in the middle of the semicircle and starts rolling. Immediately the crowd members are shouting at it angrily.

''Bite!'' they shout, spewing saliva and cigar flecks. ''BITE!!'' This is how they tell the ball they want it to stop rolling.

The ball, apparently fearing for its life, stops. The crowd members applaud and cheer wildly. They're acting as though the arrival of this ball is the highlight of their lives.

Which maybe it is. These are, after all, golf fans. And this ball was personally hit by -- prepare to experience a heart seizure -- JACK NICKLAUS.

This exciting moment in sports occurred at the Doral-Ryder Open golf tournament, an event on the professional golf tour, wherein the top golfers from all over the world gather together to see who can take the longest amount of time to actually hit the ball.

I don't know about you, but when I play golf -- which I have done a total of three times in my life -- I don't waste a lot of time. I just grab a club, stride briskly to the ball, take a hearty swing, then check to see if the ball has moved from its original location. If it hasn't, I take another hearty swing, repeating this process as necessary until the ball is gone, which is my cue to get out another ball, because I know from harsh experience that I will never in a million years find the first one. I keep this up until there are no balls left, which is my cue to locate the part of the golfing facility where they sell beer. In other words, I play an exciting, nonstop-action brand of golf that would be ideal for spectators, except that most of them would be killed within minutes.

Your professional golfer, on the other hand, does not even THINK about hitting a ball until he has conducted a complete geological and meteorological survey of the situation-circling the ball warily, as though it were a terrorist device, checking it out from every possible angle, squatting and squinting, checking the wind, taking soil samples, analyzing satellite photographs, testing the area for traces of O.J. Simpson's DNA, etc. Your professional golfer takes longer to line up a six-foot putt than the Toyota corporation takes to turn raw iron ore into a Corolla.

I know that it may sound boring to watch grown men squat for minutes on end, but when you see a pro tournament in person -- when you're actually watching these world-class golfers line up their shots -- it is, in fact, UNBELIEVABLY boring. At least it was for me. I would rank it, as a spectator sport, with transmission repair.

''HIT THE BALL, ALREADY!'' is what I wanted to shout at Jack Nicklaus, but I did not, because the crowd would have turned on me, and my lifeless body would have been found later buried in a sand trap, covered with cigar burns, because these fans worship the golfers, and they seem to be truly fascinated by the squatting and squinting process.

The more time that passed with virtually nothing happening, the more excited the golf fans became, until finally, when Jack got ready to take the extreme step of actually hitting the ball, everybody was nearly crazy with anticipation, although nobody was making a peep, because putting is an extremely difficult and highly technical activity that -- unlike, for example, brain surgery -- must be performed in absolute silence.

And so, amid an atmosphere of tension comparable to that of a Space Shuttle launch, Jack finally bent over the ball, drew back his putter and gently tapped the ball.

''GET IN THE HOLE!'' the crowd screamed at the ball. ``GET IN THE HOLE!''

The ball, of course, did not go in the hole. Your world-class golfers miss a surprising number of short putts. Too much squatting, if you ask me.

''NO!'' shouted the crowd, when the ball stopped, maybe an inch from the hole.

Some men seemed to be near tears; some were cursing openly. These people were FURIOUS at the ball. They did not blame Jack. Jack worked HARD to line up this putt, and here this idiot ball LET HIM DOWN.

But Jack was magnanimous. He tapped the ball in, and the fans applauded wildly, as well they should have, because it is not every day that you see a person cause a little ball to roll six feet.

When Jack had acknowledged the applause, the next famous world-class golfer in his group, John Daly, began considering the many, many complex factors involved in his putt, which he will probably be ready to attempt no later than June. Let me know if he makes it. I'll be in the grass just beyond the refreshment area, rolling around like a dog.

Looooooooooong time...

Hola! guys

Been a long time... How have you been?

Here is my manuscript of the time that went by!

http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=sbhaskar77&P=&AID=4047641&CID=0&T=1&E=Y
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=sbhaskar77&P=&AID=4019256&CID=0&T=1&E=Y

Feel free to check the other folders ;-)

cheers!
Bhaskar

Go Horns!

Yeah! Go Horns!!
Thats the war cry for the Longhorns - the (American) Football League team of Austin. The people are so crazy about football... And Texans especially!

I shall post more updates / pics of my trip... so, keep watching!!!

Bhaskar

Awesome Pondy!!

well... kgpians would definitely get misled by the title.. apologies for the klpd, but i am talking about Pondicherry.

it was my second visit to the place and sure, i wish to go back there again asap! the first time, i had explored the city on a bicycle. this time, i explored the place on my car. but both the times, the nerve center was the aurobindo ashram by the sea. the exotic french setting of the locality adds sheen to the whole experience. (some road names around the secretariat are like "rue de saint loius", "rue suffren",...!)

apart from the drive on the road-by-the-sea, this time we also wanted to get down into the waters. and that took us to the auroville beach, but by the time we reached there people were moving out already (night :() anyways, that did not deter us from getting our feet (and much more!) wet. but we did miss seeing the french babes by the beach ;-)

we also heard and saw the sign board to another chunnambar beach the other side of the city. i guess my next trip would take us first to the beach and then everything else.

another high point of the place was our dinner at hotel saravana bhavan. awesome food at nominal prices. we made the most of it!! (it would fill another couple of paras to just name all the grub we ate.. the waiter couldnt conceal his surprise (shock?) ;)

and you know? premium petrol is just abt 47 bucks there... heaven!!
i can go on and on... but then, you should experience it for the ultimate impact!

well... next on cards...
mumbai and amsterdam enroute the usofa this weekend ;-)

later,
Bhaskar

Time..

It is that time of the year (should i say that time of the month... or week..?!) when the travel bug bites me...

This friday me (well there are others too) and my fiesta are off to Neyveli and Pondicherry.. visiting my uncle in the nice cozy township of the lignite mines and catching some sea breeze across the mini state.

Well.. I shall update you on my return.. There are more trips in the offing ;-)
Take care.. Be good!

Bhaskar

KarNatka

What the hell is the problem with these guys.... some stupid rule enacted in 1994 or something.. and then, one idiot wants to close down thousands of schools in Bangalore because their medium of instruction is english.

And then they would go on hunger strike that kannadigas are not given the employment of choice in IT and other MNCs. (hungry? not them... its the MNCs and Corporates that should go hungry for talent)

I mean... do they actually think that they would encourage kannada culturalism and promote karnataka's heritage by making the students study in kannada? With the mannina-magas (sons of the soil) swallowing acres of government land... with kannada politicians supposedly taking 150cr in bribe from the bellary mine-owners... and all that... these idiots think we would be proud to be a kannadiga???

What kind of an example do these people set for the youngsters? Who are the role-models available for this generation?
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It was so funny to see some muslim organizations take on violent protests to lodge their complaint against the Pope's remarks and supposedly calling Islam a pro-violence religion.

Who goes on Jehad.. or the holy war? whose teachings are those? Definitely not the Pope's. Atleast christianity doesnt openly declare such things!

Bhaskar

Dell Plant in Chennai!

With the growth prospects in India, Dell has its eyes set on the huge market here.. We are already the No.1 in the large corporates segment. Now, we shall be gunning for the other segments as well!!
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/14dell.htm
Need I say more?!

Bhaskar

Losing my Identity

From the time I switched to the Google blogger Beta (from the original blogger) I have having quite a few issues in posting my blogs as well as commenting on others..
I cannot login with my original blogger signin, and when i try to enter the google signin details it errors out even though it recognises my account.

But the biggest problem is.. one of losing my IDENTITY! I had created the personal details in my name and the blog details in my blog-pen-name Joey T. Now, the personal details reflect only Joey. Gosh! Can it be worse??
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I am having fun.. but it doesnt seem so significant any more.. Whats the big deal in having fun anyways?! may be its the mid-60 crisis ;)
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I know why I was not born as a prince in a royal family.. I would have been bored to death.. atleast for the last 28 years I have had something to strive for :P

Bhaskar

layla

Been out on a long drive over an extended weekend... was good!
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"Nee paathuttu ponaalum
paaakkaama ponaalum
naa paathukittae dhaan iruppaen!"

just b'cos people like me give 'bhav' to some of the babes, they start eating more 'bhav'... no more free bhavs...!!
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Are you in Bangalore? Do you get Bangalore Times.. the Times supplement?
Then, you would have definitely seen couple of ghosts...
These ghosts almost always appear on page 3 parties.... in two different pics..
Quite a pathetic sight they are... One of them has color color 'journo' bags around him... And the other with a silver goatee.. quite some grey hairs... (man, he is so old?? stay at home gran'pa!)

Can you guess these ghosts?

Bhaskar

FUofA

When it is about them, they take all the extremes.. anti-terror strikes, breach borders/LOCs, disregard cease-fires.... well, no secret.. I'm talking abt the 'U's of the world.. US/UK.. Irony - for the 'U's of the world, its always abt 'I'!!

And then, when it comes to POK terror camps, they just say 'Its between the two of you. We support world peace'. World peace..my ass.

-----------------------------------

All the hue and cry about pesticides in Colas... and then people drink by the gallon, one of the most polluted waters in the world.. Mahim Creek.. just bcos it tastes sweet!!!

Now that we touched the subject... how do pesticides get into colas? from the water they use.. how do pesticides enter the water? the pesticides used (over-used) by the farmers seep into the water table

do you think pesticides are found only in colas? it is there in your water... it is there in your MILK... yeah, afterall, the cows feed on the same grass / leaves and drink the same water, if not cola..


Bhaskar

Before Sunset.. Before Sunrise!

Two awesome movies... for the absolute romantics. I would say, one for the teen romantics and another for the frustrated adolescent romantics.

Once a romantic, always a romantic.. just that they get frustrated with the turn of events in their life sooner or later...

Well... I am probably in the second category and so I just loved the second part in the series! And I am going to start my review in the same order.. excuse me!

Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy.. I never knew that such wonderful actors existing before I set my eyes on the "Before Sunset". Especially Julie Delpy, such a wonderful actor.. I can still picturise the way she moves her lips while singing the "Waltz for a night". So lovely.. I'm smitten!!

BTW "Hum Tum" the hindi movie is kinda inspired by this one... among many other movies...

So, Jesse is a celebrated writer.. He has just penned a NYT Bestseller about a night he spent with Celine some 10 yrs back in Vienna (Thats the story of the first part, before sunrise).. And he is on a world tour promoting his book..

He is on the last leg of his tour in France, Paris and he gets to meet Celine again.. Thus he succeeds in tracing her. You know.. its 10 yrs since they met... Now she has a steady boyfriend and Jesse is married too and has a 4yr old son. Thats the backdrop of this part.. "before sunset". And they get to spend another hour or so again.. and they talk about their current lives and the time after their last meeting, the magical night in Vienna.

You know this movie was taken with the same lead characters exactly after 10 yrs in real life!

Wonderful dialogues...
"Well, at least now we don't have to pretend that each new sexual experience is like a life altering event"
"By now you would have stuck it in so many places that it's like about to fall off"!!!!

"Before Sunset" is the dawn of reality.

Now, going (back) to "Before Sunrise".. Celine is a french PYT on her way back to Paris.. Jesse is a confused American going to Vienna on way to board the flight back to US. Jesse is confused partly b'cos after a year of separation, he visits his girlfriend in europe, only to find out that his girlfriend is no longer his girlfriend.

And they meet in the train.

He convinces her to spend the rest of the night with him in Vienna and what a night it is!!

At the end of the time, they dont exchange their phone numbers or addresses 'cos they are afraid that they would end up like the love couples around them.. with love fizzling out... And they plan to meet exactly after 6 mths at the same place.. Vienna...

Absolutely *Must Watch*
Bhaskar

Swiss bits

Guess who my cousin met during her weekend swiss trip?

dont know? Surya and Jyothika.. Tamil movie actors and quite good at that!
They are shooting in Swiss for the movie 'Jillendru Oru Kadhal ...' [Also starring Bhoomika (who took the place of Asin who didnt want to be a second heroine in the movie) and Music by AR Rahman]

And the rumour is that Surya and Jyothika are a "real" couple.

so, she sent these photographs to us.
Surya
Jyothika

The pics caused quite a furore in my office. Work was suspended for some minutes amidst pandemonium and parliamentary(sic!) atmosphere. All the above information was unearthed and discussed in the ensuing minutes with people taking turns to see the pics. A couple of them even staged a walk-out saying "enga gounder jaadi payyan poyum poyum oru hindi kaara ponnoda suththaraana?" [in lighter vein - How can our guy go around with that North Indian girl?]

Thankfully my manager was not around (he's in the US now). But our director (from the US) was and he was giving suspicious looks!!

Bhaskar :)