General 'Stuff'

If "All Indians are my brothers and sisters", what about Americans and folks from the rest of the world?!!
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“Kites,” the adventure film from Mumbai-based Reliance Big Pictures, took in almost $1 million during the weekend to become the first Bollywood movie to open in the top 10 in the U.S. and Canada.

The film, introduced in 207 theaters, had sales of $958,673, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said yesterday in an e-mail.

For more news check here


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The worse is not over yet.. or so it seems...

"Yes, the eurozone crisis of PIIGS [Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain] is a primary cause of that—even Jean-Claude Trichet agrees with my assertion back in February that the E.U. may be facing a double-dip. But more than a few small European economies may be at stake. The recent problems faced by Greece are only the tip of a sovereign-debt iceberg in many advanced economies (and a smaller number of emerging markets). Bond-market vigilantes roiling Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Iceland have pushed government bond yields higher and forced Germany, France, and the IMF to step in with an unprecedented array of rescue measures. But outside the eurozone, the United Kingdom, and yes, eventually Japan and the United States, will all face the same music eventually if fiscal policy remains on its current unsustainable path."

For more, read here
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From the same link above...

"One of the great ironies of the age, as I mentioned in Crisis Economics, is that fact that while the U.S. proved to be the catalyst for the global financial crisis, it has also benefited from the fact that the crisis is denominated in U.S. dollars. No end to that reality is in sight, no matter how infuriating it proves to Chinese and other emerging-market policymakers."
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It is tragic - the accident involving the Air India flight from Dubai to Mangalore.



In case you had not heard, check on the tragedy here

World War IV?

Will the great recession lead to World War IV?
by Michael Lind

Michael Lind is policy director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation and author of "The American Way of Strategy."

".. As the oversold promise of free-market globalization fades, countries large and small may turn increasingly toward state capitalism. At home, this would mean permanent state support of troubled industries like banking and the automobile industries, which all of the major industrial countries have bailed out. In trade, this would mean a retreat from global trade areas toward regional blocs and bilateral deals. Examples include agreements between energy-hungry governments like those of China and Japan and the state-owned oil or natural gas companies of Saudi Arabia and Russia. In a world of diplomatic rivalries among great powers to win contracts with state-owned corporations, the distinctions between geoeconomics and geopolitics would erode, with potentially dangerous consequences. Direct war between great powers seems unlikely, but if the Cold War was World War III, then a cold World War IV resembling Orwell’s shifting coalitions of Eurasia, Eastasia and Oceania in 1984 is all too easy to imagine.

These trends are clear but the transatlantic establishment refuses to confront them. Instead, elites on both sides of the Atlantic hope that the great recession will turn out to have been merely a particularly nasty business cycle downturn. They pray that soon we can return to something like the illusory prosperity of the late 1990s and 2000s without having to engage in any radical rethinking or reform. Our political and opinion leaders think they are leading us back home. They haven’t noticed, or refuse to admit, that what used to be home is now a large, smoking crater. "

Pretty interesting article.. Read the full article here

Stingy...

Am I so stingy in expressing myself....??

Sorry guys n gals.... just been busy... but I will see you seen!

Indian Speed Dating Event in the Bay Area!

Sorry ladies... I'm 'taken' already... you just were not lucky enough! Anyways, I wish you the best!! ;-)
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Are you a single from an Indian Origin and looking for your perfect Matrimonial Partner? Attend this Grand Indian Matrimonial Speed Dating Event and Meet several singles like you who will be there for the same reason as you are.

When: Sunday, May 2nd 2010

Where: Radisson Hotel, 1471 N 4th St, San Jose, CA, 95112 Time: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Admission Criteria: Male: 27 to 38

Female: 25 to 37

Fee: $45 ($35 if you enter this special promotion code: kingm )

Dress Code: Gentlemen - Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so.

Ladies - Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses, ethnic dress!

Not permitted for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats.

Hurry!! Seats are very limited. Don’t miss this opportunity.
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Well, I'm not going to give the organizers free publicity... But, if you are interested, leave me a comment along with your email address and I'll send you the website ;-)

And if you want it that way, I will not reveal your comment either :-)

Raavan and Lankapuri

Sri Lanka is beautiful. After a long time, peace seems to be returning to the country and hopefully, tourism will also be back to its glorious days. When I visited Sri Lanka recently, I was enthralled by the natural beauty of the place. They have some great beaches too. [I dont have the pictures with me right now; will post soon as wifey gets my camera back] We spent time at Colombo, Kandy and Bentota (Beruwala) -western and south western parts of the country.



I was also intrigued by what I had heard earlier in different versions of Ramayan - the references to Lanka and Raavan, the king that abducted Sita. Though I did get to spend much time in researching about this before or during my visit, I looked up some sites after. I also saw quite a few artistic references to Ramayana - like the jataayu-like birds and craft.

According to the Ramayana, king Rāvana brought Sita Devi from India in a “Pushpaka Vimana” which is widely known in Sri Lanka as the “Dandu Monara Yanthranaya”, or Large Peacock Machine in Sinhala.

Ashok Vatika was a garden in Lanka, the Kingdom of demon king, Ravana, as mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and Hindu epic, Ramayana of Valmiki, and all subsequent versions. It was the location, where Sita, the wife of Rama was held captive by Ravana, after her abduction, also because she refused to stay in Ravana's palace, and preferred to stay under the Ashoka tree, hence the name. It was here that Ravana's wife Mandodari came to meet her and also where Hanuman met her for the first time, and identified himself with the finger ring of Rama.

Its present day location is believed to be the Hakgala Botanical Garden, the area is known as Seetha Eliya, close to the resort city of Nuwara Eliya. [Nuwara Eliya is overlooked by Pidurutalagala, the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka]. The Gardens is situated at the base of the Hakgala Rock forms, has Sita Pokuna, a barren area atop the Hakgala Rock Jungle, where Sita was supposedly held captive, the 'Sita Amman Temple' is located here. Other connected site is a spot where Sita bathed in a stream at Sita Eliya, called Sita Jharna.

You can read more interesting accounts here. Dont miss the video too!

Time Traveler?

Reopening of the South Fork Bridge after flood in Nov. 1940. 1941

The above photo was taken in 1940. Some people say the hipster-looking fellow with the sunglasses on the right side of the photo is a time traveler because his hair, shades, clothing, and camera didn't exist at the time.

Forgetomori says 'he is not'... you decide!!

Reception pics!

Just back in the US after my wedding and reception and celebrations and....
lo! I have 24 comments on my blog to be moderated... and 22 of them are spam... why is my blog so popular to the spammers??!

Well, guys.. Whiel I am still recovering from all that stuff, here are some pics from the reception... well, these are not my reception pics... I am only an ordinary Indian, u c..... and I need my privacy... but this is of the Indian tennis star and the Pak cricket star... ;-)

Modern-day Spy Story

From the moment Mahmoud al-Mabhouh stepped off a plane in Dubai on Jan. 20, his killers—probably from Israel’s Mossad—had him in their sights. Al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official who had arrived from Damascus allegedly to arrange an arms shipment to Gaza, perished hours later in his room at the Al Bustan Rotana hotel, electrocuted and strangled by the seven men who were waiting for him after a day following him around Dubai. The assassins covered their tracks well. They flew in from Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and Zurich on forged passports. They wore disguises. They switched hotels multiple times. They carried cell phones but never called each other directly.

But they were being watched, and now the video of their exploits is available online.
To read other great spy stories, check here (Newsweek)

Whats going on?

Heya! guys

Whats going on in the world? Well... too many things, I guess.
Same with me... way too many stufff.... Anyways...

Did I tell ya guys that quite a few of my friends all over have started on their own... It is exciting to know they are taking charge and doing all the things that matter to them and more!! Inspiring!!!!

Here is a small list of their ventures/companies...

Trefis.com

MyZingo

BerrySki

ClickIndia

Pristine Careers

WOTD - MOSH !

Word of the Day - Moshing

Moshing or Moshpitting or slamming refers to the activity in which audience members at live music performances aggressively push and/or slam into each other. Moshing is frequently accompanied by stage diving, crowd surfing, mic swinging, instrument smashing, and headbanging. It is most commonly associated with concerts featuring more aggressive genres, such as punk and heavy metal..

For more, read here

Meet me Halfway!

Another song I loved.....

Skype Testing

Chat

Wow! these DJs...

2 cool little kids from Japan.... DJ Sara and DJ Ryusei. It seems they were brought in for the after party show - Grammys 2008. The little boy was 6 and the little girl was 9 then. And they set the party off! That was then.....

Love this song...

Spread the Stupidity..

I have seen this before... some are still funny to read the second time - Thanks CU
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***EVER WONDER...

*Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
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*Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed?
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*Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?
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*Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?
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*Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?
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*Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
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*Why the man who invests all your money is called a broker?
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*Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
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*Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
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*Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?
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*Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
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*You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!
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*Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
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*Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
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If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
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*If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?
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* Only in America ......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the
back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy
cigarettes at the front.
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* Only in America .....do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and
a diet coke.
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*Only in America ......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the
driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
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*Only in America .....do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille
lettering.
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Now that you've smiled at least once, it's your turn to spread the stupidity and send this to someone you want to bring a smile to (maybe even a chuckle)...in other words, send it to everyone. We all need to smile every once in a while.
*Spread the Stupidity.*

At ignition point....

Its gonna kill me.... some day... !!
Thanking myself for surviving through another day, being away....
Being away so far... yet so near...
Ah! and you are... yet so near!!!

© 2010 Bhaskar Sreedharan

The Art of War!

Now that I am getting married soon, I wanted to build some sound knowledge and fundamentals.... so I started browsing 'The Art of War'... ;-)

You can catch some details here
Sun-tzu, The Art of War

But, here are some quotes that are enlightening!

This is supposedly the last verse of Chapter 3
故曰：知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆。(故曰：知彼知己，百战不殆；不知彼而知己，一胜一负；不知彼，不知己，每战必殆。)
So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.

Therefore one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful.

Help Haiti....

January 12, 2010, at 4:53pm ET

There was a terrible earthquake in Haiti.. The International Red Cross has stated that as many as 3 million people have been affected by the quake, with as many as 100,000 deaths according to the prime minister.

I saw some really saddening and gory pictures at [Warning: viewer's discretion advised]

Boston.com's Big Picture on Haiti: http://bit.ly/6Q3gMf

/via twitter @marshallk @chrismessina @brynn
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Filed at 10:03 p.m. ET

Doctors Without Borders found two public hospitals in good condition after the powerful earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital, and officials with the group said Wednesday they would begin treating about 500 people who need emergency surgery.

But one of the mission's directors said the humanitarian group doesn't have enough medical staff, equipment and medicine to properly care for the injured. The mission has about 800 medical workers in Haiti, but a large number haven't been located since Tuesday's quake, Stefano Zannini said.

''Most of them are dispersed somewhere, are lost somewhere,'' he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. ''We are not sure where they are.''

About 800 injured people have come to the mission's offices for treatment, Zannini said. They've scattered themselves around a courtyard, sleeping in tents, on top of rugs, on the floor and on plastic sheeting, waiting to be transferred to one of the two hospitals identified as being safe enough to withstand the aftershocks that have rattled Haiti.

''We saw every kind of person: Women, men, young, old, children, pregnant women coming and asking for help,'' Zannini said.

More than 500 people need immediate surgical intervention. But in the next couple of days, the mission will run out of gasoline to transport patients and food and water, Zannini said.

Doctors Without Borders said earlier in the day that hundreds of Haitians were being treated in tents for broken bones, burns and other less-serious injuries.

Several area hospitals collapsed in the earthquake, and authorities haven't determined how many other hospitals were left standing around the capital.
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This is how you can help: check BBC's page on how you can help the survivors in Haiti deal with the terrible loss

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8456730.stm

Just be Ready!

There once was a time
when you were covered with carbon
the black diamond waiting to be discovered
I just rusted the edges
and removed what was not you
only to see you blushing!

Soon you will be
getting on the proverbial horse
fluttering in attire embroidered
Just be ready
for the ride, Ma Babe
'cos life will come gushing!!

© 2010 Bhaskar Sreedharan :-)

Ms. Capucine

A breathtaking story by Capucine. Starring baby monkeys lost in frightening trees, a witch, "krokhodeel", a tiger, a "zipopotam" and a lion, and even a "tremendously very bad mammoth". There are also magic powers and an orange ring, but sometimes, "something goes amiss".