August 24, 2010 at 3:46 pm (short poetry)
Tags: Friendship, Poetry
Like the froth on the beer
Like the times that bring cheer
Like the jokes we cracked in trance,
a pint of beer you started to dance.
Like the somersaults on the white sands
Like the bond that unites many hands
the fun and frolic, the joy and mirth,
that you never seem to be in dearth!
Our good times we always care,
for, a friend like you is very rare!
January 29, 2010 at 5:57 pm (India and my thoughts, Opinions)
Tags: India, Kashmir, Mile Sur, MIT, National Integrity, North East, NRI
I posted my views on the new version of “Mile Sur” in YU.
March 5, 2009 at 12:44 am (Planet)
Tags: 2012, 21st December, Atlantis, Attenborough, Borneo, Euthanasia, giant snake, Global Warming, Google Ocean, Hudson river, Mangalore, Mayan Civilization, moral policing, New York City, plane, Sasquatch, Snow man, Washington, Yeti
Well, to start with, this will be my first post on YU.
Recession and terrorism have been the buzz words in the past three months.Apart from these, here are a few interesting tidbits of news that caught my attention, and hopefully yours too, during my 3 months of break from the blogging world.
Well, if you are reading this, you are lost! The actual post is present at YU site (please click the hyperlink above). 🙂
December 10, 2008 at 10:59 pm (Me Myself and my Blog, Tagged)
Tags: betray, infidelity, Kajol, love, secret, Tag
It has been a while since Sakhi and Mahak tagged me and here it goes! Apologies for doing this so late!
RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.
RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and they cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by, cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by, and must continue this game by sending it to other people.
If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
Frankly, quite depressing!! And as a solution, I will betray her too!
If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
Just one dream!? If it’s just one, I would want more peace to prevail on Earth. If given an other chance too, I would, yet again say, want to become a singer.
But, on a lighter note, I would want to catch the train! Well, I do not know why I always dream of missing the train!
What is your idea of a perfect date? (Whose butt would you like to kick?)
An imperfect date is just perfect to cherish for years to come! Well, whose butt would I kick? Definitely not my date’s!
What would you do with a billion dollars?
I would marry a billonaire woman 😉
Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Head over heals!!
Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
A loves B but B loves C. If being loved is more blessed, then B should love A and C too should love B. Thus if C loves B, B should love C too. So B ends up loving both A and C which is infidelity.
Now, if loving someone is blessed, then A should keep loving B but B would keep loving C and not A.
Thus, love has no logic. Just go by what your heart says! And remember that we are responsible for our actions!
How long do you intend to wait for someone you really love?
Well, I would want to remove the word “really” in the question, for, love is always real! Hope this answers the question too!
If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
Grrr! Sounds like “A loves B but B loves C” situation again! 😀 Anyways, I would try to arrest all the love within myselves, and when it starts overflowing, I will channelize it to a much bigger audience – The Society!
If you like to act with someone, who will it be? Your gf/bf or an actress/actor?
Kajol will win over my girlfriend, this one time!! Anyhow, guys always keep acting before girls in real life! 😀 (to be taken on a lighter note!)
What’s your favorite love quote? What takes you down the fastest?
Love is the medicine for both heart-make and heart break!! Apparently, my own quote! Ha ha!
How would you see yourself in ten years’ time?
Living happily with my parents, wifey, kids and all my friends!! It’s just fine even if I don’t become a singer! My kid would become one!
What’s your fear?
Losing anyone I love is my worst fear!
What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Sakhi – A sensible girl with the right perception, apparently from the kind of stories she writes!
Mahak – Shopaholic, and loves gifts! Forgive me, if I am wrong, and if you ever read this post.
Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
I would rather be married but poor. Love itself is rich anyways!
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
“Oh Gosh! I am late today!” 😀
Would you give all in a relationship?
Without an iota of doubt!
If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?
Fall in love with two people results in ‘infidelity’ but not love. I still wonder how people fall in love with two people “simultaneously”! Ha ha!
Would you forgive and forget, no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?
I can’t answer this question! You might call it over confidence, but I am sure the person, if I tag as ‘special someone’, wouldn’t ever do anything unforgivably horrible!
If you get to go back in time and fall in love all over again, would it still be with the same person?
And finally, this tidbit – I am yet to fall in love! 😀
List 6 people to tag:
Arvind, Anar, Sekhar, Reema, Xylene, Suda
December 1, 2008 at 2:48 am (Duties and Citizens, India and my thoughts, Opinions, Terrorism)
Tags: attack, awareness, bullet-proof, common man, democracy, introspection, Mumbai, right to vote, security, Terror attack, Terrorism, vote
Many questions to be answered, many situations to be assessed, many revelations to be made, many introspections to be done – the ‘remorseless’ terror attacks have left behind all this, along with the ruined Heritage building that stands tall as a testimony to the conspicuous and flagrant violation of Humanity, owing to the pot-holes in the security protocol. All this, not withstanding to the warnings from the Intelligence days before. The attacks were quickly followed by shameless castiagtions by the political parties among themselves.
Many questions pondered my mind during these heinous attacks. Who would be responsoble for this blatant failure in securing the Nation? While it is very easy to point out the politicians and a failed system, we conveniently forget how irresponsible, we, the common people are, by ourselves. How compassionate and vigilant are we, of our surroundings? How responsible are we, for our own Nation? It is a time for introspection for every individual who thinks, he holds his Nation in pride.
Did you exercise your right to vote? If not, you do not have the right to raise your voice on the security situation of the Nation today. Over 60 percent of 10.5 million eligible voters in Delhi exercised their votes Saturday. That says 40 percent of them have not cared to vote for reasons whatsoever. 40 percent of 10.5 million is not a small number, and that in Delhi alone. Going by the basic premise that expectations come with responsibilities, millions of people who still do not exercise their right to vote do not have a right to raise their voice either.
And then, how many of us have really been compassionate to the happenings around? How many of us have been vigilant in public places like bus stops and malls? It is not practically feasible to frisk each and every individual in a country with huge population. Installing CCTV cameras at every nook and corner might still not work as a solution if a common man lacks the basic awareness.
Politicians have been so quick in pointing fingers at a neighbouring country. While they might be right or wrong, the issue here is that we need an introspection of ourselves. While the situation might demand toughness in attitude towards a neighbouring country, it is also important that we face our short-comings.
It is not the political system that needs an immediate change, but the thought process of a common man. If we are not going to change, the political system too is not going to change. Until then we all have to put up with the vainglorious political promises.
Finally, do we need to go through all thes terror attacks to understand that our security system is a fiasco? Do we, really, have to lose all those efficient officers to understand the pathetic condition of the bullet-proof jackets the world’s largest democracy has? Aren’t the sacrifices of the great freedom fighters, by themselves, not enough?
Enough is enough! Is the comman man doing something besides lighting candles at the site and expressing displeasure?
November 24, 2008 at 12:14 am (Opinions, Random thoughts)
Tags: Bolt, Disney, John Trovolta, Mark Walton, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman
My first post was about Walt Disney World and what better can it get than to do a come-back post with something related to Disney?
After an inevitable break, something intrigued me finally again! Coincidentally, Disney!
Well, I give a thunderous applause to the makers of “Bolt”. One of the truely finest animation movies I have seen in, atleast, the past 3 years. It strikes a chord, like a thunder bolt, with the audiences of all age groups. The CG animation was just perfect!
Bolt ( John Trovolta) is the story of, well, Bolt, a superhero Dog in a TV series who thinks he really has those powers in him. Eventually, he takes his task to save “his person” and co-star, Penny (Miley Cyrus) from the “green-eyed” enemy a little too seriously. All is well until one day when Bolt acidentally gets shipped to New York. The production team loses its superhero dog, Penny loses her best friend and Bolt loses his world. Confused, but confident, Bolt begins its journey across the states to reunite with Penny.On his course he meets and makes friends with an abandoned cat Mittens (Susie Essman) and a die-hard telivision follower Rhino, a hamster (Mark Walton) which, itself, thinks Bolt really has the super powers.
Susie Essman’s voice-over for Mittens-the cat stands apart! Mittens steals the heart of the audiences eventually. It plays an important role in making Bolt realise that he does not, really, have any of those super powers.
The rest of the story is about the wonderful journey of love and revelation, of adventure and hope on how this simple white dog ‘Bolt’ really becomes a superdog! A big thumbs up for this heart-warming journey collaborated with spectacular CG effects. Way to go, Disney!!
PS: Mind you, this is not a Movie review! Just an opinion.
Image Courtesy: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/bolt/
September 23, 2008 at 10:08 pm (Duties and Citizens, Random thoughts)
Tags: civic sense, clean, deforestation, environment, litter, surroundings, trash bin, trees
Well, yet again, I blame it on my work schedules for being so “regularly” inconsistent here. But I am happy that I am finally here after two long weeks. And I will be here for good!
My post follows….
A loud burst of laughter! Was that what my answer should have evoked? I still have no answer. Did Ameya and Ashwin actually laugh at me? I do not know it, for, my comprehension was already usurped by my pensive mind. Should I have given a more practical answer? Afterall, what they asked me was whom I missed, the most, all these years being away from my home.
I have never stared at anything so long in my life till now, or so I felt.
“It was a terrible sight”, Ashwin patted me on my shoulder, “but we couldn’t stop it, afterall they cut the tree for a good cause”.
“But we couldn’t stop!” These were the words that alarmed me. Can we really not stop? Don’t we really have any power? And the “good cause” was to lay a damn road full of pot holes. And what did I lose? My best friend from years! I played under that tree and I have my memories associated to it. And now I see it withered and broken infront of me. It is a history now!
****
It was a wonderful evening for me after years! It was just me, Mom and Dad strolling in a park.
Mom was telling how she preferred white paint on the kitchen walls. Dad wanted them to be painted with light blue.
Something caught my attention and I turned back and looked the grass beneath. A half-eaten potato chips bag was lying there. A few yards away I saw two polythene bags fluttering from inside the sand.An empty trash bin with its open mouth was sarcastically staring at me.
“Dad, why do people lack civic sense?”, I was irritated, “Why the heck do we have trash bins then”?
I picked the bags and threw them in the trash bin.
“If you start cleaning the park like this, you would end up toiling the whole day”, Dad thought he cracked a joke.
“Dad, you sound as if you support all those fools who shrugg off from the basic responsibilities towards our surroundings”, I made a point.
“You picked those three bags and threw them into the trash”, he brushed my hair, “but honey! the whole town is full of irresponsible people”, he continued, “What can we do with all of them?”
He made a point. A very good one infact. Another “What can we do”!!
****
It was raining heavily when I came out of my office. I looked at my watch. Three more minutes for the bust to come and the bus stop was three blocks away. I cursed myself for not carrying a jacket. I ran as fast as I could. Two blocks away from the bus stop! I waited there gasping for the pedestrain signal to turn on so that I would rush towards my bus stop. I saw an old blind lady trying to cross the road. I held her palm and told her that the signal was not yet on.
As the signals came on I took the old lady along with me. The old lady stumbled on the middle of the road. My bad, I thought! I was walking so hastily as I would miss the bus.I slowed down, caught her by her shoulder and left her at the sidewalk on the other side of the road. I was running towards the bus stop unaware of the fact that I would end up remembering that day for my life time.
“Beta”, the old woman called me, “Would you please take me back to the other side from where we crossed?”, she asked.
“But you wanted to cross to this side, right?”, I was impatient as I could see my bus at a distance.
“Yes Beta”, she sounded compassionate, “but I stumbled upon a big stone on the middle of the road”, she continued, “if you could help me, I would want to take the stone off the road”.
I took her to the traffic island on the middle of the road and she did what she said. I stared,yet gain for a long time, at her, until I lost sight of her.
I saw my bus leaving. But it didn’t matter, for I got a point that day. I got an answer to THE question. I marched towards the bus stop with triumph. I could then tell Dad, Ashwin and Ameya on “what we, actually, can do”!
September 6, 2008 at 11:24 pm (iPhone3G, Random thoughts)
Tags: 3G, App Store, Apple, Applications, Apps, EDGE, Fuzzyshot, glitch, iMazeLite, iPhone3G, iTunes, Padora, Remote, Shazam, Tap Tap Revenge, VoiceNotes, YouNote
I fiddled with my newly possessed iPhone today and downloaded a few cool applications. All these are free download at App Store. Here they go…
1) Pandora – This online personalized radio station that allows you to listen to just your kind of music (live streaming, that is) does support few mobile phones in AT&T and Sprint networks. Well, iphone is one among them. You can create your own radio station per your taste or Genre. If you select “Backstreet Boys” and save that radio station, you get to hear songs of Genre a la Backstreet Boys. This one has become quite popular. This was the first application I downloaded in my Iphone.
2) Shazam – You hear a good song at Starbucks but do not know the name of it? Well then, Shazam helps you figure it out. Not just this, you can even download the song from iTunes. The application shows it all for you. Cool one, isn’t it? The next time I need not have to desperately search in the You Tube from the only few broken words of the song I remember.
3) Remote – This is one of the coolest applications that allow you to control your Mac or iTunes library on your PC using your iPhone. You heard it right! Your iPhone acts as a remote. You need to connect to a Wi-Fi network though. You can play any song in your iTunes library, pause it or stop it from anywhere in your home. All this through your iPhone.
4) Fuzzyshot – This is a mobile photo blog. Want to share that oh-so-wonderful photo that you just captured in Los Angeles to your family in India right on the spot? This application helps you. The images you click on your iPhone get automatically updated into your Fuzzyshot blog in seconds.
5) YouNote – This application allows you to make a picture note or an audio note or the one that is drawn or just that normal text notes. All in one, it is! What more, you can even tag the note to a location in Google map.
6) VoiceNotes – Why ‘write’ a note when you can ‘record’ it! This application helps you record a note. The next time I want to remember an address, I would say it aloud and record it rather than type it.
7) Tap Tap Revenge – This a game based on music and rythm.You find three coloured beams that rattle ocassionally with power. So what/ Patience, I say! A song keeps playing and bubbles start dropping down through the three beams. Now, these bubbles trickle down with speeds based on the beat and the rythm of the song being played. You got to tap on these bubbles at the bottom of the screen. The more acoustic beats the song has, the more is the fun. You actually end up tapping your fingers in rythm. You have to play and experience it! There are also points for tilting your iPhone left/right/up/down as per the arrow marks that ocassionally pass through the beams. Such a fun!
8 ) iMazeLite – This is a full “paisa vasool” timepass game. Got stuck up in the airport with delayed flight? Feeling lazy at the same time? This one helps you pass the time. This is a maze game and you got to show a small pin ball the way to its groove. Well, the fun part here is that the ball moves only by tilting your iPhone in the direction you want it to move. You have a choice to select an easy or a hard maze.
There are many other good applications that I am yet to explore. I will keep updating as and when I find something so interesting.
Before I sign off, here is a list of glitches that your iPhone can create during a normal use. I faced these problems as I used it during this three weeks of time:
Glitch 1: My ‘Safari’ browser showed its dead pan expression (I mean, got stuck) when I tried to navigate a link from an application. I had to “restart” (true blue software term – Switch Off and then On, I mean) the Iphone to bring the browser back to use.
Glitch 2: Application crash! Now this seems to be something major. I guess many people faced this problem. You download an application and when you click on its icon, it displays a black screen. Your eyes balls pop out with excitement, but alas! It exits and comes back to the previous screen. Well, for now, if you face this problem, delete the application, restart your Iphone and then install the application again. This should solve the problem in many cases. However, if your dame luck smiles (dont take the literal meaning), you might have to ‘restore’ your iPhone settings to the deafult, or worse, you might even have to check your iPhone’s firmware. I am lucky here! We only hope that Apple comes up with a fix for this soon!
And finally, though not sure, an interesting tidbit of sorts, that I heard from a friend is that 3G is not supported everywhere in the US. There seem to be some areas even like in few parts of New York where ‘EDGE’ replaces 3G. This is not a first hand information and so I might even be wrong.
EDGE is something like 2.75G (That is 0.25 less to 3G). Well, if you ask me more about EDGE, then your guess is as good as mine. What are you doing here? Go check out in Wiki. My iPhone’s calling me!
Tap Tap Revenge’s Image Courtesy: Apple’s App Store.
Vagaries of my mind 