netdisaster

Came across Netdisaster today. The site has won the Yahoo Search Award for 'The Best Innovative Website' of 2005. It seemed pretty interesting. I especially liked slow burn and mars attack disaster ( I actually havent tried out all the attacks)!! In Mall Road, Shivam Vij has streched his creative mind. Find it here

gone in 75 seconds......

Amir Khan is in news again.. No no - not the perfectly-acting, Modi-bashing, media-avoiding, re-marrying one. This one is the boxing teen sensation from Britain, the highly acclaimed 'born-fighter'. He last year turned pro - inspite of declaring after his olympic silver medal in Athens at the age of 17 that he planned to continue amateur boxing till beijing '08 -.. And day before yesterday, in the first match of his pro career against a foreign opponent,a 21 year old Belarussian, the 19 year old Khan knocked him down in 75 seconds ..Whoa!! Looks like he is very much in line in his march towards the world title..

a few brave ones...

January 24th happened to be the day on which the National Bravery Awards were presented. For those lowly creatures who have no inkling as to what these awards are - > No, it is not awarded to 'brave' filmstars (who shoot people with fake guns and indulge in make-belief battles) > No, it is not awarded to 'brave' sportstars (read team cricket india and sania mirza - 'coz these are the only sports personalities in India that the junta knows) > No, it is not even awarded to the 'brave' politicians (no explanation of their bravery is warranted) > No, there will be no live coverage of these awards on any televsion channel (with long and blah-blah, boring speeches learnt by rote) > Yes, there will be a small mention that the awards were distributed in a tiny corner of the newspaper > Yes, one or two wise old channels may actually name the awardees and show their footage for a couple of minutes     Enough sarcasm by ME (but what to do, the truth really bites) The awards were constituted by late Pt.Nehru in 1959 to honour brave children. From bravery acts across the nation carried out by children, these 'BRAVE' children are selected and feliciated at the hands of the PM. The winners get a cash prize and financial assistance until they complete their schooling. ---- The winners of the 2005 National Bravery Award------ Ratul Chandra Rabha and Rituparna Boro of Assam received the Bharat Award for the courage displayed while chasing a group of militants who killed their schoolteacher and for getting one of the militant arrested. Seidalyne Mawtyllup of Meghalaya got the Geeta Chopra Award and Sanmesh Mahesh Kalyanpur of Mumbai got the Sanjay Chopra Award. Both risked their lives in saving their siblings. Dugi from Orissa and C.Susheela of Andhra Pradesh have been awarded the Bapu Gayadhani awards for their extraordinary courage in revolting against child marriage. Mahesh Kumar of Uttaranchal for saving a girl from a tiger. Pusparani, the youngest awardee all of 9 years of age, saved a child from drowning. Shibu T from Kerala who was honoured posthumously for sacrificing his life to save the life of his brother who had fallen into the river. Sarath Babu, Divya T V, both from Kerala, Laxman of Chhattisgarh, Mukesh Kumar Tanwar of Madhya Pradesh, Puutijungshi of Nagaland, Nelson Karam from Manipur, Nagarani Venkateswara Rao of Andhra Pradesh and Santosh Ramesh Dahe of Maharashtra are the other recipients. --------- A salute to the real brave heroes !!!

A Republic Day Present !!

A couple of days before the 56th Republic Day, ME witnessed the unimaginable-the repulsive-the gruesome. A Mr.Gopalkrishan Kashyap immolated himself in broad daylight in public view, protesting against the shutting down of his shop in Punjab. It seems he had repeatedly sent complaints to the administration and warned of his act... But his demands were not met... What was worse is that people had actually gathered to witness the act(!!!!!). There were television crews which interviewed him before he did the unthinkable. Policemen were present there too. He poured fuel and lit himself up. And people stood and watched him do that (how disgusting and despicable). The policemen present didnt do anything (no complaints- what more can one expect from them?). A few sane(??) people did eventually use blankets to curb the fire. But alas! it was too late!! The person already had 80-90% burns and today succumbed to the injuries! Yesterday, this disturbing footage was continuously being aired on television.. & today, our responsible media shoots the question 'shouldn't the cameraman shooting the scene have rushed to prevent the self-immolation'. Give me a break you sick people..... Section 309 states that attempted suicide is a criminal offense.. what the f*** was the uniformed creature viewing this crime doing??? And it is just another tight slap on the face of humanity, on the face of the very concept of society & of course the nation!! Enjoy, the Republic Day, which happens to be just another holiday.......

Patience

Life isnt easy... it never was and never will be..  ME oft wonders -   What next?      How to face the negatives, disappointments, failures??          What to look for inspiration??? It is precisely at this very moment that ME turns spiritual... babbling whatever comes to mind..whatever gives hope - however minuscule it be.... Okay, I admit ME is beginning to sound like a grandfather Hmmm... It may sound like a big devation from grave topic. Still , Me says -- Some months back, Channel V had come up with a Super Singer Contest. The person who won was "Ravindra Upadhay" - A good human being with a good voice.. His debut album 'Super Singer' had some alright songs. But for ME, one song stood out of the common rung -- It was "Sabr Kar" - literally meaning "Have Patience" Inspite of using simple words, analogies that we've bred on for ages and weird twists in vocab (duhh -- thats poetry you dumb creature)... The song has truly touched ME's heart every time ME wanted it to ---strange--- but TRUE. !!I now know what to do to give ME patience!! Lines like --- der hain andher nahi (there is delay, but not darkness) maula ke ghar (in God's House) na baith ummeede chod ke (dont give up hope) woh tujhko dega todke (He will pluck and give you) tere karmo ka phal (the fruits of your deeds) laga hain jis jis shakh par (from whichever branch it hangs) teri mehnat sachhi hain toh (If your hard work is sincere) tu bhi safal ho jaayega (you will also succeed) sach hoga tera sapna (your dream will realize) har aansu kho jaayega (& every tear will disppear) and ME's favoriteshhttt line-- kya hua abhi joh dhoop hain (So what if its sunlight now) yeh bhi jeevan ka roop hain (this is also a part of life) barasna hain kab tujhpar (when to pour on you) badal ko hain khabar (the cloud does know) Inspirational -- Very!!

ad ho(c)?

It all began with Whirlpool! The ad was a good for nothing,literally.. Arguably, one of the finest actors of todays' film industry, Ajay Devgan, accompanied wifey, who ME should mention has been one of me's favourite actresses. A Mistake - Ignored.. State: tolerable Then it was 'tan-tana-tan' aka Tata Indicom... Arguably,one of the worst ads Me has seen in me's whole lifey.. It was extremely difficult to imagine that the person who has been the life of endeavors like Company,Gangajal and Apaharan (tere' are' many more , but cant really think at this moment) could fall to such depths... phew!!! State: confused and sad And now Kajol continues the 'tarakki ka safar' ..Did you ask which safar? remember the 'tan-tana-tan' ad --- "insaan phone kyon leta hai? ... tarakki karne ke liye" .. after all she must have followed hubby dears' principle "of endorsing products, only with which he is hapy and fully involved with"... Of all the things in the big wide world,why Tata Indicom and that too succhhh a badddd onnne?? .. Anyways back to Kajol, who is now back with Marie and ME is back to gloom.... If 'tan-tana-tan' was bad..then this advertisement is worse (the fact that Me hasnt used worst yet, points to the simple fact that falls to deeper lows are still expected) .. If 'tan-tana-tan' makes me feel like switching to a different channel, this one makes me shut off my TV.... State: Undescribable Please Kajol, do not torture ME and other creatures....

Make-(ME)-over

ME's blog has undergone a slight makeover... more beautification (huh) will ensue! A Somewhat 'Peachish bkgrnd - reminds me of the uniform ME donned for 12 long years... The uniform Update: The color is now almost like the uniform's color & the above link only describes the uniform - for a view of the uniform, visit the school!!

'one' more news channel

Times Group has finally taken the plunge... Coming soon to your TV sets (it has already started albeit its only advertisements for now) is Times Now -- Feel the News -- ohh ! so what else do we do with news?? The 24 hour news channel is the 2nd television channel of Times Group after Zoom. They claim that it is --------------------------- "the channel of big stories, the channel that’s urban from surface to core. The channel with news and shows woven in a crisp contemporary package, the channel with some of the best known faces in the Indian television journalism, the channel with distinctive but seamless news formats, the channel that adds a new dimension to urban reportage, the channel that is relevant and engaging for a viewer like you" --------------------------- Hmm.. interesting! Have I heard this before??? And guess who is leading this 'English news channel from the biggest media conglomerate in India' -- Its' Arnab Goswami - One of NDTV's senior editor and an award-winning journalist. He is the VP and Editor in Chief of 'Times Now'. So, after Rajdeep Sardesai, its one more senior folks at NDTV who has joined the big league. And with it, the number of news channels has increased by "ONE"!! Just 'feel' the current list > 3 by NDTV - NDTV 24x7,NDTV Profit and NDTV India > 2 of India Today Group -Aaj Tak and Headlines Today > 2 by CNBC group - CNBC, Awaaz > CNN-IBN (led by Rajdep Sardesai) > India Tv (led by Rajat Kapoor) > Channel 7 > Star News > Zee News and Zee Business > Sahara Samay > DD News > Besides there are the eternal CNN and BBC World guess what?? my television currently supports only 110 channels & at the rate at which channels are being launched.. it sure seems a number which will be overhauled soon , pretty soon....

The Good,

Eid Mubarak!!! By the grace of the Almighty, Haj has been safe this year. Eid celebrations have begun in Mecca

the Bad...

Only TEN Sports viewers will be able to witness the forthcoming Indo-Pak series... Blackout Can I hear the approx. 259 million DD viewers and 400 million AIR listeners already cursing??? Hahaa -- I have TEN Sports!!

& the Ugly....

Do we need to torture poor school-children just to put up a grand Republic Day show??? ME thinks not!! With temperatures in Delhi dipping to record lows, ME can't help but sympathize with children from all over the nation who are camping in the Capital to rehearse and perform on 26th Jan..

My phone was tapped too.....

For long, Mulayam has been screaming at the top of his voice that his phone is being tapped. A plot is being planned to destabilize his Government in UP, he claims... After all UP is doing great! "Mera Uttar Pradesh, Bane Uttam Pradesh" Sure, baneega hi.. Apne Amar Singhji ke acche acche dost jo hai, AB, AA, SS, to name a few; Nahi not name - initialize a few would be more appropriate. Ok, enough digressions. The point is Mulayam Singh knew his phone was being tapped. And so was his son's and adarniya Amar Singhji's. However, we need proofs to prove what we say, and without it no one will ever believe what you say! So,CMji has now finally got proof to substantiate his claims. Amar Singhji has made the proof of his phone "tapping" public. So what response does he get from the authorities?? Simple: The proof is forged (hahaaa) but aur leaderji is not in a mood to ignore this. -- "I will drag all concerned to the court and prove my point,", he says. -- As if 'Claiming that your phones are being tapped was in vogue', Amma joins the claiming bandwagon and so does Naidu. Welcome aboard!! There's room for more, anyone else interested in joining?? Along comes BJP and finds that the boat is steering ahead & there is lots of place in it. So, it alleges that phones of "several" senior BJP leaders are being tapped. Sadly, BJP was unable to guage the actual capacity of the boat & hence decided to do 'late binding'.. !!ME say's my phone is being tapped too!! Mulayam Singh had distributed copies of Hindi translation of the British PM Benjamin Disraeli's views on lives of public figures.. & I am looking for views of some 'famous' left wing politician who feels that the 'junta' has as many rights as do the leaders - hmm, doesnt every leftist have that view? Agreed that I may not be as important "cough - cough"(My Ma would certainly disagree on this part) as the CM of UP but I too have a right to privacy. Amar Singhji,You are able to produce proofs endorsing your claims but how would I be able to get a proof of my phone being tapped... I want to join your boat too. Can I get aboard before other "Public Figures" think of following the trend and fill up the boat??

Am I careless?

Tomorrow is my Bachelor's Convocation ceremony. A month ago, I paid fees for the degree certificate & with the intent of preserving the receipt kept it in my wallet. One fine day, God knows what got into my head & I like a maniac started tearing "useless" things in my wallet and throwing it out... It really did have a lot of 'kachra'. Probably I was tired of a fat wallet (defying the tricks of modeling that I learnt ages ago) I even saw a receipt from the Univ, & without reading it I tore it to uncountable bits !!sob!! The next day, I get a letter from the Univ specifying the date of convocation as 8th Jan... I proceed to read the letter only to find that I am needed to produce this letter and the receipt of payment .. So what next?? SWEARING.. i am pretty used to abusing & for the next 3 days I hurled abuses at myself! Now, I think about the ceremony that is to be held tomorrow & about me not being able to attend it and having to accept a 'probably' crumpled certificate which will be sent home 2 weeks later.Why?? Only because I am too responsible... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Articles in the pipeline - The 'secret' behind keeping a wallet fat! Why people swear?

finally... A continuation

It's been 13 months since I last worked out in the gym... Barring the one-odd ocassion a couple of months back,when I fatuously trained with heavy weights on the first day of my comeback & obviously was sore for 2 weeks thereafter & not-so-obviously didnt find time after that for gym. sic! I cant' believe how I couldnt' manage to find time for something I have loved so much... But not henceforth .. Today was the first day of my gym. So.. its finally a successful comeback and I will follow a sane and strategized routine which I have already created!! I wish me -- !!Happy Gyming!! --

Ich und Films

With Rao started a new blog - exclusively about films.. And even managed to post in it - All-Time-Most-Watched List .. pretty kool haan!! Yesterday after a hard days work, found energy to see 'Rules' agaiiin the 11pm - 1am home show .With this viewing I am sure I have seen the movie more than 25 times. A rather unusual movie - whats great about it? Why would a person see it so many times?? I myself dont know.. However, I remember an incident that happened when I was is in college. A routine discussion in the hostel brought up the topic of this film being good. I laughed it off - abusing those who liked it.. After all 6 or more plots, an apparently uninteresting female lead, a male lead who hasn't yet established himself in the industry and a Love Plot .. Where else can one go wrong? However, it seems that I was absolutely wrong.. I have liked the movie every time I have watched it.. As a matter of fact, it seems just as good everytime .... More on films in the new blog.....

---- Black ----

Tried this test What's Your True Color? & got this result - "Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you." How true is it?? I wonder -