Tuesday, May 24, 2011

iTouched, iLoved & iOwn an iPad now

Eventually the day has come for me to have this beautiful gadget in my hands and not to worry about anything else at least for now. After a long wait, anticipation, excitement and thrill this super smart gadget reached home and I have been playing with it for couple of days. Whatte a device! Pure simplicity in your hands.

First to begin with, a good applause should go to Mr.Jonathan Ive, the principle designer for the apple products. He is seriously a magician when it comes to look and feel of the iPad. Beautiful would definitely be an understatement. Simply spectacular. And then comes the user interface, amazing it is. I have been "busy" lately because of iPad. Very smooth, responsive and also shows simplicity in every use. No wonder it is the most hipped and most sorted device at current scenario.

Then comes the applications for iPad, which simply is called apps. I would dare say iPad is nothing without apps. The kind of apps you will find in the app store I am sure it will blow your mind, very vast collection indeed. I must have download some 50 plus apps within few days of using it and I am so happy and glad that each app comes with such generous usage and uniqueness. At present there is no comparison for the app category from any of its competitors, Apple's iPad is well ahead of all others in this category. And the main point is it's not mostly the name sake apps, most of them are really very useful apps which brings simplicity that a tablet PC should have. No complications at all while using it. Starting from browsing, reading books, playing games, incredible battery life of over 10 hours and exploring the amazing apps specifically designed for iPad, this is one great gadget you have to consider having it.

I have seen Google's Android tablets, used for sometime and checked it again to have an idea and to do little comparison. Honestly there is no "wow" factor in there. Google has to do something about this. No matter how hard some of the manufacturers try they could not compete when it comes to software. When browsing in the Android tablet many times I have had trouble browsing it, most of the times the browser crashed pathetically. And then when it comes to apps, yes there are some good apps In Android market I agree but you really have to search and find such apps. The vast category of apps is missing in Android market and of course this is as of now, I am sure it is evolving. No matter how much they beat their heart out and tell customers what they have got, it's high time they really should show what specialties they have got which ultimately differentiates them from iPad. In simple term, they should not try to copy the iPad features. They should come up with different ideas.

Of course there is not all "right" aspects in iPad, first comes the crappy cameras. Not even a single mega pixel camera, really? Come on Mr. Jobs. Lately, there is not any popular gadget which at least comes without a single mega pixel camera. Of course you don't need a super cool camera for a device like this because it is odd to hold and capture images or video. But not even a single mega pixel camera for video chatting through Facetime? It's a bummer. Given the fact that the reviews of camera for the fourth generation iPod touch was very bad, Apple must have at least provided a decent camera for this very popular universal gadget. And then we all will miss the Flash Player for this wonderful tablet, which other platforms have the edge over it. Luckily some of the popular websites are adopting to iPad compatibility apps but still there are tons of websites which deliberately need Flash player. We all will miss Flash for sure. And then Apple's iOS is often criticized for being such a closed platform which is not like it's peer. Downloading files and organizing it are very easy when it comes to other devices which is not so in iPad. But then if you really want to go with a leader, you have to follow the rules and restrictions, no other go.

For some certain reasons, at present Apple's iPad is the market leader when it comes to tablet market is concerned. For any naysayers just the volume of shipping and demand for the product clearly shows the truth and I don't have to argue with it. If Google's Android is going to compete, it really has to show some unique features, fix a lot of issues in its software and more importantly it has to bring the "Aha" feature if not the "wow" feature. A lot to work and show us something special Mr.Android. And for some hardware manufacturers please don't brag about the same old song, "You can see flash contents, you can have great cameras in our tablets". Serious question to you all is despite the drawback why iPad is still in the winning streak. Better find the answer and bring it more in your tablets. As customers we would love to have more varieties in any product category, we would always give green signal for the competition and all we expect is some unique features not just the mere imitators who boast about how well they could polish the old shoes. Please show us something new.

Tablet PCs are getting better and better each day. Take any technology news and you will find many new tablets on its way in the current situation. Probably by this year end you might end up with more number of tablets than you ever imagined. Every company has jumped into the tablet bandwagon and the laptop sales are going south wards. After having iPad for a short while I have to admit that I haven't touched my Macbook Pro that much which is surprising for me. But that's me. It all depends on your use. If you are not into any serious laptop oriented work like programing and other stuffs, I am sure tablet is right for you. And a serious thing to consider is which tablet is right for you before you buy it. To put it simple, you have to decide whether you want to go with a leader or a follower in this regard. iPad is definitely the leader and no doubt about it while others just fall into the category of being the followers. And then this scenario is as of now and things might and should change, as a consumer we would all love the heavy competition.

Competition - Hands down its iPad now. iPad is "The Tablet" and Steve Jobs is the Emperor. iPad's simplicity, fantastic design, amazing apps clearly makes it a market leader. And if anyone thinking of buying a tablet, you owe yourself time to have a look at iPad. And I am sure you will thank me later for that suggestion. Please go with iPad if you don't really need a laptop or wait some more time to enjoy the heavy competition right ahead with other tablet manufacturers and also with Google's Android to get it's feet rightly in. 

I am so glad I waited this long to jump into this amazing gadget. After a lot of anticipation, excitement and also some disappointment (as I could not get it on first day of its launch), it perfectly landed in my hands on May 17th and I am rightly on track with the technology leader.

iLove my iPad. And I typed this post from my iPad :-)

Monday, May 16, 2011

Taking time

Okay, getting back to my blog. Hmm it took this long to get back again. No specific reason to avoid blogging though. But Interesting is that I received couple of comments during this time frame which ultimately made me feel guilty. There has to be at times, at frequent intervals you really have to see or check yourself for what you are doing, I would call this time as such. Just felt like I want to sit back and see what I have been doing for sometime, and it was really worth a try. For a good change I wish I can do better cooking so that I can blog and post recipes, seriously there are several blogs out there which are very useful. Not only recipes, every other topics. Amazing and useful blogs I come across in all topics. I wish I had that talent. Sigh.

We moved to a new place, especially to a beautiful apartment community which I fell in love from the moment I stepped in. And I keep patting myself for selecting this one. Whatte a beautiful landscape we have got here in this apartment complex. This is one of the times I really feel happy living in US and the previous apartment was a crap in all terms. And coming to Texas, we seem to be sticking with this state for a quite a long and looks like it doesn't like the idea of us leaving the place. Now I want to go back to refresh my memory, only few months before life was pretty harsh on us, lot of uncertainties, lot of chaos, lot of silence, lot of turmoil. And in the end we survived and as some say there has to be some reason. I am so glad everything is fine now.

As a cricket fan, I enjoyed, cheered, shouted and loved every moment watching World Cup matches and elated would be an understatement as our team won the precious cup. Well deserved win, Team India.

As I posted previously my new love, Macbook Pro is getting better and better each day. Amazing innovation Mr. Steve Jobs. Just love it. I could not take my hands off from it and interestingly iPad 2 is on its way home which sure will make me more entertained soon.

Then comes the breaking news of death of Osama Bin Laden, the entire world was relieved finally. And an era of cruelty and revenge came to an end eventually. Nice to read this from somewhere, "Obama Got Osama". Well executed plan, Mr. President. There was this unique front cover page in Time magazine after the death of Adolf Hitler and now after all these years there was a similar one for this man, Osama Bin Laden, the name alone will tell lot of blood shed tales. Reminded me of a time when I read about him through a small book and when I finished I only thought all his talent was channelized for a wrong and disastrous thought. I was watching a repeated program about 9/11 attacks in National Geographical Channel and was thinking what could be the reason to make such a heart wrenching attack in the heart of US. What made this man to bring such adversity to Americans? I have few books to read about him. Sure will read soon. Between, Don't ever mess with America!

And here comes the latest election news from Tamilnadu, before that a quick remembrance from the past. During 1996 election, the most popular, the most talented, the most humble man from the acting field who is popularly called as "The Super Star" came on a popular television channel and requested people of Tamilnadu to wake up for good and get away from the current ruling party. I could still recollect his words as it created lot of uproar at that time. He still remains the most sought actor and the most popular personality. At that time the ruling party was under scrutiny for which the leader was a bright lady who acted as a "Royal Queen" by wasting lot of people's money lavishly. There were lot of reports, news, criticism circulating around at that time, which sure set the alarm for the people of Tamilnadu. Fast forward to this time, the present ruling party which consists mainly of one family created so much stir in the entire nation right now. There were reports of major corruption which came to limelight and the entire nation stood united to fight against it. I was so ashamed to read an article in The New York Times about a major corruption which this whole family seeded and executed shamelessly. The whole scam was a shame to the entire country which was carried out by this disgusting family group who are the leaders. Interestingly this time, this actor didn't give any voice for the current situation as he did during 1996 election though this scam was a remarkable dent not only to a particular state and also to the entire nation. And more interesting it gets as this particular party which used this actor for voicing for their party during 1996 elections has now (May 2011) spreading rumors that this actor is dead making sure to divert their worst failure in the current election. These people should be taught a lesson. And here comes the election result, well played People of Tamilnadu. That's a nice and silent fight you could show to such people, no wonder we all belong to Mahatma Gandhi's "Ahimsa" philosophy. The way you showed them, simply superb, I loved it. To our new Chief Minister, Whatte a courageous Lady, bring on some light please. We sure had been in darkness for quite a long time.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What a day it is!


In the world cup cricket 2011 India won in the semi finals and is heading to the finals. Interesting match it was. Well done Men in Blue, looking forward to the finals.

One more and most important happy moment for today is I just brought a new Mac Book Pro Laptop. My first laptop and I am so glad I got a Mac, Steve Jobs here is the baby step into your world, Sorry Mr. Bill Gates, I have used windows enough in my life, time to move on to the direction of Innovation. I am sure it's going to be a learning experience for my hubby too, I will make sure he learns more about iOS. And most importantly I will make sure this laptop is well pampered. Love it Mr.Jobs. My beautiful baby. And of course I am typing this post from my Mac.

Next up iPad 2!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

When in love, everything is beautiful

This post will be like dusting a hidden diary of mine. Thinking so much of a person, I could not help myself from going back to the wonderful memories we spent together. Those memories will remain one among the best time in my life and to recollect those moments now, I suddenly feel like a excited kid...

I don't know whether to call this as a destiny but I am sure God has some reasons for this to happen. This is going to be a journey of mine which happened a few years back. It might sound funny but still it's true, I happen to like a language so much because I loved watching movies in that language. But then how long can I watch those movies without knowing the language? Result being searching for a person in my place who knows the language. Then I found a person, a lady who's going to be the main reason for this post.

Gosh, I could still picture the first meet we had, I was so silent when she spoke for the first time. Then from the very second day I realized there is something about this person that makes me feel very special about her. Words sometimes fail to convey the feeling you have for a person, that is exactly what I am feeling right now. So many butterflies I felt inside, so many wonderful moments, she's such a vibrant person to show me so many good things about life especially the love which I missed for a long long time.

I still remember the first SMS I sent to her cellphone after filtering it from so many messages. And I did all the possible crazy things for her which brings a smile on my face now. "Super Joke", this word is going to be one of the most weirdest reply someone could get when showing the affection towards a person and yes, I got this reply from her. The kind of affection and understanding we had for each other was so amazing. God only knows how much I lied to others to be with her. Every evening was a celebration for me to spend some quality time with her. Oh, did I say all this started for learning a language? who cared about a language? It didn't mattered at all as we were like kids having too much fun, thanks to a bunch of kids who made it more interesting then.

Thank you Airtel for the special offer you gave us to talk endlessly otherwise our family might probably went broke. We talked and talked for hours together. I always believed her to be my most personal diary, there is nothing I hide it from her. She was my best friend and also a well wisher with whom I shared a lot of things. I have never admired a person for his/her sense of humor but for the first time in my life I happen to notice that from her. Such an amazing light hearted soul who made me to think that most of the things in life has to be taken so lightly which I could not make it till date.

I remember sitting on the top floor and watching the Orion Constellation at night which I call it as 'I love you stars'.We sat together on the stairs talking about stupid things and watching the traffic in the town.She's someone who gets more excited about my birthday than myself. She baked a very big cake for one of my birthdays.We used to visit a small temple every Friday and God only knows what she was praying as she used to pray a lot.

There are certain things in life which others would never understand and that has happened to me time to time. It's so unfortunate to even think that this beautiful relationship has to face so much stiffness which ultimately came to an end. If fate was the reason for our meet then I would blame it on the same fate for having ended this story in such shame.

Thinking of those days, I still could not able to believe my eyes how I crossed such a bad phase. Nothing helped at that time. After almost having lost two of my close people and also facing all nightmares at home, I got attached to this person and which eventually gotten me into trouble. No one understood then and I doubt the fact they would come to understand in the near future too.

My life today is going smoothly at least in most of the ways and I wholeheartedly thank God for that. So I can take a selfish step to make sure I avoid this person entirely who stood by my side during my worst times. Infact I have seen people who have done that to me blaming it on their hectic life, family, kids or whatever. If I do that cruel blunder to this person I would not call myself as a human ever.

There was a time, out of nowhere through my extended family I was offered a job which landed me in night shift in a nearby city. If there is anything in the world I cared much about me that would be eating and sleeping. I was so nervous and went to that office at night for the first time, believe it or not every one hour I received a message in my cell phone from her asking me to stay awake. There was only one person who didn't sleep along with me on that night and that was her! Who on earth would do that? A mother? She certainly is....

And one day I fumed being part of such disgusting people and I left the place for good. I don't know where to go. I took a bus, went to a city. A city which is not familiar at all to me. She called and at first I denied telling her where I am going and finally I did. She convinced me that she would meet me pretty soon. I still remember the way she looked at me on that day as though nothing happened. She then took me to a near by temple and did the comforting part. She could be the best friend I can ask for.

Let me name a person in my entire family and my friends, she could easily tell how they are related to me. She cared so much about me and the people who have been part of my life. And also the kind of sufferings we both went through in this relationship, I promise no one could dare face such terrible moments in their life. I know others must have played the game safe.

If I were to picture herself ever then that would probably picturing herself with lots of kids. She always looked so beautiful among the kids, such a ravishing personality that you could not deny her presence even among the cute kids. She is the best teacher any student can ask for, such a dedicated and a patient soul.

I could not able to invite her to my wedding, I felt so guilty for that but still she showed up on that day. She was the only person I hugged on that day thanking her for what she has just done. I really doubt the fact whether I could able to meet such an unconditional soul ever on earth. In American term it's called "The Bird and Bee's Talk", one day I asked her a "doubt" in that and it's so funny to recollect how uncomfortable and embarrassed she felt explaining that to me. One of the most funniest and also a touching moment in my life. In Indian standards it's way too awkward moment for anyone to explain.

I would probably go on and on typing about her because it makes me feel so happy and then it also makes me sick of knowing that those days are gone forever and I hate the fact that I don't have any touch with her right now. Dear Mr. God, you really act like a jerk sometimes and I don't know what to do with you. Most of the people who cared about me are either taken away by you orelse some people voluntarily left me for they felt something is better than being with me. And this one, it's called fate.

I haven't made any friends after her. Some questioned me for being so lonely locking myself in an 700 square foot apartment here. I could not able to explain the reason to them. But I have started liking the fact that I am alone doing something useful other than feeling emotional or sensitive in life.

I have met some Interesting people and also some worst people in my life. What more can I add now? That man (her husband) was amazing, he knew I was digging for a treasure. He knew I noticed the treasure and watched me everyday as I was putting all the effort to lift it from down under. And when I eventually lifted it, he suddenly asked me to leave as it belonged to him. He said he owned it! Interesting thing was he never even cared what he had until I came along, he didn't even respected her feelings and then he didn't cared to provide her any peace. 

Every single people I told this, they advised me to leave her because I was just a trespasser. Nice to know people, it was very soothing indeed and thank you! And every single person who noticed what she has gone through because of him and his family knew what she deserves in life. How could her family accept this in first place? I hate to digest the fact that it's a love marriage. If she were my daughter I would have killed her rather than helped her married to this monster and sent to be with his filthy people. She did the exact same mistake my mom did several years back. She too called it as love. And the bitter truth is I am talking about two wonderful ladies who deserved way better life but then fallen trap in the name of love to the most disgusting men ever on earth. There is a term for this, "Good girls fall for bad boys"! I swear to God if these men are to get such a blessed life, I bet every single human deserves thousand more chances to receive true love and a beautiful life.

Everything is over and who cares now? For the last few days she kept coming to my mind, probably because of her birthday and I could not help wondering how she's doing right now. But then who am I to care for all this? I don't want to knock those doors which belongs to someone. This is the most crappiest term I could ever imagine, "Belonging to Someone"or "someone owning someone". Even I have been part of so many people in every part of my life, as a daughter, as a grand child, as a sister, as a cousin, as a friend, as a wife and so on. No one can claim that I belonged to one particular person, I have been in parts and love the fact that I belong to each individual rather than a particular person. Are we an object to be owned by someone? Never mind...

When in love, everything looks beautiful and when in hatred, everything falls apart. My love for this person would never vanish in my lifetime and in the same way my hatred for another person would never go away too. But then there would be a part of me which would get a life from time to time thinking about those wonderful moments, making sure I will always love her and also miss her all my life.

Interesting few incidents happened recently, probably will happen more...One day I really got pissed off by my cooking and started searching for recipes. As I took a book which was given by this person, I looked exactly for my favorite recipe in the index page and then went straight to that page, I saw these words from her on the top of the page for the first time, "My Akil's favorite recipe!". Tears poured down seeing those words.

Then again another incident, last month I was alone for almost a week as my husband went for an official trip and I felt tired of being lonely. Record level snow happened in my place during that time and it was not advisable to step out of my apartment. But still when he came back I behaved like a kid, I cried, I fought and I said I want to get out of this apartment at least for a short walk. Then I went alone for a walk in that weather, managed to check the mail box and was surprised to receive a birthday card from her. It was one among several cards she sent to me for this birthday. God knows what I felt on that moment but still he would not help me. Damn God.

I have rightly gave her a nick name long back...JAANU, I am glad the meaning of this word rightly blends in, the first reason of having met her ie the Hindi language and then the second reason would be being my life, love, sweet heart, darling...

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

This isn't fair Mr.Steve Jobs

Hi Mr. Jobs,

Hope everything is fine at your end. I am kind of sad as I still could not able to find your iPad 2 anywhere Steve. As you knew and we all knew we expected a huge crowd on the day of your tablet release. There were reports that people camped outside in few apple stores for days before, to get their first hands on the device. How nice! And then there was another report about a lady who camped outside the New York apple store for couple of days and sold her first spot to a man for a ransom of $900! Wow, What an idea!

Apart from your apple store, you have informed that your product will also be available in other retail stores like Best Buy, Target and Walmart exactly the same time on the same day. But shockingly they only had very few, in fact countable numbers with them and which sold out within few minutes. Then when inquired in your own apple store and other retailers they didn't have any idea when the next batch of your iPad 2 will be available. Remember how much you boasted during the iPad 2 event that the first generation iPad sold about 15 million tablets within 9 months time frame, taking that into account are you not aware of the demand for your iPad 2 on the first day of its release? Keeping in mind of the great track record of how crazy apple fans are when it comes to the release date of most of your lovable products (iPods, iPod Touchs, iPhones & iPad).

Then comes the online ordering from your apple store for iPad 2. At first the shipping days showed 2-3 days, then within few minutes it showed 3-5 days, then after sometime it slipped to 2-3 weeks. At this time as I type it is showing 4-5 weeks! It's disappointing to notice that despite the expected demand and its popularity, this gadget seemed to be out of reach for another month.

Do you feel intimidated by the growing speed of Google's Android, Mr. Jobs? Have you started noticing the Android's threat already? As your product cycle used to be one year, what made you to rush up for the March iPad event as it has to be during April? Then your pricing for the iPad 2 is very shocking. Apple is very famous for its over priced products and now suddenly you haven't increased your iPad 2's price. Happened to read an article yesterday about your iPad 2's components and I noticed that the enhanced components cost you more which ultimately reduces the profit margin of your gadgets. You have never compromised for anything, why suddenly now? You better know even if you have increased the price by $100, people would still be buying it but you didn't, why? And then forgot to ask you this, Are you disappointed to notice that there wasn't much crowd (like it used to be) for Verizon's iPhone 4 release a couple of months back? So you are really pissed off by this one incident and that's why you want us to wait in line everyday in front of your apple store to have your iPad 2? Are you trying to create an "artificial demand" for your product? And then did you check Ebay, some morons are bidding a new iPad 2 for $200,000! Bingo! See the price of your single gadget, amazing right?

Call me a person of very little knowledge, in a sense it's true, but I have never seen or heard about any product getting this much attention. A kind request to you Mr Jobs, You have got an amazing company, a wonderful product line up, a fine talent hub and a greatest CEO a company could ask for and that being you, Mr. Jobs. I still believe that you are such a visionary to bring the simplicity to every customer in every product of yours. No matter how crazy some of your fans are, myself included, you have earned it and you deserve each one of them. Please don't disappoint us and please don't behave like others. You are so different from others and your products are always used to be well ahead of its time. We all love your Apple Inc as much as you do!

Can't wait to hold your iPad 2. I have waited this long to know about you and your products and I can wait for some more time. I love Apple Inc and I am sticking with you, Sir.

Take good care of your health Mr. Jobs.

Cheers,
Akila.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The iPad 2

Yesterday was a day I realized myself being one of the craziest persons following a technology news very eagerly. The more I hear about Steve Jobs, more respect and love goes out to him. I would never forget this day as it was first of its kind for me to follow a gadget release event. The last time when the first generation iPad released, there were several breaking news showing up on television with pictures of him and his first generation iPad but then I had no idea who this person was. Thank God, I know him now.

As expected he was present for this event and he seemed to be in better health and I am so glad. After receiving huge applause and standing ovation for his presence, his first words were this, "We've been working on this product for awhile, and I didn't want to miss it." And then he introduced his iPad 2.

The most anticipated iPad 2 is thinner, lighter, has front and back cameras, higher processor, same 10 hour battery and the best part is it's going to be the same price as like the iPad first generation and will be available only from March 11th. Hmm...One more week to go...

I liked Steve Jobs ending note for this event:

"This is worth repeating. It's in Apple's DNA that technology is not enough. It's tech married with the liberal arts and the humanities. Nowhere is that more true than in the post-PC products. Our competitors are looking at this like it's the next PC market. That is not the right approach to this. These are pos-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive. The hardware and software need to intertwine more than they do on a PC. We think we're on the right path with this."

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Apple iPad second generation event


Finally! The most anticipated news came out just minutes before to me and to all the apple fans. Yay! Can't wait for the apple event on March 2nd. Come on Mr.Steve! I can't wait to hold your beautiful product, bring it on Steve. Apple rocks. My long wait comes to an end. And yes, this is going to be my first apple product. I am so proud to be an Apple fan. I love, love apple soooo much. And to all other tablet PC, watch out guys Apple iPad 2 is on its way. Woohoo! I am super excited today.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

No one killed Jessica

A movie I watched this weekend and realized the power of media in India. This is a true story of a girl's murder by an Indian politician's son and with power they fabricated the evidences and as he walked out free of any charge that's when the media jumped to the driving seat and took the story to the next level. This is the very reason I want media to act promptly to bring the truth to the public. Media plays a prominent role to bring such incidences to public and to help unveil the truth so that people behind such crime should be brought to justice.

Many a times we don't seem to understand that what had happened to this girl (Jessica Lal) might happen to any of us if we don't show these people a lesson. As the whole Indian cinema in general is looked as Bollywood alone for any outsiders, it's high time Bollywood has to come up with more such stories, more bold stories so that many faces of India comes to limelight and for also it could pay way to other Indian regions to come up with more true stories. Many thanks to Tehelka and NDTV for bringing this shameful act of an Indian politician and his so called damn power. It took 18 days to bring freedom in Egypt, if they could do it I am sure Indian people could teach these politician a hard lesson. Could India create another freedom fight against it's own people? India certainly needs some kind of revolution against these political leaders and their dirty corruption. It's getting very ugly day by day.

Go watch the movie if you want the version of this story in big screen or else watch the real version in youtube, you will know how they bribed and fabricated the evidences initially.

RIP Jessica.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Home Project

 We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate. The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being. For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film. HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand, GoodPlanet Fundation President

The best gift we could pass on to our next generation is certainly not our wealth but our priceless natural resources. At least in some part of the world they have realized the importance of preserving the nature. There has been lots of changes in weather condition in every country nowadays, reason being global warming. We have already caused enough damage to our planet, we really need to act sensibly at least from now on. If you could spend an hour and half hour time in your "busy" life, please watch the full video here for our own good. This video is the first film which has been made using aerial only footage taken over fifty countries. Take a look at our nature and the damage we have caused to it in this exceptional video, a must watch.

This reminds me of an incident, couple of weeks before I happened to watch a kid around four years of age who came to her mother and asked, "Mom, where should this trash go? Trash bin or Recycle bin? " And her mom replied, "This is not recyclable. So put it in the Trash bin"

I felt happy at least in some part of the world they really care about these things. We have looted the planet mindlessly. Please join hands to save our own planet. Our initiative will help to save our planet and that has to come from every home.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Paulo Coelho Quotes

Just one book "The Alchemist" from this Brazilian author made me to follow him at regular intervals. Personally I like his thoughts and that's the main reason I want to post it here in my blog from time to time. Don't get fed up of it as you see quiet often here.

It is easy to be a hater. Go for the difficult task: be a lover.
   

You can't avoid pain, but you can choose to overcome it.
    

Each tear carries a hidden message of joy or sorrow.
   

Peace begins with understanding. But I believe love may begin with conflicts.
   

Love is joy. Don't convince yourself that suffering is part of it.   

What makes people weak? Their need for validation and recognition.
   

You are free, but you have to choose. An open oven bakes no bread.   

To say "no" is not a sin. To say "yes" is not a virtue. Beware: time goes by and regrets may be lethal.
   

Don’t allow society to transform you into someone you are not. If you r not following your dream, STOP.
    

You are not defeated when you lose. You are defeated when you quit.
    

What other people think of you is none of your business.
    

We're allowed to make a lot of mistakes, except the mistake that destroys us.
   

I'm proud of the scars in my soul. They remind me that I have an intense life.
    

Don't be someone that searches, finds, and then runs away.
    

Life is a journey. How we travel is really up to us. We can just flow with the tide or follow our own dreams.

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Uncontacted Tribes

Happened to read an article about these people, title being: "Astonishing new photos of one of the world's last uncontacted tribes" and more than once I felt emotional reading about these people and the kind of struggle they encounter in the present scenario. Here are a few glimpse of what I read... (please, please read or watch the video)

Uncontacted tribes are people who have no peaceful contact with anyone in the mainstream or dominant society. There are about 100 uncontacted tribes in the world. New photos obtained (on 31st January 2011) by Survival International show uncontacted Indians in never-seen-before detail. The Indians are living in Brazil, near the Peruvian border. The tribe’s survival is in serious jeopardy as an influx of illegal loggers invades the Peru side of the border.

Although most invasions of uncontacted tribes’ lands are prompted by the desire of loggers, oil companies, cattle ranchers and so forth to take the tribes’ lands and resources, governments sometimes try to make contact for their own reasons. In Brazil, the Indian affairs department FUNAIOne of this unit’s most extraordinary contacts took place in a remote corner of Brazil’s Amazon on 15 October 1996. After months of watching and waiting, a small group of Korubo Indians overcame their fear and slowly emerged from the forest to meet the FUNAI team. The tension of this historic first moment was captured on film by Sydney Possuelo, the head of the FUNAI has long had a small unit responsible for initiating contact, as a last resort, with remote peoples who are at imminent risk of an uncontrolled and possibly disastrous collision with the outside world. unit. Unlike so many other first contacts, this initial encounter was peaceful, and no Korubo died as a result. The constant incursions of outsiders meant they constantly had to move camp. Each sudden move meant the loss of the crops they had planted, and often their precious possessions such as cooking pots and tools.

"We ran from one place to another. It looked like the bulldozer was following us. I had to leave my tools, my bow, my rope to run faster. At last, the bulldozer left in another direction. When I realised that the bulldozer had gone in another direction, I found a trunk with a beehive in it, and I took the honey. We thought that the bulldozer could see us. We had planted many crops in the garden [melon, beans, pumpkin and corn] because it was summer time. We thought that the bulldozer had seen our garden and came to eat the fruit – and to eat us too. The bulldozer opened a path up right beside our garden, that’s why we were so scared of it. We have always seen airplanes, but we did not know that it was something useful of the cojñone [white people, literally strange people]. We also saw long clouds behind the plane which frightened us, because we thought that something might fall on us. When we saw these big planes with this white smoke behind, we thought they were stars.’
"

One of the Murunahua survivors, Jorge, who lost an eye during first contact, told a Survival researcher, "The disease came when the loggers made contact with us, although we didn’t know what a cold was then. The disease killed us. Half of us died. My aunt died, my nephew died. Half of my people died."
The Jarawa tribe of the Andaman islands saw their land split in two when the islands administration built a highway through their territory. It is now the principal road through the islands. There is not only a constant stream of settlers travelling in buses and taxis, but the road acts as a conduit for tourists, and for poachers targeting the Jarawa’s reserve (which, unlike the rest of the islands, is still covered in rainforest). Jarawa children are often seen by the side of the road, and there is some evidence of the sexual exploitation of Jarawa women.

The most isolated tribes in the world: Perhaps no people on Earth remain more genuinely isolated than the Sentinelese. They are thought to be directly descended from the first human populations to emerge from Africa, and have probably lived in the Andaman Islands for up to 55,000 years. The fact that their language is so different even from other Andaman islanders suggests that they have had little contact with other people for thousands of years. In the days after the cataclysmic tsunami of 2004, as the full scale of the destruction and horror wreaked upon the islands of the Indian Ocean became apparent, the fate of the tribal peoples of the Andaman Islands remained a mystery. Yet when a helicopter flew low over the island, a Sentinelese man rushed out on to the beach, aiming his arrow at the pilot in a gesture that clearly said, ‘We don’t want you here’. Alone of the tens of millions of people affected by the disaster, the Sentinelese needed no help from anyone.

Outsiders view on Uncontacted tribes:
‘You could smell where they [the Jarawa] had stood. They smell so bad, don’t clean themselves. We have to go into the forest for cane and leaves. We take dogs, they go ahead and if they smell Jarawa they come running back.’ - Andaman islands colonist, India

‘Indians are worse than animals. They’re not even good to eat.’- Brazilian rancher
‘If I was in authority, I would exterminate all the Yanomami. I would leave one alive to exhibit to the public in a zoo.’ - Brazilian hotel owner

Courtesy: www.uncontactedtribes.org

I wonder we hear, see, tolerate all these and many more and we call it "Civilization". You know, we all live a very pathetic life as we could not able to save our own mankind. Why are we becoming more and more shrewd in life? Are we not supposed to show humanity? Where are we heading towards?

God, please please save this innocent people from these so called civilized people. What a pathetic prayer this is!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Good Time - Line Dance


 A country song, I liked it from this GE commercial and then with little help from Google I found out this amazing country song by Alan Jackson. With over 200 dancers and two days of rehearsals they tried for the world's longest line dance but unfortunately they didn't make it. It's well worth the effort. And the lyrics of this song goes this way...

Work, work all week long
Punchin’ that clock from dusk till dawn.
Countin’ the days till Friday night
That’s when all the conditions are right.
For a good time
I need a good time.

Yea, I’ve been workin’ all week
And I’m tired and I don’t wanna sleep
I wanna have fun
It’s time for a good time
...


Jenny Cain, the choreographer of the song tells an interesting incident while filming the song...

In the video, you will see a clip of a woman in a purple shirt coming into the farmers market. This lady was not part of the cast and had no idea what we were doing ... but she decided on her own to jump in the line and began to pick up the dance. Fortunately, we got it all on film! It was perfect.

A good song with some nice steps, don't miss it. Have a good time dancing to the tune.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Are you a Facebook fan?

I know so many of us are hooked up with Facebook for hours nowadays, a new trend in social networking, so much to share, chat, post it on "walls", need to click several "like" buttons, then you want to comment or tag each other, interesting it gets everyday. Seeing the popularity, there was this special program on CNBC channel some time back with a pretty interesting title "Facebook Obsession". And it gets real serious with the movie "The Social Network" based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires". No wonder it has already won the "Golden Globe Award" and it is already racing for the "Academy Award" informally known as "The Oscar".

I loved the movie and also the book. Sorry I can't be the killjoy of letting you all know about this story. Facebook fans, it doesn't matter even if you are not one, please don't miss this movie or the book. I am sure you will enjoy and more importantly you will come to know the "real story" behind this social networking website.

I don't know why but for some people everything in this world is simply business, nothing could stop them. There is a simple lesson in life which is, no matter how far you go you need to see how many people helped you to get you there. Unfortunately some forgets which certainly shows how shrewd they are in real life. You know, it's like helping someone to climb the ladder and the return will be get kicked by the person.

Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook), now we really know the real story behind your Facebook! Oh Man, that's quite an interesting story.

Julian Assange, Founder of Wiki Leaks said "What are the differences between Mark Zuckerberg and me? Let's take a look," "I give you private information on corporations for free and I'm a villain. Mark Zuckerberg gives your private information to corporations for money and he's Man of the Year."

Facebook
users, please be careful with your account and make sure your privacy settings are well protected.

Monday, January 24, 2011

An envious message

Here is an interesting message I came across through a social networking site.

"Waking up to so much love from the parents, as every day. Having those 'what have I done for them' moments. Grateful, humbled and happy! 
Dad makes coffee 5 mins before I get up, it's a tussle between mom and dad to make the coffee. Mild and healthy vs. strong and tasty.
And then dad will want to know where the coffee should go; the computer table, writing desk, the den or on the dining table :)
"

Before I begin with anything I want to apologize first, extremely sorry Shilpa, I don't know you and you don't know me but thanks to the technology the world has become smaller and somehow I had an opportunity to know you a bit if not better. I am so sorry for taking your messages and using it in my blog, I know it's totally wrong but trust me, I have absolutely no intention of stealing your words but I have to admit honestly that my high intention would be stealing your place in first place though. Seriously, is there a chance that I could be adopted by your parents? Well, if only you don't mind. How I wish I were you Shilpa (Sigh). Anyways forgive me for using your words here in my blog. I hope you will understand my intention. It's really very nice knowing you through the web world and then hey you have got an amazing sense of humor and for that I would love to meet you sometime and want to shake hands with you if our legs crossed each other in this life. Let's see how our life goes.

All I know about this person is that she is a writer. And when I first saw her messages my first thoughts were what an incredible gift that this girl has got, and secondly of course is the feeling of envy towards her. Nothing in this world makes me feel envious other than someone telling me how good their parents are to them. Every time I hear or see I understand God was really very cruel to me in that case.

Each child born in this world deserves nice parents and a good family environment. No one is born bad or a born criminal, it's only how they are made to become later in their life. A good parenting is a gift that I wish every child should receive and unwrap it early in their life. I think the most disturbing kids lack such unconditional love and guidance that's why their paths are often misleading or uncontrollable. Yes, I have seen that in me and with others too.

I believe each child is like a clay (I mean it in a right way, please don't get offended) in the hands of parents, family or an environment where some are magnificently decorated to showcase the fine talent of craftsmanship while others remain poorly untouched. I also saw another message from a girl who happily admits that her mom is her Guru and she is a single parent. Sometimes it's good to remain content with what we have rather than to seek. Only when you seek you land in trouble or at least that is what has happened to me. If you would ask me it is good either being parent less or being in the hands of good parents, staying in the middle of these two is no good. It's devastating to our own self with such oscillation.

And to parents, your unconditional love is beyond expressible, your guidance is highly appreciated but please don't get into our heads and tell us what to dream or what to become. With unconditional love, proper guidance and with right freedom every child will come out with flying colors. Please don't encircle yourself and your child with a particular set of rules and tighten your grip, there is so much to dream, so much to see and so much to do in life. Please broaden your vision and your thinking. You know, whenever I see or read about successful people (in any field) I could see their family or people who stood behind them and played a prominent role in their life. Amazing support that is.

There is a dialogue from the movie Gladiator that comes to my mind by writing this post, "Your faults as a son is my failure as a father" which I agree the most.

Happy Parenting.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Steve Jobs Quotes

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc, a popular face in America and around the world, a man I happen to know through my reading, a visionary of innovation and who's health is a big concern right now because of his pancreatic cancer. He's someone I admire most, his product I would love to own, an individual the world will always look up to for his amazing innovations. Once someone said to me, 'people are so crazy about Apple to the level even if Steve Jobs shows a "crap" they are willing to buy it, such mad rush for Apple products'. I believe it's something Steve Jobs and his company earned from customers all these years, I deny the term "crap" though. I would call it loyalty instead. Their innovation speaks volumes and the kind of product line they introduced remains way ahead of time. An amazing perfectionist who tries to bring the simplicity in his every product, no doubt he is "The Man of Technology Innovation". Get well soon Mr. Steve. World needs more from you and from your lovable Apple. My prayers and best wishes are with you.

With that I want to share some of his quotes here. Please don't miss the video below, a must watch, his life and struggle in his own words (his Stanford Commencement speech in 2005)...

My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are not done by one person; they are done by a team of people.

You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.
 

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It's best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations.

It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.

When the dot-com bubble burst, what I told our company was that we were just going to invest our way through the downturn, that we weren’t going to lay off people, that we’d taken a tremendous amount of effort to get them into Apple in the first place – the last thing we were going to do is lay them off.


So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see what different people think, get people talking about it, argue with people about it, get ideas moving among that group of 100 people, get different people together to explore different aspects of it quietly, and, you know – just explore things.

When I hire somebody really senior, competence is the ante. They have to be really smart. But the real issue for me is, Are they going to fall in love with Apple? Because if they fall in love with Apple, everything else will take care of itself. They’ll want to do what’s best for Apple, not what’s best for them, what’s best for Steve, or anybody else. 

I was worth about over a million dollars when I was twenty-three and over ten million dollars when I was twenty-four, and over a hundred million dollars when I was twenty-five and it wasn't that important because I never did it for the money.

I'm the only person I know that's lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year, It's very character-building.

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me… Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful… that's what matters to me.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. 

If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right. 

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Silence

Silence, a language of God. Amazing it is, as you could feel its presence only in fewer places like in a temple, church, mosque or any worshiping place. I am given to understand that our vibrations in these places are way different, so much calmness as our searches goes inside rather than outside, our awareness to the outer world diminishes drastically.

I wish I realized this amazing language long back in which words did not exists between people while thoughts prevailed to oneself. As a kid this language haunted me and only I knew how much I suffered. I called it loneliness, depression, unloving then. Result of which I searched love madly, crazily and hurted myself deeply. Whenever I felt I am silent inside I searched something outside that is when I hurted myself too much. Only that scare made me realize what sort of pain I went through in the course of searching. I wish I remained silent and searched myself inside rather than outside.

Given that wonderful opportunity right now, I have learnt the art of being silent and I should admit never ever I was happy like this before, a very satisfying and content feeling inside. The travel I take inside myself every moment is very interesting, brings such energizing calmness inside, relief from the outer world, even better gets me into debate with myself and guides me at certain point. Sometimes it's like a prayer, such peace and at times it's like chasing ghost inside me, such rigor. No matter what I am searching, I am glad that I do that inside rather outside. The more deeper I go inside, the more doors I bang open and more clearer it gets, I mean my path. With that I realized nothing much matters in the world than satisfying your inner needs which is selfless and unconditional. Thinking of selfless feeling, a new dream evolved in the back of my mind lately and I hope I will go ahead with that from here on.

No place in this world is as ecstatic as your own mind. Silence is a bliss and as I said earlier it is an amazing language of god so travel inside yourself whenever you are ready. May silence prevail in each one of us. We need such stillness often in our lives to understand the meaning of life.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Eat Pray Love - The Movie

Ever since I read this book written by Elizabeth Gilbert, I wanted to watch the movie very badly and most importantly noticing that Hollywood's sweet heart Julia Roberts is going to be the lead actress in the movie, I felt so happy about it. Though I have watched it sometime back, now is the time to blog about it. Here you go: I was super excited about this movie as I fell in love with the narration of Gilbert and her exceptional sense of humor but in the end I have to admit this movie did not do any justice to it.

There is so much lacking in this movie, and as I watched it I realized from the beginning there is so much left untold and no continuity at all. I don't know how Gilbert took this, honestly I felt terrible as it was a big let down for the book itself. Very disappointed by the way the movie has shaped up into. That too with an amazing actress like Julia Roberts, this movie has poorly wasted her fine talent.

This is for the second time I felt a fantastic book was caught in the wrong hands of movie makers. And the first one being Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. The book was a huge success all over the world and that's the one book I would never forget in my life. I read it like crazy and finished reading it real quick. But when I saw the movie, I was as disappointed as every other person in the world was. Needless to say It didn't do well in the box office. Just imagine the controversy surrounded with the book itself, with whole lot of twists about Christ and what a page turner it had been. But when it came to big screen, the excitement didn't last, the gripping narration was lacking in the movie. A remarkable writing, a fine thriller by Dan Brown didn't happen on screen.

So if at anytime in future I happen to notice that a movie is based on a book, I would definitely prefer reading the book first rather than watching the movie, simply because, I don't want to miss the beautiful narration by an author. And If you have felt you're disappointed by this movie, I request you to read the book, you will like it.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Let's get started 2011

It's a New Year and I hope many would have taken resolutions and to me, sorry I don't have the habit of taking resolutions at all.  2010 was a rough year for me and yes I don't want to look back and hurt myself. Hopefully 2011 will be good and I am looking forward to it.

And by saying so, this year started with fever and cold for me. Hmm Interesting. Sneeze...(Bless Me, please). A nice start indeed to bring the blessings coming.

May we all work on to see a wonderful year ahead. Let's hope, dream and deserve a delightful year. May you all continue to do what you love the most. God bless.