Happy Diwali

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Wish you all Happy Diwali

Russell Peters...racism (re)Defined

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Chennai..here I come..

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wwooha. hahha.. Jumping in joy.;)

Just booked my tickets to home. Cannot wait for spend month break at home, its been almost 10month since my last visit. I must admit during last few trip I feel out of place in my own hometown.

Chennai Blogger friends-- may be its good time to put face to names..!! email/comments if interested to catchup for cafe.

and give some pointer to some new kool eat-out and hangout places..

also, Iam taking 4day break journey in Dubai.
any advice/suggestions would help. must do's & see..!!

It's just a thought...

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as I face yet another relocation in my life, I was try to describe my current mood and I find this song is very close to my thoughts...



I haven't really ever found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it
I apologize that once again I'm not in love
But it's not as if I mind
that your heart ain't exactly breaking

It's just a thought, only a thought

But if my life is for rent and I don't lean to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

I've always thought
that I would love to live by the sea
To travel the world alone
and live my life more simply
I have no idea what's happened to that dream
Cos there's really nothing left here to stop me

It's just a thought, only a thought

But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down
While I am so afraid to fail so I won't even try
Well how can I say I'm alive

If my life is for rent...

Happy Birthday... to me...;)

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Birthdays comes and goes in every year
but few remains with us as golden memories

Its a special day to celebrate with loved ones
Although, the years carry our age away
but every aged year brings happiness into our heart

Life is full of ups and down, weary or teary
but life goes always with smile instead of frown

The birthday song sung to forget the world
and the birthday wishes keep pouring to live more
When the birthday gifts are overflowing on the table
and impatient face is glowing to open them.

Dine and wine are served unlimited
Music followed by dance to remember unforgettable day
'Happy Birthday To You' that is last words that we hear
from each and everyone and again the drums are silent
for another year to come.

Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself,
to become what he potentially is.
The most important product of his effort is his own personality
and I hope, I continue to enhance that important product.

Vagabonding Journey Planner

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I consider myself lucky & blessed for all the opportunities I had over the years, for interesting renaissance life experiences and traveling is one of the habits I value at premium for richness it brought to my thought process, tolerance, understanding oneness in diversity, appreciation for life, home and time.

OK Iam not a Vagabond. I am a common man with desire for certain level of material comforts. But I always wondered for long-term travel and excused myself due to lack of money and time. Reading Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, by Rolf Potts made me realize, may be I don't lack resources but desire to make such a journey. and may be my Indian DNA structure is constantly mapping my interest in the context of family, friends, material success and appreciate for all of those since billion others at our doorsteps lack those. [/my Review @ Journey with Books: Vagabonding by Rolf Potts]

I subscribe to view that Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty & well preserved body; but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a ride!' and purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience. May be this very thought can make me constantly challenge my comfort-zone to make such a journey.

But Challenges is not the lifestyle or resources but emotional support system. To find a partner in crime who share view & energy for such exploration. One thing I certainty don't want to do- is to gain rich life experience and not have enough people f/or enough time around me to share those rich life experience.

May be along with Art of Traveling, I need to learn of Art of Balancing. And May be for Starters, I should map my travel and pen down my experience. Vagadoner Blog Page coming soon not sure how soon is soon...

Miss Teen USA...response

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Having made fun of Miss Teen South Carolina, I thought I should be fare and post her interview on Today Show where they let her off the hook so easily and gave her a second chance to answer the "confusing" question on LIVE television. I don't think they should have laughed in her face, but may be they could have given her a little hard time..;L)

Tragic state of America

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Miss South Carolina was asked about tragic state that 20% American cannot locate their own country in world map, why?

her response: (If I haven't posted this video may be you wouldn't trust me with her answer)


oh dear lord... I'm totally speechless and cannot stop laughing, even without the part where she totally lost it - "students in the US can't find things on maps because they don't have maps".. this from the land which gave us Google Maps..

"Why people think Americans are stupid"

that's the stupid storm of middle america..;) and their great leader..:



so many great sentence.. but my pick "over century and half american & japan had formed great partners.." how can any stupid soul forget World War..!?)

Forest Fire... ancient Olympia burning

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Greece in a state of emergency & mourning



Five out of seven prefectures in the Peloponnese, southern Greece, along with central and southern Evia were again ravaged by wildfires on Sunday, with 42 blazes contained overnight, including a handful of previously damaging fires in the greater Athens area, although new fires were continually erupting. Tragically, the official death toll rose to 59 -- late Sunday evening -- in the wake of an unprecedented barrage of wildfires that erupted since Thursday, fanned by gale-force winds, heat and amid widespread speculation of arson. According to a fire brigade spokesman during a Sunday afternoon briefing, 63 new wildfires alone were reported in just a 24-hour period, of which 40 were quickly extinguished

Dove's Campaign

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noticed nice blog from blogpourri about Woman's Worth. interesting to note Dove pro-age campaign.



response to this ad.. pro-family and women's groups are urging a boycott of Dove products for "contributing to the sexualization of women as a commercial tool, as well as exposing children to adult nudity." and "media analysts have accused the company of pandering to women in an attempt to sell products".

and can you believe this ad is banned because of nudity ..;~) but victoria secret model is still OK..!!

Dove have history of making innovative ads.. "Other ads that have created media buzz for the company have included the "True Colors" ad that featured little girls worried about their appearances and a series of ads featuring large women, older women and women with perceived flaws that asked viewers to vote on their level of attractiveness."

whatz more Interesting is that-- according to Dove's global survey, only 2% of the 3000 women surveyed believe they are beautiful. 90% describe themselves as 'attractive' while 29% described themselves as 'average'. 63% of respondents felt that women were expected to be more attractive than women of their mothers' generation. Now Dove is sponsoring programs to boost the self-esteem among women.

I wonder why women feel pressure to look good than mother's generation.!? and I hope (like always)man are not blamed for this too...! and what this means in content of Indian women..!!

TAG(ged)...

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If anyone bother to notice, i haven't blogged for while this summer. some other things took my free time.. traveling, visitors, reading, movies..(excuses excuses anyways). after a while i logged-into my google reader-blogroll to find aprilslady had tagged. so i thought for now, i will fill my page with that..

1.(a) Pick out a scar you have
on my right eye bros

(b)and explain how you got it?
when i was 7-- playing.. eye closed and accidentaly landed on piece of wood which had nail on it.. yap, would have lost my eye.

2.What does your phone look like?
..!!?.. like a phone

3. What is on the walls of your bedroom?
spiders,..dirt,..may be..;)
actually nothing

4. What is your current desktop picture?
sunset photo which I took in a greek island...

5. Do you believe in gay marriage?
as long as Iam focused to, I don't care whoz getting married to who...

6. What do you want more than anything right now?
Vacation

7. What time were you born?
7:30am sunday

8. Are your parents still together?
Yes.

9. Last person who made you cry?
cannot remember..

10. What is you favorite perfume/cologne?
NA.. not into it. I buy when iam in airport.. recent one was 'Salvadore Dali Le Roy Soleil'

11. What kind of hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex?
naturally/god given.. no colored lens or no colored hair..

12. What are you listening to?
Hayfa Wehbe -- Arabic Lebanese singer (if interested.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXCfUtQMg8c )

13. Do you get scared of the dark?
I dont get scared. and if I do it may be in dark but not because of dark..

14. Do you like pain killers?
NA..not much experience with medicines so far..

15. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
used to be.. not any more..

16. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
home food...

17. Who was the last person you made mad?
didn't notice..

18. Is anyone in love with you?
many.. if you know me, you will too..;)

Celtic Horoscope...

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since I been busy doing nothing and haven't posted for a while, I picked this up... and I find scaring similarities...;)

You Are A Weeping Willow Tree

You are a dreamer, and you're into almost any kind of escapism. Restless and capricious, you love to travel to exotic places. You are easily influenced by others, as long as they don't pressure you. You tend to suffer in love until you find that one loyal, steadfast partner. An empathetic friend, you love to make others smile and laugh.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

Letter to IBN's Anuradhu SenGupta

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for Details/Background:
http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/2007/07/anuradhasengupta-164.html
http://ezhilthedevil.wordpress.com/2007/07/05/sivaji-vs-sengupta/

Anu, I was among other 1000+ bloggers who posted comments on your Sivaji Post and expressed, why you shouldn't use IBN-Blog for expressing your view. Great to see you are listening. so I thought to express my thanks for that(/listening) and moving to personal blog

Iam was silent fan of your works from CNBS days. And I really hope you spend your energy and time on more important issues/subject.

I don't like CNN-IBN because its increasingly following CNN's pattern of BS stories/coverage. Indian media is getting big and with it increasingly ugly by lossing its standards/ethics. NewsPaper & magazine have far better standard(Times excluded). I know this is very common opinion among bloggers but this will never hit news channels. even if its doesn't with very biased view. But BBC had taken notice on New Indian Media.. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5187242.stm

The big problem in Indian journalism is the lack of quality and experience at the copy desk

Liberalisation has led to the media targeting readers as consumers rather than citizens. There is a burgeoning of frothy supplements, loads of newsprint devoted to non-issues. It leads to the invisibility of those on the margin, which means those who make policy don't read about them and their problems as much as they should. Food and fashion journalism is unfortunately no longer confined to metropolitan cities, the regional papers are going the same way increasingly, because they too are targeting the upwardly mobile consumers in their cities.

If I may-- Please treat us as Citizen not as Consumer. with blogs,...opinions are evolving much faster among us(/blogger community, which is minority in India) and I do hope ugly part of Indian Media will take good hard look for reality check.

Thanks..

Book(Tag)ed..

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I was Bookied by Sandhya. that didn't sound right..L), I was BookTagged. (/also thanks too http://aprilslady.blogspot.com/)

First, I must admit Iam not even close to bookworm. My childhood friends would be surprised to know that I developed reading habits. I cannot even call it habit, since Iam irregular and I read those that pass by my eyes/ears. for me, Its mental fight to finish big book(anything more than 500pages).

and I cannot possible mention all but those few which cross mind while posting this. meaning those which I read recently or blog about has weightage..9)). News articles, Magazines, Internet read, Gandhi's books, Comics which I loved are not in list(below) but something that's very dear to me.

But ofcourse its very best honest attempt to list down my book interest.

Books that Changed my Life:-- largely I will credit experience rather than books for any changes. Having side that, books which had influence on me:
a Long way gone: Memoir of Boy Solider
Chasing the Good Life
my Temporary Son by Timeri Murari
Ayn Rand-- For New Intellectual and some more from same author
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Lufficer Effect by Philip Zimbardo
Paradox of Choice: why more is less by Barry Schwartz

Books that I’ve read more than once:-- reading once is good for me. more than once means those had to be very good or may be I didn't understand the first time (mostly the later):
Swami and Friends by R.K. Narayan (OK, don't we all love this book!)
1984 by George Orwell
The Republic by Plato (I had to re-read to understand better)

Books I’d take onto a desert island:
Love in Time of Cholera by Garcia Marquez
The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

Books that made me laugh:
The Inscrutable American by Anurag Mathur
Five point someone by Chetan Bhagat

Books that made me cry:
a Long way gone: Memoir of Boy Solider
my Temporary Son by Timeri Murari
Family Matters by Robinton Mistry
The Green Mile by Stephen King
Fine Balance by Robinton Mistry (/although I wouldn't like to market this book..))

Books I wish had been written by me:-- I cannot dare to wish that but at gun point my answer would be:
A Equal Music
(Un)Arranged Marriage by Bali Rai

Books I'm currently reading:-- kinda of just finished thou
The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen,
Collapse by Jared Diamond,

Books I’ve been meaning to read:
River Valley to Silicon Valley by Abhay. K (book title and recent interaction with the author.. made this to my to-be-read-soon booklist)
Maximum city: Bombay lost and found by Suketu Mehta
Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler

Books that have fascinated me endlessly-- mostly fascinated that someone can think on those lines, which is far beyond imagination.:
Harry Potter series
1984 by George Orwell
Contact by Carl sagan
Runaway Jury by John Grisam (most of from this author..)
Bicentennial Man by Isaac Asimov

Books I’ve tried to read in vain:-- but haven't given up yet...
Stephen Hawking's-- too heavy and technical. need load of contraction and re-reads.
Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler (still will try again)
Freakonomics (still will try again)

Books I’d love to own-- with my history of relocation(s) and another one coming soon, I live out of 2suitcases. I dont have luxury of collecting books & DVDs now. may be in future when I return to my home-home, I would love to own a Library..;-7)

Vatsalyam..peace

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I don't have many words to describe this song. Neither Iam religious nor Iam very knowledgeable in Carnatic Music but this song is Peace to Soul

Vatsalyam (Mannupugazh)


Artists: Bombay Jayashri

Paris, Je t'Aime

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Over this weekend, I saw Paris, Je t'Aime (Paris, I Love You), eighteen international directors have composed a collective ode to the magical, innately lyrical place. The result, while bursting with perhaps a few too many stories, is well worth a viewing for the performances and stories that are at once haunting, charming, relatable and life-affirming.

Yes, Love in all its weird and wonderful forms is the subject of this 18 short films made by an assortment of international directors who bring individual vision to a collective love letter to the French capital. Most of the directors have written their own pieces, and they range from whimsical to romantic, to dramatic and tragic. With many familiar faces including Juliette Binoche, Fanny Ardant, Natalie Portman, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi, Bob Hoskins and Gena Rowlands, the film is necessarily uneven but has an overall winning charm.

Given only a few minutes to present their segment, each director spins their own Parisian love song within a different district of the sprawling city. There are the requisite stories of meet-cute and first attraction, the resurfacing of old flames, and validation of relationships taken for granted. Those scenes are charming enough, especially with an omnipresent tinkling of French accordions in the background to give the film an airy, sentimental feeling; but love is not always sweet, and the stories that deftly examine non-romantic love, and even loss and longing, prove to be the most moving of the entire collection.

Ofcourse watching with English subtitles (Since I cannot understand French) may be not the fun part. Atleast they should have version with English voice over. Anyways, Concept was great and Movie was Brilliant.

Opera...

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Last week, I went to Opera performed by Placido Domingo and Katherine Jenkins at Panathenaic Stadium. It was the venue for the first modern Olympic games in 1896 . It started 30mins late from schedule time and that's the day fire broke out in Athens due to heatwave. anyways, at 9:30pm with all fire engine noise Opera started.

I must admit this was my first live opera experience and Iam not very much opera person but I loved the experience. It was fab. I have very diverse music interest but I realize that I missed out on Operas. Its fascinating to see someone with such high controlled voice. Ofcourse, I saw few musicals but not concert.

You don’t have to be an opera lover to enjoy the voice of Placido Domingo. I read recently he celebrated 40years in Opera. I can remember him from Live8 concert back in 2005. and Katherine, speechless.. very beautiful and brilliant voice. After their performance of popular operatic duets, she couldn't resist changing into her shorts and running around the 400-metre track at the Greek capital’s historic stadium. some peaks for staying late for crowd to move, I endup seeing her interest for running as well..;¬)

Its even more fulfilling since the concert was dedicated to the MSF programs for the children victims of violence and malnutrition at the area of Darfur.

If this interested you--
Katherine Jenkins - Music Of The Night

Happy Together,..

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Happy Together - The Turtles
Imagine me and you, I do
I think about you day and night, it's only right
To think about the girl you love and hold her tight
So happy together

If I should call you up, invest a dime
And you say you belong to me and ease my mind
Imagine how the world could be, so very fine
So happy together

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue
For all my life

Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue
For all my life

Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together

Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba
Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba

Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together

So happy together
How is the weather
So happy together
We're happy together
So happy together
Happy together
So happy together
So happy together (ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba)


Content Warming: may be inaproperate

AlGore was in Town…

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Former US Vice President Al Gore was in town to delivery speech about Global Warming.



Thanks for Sophie, a friend of mine.. who dropped email about this yesterday and I could ran in last minute. I don't know the future but I consider this to be lifetime opportunity to see the man live. turned out to be a great experience.

Athens being Athens-- It wasn't publicized well. being free entrance, I expected too much crowd then what I saw and I can notice most people were foreign/expats. I cannot understand why large% of local population would want to miss this..!! Initially, we were sited in auditorium adjacent and couldn't see live instead its live telecast. was very disappointed ofcourse. but its still OK till the speech started, it was live telecast with greek translation voice over. oh god.! I couldn't believe this.

but again, Athens being Athens-- you will always find work around (like India). we approached some officials and we were guided to sit in the auditorium to fill-in few remaining empty sites, where Al Gore was speaking.

about Global Warming/Information-- I don't need to explain importance of it since any rational human being would know and others(/stupid) will not accept or bother anyways.

Al Gore speech was great-- passionate and informative, based on facts, data/statistics. He was very critical about US government policies on this (rightly so). He ended his speech by saying-- as mankind had achieved some much glory in past, we could end this issue and control its impact. But he didn't outlined how individuals can contribute. ofcourse many would know but I thought that would be logical conclusion.

as far as, I remember AlGore and Prince Charles are one of the few personalities, who were talking about Global Warming for decades now. Rest of us are late to join them. We have moral obligation as thinking being to protect and stop other species from extension from this planet. Let the normal cycle of ice age continues, lets not trouble natural cycle of creation. Hopefully, collectively we will do more good so that our kids can enjoy this planet as we did if not more.

anyways, during the whole speech seeing his passion, approach and awareness-- I couldn't avoid thinking whether he is going to run for 2008 US presidential election or not? I want him to and from yesterday experience, my guess is-- he might.

Mate or soul Mate...!

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Are some people just meant to be in our lives, to play a part, even after we think that we might loss them. What is the role of accidental meetings, coincidental phone calls, coincidental mass emails sent by to an address which still lies in your address book which you`ve never been able to delete, because you just don't want to. Why is it that these people keep coming in your lives.


It`s amazing the way some people are a part of your life. How they just happen to pop in at intervals decided by the Universe. It`s ironic because it`s the same universe that conspired may one day take those people away from you. I don`t know why though. I`m reading my diary right now and I have written "She`s Perfect"...

Past, Present, Future

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a random thought about Past, Present and Future

past -- an autumn evening soft and mild
with a wind that sighs mournfully.

present -- green and flowery spray
where a young bird sits gathering its power
to mount and fly away.

future -- sea beneath a cloudless sun
a mighty, glorious, dazzling sea
stretching beyond infinity.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

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The U.S. vs. John Lennon -- 1hr:40mins

The new documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", tells the story of Lennon's transformation from loveable moptop to anti-war activist, and recounts the facts about Nixon's campaign to deport him in 1972 in an effort to silence him as a voice of the peace movement.

In the film, Walter Cronkite explains that J. Edgar Hoover "had a different conception of democracy" from the rest of us; George McGovern talks about losing the 1972 election to Nixon; Sixties veterans Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, John Sinclair and Tariq Ali recall their movement days; and G. Gordon Liddy happily explains the Nixon point of view: Lennon was "a high profile figure, so his activities were being monitored."

Those "activities" – planning a concert tour that would combine rock music with antiwar organizing and voter registration for the 1972 election – were stopped cold by Nixon's deportation order; but more than 30 years later, in the 2004 election, another group of rock stars finally did exactly what Lennon had been thinking about doing.

Although the Lennon film never explicitly connects the Vietnam war to Iraq, it's impossible not to think of the present when Nixon is shown saying, "as South Vietnamese forces become stronger, the rate of American withdrawal can become greater" (and then wipes sweat off his upper lip). But there's only one explicit reference to the present in the film, and it's brief: Gore Vidal says "Lennon represented life, and Mr. Nixon, and Mr. Bush, represent death."

Nixon got the idea of deporting Lennon from an unlikely source: Strom Thurmond, Republican Senator from South Carolina, who sent a letter to the White House in 1972 that outlined Lennon's plans for a US concert tour that would combine rock music with antiwar organizing and voter registration. Thurmond knew that 1972 was the first year 18-year-olds were given the right to vote, and that Nixon, up for reelection, worried about 11 million new voters -- who were probably all Beatle fans and mostly anti-war. Thurmond's memo observed that Lennon was in the U.S. as a British citizen, and concluded "deportation would be a strategic counter-measure."

It worked; the Lennon tour never happened.

For the next 30 years, the idea of a tour combining rock music and voter registration languished, until 2004, when Bruce Springsteen and a group of activist rock musicians did an election year concert tour of battleground states with a strategy very much like Lennon's. The "Vote for Change" tour, organized by MoveOn PAC, brought the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and a dozen others on a tour of swing states, with the explicit goal of getting young rock fans to register to vote and vote against the Republican in the White House.

If the idea of using rock concerts to register young voters was the same, the 2004 tour had different politics from its 1972 predecessor – that much is clear from the one concert Lennon did do before the deportation order came down: the "Free John Sinclair" concert in Ann Arbor in December, 1971. Sinclair was a Michigan activist who had been in prison for two years for selling two joints of marijuana to an undercover cop; 15,000 people turned out for the concert. "The U.S. versus John Lennon" features footage from that concert, including wildly radical speeches by Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale, who said "the only solution to pollution is a people's humane revolution!"

The Vote for Change tour had much less political talk, and much milder rhetoric. On opening night in Philadelphia in October, 2004, Bruce Springsteen made only a brief political statement: "We're here to fight for a government that is open, rational, forward-looking and humane," he said – not quite the same as Jerry Rubin at the 1972 concert shouting "what we are doing here is uniting music and revolutionary politics to build a revolution around the country!"

Of course 1972 and 2004 ended the same way – with the re-election of the Republican incumbent. In '72, Nixon won by a landslide; in 2004, Bush barely won the popular vote – you might call that progress.

One factor has remained the same over the last 35 years – young voters are the least likely to vote, and potentially a rich source of progressive support. The challenge of overcoming their apathy and ignorance remains – as does the strategy of reaching them through music. Thus what Lennon thought about in 1972, and what Bruce Springsteen, the Dixie Chicks and others did in 2004, remains a key to mobilizing young voters in the future.

As Lennon says in "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," "our job now is to tell them that there still is hope, we must get them excited about what we can do again."

Thinking beyond criticism.....

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Thanks to Lavanya, I landed on Thinking beyond criticism.

We burn buses at slightest provocation, we go on strike at whim , our players speak against their coach in public whilst in office, we counterprotest by being deliberately provocative and we have long history of violence inherent in our politics, even blogging; and for all the high falutin talk, us, the so called educated, are incapable to think beyond linking each other's posts and fuming at the failure of democracy before our keyboards at every such possible incident. We all, just blame one another.

These people, this world.

We arent one among them. We are different of course. We follow a pattern, a different one. Go to google and search for any of these issues: MMS scandal, Kareena Shahid Kapoor kiss, Shilpa Shetty racism, Da vinci code Delhi controversy, blogspot ban, Gandhi on youtube, Richard Gere Shilpa Shetty (oh yes) kiss etc, you would end up with a collection of snobbish looking templates heavier than War and Peace. Not once anywhere has there been a suggestion or any attempt to prevent such a incident again. Not even on any scale.

Simply, nothing has happened. We survive, we live. We blog.

Probably there is a reason for it all: We quite simply do not know beyond that.

Unless we get out of our new found post-modern elitism and cease regarding others: self appointed moral policers, nut-wingers, rightists, religious goons, this and that, whoever for however disagreeable they are for whatever reasons and take us all as one whole single unit, we shall only be speaking for ourselves. So, by implication we do not have any right to speak for a country. Which means, in other words, we shall be unable to look into solving these issues, by whatever means. That is the bigger shame.

Before us would be, two options, firstly, if we see ourselves as an elitist cohort exclusive of the rest of the citizens of our country, then we simply have to shut up this self-patting culture of blame blogs which we very well know only we ourselves read.

Secondly, if we take to see ourselves as a part of all these, then, I am certain we wouldn’t be writing any of these blogs.

yes, Thought provoking but I must admit comfort of blackberry lifestyle limit us to get our hands dirty. truth is we are out of touch. and we studied hard, work hard to get to that status of 'out of touch'.

Deep down a sense of guilt, may be the reason for an out pouring blogs and to be a silence vote of support for greater good. yes, I admit today Iam lazy but I too have passion may be with no direction & motivation. I intend not to stay the same for ever and that very thought makes me sleep without feeling (too much) guilt.

I think options are-- Ignorance and care of none. or understanding reality, share your cry/blog with like minded and to HOPE to create better awareness thus creating knowledge base which would help change a step at time which gives hope for better future.

I choice later... and I find comfort in doing so..

Patriotism, a venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility ... a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.

HIV was Deliberately Created for Military purposes ??

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We occasionally see articles where someone in government or the media, in this case Drudge and ABC News, take as unknown something well established if you know where to look. These reports are always curious because they reveal the dumbed down nature of mass media. Here, though, a famous woman spoke out and some in the media listened a little. In this case bringing back to our attention the major end-times plague of blood.

Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win the Nobel prize. On October 9, 2004, she reiterated her belief that the HIV virus was created by a germ warfare agency for military purposes. The original ABC News article is here. (By the way, that is the Australian Broadcasting Company, this would never make it in the American media.)

A book, Emerging Viruses AIDS and Ebola, Nature, Accident or Intentional by Leonard G. Horowitz, D.M.D., M.A., M.P.H., that covers the history of HIV. Well worth a read, and likely one of Maathai's original sources. The net of Horowitz's book is that the supposed discoverer of the AIDS virus was in fact the inventor who could easily identify the bug because it was made by his own hand. Very curiously, he was also one of the criminals pardoned by President Clinton in his last few hours in office. The book is also interesting because it is huge, over 600 pages, and contains photo copies of all the supporting United States Government documentation, since nobody would believe this story without the documents, it is so strange.

Horowitz's book is also interesting because of his personal testimony. In his call from Jesus to study this question he was lead by the Holy Spirit to some of the key documents. Though a radically different subject than Bible Time, there is significant similarity in the way Jesus called me on Bible Time. also interesting because it is the book most commonly cited by home schoolers explaining why nobody should be getting flu shots, nor any other shots for that matter.

Source : Bible Time

alone (Un)Defined...

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When the day turns to night
there with your thoughts
your part of this fragile world
is settled into their own

Does your mind wander like mine?
Retrieving latent bits of broken dreams
Wondering what would have happened
if there was another path
Or would there have been a wall
to slam against till the pain
was unbearable, leading to
yet another sad parallel universe

But in that one, you die
not from violence or torture
unless one considers that
its self inflicted.

Alone is never so quiet when theres
no one to blame but 'YOU',
Laugh with the clowns
cry with the saints

Time is the only thing
that I know
because each step we take
Brings us closer to our end

Stars so bright in the sky
morning sun lights on the face as the dark sky fades away
moments frozen in time kept alive by every breathe
as another day You will survive

...You are alone until you don't reach out...

Choices (Un)Defined…

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Ayn Rand said.. Every wo/man builds his world in his/her own image. S/He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice. And I say, Life is not always about choice but about priorities and much of those may not be determined by you.

Life build with so many details of happenings,
the life itself continue to grow, to move,
moment of life begins to the time being, amazingly done
by the creator of life.
We move to the direction we make,
the choices and changes in life.

But there are
So many choices ahead of me
and so many I've made behind
Who am I trying to please here?
I don't know what I'm trying to find

and there are
So many problems in my head
I don't know what I want to do

But what clear is, the one making decisions here is definitely me.

We all make our own decisions
Our lives are based on the ones we choose
and we Lose when Choose the wrong.
so Dreams demand good choices

Change (Un)Defined...

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time or fate may separate almost everyone, friends, love,
as time passes by, things change with the time,
every moment, hour, day, month, and year,
all things have their turn to change with the time

Life, time, and events change with the years.
everyone, everything, have a time and day,
time to change, end, begin a new day,
Change is life, the course of life everyday..

Sense (un)Defined...

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Wisdom rules and mends a heart that falters.
and heals the mind of those who took time to stray!
these days require all eyes be open.
and assessments of others once entertained,

Everything we thought we knew,
and the time it took for us to know it.
is coming to an abrupt end.

take common sense,
and strap it on tight.
For safety purposes.
Do not flaunt it

Just know that we have it with us,
at all times for emergency use.

what we call as News..!!

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another cool clip made by JibJab about what US calls as News

What We Call The News - JibJab

Anwar -- Tose Naina Lage Piya sawre

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Got hooked to this songs. awesome and kool video/photo slideshow


Anwar -- Tose Naina Lage Piya sawre

LIFE (un)Defined...

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Life is life
through all the ups, all the downs,
some will be there, some can't be found.
If they won't care as they should, so be it.
this is life in the way that I wish to see it.

Days come and go, true hearts stay close.
without happiness, love is an imitation at most.
you haven't stayed close, it's hard to love you,
this is life in a way that is sadly true.

to leave behind such a feeble mind,
forget it and pursue something real.
this is my goal, and in time...
this will be life and the way that I feel.

Life is life,
even though at times it's can tough,
you gotta live with it, even though it's rough.

It's a gift, given to us from up above,
so don't use it for hatred, but use it for love.

Life is the most precious, and valuable gift of all,
so don't throw it away, by jumping of a wall.

I know it myself, life can be hard,
so if your looking for help, just speak to God.

Life's of too great value to be thrown away,
so thank creator for letting you live – every single day.

You never know when your life will come to an end,
so live your life happily, get a family, and a best friend.

Live everyday as if it would be your last,
be kind, happy, and have a blast.

Can Sanjaya Malakar be American Idol..??

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Sanjaya Malakar has made the top ten of American Idol, but we all know that there is no way that he can win the competition. Eventually, there will come a point in time when the votes of those who vote for the best singer will no longer be split between various finalists, and their votes will out number the votes of those who vote for the worst singer. Right?

Maybe not. Sanjaya fever is sweeping across America, and it just might be enough to help him win the show. From Saturday Night Live to Howard Stern to Vote for the Worst to MySpace hunger strikers, everyone is talking about Sanjaya Malakar. While some want to see Sanjaya voted off as soon as possible, others are just as determined to keep him on the show.

Even though those that are voting for Sanjaya in order to mess with the American Idol results get the most press, there are also a lot of legitimate Sanjaya fans out there. American Idol audience member Ashley Ferl who bawled while Sanjaya sang is just one example of the many fans who actually like Sanjaya.

While Sanjaya has received a lot of negative feedback from the judges, he has also had a couple stand-out performances. During his initial audition, Sanjaya wowed the judges with a performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” Sanjaya also showed remarkable improvement in his most recent performance of “You Really Got Me.”

Whether people are voting for Sanjaya because they are his legitimate fans, because they are Howard Stern listeners, because they are Vote for the Worst devotees, or just because they enjoy seeing his hot sister in the audience, it all adds up to a lot of votes for Sanjaya Malakar.

so what do you think -- Can Sanjaya Malakar has a legitimate shot at winning American Idol ??

F*ck explained...

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Recently my friend FWDed below picture..explaining how important my f*ck*Ng friendship for him.



Had laugh then remembered, the importance of the word 'FUCK' from Osho Speech :

One of the most interesting words in the English language today is the word 'fuck'. It is one magical word: just by its sound it can describe pain, pleasure, hate and love. In language it falls into many grammatical categories. It can be used as a verb, both transitive (John fucked Mary) and intransitive (Mary was fucked by John), and as a noun (Mary is a fine fuck). It can be used as an adjective (Mary is fucking beautiful). As you can see there are not many words with the versatility of 'fuck'.
Besides the sexual meaning, there are also the following uses:
Fraud: I got fucked at the used car lot.
Ignorance: Fucked if I know.
Trouble: I guess I am fucked now!
Aggression: Fuck you!
Displeasure: What the fuck is going on here?
Difficulty: I can't understand this fucking job.
Incompetence: He is a fuck-off.
Suspicion: What the fuck are you doing?
Enjoyment: I had a fucking good time.
Request: Get the fuck out of here!
Hostility: I am going to knock your fucking head off!
Greeting: How the fuck are you?
Apathy: Who gives a fuck?
Innovation: Get a bigger fucking hammer.
Surprise: Fuck! You scared the shit out of me!
Anxiety: Today is really fucked.
And it is very healthy too. If every morning you do it as a Transcendental Meditation -- just when you get up, the first thing, repeat the mantra "Fuck you!" five times -- it clears the throat. That's how I keep my throat clear!

you can listen to Osho's own words if you don't trust me..!!;)

my Personality (Un)Defined...

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thanks to nithya, I happen to take some questions at blogthings.. I know, this is crap and very automatic and not sure how much of it is true. but its fun and seems to be close enough..;-p

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

Your Blogging Type is Artistic and Passionate

You see your blog as the ultimate personal expression - and work hard to make it great. One moment you may be working on a new dramatic design for your blog... And the next, you're passionately writing about your pet causes. Your blog is very important - and you're careful about who you share it with.

You Are Very Happy

Your life is totally together, and you enjoy every day. And you don't need a quiz to tell you that! You know how to find pleasure in the little things... And even when life isn't so great, you have a good sense of perspective.

Women...

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Women, a friend, a mother,..
A metamorphosis, one after another
and now i wonder
are you but a mere gender?

women,
filled with pleasure
you are the greatest treasure
you are the reason battles were fought
O! thy beauty many have sought

women,
with modest, selfless and kind,
gentle in ego to see
much divine and gorgeous a person you are.
When I tell you... you disagree.

woman you can see in the mirror,
how you lights a path for those who aspire
to be more than just daily circumstance,
woman,.. do I respect and admire.

oh! women
I sit here waiting all day
that someday you may,
come and make me yours
and to you always open are my doors.....

Life Intersected?? then...

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Life is a puzzle to work out each day
Courage to get closure will answer each step of the way
It's one learning process a simple stepping stone
All's experience for every day that you have grown.

Fight on through each and all live on to yet win
You never win simply sitting depressed, giving in?

Try not to think on them, get out some where
Show yourself love, just forget them don′t care
Face them head on, only as they run into you
This way you′ll live on, to defeat them through.

Guess Things happen that way

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Johnny Cash's Guess Things Happen That Way lyrics struck --sad yet hopeful.

Well you ask me if I'll forget my baby.
I guess I will, someday.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.
You ask me if I'll get along.
I guess I will, someway.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.

God gave me that girl to lean on,
then he put me on my own.
Heaven help me be a man
and have the strength to stand alone.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.

You ask me if I'll miss her kisses.
I guess I will, everyday.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.
You ask me if I'll find another.
I don't know. I can't say.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.

God gave me that girl to lean on,
then he put me on my own.
Heaven help me be a man
and have the strength to stand alone.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.

Senior Citizens Bill...

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The Union Cabinet, in a significant decision for the welfare of the older people, approved the senior citizens bill on Thursday. The bill, the Maintenance And Welfare Of Parents And Senior Citizens Bill 2006, would be tabled in Lok Sabha in the coming Budget Session.

According to the new bill, efficient care and better protection would be provided to senior citizens in the country. The bill will also make available a prompt and reasonable legal framework for them. The legal support would help senior citizens to get better maintenance to live a comfortable life.

The senior Citizen Bill would make it obligatory for every person in the country to provide better care and comfortable financial assistance to their parents and grandparents.

The Bill says further that if a person fails to provide assistance to his or her parents, they would be treated as guilty of offence under the Senior Citizens Act.

Later, under the Act, the court may also order anybody to provide financial help to their parents and grandparents. Ignorance of those orders may send them to jail.

The idea and motive behind the bill is to make people responsible for the older people in the family. Moreover, the bill also says that the government would maintain a data of senior citizens living in an area and it would pay them Rs 1000 per month.

The government has also decided to provide enough old-age homes specially for those older people who have no body to take care of them.

Surprise.. In India, we talk about culture, family.. but we need a bill to enforce elderly care -- do you think this bill can change anything?? Can Law enforce love or respect ?

The Past.. re-lived

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crash landed on Reminiscences re-lived
and I did relive....The Past

A setting so perfect
It's past lushes in scenes
Frame works of still pulsing stopping living

But with great feelings I look back
Judging each character as my eye freezes
The moments of past pictures
Something, which the future can’t even grasp

There it was again.
That moment.
as the universe
went about its business as usual.
There we were for a rare moment of
water lapping the lake edge.
it had to pass the perfection of it drifted
beyond our grasp;
to emerge from memory's still waters,
a deep ache of longing.

memories - but then again, life certainly is constanly morphing thing

Making and UnMaking of Child Soldier...

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I recently picked up a book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, which lead me to read more about Ishmael Beah, once a boy solider in Africa.

I found this New York Time's - The Making, and Unmaking, of a Child Soldier kinda of summarize his book.

Child Solider, the life that I cannot think how worst it can be... Everywhere in the world where there are conflicts and wars. The children tend to be used as key factors in fighting. Countless numbers of these children are forced to join whilst others are determined and willing to join because of lack of parental care.

They are sometimes between the ages of 4-14 years old and trained up in the bush and become very dangerous like wild animals. These children are given a chemical substance that s their daily food during battle, it makes these children to be more and more dangerous like a bush fire in the harmattan.' Worst of all, they are armed with heavy artilleries and other big machine weapons like A.K.-47, RPG, and others. They use these weapons to launch a barrage of attacks on highways, towns and villages, seas and every corner of the country. They also use weapons like culasses and knives that they use to amputate and inject the stomachs of pregnant women. They challenge themselves over the pregnant woman's stomach by saying that the unborn baby is a boy or girl so by this, way they slit the stomach of the woman with crude knives and uproot the unborn baby.

Its no brainier to say, violence and involvement of children in armed conflicts must be stopped since this only means no peaceful atmosphere for the others growing up of tomorrow. The only thing that the governments and other local and international non-governmental organizations should do is to create disarmament, demobilization and resettlement programs in order to integrate these children into society again.

I Pray for those children.. and Wish my daughter or grand-daughter would read such stories in history museum and not in newspapers.

its Time...to Let go

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Letting go doesn't mean to stop caring.
It means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go isn't to cut myself off.
It's the realization that I can't control another.
Rather than to enable...it is to allow learning from natural consequences.

Letting go is to admit powerlessness.
Meaning the outcome is not in my hands.
It is not to try to change or blame another; but knowing that I can only change myself.
Instead of caring for, it is to care about.
It is to be supportive instead of to fix.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To allow others to effect their own outcomes, instead of being in the middle arranging all the outcomes.
It is not to be protective but to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to deny but to accept.
Not to nag, scold or argue, but rather to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my own desires but to take
Each day as it comes and to cherish each moment.
Not to criticize and to regulate anyone, but to try to become the dream -I can be.

Instead of regret for the past...
It is to grow and live for the future,
To fear less and to love more.

~an unknown thought provoker

Adoption in India.. needs voice

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I heard Adopting a child in India is very very long and hard process. I can remember reading real life story My Temporary Son: An Orphan's Journey explains the some difficulties.

from mumbaigirl's post - I have linked petition below and appreciate your support.

Streamlining RIPA Re-licensing Process and NOC Process for NRI/OCI/PIO

To: Prime Minister's Offce, India

Honorable Prime Minister of India
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
New Delhi

NRI/OCI/PIO families currently face several delays when adopting from India. One of the contributing factors is the expiry of licenses of the RIPAs, and the subsequent delays in the license renewal process. NOCs cannot be issued by CARA for the children and the parents cannot get custody of the child for pre-adoption foster-care until the RIPA's license is renewed.

The license for a RIPA is valid for a period of 1-3 years and there is a gap of several months before the license is renewed. At this time, 16 of the 67 licenses have already expired or will expire this month (Feb 2007). These 67 RIPAs are the only agencies NRIs/ OCIs/ PIOs can go through and when over 20\% of them have expired licenses that indicates a breakdown in the process resulting in significant disruption in the adoption process. Such disruptions cause the children to remain in the orphanages for much longer than they should. The longer a child is institutionalized, the greater the probability of attachment disorders and long term trauma. Also, the NOC is just one step in the process, and once the NOC is awarded, the case still has to be adjudicated in court which could take several months.

Uncertainty in the timeframe of RIPA license renewal is quite stressful for everyone involved – the RIPAs (who should be focusing on caring for the children and on operational details rather than chasing down license status everyday), the adoptive families (whose lives are on-hold for such long periods of time) as well as the State and CARA personnel (who have to constantly answer questions on status instead of focusing on completing their scrutiny in a timely manner).

These delays are not good for either the children or the families waiting anxiously to hold them. The sooner the children can go into a loving home, the better it is for them.

We would be very grateful if you could please help us in this regard by streamlining/ standardizing the process of license renewals of RIPAs. Timely renewal of licenses of RIPAs will help the children come home to their families sooner and assimilate/ integrate better. Some of the suggestions that might be implemented are:

• Implement the timeline suggested in the 2006 CARA Guidelines of 15 days for issuing the NOC to prospective adoptive parents.

• Any dossiers submitted before the license expires should be processed by CARA based on the "time in" stamp.

• If there are no complaints or detrimental reports against a RIPA, then a provisional license should be provided for a 3-6 month period while the detailed scrutiny is carried out, so that NOCs can be issued and adjudicating the cases in court is not stopped.

• Pre-approve the NOC for families who have adopted before and are in compliance with all reporting requirements based on the recommendation of the RIPA.

• Expedite NOC turnaround time for children that might require urgent medical attention to address chronic or other medical conditions.

• Post NOC statistics on the CARA website, such as average time to issue NOC and number of NOCs issued every month and to which RIPA.

As a community, we (NRI/OCI/PIO families) maintain very strong ties to India and we would like to bring home our adopted children as soon as possible. We teach our children Indian traditions and arts and visit India very often. We greatly appreciate your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

Few Interesting Links on Adoption in India:
http://adoptionblogs.typepad.com/
Indian Adoption Resource
Indian Adoption Process
Indian Adoption Agency in US
Indian Adoption

Reality.. is very Subjective

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Subjective reality's container is the ever-present awareness, the field of consciousness in which all of reality takes place. This "reality" includes all thought and all of its manifestations, including the following: ideas, concepts, imagination, people, animals, plants, places, objects, events, circumstances, situations, relationships, beliefs, emotions, time (past, present, future), the afterlife, spirits, angels, etc. Anything and everything you can perceive or conceive is part of this reality. There is no outside. Even the act of considering there may be something outside is still taking place within that awareness. So if you die physically and find yourself a disembodied spirit, you're still experiencing subjective reality. Truthfully only your ego can experience death.

Your true identity is the ever-present awareness, the field of consciousness in which all of reality exists. It is permanent and immortal. It exists independent of time, and it can only be perceived in the present.

You are free to identify with the ego, but it is not your true identity. To say you are your ego persona is like saying you are your thumb. Your thumb is certainly a part of you, but it is not the entirety of you. Just as you are much more than your thumb, you are much more than your ego. But to the degree you turn your ego (or your thumb) into your whole identity, you limit your experience immensely. There's some value in having that experience to be sure, but eventually you'll suspect there's more to you than just a thumb.

People, including your own avatar, are projections of consciousness. They are not projections of your ego; your ego itself is a projection of consciousness as well.

Every human being is effectively a physical representation of part of the contents of consciousness. You are that consciousness, so every human being is a manifestation of a part of you. Consequently, everyone is significant and meaningful — there are no irrelevant or inconsequential people.

Every person you create in your reality is the manifestation of a thought. Every unique person represents a specific aspect of consciousness itself… a specific aspect of you. If you understand yourself fully, you will know all there is to know about people. And if you understand other people fully, you will know yourself completely.

Feb'07: WikiCamp @ Chennai

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The same team who organized BlogCamp is now bringing out WikiCamp, India's first unconference on wikis.

Wikicamp is all about harnessing and understanding the power of Wikis. It is a one day event aimed to bring together the best minds from the Wiki/Internet space to talk about issues, opportunities and what the future and evolution of this valuable tool looks like.

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, will be a key speaker at the event.

The event takes place at Tidel Park,Chennai on the 25th Feb'07.

You can get more information at http://www.WikiCamp.in

If you are interested in taking part, you can register at
http://wikicamp.in/wiki/index.php?title=Participants

Social Skills: Introvert - may be BUT Extrovert - good to have

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As a child I was very introvert, often spending my time on the very few close friends, keeping to myself, pursuing other solo hobbies. I’d usually favor doing these things alone or with people I knew very well. I never felt too comfortable around strangers, and I never cared for big family events. Anyone who knew me would have described me as an introvert without a second thought.

In normal (south)indian lifestyle..this is no big deal and no pressure to socialize always. and I often viewed extroverts as lacking in intelligence and depth, and I can’t say I wanted to count myself among them.

However, over a long period of time, I eventually found myself becoming more and more extroverted. I embraced spending time with other people, went out of my way to meet new people, could comfortably introduce myself to strangers, and actually enjoyed it. To the people who know me today, this wouldn’t be surprising.

I’m not the kind of extrovert I envisioned as a child though. I feel I’ve done a good job balancing the introvert and extrovert parts of myself, such that I enjoy both types of activities equally. I feel just as comfortable staying at home reading a book as I do going to a new social event and introducing myself to people I’ve never met. I enjoy both group and solo activities, each for different reasons. Some weeks I’m far more introverted and mostly stay home with my family. Other weeks I have a full social calendar with an event almost every night. I enjoy both just as much.

• Undervaluing extroversion. Spending time alone and with people are equally important. If you’re very introverted, you may undervalue the positive role people can play in your life, such as knowledge, friendship, growth, laughter, and so on. The optimal outcome is to strike a balance between the two. You don’t have to give up the introvert activities you enjoy. In fact, when you balance them with more social activities, you’ll probably find them even more satisfying. After several nights of being around people, I really look forward to a night by myself to read, write, sleep, etc. And after lots of time alone or with my family, I’m itching to go out and be around other people.
• Underdeveloped social skills. Social skills can be learned like any other skill set. One reason introverts shy away from social activities is that they don’t feel comfortable because they don’t know what to do, especially if the unexpected were to occur. Being able to start up a conversation with a stranger AND feel completely comfortable doing it is a learnable skill. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Embrace the fact if you’re a beginner, and don’t compare yourself to others.
• Envisioning yourself as the wrong kind of extrovert. If you find the extroverted people around you shallow and perhaps even annoying, why would you want to be more like them? You wouldn’t. When I was a kid, I really didn’t want to be more like the extroverts I knew. It seemed very fake and phony to me. But you needn’t choose such a limited vision for yourself — you’re free to form your own vision of a positive way to be more extroverted.
• Hanging out with the wrong people. Why would you want to spend more time with people you don’t like? If becoming more extroverted means spending more time with people you’d rather avoid, you’ll have no motivation to do it. Again, you’re free to break this pattern and form a social group that you’d love to be a part of.
• Overvaluing online socializing. Online socializing has its place in your life, but it’s a pale shadow compared to face-to-face communication. Voice and body language can communicate a lot more than text, and emotional bonds are easier and faster to establish in person.

In my experience, I find many reasons for good-to-be-an-extrovert.

No thumbrulez, and Iam no expert.. but I believe Extrovert (and Introvert balance) can take you much further than otherwise you normally would go. If you want to get past some of blocks, the first step is to acknowledge them and consider how they’re holding you back. Then begin to work on them just as you would any other challenge in your life.

Lost ancient civilization of world - India

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Lost ancient civilization of world - India is Discovery channel documentary highlights early History of India..



What ancients did for us - The INDIANS
The amazing inventions, extraordinary ideas and world's first and advanced civilization by Indians that are still usefull today, such as plastic sergery, number system, wax, yogas, water clock, etc.


Must watch..

Bill Gates, Microsoft... Tribute??.;)

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Letterman's Tribute To Bill Gates

Now Vista is coming...
to buy upgrade window Vista ?

Indi-list : an Idea that needs more hands

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Indi-list : an Idea that needs more hands

"miserable failure" and Bush.. delinked

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After just over two years, Google has finally defused the "Google Bomb" that has returned US President George W. Bush while searching for "Miserable Failure"



more @ http://searchengineland.com/070125-230048.php

Komagata Maru.. Passage from India

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Recently saw this documentary film "Passage from India"

In his small village in the Punjab, Bagga Singh heard fabulous stories of Canadian land waiting to be settled. In 1913, Singh made it to Canada through the United States, circumventing strict immigration laws which sought to keep Asians like him out. He found work labouring in the lumber mills of British Columbia. Two generations later, Bagga Singh's granddaughter, Belle Puri, is a well-known CBC television journalist in Vancouver. The film follows Belle as she draws upon family stories and tries to understand what life would have been like for her grandfather.

Filmmaker Ali Kazimi, himself an immigrant from India, parallels the history of the Indian community in Canada with his own journey. Kazimi skillfully mines anecdotes from two 'old-timer' immigrants, Kuldeep Bains and Jack Uppal. Canadians will be surprised to learn that Indians were denied the right to vote until 1947. Indian Canadians organized and lobbied for inclusion and helped make Canada a more just nation. That they and their descendants, like Belle Puri, continue to feel a deep attachment and love for Canada, is a testament to the worth of this country.

Passage from India is an enduring testimony to the hard work of thousands of Indians like Bagga Singh. Filmmaker Ali Kazimi faithfully and passionately documents the history of the Singh family and eloquently articulates the hopes, struggles and desires of all Canadians whose roots lie in India.

for those poor souls, who dont know about Komagata Maru - Click here

High IQ is not equal to Intelligent...

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Learning begins with an appreciation of our differences and realities. Everyone has heard of IQ tests, and many assume that they are the best way of assessing intelligence. It now emerges that this is a very narrow test indeed, so its persistence is highly misleading. We need to unlearn about IQ importance.

Howard Gardner writes of multiple intelligences, arguing that we have at least seven different ways of knowing the world. Instead of merely the logico-mathematical intelligence that is measured in standard IQ tests, Gardner talks about other, equally valid intelligences. They are language, spatial representation, musical thinking, kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal and intra-personal intelligences. In a world obsessed with the standard IQ model, we run the risk of demotivating intelligent people who fail a limited and fairly arbitrary but ubiquitous test. Furthermore, those who pass may be given undue accolades, and be closed to further learning.

We all use our very different ways of relating to the world when solving the problems that we have; in other words, we all have different approaches to solving problems. It is also now widely recognized that we have different learning styles , learning modalities (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) and creativity styles.

unless we use different approaches when engaging different people(E.I), we may not hardly be heard, let alone hope to communicate in any meaningful way. Everyone has strengths in one or more of these seven areas, which combine to become part of that person's individual reality. If we find that we cannot easily understand or like someone, by speaking to another of their `selves' we can find talents and gifts we little suspected. This is true empathy; consciously learning about their world and dealing in their reality.

if interested: Emotional Intelligence

LibraryThing... book review directory

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I wasn't a book person and whenever I thought, its good habit to take-up, I just couldn't go beyond - newspaper, news articles, Tintin, Asterix, Spiderman,.. and some 'talk-of-the-time' books.

when moved out of India and having some time to kill - took me to books, to blogs and blogs on book reviews. Ever since, I took every opportunity to get hooked to book review club, community, websites.

I found LibraryThing to be interest website for this. "Its MySpace for books or Facebook for books. LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth. LibraryThing is a full-powered cataloging application, searching the Library of Congress, all five national Amazon sites, and more than 60 world libraries. You can edit your information, search and sort it, "tag" books with your own subjects, or use the Library of Congress and Dewey systems to organize your collection."

for all book review bloggers..may we can compile book review blog directory.!? appreciate your thoughts & blog urls.

Thousand Hands Guan Yin dance

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I found this video recently and googled for information. Its worth taking 5mins to watch this dance.



The bewitching performance of Thousand-hand Bodhisattva dance performed at the 2005 CCTV Spring Festival Gala by 21 hearing impaired girls and boys with the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT) in Beijing caused a nationwide sensation. The movements were of breathtaking precision. The marvelous choreography, lavish costumes and perfect lighting were a thrilling experience. amazing accuracy of the 21 dancers' "thousand hands" gesticulating as if they belonged to one body. The dance was led by Tai lihua and choreographed and directed by Zhang Jigang. On September 28, 2004 at the Closing Ceremony of the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games the eight-minute debut of Thousand-hand Bodhisattva as a "theme song" wonderfully shocked the whole world.

Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being who watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out for help.

Gandhi Videos...

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In fall 2004 Telecom Italia released a commercial using Gandhiji's feature and exerpts of his speech at the Inter-Asian Relations Conference, New Delhi, 1947. The message of the one-minute video clip - that is broadcasted internationally.



The commercial was helped designing by Gandhiji Serve Foundation and has won Europe's premier creative award, the Epica Award 2004. [ Click here to read about theme and creation ]

I dont remember this getting any attention from Indian Media, or Indian Government. But today some stupid person made a pole dance dressing like Gandhiji - that's given somuch attention and debate.

I sincer wish - collectively we grow-up to appreciate Good things and Ignore stupid things...

my Perfect world...

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bright shining lights, smiling faces, laughter, music

peace and love, timeless space,
deep midnight conversation, meaningless chat

my friends close by, to need and be needed,
to help and be helped, to listen

yes, my perfect world exists in me
you're welcome to visit, to stay,
pull up a chair and
together we can see it through

iPhone.. iam already a fan

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are you convinced? post your thoughts