Me in 2009

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Thanks to Suicide Hotline and Enigmatic Rantings, I landed on
Final week of 2009 @ Sunday Stealing

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Tattoo

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Not really.

3. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
with friends.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes

5. What countries did you visit?
Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, India, etc...

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
hmm..Probably relocation.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
3rd weekend of July..spent lovely weekend in Bangalore with a friend.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
9. What was your biggest failure?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
my DSLR Camera & Pair of rings for parents on Dad's 60th birthday.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Travel, phonecalls, investments,..

13. What song will always remind you of 2009?
MJ's songs for obvious reasons and for very different personal reasons..
Citizen Cope - Son's Gonna Rise
(Telugu) Anand - Nuvvena
(Hindi) Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

14. What do you wish you'd done more of?
calls

15. What do you wish you'd done less of?
eating

16. What was your favourite TV program?
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.

18. What was the best book you read?
House of Stairs, Life of Pi,

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Tracy Chapman, Thirteen Sense, Citizen cope,...and more.

20. What was your favorite film of this year?
District 9, Hangover,..

21. What did you do on your birthday?
home party with friend celebrating me becoming wiser

22. What kept you sane?
Optimism

23. Who did you miss?
will always miss the friend who lost during the year.

24. Who was the best new person you met?
many of them..folks from Alicante needs specially mentioning.

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
Do as little as possible, and that unwillingly, for it is better to receive a slight reprimand than to perform an arduous task. The corollary to this is that an awful lot of life’s problems solve themselves if you leave them be.;)

May this new year bring many opportunities to your way,
to explore every joy of life &
may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm,
turning all your dreams into reality
and all your efforts into great achievements.
Happy New Year to you & your loved ones.

Never a year like 2009 (american news summarized)

Adiós 2009, Year that was..

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As I remember, reflect & readthru 2009 from the edge of it-- I see no major health issues, my wealth continues its up trend, job is Ok not great but anyway nothing so worst to complain but this year made its mark with few emotional scars. Even with my optimistic nature, I have to say objectively this year isn't all that I hoped for.

Personally, 2008 is the year with so much news about marriage, new born,.. but largely news of 2009 has been about breakups, divorces, separations, death. But in the Mist of confusions, complications, hardships, sorrows, net weight gain(+3kg.;()..I had made some cherishing memories & experiences which will last forever.

My trend of traveling to few corners of earth and stepping into few uncharted experiences continued in 2009 may be more so then in the past.

when I readthru some of my blogs, even as early in march'2009 I have seen this year to be more confusing.
http://iamyuva.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/thats-what-happened/

Its been the year, of moving from old to new. I mean orkut to facebook..;)
I had a tattoo..;) had to be high point..;)
http://iamyuva.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/tattooed/

my Travel adventure continues-- had to be one of highlight of the year.... south west France road-trip, trip to Nordic countries, etc..
http://iamyuva.wordpress.com/tag/travel/

Luck had its way in linking me up with few interesting people and also broking those links. sometime just breaking the soft-link but sometime even the hard-link(out of touch). Nevertheless, those souls added interesting colour to my life.
Thanks to all those & big sorry to some of those, if my action caused any hurtful feeling. Although I dont regret much of it, my Intention was never to hurt anyone. Its probably the act of destiny (so don't blame me)).
And my lasting tribute to my grandma & lovely friend who passed away this year. My world was made better because of their presence and had many many joyfully moments with them. May your soul rest in peace and I am sure you would be my guard angle.
http://iamyuva.wordpress.com/tag/Journal/

I would like to believe that I have become more wiser. apart from people who I shared my conversations and time with, its also thanks to TEDtalks, speeches, books, documentaries, etc..
http://iamyuva.wordpress.com/tag/defined/

And network of blogger had increased to new heights. I made remote connections to folks across the global and I had opportunities to meet few of them in person. for those who I haven't met yet, I am coming soon..life is long and world is small.
Thanks to you all ladies & gentlemen for being here and for making my world bigger & better.

Wish you all Happy 2010 & beyond.

Song for the mood.

Merry Xmas

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There are 4stages in life.
you believe in santa,
you don't believe in santa,
you are santa
you look like santa.
whichever stage you are in,
Have a peaceful Merry Christmas..

Nostalgic

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Suddenly i get all sentimental
nostalgic in a sense unusual
found myself talking like you're near
you know..someone reminds me of you.
and its I guess in your own plan,
you made sure i'd be reminded of you.
rest in peace my dear friend,.

Happiness (un)Defined

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I so much wish to understand happiness
the risks that come with it
the confused worry it brings
the uncertain fear of its departure
the mess it leaves behind
the temporary nature of it
the joy it creates in abundance
the love it makes me feel for myself



The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life, seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another. Avarice over-rates the difference between poverty and riches: ambition, that between a private and a public station: vain-glory, that between obscurity and extensive reputation. The person under the influence of any of those extravagant passions, is not only miserable in his actual situation, but is often disposed to disturb the peace of society, in order to arrive at that which he so foolishly admires. The slightest observation, however, might satisfy him, that, in all the ordinary situations of human life, a well-disposed mind may be equally calm, equally cheerful, and equally contented. Some of those situations may, no doubt, deserve to be preferred to others: but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardor which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice; or to corrupt the future tranquility of our minds, either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly, or by remorse from the horror of our own injustice. Wherever prudence does not direct, wherever justice does not permit, the attempt to change our situation, the man who does attempt it, plays at the most unequal of all games of hazard, and stakes every thing against scarce any thing... ~ Adam Smith

Soccer Kid..the smart one

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Thanks to susispice

War on climate

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I posted my 2cents on global warming saving earth(?) and watching AlGore live

I find this interesting TEDtalk from Legendary scientist David Deutsch puts theoretical physics on the back burner to discuss a more urgent matter: the survival of our species. The first step toward solving global warming, he says, is to admit that we have a problem.
Civilizations has gone to dust and sooner or later we could be too. Only logical way for our civilizations to live-on as long as possible is to figure out way & learn to survive better even with changing temperature and ofcourse also reducing(/postponing) temperature changes by altering lifestyle choices. It has to be both not one or the other.

while I was away- part 3

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Weekend before the last, I made trip to Alicante, Spain to catch-up with a friend. I don’t know much about the place. but I thought its good excuse to visit another place in lovely spain. If you don’t know already, I am totally biased towards anything & everything about Spain, my first love.

Alicante,is little coastal town. european commission being the biggest employer, which is were my friend works. I say little but its bigger than luxembourg.;) place to see- castle on top the mountain and nice view on a clear day overlooking the beach one side and city on the other. it was close to 20degrees in mid-november. loved it. Spain like greece typical mediterranean culture, people having dinner at 11pm going out to pubs/bars at 1am..and some bars are opened only at 3:30am. needless to say about crazy night outs. less said the better.;) what's more wonderful..is the interesting people I meet.

friday night..meet Mar, who couldn't speak english..but she kept the conversation with some translation help from my friend. That’s very nice of her. one of many things what I like about Spain & Spanish people...even without the language they always try to be inclusive. their kindness to be immigrates (not just high-skilled but everyone) and their general awareness of the world..very good..

saturday dinner & sunday lunch was at friend's friend place. german guy & france guy was the host us and hooked up with very deserve group..age, nationality, et..food= asian food. they cooked chinese & korean food. host is travelers. they work 6month save money and travel for 9months. asia is their favorite destination..it was nice to take about their travel experience..

I so wish, I could be as content and as free flying bird like them.

while I was away - part 2

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....
wanting to fly with angels wings.
wasn't to be this time, atleast just yet..

while I was away - part 1

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ok..not sure you care about it, but thought I should update the journal.

almost 4weeks back, I went on 9days road trip in south west France with a friend and wanted to write about the experience but it’s so beyond words I kept postponing to post. And I don’t want to write about place to see, things to do since I can’t do better job than folks at lonely plant, tripadvisor, virtualtourists.

Our whole trip was constructed & executed under a week. often the best trips are those which was arranged in last minute. after couple of mail exchanges, me & my friend finalized route map and after couple of hours call time, we finalized hotel bookings. that's it, all done. off we went.

start point- Bordeaux airport, that's were me & my friend met. hired citroen C2, off we go... on the way, we wanted to buy some stuff. we saw carefour and with all the excitement without knowing, we were driving on walking area..;) trip started on perfect note. Our tom-tom(GPRS) name was rooth (its a she..although its driving direction device..;) I am told its because of her voice and so we named our car James(he) just to give her(rooth) some excitement about the trip.

first stop- saint emillion, checked into to big hotel(with not so big rooms..setting the expectation for the whole trip). had nice dinner with local wine.. walking around in moon light was good fun. next day we visited vineyard Chateau La Couspaude run by friend-of-friend's...understanding wine making processes, tasting merlot red,..fabulous and touring underworld chruch.

mr.nice vineyard guy recommended a pitshop at st.Pardon to watch waves from sea thru river famous among local surfers. but we waited for almost an hour but no waves to be seen. we moved out. it seems wave wasn't that big anyways.


next- Cognac,. another tiny town and nice hotel. next day- turned out to be the best experience. via some random friend’s connection, we got royal tour of Hennessey cognac house. Understanding cognac blending process and seeing vintage(1900, 1934, 1800..)ya, 1800 vintage(and best is yet to come.) Met Mr. Maurice Hennessey family member of Richard Hennessey, he explained us history Hennessey ads and talking about Hennessey business during french revolutions & world wars. he took us to Hennessey guest house(/wonderful castle) for very nice lunch and signed off with Fine Cognac bottle/gift bag. off to next destination with evening cafe stop at Brantome.

next stop- Périgueux another tiny town. interesting story here is- McD is banned in the city(which I think is good). and we met another random local friend(of a friend..of a friend). snowing us around and making fun of our sense of architecture (names & brands). Had nice dinner with some strange conversations about capitalism v socialism, life's expectations, how much money required for retirement. needless to say some misunderstanding & assumptions, finally all got clarified.

Next day- based on his recommendation we did pitstops visiting toute la grotte de Lascaux, cave paints of pre-historic men. Well another excitement was- gas was running out. James(our car) had Gas for 80kms, we found one gas stations but I said we can re-fill in next one. And then, heart was beating little/tiny bit faster..wishing & hoping to find gas stations. and we finally did found one after 73km..;)

next day- heading towards Rocamadour. road was blocked due to construction work. But Instead of finding alternate route, I did the brave Indian act, just moved the block sign and drive thru to reach our destinations.;) our stopover was Rocamadour, lovely hilly town.

next was long driving day..visiting Toulouse and reaching Biarritz, another beautiful coastal town. evening we decided to give james(our car)rest. walked sea side. had sangria watching surfers...after nice dinner & drinks. we thought we could walk back to hotel. but ofcourse it had to happen..we got lost..;) called a friend in london to google us the directions..we ended-up in local bar and asked the guy to call taxi for us..;) safely reaching the hotel.

next day..trip to san Sebastian Spanish town of Basque country. most of the day was washed way. so we ended-up having nice Spanish lunch with sangria and ice cream in the rain.
on the way back to biarritz, pit stop at St Jean de Luz bought tasting famous macarons at Maison Adam.

next day- relaxing breakfast at biarittz. pit stop to dune du plya - largest sand dune in Europe. Thankfully no rain so we could have good view from the top and did sand surfing to get down.

reaching our next stop-over at arcachon, another nice coastal retirement town(translation= full of old people). We did long walk in the beach and had nice dinner & wine.
next day..to chateau doisy-daene, a family run classified vineyard(run by friend of..a friend). tasting nice sweet white sauternes..2009 vintage straight from barrel.

Day ended in Bordeaux- it was good bye time to james after 1820km drive. kissed good bye to my friend..

I spent the night walking around Bordeaux city center and took train to Paris next day early morning to met another friend. she recently relocated back to Paris from Luxembourg. so my final day- walking around in streets of Paris. wonderful lunch, watching street artists, evening at Basilique du Sacre Coeur, sitting in steps listening to street musicians who were taking turns to amuse the crowd with lovely guitar music.

Ofcourse I just don't have enough words to explain some of the stranger conversations, episodes, highlights of our trip…like our quest for pharmacy and then finding in very place when we don’t need one, my friend’s addiction to cheese, foie-gras..;), saying “please thanks woof” all the time to every other(mocking english politeness), my music awareness enhanced with introduction of Citizen cope, above & beyond, oceanlab, thirteen Senses, etc...

one of the best travel week of my life came to an end. all good things should end. by product is- exciting memory to cherish.

Explaining the Explanations

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For tens of thousands of years our ancestors understood the world through myths, and the pace of change was glacial. The rise of scientific understanding transformed the world within a few centuries. Why? Physicist David Deutsch proposes a subtle answer at Ted.


I differ in one sense that to make assumptions about our so called pre-historic generation had no good rational explanations about our world may not be very correct. for example- vedas had some explanations more correctly noted distance between earth with moon, explanations for evaporation/rain,et. perfectly calculated architectures/construction from olden times means they knew about it not accidentally. maybe they don't give real reason because they thought it would create controversy or it also may be because we no longer have access to those valid explanations which could have been destroyed with times. or may be earth has been recreated so many time with many climate changes and so there was even more advanced cultivation which was washed away by time.. so while I agree that ancient explanations haven't always been rational but I can't believe they knew little. I think they knew more than what we think they knew. ofcourse, I could be wrong but that's my 2cents.

Change Generation, are we?

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and yes PC is gone(still going) too far. (/if anyone is worried about kids then read Home Game by Michael Lewis/)

"Give Me One Good Reason To Die"


at the millennial rolling-over point
baby boomer one-time-hippies
turned parents across these United States groan,
"when we said
'you can be anything' we meant
'you can be a brain surgeon or
district attorney or
genetic engineer' -- we
didn't mean you should become
a... poet."

But it was Dad who taught me that the call
of my wild heart rings as valid
as any voice of reason

And Mom who showed me that raging terror of where you're headed
is the surest sign you're traveling
in the right direction

This is a generation
beyond definition, unconvinced
the American dream isn't a fiction
of REM sleep; certain
gender matters less than love; determined
the apocalypse won't catch us napping.

Breast-fed on "how many roads must a man walk down,"
we watched our creators sacrifice their sharp edges
to stay within the lines; small wonder we race
to rant about wrongs or
find the edge of the planet
and lean at the lip of the void

We are the change generation,
fitted with the inconsistencies
of a millennium in flux; vagabond lot, we
skitter one city to the next
in seek of a home not in need of so much repair;
see, our inherited tools they fit fit like a Phillips-head
in a slot-top screw; we know that sit-ins
end in tear gas and tanks,
picket lines in promises
and compromises, lobbying
in backrooms and bullshit

I might believe in this Revolution
if one person proved he knew
what he was fighting for
and how

because the KKK still erects a cross in Cincinnati's Fountain Square every Christmas and

teenage girls have to weigh back alleys versus daddy's fists to secure
abortions and

Promise Keepers fill stadiums while poets play coffeehouses and

if I fucked a woman in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia or Utah
I could get anywhere from 30 days to 20 years in jail

I don't own
enough rage for it all -- I am
ninety-five miles per hour on I-81, sprinting
to track the tirade vibrating
on the next stage

is Anybody Listening?

I live
in search of a cause worth dying for

We are a generation of screamers
silenced by the conspiracy of comfort
that cradles us voiceless
in our PC cities, where only the drunk
and the dangerous spill what seethes
in so many

I trade crusades like cards,
flip issues like channels

give me a god
give me a rallying cry
give me one
good reason to die

for your soul..Happy Deepavali

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and rough translations of lyrics...:

Early in the morning the thought arose
to go back to Gokul, in the king of Mathura's mind
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
Leaving this beautiful attire oh son of Nanda
Removing the beautiful crown from your head
Giving up ruling this world
Why are you playing the flute again?
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul

What unique song did the cuckoo sing
That made you leave the throne like so much dirt
What unique song did the cuckoo sing
That the pangs of separation are stirred anew
The heart is no longer in kingly matters
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
Men and women watched with anxious eyes
The flowers strewn on the bed felt like thorns
Men and women watched with anxious eyes
As Maadhav stayed awake the whole restless night
Why did he call the charioteer in the middle of the night
Mathura nagarpati..
Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna
Lonely banks, soft breeze
Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna
Madhav felt the bittersweet pangs
Why can?t you forget her
Mathura nagarpati.
Your love is now a complete housewife
Getting new milk and busy the whole day
The tears of separation have long since been wiped away
Then why awaken the pain again
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul

my Friend-Facts

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If you believe in old proverb- “Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are” then I share my friend-facts with you...

Most common zodiac sign: Libra
Geographic distribution: 18 countries, 7 states
Gender breakdown: 47% female / 53% male
Relationship status: 57% single / 43% taken
Political breakdown: 86% democrats / 14% republicans

Hm… Its true after-all it does say something about me. But Iam still not sure what it means to have more Libra friends.! will anyone care to explain!?

Wiser Me..

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Today is my day to shine
yet another year older
Hopefully more wiser
Strange, we grow up trying to make older sooner then we should
But as the years slowly pass on by
we might hope to be younger to do more of what we wish.
Today will be the day
I am a year older
Glad I am, since I enjoy being a man then a boy

Happy Birthday to wonderful me !)



***look back updates***
Lyrics of Barbra Streisand's can you tell the moment?

Pain (un)defined

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my thoughts silently scream for these tears.
my fingertips stuck to the keyboard to browse through our photos...
my eyes uncomfortably sown closed allowing no light..

there was little black spot on my sun past week
as she slits her skin to find freedom

its very devastating, painful, hard to take.
yet Life goes on and it must

Problem in Life..!

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..do as little as possible, and that unwillingly, for it is better to receive a slight reprimand than to perform an arduous task. The corollary to this is that an awful lot of life’s problems solve themselves if you leave them be...

Playing for Change

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Music certainly has power to bring tolerance & peace. Lets hope its just more than a drop in the ocean. I cannot play but I am share & spread. Hope you will do the same.

Jab Bharath..Happy Independence Day

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Happy Independence Day

but I said so...

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gosh.. boyy that's so true...
and gal pls move on..

Google: one man’s Devil another man’s Angle

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No one will ever deny google’s use and it is far better compare to other search engine. But ofcourse often you can find few raising doubts about google intentions and questions their practices. I am google fan and I would like to believe they also mean well but ofcourse they are business so it my responsibility to choose & do proper preference/setting (instead of default settings).

Thanks to Digital Inspiration I found this funny video about ‘living with google’ and you can noticed how one guy is annoyed and one guy is delighted for the action/reason.



Related: Yahoo + Microsoft still not good enough..

Recession 101

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Recession 101 is a light hearted and succinct reminder that the world will get through these troubled times and come out in the end. The anonymous donor intended this campaign to raise people’s spirits and lift them up in the face of serious challenges.

SignSpotting

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walking around on streets of Copenhagen during my vacation last month, I noticed this wonderful collection of funny Signs as part of SignSpotting Exhibitions.

Success (un)defined

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Success is just like being pregnant.
Everybody congratulates you but nobody knows how many times you were fucked.

Tattooed

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I was walking along Stroget copenhagen shopping street. saw a Japenese men doing tattoo designs. He said its will last for 2weeks (not permanent). I picked a design 10mins later, I got a tattoo. as simple as that. not a lot of thinking to do. ofcourse if its permanent it would be very different situation (considering pain as well).

I always defined myself as person with curiosity & self-defined ethics. while I know when & for what I should say no, Iam mostly not shy to try.

Don't know from when & why Tattoo is associated with rebellious or unconventional..!? My grandma has permanent tattoo and in her generation it was common to get tattooed of meaning less design or name. But now, for some reason people do make some impressions about folks who have Tattoos. Good or Bad but some impression is formed for sure. I was no different a week ago and would be no different when it washes away. but anyways don't dare to judge me.;)

Also I must say It does feel "Cool" to have a Tattoo..;) and would recommend (but do think before having a permanent one).

Song for current mood

Michael Moon walking Jackson

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Yes me too was shocked by this news. I was travelling between Copenhagen and Helsinki. I noticed Danish newspaper and Finnish newspaper with full page MJ fans thought yet another controversy. It was ofcourse very surprising and shocking to know he is no more.

Well like million others me too is fan of MJ's music & performances and he was my start to western music. Over the years my music interest has grown length and breadth with difference genre artists before and after his generations but he started it all. Late 80s early 90s he was reason most of us listen to English songs. I never used to buy cassettes, will always record songs. Thriller and Bad are first two English music cassettes I bought. Awesome music and his dance moves. Surely he had his share of controversies and I thought it’s because of his childhood and shared sympathy for him. One of his interview, he said his most autobiographical song is 'Have you seen my childhood'.


Ofcourse most of his music and dance is nothing less than brilliant and while everybody has their famous favorites mine favorite is not so famous

and Girl is Mine

will you be there

Man in the Mirror

Surely end of one of the greatest performer, entertainer.

Happy Birthday Mom

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while she is not sure its today but her passport says its today. some things in life we can never be sure of, yet we would like to believe. So its Today, my lovely mom was blessed to this world.

Happy Birthday Mom.

A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive.

London

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was in London and it felt like home--almost. Ever since I relocated out of london, for some reason or other I went back every once a while just to keep in touch with one of my beloved city. I have no great reasons but it does feel like home may be because of friends or food,..=)

I landed at 6pm and by 7pm I ended-up in usual places doing usual things. visit to mahalakshmi temple-just for ladoos.) and saravana bhavan eating dosa. sometime doing silly things feels like heaven, this was one of those things. Its bad that the week I was there tubes were on strike and my friends(local guardians) were out of town. I wasn't booked to stay back for the weekend. thanks to few friends, i stayed at their place. friday night we were in local pub taking marriage..and our usual topic of discussion- getting of rat race and doing something interesting. so this time discussion was about business plans for setting-up bed n breakfast outside barcelona. somehow i have good feeling about this. this could happen someday.

Simple relaxing sunny weekend with football(watching only not playing, since i didnt have proper shoes..)) and australia football(rugby).. lunch at pizza express, siesta. thought cricket to Spainish guy & American lady..=) I did well because they understood and were cheering for India against england next day. And dinner at nice french restaurant. sunday was in marylebone summer fayre and manage to catchup with SN talking about the usuals & watching T20WC and took flight back to current home base.

I couldn't catchup with all my friends but that's good enough reason to make trip again.

Everytime Iam london, i ask myself why did i decided to relocate out of london? while life was kind and had great experience since i moved out, i always wondered what would have happened if I would have stayed back.!? may be i dont like comfortzone and want to test myself among unknown places & people or may be iam just crazy. atleast i dont intend to do that for long and someday i would endup in home or a place close to home or a place which feels like home. until then--- I so wishes to be punkrocker...

Pleasure

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What a weekend it has been. Long walk with my iPod playing Ilayaraja's music during a cloudy day with rain drops kissing me gently. That's pleasure. so was eating ice cream in rain. Strangers walking past saw me with ice cream walking in rain, gave a silent smile. may be they are thinking, Iam silly or crazy but I don't care.

In Life, real milestones are less prepossessing compares to simple daily moments. yes important moments in life are not the advertised ones. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these simple moments.

And also yesterday night was in Brazilian tropical night party with loud music and beautiful ladies, that's pleasure too. ;)

HOME: A date with the world

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Spreading the message: for awareness, to behave responsibly and to help protect our HOME.

200 000 years of existence, man has upset the balance is nearly 4 billion years of evolution on Earth. The price to pay is heavy, but it is too late to be pessimistic: there are still only ten years for humanity to reverse the trend, be aware of excessive exploitation of the wealth of the Earth and change its mode of consumption.

More than film, HOME will be a global event for the first time in history, this film released simultaneously in over 50 countries and on all media: film, TV, DVD and Internet. It is the symbolic date of 5 June 2009 was chosen for this international output.

An date with the world on 5 June!


We should be thankful for having a gift of pleasant nature,
It is one’s responsibility to save the beauty of nature,
True living in the heart of nature helps an achiever,
to achieve the long life period of his splendid desire.

wise words

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Thanks to DD

Life is indeed is lot more of fun when you are not responsible for your actions..;)

Messi is the man and FCB Més que un club

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Red Devils took out on Barça that was for first 10mins but soon after 1st goal scored, ManU wasn't play. They were the underdogs and Manchester United was the favorite in the English language media. However, congratulations Barcelona, well deserved. Congratulations Pep Guardiola, you made a wonderful team.

This is one of the best goals you will ever see.


Barça showed a wonderful soccer and the win is well deserved and rewrote the history by becoming three time winners of UEFA Champions League final. Bravo to Barcelona Coach Pep Guardiola. Despite his young age, he did build a powerful soccer club.

Predictably Irrational

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very interesting

Old is New Government of India

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714 million eligible voter and close to 100 million people for the first time and 5500+ politicians from over more than 1000 political parties fight for for 543 parliamentary seats. Election was staggered in five stages and the results announced today.

The national security, economy and local issues had influenced the votes and People have spoken in support of ruling Mr.Singh's government. Its very Impressive victory considering many crisis this governtment has to face.

Congurlations to Mr.Manmohan Singh Government.

more details: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8050612.stm

Ignorance is indeed bliss

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When confusion and complications becomes state of mind (or way of life) then its no wonder to think Ignorance is bliss.
Because it's easier to support something blindly than exploring all the options. It's also easier to act on instinct and learned behaviors rather than to think about what they're saying/doing. but ignorance once lost, its gone can't get it back. what to do? I came to realize that:

• You will never do the optimal thing
• Nobody is beyond temptation
• There will always be a major distortion between what you know, what you will be able to communicate, and what people will then comprehend.
• Life does have no intrinsic meaning.
• We impact everything, but yet we are often powerless to control. And Much of our life is directed by things preceding us and therefore out of our control.
• Your mind will always be polluted by public discourse.
• Perspectives and living are ephemeral and temporary.
• You will be the vehicle of stupid actions that are equally as inane as the sins of others. Irrationality is common and its human.
• Your emotions will always interfere with your sense of truth.
• We are ultimately subject to forces beyond us, natural selection, laws of accelerating returns, etc.
• What ppl tell you or how others view you will inevitbly affect you.
• You will always have bias.
• We will always have to act on incomplete knowledge.
• You will never be able to do precisely what you want to do
• There will always be so much more beyond your awareness.
• You can never truly break from the trajectory, maybe nudge it around, but that'll ultimately be part of that trajectory
• Your weaknesses will always be betrayed by your actions at some point
• You won't be able to win them all. Someone will always hate you no matter what.
• Knowing and doing will always be different
• You will never rid the world of evil and cruelty
• You will always be subject to the needs of your containing vehicles: physical body, relationships, family, house, nation, car, etc..
• Because of the nature of time, everything that persists requires maintenence.
• There are other lives within you that will carry on their own.
• Ignorance is bliss, so is complete knowledge. so I prefer the later.

Vote for Nanny Maa

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Voting is right to express our views and it is very important to do so. Not voting is irresponsible. so Vote for my friend's short story. she has published a story to Indusladies Mother's Day Blog Contest.


you can find her story @ Nanny Maa 


Its no surprise, she made it to Top10. PLEASE vote for her story @ http://indusladies.com/partners/poll1.php (for 'Pal of Crocodile Tales') if you like it (or not)).

Keukenhof

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I tried to come up with words to description the beauty & colour at Keukenhof Tulip Garden.
I couldn't, so decided just to share the photos.

Duck Race 2009

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Plastic ducks gathered in Luxembourg City Duck Race, a chairity event is organized. 5€ duck will benefit a charity to support TEO, an association committed to helping children who are suffering from brain tumors or head trauma.

the race was held in the Pétrusse valley,Grund with entertainment, food, drinks all over the place. It was good summer excuse for families to get out of house with kids.

All the ducks were numbered corresponding to a number of the ticket. The first ducks to cross the finish first will receive one of many prizes such as trips, gift certificates, dinners and other attractive prizes offered by sponsors. This year's first prize was a New Twingo car.

for the records- just checked the website for results, I haven't won any prize. anyways it was fun.

Dutch weekend

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For last couple of weeks, Rotterdam is my work basic. I decided to spend weekend to catchup with local friends and turned out to be great weekend.

Visited Kinderdijk windmill complex- It was very impressive specially after knowing the history and science behind it. as many might know nearly half of nederland is reclaimed land which is under sea level and making it more vulnerable to floods. Since periodic flooding become problem, in 13th century canal were built to get the water out and in 14/15th century windmill were built to power(energy) to drain the excess water to reservoir. Only during 19th century these windmills went into retirement due to diesel powered pumping stations. But during WorldWar2, again windmills came back from retirement for short time since diesel became scarce. It is beautiful site especially on sunny day.

Sunday with friends, we drove to his mom’s place at North Country side close to Friesland. 90mins drive from Amsterdam thru 30km Dike separating lake on one-side & sea on the other. It’s wonder. 30km road built to separate lake & sea and connecting two parts of Holland.


Reached his mom’s home, which is a beautiful house with garden in-front & yard connecting with canal/water way behind. Meet his grandma 96yr old women, who knew Einstein from her working-years in Berlin per-world war era. Grandma & mom can speak perfect English.
Had wonderful collection of Holland cheese and packed some selection of sandwiches & cheese went out on boat ride. Yes they had own boat. House on river side with boat, that’s dream land. We took ride thru canals & lake. I was driving the boat. With food & drinks in aboard did some pirate acts..;) It was great.


Athens-Friend-reunion dinner planned at Greek restaurant but ended-up in Italian restaurants.In all it was great weekend and once in life time experience. Thanks to lovely Dutch duo(S & E).

PhotoWalk

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with beautiful spring sun shining- it would criminal to stay indoor. so took my DSLR went on Photowalk.

in Nederlands

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Currently in Nederlands for work reason with very limited(/no) connections. That's my excuses for not being here for a while. but atleast its help me with 20books in 2009 challenge.

Carnaval

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I went to Arlon(Belgium) Carnaval last weekend. It was great to see pretty gals, kids, crazy people all dressed up to express themselves. I was standing next to this cute gal(photo below) she was not bored of shoting spiderman web on me and laughing out loud. as soon as i cleanup she shots again. It was cute for a while then for 2hr. but anyways i dont want to disppoint her.


Its the cavalcade through the streets of the city with groups of 50+countries conducting a mini tour of Europe carnival traditions, with a parade set with great music.

what's in name

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I always thought what's in name but may be I was wrong.

Kick A*s: Jon Stewart vs Jim Cramer

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Jon Stewart vs Jim Cramer: It was fun to watch and it was very honest both side (I think).
Watch full unedited interview (with strong language).

I don’t think there’s any way Stewart is more knowledgeable than Cramer on markets, he’s just in the position of not being caught spouting garbage for the last several years. I like the fact that Jon made it a serious episode of it and hats of to Cramer for comming on and exposing the whole fiancial debacle. There would’nt have been a better way to handle the feud in which jon has repeatedly said that it was about the whole system.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 3

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

and Impact of this-- to early to tell but already some noise about this on CNN


Remember Jon stewart's role in throwing CNN's Crossfire

Book Review: 20books in 2009

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Status update on my 20books in 2009: 3 done 17 to go

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

House of Stairs by William Sleator

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

That's what happened

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2008 has been another memorable year and so far 2009 has be quite and confusing. Since my DNA designed to be opmistic and don't really know how to complaint, looking forward to glorious future and all the horror I escaped in past.

Sometime you have so much to do and you end up doing nothing..! that's me. much happend but I end-up posting nothing and I don't blame my lazyness but my slow internet connection.
anyways-- Chronical of few interesting happenings in 2009...so far:

>>> Horrible Market condition eventually reached me..well almost. some colleagues got fired but not me not yet. but then it's just work, I stopped worrying too much about it. Don't want to worry about things which I can't control or I can't change. If i can then i dont need to worry either.


>>> Luxembourg resident permit process...after 4month of waiting, countless calls,visits to foreign office and going thru emotional trauma since I was told my application & all original documents were lost,.. finally I got my visa renewed, valid 2012. I have no intention to stay here beyond that so I hope I don’t have to go thru this again.

>>> Thanks to local law, got my local driving licence(valid till 2022) by submitting my indian driving licence and without having to take any driving test. So all I need now is some driving lessons..;)

>>> Got hooked to some good music(like Tracy Chapman) which I wasn't exposed to before (thanks to uptowngal's playlist from downunder).
Went to Nitin Sawhney Live Concert...great night with awesome east-meets-west music.

>>> a friend, who I knew for 12+yrs and from whom I haven't heard from many years after his marriage(which is usually for first 3/6month not after)), got in touch after all those years to inform that he is coming to visit me. and he did. Had fun time taking him around to whatever little place-to-see in luxembourg. It was nostlogic weekend taking about all old days, bubbies,.. I have very high regards for him. he was one of those who's not idealogs, with all good intentions, habits & very highly flexible and yet another urban adult with simple hopes & aspirations. which is why i felt tiny earthquake when he told me, he is divorced now. that was a complete shocker. ofcourse he wasn't comfortable talking about it for any length and i guess that's also part of the reason why he was out-of-touch. I don't know how to react or what to talk about that subject. I dont know what happen but that's kinda confirms my fear/belief- marriage is random act of luck. not much a rational process/act can do to make or break it, atleast not always. anyways, everyone cannt be good to all and he is good to me. I will be his friend without any judgements.
when talking to someone else who knew about this, he was trashing ‘her’(mrs…ex) I don’t why we indians designed to think broke marrriage is broken character.!? Cannot two rational good individuals can come together and go part without anyone been cast as ‘bad-person’.!?


>>> all of us will have few things we bought for ourself, which we chearish for years, attach with personal memories and treat those items to be milestone/achievements. for me- it was a Timex watch, which i bought with my career-starter income & Pentax SLR camera from my time in tokyo. Strange as it might sound; I dont think, I felt such high even I bought a house..;) I don't why & cannt explain why those items gave such excitment and why i still save a broken Timex watch and Pentax SLR.! Such excitment came back again. Photography has been my interest for many years. for long I wanted a DSLR and was doing research, research, too much research on what to buy, good deals on price,..etc.. finally wait was over. I treated myself with Canon E450D (thanks to G for being my US proxy).

photo collections @flickrs

>>> Got to be friends with sweet German couple who I meet via random social circle during my early days in luxembourg and recently get invited for all German food & drinks night. Ofcourse food was nice but I must say I was surprised by the variety. Good long night with excellent food & drinks. Thanks to Birgit.

>>> manage to complete 4/20books in 2009, will post book review soon.

>>> song for current mood--
Traveling Thru by Dolly Parton

Connect with our own geniuses

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I always envyed someone with any creative talent be it author or artist. And my belief is part of it is by birth. sure you can improve it but some part of it is given(by God or by DNA design depending on your belief). As a civilian, I often wondered about creating process - brilliant novel, speech, articles or a nice song,lyrics, music... how its made? how it comes to them and not others(or me).

We appreciate their work and elevate them- a mortal begin to this immortal status. To our disppointment they come back with not-so-good follow-up to their earlier work so we throw them to ground to face reality. Iam convinced that this emotional journey of ups(god-like) & downs with few trustworthy allies make the performer/authors into junkies leading to their personal problem, ego wars, realtionship/drugs problem, etc. so I like you & others always assummed creativity comes with its own price.

I watched this recent TEDtalks(which Iam great fan off) from Elizabeth Gilbert, an author who I haven't heard before. She delivered this funny & interesting speech about connecting & managing self-geniuses of creative minds.

Elizabeth Gilbert: A new way to think about creativity


Ok Iam no creative talent but I find this speech very interesting and remains me a line from Bhagavath Geetha-- 'Do your duty without expecting rewards'. But is it possible for a person to delink self from his/her work? and Is it possible for us fans to delink performance & performer?!

Wikiality, reality (un)defined

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I am crazy fan of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert . they are smartest funny man.
Stephen Colbert's 'The Word' highlights many interesting thoughts including Wikiality.

"any user can change any entry, and if enough other users agree with them, it becomes true."

"let's bring democracy to knowledge"

- Stephen Colbert

Isn't Religion is wikiality? enough people believes things to be true without having any credible evidence (for or against).
then why cannot we believe "we have more elephants in africa then anytime in the past" if its makes us happy.!?) what do you think!? let's all agree and make it a reality.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Wikiality

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Paul McCartney Appearance

Funny Political Videos
More Funny Videos

Movie Review: Dasvidaniya

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I got to watch Dasvidaniya(hindi movie) recently. Like most other hindi movie- its not a fresh idea('inspired' by bucket list) without any twisted tale(one screen in particular 'inspired' from love actually). Its a situational bitter-sweet comedy story about a shy,lonely,boring 37yr old bachelor with middle-class existence and without any motivation to change daily life or meaningless lifestyle until the day he finds only 3month of life is left-in him.

Facing prospect of dying without enjoying life, he decides to make list of things-to-do-before-dying. He settles score with boss and embarks on journey to fulfill his bucket list-- foriegn trip, meeting childhood friend, confessing love to first and only crush, guitar, buying a car,..

I would say some of things in list is flimme, meaningless and unrealistic. Script is not perfect but that's beside the point- It’s the treatment, presentations and concept makes it good-to-watch(3/5) movie. Its a emotionally journey which notes difference between surviving vs living.

Cast and Director have done a good job. Its worth watching even thou you might want to fast-forward/skip few scenes.

Ubuntu

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after New Year's Eve fun night, I decided to take a New Year's 1st day at ease reading through some stuff and browse some good videos. so landed on Bill Clinton's speech at 2006 UK Labour Party Conference(below). I thought, I will begin new year blog by the sharing this speech.

Although I am not always aligned with Blair's & Clinton's Policies but I do consider them among few smartest & decent politicians in the world and ofcourse very good speakers. What particularly impressive about this speech is that he was talking about human-geno project's finding which highlights how little different we humans are even with so much diversity in our race, religion,.. yet all(including western society) focus on 0.1% difference and ignoring 99.9% similarities we share.

If we were the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most wealthy, the most powerful person - and then found all of a sudden that we were alone on the planet, it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans...
..
Ubuntu means I am because you are.

very impressive speech & content.
would strongly recommend especially last 10mins of the speech.