Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Perfect Summer Day

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent

This is a perfect way to idle or rather spend my summer day. I am not referring to the heat and swelter of a summer day. I am referring to a sunny holiday.

I am one of those who want to imbibe more than just the peace and serenity of a place.

I always imagine a big, wide, enormous field with long green grass. A spreading chestnut tree in the middle of the field. The place thrives with fresh green grass. The field is filled with the most spectacular flowers I have ever seen. Not far away is a murmuring cascade that makes the atmosphere mellow. Though I cannot see the cascade but I can hear the deep sound of water splashing against stones and rocks. Aroma of ripe fruits adds to the ambience. Sparkling silver rays of the sun lends the Midas Touch to everything it touches. The whole field is scintillating with the glory of the sun like a thousand sparkling diamonds.

The environment is supremely tranquil and silent.

I imagine myself sitting under the shade of that spreading big tree. I could feel the whole atmosphere melt into my soul – the sweet smell of just blossomed flowers, aroma of ripened fruits, smell of green grass, melody of chirping birds, a flowing cascade. I savor the sensual delights of the atmosphere and enjoy this natural oasis.

I am stirred and energized by the fragrance of some fresh flowers blooming nearby. Then I would lie down under the tree over the soft fresh grass. As I lay I could feel the cool breeze on my face which has just touched the cascade and flown softly through the trees towards me. With half closed eyes I have almost resigned to slumber- lying silent and still.

Just perfect.

Mere thought of such a place calms my nerves and makes me relaxed. This place has always existed in my mind. I don’t know since how long. I have never been able to find such a place. But some day sure I will. Until then I will find solace of this beauty in my imaginations.

What’s your idea of a perfect summer day?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Think Before Doing

A Nice Article Via E-mail. Thought of sharing with you all.
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The bus has started moving. It is packed with people of all ages, mostly with the working men and women and young college guys and gals. Near the window is an old man seated with his 30 year old son. As the bus moves by, the son is overwhelmed with joy as he was thrilled with the scenery outside.



"See dad, the scenery of green trees moving away is very beautiful" , said son of that old man.

This behavior from a thirty year old son made other people feel strange about him. Every one started murmuring about this son. "This man seems to be a crazy" newly married Anup whispered to his wife.

Suddenly it started raining, rain drops fell on the travelers through the opened window. The thirty year old son, filled with joy said, “See dad, how beautiful the rain is”

Anup's wife got irritated with the rain drops spoiling her new dress. Anup confronted the old main, "Can’t you see its raining, you old man, if your son is not feeling well get him soon to a mental asylum and don’t disturb the public henceforth"

The old man hesitated first and then in a low tone replied, " We are on the way back from hospital. My son got discharged today morning, he was blind by birth and last week he got his vision. These rain and nature are new to his eyes. Please forgive us for the inconvenience caused."

The things we see may be right from our perspective until we know the truth. But when we know the truth our reaction to that will hurt even us. So try to understand the problem better before taking a harsh action!!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Wacky Inventions!!!






As I was flipping through the channels on the TV, I came across Cartoon Network. And guess what it was airing ‘The Flintstones’. I am a big FLINTSTONES fan since I was a kid. So I quickly put on the volume. Instantly, I was laughing at the hilarious antics of Fred and Barney just as I did as a kid.

Here is the theme song I grew up with. This version was recorded in 1965. I am still so fond of it. Enjoy-

"Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyabba-dabba-doooooooo!"
Flintstones... Meet the Flintstones,
They're a modern stoneage family.
From the town of Bedrock,
They're a page right out of history.
Let's ride with the family down the street.
Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet.
When you're with the Flintstones,
have a yabba dabba doo time,
a dabba doo time,
we'll have a gay old time

Flintstones... Meet the Flintstones,
They're a modern stoneage family.
From the town of Bedrock,
They're a page right out of history.
Someday, maybe Fred will win the fight,
And that cat will stay out for the night.
When you're with the Flintstones,
have a yabba dabba doo time,
a dabba doo time,
we'll have a gay old time
"Wiiilllllmmmmmmaaaaaa!!!" bang bang bang

The show is set in the town of Bedrock in the Stone Age era. The show is an allegory to American society of the mid-20th century; in the Flintstones' fantasy version of the past, dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, and other long extinct animals co-exist with barefoot cavemen, who use technology very similar to that of the mid-20th century, although made entirely from pre-industrial materials and largely powered through the use of various animals. The characters drive cars made out of stone or wood and animal skins and powered by foot.

One source of the show's humor was the ways animals were used for technology.

More than just the characters I was always awed at the inventions of Flintstones- they are WACKY. For example, when the characters took photographs with an instant camera, the inside of the camera box would be shown to contain a bird carving the picture on a stone tablet with its bill. Remarkably awesome thought process- that pedal car that Fred drives from home to his office, elephant vacuum cleaner that Wilma uses to clean her house. I could recollect quite a few commonly seen gadgets in the series:
  • a baby woolly mammoth being used as a vacuum cleaner
  • an adult wolly mammoth would act as a shower by spraying water with its trunk
  • lifts are raised and lowered by ropes around brontosaurs' necks
  • "automatic" windows are powered by monkeys that dwell on the outside windowsill
  • birds configured as "Ryan Coombes" are activated by pulling on their tails
  • an electric razor is depicted as a clam shell housing a honey-bee vibrating it as the edges are rubbed against the character's face
  • a lobster lawn mower
  • Fred's wacky concoctions like his soft drink: 412 Up
  • the Barney Copter (a.k.a The Flintstone Flyer)
  • a Television with real rabbit ears
  • a car with stone wheels and pedals
  • small elephants as gas pumps
  • a pterodactyl with a fort on top for an airplane

Wow! I am amazed I could recount so many of them "Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyabba-dabba-doooooooo!".
How many do you remember of those wacky inventions in ‘The Flintstones’ series?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Why the hell should I blog?


While contemplating on what should be my next topic to blog, it just struck me 'Why the hell should I blog?'
This happened about two years back when I was a green-horn at blogging. It all started when I heard my colleagues talking about it. One of them forwarded his blog URL. Another colleague took the hint and quickly created her blog. I was curious as to who was this new cat on streets- 'blogging'. So I also decided to 'blog' - just to stay put in the race. I created my first blog - Alice in wonderland. But slowly that enthusiasm waned and I just gave up blogging- simply because it didn’t have anything in it for me.

After two long years, a couple of days back suddenly my sister came up with this question- 'Hey sis do you know how people make money by blogging'. I was not impressed at all. I had already tasted it and didn’t find it exciting. It was a simplex communication where I was the transmitter- who was voicing her ideas, her interests but wasn't sure about who the receptor was? On my first post I didn't find any comments... I didn't find anyone looking interested in my views.. then ‘Why the hell should I blog?’, I said to myself... and I left it abruptly. So when my sister asked me about blogging I was not too keen on it.

But the idea of earning money through blogging amused me.

What the heck is she trying to say? How can you earn money by just blogging?

These questions were spinning in my head. I asked my husband about it. Even he didn’t have any idea about it. But this little worm didn’t stop eating my head. I started on a new quest on exploring the equation between blogging and money. It took me almost two days to unravel this mystery.

Like an excited child who had just discovered the lifecycle of water I told my husband that I have finally found out the truth about blogging. He wasn’t curious, though he was kind enough to lend me an ear. He thought this must be one of those fake stories where you sign-up for something and share some information with your friends and your friends share it with their friends and so on then you get money equivalent to the number of hands that information has passed through. I told him blogging is not like that. A blog is basically an online diary, a journal written by an author. Blog is about the author and/or the author’s interests. The great thing about a blog is that you can blog about just anything under the sun. There are no boundaries whatsoever. It could be your career, pet, relationships, car, favorite movie, etcetera, etcetera. You can let go the horses of your creativity run free.

At this moment my husband posed a relevant question- why did I gave up blogging if it were so easy?
A very valid question indeed. I told him that I took up blogging without even knowing what it was all about. I didn’t delve into depth about what blogging meant. I started off with blogging just because people around were doing it. The important thing, that I had earlier missed out on, is that you blog about something that matters to you. Different people have different interests and you’re no exception. Chances are good that others just like you are ready to delve into your material because they have similar tastes. Don’t hesitate to write about something you’re passionate about - just do it! Check out Google’s own blogger where you can create your blog for free and get going.

Well that is fine and dandy but how do we generate money off blogging, was my husband’s next question.
Another valid question, indeed, the answer to which is- Google’s Adsense. I told him that it is a free service from Google and it is as simple as the word s i m p l e itself is. All that you have to do is put adsense on your blogging site – and you make money from people who click on your adsense ads. To top it all, users don’t even need to purchase something on the advertising site. That’s all about it. Really! My husband was impressed with this whole concept. He encouraged me to start blogging all again. I immediately called up my sister and explained to her what blogging is and how do you make money out of it. She appropriately remarked, Adsesnse is no non-sense ;-)

I know that there quite a few souls very much like me who don’t have an inkling about the power of blogging. So this post is dedicated to all those who want to know about blog. I have skimmed through a lot of stuff on the internet and have tried to get out the message in this simple blog. I found a nice article- Introduction to Blogging which discusses everything about blogging. Today I am more convinced and have a clearer picture of what will I blog. I will blog on my interests. I will blog about my passions. I will blog about just anything under the sun that excites me.

Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid
torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want
to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it
on to future generations.
– G.B. Shaw


I would like to know if this post has helped anyone in gaining an insight into blogging and its power. Since a blog is a dialogue and not a monologue I welcome your comments and your suggestions on this post.