BLOGCATCHER

 

                        TAZ
                 March 2009 - July 2009

He was a tiny lovely ball of snow..

With eyes like cherries, with a sparkling glow.

With little hands so lady like,

And little feet that could never bike.

That was our hamster adorable ..
Our li’l Taz, so dear and lovable.

 

He had such endearing loving ways,

As he wriggled from my arms up to my face...

And when he would escape my sight and hide,

I’d feel so sad but never chide..

 

Oh how  he loved to run and run

Not on his wheel, but under the sun

And how I loved to see him play

And pet him and kiss him everyday.

 

Our little Hammie adorable..

Our li’l Taz, so warm and lovable.

 

Into our lives, so quietly he came..

And before we knew it, he was tame.

Little did we know as we called his name,

That he didn’t have long to play his game.

 

Quietly he went, early morn one day

And I couldn’t but cry as I watched him lay,

A tiny fragile ball of snow,

With eyes that had lost its sparkling glow.

 

In our garden he lies today,

Our  hammie who always made us gay..

Our dove pearl hammie, Taz, so dear..

So dear that we feel he's always near.

                          ~

One of my closest friends had this interesting quote about "Pain":

"There is some funny thing about pain. It turns some people into poets and some into bloggers and some into bloggers who write poetry!"

Incidentally, the quoter just began blogging.

Before anybody infers i'm LOST ( which i'm not; honest! ;-) let me post something out of context.

I have two adorable hamsters as pets. And guess what, i just found that -its not just us- Hammies too get stressed!!

Now, my cuties are called Taz and Randy. (I'll try posting a pic of them here soon one of these days. For now, please use your imaginative powers to picture two adorable looking Dove Pearl Hammies. Yep. White and pearly looking ones with bright red eyes.... mmm...)

Taz is a mellow guy, very loving, friendly, adorable. Oh yes and lazy as lazy could be. For example if you see him on the hamster wheel, you'd be tempted to turn it for him.

Randy is Taz's step brother and quite different. Very agile, active, and aggressive!  Actually, i learnt that hamsters 'squeaked' after Randy arrived. 

Like all younger silbings - human and animal alike - Randy soon proved that he needed more privileges than his older brother. And he would show this by squeaking loud and almost jumping on Taz if he didnt like something that Taz did.

And soon, accomodative Taz started letting li'l Randy have his way.  So Taz would move out of his small cubby hole so Randy could have it all for himself. Taz would stay far away from the food plate, so Randy could have his go first.  And even at play time, if Randy got anywhere close, Taz would roll over to lie on his back, his tiny feet and hands up in the air - sort of appealing:  'Its all yours, brother!! Do what you want to, just please dont fight!'  

Now, on the advise of a very dear friend, i did try to tap Randy whenever he 'attacked' poor Taz and i felt it did show a difference, cos the squeaking had come down a lot.

And once or twice, if i'm right
i did find them sharing the food plate without a fight!
Which was quite a sight!

But then, over a few days, i'd been noticing that Taz's 'behind' looked like he was wet..
Now, since i'm the type who ususally dismisses things as 'not so serious' (until unfortunately its too late), i didnt make a big deal of it and thought it might have been cos it was time to clean the cage and i hadnt.. 

What i didnt notice was that this persisted even after i'd cleaned the cage..

It was my sonny who felt that there was definitely something wrong. Cos it was just Taz who had a wet back and not Randy. So, just a day back, Rahul (my son) googled for 'wet back' for hamsters.. and i was surprised when the search threw up results for what's called a 'wet tail' syndrome for hammies. Something that could be fatal!!! 
The Cause - Stress or Bad Food habits.

Me and Rahul were suddenly worried sick!  Especially cos where we lived, we didnt have a vet who knew how to take care of Hammies. So we got to researching more on what, why, and how to solve the problem ourselves.

One thing we knew for certain was that there was nothing bad about food habits; cos Taz had been on a not so different diet from the time he was brought home and he was fine until now. And again, Randy was not having a wet tail.  So then, all fingers pointed to 'stress.'  Which could actually be true, cos Taz was so afraid of Randy!!! 

So, we immediately  found a new box for Randy and separated the two brothers.. and guess what?
The result was dramatic!!   Taz's wet tail disappeared overnight !!?

And me and Rahul heaved a HUGE sigh of relief!!! 

Taz is perfectly happy being alone now. And Randy is not so happy in his new little box. But then, thats the price he's got to pay for being nasty.

But yeah, since we don't want to be nasty ourselves, we plan to switch their homes from time to time. Guess tomorrow Taz will be in the box and Randy will have the cage to himself.

We also plan to get them to play together for a bit everyday, so they get used to each other.. and hopefully someday they would become best of buddies and live together happily ever after!...

What do you do when you miss someone
so much your heart feels heavy, it weighs a ton..
when memories flood your eyes with tears
and you yearn for those precious yesteryears

when the pain stabs so deep, you feel you'll die
but all you can do is cry and cry
with no shoulder to lean on, no arms to hold
just your cheeks caressed by a table, damp and cold

and you wish you knew just what to do
when you feel this terribly sad and blue
when you miss that precious dear someone
so much  your heart sinks deep, weighing many a ton....


.. just tyring a hand at something i used to do long back..

Movie: You Me Aur Hum
Song:  You Me Aur Hum
Singer:  Shreya Ghoshal

...apne rang gawaaye bin, mere rang mein ghul jao…
ho…apne rang gawaaye bin, mere rang mein ghul jao…
apni dhoop bujhaye bin, meri chhaon mein aa jao…
chalo yoon karein…
tum… tum bhi raho… main… main bhi rahoon…
hum… hum bhi rahien…
ho tum… tum bhi raho…
main… main bhi rahoon…
hum… hum bhi rahein…
teeno mil ke saath chalein..
saathi janam janam…
u me aur hum, u me aur hum…
apne rang gawaaye bin, mere rang mein ghul jao…
apni dhoop bujhaye bin, meri chhaon mein aa jao…

jaise baadal paani ka, yaarana hai…
jaise gul aur khushboo ka, dostana hai…
ho jaise baadal paani ka, yaarana hai…
jaise gul aur khushboo ka, dostana hai…
waise hi rahein hum tum…
waise hi jeeyein hum tum…
ho, tere mere haathon mein, koi bhi pinjra na ho…
ek duje per apna, haq to ho kabza na ho
har haal mein…
tum… tum bhi raho…hmm- main… main bhi rahoon…
hum… hum bhi rahein…

Just found this beautiful number here  and the lyrics here.

WIshing everyone's day be smiley and happy.....

Not a very happy day for me.. so, thought i'd come by to take my mind off by posting about a blog i follow..

When i started out with Blogcatchers, it was basically to blog about beautiful blogs that enriched the exciting world called The Net. But then over time, i lost out on the much-needed space to go hunting for them; and slowly but deliberately, i shifted my writing to what bloggers generally do - Write about themselves. 

But yes, somewhere in between, i did stumble on a beautiful blog by a lady in pursuit of happiness. Her name was Gretchen Rubin. And her blog was -quite true to her purpose for writing it- called 'The Happiness Project.'  Besides sharing her insights on the many ways one can find happiness, one of Gretchen's fave pastimes was to provide the link to a blog that had caught her eye. In short, she was doing exactly what i had started out to do but resigned midway.

And every lovely entry of her's invariably opened the doors to even more beautiful blogs. Blogs that didn't just serve to inspire, but worked towards making better people out of those who read them.

One such blog was Zen Habits by the insightful Leo Babauta. A blog i have been hooked to ever since.

This latest post on Zen Habits that came by my inbox today did give me a lot of food for thought. So, just thought i'd book mark it here.

With a movie and with a song. So here's both together.

ROMANCE. A word that gets everyone weak in the knees. Its what men dream of. Its what women die for. Its what has got movies raking in jackpots. Remember  Gone With The Wind?  Dr. Zhivago?

There has been many a Romantic movie that has got me all goosebumpy, but nothing has quite made me feel so warm in the heart as two beautiful scenes from a movie of yesteryears called Love Actually. The scenes to me are pregnant with Romance not just with the beautiful portrayal of emotion, but with an equally touching background score. 

I'll forever go weak in the knees with this and this.  Just had to book mark them for my lifetime.

I THINK THIS WORLD IS PERFECT  is a blog i've been subscribing to for as long as i can remember.  A lovely blog kept by a daddy of two adorable daughters and which usually talks about things they do, say, play, cook, etc. A family diary with an occasional entry dedicated to something that moved daddy and which didnt have to do with his kids.

But since sometime now, daddy hasn't been posting much - not as bad as me though- and did so just yesterday and boy was it a blog to bookmark for keeps!!  It gave a link to a clipping from the famous American Idol program (that hunts for talented singers) and showcased an ordinary woman turning extraordinary in the timeframe of a few minutes!! Just because she dared to dream and pursue it. Or rather, dared to forget what the world was thinking and followed her heart.

You simply have to see this.

The first i ever heard of Sting was when i was in high school and it was the mesmerizing number 'Every Breath You Take'
Then after a long spell, i heard Desert Rose. Beautiful song.

Years have passed since.. and a few minutes back, i just chanced to listen to a song i instantly fell in love with.
Scouted for it on the net and i found my way to Sting once more.
And got a beautiful song to bookmark on my playlist.

Shape of my Heart - Sting.

For a change i'm back at my blog diligently!! Thanx to the driving factor called MUSIC.
Today, i've uploaded two more songs! 

"I want to know what love is"  by Foreigner   &
"I love you because" by Jim Reeves

The one by Foreigner is a long time favorite of mine..
And the one by Jim Reeves (how i love his voice)... well, actually i'm listening to this track for the first time.. though i can say i've grown up with good ol' Jim; him being one of my dad's all time favorites. So, yeah,  this is definitely an ode to nostalgia.

Meanwhile, i was desperately searching around for the 12 songs of Christmas by Jim again (another wonderful set of songs i've grown up with) but unfortunately couldn't find them to post here. Hope i will someday soon. Until then, i'll be happy with this track.

Its been a while that i've been wishing to start something like 'MY FAVORITE PLAYLIST' so i can keep updating it with songs i've always loved to listen to time and again. Well, here it is finally! And here's kickstarting with a really beautiful number by THOMAS ANDERSON whom i've had the privilege of knowing for a spell - thanx to a beautiful friend called Debra Ford and MY SPACE. Hope to keep updating!


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HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!! 

Its the fourth day of the New Year.. and i've not yet gotten down to making any resolutions to keep! (or not to ;-) )
Like, getting back here on LJ for one.. and posting something on a daily basis.

Well, let me make a start..

Being a mallu (a malayali),  lately, i just couldnt help noticing how some malayalis are making small waves across the country! 
Like, the cute mallu girl Asin in the 8-pack-abs Aamir starrer  "Ghajini." And just today, i chanced to find out that the  most beautiful song in Ghajini (again) going 'Kaise Mujhe' has been  sung by yet another malayali ! - Benny Dayal. What a voice.
Indicentally, Benny also has to his credit another soulful number from the movie Yuvvraaj  going 'Tu Mera Dost Hain' .  Again, awesome  rendering.

Just why my New Year message to my tribe is simply -   "Rock On Mallus! "

KEEP SMILING ALL ! 

Boy! Its been ages since i blogged here!! and looks like things have been happening!!!
Like for one, i can make my text  larger without it seeming inappropriately large and i can also play with some color! wow!

I was just about to crash (i can actually use the whole of 24 hours to level off some deprived sleep)  when i was suddenly reminded that someone dear wasnt able to access this page of mine anymore and was wondering if it was defunct!!
And so, i simply had to make sure it wasnt! & phew! Am i glad to see that LJ hasnt swept me under the carpet with a perfunctory message like " your account has been temporarily deactivated" or some such text! 

And well, now that i'm here, think i'll just bookmark a funny something by way of (hopefully) kickstarting another blogging spell --

Having accompanied me on trips a plenty to the ATM, my sonny boy these days often handles the operations for me. But yeah, it took me an incident just lately  to realize that he has actually memorized the command prompts shown on the screen.

A few days back, my husband's mom had fallen ill with a bad cough and a round of oral AB had done no good. Upon which, our family physician advised that she be hospitalized for a few days so she could be given a bout of IV antibiotics that would effect quicker. And so,  it was decided to drop mother-in-law off at the ICU and bring her back home in 5 days.

When sharing the news with my sonny, he says : Oh, so you mean to say you're going to DEPOSIT granny at the ICU on Monday and WITHDRAW her on Friday?

:-)

welcome back to me.

In a hurry to get home in time to cook lunch for my mom celebrating her birthday, I was zooming in my car while scanning both sides of the road for a petrol bunk.

Eyeing the fuel gauge nearing empty, I said: " Looks like I wont be able to drive this thing much longer  if I don't fill some DIESEL soon ! "

To which my sonny boy (engrossed in some game in his laptop) stated ever so matter-of-factedly : "Then, you're not going to be able to drive this thing at all. "

It took me a second to make sense of what he'd just said; and then, I couldn't help smiling. I was driving a PETROL car  :)

Soon enough, my sonny boy had a genuine doubt. " Why is that we say 'Petrol Bunk' and not 'Diesel Bunk' ?? "

Hmm. Good question. But nope, I didn't know the answer! 

Do you? :)

I don't know if many do, but I believe in SIGNS.

Signs...that sometimes show that you and a special someone are truly connected in some inexplainable mysterious way..
Signs..that show that there is a mysterious Force guiding us all and watching over us..
Signs .that reassure you when you're feeling a li'l empty in your soul.. that you really don't have to feel that way..

So, I was touched to find a message in my inbox today from a beautiful card company that I subscribe to.
The mail was meant to be an advertisement for their special Mother's Day offers..but to me, it was a SIGN from above that just made my day.

subject:
GOD THINKS YOU'RE WONDERFUL.

message:
God loves you..
with an everlasting love..
You are valuable to Him
not because of what you do
but simply because you are.

His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore..
He lives to hear your heartbeat.
He loves to hear your prayers.
If something is important to you, its important to Him.
He has never taken His eyes off you---
not for a millisecond.
He's always near..
So be kind to yourself.

God thinks you're worth His kindness.
And He's a good judge of character.
He thinks you're wonderful.

With his passion for the likes of WWE and WWF and movies revolving around the same action-packed themes like The Hitman, Tomb Raider, Fast and the Furious, etc., it was quite a surprise when my sonny settled next to me to watch the DVD of an Irish Musical titled ONCE.

                              

(About the movie:  A small time gentle love story between real-life Irish band singer Glen Hansard and real-life musician Marketa Irglova, ONCE was shot on a shoestring budget with a skeleton crew and in a time-slot of just 17 days with only two 'handicams'  for camera (!) that gets you feeling you're watching a video shoot/documentary rather than a movie. Yet, the movie struck a chord with millions around the world to include Steven Spielberg who was quoted as saying '"A little movie called Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year.")

Well, no sooner had the movie begun on a sweet but loud number by Hansard, I expected my sonny boy to clear the scene and head for another dose of cartoons on any other TV available in the home. But surprisingly he didn't...

The movie carried on with simple yet beautiful parlance between two adorable actors who were simply striking with their exceptionally natural performance...and packaged with a string of heart-warmingly soulful songs to boot, I was totally lost to the movie in seconds. But yes, in between it, I quickly stole a glance at Rahul, and was genuinely surprised to see my little action-movie fan smiling back at me!  Yup, no two ways about it, but we were both loving the flick big time!

Its been more than a week now since we first watched the movie together .. but a few minutes back, my sonny just played the movie for the umpteenth time and went off to sleep with the most beautiful song in it ( 'Falling Slowly' which also won the Academy Award this year for the best original song ) in the backdrop...

And I must say that every time Rahul initiates watching this movie, I feel quite content to know for sure that he has it in him to appreciate some of the finer things in life:
A romance without frills. Some soulful music.

Here's sharing a gem from this awesome movie..


N.B. And how can I sign off without thanking my dear friend 'charmwood8' who let me in on this lovely movie and also gifted me the DVD ! And by doing so, has given me and my sonny the luxury of an unforgettable and refreshing experience!  Thanx so much ! :)

My cell phone buzzes. The number is strange. The voice though is very familiar, but I can't place it. A couple of  "hello"s and I still don't recognize it!  Finally, I apologize and ask the voice to identify itself. And i'm baffled to realize it was someone who calls me day in and day out!  Shucks!  And I follow up with more profuse apologies!

Nope. I didn't suffer an amnesia attack or something. All I did was do an emergent SIM transplant. ( yes, SIM as in the cell phone SIM).

Having forgotten my cell phone charger in a distant land and my phone out of charge, I had no choice but to use an old phone I had on me, and yes, when I transplanted the SIM, what came of it was that instantly many of my friends and family turned strangers!! -yep, almost like I'd suffered an attack of amnesia !

Because, suddenly there were more 'number(s) calling' than 'name(s) calling'. And every number looked to be that of a stranger ! ..naturally requiring me to accept it like I  would a stranger's call.. and think I've said more sorrys today to my near and dear ones than I have in months put together!

The feeling, if anything, was incapacitating at the least, not to mention irritating. And I chided myself for taking too much for granted.. and undermining the importance of memorizing ( in one's head) the important details about important people in your life and not foolishly relying on gizmos to do it for you. hmph.

Meanwhile, guess i'll just have to bite the bullet when my phone rings next...

Well, for one, i believe that i'm always destined to make a come back here on BLOGCATCHER with an opening track  :)

Here's sharing a song from yesteryears by a pop diva that i simply adore for her personality as her voice.
Just chanced to hear her croon a favorite number of mine on World Space yesterday and i had to immortalize the song  so i could keep coming back to it again and again and again....

Believe - CHER

TRIVIA: 

Actually, there's more to this song, than just being my favorite.

Cher's 'Believe' (Dec 1998) was the first commercial recording to feature the audible side-effects of Antares Auto-tune software used as a deliberate creative effect. The (now) highly recognizable tonal mangling occurs when the pitch correction speed is set too fast for the audio that it is processing and it became one of the most over-used production effects of the following years and known more commonly as the 'Cher effect' !

It is said that  Cher's Producer Mark Taylor added the effect to Cher's vocal simply as a lark and when Cher heard the results, she demanded that the effect remain in the song, and her original vocal be erased. When her record company requested it be removed, Cher responded, "Over my dead body!" 

There isn't a day that I don't dream of A Day..
That would be so different in a very special way..

Its a wish for a day.. just one day in my life .. when..

I have no time-table to follow
no deadlines to meet
no expectations to live up to
no responsibilities to shoulder
no appointments to keep
no reason to rush
no questions asked of me and to have not to answer
no one to confirm to
none to please

A day when I can
free my mind of racing thoughts
and have to think of nothing at all
sleep all I want
wake up as I please
listen to birds
watch the sky
daydream
wet my feet in a bubbly stream
laze over a mag
have breakfast in bed
splurge
read old mails
write a few
sit back
relax
enjoy

mmm.. and i think i'll keep adding to this list on and off...

A fine example (of the above) is when my son, reaching for his (strewn about) school shoes to place them on the rack, suspends the effort when he hears the last two words of my request :

"Could you please put your shoes on the rack if possible?"

Talkative.

A word that best describes me.

Actually, I've had it tagged to me right from school days, when my teachers invariably used to complain to my parents that I had a problem with keeping quiet.  

In college, again, I was very often asked to switch seats next to someone who even had a hard time smiling (!)  just so the professors could continue with their lessons (uninterrupted with my chatter).

Years later, married, with a fourth-grader kid to boot, not much of socializing, and not many of my friends around to catch up with on a day-to-day basis, I was thinking I'd been freed of that tag line once for all. When, just yesterday, I received the following SMS from my cell phone operator :

"You have won a Travel Bag in the Talk More Win Big promo. Please collect your gift before Nov 10, 2007."

Guess somethings never change.

Scooting to the rest room, our boss instructed the newly appointed System Administrator to fill in for him just in case the US Head Office corresponded on the messenger.  He promised the nervous SA that it would be very unlikely and scurried off. Unluckily for him, the head office chose to knock right then! And the jittery SA felt it would be safe to respond in monosyllables.
This is how the conversation went:

US office: Is A (boss) there?

SA:  No.

US:  Have the files been uploaded?

SA: No.

US:  Are the files over?

SA:  No.

US:  Will they be uploaded before 1800 Hrs?

SA:  No.

US:  What u mean by No???

SA:  Yes.

US:  What Yes???

SA:  No.

US:  Who are you???!!  and who appointed you???!!

(Thereafter the SA decided to remain silent)

While browsing the Google to find out what the phrase 'an army brat' meant, I stumbled on this really touching picture....

And yes, was stopped in my tracks ...thoughts reflecting on how sometimes silence (here, by way of a fotograph) can convey so much more than words probably can...





P.S.  "Army brat" by the way, is a term for a person whose parent or parents have served full-time in the armed forces during the person's childhood.

Ace marketing guru and one of the first to pioneer online marketing, Seth Godin is almost as famous as Tiger Woods.
While blog hopping, as I do from time to time, I must say I was pleasantly surprised to stumble on Seth's very own blog !  ( It was like chancing to discover the personal blog of a celebrity! say like, Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts! ).

Written in an elucidating style and littered with tips galore for those vying for an edge in marketing, I enjoyed lounging on the blog just for sheer pleasure of reading the thoughts of someone really good at his job.....and yeah, stumbled on this interesting video, which Seth was using to highlight a marketing strategy mentioned in his latest book called 'The Dip'.

Now, I had actually engineered writing this blog entry a while ago, but in the din of the mundane frenzy, left it on the back burner.  Well, just a few days back, I had a blog that I subscribe to, mention this very same video!
Because it did indeed broadcast a very strong message  --
To BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS even when the whole world doesn't have faith in it !!

The video is about a simpleton who works as a mobile phone salesman, but whose cherished dream is to sing the Opera..and he attempts to live that dream through a contest scouting for the best talent in Britain. The salesman's colorless personality and his relatively ordinary profession does mislead the judges of the contest into underrating him considerably... And yes, their "facial expression" graph from beginning to end (of the video) captures in essence the contestant's exemplary performance.

So, here's to all of you who have a hard time believing in your dreams and following through with it just because the world raises an eyebrow.

This clipping will change that once for all.

Another one of those endless battle of words followed up with threats to downsize privileges, and I finally manage to get my sonny to have two parathas and an omelet for lunch. He pops the  last mouthful and flees the scene..his plate far from clean. I look at the more-than-just-a-few stray pieces of food lying strewn around in it and sigh. Gory aftermath of a verbally explosive lunch time.

Minutes later, I find Rahul -whose tummy was so full it could burst any second a while ago- snacking on a huge bowl of puffed rice with two cashew biscuits to boot !

I'm obviously enraged and storm him with how on earth could he manage to get that into his too-full tummy ??!!  And my sonny explains ever so gently,
"You see mom, the food drive in my tummy has a storage space of just 100 KB, while the dessert drive is 1GB."


 

Been tossing around the thought "should I or shouldn't I" when it came to posting this entry. Cos its a little personal.. and more importantly cos it contains, well, not what you would call family material.

But yeah, as I intend to keep my entry/entries relatively neat, I thought I'd post anyway. And then, a blog is to occasionally share some personal stuff too, right?!

Having been brought up quite conservatively and educated convent style, I must sheepishly admit that I was naive about a lot of things even at 20+ !! -- in stark comparison to what the average 10 year old knows these days !
Now, I wouldn't want to divulge how old I was when the following incident happened -for obvious reasons- but yes this is what transpired in a telephone conversation between me and a foreigner lady (FL) in the US of A :

FL : May I have your name?

Me: Deepa

FL: Could you spell that for me, please?

Me: D E E..

FL: Nope, i meant could you spell each letter like, A for apple..

Me: Oh sure.

Me: D for Deer, E for Elephant, E for Elephant again, P for _ _ _ _ _

FL (surprisingly sounding very annoyed) :  P for what ?????!!!!!

Me ( innocently): P for _ _ _ _ _

I hear a stormy discussion at the other end for a while and then a loud thud and the line goes dead.

Later, it took me someone worldly-wise to let me in on the knowledge that-unfortunately- the name of a relatively harmless animal could be rather offensive.

p.s. For those of you naive people out there, the word was a synonym for cat. Now don't ask me why.

He rescues his girlfriend Sweets from amidst a bevy of armed thugs after a marathon shooting spree and emerges unscathed.  He meticulously plans and with utmost precision plants a bomb unnoticed under the car of the newly appointed President and walks off with a mindblowing sum of money.  He closes a 2-million dollar drug deal and comes home to a swanky mansion and his own private jet. Finally, he shoots his boss dead for daring to scheme against him behind his back....

Plot of an action-adventure packed Hollywood drama starring Van Damme?
Wrong guess.

The hero is a soon-to-be 10 year old. My son.

And he does a hell of a lot more without as much as having to lift his arm, thanks to one of the most sought after Cyber Games of today -  GTA aka Grand Theft Auto.
After its storming success with Liberty City and Vice City, GTA is now out with an even more adrenalin-packed drama titled San Andreas.  But unfortunately, for my son, its curtains on GTA. At least for now.

All it took was a casual remark by him on one of our Sunday-eve rides.  We were driving through a crowded locale where people merrily jaywalked and had a hard time differentiating  sidewalk from the road and my hubby was having to keep his hand on the honk more than on the steering wheel. And my sonny says :
" These people need to be shot." ( !!!!!! )
Of course I was shocked more than I was surprised !! But yes,  I guessed where that came from.
I asked him, "Is that what you do in GTA?!" and bang comes the reply, "Well, yeah."

And it didn't take me any longer to decide that GTA had to go. Down under.

Of course my sonny fussed, but I gently explained how living the life of a ruthless criminal (which is what GTA is all about) has tarnished his attitude towards people in general and warned him that in the long run it could actually  end up making him a  'very bad person' with zero sensitivity. For a miracle, he could see sense in what I was talking and came around to abiding with my decision. And I whispered a prayer under my breath.

So, for his birthday I told Rahul that he had two genre of game CDs/cartridges to choose from: Sports/Kiddo games ( the likes of Mario, Pokemon, etc).  With respect to sports, I was quick to add a Conditions Apply. No WWF/WWE or the likes.

Rahul decided he'd go in for FIFA 2007. And I was all smiles. At least a game was not going to have anything to do with shaping the personality of my son. Then he adds, "You know mom, I've played FIFA before. And its funny, but I kept getting shown the Red Card."

A latest blog entry by one of my buddies here on LJ debating the status of EQ (emotional intelligence) vis-a-vis IQ has inspired me to post an entry myself on the same lines.

Just recently I'd shifted my son's schooling from one of the prestigious institutions in town to a relatively new one for two simple reasons. One,  the school didn't promote the much needed growth in arts. Two, a ridiculous student-teacher ratio of 55:1 or in other words zero room for student-teacher rapport.

Having traveled the long winded road of schooling, i knew only too well how influential "student-teacher rapport" could be when it came to performance in studies. And for children with really short attention spans, there's no  better solution than a classroom index that supports a one-to-one between student and teacher.

As for arts, i've always believed it to play an important role in fine tuning our capabilities to appreciate the finer things in life.. but an article (which showcased the end result of an interesting survey) that i chancedly came across in the online edition of The Boston Globe,  just heightened the merits of this branch of education to an all new level.. leaving me quite content with the realization of having made a wise decision with respect to my son's future.

The article was titled "Why is arts important"  and i'm only too keen to share a few excerpts...

" It is well established that intelligence and thinking ability are far more complex than what we choose to measure on standardized tests. The high-stakes exams we use in our schools are almost exclusively focused on verbal and quantitative skills and reward children who have a knack for language and math and who can absorb and regurgitate information.  They reveal little about a student's intellectual depth or desire to learn, and are poor predictors of eventual success and satisfaction in life.  As schools increasingly shape their classes to produce high test scores, many life skills not measured by tests just don't get taught.  While students in art classes learn techniques specific to art, such as how to draw, how to mix paint, or how to center a pot, they're also taught a remarkable array of mental habits not emphasized elsewhere in school.  Such skills include visual-spatial abilities, reflection, self-criticism, and the willingness to experiment and learn from
mistakes. All are important to numerous careers, but are widely ignored by today's standardized tests.

In our analysis, we identified eight ``studio habits of mind" that arts classes taught, including the development of artistic craft. Each of these stood out from testable skills taught elsewhere in school. The prominent ones being: 1) Persistence: Students worked on projects over sustained periods of time and were expected to find meaningful problems and persevere through frustration.  2) Expression: Students were urged to move beyond technical skill to create works  rich in emotion, atmosphere, and their own personal voice or vision.  3) Making clear connections between schoolwork and the world outside the classroom:  Students were taught to see their projects as part of the larger art world, past and present.

Each of these habits clearly has a role in life and learning, but we were particularly struck by the potentially broad value of a few thinking skills (being taught in the art classes we documented) and each of which has a high value as a learning tool, both in school and elsewhere in life.

1) Observation: A  task far more complex than one might think.  Seeing is framed  by expectation, and expectation often gets in the way of perceiving the world accurately. To take a simple example: When asked to draw a human face, most people will set the eyes near the top of the head. But this isn't how a face is really proportioned, as students learn:  our eyes divide the head nearly at the center line.  Observational drawing requires breaking away from stereotypes and seeing accurately and directly... Also trrying to notice what you might not have seen before. For instance, in Mickey Telemaque's first design class of the term at the Boston Arts Academy, ninth-graders practice looking with one eye through a cardboard frame called a viewfinder. ``Forget that you're looking at somebody's arm or a table," Telemaque tells his students. ``Just think about the shapes, the colors, the lines, and the textures." Seeing clearly by looking past one's preconceptions is central to a variety of professions, from medicine to law. Naturalists must be able to tell one species from another; climatologists need to see atmospheric patterns in data as well as in clouds. Writers need keen observational skills too, as do doctors.

2) Envisioning - Forming mental images internally and using them to guide actions and solve problems. We noticed art teachers giving students a great deal of practice in this area: What would that look like if you  got rid of this form, changed that line, or altered the background?... prompting students to imagine what was not there.  Like observing, envisioning is a skill with payoffs far beyond the art world. Einstein said that he thought in images. The historian has to imagine events and motivations from the past, the novelist an entire setting. Chemists need to envision molecular structures and rotate them. The inventor - the envisioner par excellence - must dream up ideas to be turned into real solutions. Envisioning is important in everyday life as well, whether for remembering faces as they change over time, or for finding our way around a new city, or for assembling children's toys.

3) Innovation through exploration - Art classes place a high value on breaking the mold. Teachers encourage  students to innovate through exploration - to experiment, take risks, and just muck around and see what can be learned. In ceramics, for example, capitalizing on error is a major consideration and students were told not to worry about mistakes, but instead to let mistakes lead  to unexpected discoveries.

We don't need the arts in our schools to raise mathematical and verbal skills - we already target these in math and language arts. We need the arts because in addition to introducing students to aesthetic appreciation, they teach other modes of thinking we value.For students living in a rapidly changing world, the arts teach vital modes of seeing, imagining, inventing, and thinking. If our primary demand of students is that they recall established facts, the children we educate today will find themselves ill-equipped to deal with problems like global warming, terrorism, and pandemics. Those who have learned the lessons of the arts, however - how to see new patterns, how to learn from mistakes, and how to envision solutions - are the ones likely to come up with the novel answers needed most for the future."

Meanwhile, let me grab some funky looking color pens and try channeling my son's attention away from the Game Boy.

Eerie as it may sound, they say there are 5 ( or is it 6?) lookalikes or Doppelgangers for everybody in this world !!!  Strange, isn't it??
But, what is the possibility of finding one in your very own hometown ?!!!!!

People who've mastered the art of beginning a conversation would vouch that, saying: " I've seen you somewhere..." would definitely get the ball rolling.
Well, since a while, i've been getting that, like a lot !! 
And yes, i did wonder how it was that everyone i met strangely used the same punchline ?!!! 
Like, was there a dearth of something else to say?!!!

But wait a minute!  I was the one to mostly begin the conversations!!
So, something was wrong !!!

Pretty soon, i started noticing people who didn't mean to strike up a dialogue with me -like, for example an auto driver as he was handing me the change or perhaps a grocery store guy when handing me the bag or even a pharmacist - mouthing the very same catchphrase !!
Yup. No two ways about it, I  was having competition from a Doppelganger !

So I tried getting a few people to think harder about zeroing in on where they'd actually seen me, but nope. Most of them simply couldn't help that info.
Talk of memory lapse being as rampant as common cold !
After a few unsuccessful attempts, i stopped trying.
Well, at least my Doppelganger wasn't getting anybody irate with me.

Then, a couple of off-beat family gatherings and a dinner party or two found a few people telling me that i closely resembled a TV compere !
The show was called Idea Star Singer; something like the "Indian Idol" that was/is a national hit.
On asking around, what struck me was the fact that, this was one 5-nights-a-week show that had a viewership status in Cochin, if not Kerala of almost 98%  !
And i didn't tarry any longer to get down to watching that show myself and yep..
Something about the host did bear a strong semblance to me, though i couldn't exactly put my finger to it.
I checked with my sonny, and he echoed the same thought !

And so, finally, i could rest the Doppelganger Case ! Yup. I just found her !
She's Ranjini Haridas.  Host of Idea Star Singer.
And the next time round someone in town has a hard time placing me, i'll be more than willing to help!!  :-)

Incidentally, i just found this odd site on the net called Find My Twin aimed at helping you find your lookalike!
Well, i didn't check it out and so cant vouch for the success quotient, but a few pics put up for visitors, did have me amused!

Check them out @ http://www.idavista.com/findmytwin/index.asp

Ciao for now !

With snatches from a refreshingly melodious number !!


Coming up with  posts soooooooooooon !!!

Shame on all of you who keep complaining the Indian team isn't consistent !!!
Think about it!! Aren't we really ???

Just not with winning. Sigh.

Now, I really don't have much to say about the match that just wrapped up in Hyderabad and yeah, am no cricket guru to comment on team selection, but yes, with the limited knowledge that I have, I do wonder why our ODI team isn't armed with the powerful bowlers that were crucial to our T20 victory ?!!

With the long established truth that Aussies are inarguably the best run scorers, I didn't think it needed hindsight to know that our team had to be armed with the best bowlers and not necessarily the best batsmen.

And so, actually, I wouldn't really blame our team  for the 0-2 victory status against the Aussies but the selectors, who should've known better.

I seriously think Team T20 has to be given a chance, just for a shot.
If we win, great. If not, we have nothing to lose, do we??

Anybody with me?

My current feelings regarding the ODI (India vs Australia) underway @ Hyderabad:

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET SYMONDS OFF THE FIELD????????????!

And for a pleasant change, i'm back to my roots.
i.e. back to sharing stuff about a wonderful somebody and not me :)

Its strange how you stumble on a treasure when you're on a casual stroll looking for nothing in particular.
While waiting for one of my buddies to come online to chat up a bit with,  was flipping through You Tube and i stumbled on this lovely soul with a golden voice and a beautiful face.
I was immediately drawn to her candid talking...uninhibited...unadulterated...
She had an innocent charm to her, like that of a baby...and pretty soon i discovered that wasn't all !
She also made as beautiful (as her) songs..and sang in an even more beautiful voice!

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce KIM DIVINE.
She's a singer/songwriter/guitarist from Massachusetts but doing musicals in San Diego and LA.
Kim also runs a video blog in You Tube and calls her posts 'Bedroom Sessions' where she gives the world a sneak peek into her life, her hobbies, and best of all some real soulful music.

The clipping i've chosen for my blog is from one of her Bedroom Sessions where Kim croons a tugging-at-the-heart number  titled  ' Without You '.
A soulful song is always born when its words are taken out of life and the song is rendered from the heart. ' Without You' is one such number.

In the clip below, Kim lets us in on the history behind this soulful piece and i must say it doubles the beauty of listening to it!

You really want to check this out!!  (And yes, the beautiful lyrics are right below!)
WITHOUT YOU

I have your eyes,
But I don’t see them in my reflection
I have your hands,
But they don’t hold me now

Cuz you’ve taken
And you’ve broken
Yourself from me
With no reasons
With no Father
I’ve still grown to be
Without you

The memories of this,
Are broken into pieces,
And buried underground
Do you feel the shame?
Do you know the pain I felt
When you left that day?

Cuz you’ve taken
And you’ve broken
Yourself from me
With no reasons
With no Father
I’ve still grown to be
Without you

I fear the day will come,
When you show your face to me
Will I find the strength to guard my tears
And show you how its been after all the years?

Cuz you’ve taken
And you’ve broken
Yourself from me
With no reasons
With no Father
I’ve still grown to be
Without you


Find more KIM @  http://www.kimdivine.com/

I really truly hope this lovely voice reaches far and wide one day!!
For now, YAY! KIM DIVINE!