Friday, June 27, 2008

Its time again - for riddle 'n rhyme!

Before the Good Shepherd was born
After the twelve labours were done !
The father was honoured by his son
So say some of the legends !

The Gods mercy was the want !
The bare-all who won the stadion
With hope and peace was he adorned
At one of the world’s wonderful seven !

The pious pagan-hater placed a ban !
Later revived by the Gallic Baron !
Four and hundred years were yet to dawn
Before the next millenium was born !

A parabola faced the Helion
And the flame was turned on !
To light the large cauldron
Till the end , it shines on !


Eight and Twenty warm times
Has the flag been passed upon !
The penta circles will be flying
Next in the land of Red Dragon !

Answer : Here

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Lament of a lead!

The heart feels heavy
The tears refuse to be shed !
Dear team members
Why did you do that !

Didn’t I share with you
Every petty info I get !
You had a discussion y’day
But no one mentioned that !

Had always been with you
Whene’er you stayed back !
Being frank and honest
Do you know what’s that !

Lumps form in throat
And eyes become wet !
No, I shall not cry
You don’t deserve that !

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Rhymes 'n Riddles - Chaoz ishtyle!

The Sun was in Gemini
When I was born,so gay!
Those who keep up with times
Can meet me everyday !

A size zero figure !
Can I ever achieve, nay !
Mamma mia, Lasagna -
My favourite food, I say !

Haa, here it is
The moment of the day !
To see the postman
Scampering away !

Here comes the dim -wit
Droolin’ canine - to play !
I kick him off the table
Smiling all the way !

Jim is tired of me
So its Paws’ day!
To keep me thinking
Forever, I will stay !

Cozy bed beckons me
Am gonno go lay !
To get the moggy out of the bag
You don’t have all day !

Answer : Come on, do some work; Atleast click here ;-)

Monday, June 23, 2008

Yeh John Galt Kaun Hai?

Prompted by one of Interrobang’s comments in a post of mine, I picked up Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand . I was reading it over the weekend. Though it was the second time I was reading it, I was able to enjoy it more now. But there was a difference during this second time reading. I was able to associate faces for the characters which I did not do last time. I was so affected by this attempt to associate faces to the character that I started browsing for images by characters names.

Hangover existed this morning too. While I was on my way to work this morning, I was thinking if I were to make a bollywood movie based on the novel, how the casting would be ! These are my choices…was not able to complete the list..will keep updating as I think of them!
  • John Galt - Hrithik Roshan
  • Francisco D’Anconia - Vivek Oberoi
  • Dagny Taggart - Thought about this for quite a while and decided on Priyanka Chopra
  • Ragnar Dannesjköld - This was the most surprising bit of my instinct - I dont understand
    why I cant take Jimmy Shergill off my mind when I think about this character
  • Hank Rearden - KK Menon
  • Hugh Akston - Amitabh Bacchan
  • Dr. Robert Stadler - Anupam Kher
  • Lillian Rearden - Mallika Sherawat / Asin
  • James Taggart - I would like to cast Boman Irani but I am a bit apprehensive if he will look too old for the part….so in other words, I am not very sure about this one !
  • Other Characters - Not yet decided. Suggestions are welcome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, the tag line would be “Abey Saale, kisko maloom yeh John Galt kaun hai re? ” ;-)

PS: I am no expert in Hindi. Excuse any errors in the tag line and appreciate the effort :-)

Friday, June 20, 2008

Brand Ambassadors - Who need 'em?

There was an article in TOI recently producing the list of brand ambassadors , the brands they endorse and the duration of time their advertisements is aired in television. And as ever, I was left wondering - Whats all this fuss with celebrities endorsing brands !


As a customer myself, I have never been tempted to buy a product because a XYZ endorses it. I introspected so much considering all possible situations and all possible brand ambassadors but I could not believe I would buy a product just because of the ambassador. Definitely, I will notice the brand, but till date, was never convinced to buy one without considering other factors that influence my decision.


Stepping out of comfy zone of my own world, when I considered other target customers, esp from rural and small town regions, I believe thats the market who would get majorly influenced by the choice of brand ambassadors.


On the other hand, as an urban customer myself, I find my attention completely turned off whenever I see an Amitabh or SRK’s ad on TV that I dont even notice the brand ! Dhoni is quickly making into that list


On a lighter note, the following persons will have all my attention if they happen to be on TV

  • Lalu Prasad Yadav (TV loves him)
  • Mumble from HAPPY FEET fame or Sid the Sloth from ICE AGE. In short, any of those adorable animated characters
  • Late Richard P Feynman (A physicist I adore a lot) Ian Wright (Favourite traveller from Discovery Channel)
  • Lance Klusener (After all, who can stay away when one’s first ever crush appears to be on TV )


Can any one out there who has penchant for marketing strategies throw light on the necessity of spending so much on brand ambassador and what kinda ROI has been typically associated with this strategy ?

Monday, June 09, 2008

Common Cold - Nothing innocuous about it!

Its been nearly four hours since the work day has started and the only sound bytes from the team has been a well-orchestrated symphony of coughs and sneezes, with ‘yours truly’ being an active participant !
Common cold - dont let the seemingly harmless term fool you. After a memorable weekend, as though to aggravate the monday blues that had already creeped in by the evening, it all started with a hardly-audible dry cough and lo, behold ! A matter of few hours, the entire larynx region is under attack and the voice box has been taken hostage ! And the morning left me wondering if I will be deemed a bio-terrorist at the work place . But I wasn’t the sole bio-terrorist at the work place
Even during this miserable time, I found a reason to smile ! I remembered a poem about Common Cold (and titled the same) by Ogden Nash that I had read long time back and took solace in the fact, along with other bodily juices, the creative juice also oozed for some one during this wretched state ! ;-)

Common Cold

Go hang yourself, you old M.D,!
You shall not sneer at me.
Pick up your hat and stethoscope,
Go wash your mouth with laundry soap;
I contemplate a joy exquisite
In not paying you for your visit.
I did not call you to be told
My malady is a common cold.
By pounding brow and swollen lip;
By fever's hot and scaly grip;
By those two red redundant eyes
That weep like woeful April skies;
By racking snuffle, snort, and sniff;
By handkerchief after handkerchief;
This cold you wave away as naught
Is the damnedest cold man ever caught!

Give ear, you scientific fossil!
Here is the genuine Cold Colossal;
The Cold of which researchers dream,
The Perfect Cold, the Cold Supreme.
This honored system humbly holds
The Super-cold to end all colds;
The Cold Crusading for Democracy;
The Führer of the Streptococcracy.

Bacilli swarm within my portals
Such as were ne'er conceived by mortals,
But bred by scientists wise and hoary
In some Olympic laboratory;
Bacteria as large as mice,
With feet of fire and heads of ice
Who never interrupt for slumber
Their stamping elephantine rumba.

A common cold, gadzooks, forsooth!
Ah, yes. And Lincoln was jostled by Booth;
Don Juan was a budding gallant,
And Shakespeare's plays show signs of talent;
The Arctic winter is fairly coolish,
And your diagnosis is fairly foolish.
Oh what a derision history holds
For the man who belittled the Cold of Colds!
--
Ogden Nash

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

But those are the words I spoke....

Day 1
Scene : A tea-break. Two persons discussing about another person
Characters: Me , Person A (Soon to -be-accused in the post)
Me : Cannot believe I survived thru his rambling!
Person A : (smiles)
(I am wondering if Person A understands what I am talking about)
Me : His reasoning was so ridiculous that I begin to suspect if his IQ is in the range of 10 - 20
Person A : (still giving that stupid smile)
Me : The next time I see him , I guess I will be forced to say “Please grow up and then report to work”. Lets get back to work
Person A : (dutifully follows)
Day 2
Scene : Tea-break again
Characters: Me, Person A & Person B. Person B was not present for the meeting that was discussed the previous day.
Person B : Hey, how was the meeting yesterday ?
Me : Dont worry. You did not miss anything. The same old rigmarole
Person A : We managed to survive his rambling.
(I show some surprise Person A has managed to express some opinion. But I was going to get a shock soon)
Person A : His reasoning was so ridiculous that I begin to suspect if his IQ is in the range of 10 - 20
(I am beginning to gape at Person A.Hey, I felt that way yesterday)
Person A : The next time I see him , I guess I will be forced to say “Please grow up and then report to work”.
Me : (thinking to myself) Hey those were my words..how can you steal them
(I was so enraged I could not stand the company)
Me : Lets get back to work.
Of late, I find myself in the same situation lot often. I do not where to report this opinion-theft. I know these happen everywhere but using the same words too……
The situation seems even more grave when you consider the fact that characters mentioned (other than myself) are the persons I have to spend my entire work day with :-((
Any advice on handling the situation ???

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Home Sapiens : The over-hyped lot !

This morning, I saw a thought provoking scene. On the way to work, on the Neeladri route that the morning shuttles take these days, there was a toddler, probably around 2 years old, outside the thatched hut that I presume to be his home. What caught my attention was this dog that was beside the kid. The dog was sitting majestically on all its fours and the kid was sitting next to it with the complete awareness that he owns the dog and it will not hurt him. The pride of ownership and the authority was so evident in the way the kid was behaving in the dog’s presence and the dog did not seem to resist the idea.
This triggered a chain of thoughts in my mind , in correlation to certain idealogies that I hold with regards to human beings.
Primarily, all of us are hunters. However efficient the mask can be, deep down, all of us are on prowl - just that prey is different for each of us.
The mask, that was referred to in the previous point, has been effectively and meticulously laid thru agents like religion, the idea of civilization etc.
However hard I try, I cannot shake off this feeling that all human beings are nothing but glorified ANIMALS or a PEST that grows on its benefactor. I cannot stand the sense of importance we have attached to ourselves as a species. One cannot deny that we seem to be intellectually superior, but hello, do we ever know what is happening on a micro-level. For all we know, a cockroach dwelling in the crevices in your wall, can probably see thru the crystalline structure of the material that the wall is made up of , without a microscope. After all, it sees things differently than we do.So it knows when a crack is going to develop enough to cause a collapse and so it moves out then.
Given my way, I would like to rip the mask and lay bare the fact that we are hunters and a damn good one at it. I wish we, as a species, acknowledge it and act natural !