Weekend ramble

Weekend is almost over. The weekend was all about apt hunting. I buried myself practically all day yesterday sitting in front of the computer looking for an Apt. Nope….. no luck so far. Even though moving into a new apartment is always a fresh start, however, I have to admit that it is a hassle! I am exhausted. I cannot imagine what will happen in a month time. We will be (hopefully!!) moving into a new apartment. Packing/unpacking stuff and on top of that my college will be starting. What an adventure!

Weekend was good. My cousin was at our place for dinner. She is from Florida and currently a law student at Boston College. Her grand mum is my granddad’s older sister. The last time I had met here was in Mississippi and I was in 11th grade then… almost 7 years ago.

I also had a chance to watch the movie “Billy Elliot.” I had always wanted to watch this movie and somehow or other the timing had not been right. Finally, almost after 5 years, I got to watch it yesterday.

It is a story of BILLY, the skinny but scrappy 11-year-old son of a callus, sometimes anguished mineworker.Dad sends him off to boxing lessons every day after school, but the sport doesn't seem to be Billy's forte. He slowly starts to fall in love with BALLET! Beautifully observed and surprisingly free of mawkish sentiment, Billy Elliot is a heartwarming coming-of-age tale that speaks straight from the heart, juxtaposing Billy's battle of wills with his prejudiced father, with the community's struggles against the larger forces of the outside world. The setting of the movie is in England--A blue-collar English community, struggling under the conservative, anti-labor regime of Margaret Thatcher.

The movie is very cute. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like this one, you should definitely consider- Save the last dance, Center Stage and Step up- (yet to watch it!) For some reason, I have a passion for ballet and love watching it!

I have started reading “Intrepretor of Maladies”. I was estatic to find out that the setting of this book was also in Boston. I have halted “ the world is flat” for a while now. I know I need to finish it by tomorrow..but I still have like 800 pages left.

I was once asked- -

Do you blog with a purpose? I mean really…do you have a mission or are you just there to journal your daily life. I suspect that I, like many others, have no purpose behind my blog. I blog for me more than for others. This means the blog is a fairly eclectic mix of the banal and the more interesting ideas. :) Enjoy!!

Thursday

So I tilted my head back in the couch and rested my eyes. The scorching sun was unbearable. I am tired. I decided to run this afternoon. My body was feeling bit lethargic… So I ran to the gym in the afternoon 4:00 to be exact. I don't know whether or not that hour of the day would be labeled as Afternoon but oh well. I am happy that my stamina is building up gradually. I ran for 20 min in the treadmill and I did not stop:) I also ran on the way back from the gym.

The swirl of a wind outside my window is so comforting. And sometimes I wonder who controls all the light in the world and why everything is so dim and reddened like the pavement under the streetlight outside my window. The colour does not carry any of the negative connotations of darkness, however, it is JUST there, an irrepressible part of the world that clings and divides and spreads until it covers everything. Even the most beautiful parts of the day. Darkness is knowledge. Light is pleasure. They can never be wholly compatible. interesting isn't it ?!!!

Isn’t it funny how life is so wonderful one second and horrifying ugly the next! Actually, I take it back.It is not funny at all. Cycles- it is all about cycles. Ups and downs. If people would let go of their expectation, I think we would all be lot happier.

This one is just going to be a snippet! I have been jumping from one topic to another for no particular reason. Just been writing whatever popped in my head! This is the beauty of democracy I suppose.

The book reading is going on fine. I am really looking forward to reading “Interpreter of Maladies.” And no, I have no clue what it is about =)

THURSDAY--Back in my college days I used to get very excited about THURSDAYs!! mainly for television reason. I loved watching Freinds, ER, Will and Grace. I seriously cannot even remember the last time I saw ER!!! It has been agesss.. I miss watching APPRENTICE.

One more exciting news: Tomorrow, I am meeting my cousin Debbie after almost 7 years. I saw her last when I was in 11th grade.I am excited!

The world is Flat! or is it?

I have always enjoyed running on the treadmill with my music on. However, for past few days, I have become fond of running in the evening. I just came back from running. Such a pleasant night it is! You know what would be even more wonderful…. running late at night… When there is less of a noise. No roaring of a car or a horn… just silence.. Complete silence. Around 11ish would be perfect! Now don’t get me wrong. People do run at this odd hour. I usually run at 8:00. Weather wise, it is perfect!!

I am in the midst of reading the Thomas Friedman’s book. It is very very interesting and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It was quite interesting how upon reading the book I found about things that othewise I would have never noticed. The fascinating thing to me was when I read- how even the drive thru McDonalds do outsourcing. You will be thinking you are speaking with someone in the other corner of the room. However, the real truth is that, the person might be some miles in a call center. No! not in India, but in a call center which could be possibly 900 miles away!! Amazing isn’t it?

The world is flat—Thanks to the term called Globalization!!

In the book,Thomas Friedman also talks about Amartya Sen,the economist and the Nobel prize winner. I really like the way how he emphasized that the Berlin wall was “ Like a frog that is born in a well and stays in a well and lives its entire life in the well.” He writes that "the well" was how the world was like for many people in the planet for many years. After the fall of the wall; like the frog who was suddenly able to interact with the frogs from other well, people could do the same.

Another thing that really fascinated me was how you could have a personal assistant outsourced from India. You are in a dilemma about this presentation you have to do in front of your Boss and you have no time for it. If you have your assistant—let’s say in India, what that person would do is—research on the topic and have your power point ready when you get up the next morning!! So, Voila!! It is all there. Now all you need to do is just present it. WOW!! Does this not sound so simple!!

I am not done with the book yet. Truthfully speaking, I am not even half way there. This weather gets you really distracted. But I have been very impressed with what I have learnt and read so far.

This is how Mr. Friedman, the NY columnist describes the term Globalization.

"This is Globalization 3.0. In Globalization 1.0, which began around 1492, the world went from size large to size medium. In Globalization 2.0, the era that introduced us to multinational companies, it went from size medium to size small. And then around 2000 came Globalization 3.0, in which the world went from being small to tiny. There's a difference between being able to make long distance phone calls cheaper on the Internet and walking around Riyadh with a PDA where you can have all of Google in your pocket. It's a difference in degree that's so enormous it becomes a difference in kind."

This is a good book to read! i.e… If you have the craving to understand the world in 21st century!!

More reading

Just got back from Running. Really nice evening outside.

There is not much to say except that-- this one of my good ideas of self-expression will probably fade out in a month i.e once I go to school. Even though my inner monologue will be telling me to write things, I will not be able to do so because of time constraint. And eventually when I do write, it will be all changed …..the words would not be the same.Maybe it will just be a boredom, apathy.. etc.. (Hopefully not!!)

Well what do you know….. you might see the gradual change in couple of days. :)

I went to the library and got 3 books.

Intrepretor of Maladies- Jhumpa Lahiri
The world is flat – Thomas Friedman
From Third world to first- Lee kuan Yew

The latter two are very thick books. Since I could not find Friedman’s book in the regular shelve, I had to get it from the “Speed-Read” section. This means I have to finish it ASAP.

Ok back to Reading ....... night...

Ghulam Ali

Well, it was a lovely weekend. A musical one, I must say. Saturday was bit gloomy and muggy, but we were quite enchanted by the Magoes we got from the hay market. It is the mango season back home and knowing that you actually have the privilege of doing exact same things here excites us.

We had a great dinner at the Bistas residence =) the combination of lasagna, salad and desert was absolutely Delicious!!!! Thank you for the great night! After dinner, along with pradeep dai, we headed to the concert, something that we had been looking forward to for a while…

The Ghulam Ali concert!

I enjoy gazals; I have always been a fan of Jagit Singh. I have listened to Ghulam Ali’s song, but I primarily remember him being the favourite of my dad and uncles. Honestly speaking, I was excited but not as much as I had with the Jagit’s concert.

It all changed when I saw Ghulam Ali sitting on the platform. Everything looked surreal. He was humbly seated with his shawl wrapped around. The ambience was cozy. Even though he was quite difficult to hum along with, for the way in which he goes off on his own raagas and aalaaps after every second line, he was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! His voice was mesmerizing, and his stage manners exquisitely cultured, even when he is playing to the audience. I feel quite lucky that within a short span of one year, I was fortunate to witness two of the powefull Ghulam Ustads, Jagit Singh and Ghulam Ali

He astonished all the audiences by singing the medley of Nepali songs. “Kina kina timro tasbir,” “ k cha ra dina,” “ Gazaluti,”- all the songs written by our late king Mahendra.He had a whole collection of songs, Yeh dil yeh paagal dil mera, kyun bujh gaya, aawaargi" and "Hungama hain ". Then of course, his famous "act", for lack of a better word, with "lehar" - in "Dil mein ik lehar se uthi hai abhi”. What more could I ask for in one evening?

After the show we also managed to have a quick talk with him. He was happy to meet with his Nepali fans! Prasanna also managed to take his autograph along with some pictures.

The evening was a fun filled one!

Though I must admit that I had imagined a little different setting, nonetheless, it was brilliant and I love it.

I am done with “ The Namesake.” It's a warm book. One of the best I've ever read. A truly enduring classic story. A lot I could relate to.

Reading

The book is Great. It is almost over. I should be done in next hour or two.

Not only has Jhumpa Lahiri come to terms with her own hyphenated identity as an Indian-American, she has embraced the condition she shares with so many. The immigration experience, something she calls a “frequently humiliating process,” is explored in detail in this book.

I am a fan of hers now. “Interpreter of Maladies” is another popular one from her. Hopefully, I will find it in the library. The next one in my list is the “World is Flat.” I have made a quick skim of the book at the Harvard Coop but I still am eagerly waiting to read it.

“The Kite Runner” - Khaled Hosseini is another one in my list. Hopefully I will be able to read it all before the school starts.

It is hot outside. You can go on and on for hours and hours but still nothing in this hot and humid weather. Motion is excessive. Stillness, tightening and knotting. My feet hurt. Been out of shape AGAIN! Two days of running and my whole body hurts.

And I am happy…

Weekend is here. We are excited about Ghulam Ali tomorrow.

Planning to watch a movie called Kolya- it is a winner of the “ Best Foreign Film.”

The namesake

The book is Finally here :)

Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli are recent immigrants to Boston from India in 1968 when they give birth to their first child, a son. Their son ends up with the pet name of Gogul, when his "supposed name" never arrives from India. Gogul despises his name and grows up as American as he can while his parents cling to their Bengali past while living what appears to be a typical American suburban lifestyle.

This book is about your IDENTITY! Identity of an Immigrant.

I have been practically glued to this book. It is half done. Maybe one more day and it will be done! It really is very interesting. What makes it even more exciting is the fact that the setting is in Boston. I can totally relate to all the places... it is like watching a movie in my mind! :)

Other than that..I went running with Pras this evening. I ran all the way to the gym and back and couple of minutes in the treadmill. I am tired.

lady Di

How would it feel to constantly get hawked down by the Paparazzi?

What is the limit? How far is too far? Sadly, no one can put a question to it. However, as a human being, I think we all have the ability to make a rational decision. OR can we not?

It is ok to follow the celebrities clothing style, the food they eat, and the perfume they wear. However, it is quite extreme to put celebrities sex tape on the Internet and make money out of it. Yes, we enjoy reading about them in the magazines but they are human beings after all and they seek for PRIVACY like we do.

Paparazzi.. Paparazzii....

I was very saddened to read that the Italian magazine Chi recently published ghoulish photos of a nearly dead Princess Di immediately after the accident that took her life. AND it happens again,to the most photographed lady in the world who is no longer with us but the paparazzi has not stopped to haunt her. Who will draw the line of LIMIT? Sadly,even the royal family cannot do anything.

“World exclusive - the last photo" was its headline.

People are appalled and there is every reason for them to be Angry.

I was watching the news at CBS and one papparazzi bluntly replied, “ People needs to see what happened to her”. NO! We do not. It has been almost 9 years since her death and we need not to be reminded with the horrific pictures. No one wants to be reminded of this worst nightmare. It is despicable to fleece her image in death.

Publishing the picture shows a lack of compassion and is utterly tasteless. This beloved woman and her family should be shown the respect and dignity that she emulated throughout her short life.

Seriously whoever published the picture, who most likely has his own family have no thought for the feelings of what Diana’s family is going through, first and foremost Diana’s two boys.I cannot even imagine what the princes must be going through. Reading the news, the editor sounds like a cold and heartless being, who only has eyes for headlines and sales. I hope he deserves for this wrong doing!!!

It really is ironic to state that the Princess who always tried to protect herself and her kids from media is still haunted by the media, even after so many years of her death. Princess Diana has been gone now for quite some time.Her death will always remain mystery to most, but her memory lives on and, in most recent photos, not in a way she would to be remembered.

As for me I prefer to remember her as she is in this photo...completely elegant...the embodiment of a true princess!

Let her rest in peace!

Rural Education and Development

Weekend was great.

It was filled – just filled with brim. Friday was good with the movie. Saturday, as usual was little more relaxing. Sunday we had Shailesh dai, Reema and Atul over for dinner. It was nice and pleasant evening.

Oh! What a hot day today.

It’s been another very warm and sunny day, and apparently there is more to come. Tomorrow promises the same I think……. or there is a rain I heard. I wish I were in the pool soaking up the sun!

Today was good day. A usual Monday, I suppose.

Got woken up early in the morning by the annoying sound of the construction. Seriously, is it not illegal to start the construction as early as 6 in the morning? This thing has really ruined our body cycle.

This afternoon, I went to attend the Nepal-US Indigenous People’s Forum at Harvard University. The talk was about READ (Rural Education and Development). Mr. Sharad Babu Shrestha gave the talk about his experience as a Senior Program Officer with USC Canada and as Project Manager and Deputy Program Officer for Save the Children.

To empower communities by increasing literacy and access to education through the creation, advancement and leveraging of a replicable library-based model for sustainable economic development is the mission of the organization Mr. Shrestha emphasised. The main goal of this organization is Building literacy and communities through libraries.

It all started when Dr. Antonia Neubauer (president of READ) at the end of her trek asked the porter what she could do for him for being such a wonderful guide. The porter, Domi lama humbly requester Dr. Neubauer to build a library in his village and there! She did it.

The READ so far has successfully opened 40 libraries all over the Himalayan kingdom ranging from Panchthar in the east to Darchula in the west and Parsa and Rautahat in far north and south. I was very happy to see the determination of Mr. Shrestha and I am very glad that I got to meet a person like him who has been persistently trying to help our country.

It is heartbreaking to see the news of Middle East. The bluntness and candor, which characterized the war cries of neoconservatives, this weekend was quite striking. Will there be a W. W III? Why can’t there be peace?

I still remember talking with Stephanie, my high school friend from Lebanon and asking whether her families were safe in Beirut. This was almost 12 years ago, back in the high school days. Every one has gone in thier own path. However, the fight is still going on. Meanwhile, the war rages on, the world holds its breath, and the casualties mount.

Golmal

GOLMAAL- we went to see this movie yesterday and we were both very very fond of it. :) You will laugh your heads off till the veryyy end! That is a promise.

The weather is quite gloomy. The tyre of my bike is out. So no biking for me for a while. There is a construction going on near our house and the sound is just so anoyinggg.....

Nothing is planned as of yet. We will take the day as it comes. Have a beautiful weekend!
Library called : Jhumpa Lahiri's book is here :) I am excited.

My article

Here is a news, not a new one of course, but definitely worth sharing. I just found that that my article was also published in a South Asian media journal. As you can see, I am very ecstatic. Otherwise, I would not be writing twice a day. Thank you Mr. D!

It is the third article. Enjoy!! (Article)

Have a GREATT weekend!! It is going to be a little bit wierd without the W.cup, but I will be following the CARPE DIEM rule :)

ME

I am me. I am not setting up to be like any person else. I may admire the symbols, the philosophy, the viewpoints of other persons, but with all due respect, I do not aspire to be like anyone else. How can I? I am me!

Nooo, I take it back....... I am ME but I aspire to become like someone else. The people that we meet throughout the course of our lives mold and shape who we become. Some of those people have such a profound effect on our journey that we honor them by calling them a role model. I follow my role model and I want to become like that someone sepcial. I am me.. but molded by someone else. I need to change, toughen up and be more productive.I admire those who have a dream and never quit, regardless of how many failures they get. Someday, I want to become like my role model. The role model that I have always admired!

I take my artisitc licence to write words of whatever leaves in my mind. :)

I BELEIVE THAT: If you can not be happy in no-thing….you can not be happy with any-thing.

One more thing I thought about, it deals with vision. Not normal vision but special vision. I am speaking of the underrated art of seeing out of the corner of your eye. You can see things you never saw before, things you would never see normally. There is always that reflection there in the corner of oblivion that somehow reaches you in time to let you notice or warn you of anything at all. Bordering on premonition, you can see things you were not meant to, be granted that one instant of warning before the lightning strikes... its magical, really... so use it while you can, don’t take sight for granted but dont always use it for obvious purposes, trust me.

I have been listening a lot of RAVI SHANKER lately!

Asato ma sat gamaya
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
Mrityor ma amritam gamaya
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

From the false, lead me to the truth
From darkness, lead me to light
From death, lead me to immortality
Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

Blog

Have been getting many e-mails =) saying that I should seriously consider “Writing”. To be honest, I have never really been a writer until very recently. When I first saw the whole blog thing, I was just so excited. I really enjoyed reading Paresh dai’s blog and he was the one who gave me the idea of starting my own one and Prasanna has always been very encouraging. :)

I'm not sure what this journal is now. A compulsion, I suppose. This has been a way to keep my memories from fading.Well, when you make a concerted effort to write every day in a blog, then it will have to,by nature, turn to something more personal. Hopefully it will allow you to see what it is like to live life as a student.I am interested in investigating questions of the mind and in my mind. Additionally, it gives me some accountability — which is always good.

Thursday night—nearly bedtime.

So, bleary eyed and not quite fully awake. I just took off my contact lens and writing wearing my glasses. I usually don’t take my lens till I go to bed. Today is different. Truth is, I think my eyes are just too knackered and needs a rest. Having an apt near Mass Ave is havoc. Blaring noises and disruptive horns is what we get. I feel bad for Prasanna who gets woken up early in the morning and comes home all exhausted. Poor thing! I am glad tomorrow is Friday.

I think today is just going to be a snippets. As a rule, I don't make serious posts. It's my genuine belief that almost nothing is sacred and immune from humour, even of the blackest kind.

That being said, I will start with my topic.

Failure----- It is really hard to stand again when you have fallen badly. It's even harder when you're constantly reminded that you fell. It's like a bad dream that won't go away. Only it's worse because you know it's not a dream but a brutal reality that you're facing every hour. I hear the second-hand ticking on the clock, the passing of time that cannot be retrieved no matter the cajoling or bribery. Time is the essence of honesty-because it runs you over whether you adhere to its rules or not. It's hard, but it's not impossible.

I still remember what Laxmi Mittal had said about making goals. He said, “ not to make high goals but change your goals as you move along. This way, even if you fail, you will not get disappointed. But like a wise person once sad, “Nothing lasts forever-not even bad times”.

I went to the library to get "Shaliamar the Clown" from Mr. Rushidie only to find out that it was checked out. Agghhh.. I then went on to look for “The namesake”, by Jhumpa lahiri. Nope, no luck in this one as well. Bit disappointed, I came home with “Satanic Verse”- by Salman Rushidie and 3 movies.

-The Accused
-Lost in translation
-Motorcycle diaries - Finally after 3 attempt!

Promise, I will keep you updated.

Pras got the ticket for Ghulam Ali :) I am estatic. It is my first time.

Good night

the night

There is a distant light in the sky. It comes and goes fighting with the breaking waves for superiority. There is almost inaudible rasp of razor palm leaves rubbing in the air. A single chime sounds. The light is turned off in the room. I am sitting by the window.People laugh and walk, across the road. The cool breeze gently swipes my face. Best of all is the Moon. It is almost full, like a porcelain figure. Perfect white. Everything is bathed into the orangish colour from the street light I suppose. The whole sky is splotchy but clear, although even in the clear around the moon, the light betrays the thin layer of haze. I know of nothing relentless than the sound of silence. Faint whiff of the rain in the air. There was a great thunder in the afternoon.I stare at the moon. It shines even brighter through the patch of truly clear sky.

I just want to sit on the floor and color this beauty. The night looks impeccable.

(My husband took the liberty of taking the beautiful picture of Boston. One was taken after the July 4th fireworks. )

Foray into Writing

I was very ecstatic to see my article “ The good will for Nepal in Europe,” get published in the Nepalnews.com. This is my FIRST article ever to get posted in this website!!I have been getting so many emails from different people regarding their opinion on the article. What can I say, I was very happy to have that day of fame. This credit really goes to daddy, my father- in law for his constant encouragement and of course, Mr. Pras for all his help and lastly, the Internet. This indomitable medium has really connected my article with people from all over the world!

The article is about my experience as a Nepali in Europe, which I then compared to my experience in Tokyo and Mississippi. To me, it seemed as if Europeans were more aware of Nepal then the Americans were. This is solely based on my experience. I have been getting emails from the readers expressing their different views. Honestly speaking, Mississippi took me by absolute surprise. Coming from an International school where I had friends of Ghana, Djibouti, and Sweden to a place where many had no clue about the existence of countries other than the United States was indeed a shock to me. Moving from Kathmandu to Tokyo was not a surprise to me as moving from Tokyo to Mississippi was. This transition had not been easy for me both emotionally and practically. Now, I can only look back and smile.So again! this article is my experience and please feel free to Disagree :)

Yesterday evening was very eventful evening. The “MaHa” show was very exuberant and funny. “Sharada” was my favorite one. I laughed so much and still hurts! I had seen them in Baltimore in 2000 I believe. This was the first live show I had ever seen. The Help Nepal team did a wonderful job. Kudos to all the team, especially Shailesh Dai and Muna Aunty for the job well done. My thulo daddy got here last night. He will be going back to MS today. This is another of his very very brief stay but it is always nice to spend some time with him.

Oh and the weather has been amazing for past couple of days, especially during the evening I must admit.

And Ah! No scorching sun outside…

(Article) Enjoy!!!

Sayonara World cup

What a fantastic and dramatic final to end a great World Cup. It was a great game, a classic that will go down in soccer history, in my opinion. This world cup lacked the precitability that's scourged other world cups. The finale took a strange twist when the sentimental darling, veteran and the French captain lost his composure and aggressively head- butted an Italian player

What happened to Ziddane.. Zizouuuuu… ??

It started off being his defining moment, but the reasons changed after the headbutt. He had scored an audacious penalty. All was going well until the extra time and then the red mist descended. The officials seemed to miss the incident but the Italian players remonstrated loudly and Argentine referee ended Zidane's career nine minutes prematurely with a straight red card.

As described in this Sports Illustrated article about the final match, “the beautiful game turned vicious, even venomous on Sunday.” I mean what was on Zizou’s mind to make him flip out like that toward the end of such an important match? What did Italy’s Marco Matterazzi say to Zinédine Zidane to make him so angry?

Here, one of the greatest players in the history of the game pulls out the bonehead play of the tournement in the 110th minute. The champion who in front of two billion people, was putting the final touches on one of the most extraordinary sadas in soccer's history.Can’t imagine that a player of his caliber would let something that was said to get to him and then do something stupid on the last game of his career in the finals of the World Cup. He could definitely have been the next Beckenbauer or Pele......….. but at least he got ghe GOLDEN Ball Award.

Zidane is fallible. Zidane is a mere mortal. If he wasn't fallible, he wouldn't be human - he'd be God. Alas, no man is God. It was a storybook setting, but his dream ended in a nightmare. The parting image for Zizouuu will forever be him, the viliant knight rearing back in anger, lowering his bald head into the chest of the Italian defender.

WOW!! I could only sit and wait for the inevitable.

The enduring image of the World Cup for me was when Rooney got the Red card. It was one of a tensed game I had watched so far. Aside from the poor performances of various established stars there were very few surprises. World cup debutants like Ghana and Ukraine put up a fairly impressive performance that got them to the second round and quarter-final stage respectively, while England was knocked out again at the quarter finals via the dreaded penalty

And such was the 2006 World Cup....Congrats to all the team =)
Watching the game with the fans from both the team in the middle of Boston city Hall was indeed a phenomenal experience. Initially not knowing about this event we had headed to our usual place, of course, the Phoenix landing. The place did not look as crowded as we had expected. Upon starting the pre-show started, the ESPN showed the glimpse of the hall and without even having any second thought; we headed to the city hall.The place was CROWDED and we were very thrilled and Excited!!!

Prasanna had always wanted to buy the jersey. He wanted to get the Brazil one, they lost, then he thought of Germany, they were out, then finally Italy…. Both Pras and sano babu, my brother in law from DC bought he ITALIAN jersey. Somehow, Prasanna during the half time started doubting whether he should have actually bought the “les Bleus.” Well the extra time…. proved him all wrong! With a little Italian flag on his face along with the t-shirt chanting ITALLIIAAAA , he could not been any more loyal fan.

Congtratulation to the AZZURIIII =)

My weekend indeed was indeed a CARPE DIEM weekend! It was really nice with sano babu. We also had a chance to watch our wedding video, which was soooo nice and beautiful. All that just seems like yesterday.

What a Great month it had been.I am sad that the World cup is finished. My dad had predicted brazil,holland, france and italy to be on the final rounds. Well it was partially correct. Now that the Wcup is finished, back to regular life for me;this means back to the Economic and Statistic world!

Mr Mittal

According to the Forbes magazine, the three richest men in the world are:

1. Bill Gates
2. Warren Buffet
3. Laxmi Mittal

I had the honor of watching the interview of Bill and Warren at Charlie Rose last week. Yesterday I got the chance to watch the interview of the “Mittals.”

I still remember that day, when I was watching the “ Top 10 elegant weddings of the world” at E! and then the name “ Mittal” was ranked number one. I really wondered who this Indian guy was. After doing some research, I was impressed with Mr. Laxmi Mittal's background.

Mittal steel is king of steel market today. It possess a peculiar knowledge of converting non- performing public business and factory into highly profitable steel producing entities. He is famous for his personal spending and is now reported to be the biggest steel tycoon of the world a very much old world business; but his lifestyle from the most expensive home in London to the flamboyant daughters wedding in France ( At the palace of Versaille!) and his India visits are all pretty free flowing- globally. Mittal will now run the Arcelor, Luxembourg European steel champion. When I was in London with my husband in December, my friend Priya also drove us around his house neighbouring Kengiston palace, princess Dianna’s residence and the Nepalese embassy. :)

The interview was just so nice and encouraging. Laxmi Mittal was- very humble and down to earth desapite being one of the richest in the world. Mr. Mittal grew up in Rajastan, India in modest circumstances and simply decided to take up the export end of the family steel business. It was very interesting to find out that he had spent 14 years in Indonesia and that where he “ smelt the success.”

The interviewer asked Mr. Mittal what the word “Money” meant for him?

The interviewer asks - What is money to you?
a- number
b- security
c- power

He humbly replies:

“It is the satisfaction of doing something different and doing it unique. I think this is important than money. There are lots of successful leaders in the world who never earn money. In business there are lot of successful CEOs. They may not be a billionare but they are still successful and I highly respect them. It is not that money makes you successful but it is success that makes you happy.”

The Key word here is that SUCCESS MAKES YOU HAPPY!!

I truly agree with the suggestions he gave to the new generations. He said that there is so much knowledge available today instantly (thanks to the internet!). Knowledge is the key. If you have ambition, if you are focused, if you are committed and if you persevere, then you can do it!

On topic regarding " GOALS," he said-

" I do not set high goals. I set goals as I move along. This way you do not get disappointed if you do not succeed. You always take one step forward and then gain the confident and then move along. Then again, you change you goal. This gives you satisfaction and pleasure.”-Wow!

What can I say! I was just mesmerized by the whole interview. Listening to these sucessful leaders just inspires you and gives you a push! That is why an old edge say,

“Give me 10 knowledgeable people and I will conquer the world." :)

subliminal advertising

After pondering for a while, I came to the conclusion that it was now time for me to write about something else other than the world cup. So as a marketing major, I decided to converse on this topic.

Subliminal Advertising

What is subliminal advertising?

-If you attended the July 4th fireworks and saw the “Hood” balloon floating on the sky. I don’t know about you, but I depict that as a subliminal advert.

-In the Donald Trump show, right after the candidate is fired he steps inside a cab waiting with the “Yahoo Job”sign on the cab.

- The Famous one- subliminal messages being flashed in theaters telling people to drink soda and eat popcorn.

-Another interesting one is the research done by Wilson Bryan Key, a professor at the University of Western Ontario. Key found that the ice cubes in the Johnny Walker Scotch ads had images of screaming faces, skulls, and other horrific images. These types of images were in dreams experienced by alcoholics. After seeing these ads in Key's presentations, alcoholics who hadn't drunk for years suddenly had an urge to have a drink. :)

I will now take the example of my experience on the July 4th. As I sat down to see the Fireworks at the Charles River Esplanade, when I looked up in the sky one of the things that first struck me as wide-eyed eagerly waiting person was the floating HOOD balloon. The balloon was still floating peacefully even after the fire works had started. I am estimating that there were few million people that night and now the question is who will not remember this brand? Hood definitely was not doing any explicit advertising. The balloon was just floating peacefully and yet it managed to capture our attention and successfully might have also transformed other milk buying customers to the HOOD buyers!

One reason the subliminal advertisement is a dangerous conduit for innocent people like us is without knowingly it would have successfully brainwashed us .Now imagine, I am at a store and having trouble picking the right milk. You guessed it right… HOOD will be it :)

Also while watching the World cup, I have noticed the advert for “AVAYA” quite a lot. This no doubt is another form of subliminal advertisement. Subliminal advertising is a technique of exposing consumers to product pictures, brand names, or other marketing stimuli without the consumers having conscious awareness. Once exposed to a subliminal marketing stimulus, the consumer is believed to decode the information and act upon it without being able to acknowledge a communication stimulus. Thus, it is believed that one can influence behavior by surreptitiously appealing to the subconscious mind with words and images. If this were true, then advertisers could manipulate consumer behavior by hiding subliminal messages in their ads.

The advertising industry, a prominent and powerful industry, engages in deceptive subliminal advertising which most us are unaware of. By bypassing our unconscious mind using this techniques, advertisers tap into the vulnerabilities surrounding our unconscious mind, manipulating and controlling us in many ways. (If not then why all of a sudden I would start buying the HOOD product) Half of their dominating influence can be attributed to their use of subliminal advertising. Using the latest computer technology, they have unparalleled resources to manipulate each image to target a specific weakness in us. Subliminal messages gain their potential power from the fact that they may be able to circumvent the critical functions of the conscious mind, and it has often been argued that subliminal suggestions are therefore potentially more powerful than ordinary suggestions.

There have been lot of positive and negative connotations on “subliminal” form of advertising and I am not going to any more detail. I am sure most of know about the picture of the girl by Sigmund Freud :)

I guess, the bottom line here is that: People should be aware of the way hidden messages can be used in advertising. This way they will not be manipulated by the sneaky advertisements that may be out there, because, although there have been many studies conducted, the question still remains unanswered, "Do subliminal messages exist in advertising or do they not?"

Do subliminal messages violate the code of advertising? Will this change the way advertising is regulated? How could we detect subliminal messages inserted into creatives? ----This is for you guys to answer!

BUT PEOPLE out there….. Be aware of this MALICIOUS scheme.

And NO, I am still not over the fact that Portugal lost………………

JULY 4th

Yet another exciting and a disappointing game!

This, I thought, would be an easy win for the Germans. ( Holland was out. Argentina was out. But I had, against my better judgment and every instinct in my body, adopted Germany as my new team and sadly they are gone!) They were on home territory, at the top of their game, and Italy hadn't really impressed anybody.

Italy has never won a penalty shoot-out in the world cup, while Germany has never lost one. Naturally, the Germans were quite prepared to ride out the game and go to a shoot-out in front of their home crowd. With just a minute and a half remaining, it looked like penalties were a certainty. However,Italy stunned World Cup host nation Germany: Grosso slammed in a beautiful goal that sailed past Lehmann, followed around a minute after by an equally elegant one by Piero. The German side became visibly deflated after the first goal and lost its composure, which partly led to Piero's 2-0 goals.Arghhhhh!!

What happened to Ballack? He didn't have quite the sparkle he had showed against
Argentina.

I was amongst the many disappointment fans in the Bar. Am betting on Italy - Portugal final. Hope Deco can counter Zidane.

So much for the game …

JULY 4th weekend. Just like the wind, the big JULY 4th weekend is gone ! It indeed was quite a memorable one for us.

Now, America is officially - 230 years old.

Sitting and listening to Steven Tyler and Joe Perry perform with the Boston Pops at the bandshell on the Charles River Esplanade could not have been better. This year, we got a perfect spot. Both Prasanna and I, we sat with the crowd right in front of the river bank where we got a perfect, I mean..PERTECT (trust me, I cannot be more clearer) VIEW of the BEAUTIFUL fireworks.

Firecrackers, bottle rockets, bigger stuff….
Crackling, booming, screeching

The crowd was amazing. People everywhere. Somewhere in the crowd I spotted two Japanese with their Kimonos on. I was happy. It reminded me of the “HANABI” back in Tokyo. During summer time, around this time to be exact, they have something called HANABI/fire works in Tokyo as well. To tell you the truth, I really am not aware of its significance. I am thinking just for Fun. This takes place usually over the weekend and everyone wears their kimono. It is sort of a bonding time with the family with BBQ and picnic.

Somehow my experience in the crowd made me recollect my old memories back in my days in Japan.

Hope everybody else had a nice July 4th.

On the contrary note, I am reading the article at WSJ titled “ Fans say ESPN’s world cup Derseves Penalty”- I am completely nodding at this. It is really annoying getting disrupted by the overuse of graphics and cut-away shots. Who cares about the “ father-son duo players in the world cup”? The commentators are trying to show us how much they know but they do not realize the fact that all they are doing is showing how much they DO NOT KNOW!

Bye Bye England and Brazil

It was a VERYYYY exciting game today. The first one was even more exciting.Like our usual routine, we headed to "Phoenix landing". The game started at 11:00 and our target was to get to the place at 10:30. We got there at 10: 15 just to find out that the club was over its capacity and they did not allow anyone inside. There were long lines of people, mostly ENGLISH fans of course, with their T-shirts (Beckham and Rooney) still waiting and talking with the security guard to let them in. There was no hope for us. There was another pub nearby the area but the place was not as appealing as the “Phoenix Landing.”

We only had 15 min left and whatever we did, we had to decide quickly. Prasanna suggested making a quick drive towards “New Orleans,” the sports bar in Davis Square. We were also kind of prepared for the worst-case scenario. In case that did not work out, we would just go to the North end, the Italian town and watch it in a café. Bit disappointed and anxious, we both quickly made the move.Driving by Harvard Square we saw quite a crowd at “Graffton Café” and decided to make that our Football venue for next 2 hours. That place was packed with the English fans.

England has always been in the limelight and that was one of the reasons why I did not want to root for that team. And then there was the “ BECKHAM” craze. Trust me, I have nothing against England. My sister is studying in England and I love London but I just was not the biggest fan of the English team so I decided to root for FIGO and Ronaldoo!!!! Prasanna and I, we were the only two excited fans rooting for Portugal in that whole Café. My throat still hurts.....Go FFFigoooooooo!

One English chap also shook our hand saying "Good luck" in his thick English accent. Never was I so tensed in any of the games like I was in the ENGLAND VS PORTUGAL game. When Portugal missed the second Penalty, I thought we lost and that was it but when English missed another one and then another one, I was very confident that Portugal was going to win and that was it!!!

Yes! you guessed it right! I along with other fellow Portuguese fans were whooping, jumping up and clapping my hands about England getting dumped out of The World Cup. AGAIN!Please Keep in mind that I absolutely love England!

England really dealt a blow when David Beckham went out with an apparent knee injury and Rooney left with a red card. Portugal sealed the victory with the final penalty pick from Manchester United's Ronaldo. Portugal beating England was a welcome change and I loved that match. Somehow, I always have a thing about siding with the underdogs - for the simple reason that the passion to succeed is greater than the drive to defend.

For the second game, we decided to go back to “Phoenix landing”. The place was already packed with the Brazilians and the French fans. I was quite confident that Brazil was going to win. Regardless of knowing that, I still picked to root for France. We sat in the middle of French fans and rooted for HENRRYYYYY singing “Allez Les Bleus”“Allez Les Bleus!!!!!

What a shocking game it was!

Brazil vs. France match epitomized the ‘adage’ to the fullest. Brazil, the world champions for five consecutive years, could not make it to the semi-finals, and were brutally dominated by France throughout the quarterfinal match. France had the perfect strategy up their sleeve - being a strongly defending team; they scored an early and then kept Brazil at bay for the rest of the match. Brazil lost 1-0.

The super cool french with their fancy flicks, solid tackling and razor sharp attacks just blew the famous Brazil side away. It was the best of the times ………… Henry, Patrick Vieira, Franck Ribery were a pleasure to watch … Zidane’s superb touches and virtuosi control.What happened to RONALDO? To me, it seemed like he was already satisfied with the fact that he broke the world record by making the 15 goals, and cared less about winning the W. cup.

France's 3-0 Final win in 1998 had already given than slight historical edge over the five-times champions going into this latest match. However, the Overconfident and Arrogant Brazil lost!! I can't believe it - Brazil got knocked out of the world cup even before reaching the Semi-Finals!

This will be the first time since 1982 that will be an all-European final in the 2006 World Cup Soccer. The home team advantage still favors Germany as the eventual winner.

My prediction- I think that we will probably see a final between the hosts Germany and the comeback kings of France. Looks like this year is the year for the Germans.