Tag Again

Hip Hop Grandmom tagged me and here are the rules as received from G'ma:

I have been simultaneously tagged by Srijith Unni and Archana Bahuguna. While Srijith wants me to talk about 6 weird things in my nature, Archana wants me to say 9 things about myself weird or otherwise. Both want me to tag 6 more people by leaving a comment on their blog. I decided to combine both and give 9 aspects of my nature, some weird others not so weird. Those whom I tag may stick to the same rule.

State nine things (weird or otherwise) about yourself. Then tag 6 others, and also let them know that you've tagged them by leaving a comment on their blog.

I dont know if these are weird or not, but I can say that these traits are characteristic of me.

1. I am argumentative.
a. I cannot answer any question without asking a return question. I always ask for a clarification of a word, or the context for the question. For example, if somebody asked me "should I go in for higher studies", I'd ask "why do you want to go in for higher studies".
b. I tend to take an opposite stand of any opinion expressed (even if I believe in the opinion expressed). Example - If someone said, "The idlis were terrible today", I'd retort, "Dont say idlis were terrible, say that you didn't like the idlis".
The number of dirty looks that I've had on this count would be enough to wither a less sensitive being. This has been a cause of major trouble at home and work.

2. I like to generalise.
Whenever any specific issue is discussed, I like to make generalizations based on that issue. For example, if we were discussing something like, "when is one happy" etc. I might chip in saying "A happy man is always happy, a sad man is always sad or in other words a person will be as as happy/sad as (s)he has been till today for the rest of their lives - its all a question of perception". This trait has earned me the description of "the person who talks of vague things". I'm sure you wouldn't agree.

3. I love to sit and discuss anything and every thing.
This is obviously derivable from the above 2 points. I'd have been a top celebrity, if any career was to be made out of discussions. I ignore those who refer to these discussions as plain old gossip (vetti arattai). See point 4 before you jump to conclusions or give me advice.

4. I get very much involved in whatever I do.
The negative side of this is that I become an addict to that activity. Obviously, if I get involved in my work then that would be a good thing for my career. Unfortunately, I lose my addiction as soon as I take that activity as my job! Then I get addicted to something else. The kinds of career switches I've made in life! *shakes head*

5. I love my pet dog.
To say love is an understatement. The most important person? in my life is my pet. Fortunately, this feeling is shared by all of us in our family! Opinions on our pet is the only thing on which everyone in our family are unanimous. Of course, we've been ostracised by all our relatives (parents inclusive) for this.

6. I Like to be connected with people real/virtual.
In the days when snail-mail was dominant I always look forward to letters (and also writing them), then it was email, discussion forums and now it is blogs. A day without a comment totally dispirits me. I'm sure many out there suffer from this affliction - so it is not really a weird trait. Surprisingly I hate phones and speaking on the phone. Looks like I like the written form of communication.

7. I am a die hard escapist/dreamer.
I tend to look for delusory gratification, living in a dream world. My reading habits, addiction to soaps etc. are indicative of this trait. My other escape is listening to music. Generally I like to do things that lull one's senses or create an intense emotional experience.

8. I compare myself with others.
I constantly compare myself with others. So-and-so is better than me in this and this. :( I am better than XYZ in this :D . Of course I've never let out this aspect of myself to anyone. Shhh.

9. I want to achieve something in my life.
This is probably the weirdest part of me. Having all the above traits I still expect to achieve something in life. There's optimism for you. Anyway point no.7 helps me in cherishing this desire.


That wasn't that bad afterall! I did enjoy doing that.

Some additional frill points (kosuru):
I have starting trouble in any task.
I like to talk about myself.
I confide everything to my friends - I have no friends now :(
I feel guilty enjoying myself.
I want to win the Nobel prize.
Once I start talking, I dont stop..
I get high without alcohol.
All the above may not sound weird, but if you know that I'm a....Mmmmph, gurgle... sigh.

Having chloroform at hand is useful at such times... *The real me gets up after smothering the Visitor*

I tag Ranjit, Raman, Hip Prudester, Noble Savage, A.S, and Emily.
I request the above to do the tag, if they feel comfortable.

Back with more links :)

I am through black monday finally! Thanks to all your feedback - Visitor is back at the desk, typing away happily. :) To make up for the lost (wo)man-days today there are links to 4 blogs the I visited during my time in the wilderness, and found some solace.

White Forest
Have any of you read chess news reports that talk of "player X having time advantage over player Y"? I thought that it meant that X took less time to make certain number of moves compared to Y until I read this post by White Forest - Chess & Time at White Forest. Hey chess non-enthusiasts(?!) dont go away, there is something for you too in that post. Here's a heart warming post - Why me. A no-nonsense person, says we have no one else to blame for what we are, except ourselves.

Me Thinks
If you remember I'd mentioned my troubled times to you when I was travelling incognito in blog world. At that time I struck up an odd friendship with Lord Labak of Me thinks. To say that she writes well would be an understatement. Here is something about her - "That's me". Somehow her feeing for pets isn't the same as mine. :(

Emily's Post
Emily, as a mom has a dilemma, she writes about it in "Being Bothered". Emily's posts are ... well difficult to describe them... I feel nice reading her posts. The post that drew me to her blog - The House that Emily Built.

Terri's Turf
I discovered another dog blog - Terri's Turf through the post All Hail the VIP. Terri's mom has a dilemma, whether to go back to her first love or not - Bewafaa.

Have a nice day!

Identity Crisis

The past few days I've been having an identity crisis - all relating to my blog (persona). I seem to be getting too involved with the activity (addicted?). So I promised myself to not to post anything or even log into blogger for sometime.

I just thought that I'd just look at other people's blog; one thing led to another and before I knew what I was doing I was commenting away happily on other blogs but not as Visitor, but by other name(s) or as anonymous! Not only am I having an identity crisis, I am also hopelessly addicted.

When I created the Visitor persona for commenting on other's blogs, I had meant to keep myself anonymous for various reasons. I wanted to let persons have their own image of what I was, based on what they could have perceived of me from my comments. In some comments I have revealed more about myself, than what I'd have wanted.

Now this anonymity fetish that I seem to have is the source of all my worries. While I wanted to keep myself anonymous, everyone else with whom I've 'interacted' have been very frank and open about themselves. 'Knowing about the writer' has helped me put the writer's ideas in perspective and appreciate the post better. In fact, the blogs of those who have been very open have appealed to me a lot.

I feel guilty (about being anonymous) and a lot of uncomfortable questions keep popping up :

• Am I fair to the others (bloggers) by being anonymous?
  
• Should I reveal my real identity? I envy those (Madura, Raman, Premalatha) who make no bones revealing their true identity and about what others would think.
  
• Should I reveal only parts or the whole of the "real" me? (this real me is not necessarily my meatspace identity (nice phrase isn't it? lifted it ;) from the comment on another blog).
  
• In my past comments, is/are there anything that I would NOT say with my real identity? OMG- there are numerous things that I would never have uttered, if I knew X or Y knew this aspect of the real me.
  
• That does smack of hypocrisy - doesn't it? LOL
  
• Then have I been dishonest in my comments? No, I have always expressed my real feelings in my comments.
  
• Then am I dishonest in my real life? I dont know to answer that truthfully. Maybe I'm more non-commital (ambiguous) in my real life opinions.
  

There are so many more questions with conflicting answers. How much better it would be if one didn't have to grapple with such dilemmas.

Some options before me (suggestions I've made to myself)-

• Dont mix up issues - stick to your original Visitor idea - be objective, dont get 'involved'.
  
• Don't introspect too much - just do what you feel at a given moment.
  
• Reveal your identity , or atleast parts of it.
  
• End it all - I mean kill Visitor. That sounds rather dramatic and nice :) and I can go about feeling miserable and sorry for myself
  

The past couple of days I've been miserable trying to sort myself out. And I haven't got any answers yet. :(

Rahman's music

For those Rahman fans out there - here is a post by a composer, Kaushal Inamdar analysing Rahman's music in his post, Rahman, I, and the Sound of Music - A good read. Kaushal's blog has other posts that are likely to appeal to music lovers.
The Story Behind नको देवराया
Something for parents: Dilemma of the Better Son

A review of Jillendru oru Kadhal music.

Deepavali Charity contest update - The entries are comng in fast and thick, and some of the entires are really outstanding. Anonymous writers are also contributing stories, so maybe even you could attempt to compose your own story.

Feminism 101

The Blog world has become the new ground where issues are debated and opinions formed. Quite often the debators (on an issue) would be arguing with quite a different set of basic premises, and hence would be strongly defending their positions, which would be consistent to their own premises. Unless a common set of premises is used, no agreement can be reached in any debate.

Now feminism, as a movement and as a concept has evolved over time; being a sensitive issue there are a lot of discussions / heated debates over it. Understanding feminism better is useful to arrive at the "accepted" premises of debates on feminism. Even as a passive observer of debates, it would help one appreciate the different viewpoints put forth on the issue.

Thinking Girl is of the opinion that many people have major misconceptions regarding feminism, so she has offered to clear any doubts that you may have in this regard. If any of you have any questions on feminism visit Feminism 101 on TG's blog. She has also given a couple of other links, viz., Molly Saves the Day and Amanda at Pandagon which are similar in nature.

Remember the Deepavali charity contest?

For details see: Ready, Steady, Charity!

Science in India

I seem to be lucky to land on "gems" of posts. Browsing through G'ma's latest post on Navarathri, I chanced on the blog of Srijith Unni. His post, "The Indian Science Catastrophe", gives an outsider's perspective of the state of research institutions in India. I found that his post does touch on several problems in the Indian scientific community. I guess that some of the visitors to this blog are from the scientific community - their inputs on his post would cerrtainly give us a better understanding of science in India.

Language Localization

Raman in a recent post of his has raised the issue of Localization - how much to do. He briefly describes the issue and his own stand on it.
Language Localization, according to my perception, is the conversion of english user interfaces (of software) to the respective local language interfaces.

This is kind of semi-technical stuff, and may not directly interest many of us. But as denizens of the Internet world, I feel that all of us have a stake in voicing our opinions, so that the research community may know the general feeling about this. Of course to claim that readers of this blog would be representative of the public at large, would be presumptuous on my part :) I am sure that other experts (both language and software) would be also giving their inputs.

Short Story Sequel

Ammani needs no introduction to most readers of this blog, because many of them have Ammani on their blogroll. For the uninitiated - Ammani is known for her quicktales - short tales of about ~200 to 250 words.

She's not only a person of ideas, she is a doer as well.

She earlier had a letter writing contest, where the participants were invited to write letters to persons, living or dead, real or imaginary. This was quite a success and the letters are available at Lost in post.

In her latest post she has announced another activity - completing a story that she has begun; so far the response looks great, so if you are interested see A quick tale 158. She has also announced a Deepavali Charity Contest, the details of which are to be announced shortly.

She also hosts a food blog - Chai pani and a book blog - A good read.

Questions Galore!

I have previously mentioned Mr. Pregunto on this blog, as a person who asks interesting questions. A recent post (question) of his and the attendant discussion has prompted me to highlight this post now:

Is it possible to renounce some undesired aspect of your identity? Have you ever tried?

On the face of it, there didn't seem much to it, but on opening the comments, I could see that the question was much deeper than what I had assumed it to be. I hope you find it interesting. His profile About me makes for interesting reading too.

Fare thee well Gounder Brownie

The Brownie is leaving India next week to do her upper studies in an upper country. If I recall correctly, she is joining University of Sussex Sheffield, UK, to do post-graduation in Gender Studies (after an eventful 3-years at the Star of the Sea College). She bids Tata, bye bye, see you.

Wish you the same dear Brownie.

Vadukut's Padukoothu

Another blog that I've wanted to write about on this blog is Sidin's Domain Maximus. He comes out with some ticklers. Just sample a few (best done at home, or, when the boss is not around), and you'll automatically crave for more.
Balle Balle in Delhi
Sidin's guide to the greatest Indian cricketers of all time
You could just roam around in his blog when you are particularly down in the dumps for a non-alcoholic pick-me-up. He has also been published. Here is what he has to say about his choice of profession. Have a great weekend.

Invention Tag

Ranjit tagged me for an Invention tag - name 3 gadgets, not yet invented, that we would like to have. His dogs Ginga and Booboo have also done the tag - in my opinion, they've shown more originality than either Ranjit or I have. My imagination seems to have dried up - I've been sitting on this tag forthe past 2 days :(

Intelli-talk: This gadget would generate appropriate auto-replies according to the questions / conversations, to which I do not really listen to. Useful for situtions involving the spouse, the boss and any other situation where the job of cooking up a fast one is involved. This device should be placeable below the tongue.

I am just listening to a fast number - the mood of the music is getting to me and my body is automatically going into convulsions; some visitors are concerned that I'm having an epileptic fit, I can hear muffled grunts and smirks from my kids, meanwhile my spouse is assuring the visitors that I was just doing some new kind of aerobics. Enough is enough! I WANT The Jigger! Well this invisible inner wear, which when worn, would automatically gyrate your body parts in the most aesthetically pleasing manner acording to the music playing. Only one such Jigger should ever exist in the world!

Alai Payuthe Kanna is being rendered by KJ Yesudas, again caught up with the mood I start singing along - kanindha un vEnu gAnam kAtril varugudhEy Hmm..., I seem to be doing quite well! Maybe I should try for an audition with A R Rahman. Croak croak Crooooaak.... Hey! Who's making that awful noise, when I'm singing... Oops the power has failed and you know who was singing... *grins sheepishly*. Oh what wouldn't I do get a better musical voice. Ah Got it! The Music Capsule -just pop in one whenever you want to sing and you'd sing in the most mellifluous voice ever.
As I've already mentioned in a previous tag I'm the official Cacophonix amongst my many cousins. In this connection I remember mentioning, to colleague of mine, my desire to make it big on the music scene - and guess what he said? "Dont worry, you'll make it big, once you've been able to define a new genre of music". :(

I tag anyone else willing to take up the tag.

I've submitted HW-3 of my writing class

A Fairy Tale

I love fairy tales! ... and fairy tale endings!
Surya and Jyothika had a fairy tale romance that started with their first movie together. In these days of broken relationships, I am happy that their romance withstood the test of time; they have been courting each other for the past 5 years or so. They are to tie the nuptial knot today September 1110, 2006. I wish them both the very best in their future married life! Thanks, Surya and Jyothika, for making a fairy tale come alive.

The Assembly

In schools, first thing in the morning, the entire aschool assembles in the playground and the assembly is held, where there are prayers followed by a message, or inspiring story, or some such thing which the entire school shares. Reading Hiphop Grandma's daily posts is like coming back inspired from the assembly. The remarkable thing is that there is a message for different types/classes of people too. One can default open Hip Hop Grandma's blog in the morning and be rewarded with a good post there.

Most of you might be regular visitors to her blog, and whatever I say may be redundant. I just thought I should share some of her posts with those who have not already seen her blog:

Generation Gap - for the next generation family
United We Stand - for students
STRIKING ROOTS - Part I - first in a series of 3 posts - for young couples.
Was it fate? - for all
Mother Hen - on husbands and mother hens.
Where are we going friends - on carreers and choices.
Catch me if you can - a thriller
Justice prevails
Dare to be a Daniel - on Teacher's Day
To Care And Share. - on growing old together.

I really had difficulty in this post - I might as well have given just the link to her blog which is anyway there on my blogroll - as I really couldn't decide what to short list and what to leave out. Anyway it has ultimately become a random choice really.