Monday, October 31, 2011

Telephone Book Hive by Kristiina Lahde

Canadian artist Kristiina Lahde created this towering paper sculpture using delicately folded phone books. Aptly entitled Hive, the piece was on exhibition at the Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens in Ontario earlier this summer.










Source: thisiscolossal

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Banksy Artwork for Occupy London Movement

The Occupy London Movement has received a nice gift in the form of a sculpture from none other than artist Banksy it seems. The artist presents his take on the Monopoly game with Uncle Pennybags looking for a handout. The artwork is standing at St.Paul’s Cathedral as a show of support for the protest against corporate greed and corruption.








Image Sources: JasonReeve, Demotix

A Little Fear Is Okay

Okay. So after thinking about it a lot, oscillating between a yes and a no for about the millionth time, I have decided to go ahead, and post this. It is a bit of forced experimentation into a language and a mode of writing which I am least comfortable with. But, trust your friends for shaking you out of your comfort zones into the untrodden territories at the attack of one 'Please' which is so confidently sent your way, that you cannot do anything but comply. So it happened with me. I was asked by my friend to draft a motivational piece of writing, for someone who needed some inspiration for a supremely important endeavour, I was more than happy to oblige till I was told that it had to be in Hindi/Urdu, and preferably a poem. I did wail and complain for a while, but this friend of mine, referred to as my Goddess in one of the earlier posts, is one person I cannot even dream of turning down. She never turns me down- answers me even when I want to know the meaning of terms as obscure of 'deficit financing', 'sensitivity training', 'economic terrorism', 'maglev' among others. For those who do not find these terms obscure, shrink your brain to the size of mine.

So, back to the point. I did, finally, write. In Hindi, perhaps using Urdu words, and trying to make the whole thing rhyme. In a little less than fifteen minutes. Well aware of how dangerous this might be for the reputation of my blog, I will risk posting the five verses I composed, here. Cheistha (my Goddess) liked it. Thats one of the reason for posting it here.

The second reason, I am myself a little scared in life, and can do with a little bit of motivation myself. Lets see, if I can motivate myself. Also, for all my fellow IAS aspirants, heart-felt good wishes for the Mains Exams which begin tomorrow. For those of you who are as scared as me, let the fear keep you humble, keep you focussed. Keep a part of it with you, just don't be overwhelmed by it. A combination of a little nervousness and a little more confidence is lethal. Works, always.

Without further ado, here is the poetry. Curse, don't laugh. First time :)

Rehne do dil mein darr,
Paaon zameen pe rakho,
Phir ik nazar uthao,
Aur arsh par hi rakho.

Har udne wale ke zehen mein
Girne ka darr lazmi hain
Tum alag ho, ki dar ke saath bhi,
Darr ke upar udte ho.

Hai wahaan ke tareeke aur,
Jahaan vishwaas bas chehre ka naqaab hai
Bharosa dil ka gehna hai
Tum dil hi mein sajaaye rakho

Yeh dil ka bharosai hai
Jo muskaan-e-bayaan ban jayega
Ek kaamyaabi ka kinara,
Had-e-nigaah mein rakho.

Main aawaaz hoon tumhare dil ki
Mujhe aawaaz do chahe jis waqt
Woh guzra waqt nahi hoon
Ki mujhe se mil bhi liye, aur yaad bhi na rakho

PS- I know the last verse sounds like Ghalib. It is not attempted plagiarism. I guess Its just the inevitability of romancing him for some years now. 



The Book of Questions: Question 10

I hope you all are having a great week! I've been really busy and tired this week, but I'll be sure to give you some good new stuff next week.

Until then, my good friend Gregory (actually, I've never met him) has another question for you all!

For those of you not familiar with my The Book of Questions feature, I select a question from this book by Gregory Stock, Ph.D., write my response, and ask for your response. This is my seventh time featuring a question, and I'm using the tenth question in the book.

QUESTION 10:
Which sex do you think has it easier in our culture? Have you ever wished you were of the opposite sex?

MY RESPONSE:
In America, men definitely have it easier. However, I think women have come a long way.

No.

Let me know what YOUR RESPONSE is! Is it any different in your culture?











Picture citation: http://cultivatedcoaching.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/questions2.gif?w=304&h=320

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Funny Things That Siri Says

Apple designed Siri to be cheeky, which often yields humorous results on the iPhone 4S. While the technology isn't good enough to understand your every request (not even close), Siri often comes up with clever answers to questions that would otherwise confuse a digital assistant (several of which already exist, like Voice Actions for Android). Here's a look at Siri's most witty moments thus far: