I like the change..

There were days...when our weekend..or rather Sunday would start with me waking up late...lying in the bed some more to read a book...and then R and I heading for a niice breakfast...brunch maybe ..come home satiated...watch a movie...langorous days..come to think of it not so bad...

but now...we want to wake up early..so as to miss the weekend crowd on our biking trail ! pack off our bikes and off to a 6-10 mile of biking workout..and it makes us sing ..makes us want to do better...again...gives us a great sense of accomplishment in the day...what could be better than that ?? I like it !

Skipping...

So I skipped rope today...and it was great ..cant even remember how long ago I had done that last...! I remembered my cousin who skipped her way to weight-loss...and did she loose it...

Im not really looking at weight loss as a goal..rather being healthy...eating good..staying fit...Im getting more and more invested in that..

I used to be so anti-gym...they are pretentious ..boring..cooped in ..blah blah..

On the other hand I do not have enough self-discipline or patience to do what needs to be done at home..Im just thankful I realised that about myself and my need for some sort of physical activity just got too big to ignore and I joined the gum ! and Im discovering new stuff everyday...today was jumping rope !!

Internet is such a blessing...it has every kind of info...you just need to know what to look for....I am finding out all kind of things about workouts and diets and trying to apply it all..

 

Im quite proud of myself for taking this step..

Im also happy for quitting on coffee...It had become addictive ...even though it was just a cup a day..but still I didnt like the dependency and I quit !

I thought it would be tough..but it wasnt ..except for weekend ..when we go out a lot ..then I just have a coffee..I dont want to be too obsessive about having/not having it...

 

I just had to jot somewhere about the positive things in my life right now...

 

 

Health tips

Courtery http://www.dumblittleman.com/

 

White is Not Right: Having a love affair with white bread, white potatoes and white rice? Kiss them goodbye. Although you were taught otherwise, breads and cereals made from white flour are not good for you. White flour simply breaks down into sugar. Not only is too much sugar bad for you, you ultimately crash as quickly as you peak and therefore you are hungry again in no time! Guess what. You eat more and more until you fall asleep. In the morning, you wake up and have a muffin and start the process all over again.

 

Go Nutty for Nuts: Stop worrying about nuts being fattening; forget calories. Scientific evidence suggests (but does not prove) that eating a handful of nuts daily will give you less probability of heart disease. Nuts are rich in fiber, and antioxidants and high in Omega 3 (the good fats shown to lower LDL cholesterol). Personally, I have a handful of walnuts, almonds, pecans and 2 Brazil nuts each morning, with my coffee. (Yes, I do drink coffee).

 

Avocado is your Best Friend: You are probably thinking right now, this whole list is full of fat (!!). It is - but it's GOOD FAT. And, if eaten in proportion, it won't make you fat; that's a promise. I eat half an avocado every day. Avocado is considered the world's healthiest fruit, because of its nutrient contents such as vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C and copper. Health benefits include lowered chance of heart disease, stroke, cancer and Alzheimer's disease; keeping you young, fit and fabulous.

 

Reverse your Meals: Most people don't eat breakfast, have a sandwich for lunch and gorge on a big dinner. This my friends is waistline suicide. Its been said a million times before, but eating a big breakfast, a smaller lunch and a tiny dinner will do WONDERS for your jean size. Also, try not to eat after 9pm. Can you possibly imagine the joy of going to bed on a stomach that is not bloated or having to concentrate on digesting that rack of lamb you just ate? For one, you will sleep better and secondly, you'll wake up with a healthy appetite.

 

The 80/20 Rule: Eat healthy 80 percent of the time - the other 20 percent - eat whatever the hell you like (but not after 9pm). The whole point of eating well for the long term (your whole life) is knowing that you can also have whatever you want sometimes and that yes, a little bit of what you fancy really does do you good.

 

Leo

Following the Obama news trail it suddenly struck me that maybe Obama is a Leo (sun sign) , that would attribute to his phenomenal rise..and indeed I found it to be true...as seen in the wiki entry :

 

    "Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (born August 4, 1961) is an American junior United States Senator from Illinois and the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election. He is the first African American to be the presumptive presidential nominee of any major American political party."

 

and ofcourse I am not the only one thinking about this, as you will see if you do a simple google search with 'Obama Leo' ..

 

I have a few Leos in my life and have a healthy respect for their effortless personality and conviction of belief in themselves..or ego as you might call it...but in this case warranted ..

Im just glad my hunch proved to be right :-)

 

 

I think the world is sinking

Yesterday a friend mentioned that he checked out a book from library 'The world is flat' and I quipped ..no..its sinking !

But then I realised its true...given the situation in China, Burma, Afraica .. the soaring fuel prices , the food prices , it does seem

to me that the world is sinking...and unless we take a consious step ...live more consiously this will just go on...

 

Do you feel the same way ? Are you doing something about it ?

Going to try this today .. thanks Allrecipes !

Easy Pesto

Submitted by: Rebecca Jane Thompson Rated: 4 out of 5 by 71 members

Prep Time: 2 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Ready In: 12 Minutes Yields: 6 servings

"This is the easiest pesto recipe, using easy to find ingredients. It can be prepared in 2 minutes after you toast the almonds."

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup almonds 3 cloves garlic 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup olive oil 1 pinch ground nutmeg salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place almonds on a cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
2.	In a food processor, combine toasted almonds, garlic, basil, olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Process until a coarse paste is formed.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 5/15/2008

Happy thoughts...far and loose

but here it is..another one...I was reading the FingerSmith by Sarah Waters yesterday and was deliciously surprised by the end of Chapter I !

I liked how it took me unawares...wanting for more..this is what reading brings gives you...unexplained intimacy into some strange time and period and people .. :-)

Peace

equates happiness..isnt it...atleast for me..so I try to keep my mind at peace...banish petty thoughts....be clean...white..calm...

On other happier notes...yay...I finally bought and installed a bird feeder and added 4 flowering plants to my small garden :-)

Tough one...

Its a difficult day to note any happy thoughts...quite a depressing thing happened at work today ...and though Im just an observer...it saddens me much...I cant say much more than this...

6th April happy thoughts

Some holy time in the temple , a new recipe tried, a cute lunch bag brought and opened my birthday gift..15 days in advance :-)))

Recently

5th April -
A nice relaxing day, a classic movie (Godfather), biking in drizzling tranquil park , a beautiful dinner (Fiamma's) and good talk with my dear hubby....there is nothing else this gal would want...

Happy happening of the day

Spending time with my dear cousin and his sweet wife...good food...and some good laughs...

Loving loving loving these

Happy Thoughts

This being my birthday month , I have decided to start blogging again and also note down what makes me happy each day (atleast this month), in a way be thankful for what I have...

Today - 1st April -
As learnt from Gretchen from http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/ , money used in the right way can indeed make me happy - I got my house cleaned today first time by an external entity and that made me really happy...Im going to do this more often...it was just letting myself realise that I cant do it, and I was really hating not being able to do it and having the house untidy too...
The feeling of coming to a clean , lighted , warm house is amazing...hope I remember that..

A hint , rather actually knowing my bday present makes me very very happy !! :-))

Something I learnt today -
You cannot be in control of everything, even if its yours , and when you know you are not in control you have to let go, trust and be positive !

The 100 most influential books by women - and how many Ive read

Which is not too many, maybe I will take some up in 2008..

1. Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind
2. Anne Rice, Interview With the Vampire
3. Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
4. Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
5. Virginia Woolf, The Waves
6. Virginia Woolf, Orlando
7. Djuna Barnes, Nightwood
8. Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth
9. Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence
10. Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome
11. Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness
12. Nadine Gordimer, Burger's Daughter
13. Harriette Simpson Arnow, The Dollmaker
14. Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale
15. Willa Cather, My Ántonia
16. Erica Jong, Fear of Flying
17. Erica Jong, Fanny
18. Joy Kogawa, Obasan
19. Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook
20. Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child
21. Doris Lessing, The Grass Is Singing
22. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
23. Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
24. Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres
25. Lore Segal, Her First American
26. Alice Walker, The Color Purple
27. Alice Walker, The Third Life of Grange Copeland
28. Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon
29. Muriel Spark, Memento Mori
30. Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
31. Dorothy Allison, Bastard Out of Carolina
32. Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
33. Susan Fromberg Shaeffer, Anya
34. Cynthia Ozick, Trust
35. Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club
36. Amy Tan, The Kitchen God's Wife
37. Ann Beattie, Chilly Scenes of Winter
38. Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
39. Joan Didion, A Book of Common Prayer
40. Joan Didion, Play It as It Lays
41. Mary McCarthy, The Group
42. Mary McCarthy, The Company She Keeps
43. Grace Paley, The Little Disturbances of Man
44. Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
45. Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
46. Elizabeth Bowen, The Death of the Heart
47. Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood
48. Mona Simpson, Anywhere But Here
49. Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
50. Toni Morrison, Beloved
51. Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm
52. Sylvia Townsend Warner, Mr. Fortune's Maggot
53. Katherine Anne Porter, Ship of Fools
54. Laura Riding, Progress of Stories
55. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Heat and Dust
56. Penelope Fitzgerald, The Blue Flower
57. Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits
58. A.S. Byatt, Possession
59. Pat Barker, The Ghost Road
60. Rita Mae Brown, Rubyfruit Jungle
61. Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac
62. Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus
63. Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca
64. Katherine Dunn, Geek Love
65. Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle
66. Barbara Pym, Excellent Women
67. Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
68. Anne Tyler, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
69. Anne Tyler, The Accidental Tourist
70. Nancy Willard, Things Invisible to See
71. Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry
72. Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Disturbances in the Field
73. Rosellen Brown, Civil Wars
74. Harriet Doerr, Stones for Ibarra
75. Harriet Doerr, The Mountain Lion
76. Stevie Smith. Novel on Yellow Paper
77. E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News
78. Rebecca Goldstein, The Mind-Body Problem
79. P.D. James, The Children of Men
80. Ursula Hegi, Stones From the River
81. Fay Weldon, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
82. Katherine Mansfield, Collected Stories
83. Rebecca Harding Davis, Life in the Iron Mills
84. Louise Erdrich, The Beet Queen
85. Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
86. Edna O'Brien, The Country Girls Trilogy
87. Margaret Drabble, The Realms of Gold
88. Margaret Drabble, The Waterfall
89. Dawn Powell, The Locusts Have No King
90. Marilyn French, The Women's Room
91. Eudora Welty, The Optimist's Daughter
92. Carol Shields, The Stone Diaries
93. Jamaica Kincaid, Annie John
94. Tillie Olsen, Tell Me a Riddle
95. Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
96. Iris Murdoch, A Severed Head
97. Anita Desai, Clear Light of Day
98. Alice Hoffman, The Drowning Season
99. Sue Townsend, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole
100. Penelope Mortimer, The Pumpkin Eater

---

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

Coincidence ..

I just saw this news blurb http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6962606.stm and just yesterday I started reading this http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Boy-Novel-Last-Tsar/dp/0142003816/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0786880-9280109?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187988825&sr=8-1 

 

Spoooky !

Harry Potter marathon

Starting at 4:00 PM on saturday , in flight from Boston to Baltimore , from Baltimore to Charlotte.. continued through dinner and till 1 am in the morning..

Start back on page 512 at 9 AM sunday.....skip breakfast .....and at 11:34 AM we have a winner , who crossed the 'HP and Deathly Hallows ' in record 10.5 hours !!! 3 cheeers !!!!

 

As for my thoughts on it... its a paceful story, but seemed a bit juvenile to me... but ofcourse as every other reader of the HP series I 'had' to read it.. so there...

 

 

 

Toto and Alfredo !!

what a delightful relationship...in a delightful movie.. 'Cinema Paradiso' - saw it over the weekend and just looooved it...particularly the young Toto.. brings a smile to my face even now :-) .. A Classic !!

 

Interesting fact of the day

Saffron comes from the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus. Each purple flower has three threadlike orangish-red stigmas, which form part of the plant’s reproductive apparatus. When these are removed by hand and then dried, they become saffron. The stigmas are very, very small, and it takes several hundred to make up a gram of saffron. Depending on their size, it can take as many as 200,000 flowers to make a pound of saffron. Only about 30 tons are produced per year worldwide.

After dark

"But why should you be interested in me?"
"Good question. i can't explain it myself right this second. But maybe--just maybe--if we start getting together and talking, after a while something like Francis Lai' soundtrack music will start playing in the back-ground, and a whole slew of concrete reasons why I'm interested in you will line up out of nowhere. With luck, it might even snow for us."

--Haruki Murakami

Why !!!

Why do White Shirts attract disaster ???

For no reason at all , I splashed coffee on my white shirt.........urrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhh

Excited about

this one..http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419887/ .. I loved the book..hope the movie lives up to it..

Speaking of which http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433416/ is one movie which has gone beyond the book...seriously !

Also enjoyed http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976026/ recently..

Nigerian author Chinua Achebe

has won the Man Booker International Prize in honour of his literary career.

His first work, Things Fall Apart, is regarded as a classic of world literature and has been translated into 40 languages.(which I read recently)

Achebe, was once described by Nelson Mandela as "the writer in whose presence prison walls fell down,"

 

OTHER SHORTLISTED AUTHORS FOR THE AWARD :

Chinua Achebe

Margaret Atwood

John Banville

Michael Tournier

Peter Carey

Carlos Fuentes

Ian McEwan

Harry Mulisch

Doris Lessing

Alice Munro

Michael Ondaatje

Amos Oz

Philip Roth

Salman Rushdie

Don DeLillo

Who wouldve thunk

that orange + coffee aka Iced Orange Mocha would be such a delightful combination !

Come to think of it..Ive always loved orange...next step Orange Icecream !!

Being Right

There is no more destructive force in human affairs -- not greed, not hatred -- than the desire to have been right. Non-attachment to possessions is trivial when compared with non-attachment to opinions.
- Mark Kleiman

The Sopranos

is coming to an end this Sunday, and as much as it pains me to admit it , I will surely miss it.

I started watching it on my hubby's insistence as he is big mob-story-lover, but slowly and surely I got sucked in..

and now here I am scouring the net for all the Sopranos obituaries , savoring each last tidbit of the Soprano diet..

Salut !

Einstein on Freedom of Will

I do not believe in freedom of will. Schopenhauer's words, “Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills,” have accompanied me throughout my life and console me in my dealings with others, even those which are truly painful to me. This recognition of the lack of freedom of will helps me avoid taking myself and my fellow men—both as actors and as individuals casting judgment—too seriously, just as it protects me from losing a sense of humor.

—Albert Einstein

Half a yellow sun

wins the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction , a well deserved award for a well written book .

Congratulations to Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  who says "I suppose I was born with the story-telling gene." ..

Wish that could be found in me ..

Added to reading request pile

• East of Eden
• The Grapes of Wrath (Pulitzer winning)

- John Steinbeck , One of the best American writers of 20th century

Winner of Nobel Prize of Literature in 1962

 

Literary Quote of the day

"Lord,how the day passes ! Its like a life, so quickly when we don't watch it, and so slowly if we do "

                                        - John Steinbeck (American Novelist)

Beauty and the Beast in Epcot , Orlando..

Fall Colours

at Grandfathers Mountain ..

Love thursday..

brings on my love of flowers...I love flowers and to take pictures...
heres some of them..

Free people read freely..

'Maurice' by E M Forester is my pick for the 'Banned book Week' ..
Check here

Which is yours ??

Dor...Kacchhi dor

First thing in the morning , as usual , I woke up.. checked my mails and then got on to rediff .. checking the news back home .. and since its Friday also expecting some good movie reviews.. and la and behold...find a new movie by Nagesh Kukonoor...one of the film makers I truly appreciate.. he puts so much efforts in his movies.. and his characterizations...I really admire it...take 'Teen Deewarein' , 'Iqbal' ..all great movies according to me..

and this new one...'Dor' ..the story looks good to me...and the review is all praises...I am overjoyed...thinking where and how soon can I watch this...I pass on the good review to a good friend...who happens to be a mallu... and no harm intended but whenever I talk about a good movie with a mallu (my husband for instance) , it seems that its already been a mallu movie !!

But Im not ready to believe this of a NK movie... so I accuse her and then have to eat my words... here it is .. the mallu version and the hindi version here .. how could NK do this .. Im very disappointed...

Onashamsagal...

Forgiveness

I Grant Forgiveness to all Living Beings,
I Solicit Forgiveness from all Living Beings,
I am Friends with all Living Beings,
I do not have any Animosity towards any Living Beings.

MICCHHAMI DUKKADDAM !

Love thursday..

Sibling love...expressed by a thread...Raksha bandhan

Contribution to Love Thursday

Crime victim # 42972397

It so happened one day...it was a sunday...and as is customary..we wanted a fun day..
and we went for breakfast...and had donuts..to make a good start to the fun day..
(I cant rhyme forever...wish I could though .. )

neways...so we had a nice breakfast...and then again as is customary went for grocery shopping..back we came...and it still was too early...since hubby dear is wake-up-at-ass-crack-of-dawn whether its a sunday or a monday...our days always start early..

yeah...so there was still time for us to go check some cars (which is what weve been doing for past 2 weekends...and I thought I had gained lot of car-knowledge ... but...aaahhh...its slipping away.......) so we thought we'll go home and browse around a bit and gain more knowledge about the cars..

So we reached home...and immediately the hubby remembers the newspaper lying in the
car which he needs *NOW* ...and I went back to the car...and see one guy fiddling with its locks....!! Almost ....but not really....

I grabbed the paper..and had a feeling that I should take the bag along..which I had left in the car..but we are going back again ! and its our parking deck ! its USA ! its safe !
and I left it there..

and what do you see when we went back to the car ..my bag was missing...the car
was broken into..my bag was missing !!!

and this is the way I became a crime victim ......and my bubble burst !

Good Night & Good Luck

Integrity...freedom of speech..human decency..and where the world would be..if there were no one to defend it ..

If we confuse dissent with disloyalty — if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox — if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping about for a new allegiance will conclude that we are concerned to defend a myth and our present privileged status. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.

We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

No one man can terrorize a whole nation unless we are all his accomplices. If none of us ever read a book that was "dangerous", had a friend who was "different", or joined an organization that advocated "change", we would all be just the kind of people Joe McCarthy wants

Gotta admire Ed Murrow .. and George Clooney for making an intelligent movie..

Childhood memories...

aaah.....the 80's..
those free summer vacations...
hanging around in the trees...
inventing games...
reading non-stop..
movies non-stop....on the rented VCRs...
- Shammi starrers
- Amar Akbar Anthony
- Arth, Ardh-satya, Mirch-masala ..
doordarshan...
Ek Do Teen Chaaaaar.........
Ramayan...Mahabharat...
blissful ignorance of the surroundings.....
growing up...
'Kashish'
'Banegi Apni baat' ...
studies..

Wonderful memories !
I just keep wondering if todays children will look back so fondly on their childhood ... everyone should be able to ...

Memorial day weekend

Battleship Carolina ...
Carolina Beach...
Wilmington.. North Carolina

Thailand day five ..

Chiang Mai...small nice uncluttered place..with innumerable wats...left and right..and left..and right..tired !

Thailand day four ..

Damneon Saduak Floating market, quaint little market ..not sure though if it was worth the 2+ hours drive..
also .. Wat arun and Wat Trimit....

Thailand day three..

Beautiful ruinous Ayuthaya..
and a very european-landscaped Bang-Pa In Palace..
good day !

Thailand day two..

drive back to Bangkok...check into Holiday Inn hotel..which is an ok-only hotel ..though the location is good..
quick refresh and on to sightseeing...Grand Palace .. Temple of Emerald Buddha..Wat Pho..
great massage at the 'School of massage ' at Wat Pho ..

Thailand day one..

Visa on arrival is easy but possibly lengthy process..

Took a car...a map ...and drove down to Pattaya....
Hotel (Royal Orchid) - surprisingly nice...
the beach - disappointing..
Noong Nooch - overpriced cliched consumerised place..
Ali Baba restaurent - dont really know what they are doing..
Hubby - likes the concept of an indian thali :)

In the evening , checked out the Tiffany Show...quite elaborate...worth watching once atleast...

Hindi movies..or

names of the novels Ive read recently... such long names :

>> Chronicles of a death foretold , by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Im not so impressed..
>> Song of the Cuckoo Bird , by Amulya Malladi
Good one time read..read in one go..and it 'is' a big book..but nothing too great..
>> We need to talk about Kevin , by Lionel Shriver
Amazing !! What a way of expressing..and the end is such a shocker...and since its all in past..I thought I knew all..and just enjoying the literary fest..but..its simply a beautiful read !
>> An Artist of the Floating World , by Kazuo Ishiguro
Nice again !
>> The Inner Courtyard , by Indian Women
Okay read...

Read, every day, something no one else is reading

Read, every day, something no one else is reading
Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.
It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.

- Christopher Morley
an author of delightful books, books about love of books...its fun to read !
check out some online books at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/ , search for 'The Haunted Bookshop' , 'Parnassus on Wheels'

Short Note

saw preview of 'Rang De Basanti' ..I was very curious by the promos but was getting no sense of what it might be about...
the preview looks like it might be about students...dreams..alien land..struggle..determination... looking forward to it !

also read 'The blue bedspread' by Raj Kamal Jha.. good prose...style...also the refernces to all the blue, being my favorite colour and all that..though a bit overdone as it goes..
and also disoriented at the end of it ...confused... will need to re-read...

15 Park Avenue

is a beautiful movie...as expected I would say..

Waheeda Rahman...Shabana..Konkana..Rahul Bose..Shefali Chaya...how could it not be .....
at one point in movie I remembered Rani in 'Black' and it seemed so contrived...
in 15 Park Avenue , everyone seems so apt..so natural..Konkana is amazing...
except for Kanwaljeet...he should stick to his soaps..

and the end..how do you take the end..is it all Shabana's imagination .. ? that would be so M Night Shyamalam ...
maybe its a test for the audience psychosis...
I was all ok..life goes on ..nothing cut and dried..
my SIL wanted konkana to die..and solve all the problems..
my mom when narrated wanted her to be cured..

and its not that its all very sad and gloomy and introspective..there are quite a few moments that make you laugh involuntarily..with tears in eyes..

I guess its...as Joydeep says 'It would be very funny, if it werent so sad ' ! ...

Shahnaz

a novel, by Hiro Boga..
An unexpectedly poignant read..
aka Profoundly moving .. Piercing; incisive...Astute and pertinent ..so on and so forth..
(http://www.bartleby.com/61/99/P0399900.html)

Happy New Year 2006 !!

So many blogs are giving 'year in past' for the books theyve read, I am tempted too...albeit very short one..
The right side of the blog gives me a count of 42 since May.. and Im sure I mustve read atleast 10 till then though I do not remember ..so yes...a book a week..I like that :)

Completed 2 more before the year end :

Never Let me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro .. my darling hubby sent it all the way across oceans.. I still dont know how I feel about the book.. dreadful... mind-numbing desperation .. cant define !

Book Seller in Kabul - My library owner is hard put to provide books which I read , he says I read books which his other audience doesnt.. so whenever he find some crazy book no one else touches...he hands it to me.. does that makes me crazy !

Began new year with :

A pale view of hills - Kazuo Ishiguro again.. In the end I strongly felt that the narrator and Sachiko are the same.. but I havnt found anything backing that on the google..Im left wondering..

Crash - saw this movie , really impressive portrayal about racism , stereotyping , humanity...nice.. ! I remember one dialog where a South African guy asks his friend (dawg actually) if he knows why the buses have such big windows over there.. its to humiliate the people who have to use the public transport...they can be seen by everyone.. who wouldve thunk that !

New Year trivia :
Remember the 'sorrry' by the bimbo in Salaam Namaste.. its copied from a hollywood movie 'Noises Off' .. when will this stop !

Next on reading list :
> We need to talk about Kevin , Lionel Shriver
> Lolita , Nabokov

Coincidence ?

or maybe not..

Recently I saw the James Ivory acclaimed movie 'Howards End'...decent movie..Emma Thompson is good...nothing much for Anthony Hopkins to do though..
I havent read the book , so I dont know how the movie compares to the book...but seems that it must be lacking characterisation, which are specialities of such books I believe...

And..recently I took up reading the latest Zadie Smith - 'On Beauty' ..
Pages and pages on , I realised that its very similar to 'Howards End' !
Now..the funny thing is that Ive seen the movie 'Howards End' , while now Im reading a book which is based on the book on which the movie is made..

So , since I dont have the narrative style for reference...this book seems such a copy ! Why would anyone do that ?? I mean the plot is the same..you are just telling it in a different way..and then what do you get so much appreciated for ? for the style ? well..this might as well could be a disassertion on the original book..how can you call it a new novel ?

or is it acceptable ? seems very strange to me ...

Nach Baliye

on Star One..Im really really enjoying this show..and its with relief that I see Delnaaz and Rajiv chucked out..a 4-5 rounds too late I would say..

and I do get irritated by the hosts so...they should be chucked out too..

I have a feeling that Sachin and Supriya might win this.. they are not bad..but Rajeshwari and Varun are better...more experimenting.. and Ive always liked them both...individually too.. Rajeshwari in her song 'Mukhda piya ka' ... and Varun in tele..

definitely not gonna miss the next two shows !!!

Un-scheduled update

Books :

The Sea , John Banville.. picked bcos of booker .. and since its a small book..yet abandoned midway...just didnt get it...will pick it later..or not..

Mistress , Anita nair.. despite not-so-good reviews..I liked it..maybe because its set in Kerala..with which I have a special connection .. :-)

American Pastoral , Philip Roth... great book..Im slowly understanding what the phenomenon called Philip Roth is..though did not complete it...as my very picky-abt-books-wont-read-unless-very-interesting husband took it along ..

That Long Silence .. a typical Shashi Deshpande ..which Im liking a lot these days..

Brides kimono , Sujata Massey - disappointing after her earlier books that Ive read..or maybe Ive moved on ?

Currently savouring Arthur and George .. its a book :D

Movies :

Garam Masala - mindless timepass...good for some time..but irritating by the time it ends...

Mei , Meri patni aur Woh - good one time watch


Thats it ! Outta here !

The Joys of Diwali that was...

Its here !!

the smell...
the feeling in air...
the longing for
..freshly sprinkled grounds...
..the chilly pure mornings...
..freshly scrubbed houses...
..freshly painted houses...
..delicacies..
..savories..
..diyas..
..rangolis..
..sparkles...
..happiness..

joy..oh joy...the smell...the ..oh so sweet ..
so haunting smell of D i w a l i is here !

Queen of Dreams...

Picked up Chitra Divakaruni's latest..'Queen of dreams'...and surprisingly Im liking it...I say surprisingly because I had a feeling I wont like it...When I started with her books, I liked her work...somewhere down the line maybe it became repititive
..maybe the way it happened with Danielle Steele..

During my college days , I started reading DS.. in my hometown there are no english novels to be found...except for the library ...and that was too insufficient for my voracious reading appetite...every bombay/pune trip I used to visit the churchgate book sellers/book lane..and get all books possible withing my spending budget...

neways....so somewhere along that time I grew out of DS...moved on...
but...Divakaruni still can capture my attention.. Im really savouring this one..

One more reason of my apprehensions might be the fact that , when I heard of Aishwarya rai being casted as the main character , I was very disappointed...How could Divakaruni let this happen...Dimple...or Dipti naval would have been perfect for such a role, I think !

How one thought twines in another...casts a shadow...clouds judgements...

Book update

This month I read 2 books I really liked :

>> The binding Vine , by Shashi Deshpande
Its a very simple and small book... which starts from the middle and ends in the same way..there is no start..no end.. to all that is narrated...simply put..its beutiful..
and
>> The kite runner , by Khaled Hosseini
I can just imagine this one being made into a great character movie... it would be a very poignant one...I wish for it to be made !

Also..I watched a very good movie
>>Iqbal
Such a great story..such superb acting...I have increased faith in Nagesh Kukoonoor...and I hope Iqbal..and his sister keep on getting such good exposure..

These are the books..movies...that linger on in your mind...which make it difficult to read/watch another...lest the sweet aftertaste is lost..

Situations...

How do we decide how we should react to situations...
Im very transperant that way...My face..my voice tells it all...is it honest...or rude ..I cant decide..
I know its tough...to mask your thoughts...opinions...though Im sure wiser..what is the point expressing negativity when there is nothing you can do about it...
I need to learn..

Long overdue Goa pic

and somehow apt for the oncoming Onam too ...

PuneMonsoon

Despite the horrible roads...drudging traffic...not being able to wear my new trousers cos they are light coloured and the mud will puddle it..this is what makes monsoon worth in and around Pune...

Mangal mangal..

Mangal mangal...mangal mangal ho......


The movie started at 1145 pm instead of 1045 pm.. long past my deep-into-dreams time... the endless reruns of Lagaan and Swades songs..the unruly crowd which I feared wouldnt let me enjoy the movie..the long waitttttt.......
It was worth it !



Rather Aamir is worth it.. his entry scene...where he walks towards the gallows and his face is panned in the noose...thats awesome ! Never before have Aamir's eyes been so powerful.. so spell-binding..
and I loved that singing group on the beautifully decorated elephant...
Amisha , Rani, Kiron Kher, Toby Stephens are good too..
the 1857 era imagery is quite endearing and realistic..


Inspite of all this the movie isnt so great...somehow its not so gripping..or maybe there is not much story to tell.. a coherent thread is lacking..
And Rahmans music is alright...didnt seem to fit the period ..except for 'Mangal mangal' ..which kept on humming in my head when I went to bed at 3 am finally...


But Aamir is great ! and thats all that matters !


and...lo and behold..tis my last day in my workplace .. and I have a weeks break before I join at the intended place...and in which Im going home...my parents place...and fully intend on gorging myself on all delicious home cooked food and lazing away to glory !


Halla bol !!!

Attention Pune-ites

There is a book in wild..in Pune..
For more details check out http://www.bookcrossing.com/home ..
Im so excited to see where it goes.. !



p.s : I got a cutie-cute dress for my niece today..hope it fits her .. did I say its super cute ...it is !

Weekend in a glance

>> Boo(k)ty list

• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell
• Kite Runner
• Morality for Beautiful girls
• Historian

(There is no other way to define happiness !)

>> Movie watch - Sehar - Nice !

>> Some formal attire shopping in anticipation of the new job !

>> Coming Friday tickets for 'The Rising' ..

When will you stop asking questions...

I dont like to lie.. or hedge around...or give vague answers ..
Why do people persist in asking questions after questions..
Answering 1 or 2 questions isnt enough ???


How do I deflect..
>> 'No more questions please'
>> 'I think thats all that I can discuss'
>> 'Why do you ask' (the classic one, but not one of my favourites..since I know no one will reply saying 'bcos I am curious George(aka nosy) ! ' )
>> 'Stop It!'


None of the above satisfies me... I want one look of mine to stop them from asking any more questions...politely .

Look at this

Isnt it a dream library.... I will build such a library for myself ...some day..
And..yes..this is a real one.. courtesy http://papernapkin.typepad.com/photos/mom_and_dads/index.html .. Thanks Sheryl for letting me share it..

Phoniest being I've seen..

the shark creature in Jaws 2...

If only ..

it would have ended better...'If only' would have turned out to be an ok movie..


In first half of the movie..Jennifer Love Hewitt looks kinda exotic.. Paul Nichols has affected the Brit accent quite well.. the characterisation is also good enough..but..it turns into a totally cliche-ridden-hum-drum affair after the life-altering-deja-vu-esque experience that Paul has..


Why does he dies in the end ? instead of her.. I cant believe its because he loves her..why should being in love make him an easy target for death ? why is her life more important than his ? and she never even knows about it ...


He told me 'I taught him the meaning of love' .. (puke)repeat(puke).. and then died..wah wah wah
and then she cheapens it all by singing about it and smiling stupidly at the end... !! Yuck !

BookCrossing - the ideal way

bookcrossing
n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be
picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

(added to the
Concise Oxford English Dictionary in August 2004)

All details at http://www.bookcrossing.com/home .. sounds fun... !
Off to hunting in Pune...

Mma...Rra..

I want to visit Botswana..
courtesy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_McCall_Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana

A Pity-Ful experience

Today morning , I went to the Provident Fund office in Pune. This is a long pending issue - when my husband moved from Mumbai to Pune , 2 years back , he (or rather the firm) had submitted a request to transfer his PF account from Mumbai to Pune . As of now we have had no intimation as to the status of this.
Visit to any government office requires a mental preparation, building of fortitude, the right mindframe of doggedness, perseverance .. I dont know how much I was prepared for it , but 'its just an enquiry...I just need to check the status ..after all its 2 years..Im sure its done already'...I thought.


The auto-wallah , on specifying the area , immediately asked if I was going to IBM , and I smiled.. it always strikes me as how these people need to ..and keep themselves updated about latest going ons.. and how he pinned me right for being a s/w professional..am I stamped or what.
Neways, once I told that no...I would be going to the PF office .. he un-hesitatingly asked me if I 'knew' someone in there..and as I replied in negative again..he recounted his story of PF woes.. wherein his PF of 22 years work with Philips is still pending. He said that those people directly ask for 10% of the payable .. and they are un-willing to even tell him the total amount he can expect. Since he used to be paid on daily wages system, he doesnt have a record of what sum it might be..
We both berated the system..and said..yeah..Surely everything is computerised and automated now , and they would have all the information at their fingertips, its just that they do not want to tell it.. etc ..etc..
But the talk had certainly damepened my spirits..
I started feeling like the grey sky outside..


I went in.. it was 1045 am ..people were still drifting in.. chatting lazily.. no sense of urgency here...I went to the enquiry section, where a person took down the PF account number I gave, wrote it on a form and re-directed me to the 3rd floor.. 13th group.. I climbed up...someone pointed me to the right section...which comprises of shelves and shelves of dusty old files..4 females sitting idly, their tables empty and clean..work completed ? or not even started ?? and...no computer in sight ! I could not believe it..though my pragmatic self mumbled that maybe I was expecting too much..and ofcourse when they say 'India Shining' they dont even know what it means ..
So here I am ..among a group of ladies...ordering for kaande-poha and chai...gossiping about yesterdays rains..and whose house was filled up...and how heart wrenching it was to hear about all this...
I intruded with my pithy little request...trying to gauge the most active and authorative among the group...who could help me.. she reluctantly rose from her place...checked a few files and said that there is no such entry... so...what does it means ? that the entry is missing..or the transfer never took place...the matter is discussed and I am informed to leave the acct number and that inquiry will be done.. 'we will need to check other records' .. how long will it take ? can I call at some number ? when can I expect an answer...no one meets my eyes...suddenly all talks go through me.. not sure..some number and name..no idea..need to check..blah blah..boom...I disappear.. Im not there anymore..in the eyes of those ladies..
and they resume their work-day .


And I indulged in some retail-therapy to forget the depressing experience...

Golden words ...

Due to the flood situation in Pune and adjoining areas it has been decided that
the offices will shut down at 2PM this afternoon. It is strongly recommended
that all associates leave for their residences immediately.

GOOD BOOKS/GOOD CAUSE BLOG-A-THON

Check the idea out at http://contemporarylit.about.com/b/a/186033.htm
Check out the video link http://www.vidlit.com/mj/
Im not sure about my support for the book type..but its definitely ON for the G o o d C a u s e Folks !

Chutti in mid-week

what do you do then ??
>> Get the various chores done
>> Clean the house
>> Cook something good

No No No.. !
you kiss hubby good-bye as he goes to office..
arrange the pillows in most comfy stack..get some munchies...open the window to the great breeze blowing..wrap yourself in the cosy cover..
and devour ' HP - The Half Blood prince ' .. start to finish in 7 hours..non-stop..
the coolest way that I could spend my day .. !

This HP certainly is more intense .. not a tear-jerker...but did moisten my eyes...
It builds up a tight anticipation for the next one.. and about how much more action packed its going to be..as Harry is almost alone now..and will be killing you-know-who ..which sure is gonna be a tough one !

Rearranging...

In progress of moving my techie posts to http://centaurtech.blogspot.com/ ..

Hoax Love..

Forbidden Love..
Yesterday I started reading and completed the above book .. (While hubby dear was reading HP !)
I have been reading quite a few books about Arabic, Muslim background ..so it kind of got repetitive..but I still persisted...
It was horrifying..the murder..or rather 'honor killing' of a girl ..just because she fell in love with someone from a different religion..


The friend , Norma - whose first eye account this book is.. seemed a little selfish to me in the end..leaving the country as she did.. kept on niggling at me..
Today , I googled Norma Khouri and it seems that she is a hoax..she never lived in Jordan .. never had a friend named Dalia..!!
This was jolting.. and the more I read about it ..it figured that she is a conniving person..who has taken advantage of the fact that we believe anything about Islamic practices..how the book as a medium can be so abused.. she claimed it to be her auto-biography... !


Or is it that as she portrayed in the book.. Jordan is trying its best to protect its image as a democratic nation .. so its trying to suppress her voice ??


I cant decide...and I feel emotionally cheated .

NowWhat .. OhWell

these are name of places in the novel 'Mostly Harmless' , by Douglas Adam ..
Quite funny and original (or not)..

I can come up with some more ...hows OhhShucks .. NotReally .. NoImagination :-))
SomeMore ??

Thoughts >> words.. Not so easy

Today , I had a formal chat with a person .. I did not like his attitude, but I cannot pinpoint what exactly bugged me about it..

Im trying to clarify my thoughts here.. was it because he was asking me inane questions.. or was that his 'ohh..is it' look .. that one really irritated me !
After some time I just stopped responding ..I started wishing this would get over soon.. I started rolling my eyes when he wasn't looking..

Maybe I didn't put in all the efforts .. since I didn't really needed to impress .. or
maybe his demeanor totally turned me off.. how can people manage to be such turn-offs...for that time span..I just lost my will to communicate.. just stop talking..and stop being so condescending.. Jerk !!

peace

I feel so peaceful..even after having made the great decision...rather putting it on paper..I have resigned from my current employment today..and feel nothing but a feeling of tranquility envelope me..

This might be also because of the fanta-mazing-bulous R&R I had in Leela..Goa.. for the past 4 days..
All words would be inadequate in describing the classic hospitality that Leela provided... I cannot elaborate enough...you gotta experience it..
Pictures to follow..

Book find..

Yesterday , during the sleepy-post-lunch time in office, I sneaked out to crossword...(ofcourse I worked late in the eve) ..spending an hour browsing the book section is much more pleasurable than looking bleary-eyed, blank-mind at the monitor and counting the minutes till you can go get a coffee...because I have this irrational logic that coffee right after lunch is not a good thing(though strictly speaking..its never that, a good thing I mean ..but paah! ).. and so I pace myself to how much time I can put between ...before I succumb...

So ..neway..at Crossword I found 2 books that I was looking for...rather anticipating ..awaiting..

• My Name is Red , Orhan Pamuk
• Remains of the day , Kazuo Ishiguro

I also picked a book by Hanif Kureshi.. I have read his 'Buddha of Suburbia' and liked it..its a thin book , but costliest of the three !

Also picked up 2 exorbitant tickets (150 bucks each ) for 'Sarkar' , friday evening.. and whats the excuse - Inox will be charging us more for 'Big Budget - aka Big B' movies...dont they realise they are not the only players around now...!

while(!Coffee) _Panic()

• Why did the Sysadmin cross the road? To get coffee, why else would one be outside?
• The Ultimate office automation: Networked Coffee Machines
• The perfect morning: coffee, surfing, and cold pizza.
• RISING.SUN detected : (A)nother coffee, (C)old shower, (S)leep?
• Instant Programmer: Just add caffeine
• I'm on a low-fat, high stress diet .... coffee and fingernails.
• if( pot.coffee == EMPTY ) { programmer->;brain = OFF };
• hiGhEr bRAiN malFUnCtiON ... inSERt COFfEe.
• Flow Chart : A graphic of the fastest route to the coffee machine.
• DISCLAIMER: This mail was answered before my first coffee.
• Deja Brew: The feeling that you've had this coffee before.
• The Goddess Loves You! Just don't push it till she's had her coffee!
• Just bring me my coffee, and s-l-o-w-l-y back away.
• There is no such thing as sleep deprivation, there's only caffeine deficiency.
• Grounds for divorce :
  1453 - Turkish law makes it legal for a woman to divorce her
  husband if he fails to provide her with her daily coffee quota.
• Given enough coffee, I could rule the world.
• Everybody should believe something, I believe I'll have more coffee.
• Drink your coffee strong and black, you'll never be latte!
• Don't laugh at the coffee. Some day you, too, may be old and weak.
• Chocolate, men, coffee - some things are better rich.
• A morning without coffee is like something without ... something else

Monet

for someone who put me on her blogroll ... a first :-)

Ballet dancing

on my wall..by Degas

A breath of fresh air..

Over the weekend..I read this nice book..by Amulya Malladi..
I like when a book ..or a movie has nice character buildup.. and this book has that part very nicely done.. Anjali, Prakash, Sandeep.. all are so real .. you can relate to each of them..

I even recited the story to my husband.. and struggled to explain the thoughts.. the charactererization..which you can do/see in the written word...
Books are definitely the best medium.. even movies cannot build a person..or the motive behind his actions..as good as a book can...
I used to think .. action is best left to movies...but look at Robert Ludlum... his novels can keep us gripped over all the 400, 500+ pages and how ..
Look at Harry Potter... powerful imagination at its best.. you dont need the visuals to get involved in HPs world of magic...evil...sorcery..

Oh well..
Some other Amulya Malladi books to check out :

• THE MANGO SEASON
• SERVING CRAZYWITH CURRY
• SONG OF THE CUCKOO BIRD

Sketch view

Tibet, Nepal , India in this brilliant , not so usual hum-drum blog - http://padyatri.blogspot.com/ .. I really loved it..

Cuckoo

Saw 'One flew over the cuckoos nest' yesterday..
The ending is blood chilling... Seems anything can be done under banner of 'righteousness' ...

Explore

As I travel this vast blog world...the literary ...the critic ..I come across certain books or authors..which pique my curiosity...
I am going to list them in a new 'Explore' section on the right hand area of this page...
Lets see where it takes us..

Please share opinions about any /all of my explore topics ..

Book Tag myself

Total Number of Books I Own
>> 90, which I realise is grossly inadequate to prove me as a book lover...but ive discarded a lot of them..I have become very picky about books now..I still can read anything thats available but I do not like to keep ones which dont appeal..

Last Book I Bought
>> Enduring Love, Ian McEwan

Last Book I Read
>> Exodus , by Leon Uris...this was a long pending read...

Five Books that Mean a Lot to Me
>> Thats tough..the taste and the mood keeps on changing...at various times ive been fan of various authors..if I find one book appealing ..I try to devour either the author or the subject...
currently I am enchanted with

• Kazuo Ishiguro works- I picked up 'Unconsoled' randomly from the library and fell in love with Ishiguro's style.. I didnt finish this...but I finished 'When we were orphans' and searching for more..
• Sujata Massey - Im not much into detective , intrigue kind of stuff , but I like her style..I read 'The Flower Master' and 'Zen Attitude'
• Dilbert books... they never fail to make me laugh
• Ditto for P G Wodehouse.. newts...hahahaha
• To Kill a Mockingbird - no other book can match its simplistic tones and wealth of character...its my all time favorite..

One book you couldn't finish reading?/the most unreadable thing you've read?

>> Nine on nine - why did I buy this one.. also Five Point Someone... really .. I have no idea why this book is on bestseller chart..

Tag five people and have them do this on their blogs:

>> I shall be biding my time on this... The blogs at which I lurk already have done this..I shall tag it when I find someone who can be tagged...

wait I found one.. amythical@blogspot.com .. how do you convey a meme to someone ???

Kashish

Today, for no reason in particular.. I remember the serial 'Kashish' .. the dashing Sudesh Beri.. the delicate Malvika ..
It was 90s .. 1991 to be precise.. we were in carefree Junior college.. how we used to discuss and dissect each word..each glance..the curving steps of the college building comes in my mind..and the hushed tones..the seriousness...the rapture..good ole days !

A smile on my face

She brought it on..
http://whengracedances.blogspot.com/

Today

I couldnt move past her honest writing .. http://thisisme2005.blogspot.com/
I also picked something from her place..

How do you react?

To Positive:
1) What do you say when someone gives you a compliment?
>> A smile and a Thank You..
2) What do you yell when you are surprised?
>> If its good surprise - WOW ! bad surprise - S*&^ !
3) Do you have a hard time thanking people for doing something kind?
>> To close people - yes..

To Negative:
1) What do you do when someone close to you hurts your feelings?
>> I tell my husband..or my mom...
>> If its my husband who has hurt me..I spill it out to him sooner or later
2) Do you lie when you think you are going to get into trouble?
>> Nope
3) When someone is yelling at you, do you end up yelling too?
>> Hmm...yeah
4) How do you react to having to stand in line for a really long time?
>> Very impatiently..unless Im mentally prepared for it..or have a book with me
5) Do you use food to cope with negative events/feelings?
>> Sometimes..Then I binge on chips and chocolates..

In the Car:
1) Have you ever had to swerve to get out of a car accident?
>> No
2) What do you do when someone cuts you off?
>> Nothing
3) Have you ever had road rage?
>> Yes
4) What do you do when someone is riding your ass?
>> Let him go ahead...if he can

Other:
1) How long does it take for you to call someone back?
>> Depends..I can procastinate if I dont want to speak to that person...
2) What is the first thing that comes out of your mouth when someone calls you on the phone, after hello?
>> Whats up !
3) Do you tell people they have something stuck in their teeth when they do?
>> I might..if I am comfortable with the person..

Stumbled

here today : http://parentingagain.blogspot.com/ .. its so heart-wrenching..what goes on in the world..

Journey

As I journey the blogger-sphere through the 'Next Blog' button on right -top of this page...
I shall link the first good one that I like..

Today we have http://kathrynmagendie.blogspot.com/ .. She is a writer blogger.. lives on a hill.. goes on walks..and spins crazy thoughts..

Irish setting

I like books by Irish authors...Maeve Binchy being my favorite...
or books set in Ireland.. dont know why....
and I also like Irish Coffee.. :-)

Kill Bill Me

You are Hattori Hanzo! The brains of the operation.
Although your advice is impeccable, you are a
closed book.

Which Kill Bill Character Are you??

Movies of the week

'D' - impressed by Randeep Hooda
Kung Fu Hustle - bored at the end... too much kung-fu ??

Define illiterate

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

--Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave

Alice-wise

You might just as well say,' added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, `that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'

"Be what you would seem to be"--or if you'd like it put more simply--"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than
what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."'

That's the reason they're called lessons,' the Gryphon remarked: `because they lessen from day to day.'