Promises from a mom to her unborn son!

I promise to,

-         not smoother you and let you grow up to be exactly who you want to be, and love you for it

-         pump you up with enough self confidence that you know you can do whatever you want to do; but also deflate any ego that might come with it

-         let you make your own choices once we agree you are mature enough to do that.

-         admit that your mature enough to make these choices

-         give you the opportunity to try everything, be it sports, music, art, so you can figure out your true calling (

-         be a cool mommy, but to also remember that I am your mommy even though it might be easier to be your friend

-         help you be cool even if it means putting up with an atrocious haircut

-         not embarrass you

-         never compare you with your friends

-         try and control my sometime compulsive self

-         not nag

-         trust you

-         make you understand that I will always be there when you need me and not be upset when you don’t

-         try and understand your point of view and remember what its like to be a child/teenager

-         hug you and tell you that I love you at every possible opportunity (I wont make it embarrassing for you)

-         tell you ‘what women want’ (only if you want me to and pls don’t go to your dad for this. He’s clueless)

-         be flexible and admit when I am wrong

-         learn as we go along and modify this list as needed.

Twitter- the new source of 'Breaking News'

The concept of 'Breaking News' has been bastardized by most television channels today but the term has seen a resurrection with the growing popularity of social media. This real time news source has given back to us the thrill associated with getting news that is sensational and actually just breaking in.
As Peter Horrocks was named the director of BBC Global News his advice to the BBC news journalists was to use social media as a primary source of information. This coming from the director of an organisation that, in its 2009 editorial guideline, mentioned social media only once and that too with a note of caution. This sudden change in attitude makes one wonder about the impact social media has has on the traditional news sources in such a shot span of time.
A recent study by 'The Neilsen Company' on the Haiti earthquake showed that 'Twitter Posts' were the leading source of discussion about the earthquake followed by online videos, blogs and other boards/forums.  While most online consumers relied on traditional media for indepth coverage of the quake, they turned to Twitter for breaking news, to share information, react to the situation and rally support.
Twitter also produced eyewitness accounts of the Mumbai terrorist attacks and when the US Airways jetliner crashed into New York's Hudson River, Twitter was among the first places photos of the landing were linked.
As an avid proponent of social media, I remember staring with disbelief at my twitter 'timeline' when the news of Michael Jackson's death poured in. Sitting at my desk at work, television wasn't something I could turn to for information but then who needed the sensationalizing boob tube when I had the world talking about it on a screen right in front of me. Thats when the true extent of the power of social media dawned on me. Later research showed that Michael Jackson’s sudden death dominated the web. Nielsen Buzzmetrics analysis showed that that more than 16% of tweets 24 hours after the news broke out, referenced Michael Jackson. Which is why sitting faraway in India I was one of the first few people to know about his demise.
Talking about India, living now as an ex-pat in the United States, social media is almost the only way I can get minute by minute updates, about, not just my friends and family but also about things happening in the country. The commonwealth games, that hardly received a mention in the US media,  was 'The' topic of discussion in India for most of the later half of 2010. Social media and more specifically Twitter was the only way I could get information on the latest hurdle, faux pas,victory or discussion that surrounded the games.
Call me a pollyanna if you wish, but I believe social media as a news source is here to stay and is going to completely change reporting as we know it. Having said that, I do not believe that social media will replace traditional media anytime soon, but it will dramatically change the way it functions. News papers, magazines, TV news channels, etc need to embrace this change and use it to their advantage. No one can deny the power of number and no matter how many reporters a news organisation hires, it can never compete with the power of citizen journalists. News organisations rather than fearing the growth of new media need to understand how they can use it to their advantage

Famous lines from 'Fight Club'

Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

WHAT WE COULD BE

Is'in this a double life we lead?
Trapped within ourself it seems...
We are so good to the world it perceives,
when inside with greed we do seeth...
We dont even know what we look like when we sleep,
And think we know everything about us thats weak...
How then can we expect someone else to understand us,
when even we dont know whats inside us...
So wont it really be nice i feel..
If for a day we could really see..
All that we could really be........

KJ

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost

JUNO!

Quirky Quotes from one of the best movies I've seen in recent times...

• I don't know, I just wanted something a little edgier, you know? Like a graphic designer who lives in an apartment with his Asian girlfriend and like dresses awesome and rocks out on the bass guitar. But I don't want to be too picky.
• You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.
• As far as boyfriends go, Paulie Bleeker is totally boss. He is the cheese to my macaroni.
• The funny thing is that Steve Rendazo secretly wants me. Jocks like him always want freaky girls. Girls with horn-rimmed glasses and vegan footwear and Goth makeup. Girls who play the cello and wear Converse All-Stars and want to be children’s librarians when they grow up. Oh yeah, jocks eat that shit up. They just won’t admit it, because they’re supposed to be into perfect cheerleaders like Leah. Who, incidentally, is into teachers.

Inspiration!

Splat he jumped right off the raft,
A moment of silence & then a laugh,
Not once did he hesitate, not once did he think,
It was the jump he took o satisfy her whim.

Not the least bit expecting him to oblige,
She saw him look back with a twinkle in his eye,
This is to inspire you to write said he,
To clear the writer's block maybe a dip in the sea.

And as she looked around at other aboard,
Random faces looked back, but dint seem so random anymore,
Strangers she had met just a few hours ago,
Those strangers now intrigued her like none before.

He was a painter, a healer, a wanderer at heart,
With spontaneity and wisdom that set him apart.
She wondered at the mystery each one bought forth.
How different they were, but similar even more.

Each looking for an inspiration, a reason for being.
Each waiting for the jump that would get them going.

I want I want I want

to backpack around the world and then on a luxury cruise liner

to see the world through the eyes of a 5 year old

to become a published writer

to go whitewater rafting, deep sea diving, bungee jumping, parasailing....

to visit Machu Picchu

to watch the 'Friends' marathon all day long

to learn to play the guitar

to get a tatoo

to truely fall in love

to become a travel show host

to get pissed drunk

to dance in the rain till i drop

to milk a cow

to live on my own

to move to GOA

to be the cynosure of all eyes

to become a painter

to know my calling...

to laugh till it hurts