Change is here!

Hm... why does the above title sound so much like a well-known Ad? Is it one?
Well, I wouldn't know anyway. My TV watching has deteriorated to a huge extent. Before you start rolling your eyes, let me explain...
Last night, the TV wouldn't switch on when I used the remote (something I did after weeks and weeks). I tried more than a couple of times and gave up; and then went on to check the TV connections; wasting some time fiddling with the wires and checking the plugs. Then I tried again.
I stepped close, till we (the TV and I) were nose-to-nose, and tried a few more times. No luck. Then I went through the customary tapping-the-remote-a-couple-of-times routine and trying again, with no result.

Enter the TV (watching) expert. My famed Sister, whom I have mentioned (more than) a few times before. 'It's not working!' I complained verbally, pointing to the remote. My sister came close and asked me to try again. I pressed the button more than once for her benefit. Looking up, I could see the You-are-hopeless look on her face. Then I looked down at the remote.
I was pressing the Mute button all the time.


     After boring all of you with this pointless incident, I should probably not tell you that this isn't what I had in mind when I came online to write this post.
Those who are reading this blog not for the first time would have noticed a few many changes, starting with the Template and Ending with the addition of a few more things (and some incredibly cool fonts I failed to see the first time I edited my blog).

I decided to put in a few more gadgets, which, along with my posts, I can edit from time to time, like the List.  I'm also thinking of adding a Blog Status-like thing. And maybe a Poll too. Or will that be a bit too much?

What say, Readers?

Lazy Afternoons

Phineas and Ferb just rocks, don't you think? (WARNING: Anti-P&F fans, skip these three paragraphs!) I somehow feel that it's just not fair to air P&F all through the year and make me wish for Summer every single rainy day.

They Rock!

But now that summer's here, I find myself saying this every day: "What to doo, what to doo... What to doo today?" (Phineas style.)
Now, I wish I could build robots, roller coasters and have my own circus. But most of all, I want my own pet platypus. (Yes, you heard me right!)
If I told this to my parents, the convo. would probably go like this*:

Me: Mom! Dad! I want a pet platypus!
Parents: A platypus? But why? Pets need a lot of caring, you know..
Me: That won't be a problem. It's a platypus. It doesn't do much..!
Parents: Ah..a lot like you, then. Personally, we don't think we can stand adding another animal into this zoo. Two is more than a handful, if you ask us.
Sis: Yeah, I know. I've had a hard time listening to them all day... If I had animals, I would get younger ones..
Parents: Hey!

Hm.. probably not a good idea. But apart from not having a pet platypus, I also happen to have nothing to do. In the afternoons; especially in the afternoons. And that's the whole problem. Looking around me, everybody seems to have something to do! Except me.

If you ask the bulls and cows and dogs and the platypuses in the neighborhood, they will have just one thing to say: "Sleep, dude!" (Provided I have a translator who understands Dog, Cow and Platypus).
Well, sleeping is definitely NOT in my agenda (for reasons which I will disclose later) and anyway I don't think animals have much else to do. At least, that's what I've inferred from watching the watchman's dog.

Or, I could imitate my sister. (Note: She isn't an animal. She is an extra-terrestrial being which landed in the maternity ward twelve years back when her spaceship failed. She's staying on because (a) Her spaceship isn't fixed yet, (b) she gets free food, courtesy: parents and (c) She is allowed to have unlimited access to the television) Yes, if you have read the bracket contents, you would've guessed it. I could spend the whole afternoon having my eyes glued to the TV screen and backside to the sofa seat, and shush-ing everyone who dares to talk in between. (Well, I would just shush. My sister would leave that person fearing for his/her life.)
Ah, probably the above sentence - enclosed in brackets - is reason enough why I can't be a TV-holic. Also, my house happens to have just one TV, and I would hate to feel endangered.

Probably the best option would be to curl up with a book (no, strike that; it's too hot to curl up) and, of course, read it. Which leads to the question - Why am I wasting time, talking about not doing anything when I can actually do something?. I honestly can't think of an answer to this, but maybe... this is what I should do... Make up speeches or posts on pointless topics to entertain (or eradicate) my readers.



Signing off,

(With a toast to productive summer afternoons)

Charu

*this conv. will take place (I can guarantee that) provided we have platypuses in abundance in Chennai, its population competing with that of stray dogs and crows.

Some people really mess it up!

Well, I can't believe that I am writing yet another post. This is the third post in a week, I think, and I hope I keep this pace up, especially after the lag between some of my older posts. What brought about me writing this one was something that I came across on the internet, which lead to a thought:
Something that is necessary in all professionals is professionalism, and being unprofessional can really, really tarnish a person's reputation/image. (In a few minutes you'll get what I'm saying.)

Well, all those who look through blogs would have noticed a Navbar (that's the name for it) on top, where you can see a link saying Next Blog >> . From time to time, whenever I want to see some other person's writing, or if I'm just bored, I take a look at whatever random blog I am linked to.
That's when I somehow stumbled upon this. Some of you might have heard about the "Author attacks reviewer" incident, and some might have not (I didn't) so those who have no idea what I'm talking about can refer to this link before reading the rest of this blogpost (Make sure you read some of the comments): Link

The link leads to a post of a review of Jacqueline Howett's book (which I haven't read and about which I know nothing except what was written in the review) by Books and Pals. 

When I read this, I was shocked by Howett's behavior. It was totally unprofessional and uncalled for. The person who gave the review presented his opinion in a honest yet professional manner, while the author did exactly the opposite. It was rude, childish (telling the reviewer that he did a "booboo") and very, very inane. Most of all, it was unprofessional.
It didn't do her any good either. After the three 4 and 5 star posts (which she copy-pasted from Amazon to prove that at least three people liked it) she has been receiving a long string of 1 and 2 star reviews, of which some, more than the book, criticize her for her uncalled behavior. (This is true, because I checked Amazon myself.). My guess is that most of them went straight from Al's blog to Amazon just to give the reader a dose of what she needed.
What she did on that blog was self-destructive, and may even cost her her career.
One other big mistake she made was posting all this on a public blog, on the internet. When it's in written, it's there forever. Even if someone says something it might be forgotten. This won't be.

I would, however, like to thank her for one thing. Apart from the initial shock, I got a good laugh from her senseless and childish commenting. Writing something isn't child's play (I have a rough idea of that) but criticism will always be present and, in my opinion, it should be taken in the right spirit and the negatives as something to be remedied in the future. 

This was just an example of unprofessional-ism I wanted to give, but somehow I ended giving this a lot of space. In our country, I think this is more common.

Politics is one huge example. Here, being unprofessional is not an exception, it is the norm.
Throwing chairs and tantrums in the parliament? Not a big deal.
Pudgy politician screaming and breaking pots just because things didn't go her way? That headline appeared ages ago.
Now, a straightforward one? That is an exception. And given the state of affairs, he wouldn't last long.

A writer being unprofessional may result in damage of his/her career. But politicians? Their unprofessional behavior is not only appalling and embarrassing to look at, but also damages the image of their whole party, and not that person alone.
Not that I'm interested in dissecting every action of every politician to be kept for further scrutiny and discussion. This was just a thought.

With Aimless Musings,

Charu