Destructed Nature

This is a real example of man’s alacrity; This photo was taken during a usual walk around my village. Actually the scene hurt me a lot. People are unaware of the serious impact of this kind of vigorous exploitation of natural resources. In childhood, I remember that my village was full of hills and Paddy fields. The local names like Panthottam(Garden), Mottammal(Hilly areas), PunchaVayal(Paddy Field) etc itself reflected its geographical richness.  But now all these beautiful scenes are vanishing. Man is encroaching everywhere diverting ‘green nature into brown’. Let me quote the recent comment from the Green Bench, a High Court Bench of my state hearing all environment- related cases, “nature is raped by man” .

Normally we speak only about mental Intelligence, but I think rather there are some, like physical Intelligence performed by athletes, musical intelligence performed by musicians and artistic intelligence performed by artists in various fields are also relevant. IQ Test helps us to find those who are average from those who are advanced in intelligence and also find those who need special care. Because intelligence potential of each one is unique.

IQ stands for ‘Intelligence Quotient‘, meaning how smart you are. It’s supposed to give you an idea of how well you’ll do at a certain profession or how well you’ll perform academically. The whole idea of the IQ test is to measure the potential of your brains using problems posed to you on paper.

Try an IQ test @ Binbrain Exam. We have decent collection of questions in IQ Test category. You can also try Aptitude and Personality Tests there. The average IQ score there is 5. If you’ve taken an IQ test and scored 7, this means you’re a lot more intelligent than an average person. Any score less than 5 indicates your intelligence level doesn’t match up to the average.

As an employer, I prefer to conduct an IQ test always to have a better understanding of the applicant’s intelligence. A high score would indicate the candidate is well suited for the position. But some problems do there for this IQ test , It doesn’t measure your ‘Emotional Quotient‘ or EQ ? I think an intelligent employer need to sort out this problem. Means , an employer too need some kind of EQ test to measure their such capacity, ha ha ha !!!!!!!!!

is a medicine, can cure you. Music is heavenly, can bless you. Music is like a winter, can blossom you. And can give you happiness, make you lighter, can inspire you, and fill you with energy and… and….. I can write pages with like comments when think about music. I don’t usually have a habit of listening albums or music compositions. But if a composition really catches me, like to hear it again and again and it gives me some kind of positive inspiration and happiness.

It’s strange that I’m not a fan of great singers or music legends in the world, though  never dislike them. But some compositions really beat me with their beauty, and ‘Toss The Feathers’ is like one. It’s actually an old version of music. But I really like it and a great fan. To me something seems ‘best’ when it pull  someone or something towards them, by the qualities they have, especially positive and admirable ones. Hope you too will like it. If you feel its love comment me back, ….. want to hear,….. what you think of it. Bye…..

I want to see it in your eyes

I want to feel it in your body

An erotic passion in disguise.”

This is a beautiful anonymous poem on sunset. I think sunset are always poetic. A mood of sunset can create a poem even from a man with least poetic taste. Last year I just happened to have two accidental snaps of a beautiful sunset. These photos were taken with my mobile phone camera. But when these photos were uploaded to my PC, I was excited of its beauty. Believe me; these photos were taken in between 10  minutes from the same place in an evening walk through my village side in Kerala, The Gods Own Country. You might have seen excellent photos of sunset than this. But, to me these meant something marvelous.

What do you think on my photos? I wait to hear from you. Please make a comment.

sunset from Kannur padiyil

whh!!! God is really Great !

”It’s all nonsense of course, but in the best possible way; pure Hollywood entertainment at it’s best. Take the misses or take your mates, see it at the cinema and see it in 3D. This is, after all, what cinema was made for.” I think this is what to say all about  ”AVATAR“. It’s an American 3-D science fiction epic film written and directed by James Cameron. This film focuses on an epic conflict on Pandora, an inhabited Earth-sized moon of Polyphemus. The film’s title refers to an avatar, a 3-D representation of a real person in a virtualized world.

The story takes us to AD 2154, where the character Jake Sully, a former US marine who was wounded and paralyzed from the waist. Jake is selected to participate in the Avatar program (due to his genes being identical to those of his late twin brother, Tony, who was supposed to go), which will enable him to walk. He travels to Pandora, a lush and sentient-inhabited satellite of Polyphemus, 4.3 light years from Earth. Pandora is filled with incredible life forms, some beautiful, many terrifying. This world is also home to the Na’vi, a sentient humanoid race, who are considered primitive, yet are more physically capable than humans. They live in harmony with their world.

As humans encroach deeper into Pandora’s forests in search of valuable minerals to remedy a crisis on Earth, the Na’vi unleash their formidable warrior abilities to defend their threatened existence. Jake has unwittingly been recruited to become part of this encroachment. Since humans are unable to breathe the air on Pandora, they have created genetically-bred human-Na’vi hybrids known as Avatars. On Pandora, through his Avatar body, Jake will be able to walk again. Sent deep into Pandora’s jungles as a scout for the soldiers that will follow, Jake encounters many of Pandora’s beauties and dangers. There he meets a young Na’vi female, Neytiri. Over time, Jake integrates himself into the Na’vi clan, and begins to fall in love with Neytiri. As a result, Jake finds himself caught between the military-industrial forces of Earth and the Na’vi, forcing him to choose sides in an epic battle that will decide the fate of Pandora.

Anyone with an interest in films and filmmaking will appreciate what writer-director James Cameron has achieved. “Avatar” is not such a fresh story. Actually it’s quite old: boy meets girl, adapts to the ways of her tribe, must choose between the girl and his mission.What is astonishing is the look of “Avatar”. Cameron and crew, with hundreds of millions of dollars in CGI tricks, have created another world: the planet Pandora, occupied by the Na’vi, nine-foot blue human-hybrids with tails who share the forest with a fantastical collection of creatures, plants, and insects.

I know some people  struggling hard due to over body weight. They put themselves into agony by making severe fasting and vigorous exercises. But all these works without a proper guidance or a systematic approach do any good I think. So if you are looking for a new and effective way of losing weight or tired of sweating for hours on a treadmill without seeing any appreciable results, believe me , there is a way to lose weight in a healthy manner….. YOGA.

I hope some of you may be very familiar with Yoga. Anyway I shall give a very brief description to it, for those who are unfamiliar with the word. “Yoga is a healing system of theory and practice. It is a combination of breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation that has been practiced for more than 5,000 years and is a form of a spiritual practice in India.”  It’s true that people normally don’t consider yoga for weight loss, but take a moment to think about it. You will invariably find that people who have been practicing yoga regularly are fit and lean, never fat.

Yoga is one of the very effective exercises for weight loss because it works on many different levels at the same time. At the end of the day, yoga aims to bring your body and mind to a natural state, where your entire being functions as one, with full efficiency, and in perfect harmony with the rest of the universe. Let’s take a look at some of the yoga poses for weight loss.

Surya Namaskara: The Surya Namaskara or Sun Salutation is a series of 12 exercises that are performed in a sequential manner. These 12 exercises not only strengthen your body, they also help to boost your metabolism and make your body burn fat faster than ever.

Dwichkrika Asana: The Dwichkrika Asana or Prone Cycling Pose helps to strengthen your abdominal regions and also helps in burning fat. Just a couple of minutes of performing this yoga exercise for weight loss can work wonders on your midsection.

Ardha Hala Asana: The Ardha Hala Asana or Half Plough Pose is one of the best yoga asanas for weight loss. This asana helps to stimulate the digestive system and boosts your metabolism. It is also one of the best exercises to lose that stubborn fat that accumulates on the lower abdomen.

Pawan Mukta Asana: This is also an excellent exercise to stimulate the digestive system and one of the more popular yoga poses for weight loss. This amazing exercise not only tones your midsection, but also helps to dispel any gas that is trapped in the intestines.

Last week we went to one of my colleagues’ house to participate in religious function called Vellattam. Velllattam is a form of Theyyam, a very rich cultural dance or invocation generally performed in front of the village shrines or in the houses in Kerala.

There was no stage or curtain and other arrangements for the performance. When we reached his house the theyyam artist was doing his make up. There are different patterns of face-painting. Mostly primary and secondary colors are applied with contrast for face painting. It had effected certain stylization also.  It was very interesting to see the way he wears his ornaments, which were seen like of a fairy tale.

The dancer along with drummers recites the particular ritual song, which describes the myths and legends of the particular ritual song, which describes the myths, and legends. This performance is a combination of playing of musical instruments, vocal recitation, dance and strange makeup and costumes. The stage-practices of Theyyam and its ritualistic observations make it one of the fascinating theatrical arts of Kerala.

It was December 25, 1914, only 5 months into World War I. German, British, and French soldiers, already sick and tired of the senseless killing, disobeyed their superiors and fraternized with “the enemy” along two-thirds of the Western Front (a crime punishable by death in times of war). German troops held Christmas trees up out of the trenches with signs, “Merry Christmas.”

“You no shoot, we no shoot.” Thousands of troops streamed across a no-man’s land strewn with rotting corpses. They sang Christmas carols, exchanged photographs of loved ones back home, shared rations, played football and even roasted some pigs. Soldiers embraced men they had been trying to kill a few short hours before. They agreed to warn each other if the top brass forced them to fire their weapons, and to aim high.

The high command on either side was shuddered. Here was disaster in the making: soldiers declaring their brotherhood with each other and refusing to fight. Generals on both sides declared this spontaneous peacemaking to be treasonous and subject to court martial. By March 1915 the fraternization movement had been eradicated and the killing machine put back in full operation. By the time of the armistice in 1918, fifteen million were cruelly killed.

This is not just a moral story or a myth, but the real incident happened during a Christmas. I hope, no, pray to the Almighty that this spirit may spread to all the troops, no, to the whole world, eager to kill each other.

The official naming ceremony for Oasis of the Seas is taking place on 30th November during one day inaugural celebration. This event is planned as a fundraiser to benefit a non-profit Foundation which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Tickets for the once-in-a-lifetime event begin at $750 per person. For reservations to this exclusive event combined with the four-night sailing, contact Cynthia Paez, Royal Caribbean International, at (877) 202-1520, ext. 12751, or cpaez@rccl.com.

Oasis of the Seas is the largest and most revolutionary cruise ship in the world. An architectural marvel at sea, she spans 16 decks, encompasses 225,282 gross registered tons, carries 5,400 guests at double occupancy, and features 2,700 staterooms. Oasis of the Seas is the first ship to tout the cruise line’s new neighborhood concept of seven distinct themed areas, which includes Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone. Of all these specialities, the most exceptional feature of this miraculous ship is central park. It is elegantly landscaped with tropical foliage and seasonal flowers, shrubs and trees. “We’ve collected and designed a unique display of the most representative varieties of regional plants,” says Dennis J. Dale, director of Landscape Architecture.

Some snaps through the making of Oasis of the Seas……

Oasis of the Seas

Oasis of the Seas @ the workshop

Oasis of the Seas @ the workshop

Oasis of the seas @ the workshop

Delivery Ceremony of Oasis of the Seas

Amneties @ Oasis

Central Park @ Oasis

Amneties @ Oasis

Amneties @ Oasis

Amneties @ Oasis

Opal Theatre Stage @ Oasis

Amneties @ Oasis

Oasis of the Seas

In my childhood a land phone was considered luxury in our society. The only land phone available in my village was the one at our local postal office. Mobile phones were not even in our dreams I think. This is the picture of my village in 1980’s and in early 90’s. But now the whole scene is changed. I doubt that if there any family or even any person without a mobile phone now. Even the school going students too own new generation mobile handsets, and some do have multiple connections. My village is a typical example of the villages all over India. In short India is a surprising country; on the one hand It is known for great poverty and underfed children, on the other hand India surprises the Western world with its advanced information technology and highly respected scientists. I think India is going through a revolution in the field of telecommunication.

In 1990s the telecom sector in India was opened up by the Government for private investment as a part of Liberalization-Privatization-Globalization policy, up to then it was a monopoly of the government. Many private operators, such as Reliance India Mobile, Tata Telecom, Vodafone, Bharti, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market. Now there are three types of players in Indian telecom services: State owned companies (BSNL and MTNL); Private Indian owned companies (Reliance, Tata etc); Foreign invested companies (Hutchison-Essar, Vodafone etc). One of the attractive investment icons in the Indian share market is telecommunication shares.

The telecom reforms have allowed the foreign telecommunication companies to enter Indian market which has still got huge potential. In a recent study by a leading web site about the Indian telecommunication Industry it is said that, much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China and India ‘s mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.

It is known that the total revenue in the telecom service sector was Rs. 86,720 crore in 2005-06 as against Rs. 71, 674 crore in 2004-2005, registering a growth of 21%. The total investment in the telecom services sector reached Rs. 200,660 crore in 2005-06, up from Rs. 178,831 crore in the previous fiscal. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has very aggressive plans to increase the pace of growth, targeting 500 million telephone subscribers by end-2010. Most of the expansion in subscribers is set to occur in rural India. India’s rural telephone density has been languishing at around 1.9%; since 70% of total population is rural, the scope for growth in this Industry is unprecedented.