Life shows no mercy for the weak. Cognizance about everythin has become mandatory to survive. Get a piece of everythin that life has in the offering ! i share all that i know to help others know what i know. we stay together , we survive. welcome to candor corner. know. share. survive. always with candor, Praveen Chandar

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Quick Whiskey Smash !

Hi guys, those of you who got no time to sit and sip on a leisurely on-the-rocks booze..!! here is somethin you'd be interested in. Its Fast. Its Whacky, and guys, Its Whyskey.. !!

Whisky Smash

Ingredients
1 oz Club Soda
1 Cube Sugar
4 Sprigs Mints
2 oz Whisky (Bourbon)

Instruction

Muddle sugar with club soda and mint in old-fashioned glass.

Add whisky and ice cubes.

Stir.

Garnish with a slice of orange, a maraschino cherry and a twist of lemon peel.

Cool, you got it !!

When do you drink it?

When you want a drink that's refreshing, fruity and strong all at once.

Cheers, pal !

Stick to Old School Values

Hi everybody,

This is somethin that I've been pressin on all whom I know to nurture in themselves. Old School Values. Now, I know that sounds contrived ! But, people, lets shed the levity in the air and give a deeper insight into this. Stickin' to values is very important in this fast moving world of extremely dynamic cultural exploitation and exchanges. Ous valued have retrograded over the years, which is a direct consequence of the failure to keep to the Old School Values and Moral Science. Its important to stay loyal and chaste to survive, in marriage, in crime, in life.

The world is getting soft and lazy and overloaded with pussyfooters. The way most men act these days, I wonder if they were neutered or if they spent too much time nursing on mommy. The sickening whine I hear usually comes from my younger friends and nephews, who think of hardship as having to wait two minutes for a microwave to finish.

However it happened, these guys have lost what took centuries to ingrain into a man. Along with having no patience, they can't make a decision either. They stopped seeing things in black and white and because of it have paralyzed their ability to move on. Sure, some men were like this back in the day, too, but they didn't get far.

Today, being a sensitive wimp doesn't hold you back, although it definitely slows down everyone else when feelings are protected. Everyone wants to be happy all of the time, but feelings have to be hurt. If they are protected, then you get a bunch of sensitive, welfare-sucking whiners whose skin is as thin as their wallets. The best lessons learned in life stem from old-school values, and they usually only take root in a person through personal knockouts. It takes an attitude adjustment brought on by taking an ass-kicking from time to time. The first time doesn't feel so good, but getting taught the hard way is the quickest way to becoming the teacher of lessons.

They say: To forgive is divine, but unless you're a priest, forget about it. Mistakes need to be unforgiven so that others don't look at leniency as a green light for doing whatever they want. What good is a rule if it can be broken without the threat of punishment? The whole purpose of making rules is to keep people in line and bust the chops of anyone who steps out of it. In my world, there is no temporary insanity or parole. If you made a mess, adios babbo, you ain't coming back into the fold with a simple apology. And no plea from your friends or brothers will change my mind, because forgiveness softens you up for the next time. It sets a precedent that says, "Go ahead, screw up -- it's OK."

This is not the age of moderation, but I'll tell you that keeping things in perspective will help you get where you want to be. If you watch enough TV, you'll think that everyone is partying all the time, everyone is getting laid twice a day (maybe if you are a trust-fund baby, but not for anyone with a real life). The same rules apply. You work, play, sleep. That's life. Grandpa might seem like a crotchety old nag, but he's lived through the depression and war and 40 years of marriage. He's old-school.

Now. If you dont get this, Get back to School !

X-Box 360: Mafia II Trailer Impressions

Out in the insanity that is the public show floor of the Leipzig Games Convention, 2K Games has constructed a small amphitheatre for its world premiere of Mafia II. I took the opportunity to step in on this brief trailer to see what the fuss was all about. What I found was a sharp looking game packed to the brim with stereotypically Italian mafia characters wielding guns. Unfortunately for me, these guys must have been that special German type of Italian mafia as they spoke the language of this host country throughout the trailer.While I couldn't gather much as far as plot goes, that didn't stop me from paying close attention to the on-screen visuals. The trailer begins outside on the streets as cars and trains zip by. The action then moves into a restaurant where I were treated to a nice close-up of the excellent character models. I can't be sure whether everything we saw was using the game's engine or not, but if it is this game is going to be a treat for the eyes. The faces, particularly the animations, were a treat. The necktie on the first character we zoomed in on looked almost real.

After a calm, dinner table discussion where my friends and I can only guess at what was said, the trailer moved into a montage of what the game is all about; action. Gunshots, mafia style executions, and more guns being put to use interspersed with some words we couldn't understand filled up the majority of the latter half of the trailer. The ending, though, was a memorable one. After a brief chat inside of a car, with one guy chugging alcohol in the backseat, the camera flashed outside. There, the group was looking down at the camera that was placed inside of the now open trunk of a car. Cringes shuddered through the crowd, the trunk was slammed, and then the trailer ended.

Mafia II definitely has somethin to deliver I guess. So, all ya Mafia Fanatics, Dont miss out to catch on this piece of Action.. !!

For Guys: What turns off women !!?

Hi "guys", this is for all you guys who are wonderin and still confused about what turns off girls and why you've been rejected once or more ! This is based on my experience and I have also consolidated some of the experiences of my other friends who underwent similar rejections. Women are one of the most complicated beings existing ! Its very difficult to say or generalize that all women like this or hate that. But, there has to be some way out ! And here it is. Hope you guys benefit out of this useful piece of information .

It is often assumed that women generally let themselves go once they're in a relationship. This is frequently true, but men are just as bad; women are just far more tolerant. But this doesn’t mean you don’t need to make an effort, because she does notice, and yes, she misses the body you had when you first met.

Your sexual attractiveness is very important, and as a relationship wears on, the laziness and complacency begins. If you think she will love you 'til the day you die no matter what you look like, think again. She might just want to trade you in for the newer model -- the model that makes an effort to ensure he looks good not only for himself, but for her. You expect her to make an effort with her appearance, don’t you? She doesn’t want a man who spends more time in front of the mirror than her, nor does she want a muscle man. She just wants you… with a couple of fix-ups.

Excessive pubic hair:

The point here can be easily made like this: Do you like going down on a furry muff? You don’t, do you? And neither does she. Your largest manly appendage is smooth and hair-free, which means that it gets the most attention. But if you consider that having less hair in other places makes it much easier to lick, suck and fondle these other places, you may realize you are missing out. Hair above the genitals needs to be trimmed no matter what;

Underdeveloped shoulders/arms

If you’re a bit puny or saggy, it can impact how manly you appear. If your shoulders and arms are lacking in definition or shape, she may look at you and wish you looked a bit stronger -- a bit more like you could save her if armed bandits came to kidnap her. Our primal instincts are still raging on as ever, so yes, looking a bit tougher than you really are is always a bonus when it comes to the ladies.

Beer belly:

Your stomach is basically the whole front of you, and this is what she predominantly sees when she looks at you. If you have a pot belly, get rid of it. Nobody likes a saggy, protruding stomach, and since this is where men tend to put on weight first (especially if you enjoy beer regularly), it is the main source of the excess weight. You don’t need abs of steel, but you do need to be tucked in. You will notice her squeals of delight and her increased interest in touching the new and improved you when the results of your effort become apparent.

Hairy back

Beautiful, smooth backs are definite lady-pleasers -- a nice back will get you places a sparkling personality and a full head of hair won’t. To all you men out there who have hairy backs, it’s not your fault that you have hairy genes, but truth be told, you would probably be getting more attention without the hair. Certainly, some women do love hairy backs (“very manly”), but on a whole, hairy backs are a big reason why lots of men don’t get laid (“No way, he’s got a hairy back”).

Gross Teeth

Bad teeth will lose you more sex than you’ll ever know. Our smiles are our gifts to the world, and how we show pleasure. If your way of showing pleasure is to bare your stained, broken/missing/buck fangs to the world, perhaps you’re in need of some dental work. Bad teeth look like they smell, and you don’t want to kiss something that looks like it smells. Bad teeth drastically change your appearance -- just think how you cringe when someone who looks OK suddenly reveals a terrible mouthful. It ain’t pretty.

My Lasst Word To You Guys :

Being super-duper is hard work. Being attractive can be hard work for some people, but on the whole a little bit of effort goes a long way for most of us. Knowing what your problem areas are is a good start, so figure out what you think needs improving and hop to. Your lover might insist she loves you just the way you are -- and she does -- but this doesn’t mean you can’t up the ante a little. Just remember: Whatever you do, do it just as much for yourself as for her. It won’t go unnoticed.

I'D TURN TO JELLY IN YOUR WORLD

Leave me alone
With my delusions of grandeur.
No innovator has been popular
In his own time,
Mocked by statements such as:

"How are you going to supportyourself?"
"There's not much money to be madein that field."
"You can do that on the sideBut you need a bread & butter job!"
No innovator has been popular in his own time...
Until the day of his success.
Then the mockers praise.
The fools become wise.
They swarm like bees to pollen,
Making honey from a new idea once thought too original.
So leave me alone
With my delusions of grandeur.
I'm not a member of a carbon copy human race.
I'd turn to jelly in your world.
Composed By,
Praveen Chandar.

Unnamed Gazes

Hey people, this is one piece of poetry that got me to lime light in my university. I just love spawning stuff like this. So, just thought i'd share one of those with you.

Unnamed Gazes

the weight of a day lifted
one gram, one particle at a time
in an opening to last skies
singing for recognition ...
in a Verdian gaze that catches mine,
reaching through an artificial despair --
seeking refuge,
an unkowable stairway,
climbing from a bottomless void --
without goal or hope
in an oppressing inertia --
worse somehow than unfolding dangers
that at least have the courage
to accept a name .

Saturday Poetry : Mount Pleasant Cemetary

Hi people, hope you guys like this poetry. I know it aint the best I ve produced. But I consider it as one of my very special works. :)

Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
I'm passing by the inevitable hill
In a subway train, above the ground.
Through windows of light I see death
And am reminded of the life I am to live.

Mount Pleasant, someday I'll share your pleasure.
For that tombstone cross reminds me
Of the One who died to save my life
And rose again to share it.

Someday I'll die and rise to Him,
And He'll put on me a new robe of light
Which overcomes the darkness
And reminds death it is defeated.

Inner Geek

Clicking back to some comments i landed on two friends commenting about how Geek they are in percentage. hmm.. interesting thought. Let me try. But I must admit I'm not a Star Wars fan. Nor do i tuck my shirt in my underpants. I took the long test. (Whoever dares must be warned.. chances are you are being watched! haa...) well, ok...

Dare to take the Geek Test

This is so far the most extensive Geek test ive tried. And it seems to be precise, although I do not admit it! haha... I scored 39.64497% on the third try. Ok, the first i exagerrated a bit, the second i tried to be more honest. And it scored a whopping 44.+ % still. So the last try, i was totally honest so as to lessen the percentage (see, told you i do not admit it). But still landed me on a "Major Geek" rank. And to think the two friends were only at a 25ish something percent. And they are Star Wars die hards! Fine! Nevermind. Better pass this on to others to see if it is precise. Those who took the test, it wont hurt to please leave a comment on how you did, right?

Last note, i do not think naming your pet after a mythological being has something to do with being a Geek. Although, i named 2 of my hamsters "digital" and "micro" because they were so fast and small. And i still think Buffy is not a convincing vampire slayer. And i still wanted an added RAM and another 80G HD and my processor is reaching an over-heating 60 deg Celsius temp. And i still do not know what "the blue screen" meant. And i cant count up to 31 with one hand. (oh those two i remember now.. took someone *.* to remind me! ha.. and i even havent checked those two items indeed)

And hmm... they said the ratio of male to female is 10:1 but the ratio of female to male in population is 1.8:1 so that makes female geeks about this % chance of ruling the world!? ... oh, tssk... i actually clicked on the calQ d[o.o]b

pause. *sigh*

Friday, August 31, 2007

A lil' Poem from my kitty :)

"I Thought of You"

I thought of you and how you love this beauty,
And walking up the long beach all alone
I heard the waves breaking in measured thunder
As you and I once heard their monotone.

Around me were the echoing dunes,
beyond meThe cold and sparkling silver of the sea --
We two will pass through death and ages lengthen
Before you hear that sound again with me.

Composed By,
Praveen Chandar.

Get Rid Of Your Stress-Creating Habits !

hey people, this is a seldom perused topic. But this is something every individual would want to achieve in his life time. But, unfortunately none of us really take initiatives to make that happen. I'm talking about habits that inevitably bring about stress. And stress directly calls for a lot of other complexities that would make life less comfortable for living.

"A habit is something you can do without thinking -- which is why most of us have so many of them."

Now, Isn't that true ?!! Well, thats somethin some wise man uttered.

Your stress levels go up, your enjoyment of life goes down. Your health and mental attitude suffer.

What can you do about it?

Try taking an honest inventory of yourself and concentrate on correcting the bad habits that are creating stress in your life. You'll see improvements in your health and well-being, as well as in your business and personal relationships.

Take the 20-minute challenge: You can do anything for 15-20 minutes. Just get started on it, and after 20 minutes let yourself quit if you want. You're wasting almost that much time thinking up excuses. Even with tasks you detest, you'll feel much less stressed if you just buckle down and get to them.

Create bite-size pieces: Break your home and work projects down into smaller tasks. Cleaning the basement is much easier if your first goal is to empty four boxes, rather than face the mammoth chore of accomplishing everything in one go. Make To Do lists (daily, weekly and monthly). Use and update them constantly.

How will this reduce stress?

Putting things off increases your stress level. Even trying to relax in bed, you are aware of impending deadlines, unfinished projects and things left undone. Promise yourself a reward if you find that helps reduce your tendency to procrastinate. The best dividend will be that you'll feel calmer, less anxious and more relaxed when you stop stalling. And when you intentionally defer something to a later date, you'll know it's justified and not just an unhealthy delay tactic.

I gotta Tattoo... !!

hey guys,
I got my right bicep tattooed last week. Believe me, it just rejuvenates your spirits, gushin' in so much of adrenaline and some attitude from nowhere. It just tells you who you are, and what you are made of ! So, here are some cool stuff about tattoo. Tattoos are no longer taboo -- they've been part of mainstream culture for some time now and it's clear that they're here to stay. To reiterate what was stated in my first article on the topic -- Stylish Tattoos -- men worldwide get their bodies tattooed for a million and one reasons, including marking a drastic change in their lives, or highlighting something that influenced them, either in a positive or negative way.Hope they will be cogent enough to get you rushing to nearest Tattoo shop !!

Some use bodyart as a medium to reveal their sense of pride or to underline important milestones or aspects that marked their lives (literally), such as a newborn baby, a lover, or a religious belief. Whatever the reason, there's no denying that many men get a tattoo simply because they think it's cool and looks good. That's right, some guys get tattooed just to make a fashion statement, and a subjective statement at that, as bodyart is something personal to every individual.

When it comes to choosing a tattoo, there are generally two types of guys. The first type will take extreme caution and put some deep thought into the selection process -- he seeks perfect conceptualization. His tattoo likely holds a very deep meaning and could even take months of research.The second guy is not as heavily involved in the selection process; his choice is more spontaneous. A lot of these men may have been longing for a tattoo for some time but never really reflected on why they want one. They'll generally choose a tattoo because of how it looks rather than what it represents.

Regardless of which selection process you go through, keep in mind that there are essentially five types of tattoos: abstractions, naturalistic and pledge tattoos, and simplifications and complex structures.

So, Go Get yourself Tattooed !!!!

Eat like the French !

Ever wondered how and what the french ate !??

Here is the result of a small research I did on the dining habits and cuisine of the french. I found that these are a really cool bunch of guys. They smoke more, booze more, and ingest more cheese than the rest of us, but live longer.

It’s been called the French Paradox: The problem of how a nation of butter-lovers, cheese-eaters, Gallic-cigarette-smokers, croissant-munchers, and red-wine drinkers have lower rates of obesity and a lower incidence of heart problems than most health-conscious North Americans.

The stats don’t lie, I’m afraid. Only 8% of French citizens are overweight, compared to 50% of Americans; while only 7% of the French are obese, compared with a whopping 22% of Americans. The French eat four times as much butter, 60% more cheese and nearly three times as much pork as we do, and they consume more total fat and much more saturated fat. But -- and here’s the punch line -- according to the British Heart Foundation, in 1999 the French averaged a mere 83 deaths from heart disease per 100,000 males aged 35 to 74 years, compared to a staggering 230 in the U.S.

The French might eat rich, fatty foods for every meal and follow up lunch and dinner with dessert, but they eat less per meal than we do. A study of portion sizes across Paris restaurants showed a mean size of 9.8 oz, compared with an average in Philadelphia of 12.2 oz -- about 25% more. What’s more, Philadelphia's Chinese restaurants served 72% more food than the Parisian ones. A supermarket soft drink in the U.S. was 52% larger, a hot dog 63% larger and a carton of yogurt 82% larger. In other words, we eat lots -- too much, actually.

If you want to stay slim, eat smaller portions and don’t keep eating until you think you may burst. Nutritionists say a serving of meat, for example, should be no larger than a deck of cards. Take smaller bites and finish each completely before taking the next. Taking smaller bites and allowing more time for them to digest enables the body to better process what you’re feeding it and gives it more time to process what’s there. Moreover, it will take less time for your body to realize it’s full.

Parts of France are blessed with a beautiful climate and people there generally spend more time than we do outdoors and relaxing along the Mediterranean coast, skiing in the Alps or cruising the streets of its major cities on foot. We, on the other hand, tend to drive everywhere we can and spend our leisure time in front of the TV. How do you expect to burn many calories if you don’t exercise? So, make it a daily routine to take a walk after dinner or on your lunch break at work. Opt for the stairs instead of the elevator, if you can, and if you don't live far from the corner store and you need milk, walk there.

Bonne chance et a votre santé!

Bruce Willis' 'Nam role

Hey guys ! Good news for all ya Die Hard Fans of Willis. The actor is sort of revamping his career by showin up in new projects , interesting and being helmed by big names in the industry. Guess what the Die Hard actor is upto now ??

Bruce Willis is to star in Oliver Stone's new Vietnam War film.

The Hollywood veteran will play real-life army general William R. Peers who investigated the infamous My Lai village massacre - in which around 350 to 500 people, many of who were women and children, were murdered by US soldiers. Channing Tatum and Michael Pena are also set to star in the movie, with Tatum playing Hugh Thompson Jr., an army helicopter pilot who broke ranks and flew between the villagers and the soldiers to protect them from the slaughter. He later went on to testify against those responsible for the killings. Filming on the as-yet untitled $40 million project is due to start in early 2008.

It is not the first time Stone has tackled the controversial war on the big screen. He directed the critically acclaimed 'Platoon', which starred Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe, 'Born on the Fourth of July' - in which Tom Cruise stars as a wheelchair-bound Vietnam War veteran - and 'Heaven and Earth'.

So, I'm hoping a lot from the man who acorched the screen recently with his dilineation of the fiery McLane on screen !

Wanna Play Golf ?!!

Hey guys out there, you ever wanted to play golf. Its pretty simple. Its one of the coolest games to play to get you unwound during the weekend after a cumbersome week load of work.

You've seen it in the movies. You have seen your favorite film stars hold the club and whack the stick up in the air, in the most alluring machoistic fashion. And dont deny that you imagined yourself doin' the same thing at your place..!! Here are a few tips that I can give you to get you started with Golf .

To play the game of golf, a player will need a set of golf clubs, golf balls and a lot of patience. There are many varieties of golf clubs to choose from, and beginning players should make themselves aware of the choices available. Price ranges and quality are two important factors when purchasing golf clubs.

As a beginner, it's not a good idea to run out and spend a fortune on new clubs and equipment only to find out that you can't stand the game. Borrow a friends set to begin with, and as your game improves, consider purchasing a set that's right for you.
If you've already tried golf and decided that it's a sport you would like to continue, start with an intermediate set of clubs that suits your level of play. Golf shoes will help you with traction on the grass or mats at the driving range, but are not mandatory to learn the game.

Driver : This club is primarily used for teeing off on holes of long distances, Par 4s and Par 5s. It is a steeply faced club with not much loft, designed to drive the golf ball long distances at a comparatively low trajectory, also referred to as the 1-Wood.

The "wood" description is a bit of a misnomer since most of today's club manufacturers build their clubs out of such materials as Graphite, Kevlar, Steel, or Titanium. This club is affectionately known as the "Big Dog" and is the largest club in the bag.

Fairway Woods : These clubs are primarily used for hitting from the fairway, typically on Par 4s or Par 5s, where there is a significant distance to the green after the drive. The numbers for these clubs are usually 3, 4 and 5, each increasing in degree of loft as the number goes up. The 3-Wood is often used off the tee when accuracy is a must and distance is not important. Like the irons, a higher number club will be more accurate; a lower number club will hit the ball longer in distance.

Irons : There are three categories that we'll use to describe the irons. First, there are the "long irons": numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. These clubs are used for long distances anywhere from 180-250 yards. Next, there are the "middle irons," which include numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. These clubs will be used for middle distances of 130 to 180 yards. Finally, we have the short irons that include the pitching wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge. These clubs will be used for short distances of 130 yards or less.

Putter : The putter is a flat-faced club primarily used on the putting green for putting the ball into the cup. It can also be used when the ball rests just off the green and the path to the hole is not obstructed.

I think that should do for now to get you started. So get your golf kit and rush to the grasses.

Happy Golfing !!

My All Time Favorite Actor : Al Pacino

I have always wanted to talk about this legend, but have not really got to discuss about his acting prowess because I seriously lacked the kind of company with whom I could talk somethin' as complicated and confound as 'Pacino'. He is one of the best actors Hollywood has ever produced. The Italian-American actor has enthralled movie goers for several decades and still continues to raise eye-brows and expectations among his fans even today, evidently proven with Pacino giving a new gush of energy to the third installment in the Oceans series. So, I finally resorted to write a blog on him. My last Resort. This man needs serious attention from the people who are'nt aware of this living legend.

Why I like him ?

Al Pacino is the actor who portrays some of our favorite characters: Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Tony Montana in Scarface, and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way. He deserves our Man of the Week feature simply for delivering some of the greatest one-liners a man can use.

Why is he famous ?

Al Pacino's roles in The Gofdather, Scarface, Carlito's Way, Scent of a Woman, Heat and many, many more great performances put him in a very select group. He's an Oscar (he's earned it) winner and one of our favorite actors.

Al Pacino is one of finest actors in the world. His endless range, his emotion, his anger, his laughter, and those eyes have made for some very memorable moments in cinematic history. He also knows how to party with the best of them (though no one outdoes Jack Nicholson).

Unlike his buddy, Robert De Niro, Pacino is approachable and hasn't let fame stand in the way of who he really is. He remembers his roots and that part of his personality makes him so likeable. You could only get by in Hollywood for so long on cruise control. Pacino has long-lasting talent that has allowed him to remain in the business for over 30 years.

Pacino is a short man with no particularly attractive physical attributes. Still, women love him and his bad boy "charm," and his passion for his craft and the cool men he portrays can never hurt a man's appeal with the opposite sex.

He can't do much more with his acting career. He has reached the pinnacle of his industry by receiving 8 Oscar nominations, winning countless awards, appearing in 30 feature films, and most importantly, winning the respect of his peers.

Pacino is the kind of guy we'd love to play poker with, go to clubs with, go to strip joints with, and see a boxing match with. It seems that he simply can't say anything stupid. Put it this way; Al Pacino can walk into any restaurant in Brooklyn or the Bronx and be treated like a king. So yes, of course I would want to be him !!

Adieu, Godfather !

:)

John Woo : My favorite Asian Director

John Woo : The Man Who Made The West Take Notice Of Honk Kong Cinema

Ever since I watched the film 'The Killer' , actually the english dubbed version on a local television, I was totally lured by the style and narrative pace adopted by the director, which actually induced me to find out more about the man who wielded the megaphone for this Honk Kong masterpiece. And, inferred that it was none other than the Slo-Mo Master Of Style John Woo ! All his films have an extra-ordinary blending of human emotion entangled and inextricably embroiled in moral and social depravity punctuated with violence, with his protagonists split between honor and virtue.

"The killer is a man who does bad things, but he wants to be good." - John Woo

John Woo is one of a kind. The king of Hong Kong action cinema. From his films A Better Tommorow I and II, Hard Boiled, and The Killer, to his American films Hard Target, Broken Arrow, and his Face/Off, John Woo has redefined the way people look at gunbattles. Featuring two fisted gun blazing action, there is no other filmmaker who uses such a wide combination of zooms, pans, slow motion, and fast cuts to such a tremendous film. The best thing about John Woo is that his films have plots and points, something that most Hollywood films have forgotten. Woo cares about the plot and it shows in the tremendous characterization and development given to his characters. Working with some of the finest actors in the world, including the stunning Chow Yun-Fat, John Travolta, and Nicolas Cage, among others. (Van Damme is not in that bunch...) Woo has directed over 30 films, including comedy, drama, and action, as well as an American TV pilot version of one of his own films.

One of Woo's stated goals in The Killer was "to show that even the most different people can have traits in common. Even though we are walking a different path, we must have something in common. I made it a cop and a killer so that they would be extremely different characters, with one thing in common. That's why I wanted to make it a triangle love story, at first."

When John Woo was one of the youngest established directors in Hong Kong in the early 1980s he helped several other young turks get into the industry. One of them was Tsui Hark, who had made three impressive but uncommercial independent features: "The Butterfly Murders", "Don't Play with Fire", and "We Are Going to Eat You." Tsui owed his first studio contract, at Golden Harvest, to his friend John Woo.

No-ones who's seen his 1989 actioner The Killer could ever forget theevocative candle-lit church, filled with fluttering doves, in which thefilm's key showdown's take place, or the imaginative sequence in which tworivals at the home of a blind woman nearly kill each other while pretending,for their host's sake, to have a sedate cup of tea. Stylish flourishes thatare equal parts French New Wave and John Wayne epic made the director god toyoung filmmakers like Tarantino and Rodriguez, who have both put blazingguns in each hands of their actors in key scenes - a signature Woo touch.

Woo. Keep goin' man !

My Visit To Singapore !!

An Odyssey That Would Indelibly Remain Etched On My Mind !

During a duty visit to Singapore in July 2006, I made a brief side trip to Melaka, a prosperous trading port centuries ago and a popular tourist destination today. Verdant and full of historical buildings, this charming Malaysian city left a lasting impression on me.

The Stadthuys, in the heart of Melaka city, was built in 1650. It was once an official home to the Dutch Governors and is now a museum housing traditional bridal costumes and other relics. With its well-preserved Dutch colonial architecture and its eye-catching red exterior, the Stadthuys is a big tourist draw.

One of many churches in Melaka, the Church of St Francis Xavier was built to commemorate the famous 16th-century Jesuit missionary. Though not nearly as grand as the great cathedrals of Europe, this Asian house of worship, set amid leafy trees and against a blue sky, evokes feelings of tranquillity.

The streets are lined with well-preserved old two-storey and three-storey buildings. Their architecture reveals Melaka’s history under Portuguese, Dutch and British rule, and conjures up a sense of nostalgia.

Founded in 1396, Melaka was long ago dubbed “Venice of the East” by European seafarers. Nowadays, sleepy Melaka is not often mentioned in the same breath as Venice, but the Melaka River does add a Venetian touch to this colourful city.

Singapore is one place that just left me dumb-folded by that finesse in suavity with which it mollifies you ! :)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Apple iPod - Go Get It !

Hey guys out there,

Last week, my uncle gifted me an Apple iPod. I've wanted to sport one in a very long time, that is ever since it was launched in the market. The player is simply mindblowing. With an astronomical capacity to hold all the sounds you heard in you life, the player comes in handy whenever I travel or when i take my morning jog.

Despite the hard drive technology the iPod is a tiny unit, about the size of a pack of playing cards but half as thick. This is thanks to the low profile, 1.8-inch Toshiba hard drive, and it is genuinely pocket-sized. It also looks very stylish, with the front half moulded in pearl white and the back formed from stainless steel. While it would be foolish to abuse the hardware it certainly feels well made and robust.

You control the iPod with four buttons that have a gorgeous luminous pink backlight, but the really neat part is menu navigation. A circular track uses the same touchpad technology that you find in notebooks and in the centre is a button that works in the same way. Scrolling and selecting could hardly be easier or more intuitive, and there are no moving parts to go wrong either. On the other hand the controls are hopeless for the three games that Apple includes, and they are best ignored.

Apple includes an adapter so you can also use the smaller four-pin Firewire port. When the iPod is placed in the dock it fires up the included MusicMatch software with an iPod plug-in that searches your PC for music and creates an index. Synchronising the iPod transfers music at a respectable speed, and the files are logically arranged by artist and album, assuming you used CDDB when you first ripped them. Annoyingly the tracks are arranged in alphabetical order rather than as per the original running order, but that seems to be the case with most MP3 equipment.

What does it sound like? It's one of the best MP3 players we've ever heard. It's not quite up to Minidisc standards, but as a mobile music player with an enormous capacity it's beyond reproach.

So what are you folks waiting for ?!! Go for it without givin it a second thought...!

The Cellphone and the Bible

The cellphone is always held and shown off, The Bible is always kept and rather not be shown.

The cellphone is bought even if it costs in thousands,The Bible is seldom bought even if its only a hundred pesos (or less than 2 euros).
The cellphone's case is always replaced, The Bible doesn't even have a case.
The cellphone isn't allowed to have scratch marks, The Bible is left dusty.

The cellphone is seldom forgot where it's placed, The Bible is always forgotten where it's placed.

The cellphone is difficult to lend, it might get broken, The Bible is easily lent, even if it gets lost.

The cellphone is always read if there's a new message, The Bible is never read that's why the massage cannot be seen.

The cellphone's messages are delightful to share. The Bible's verses are always forgotten to be shared.

The cellphone shows the lifestyle of man, The Bible changes the lifestyle of man.

The cellphone easily gets old, The Bible never gets old.

The cellphone's messages sometimes comes late, The Bible's messages are always timely.

The cellphone needs to re-load to create messages, The Bible is always fully loaded with messages.

The cellphone is an important thing for man, but the Bible is more important if used by man.

........................

You Know You're Addicted to the Internet When...

You kiss your girlfriend's home page.

Your bookmarks list takes 15 minutes to scroll from top to bottom.
Your eyeglasses have a web site burned into them.

You find yourself brainstorming for new subjects to Google.

You refuse to go to a vacation spot with no electricity and no phone lines.
You finally do take that vacation, but only after buying a cellular modem and a laptop.
You spend half of the plane trip with your laptop on your lap.... and your kid in the overhead compartment.
Your dreams are in HTML.
You find yourself typing "com" after every period when using a word processor.

You turn your computer off and get this awful epmty feeling, like you just pulled the plug of your loved one.

You refer to going to the bathroom as downloading.

Your heart races faster and beats irredgularly each time you see a new WWW site address printed on the TV, even though you've never had heart problems before.

You turn up the volume read loud when leaving the room so you can hear if anyone IM's you.

Looking at a pageful of someone else's links, you notice that you've been to all of them.

Your dog has its own webpage.

You believe nothing looks sexier than a man in boxer shorts illuminated by a 17" LCD Flat-Panel Monitor.

You code your homework in HTML and give your intsructor the URL.

You miss more than five meals a week downloading the latest MP3's off Kazaa Lite.

Your virtual girlfriend finds a new sweetheart with a larger bandwidth.

Your wife makes a new rule: "The computer can not come to bed"

The last hottie you picked up was only a jpeg.

You put a pillow case over your laptop so your lover doesn't see it while youre pretending to catch your breath.

You ask a plumber how much it would cost you to replace the chair in front of your computer with a toilet.

You ask a doctor to implant a terrabyte in your brain.

Your sweetie says communication is important in a marriage...so you buy another computer and network them together so that you can IM each other anytime.

As your car crashes through the guardrail on a mountain road, your first instinct is to search for the "back" button.

You can now type over 70 WPM.

You double click your TV remote.

You have more browsers than friends in the real world.

You say "he he he he" or "heh heh heh" instead of laughing.

Your teacher or boss recommends a drug test for the blood shot eyes.

The last movie you've seen was on your BS player.

You're on the phone and say BRB.

Welcome to the House of Sin

I remember attending the fiesta mass in my village years ago. Cardinal Sin was the host. the cardinal has an amazing way of saying his homily. he was funny, unlike most priests (ohm, my memory scrapes out no other priest actually).

"In Amish thought, pride is a cardinal sin and humility is essential to salvation."

And in all the irony doesn't his name speak of it? well, he used his name to bring humor one day when he told in his homily that when he was visited by foreign participants in the World Youth Day, as he opened the door at the Archdioscese, he said to them "Welcome to the House of Sin!" All smiles. And cheery eyes.

I don't know if he was a symbol of anything, maybe faith to others, maybe humility. And although i admit not attending any mass lately, and not even praying as often as i used to when i was a kid... i light another candle, not for hope, not for world peace, not for the rollback in tuition fees and fare hikes, not for a 500 pesos across the border wage increase, not for women's nor gay's rights, not for the aquital of an archbishop's sexual harrassment case, not for the garci tapes to be spread, and not even for the current president to step down... but just for the thought that another man, great or not to others, who may have touched someone's life in one way or another have now crossed the realm into the side of the endless unknown.

.........

a hellishcat emerges from the unparalleled..

I stare. An empty gaze into nothing. Into an illusion of an object I see. And now I know and yet I don’t understand. And what is this in front of me? An image of an imaginary life. A lie. A terrible lie. I disgust. I pity. Thrown back into the thought again. Shadows and lullabies. Tomorrows said goodbye. And my memory fades and my movement halts. And I stare. A blank stare. Nothing to think about, nothing to do. No problems unsolved. No worries to befall. And yet in this small world within limitless boundaries, I found peace. And yet, the turmoil of an undeciphered heart wraps the question of yesterday and now.

Wind blows hard, still no muscles bound, bound to change. And so I drift together with the wind. And I won’t smile, and I won’t frown. I stretch my soul to touch the clouds and make it mine. And I tie it with my sorrow and I burn it with my misery. Let it die. Let it fade. Burst it into tears of rainy days’ summer and dry season’s winter. And I stare. Into an empty space and time. Movements gone. Following me down. And I drain an envelop lust for space. The void I see in front of me, asking to enter within. And I see another me, staring..

Meeeooowwwrrrrrr..

Composed By,
Praveen Chandar.

The first Rhyme i ever wrote !!

Hey people, try puttin this rhyme of mine to tune . This was the first ever rhyme I wrote , well, that was way back in my third grade. :) . Well, the name Johnny was inspired from the other all time popular rhyme "Johnny Johnny Yes Papa ".

Johnny's Rubber Ball :

Johnny had a rubber ball.
He bounced it everywhere.
He bounced it in an aeroplane
As he flew high in the air.
He bounced it on the sidewalk,
bounced it on a boat,
but when he bounced it in the river
his ball would only float... Away,
Goodbye Rubber Ball.

By,
Praveen Chandar.

:)

Poetry - 'Unfinished'

Hi people, jus' thought i'd share one of the first ever poems i wrote. This poem won me the first place in the State-wide poetry contest held on the 21st of July 2007. Hope you guys and girls like it.. :)

Unfinished :

Today, in the deepest abyss of my loneliness,
in the endless pit I am falling into,
a rope suddenly surfaced
from the tedious plummet of my decline.

A rope that was hanging from some two years ago.
A forgotten page from my past,
from a wrecked book that I buried
with my hopes, with my passion.

Thoughts clash within me
as an argument linger in mind stating
that nothing is impossible,
but with the premise that nothing is real.

I have met a destiny
that once opened the doors
for the resurrection of
the unrevealed madness in me.

And now that a tragedie is engulfing me,
preventing me to settle down
in the confines of my clouded dreams,
I extended my arms and reached for the rope.

An attempt that I know
would scorn others
and hurt my own being. But I need to know.
I had the urge to seek.

In the restlessness of my dawdling fall,
I needed to feel the roughness,
the tangles, and the tightness of this rope.
I need to know that it is safe.
That it is going to be ok.

So forgive me if I held it
and even slowed down my fall.
But in so doing, I shall not tie a knot.
It shall not halt what I am destined to fulfill.

Now I am ready to face my truth,
and that is to plunge into my own demise,
my own death.
That in dying, one’s destiny is fulfilled,
one’s sorrow is finally eradicated.
And that the sorrows that strike others
will fade out with time.
And there shall be
no more unfinished business.

Composed by,
Praveen Chandar.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Why study in Australia?

Why study in Australia?
Hi guys and girls,
For all of you who are looking forward to pursuing your post graduation or Ph.D in Australia, here is all that you wanted to know. I have been trying to collect information about Education in Australia, the job opportunities there and the student benefit programmes available for the past three months. I have elucidated the results of my sojourn below. I hope it will be useful to all of you .

Australia provides a unique kind of education and a learning style that encourages you to be innovative, creative and think independently. Australia attracts the third largest number of international students in the English-speaking world after the USA and UK. In some countries Australia is the students' first choice study destination.

Australia offers an education experience that makes a real difference. Graduates from Australia are very successful in finding jobs and hold prominent positions worldwide. Additionally, they are readily accepted for postgraduate study at leading international universities.
Australia is a dynamic, vibrant country and its people are energetic, friendly and confident. Multicultural Australia is a safe, friendly, sophisticated and harmonious society in which students can learn and travel in an English speaking country.

Australia also offers excellent value for money and a standard of living which is among the highest in the world. Living expenses and tuition costs in Australia are considerably less expensive than the UK and USA.
Australian universities are widely recognised for excellence in many disciplines. Institutions deliver practical and career-orientated training so graduates can be confident they have the skills demanded by employers.
Australian school students score highly in international competitions, such as the OECD PISA reading, scientific and mathematical literary scales and outperform other English speaking countries in the key areas of science and mathematics.

Australian education and training institutions are leading the world in the development of technology-based learning. For example our English language colleges have video and library facilities, computer-assisted learning facilities and language laboratories for teaching English.
Australia has a reputation for adopting new technologies at a faster rate than in most other countries and enters the new millennium with one of the highest rates of Internet access in the world. Facilities for teaching, training and research are world-class in terms of state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms, outstanding libraries and modern technology.
School studies cover a range of academic disciplines and vocational courses which prepare you for university entry, for further training programs or to enter the workforce. The study format is a mix of directed classroom studies, extensive written assessments, formal examinations and may include common assessment tasks. Depending on course alternatives, you might also apply skills, demonstrate understandings, and undertake performance, project, group and field-work activities.
Hope the information that I have provided comes useful to you in discerning your career.

Top Ten Chinese Dishes For All You Gourmets !!

Hey guys, this is dedicated to all the gourmets who love chinese food. I fell in love with chinese food ever since I pushed in the first fork of succulent noodles into my mouth, at the GOLDEN DRAGON restaurant around the corner of my street when I was doing my sixth grade ! The Chinese have always boasted of a superior cuisine that exemplifies mouth-watering flavor and enticing aroma. Here are ten of the most favorite chinese delicacies of mine. Its easy to make them too. I have not given a consummate recipe here. So, Get hold of a complete guide to make these delicacies. Dont miss out on these !


1) Cold Asparagus Salad :
Fresh asparagus is boiled and topped with Chinese seasonings in this simple recipe that uses only six ingredients.

2) Baked Chicken Wings :
Chicken wings are coated in a sweet and spicy mixture and baked. The only unusual ingredient is hoisin sauce; you can substitute barbecue sauce if it’s not available.

3) Broccoli With Oyster Sauce :
This recipe is so easy to make - just boil the sauce and pour it over broccoli that has been briefly cooked in boiling water. Either regular broccoli or Chinese broccoli (gai lan) can be used.

4) Beef Stew :
Beef, carrots and tomatoes are seasoned with soy sauce and tomato paste in this hearty stew.

5) Pepper Steak :
A retro dish from the 1950s and '60s, fried pepper steak is a great way to get an idea of the flavors used in Chinese cooking. This recipe uses bell peppers, fresh mushrooms and canned baby corn.

6) Oyster Sauce Chicken :
This easy chicken dish is made with chicken thighs, onion and bell peppers, all cooked in the frying pan in a flavorful sauce. This recipe uses healthy olive oil for browning and frying the chicken.

7) Roast Honey Chicken :
Here’s a great recipe for Sunday night dinner - a roasting chicken is marinated in the refrigerator for several hours and then roasted in the oven. The chicken is coated with reserved marinade during roasting. The recipe calls for rock sugar, but brown sugar can be used instead. Many grocery stores carry five-spice powder in the spice section. The recipe includes instructions for telling when the chicken is done.

8) Basic Fried Rice :
Here is a very simple, easy recipe for fried rice that can be made in the frying pan.

9) Pineapple Fried Rice :
This is a great dish for busy weeknights, that uses cooked shrimp and canned pineapple rings.

10) Almond Float :
Finally, a simple dessert recipe made with gelatin and almond extract, topped with canned fruit cocktail. This dessert tastes great at any time of year - feel free to substitute seasonal fresh fruit or other canned fruits for the fruit cocktail if desired. Almond Float is the western version of a traditional Chinese recipe called “Almond Tea,” that is made with ground almonds and agar-agar.

Go the Chinese Way !

Microsoft Office 2007 proves to be good !

Hi guys and gals, those who are still immured in the cynicism about whether to adopt the new Office 2007 or not, here is some useful stuff i got to tell you all. I've been using Office 2007 for the past 2 and half months. And, I can summarize the pros and cons as follows :

Pros :

License for 3 computers, OneNote, Create PDF files.New UI and this UI is more intuitive then in the past.

Cons:

New docx, xlsx, and pptx file formats. New UI to learn but the new UI is also a big strength.

What I think :

Office 2007 Home/Student comes with Word, Excel, Power Point, and OneNote. I mostly use Word but sometimes use Power Point and excel in the past. I always have to learn the menu structure when a new office version comes out. However, office 2007 uses a different system called ribbons which is very user friendly and intuitive, so much so that I missed it in OneNote, which uses a menu UI..The standard file output for Word, Excel, and Power Point has an "x" added to the extension. The format is not compatible with the old version of Office, however, you can output using the old file format version. Writing to pdf format is great. Office can also read the old file format versions..I really like OneNote. I the past, when I do research on the internet (like for a vacation trip), I used a program to save the web pages so I organize them and can read them offline. I could organize them somewhat using tags and other things but Office OneNote is so much better!

While still expensive, Office 2007 is essential to working with almost any documents in a decidedly Microsoft world. However, I am not at all impressed with the new menu system that Microsoft has introduced. I would have been much happier if there was an option to revert to "classic view." Even so, this is the way of the future, and one must upgrade to the new version to avoid being left in the dust. As described, if it includes outlook in the package, more people may be satisfied with this software package.

Know the ACC well ! 5 common questions .

1. Will Jimmy Clausen get on the field against Georgia Tech?

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said he knows who the starter will be but won’t announce it. My pick is junior Evan Sharpley. But does Clausen, top player in the Fighting Irish recruiting class, even get a taste of the action against a good Georgia Tech defense? Brady Quinn, a first-round draft choice, had his problems with Jon Tenuta’s defense last year in Atlanta. What will a rookie like Clausen do?

2. Will Duke break its 20-game losing streak?

The Blue Devils need to get that piece of business out of the way on Saturday against Connecticut because after that it looks like 11 miles of bad road. The next four games after UConn are all on the road (Virginia, Northwestern, Navy, Miami). Then it’s Wake Forest, the defending ACC champs, Virginia Tech, at Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, at Notre Dame. If the Blue Devils don’t win Saturday, the next chance may not come until Nov. 24 against North Carolina.

3. Which Bowden is going to be unhappy late Monday night?

Clemson’s Tommy Bowden has beaten his dad, Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, in three out of the last four meetings. Tommy Bowden really needs a win at home on Labor Day night on national television. It’s going to be a big test for new QB Cullen Harper of Alpharetta. Harper is going to get a lot of pressure from the Florida State front seven.

4. How will Micah Andrews play?

The Wake Forest running back from Duluth missed all but three games last season with an injury. He will not get a chance to ease back into competition as Boston College returns nine starters on defense. It’s the first game for new BC coach Jeff Jagodzinksi and Wake Forest is anxious to prove that last season’s championship was not a fluke. If Andrews plays well, Wake Forest will win.

5. How intense will Miami be?

The Hurricanes, who played for the national championship in 2002, are starting over under new coach Randy Shannon. Miami is also beginning its last season in the Orange Bowl. Marshall returns 14 starters from a team that went 5-7 so the Thundering Herd is not going to roll over.

Nokia N95 : Now this is what you call a real smart phone..!!

Hi guys and gals out there, I got fed up with my Nokia N70, which i've been using for over 8 and odd months. When I heard Nokia N95 was out, I found myself rather surprisingly curious about it, well, for the obvious reason that the model boasted of an in-built GSM module for real time mapping ! Pal, ain't that cool ?!! I rushed to the nearest retailer showroom to get a look at the piece. I admit frankly, I never believed in something called 'love at first sight' until i saw this ultra-cool suave and robust piece of merchandise you can slide in and out like a pocket map ! All that followed was trivial, except for the fact that I've now been sporting this gorgeous gadget on my waist belt for the last two weeks. Believe me, I got a proposal the day before...!!

While it shares much with the Nokia N80 in terms of both design and functionality, Nokia's N95, the subject of this review, takes the capabilities of a mobile phone to a new level. On paper, at least, there appears to be little that this Finnish wonder can't do. It has quad-band GSM/EDGE support and 2100MHz UMTS as well as a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, a built-in GPS receiver, Bluetooth stereo support, and 802.11b/g WLAN support.

The slider in the N95 relies on a spring loaded mechanism instead of the friction based design used in the N80, which tended to slide open on its own. On top of that, the slider on the N95 moves in two directions, exposing the keypad when slid one way, and a series of 4 dedicated media playback keys when slid the other way.

On the right side of the device a dedicated two-stage camera shutter button can be found (half press to focus, full press to snap the photo) and a photo playback/gallery button that is similar to what one would expect to find on a dedicated digital camera. Pressing the button once will display the last photo on the screen, pressing it again will bring up the photo gallery. Also located on the right side of the N95 are the volume rocker switch and one of the two stereo speakers. The other speaker is located on the left side of the phone, along with the 3.5mm stereo headset jack, the Infrared port, and the covered microSD memory card slot.

The N95 gives up the Nokia proprietary pop-port and instead has a miniUSB connector located on its bottom edge. The miniUSB port can not be used for charging, though, a task that is handled by a new style mini Nokia power connector. The camera lens is protected by a cover that is opened and closed with a slider switch. Opening and closing the cover activates and deactivates the camera. A secondary, QVGA resolution camera is located on the front of the device, just above the display, and is intended for 3G video calling.

Overall, I believe Nokia did a fine job on the physical design of the N95. The keypad design is the only aspect that I can find fault with, and given the constraints Nokia was working within, I think it is still quite acceptable.

Nokia N95. Carry the world with you. :)

PlayStation 3 Rocks man !!

There’s no denying that Sony is slightly late to the table with its next generation gaming console. With Nintendo launching its fun filled Wii at the beginning of December 2006 and Microsoft unveiling the Xbox 360 almost a year and a half ago, Sony has managed to gift no less than two Christmas periods to Microsoft and one to Nintendo. It’s fair to say that the Wii was the big hit of the recent festive season, while the year before getting your paws on an Xbox 360 was nigh on impossible.

Sony is keen to push the fact that the PlayStation 3 can play Blu-ray movie discs, and when you consider how much a dedicated Blu-ray player costs, that’s hardly surprising. To be honest, I’ve never been one for watching movies on games consoles – if I want to watch movies, I’ll watch them on a high-end player for the best results. That said, the PS3 makes a very good case for itself as a Blu-ray movie player, not least because it’s one of the only HDMI 1.3 equipped devices on the market right now.

The PlayStation 3 also has one major advantage over the Xbox 360 and HD DVD drive combination – it’s very quiet in operation. While the X360 and HD DVD drive produce very good results when watching a movie, the setup makes a significant amount of noise, which can be very intrusive during quiet scenes. The PlayStation 3 on the other hand, while not silent, is quiet as a mouse compared to its main competitor in this area. Less positive is the fact that if you’re using a component video cable to connect your PS3 to your HDTV, all your Blu-ray movies will be downscaled to 480i – the only way to get them to play at full resolution is over an HDCP compliant HDMI connection.

It’s a real shame that Sony has managed to mess up the European launch of the PlayStation 3 so badly. We’re getting the console late, we’re paying through the nose for it and we’re not even getting the same hardware as Japan and America – with that in mind it’s tough for me to recommend that anyone buy one at this point in time.

But like I said, it’s a shame, because the PlayStation 3 really is an impressive piece of kit. This really is so much more than just a games console, and it really could be that digital entertainment hub that Sony would have you believe it is. And it really does have the potential to be a truly great gaming platform. As things stand though, Sony has managed to make the PlayStation 3 look like the least attractive next generation console, when it really shouldn’t be.

PS3. Go for the ultimate Gaming Experience !

Diabetes - Know it, Prevent It

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus, commonly referred to as diabetes, is a medical condition associated with abnormally high levels of glucose (or sugar) in the blood (hyperglycaemia). Glucose is a type of sugar found in certain foods such as honey and some, but not all, fruits. It is also the form of sugar that all sugary and starchy foods are converted to in the body after digestion. Glucose is used by the body to make energy.

When the amount of glucose in the blood increases, for example, after eating food, insulin is released from the pancreas to normalise the glucose level. However, in patients with diabetes mellitus, the elevated glucose levels cannot be normalised. This causes abnormally high levels of blood glucose, which ultimately leads to the presence of glucose in the urine (glucosuria).

How do you get Diabetes?

There are two main types of diabetes mellitus. These are known as type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus used to be called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, or juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus, because it usually begins in childhood or adolescence.
In type 1 diabetes mellitus, the pancreas releases no insulin at all because the body has destroyed the cells that produce it (islet cells). The patient therefore relies on treatment with insulin.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common form of diabetes. It used to be called non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, or adult onset diabetes because it usually begins in adulthood.
In type 2 diabetes, patients can still produce insulin, but they do not produce enough and/or their bodies cannot use it properly.

How serious is Diabetes?

The early symptoms of untreated diabetes mellitus are related to the elevated blood glucose levels. Excess glucose in the blood ultimately results in high levels of glucose being present in the urine (glucosuria). This increases the urine output, which leads to dehydration and increased thirst. Other symptoms include extreme tiredness, weight loss, blurred vision, itchy skin and repeated minor infections such as thrush and boils.

How long does Diabetes last?

Diabetes Mellitus is a life-long, chronic condition.

Type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood or adolescence. The symptoms tend to occur suddenly after the onset of the disease and are usually more obvious than those of type 2.

Type 2 diabetes usually begins in adulthood (mainly after 40 years of age). It develops gradually in most cases and may be present for several years before it is detected.

How is Diabetes treated?

Treatment is aimed at controlling the elevated blood glucose without causing an abnormally low glucose level (hypoglycaemia). An important aspect of your treatment plan will involve eating a healthy diet (low fat, salt and sugar and high fibre). You should also monitor your blood glucose levels.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is treated with insulin, exercise, and a healthy diet.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is first treated with weight reduction, a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Inspiration and enterpreneurship

Very often people ask me how come I have great energy and untired enthusiasm for Mobissimo, just as if I started it yesterday, while so many enterpreneurs get burned out after a year or two of challenging work.

I was thinking of it lately, what really makes it for me.The answer is very simple- I am inspired and amazed and sometimes even revolted by human creativity and intelligence under different forms and shapes.

I am inspired by conversations with friends and thoughts of random people, touched by art, design, music, great meal that someone is going to cook, good wine etc. What really gets my attention is how people drive different elements together to put them in perfect harmony and balance.

I visit the interior design sites or apartments of my friends and I think how amazing is the effect of putting together tiny bits and pieces together into a visual, sensual and functional composition. I think of energy, patience, passion and dedication it takes to take things from idea to a completion. I react to results of completion of creative process.

For me creating Mobissimo is like working with a sculpture - at the beginning there is no much more than an image of an idea which slowly starts to come into life as we are developping tiny bits of product and features into a longer term vision.

It is fun and energizing when others start to picture and enjoy the first results of my own creative process. It is incredible driver for me to know that what I do can in some ways impact, change or inspire at least one person life- just as other people's passions and work impacts me.
As of course I am not the only enterpreneur with bunch of ongoing energy - I am wondering what drives you guys? Look forward to reading your stories in the comments :)

2007 Suzuki XL7 : All that you need to rock !

The all new 2007 Suzuki XL7 takes a major step forward in the process of turning a practical but rather boring looking vehicle into something more compelling, without sacrificing the convenience of space and good design.

Not that blending in is necessarily a bad thing. There are certain situations where anonymity is considered to be a requirement for success. In sports for example, the mark of a good referee or umpire is to strictly enforce the rules of the game without ever becoming a noticeable part of it. When it comes to the highly competitive automotive market, however, anonymity is most assuredly not a path to the winners circle.

It's both larger in size and more powerful than last years XL-7, (notice the slight difference in nomenclature used for the ’07 model) offers seating for seven and contemporary styling based on an extended wheelbase version of GM's Theta crossover platform. Powered by a 3.6-liter, 24-valve DOHC V6, the 2007 Suzuki XL7 delivers 252 hp @ 6,500 RPM and 243 lb.-ft. @ 2,300 RPM. Quiet and responsive, this engine is also fuel efficient and fun to drive. Step on the gas as you pull out to pass a slow moving transport truck and the V6 easily overtakes with only a minimal amount of engine noise.

Equipped with a 5-speed automatic transmission, shifts are smooth and barely perceptible. Though most of the buyers for this vehicle may never use it, the new Suzuki XL7 also provides the option to shift gears manually with what is termed manumatic control. As you would expect when considering the purchase of a new CUV, (Crossover Utility Vehicle) all-wheel-drive is available. In the case of the XL7, this means electronically controlled on-demand AWD.
In my opinion driver and passenger side window switches are better suited on the doors where they are easily accessible and never require the coordination of having to reach around a gear lever to activate the opposite side windows. Suzuki has chosen instead to follow the same window control design as laid out in the Saturn VUE, Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent. All three are close cousins of the new 2007 Suzuki XL7.

It seems the winds of change are blowing at Suzuki these days. With the introduction of the 2007 XL7, the CUV market has a new and much improved vehicle over last year’s model. Bright days are ahead for this company, what with the all new SX4 hitting dealer showrooms this fall as well. Available in a range of attractive colors and trim options and starting at just $22,899 it offers great value at a reasonable price. So much for anonymity I guess.

Who said Bread is Boring ??!!

Bored of the same old sliced white bread? Add something extra to your sandwich by using flavoured bread instead. Masala bread is a popular item available in most bakeries. While garlic bread has been around for a while, masala bread with fried onions and coriander is a desi recipe.

These days, you can also find Italian breads like focaccia and ciabatta. Focaccia is a leavened flat bread seasoned with sun dried tomatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil. Ciabatta is a thinner flat bread made with olive oil. Made with less yeast, it is a salty, crispy snack. If you prefer a nutty flavour rather than spiced bread, try walnut bread. Slice the flat bread into two to make a sandwich, or toast it and enjoy as a snack. You could also serve some with your favourite curry.

Britney Vs Justin !

hey guys, here is somethin interestin to tell you. Whats up with Britney and her refusal to sing duet with Justin. This is all that I heard about this over the news channels. So here is a peek into the tinsel town.


Britney Spears refused to duet with ex-lover Justin Timberlake. The troubled Toxic singer mysteriously pulled out of recording the track, which was due to be produced by Timbaland, with her former boyfriend last month. A source told the New York Post newspaper, “Timbaland set aside a week out of his crazy schedule to do this and then, just before she was supposed to fly out, Britney abruptly cancelled the session and refused to do the song. It’s crazy. She’s looking for a comeback, and this would have not only been a huge hit, but something she could have opened the MTV Video Awards with it and really blown everyone away.”

The duet was set to be recorded at Timbaland’s Virginia Beach studio and Justin reportedly wrote the track especially for Britney. Britney’s record label Jive is said to be worried about the star’s erratic behaviour and had hoped the duet would resurrect her faltering pop career. Another source added, “Everyone is worried. In her mind, her album is done and she’s done enough work. She’s an easy target right now, because she’s sick. She needs help. It’s sad what she’s got. We’ve heard it’s like bipolar disorder and can easily be treated with medication, but she won’t do it. People at Jive have been with Britney since album one, and have an investment in her. They have faith that once the material is there, she will become focused and step it up. But at the end of the day no-one can do it for her.”

Make your own Cocktail !

Hi fellas out there, just thought i'd share my way of doin' the cocktails and mocktails for ye parties !! Knowin how to prepare a cocktail can really come in handy when you are stuck with barely a few glasses and some wine you know nothin much about..!

Here it goes :


Cocktails are about having a sense of flavour, colour and style. It combines the science of mixology with the art of presentation and the skill of performance. The important thing is to have a passion for it.

Mix in your mind. Taste each flavour you have chosen for your drink side by side to check if they’re compatible. Do they complement each other? Does one enhance the other? Or do they drown themselves in the mix. Every ingredient that you use must retain its identity in spite of the marriage or at least contribute to making an impression, however subtly.

Don’t splash in vast quantities of alcohol in mindlessly. A good formula to follow is not to allow the total amount of alcohol per drink to far exceed the 75ml limit don’t use more than one style of spirit in a drink — it really doesn’t make sense and contributes alcohol rather than flavour.
Balance can be filled by a soft drink or juice. How much would depend on the size of the glass and the amount of ice in it. It is usually to ‘top’. Whether to shake, stir, blend or build up, a drink will be dictated by the ingredients and by the end result you desire. Be generous with the ice. A combination of spirits and liqueurs on their own are often stirred over lots of ice and then strained cold into a pre-chilled Martini glass. They are as often poured ‘on the rocks’ too.

Drinks that use juices combined with cream or ice cream are shaken or blended in a mixer to get a smooth, even texture. Sours which combine spirits with lime juice, sugar and the optional egg white must be well-shaken or blended. Tall refreshing drinks with juices or aerated water are simply built into the glass over ice directly. Frozen, fresh fruit and ice cream drinks are blended with crushed ice to get a fine slushed or creamy effect.

Hand blenders are very useful for blended and frozen drinks. Experiment with summer fruit as they come along. Aam panna with gin or vodka, frozen watermelon juice with white rum, frozen lichees with coconut water and rum, the list is endless.

So, Cheers pal !

Health - 'Stress = (Blood Pressure) X 2 '

Among the many factors, stress seems to be a prime culprit in precipitating high blood pressure. Although stress is universal, individual responses to stress are different. The following kind of people are more prone to develop hypertension than an easygoing person:
* If you are a type A personality, work-oriented and operating under enormous pressure. * If you are aggressive, short tempered and with a capacity to work more than others. * If you are least interested in fun-loving activities and consider it a waste of time. * If you are not only a hard worker but also drive people around to deliver the most. * If you enjoy being under pressure.
If a stress-sensitive person is exposed to stressful conditions over a prolonged period of time, their blood vessels get constricted. This constriction causes the blood pressure to rise.
There are a number of foods that help keep your blood pressure in check. Eat more fruits and vegetables, they have a magical effect on high blood pressure. Studies show that switching to a vegetarian diet helps. There is obviously something in plant food that helps depress blood pressure. Fruits are concentrated with potassium, Vitamin C, sodium and loads of soluble fibre, all of which are blood pressure lowering agents. Make sure you eat generous amounts of Vitamin C found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C supplements may help but only to a certain extent. There are other factors in natural foods, which play a major role.
Consume garlic, it dilates blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. It contains adenosine, a compound, which promotes vasodilatation and is also a muscle relaxant. Both raw and cooked garlic benefit blood pressure. But raw garlic is more potent and hence proves to be more beneficial. Just three months of consuming two cloves of chopped raw garlic, first thing in the morning, has known to reduce hypertension.
Wheatgrass juice proves to be the elixir for those suffering from hypertension, as it is a rich source of magnesium and potassium. These minerals lower blood pressure and a deficiency can actually raise it. Once you start getting enough of these minerals, you can actually cut down on the dosage of your medicine. In addition, Wheatgrass juice will cleanse your body, and work wonders on your immune system.

'CIDADE DE DEUS' : TRIVIA AND FILM APPRECIATION





CIDADE DE DEUS ( CITY OF GOD )


RELEASE DATE : August 2002



DIRECTOR : Fernando Meirelles




If you're unlucky to be born into a socially, economically and racially isolated
community that has poverty, crime, drugs and violence as its everyday realities,
the odds are stacked incredibly high against you. It literally takes so much
effort, strength, struggle and plain ol' good fortune to simply avoid becoming a
gangster
, let alone do anything more with life. Most who find themselves in the
situation described above never even enter this fight and out of those that do -
only the rare ones succeed. "City of God" depicts this conundrum masterfully !

Most Latin American film-makers can't stand slick Hollywood formulas. But two of
the best Latin movies that played well in the U.S. and Europe benefit from at least one
Tinseltown trick: good timing. Brazilian co-directors Fernando Meirelles and Ka
Lund's City of God
, the brutally realistic saga of a Rio de Janeiro favela, or
slum, got a big publicity boost after it opened last summer, when real drug gangs
swept out of Rio's favelas and briefly shut down posh neighborhoods like
Copacabana. And Mexican director Carlos Carrera's The Crime of Father Amaro, the
taboo-busting story of a Roman Catholic priest who impregnates an adoring teen-age
girl, hit theaters during the throes of last year's clerical sexual abuse scandals.

WHAT MAKES 'CIDADE DE DEUS' STAND APART FROM OTHER GANGSTER FLICKS ?
Unlike how it is done in the conventional Hollywood style, with the good Vs the bad, or the usual style-over-substance grounding to a relatively superficial plot, 'Cidade De Deus' uses a rather groteque palette of bucolic colors, smeared with gore and delirium, presented as real as 'real' could get. Though the screenplay (the chapter formula) reminds us of the same adopted by Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction or his later Kill Bill, 'Cidade De Deus' packs its own flavor that is very much characteristic of the city 'Rio De Janeiro' from which the director hails, that includes the commendable brazilian score, and the deft cinematography transports you to the world he tries to depict. 'CIDADE DE DEUS' does not give any opinion about the state of anarchy extant in the city expicitly, nor does it preach non-violence or morality or of non-depravity, it just tells you : " This is all what happened in the town until a few weeks back, well, I guess you can see where they're heading " . The film is technically taut, engrossingly depicted, mercilessly true, and rivetingly fabricated to leave an indelible mark about man and the peril that befriends his avarice, its easily one of the best told stories of our time.

ABOUT THE FILM :

The film, directed by Fernando Meirelles, tells the story of life in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, in an area known as the Cidade De Deus, the City of God. The story is told from the narration of the young photographer, Rocket. The different scenarios of life that make up the wider-story are presented in Pulp Fiction style chapters, complete with on-screen titles for each different story component. The story covers all the facets of the life, charting the growth of several key members of the gangs from childhood through to young adulthood, with their transformation from young hoodlums to local drugs barons. The final parts of the story focus on the battle within the Cidade De Deus between two different groups, when business and personal matters lead to an unavoidable confrontation. And what a confrontation it is, although details will not be given away here. The result is a powerful telling of life based around real-life events.

Martin Scorsese seems to have a heavy influence on the direction of this picture, with many moments looking familiar to fans of the legendary American filmmaker. Close ups, sweeping scene shots, freeze-and-zoom shots, and a frenzied handheld approach are all trademarks that will be recognisably traceable to Scorsese, having been used throughout his career. Many shots remind the viewer of Scorsese's narrative dialogue-camera relationship in Goodfellas, in which the camera was used to brilliant effect to highlight the main points in the script. This technique is used heavily in the first twenty minutes of Cidade De Deus, with the freeze frame trick being used to introduce the story's main characters alongside the dialogue of narrator, Rocket.
Throughout the film one cannot help but watch a scene and think, 'I've seen that in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, or Casino', and this may make some look less favourably on the film's direction. However, it is not fair to consider this 'a Brazilian Goodfellas'. The story has parallels - the underlying ideas of gangsters, drugs and violence -, the direction is similar, and the story is told with narration, much like Ray Liotta's role in Scorsese's epic. But to regard this film in terms of what styles it repeats or nods it's hat to, is to be very ignorant. Fernando Meirelles, has done a wonderfully hypnotic job of blending the old styles, and bringing them up to date with flashy and sometimes dangerously kinetic direction and editing. Look only to the leaving-party scene in which strobe lighting is used to extraordinary effect, almost suffocating the story below a bombardment on the visual senses. Think of a crossover between the visual energy of the Matrix and the violence of the club scene in Bad Boys.

Stylistically, the camera work does not conform to its premise as a gangster film.
A gangster film never looked this good. It is as if the camera is released in the
wide open beaches, and kicked around like one of Ronaldinho's headers. It starts on
the sand and moves steadily across. It picks up on the story but then heads into
the sun. It then leaves us, the film-viewer, with the most indelible image in years
as we see Sonia Braga (A world icon and sex symbol of Brazil)'s niece, sitting on
the sun-drenched coast putting her arm around another young boy. The innocence
conveyed in this scene is something to behold. It literally takes your breath away.

Cidade De Deus is much more than a directorial assault on the senses. Many flashy Hollywood films have fallen short in using 'ultra-modern' direction to disguise the fact that no substantial story exists underneath. Cidade De Deus is most brilliant in that it combines directorial and editorial brilliance with a story that is almost second to none in recent times. Only the true greats manage to cater to these two needs of cinema, and this is one that does. The direction is amazing, but not to disguise the story flaws, and the story is brilliant, but does not overwhelm directorial originality. But simply, Cidade De Deus is a perfect film for avid fans of cinematography, and those just in search of two hours of a bloody good story.

I cannot decide yet if I would consider this better than Amores Perros, but it is certainly not inferior. The at-the-same-time stylish and brutal visuals of Amores Perros are replaced by a grittier, more hands on approach to the subject. Whilst in Amores Perros the characters took precedent, in Cidade De Deus the location is as big a character as those who live there. As a result we get a much greater feeling of the environment in which the characters exist, and so it is perhaps easier to empathise, and/or sympathise with them. Amores Perros triumphs in creating relationships between the audience and the characters, as it concentrates for a long time on relatively few people, each of whom we grow to know and ultimately care about, which is important for the emotional impact of the film. Cidade De Deus deals with dozens, even hundreds, of characters, and so it is only a minority that we become attached to. This means that while the film leaves a lasting impact we are not left with the same inquisitiveness about the future for the characters that we meet in Amores Perros. Both films leave open ends, but Cidade De Deus feels closed. Whether you consider this a good or bad thing is a matter for personal choice.

You see the slamming of different, competing themes. You see the subtlety and tranquility of the beach, smashed into scenes of battered youths dying on city streets. You see a wealth of hypnotic ambiguous images pulled together, much like the very Culture of Brazil itself.

Cidade De Deus is essential viewing, and is cinema at its most zenith. It will of course feel the wrath of critics who will dwell on the almost unimaginably high body count, but there are always those who will reject violence in the movies. In fact the violence in Cidade De Deus, even the apocalyptic ending, is not as raw and bloody as many will expect. Blood spilling is a rare sight, and the violence rests mostly, but not always, on choreography rather than in your face bloodshed. The result is violence, but it is often so artistic that it looks beautiful rather than deterring. Like Scorsese's Taxi Driver the violence is abhorrent, but admirable from a cinematic perspective.

INTERESTING TRIVIA ABOUT THE FILM :

SOURCE : The Hollywood Reporter, Time (Jan 2003 issue), CNN, The Week (Article : Brazen Brazil on film) , and The Making of CIDADE DE DEUS DVD.


> Fernando Meirelles wanted the cast to be made of people who had never acted before,
and professional actors who were not widely known. One such actor was Matheus
Nachtergaele whom Meirelles had seen in a play. But while Meirelles was working on
the script, Nachtergaele suddenly became a huge star in Brazil after starring in
the hit film Auto da Compadecida, O (2000). Meirelles was a little disappointed at
first but Nachtergaele promised him that he would disappear into the role of Sandro
Cenoura so completely that his stardom would not distract from the film.
Nachtergaele moved to the real Cidade de Deus where most of the cast lived and
lived there for three months to prepare for the role.

> In the DVD commentary track, director Fernando Meirelles reveals that the shot in
which we see Alicate, Cabeleira and Marreco through the bumper of the gas truck is
a homage/spoof of the TV series "Charlie's Angels" (1976) (the three boys are seen
holding their guns pointing to different ways).

> When Knockout Ned ('Mané Galinha' in the Brazilian original) kills someone for the
first time, some people who live in the City of God approach him and congratulate
him for the killing. The first woman to talk to him was played by the mother of the
real Knockout Ned.

> All of the amateur actors were recruited from favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro,
and a couple of them - eg. Buscapé/Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) - actually lived in
the Cidade de Deus (City of God) itself.

> In order to increase the tension between Dadinho and Marreco, acting coach Fátima
Toledo told teenager Renato de Souza (Marreco) to bully the kid Douglas Silva
(Dadinho) for 15 days. In the scene where Marreco slaps Dadinho, Douglas Silva
started crying and threatened to abandon the movie, so the angry look he gives to
Marreco in the movie is real.

> There's a scene in which the young Buscapé (Luis Otávio) laughs at his brother
Marreco (Renato de Souza) after the latter is slapped by their father. The laughter
was not scripted, but Luis Otávio couldn't stop it. So Renato de Souza improvised,
telling his young brother "not to laugh at him".

> The scene where the gang prays before the war was not scripted. During the shooting
a young boy, who used to be on a real gang, asked director Fernando Meirelles if
the group was not going to pray like they always did before any important
confrontation with the enemies. Meirelles told him to lead the prayer as they shot
the scene.

> The shot where we see a lot of dead bodies lying on huge blocks of concrete was
recreated from an award-winning photograph taken during the drug war portrayed in
the movie.

> The last shot of the movie, where the little boy loses his slipper and comes back
to pick it, was not scripted. The incident really happened during the shooting and
director Fernando Meirelles kept the take because it helped to highlight the boy's
presence.

> At the end the Runts (Caixa Baixa gang) talk about making a list of people they
want to kill. The rat boys grew to become the now feared CV (Comando Vermelho) or
Red Command, the most notorious gang in Rio. The CV is also known to have a death
list.

> The character of Buscapé was based on a composite of Paulo Lins the author of the
book "Cidade de Deus" and a childhood friend of his who dreamed of becoming a
photographer.
sincerely,
always with candor,
Praveen Chandar.
COMING UP SOON :
- 'JOHN WOO' : THE MAN WHO MADE THE WEST TAKE NOTICE OF HONK KONG CINEMA -
- THE TOP 10 MUST-SEE WAR FILMS -
- SOME OF THE COOLEST DIALOGUES UTTERED ON THE SILVER SCREEN -