Moved in or moving in

It's a new place. Yes I have been out of writing for a long long time and it was pure laziness on my part. I cannot make any other excuse to justify that.

Anyhow I have a story-- making a house and moving into it. Little does any one know how things will pan out. It is a highly emotional experience wringing the best and the worst out of a person. I am sure this pure emotional roller coaster is the only reason why saints prefer not to have their own homes.
Like I have mentioned to many people I know, the first scratch to your car and the first dent/stain etc in the house leaves an indelible impression on One's mind and somehow, we forget objectivity and take it way too personally. I have these personal grudges against the carpenters who were working in the house.
Another fact (I have arrived to this after talking with a lot of people), 'You never get a a carpenter who is good enough for you'. It is not only difficult, it is impossible. If it is not work, then it will be time. If it is not that then it will be cost. If that is not the thing then it will be quality of work. something always remains amiss !!(Accept it. Don't try like I did "Hopelessly trying to break the mold"). This is for today. Next post will chronicle other travails...

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So long

It's been a long time since I have written anything or felt like writing.

But after half a ride round the sun( half a year) I feel it is time again to start. Lets see how long do I stick to this.

I just saw a movie-Gattaca.

It is an interesting piece of imagination of what could become of today's possibilities if they became the world and working method of tomorrow.

It is really interesting to see that if uncontrolled what could today's theories, if proclaimed as laws would become tomorrow.

We are after all people who given a choice, want the best for ourselves and there is nothing wrong with it except how far we are willing to go in that desire.

The movie is all about a boy, who was born the natural way and not genetically selected with the best possible attributes. He is termed godchild, in a world where all children are selected genetically and these children have everything predetermined. Their lives are charted out and so are their fatalities, and frailnesses. Fate is not entertained.

Much like a syndicate. This boy has a desire of being an astronaut and the syndicated world has dictated that genetically he cannot be an astronaut. So he begins his search and lives a lie, in order to reach a potential he has been denied on the basis of his genes or genetic code.

But think of it, is not today, too syndicated to an extent?

You have to be so and so, educated in so and so to be able to work, achieve blah and blah. Who gives a care about the inherent propensities that one has, the inherent desires, interests, passions and gifts. Apart from art, no field values inherent gifts a care. Even when the chances are given they are hard won.

So yes, here is to a syndicated world that we are not aware of at times only when we are at the opposite end of the syndicate. We can see this same, in societies, norms and cultures. But there is no way that a non- syndicated world would do. We love the order of a syndicated world.

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Picture this

Picture this.

It is about 6:30 or 7 in the evening. It is raining. The light is dim and the weather is perfect. A little cool and an evening with nothing pressing to do. A veranda with sheets on top with the rain pattering on it and running its own drumbeat. There are plants and greens around me all getting wet. I am sitting on a lounge chair with a table on it. I am sitting with a warm bowl of Maggie in my hands. This is what I call a perfect evening with the perfect end to it. A hot bowl of Maggie noodles, a rainy evening with greens surrounding me and nothing pressing to make me get up from whiling away my time. I wish I could just preserve this memory in an old book for years to come by .

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Refrigerator

I just came across an article yesterday which actually impressed me. It was outlining the change in the Middle class Indian, circling around just the refrigerator. It pointed to a time 10 years back when a 165 L refrigerator was enough for a household of 4 and more than sufficient. In the 10 years, we have graduated to a 300 L capacity fridge and along with it a horde of lifestyle and shopping changes.

Where now veggie shopping is once or max twice a week in urban India. Where semi processed food, like shelled peas, chopped veggies also take up space in that refrigerator. Also most of us have also started subscribing to the poly pack milk and at times buying for 2-3 days at a time.

Then enter juices, getting a glass of orange juice used to be an ultra luxury seen only in advertisement covers and all.

Not the least we have ice creams nearly all round th year in our freezer space. Then also enter some so called exotic ingredients like, pasta sauces, mushrooms, baby corn and tofu which also take some of the space. So do tomato puree, ginger garlic paste, coconut milk which make cooking possible in like 20 mins. So the good ol' refrigerator has recorded a change in our buying patterns and eating patterns. Like I mentioned earlier, this is not my observations but that of the author in Brand Equity but all the same, it is a point worth sharing.

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Read something Hilarious

Sometimes when one read the lines/news flash of the bygone years, one does get a shock!!!

Well guess what kind of laugh I got when I read the following"

emember Freddie Mercury of Queebelting out these lyrics, "Don't stop me now, I'm having a good time, I'm having a ball"? Well, that seems the Sensex's song at the moment.

The Sensex, which has crossed the 6,000 mark, seems unstoppable."

Also I will let you know the relevant date!! (Down below)

decide for yourselves!!!

Last updated on: December 10, 2002 15:47 IST

hehe

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It's hard to leave a...

Just a month or two back, my neighbor bought a pup (Labrador). He would play along in the porch with my plants and stuff.

I see him today (he is 3 months already); he seems so large , can't believe he was tiny just some months back.

On our night walk we encountered him today, and he went berserk.

All high pent up energy and running to and from me to D and back to me.

So now we played with him for a sometime and then were to leave him to complete his business(Ahem! he is big boy he needs his privacy too!!) and he was literally yelping for us not to go.

It is difficult to leave then!!! So back to my heading it's hard to leave a pleading dog (canine; with eyes beseeching you, ears flopped down and trying to run towards you as you turn away).!!

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If you have been watching this

then you must be also viewing all the advertisements.

Knowing that I am crazy about those I will give my take on them. I generally like zoozoo's so Vodaphone tops (this time favorite till now is the one about paying electricity bills).

Also Airtel did good this time with Sharman Joshi and also they came up with the same concept as that of Vodaphone, one message per advertisement. Not bombarding viewers with only one kind of message.

Bingo with its normally stupid advertisements, did do a little better and manage to elicit some laughter due to the adsurdity of the advertisement.

Rest I still have to see. Off the top of my head, I can recall these specially.

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It's that time of the year

Yes it is that time of the year again!! Wondering what?

Well it is that time of the year agian when we have the league cricket going on.

Till last year, I thought that matches missed were all because D understood that it is too much cricket being televised but I guess I was all wrong about it.

It is again that time, when you feel that somehow guys are first wedded to the idiot box when it comes to sport tournaments rather than us. I have talked to enough ladies, females of all various age groups and nationalities and the common consensus is that it is universal I assuming the 'Y' chromosome must be carrying this with it. I am sure enough to bet money on it if search were to be performed!!!

Ya so now, grin and bear!!

Our time will be here soon girls!!!

PS: I naturally air these feelings quite often to guarantee some 'me time' (Ofcourse thank's to D again). If anyone has problems I am here to give pointers on that aspect too!!!

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My date with the niji brush

Very excited with a new toy, I today had my first run in with the Niji Brush (waterbrush). I am posting my first , second and third dates with the brush in the same chronology.

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Not have

At times, not having something kind of changes you. either you stop doing it altogether or you may find an alternative way.

I love to bake and experiment in baking.
But even though I have a microwave it is not the friendliest of all experiences with baking. So instead of leaving baking, I tried to start my experiments based on dutch oven concept.
And it works wonders.
I know it has it limitations too, but what I find is I can do a lot instead of sitting around and moping about for an oven.
I bake bread, I bake cake, I baked cookies, I baked other desserts and all. This has been truly an experience.

Working around not having an oven let me try many things which eventually worked out to be really good, and helped me understand the contribution of various ingredients in a recipe and their proportions.
I payed more attention to the recipe and the actual basic scientific principles required to get the job done.

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More tonal landscapes

I have been scouring the web for more tonal pictures to paint for. The following is from a travel magazine . I did one but was not too much happy with it and redid another one in a little different style. I did the darks first and then did all the other tones. I think that worked better for me I guess.

The second one is the one I did before and was not very happy with.

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My tonal paintings

So after making some disasters in my colored paintings, I have come back to learn some washes and make tonal paintings.

Below are a few of my tonal scapes.

I will be posting more of these and hopefully they will each be better then their predecessor.

They are not in the order of when they were painted. Rather a jumbled order here actually.

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Julie and Julia

Hi,

Being movie buffs and special favorite being Meryl Streep; we watched Julie and Julia.

I liked the movie a lot (which happens many a times). The different thing this time though is that the movie has still not left my mind. It is still lodged in there.

Here I cannot say that it is because it is a fabulous , outstanding movie ( I have seen more movies of that category as well). It is mainly because the main theme is very 'us' and representative of our time contrasted very nicely with the time in past when typewriters were technological gizmos.

Also the fact that this lady -Julie has some frustrating incidents in her expedition and I can so recognize them having been through some of those days myself.

Also her dedication to an exercise/project/endeavor is also very believable. she has an image of her favorite author and she lives through the year and its ups and downs with the lessons she assumes/imagines from the author.

Even when she receives a response which is not so encouraging from the author via a reporter, her husband actually tells her that it is the image of the author in her mind that is more important.(you have to see this movie to understand the context).

Anyhow all in all that is a very impressionable movie to me because of the time and frame of mind when I watched it.

PS: I agree with Julie's idea os butter and eggs!!!!

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I have been reading blogs

Like I said, I have been reading and found this artist. I liked his stuff and am pasting the url to his blog. Language no bar (it is not english)

But still it is great, have a look.

http://acuablog-javi.blogspot.com/

Have fun!!!

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I am back!

Hi All,

I am back to blogging. In the period I have broadened my horizons a bit. Lot of changes on personal front and am back to my sketching with a vengeance.

On all these fronts I can say there are a lot of hits and misses.

Am full swing painting/sketching and also reading . So I have lots to come back on but am still trying to see what to start with.

Will be following up in the next post

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Sabbatical

Myself was on a sabbatical from the blog. The best way I can put my leave of absence. I can although say there were a lot of changes, some pleasant some not, but underlining them all was an inertia. Of not wanting to post at all which is the basic reason for me not posting but 'I am back.'

I am back with many discoveries and doings.

For one I have not browsed as much for artists but have joined a class for sketching +watercolor. There are some restrictions in them ( I am supposedly starting fromthe scartch so am following my tutor (but all the assignments are not the most interesting).Keeping faith in tutor that all in all will turn in just fine).

I found a way to bake bread!!!

yes I am actually talking about the good ol' bread.

Will post pictures of my first bread baking experiment which was made with (not so good) yeast and completed at 11:00 pm inthe night but yes it was good.

So i will popst my sketches( that is all I have been allowed to do in the class) and my baking experiements soon too.

For people who like me love to watch Discovery- Travel and Linving channel try to catch Nigella feasts and Rachen allen :Bake. Very interesting!!!

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An artist worth browsing for

Yes Ii have painted lots . will upload some of the work soon. 

But check this artist out. Found her work very interesting and intriguing on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sia-rt/

one of my favourites (inas much i have browsed her work ) is the following link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sia-rt/3206481634/in/set-72157612811413082/

check it out.

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ZooZoos

ZooZoos- Vodafone Zoozoos I am captivated!! with the concept and the neatness with which it is applied to the product.

Succinct and natural body language is what I can't help but notice. Also it is maximum about 15 seconds within which they capture your attention totally!!

What am I tlaking about??!!

Well this is about the new advertizing concept of Vodaphone for the Cricket IPL season2 and it is a runaway hit with everyone. So far my personal favourite is the dating tips message visual. 

These are called Zoozoos( I just figured that out today) and the best part is they are not animated as it feels they are actually humans. It is great comeback after the Pug. 

How ironic that animation is used to imitate human behaviour in a fairytale like setting that this concepts uses the opposite i.e. using  people to imitate animation like movements.

You have to see them to know what I am talking about. Check them out on youtube

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More paintings

This is a pencil sketch. The color perspective needs work (I have been told).

The fruit bounty. Sadly not mine to completely take credit of. They are again inspired...
This is an original. On one of my excursiopns, came across this scene. I will also post a real image of this scene. 
This is just in my home. The canvas was too large, and so dabbed random colors on to the other side.

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Sorry

Hey!!

sorry guys been long since I have posted, but accept the fact that there were some upheavals that I am and was working over!!

So now that I am back am going to upload lot of images.

have painted for sure. Not been lackasaidal about that one.

This time I have also done and actual original scene. I am quite happy that I actually skecthed all by my little self you see!!!

been reading a lot of books also.

So lot sot catch up.

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