Monthly Archives: August 2009

Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

I don’t really follow politics too closely, particularly American politics.

But today, when I got the news that Ted Kennedy (Democratic Party senator from Massachusetts) had passed away, I really felt a sense of something lost. He was the last of the famous Kennedy brothers in politics (John and Robert Kennedy). He was not as famous as them; far more controversial; struggling with alcoholism and sex scandals. But, when I read some eulogies on the web, they spoke such wonderful things about how much he had meant to so many people. What really surprised me was how personal some of them were. He really seemed to have been a kind man even when not acting a political role, and when the cameras were switched off.

I also stumbled upon this beautiful speech he once presented, and just had to post it here:

The more our feelings diverge, the more deeply felt they are, the greater is our obligation to grant the sincerity and essential decency of our fellow citizens on the other side. . . .

In short, I hope for an America where neither “fundamentalist” nor “humanist” will be a dirty word, but a fair description of the different ways in which people of good will look at life and into their own souls.

I hope for an America where no president, no public official, no individual will ever be deemed a greater or lesser American because of religious doubt — or religious belief….

I hope for an America where the power of faith will always burn brightly, but where no modern inquisition of any kind will ever light the fires of fear, coercion, or angry division.

I hope for an America where we can all contend freely and vigorously, but where we will treasure and guard those standards of civility which alone make this nation safe for both democracy and diversity.

~ Speech on “Truth and Tolerance in America,” Oct. 3, 1983, Lynchburg, Va

Sounds all the more relevant today, doesn’t it? Not just America, but worldwide…

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Tagged by the Tag Queen

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Shilpa from A Rose is a Rose is a Rose has tagged me for the Mind Game meme. Thank you, Shilpa!

Tag Rules: Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag your friends. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real… nothing made up!(nahi to police pakedegi Savdhan !!!) If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can’t use your name for the boy/girl name question. Have Fun!!

1. What is your name: Nishita (DUH!)

2. A four Letter Word: Nuts

3. A boy’s Name: Nirmal

4. A girl’s Name: Nandini

5. An occupation: Nurse

6. A color: Navy blue

7. Something you wear: Necklace

8. A food: Nutties chocolate (yummy :) )

9. Something found in the bathroom: Neem toothpaste

10. A place: Nainital

11. A reason for being late: No servant

12. Something you shout: Absolutely NOT!

13. A movie title: Nishabd

14. Something you drink: Nescafe

15. A musical group: New Kids on the Block

16. An animal: Nightingale

17. A Street name: Nandidurga Road

18. A type of car: Nissan (I couldn’t think of anything, and I googled for Car names starting with N, and Wiki actually had the answer. I love the internet :D

19. A song title: Nana muna rahi hoon

20. A verb: Nit-picking

So that’s it. Everyone is invited to this tag. Just grab it and write. Remember to link to me in your post, or leave a comment here :)

It’s Award Season, Folks!

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Humane Award

Humane Award

Humane as being characterized by kindness, mercy, or compassion; marked by an emphasis on humanistic values and concerns.

Wow, I am so honored. Thank you so much, Shilpa. I hope to live up to this award.

I still need to decide who to pass on this award to…will update this post later with my nominations :)

And the award goes to…

More Blog Beautifying Templates

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If you are looking for some nice n snazzy templates or design ideas, you have come to the right place :)

I love redesigning blogs and simply love to try out new designs and check out how things look. In WordPress, I have not opted for the CSS upgrade, so if I want to fool around with templates, I use my now-defunct Blogger blog as an experimental sandpit.

The Blogger platform really gives you a lot of flexibility regarding the design of your blog, and it is simply so easy to revamp, you can do it even if you have very little CSS knowledge. There are tons of sites on the web, which provide you with ready-made templates. All you need to do is upload them to your blog, and your blog is as good as new.

Some sites that I really love:

  • Blogger Templates (huge variety – there are templates to suit all needs)
  • Infocreek Blog (the variety is not too much, but the templates look really professional)

Btw, if you have a wordpress.org (not wordpress.com) blog you can still use the templates available in the above sites.

I used my old Blogger blog to test out some of these templates.

What do you think about these options I tried out?

The Blue Jeans Template from Infocreek Blog

The Blue Jeans Template from Infocreek Blog

I loved the denim look and feel. My favorite theme though was the Notepad template. It looks really beautiful, and I was itching to try it out. However, a Blogger version is yet to be released. Will definitely pounce on it when it does.

The Notepad Template from Infocreek Blog

The Notepad Template from Infocreek Blog

I finally tried the Scrapbook theme, and eventually decided to stick with it for now.

It is really quite pretty and will suit a lot of photo blogs out there. With a little CSS knowledge, you can easily make whatever modifications you want to.

These templates are very easy to use. Just download and unzip them on to your system, and follow the instructions in the Readme. Most times, it is as simple as uploading the XML template file to your blog (in the case of Blogger), I am not very familiar with this process for wordpress.org blogs.

Now, you guys must be wondering why I spend so much time surfing for blog templates for a blog that I do not even update. The fact is that I dream about creating a beautiful secondary book blog ( I keep thinking about it, but in actuality I am just way too lazy to maintain 2 blogs). Changing templates is quick n easy, and for the amount of work required (minimal) provides a lot more satisfaction :)

If you do decide to update your blog using these links, please do leave a comment with your blog link, I would love to visit and check it out :)

Black Order – A Book Review

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Black Order

Black Order

The Black Order is one of the Sigma Force series of books written by James Rollins. These books mainly deal with the adventures of an elite American special operations team called Sigma Force. This team generally fights to protect America from all kinds of subversive activities targeting it.

In this book, there is a series of alarming incidents occurring in various parts of the world – South Africa, Europe, and the Himalayas. And the Sigma Force team get into action to investigate and tackle the cause of these incidents.

The basic premise of the plot – neo-Nazis using some advanced technology (some weird form of genetic engineering) developed during Hitler’s time want to create a new world populated with super men and super women, is definitely not the most innovative. However, the handling of the story is first-class.

The book is a page turner from the very first page. The author provides a brief but effective sketch of the main characters without slowing down the pace of the story. This is something I really appreciate. I have read so many novels, where in each book of the series, a full character sketch is provided of the main protagonists. I really liked James Rollins’ brevity here.

I also liked the fact that the bad guys are not all dark. Most of them showed some humane traits, and in fact a couple were quite likable. I also liked that the members of Sigma Force were nice, quiet, good guys who quietly went about their mission without mouthing jingoistic utterly nonsensical, sometimes offensive dialogues (if you have read Brad Thor or Tom Clancy, you know what I am talking about).

What took away from the book, was the somewhat implausible (and utterly predictable) plot. Apparently, a Nazi scientist has hidden a scientific secret in a copy of The Bible. The bad guys want to get to this secret, so that they can use it to their own evil ends. The good guys race against the bad guys to get hold of this Bible. These modern day researchers (who don’t seem to have a very solid historical or scientific background) are able to break this code in a matter of days, which is very unbelievable. Once revealed, the secret is also a huge let down. In fact, I think I am reading too many stories dealing with hidden secrets, codes, and so on. So, these parts of the book were very boring and predictable for me.

The climax of the book is also a little hackneyed – desperately trying to tie all loose ends together, and everything rushing towards the climax.

However, in spite of all these flaws, I still found myself liking this book. It is a good, solid thriller, which delivered exactly what it promised.

What Kind of Book are you?

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Another Blogthings quiz…


You Are Action Adventure


You are lively and spirited. You like to be in the middle of the action, and you have a ton of energy.
You are very driven, and not just with your career. You like to play hard as well!

You are bold and brave. You’re always looking for the next great adrenaline rush.
It’s likely that you are athletic or at least pretty physically active. It’s hard for you to sit still.

Am I really an action and adventure kinda girl? I didn’t know :)

Some Poetry can be so Humbling…

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I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away

- A sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Wikipedia has some interesting information on Ozymandias. He is not entirely fictional, as I used to think…

Have a nice weekend :)

The Graveyard Book – A Review

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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

As part of the Young Adult Reading Challenge I am participating in, I decided to check out The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman from Eloor Library.

The Graveyard Book starts rather abruptly with the murder of a young family. Everyone is killed except for the toddler who has crawled out of the house and into the graveyard nearby. When the assassin comes pursuing him, the occupants of the graveyard (the ghosts) come out in his defense and scare him away.

The little boy is then raised in the graveyard by his adopted parents ( the ghosts Mr. and Mrs. Owens) and his guardian (Silas – a vampire, although it is not explicitly stated in the book) . The boy who is now named Nobody Owens (because he is nobody with no name) grows up in this strange environment; he is not allowed to step out of the graveyard because the assassin is still waiting for an opportunity to kill him. Nobody is safe only as long as he remains in the graveyard.

The rest of the story deals with his growing-up pains, his adventures, and eventually his stand-off with Jack the assassin.

My thoughts on this book:

The book starts a tad bit abruptly for my taste with the sentence – There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. And it put me off the book for quite a bit. But slowly, I started settling down.

My copy of the book was illustrated and I enjoyed looking at the illustrations, while reading the book.

The Gate to the Graveyard

The Gate to the Graveyard

I did find the first half a little boring and a tad claustrophobic. The thought that the child could not step out of the graveyard, and that almost 90% of the story is set in the graveyard didn’t really thrill me. Also, his adventures just seemed to be very random, and although I enjoyed reading about it, I just could not see where the plot was going. It seemed to be a sweet, meandering little story but still I could not really get what the fuss was all about…

In between, the mommy in me started asking all too-practical questions – but how did he manage living in the graveyard in the winters? what about his vaccination shots? his dental check-ups, and so on…

But towards the last 100 pages, all my reservations about this book dropped and I really got into it. Nobody meets his childhood friend, Jack starts stalking Nobody again, and things really start to heat up. The story rapidly moves to a smashing climax, where Nobody gets his revenge.

The ending of the story was just perfectly bittersweet. Nobody is now a big boy and has to leave the graveyard and his friends, and make his way into the land of the living, and live his life. The parting between Nobody and the inmates of the graveyard was so poignant, it left a lump in my throat.

After I read the book, I read the author’s note where he mentions that he was very inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. And I could see the resemblances – both are similar tales of a child left to be raised by someone not of his type. In both stories, there is a predator out to get the little boy.

But otherwise, the two stories are completely different. The Jungle Book had a lot more adventure and comic moments, and great characters. Whereas, The Graveyard Book is a softer, more emotional story.

I love them both :)

Wow! My First Blog Award

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Grace from Grace’s Book Blog has very generously awarded me the Zombie Chicken Award :)

The Zombie Chicken Award

The Zombie Chicken Award

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.

There are so many great blogs out there that I love that I have happily exceeded 5. I am passing this award on to:

On an aside, doesn’t the color of the award match perfectly with the background? I am loving the way it looks :)

Tagged Again…

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…by Amrit of the The Midnight Sun. He has tagged me for the 8 wonders meme. Here are my responses:

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:

None, I don’t watch TV at all. If I had to pick something it would be True Blood on HBO and award shows.

8 Favorite Places to Eat:

  • Little Italy
  • Herbs & Spice
  • Ginseng
  • Coffee Day (for the great capuccinos and small eats)
  • Cascade (Chennai)
  • Duchess (Chennai -not sure it is still around. It used to be my fave joint once upon a time)
  • Corner House (for the great ice-creams and milkshakes)
  • Nanking

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

  • Tons of work
  • Rained a lot
  • Updated my blog
  • Started working on this meme :)
  • Spoke to my mom
  • Made a new week resolution (yes, I make resolutions each week)
  • Taught the snubnose a new song (Vande Mataram – we are being very patriotic this week)
  • Surfed on the net a lot

8 Things I Look Forward To:

  • My project release
  • Reading “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman
  • The weekend
  • Travelling to Mumbai for my friend’s wedding
  • Everyone in my house getting healthy again after the viral fever bout
  • Restarting my workouts again
  • Diwali
  • Seeing Kaminay

8 Things I Love About Winter:

  • Days starting later
  • Cuddling up with the snubnose
  • Cups of hot tea
  • Wearing smart jackets, sweaters, and shawls
  • Not sweating
  • Not getting tanned
  • The rains
  • Staying at home

8 Things on my Wish List:

  • Time to relax and chill out
  • Meet up with old friends scattered across the globe and just catch up in person (instead of just Facebook and chat)
  • Take yoga classes and become super-flexible
  • Wish I could be more photogenic (really wishful thinking, I know…but I always cringe when I see my photos)
  • Stick to exercise routines
  • A bigger house (or maybe less junk in my present house)
  • Someone with super good taste will magically revamp my wardrobe
  • Win a contest on radio/TV/anything

8 Things I’m Passionate About :

  • Books
  • Writing
  • Blogs
  • Fashion
  • Travel
  • Great coffee and conversations
  • Friends
  • Family

8 Words or Phrases I Use Often:

  • Yabba (only tams can understand this one :) )
  • OK, fine! (when I am giving in to somebody)
  • da (again a Tam-specific slang)
  • cool
  • Too much
  • Actually (which I am really, really trying to curb :( )
  • Simply superb

8 Things I Have Learned From My Past:

  • You cannot change anybody’s bad habits or behaviors, it has to come from within them. Stop trying and getting frustrated
  • Not being a topper at school does not mean you cannot be a topper outside it
  • Not to be too trusting and naive about people. Have an open mind but don’t open your heart to others fully until you are sure about yourself and them
  • Being around negative people can be very draining, be kind to yourself, avoid people who enjoy making you feel bad about yourself
  • Some things about your life cannot be changed, they must be endured gracefully
  • Health and peace of mind are the 2 most important things. Everything comes later
  • Holding petty grievances is tiring and affects you badly. Forget about things, move on…
  • You are changing all the time. What once worked for you may not be good for you any longer. Recognize that fact and keep evolving

8 Places I Would Love to Go or See or Visit:

  • France (Paris and the south of France)
  • Italy
  • Himalayas (I have never been north of New Delhi, and I am just dying to go)
  • Eastern states of India
  • New York
  • Maldives
  • South Africa
  • Brazil

8 Things I Currently Need or Want:

  • A new hair-do
  • A great party (I”m still not satisfied after last month’s shenanigans)
  • A relaxing massage
  • Some alone time
  • Nice shoes
  • A faster computer, which does not hang when I open 2 Firefox tabs
  • More healthy dining options in the food court near my place
  • More fun in my life!

Whew! that was tiring. I really had to stop and think for some of these…

I am not tagging anybody specific for this one. If you like this meme, feel free to use it on your own blog, and link back to me. I would love to read your answers.