Yahoo news seems to gather the most imaginative stories from around the world. Here's a great example of a story so rich in images, so fanstasical that I feel it should have some deeper significance. But I don't think it does, and I like it all the more for it.
'Toddler Weds Dog To Avoid Indian Tiger Doom'
The ceremony, at a Hindu temple in Orissa state's Jajpur district,was conducted with all the rituals observed at traditional weddings.
It included a dowry for the bride - the village bitch.
The dog sported two silver rings and a silver chain, the UNI news agency reported.
Parents of the groom, 18-month-old Sangula, were advised to arrange the marriage when they noticed a tooth growing from their infant son's upper gum.
The growth was considered to be a bad omen in the boy's tribal community.
Village elders believed it would lead to him being killed in a tiger attack - a fate preventable, according to tribal tradition, by marrying a dog.
Sanrumula Munda, Sangula's father, said the ceremony would not stop him from marrying properly when he comes of age.
Superstition is still a potent force in tribal and remote communities of India.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Brain training
Try this site for a good way to procrastinate, Ali! You can not only feel like you're being productive by working on essential skills but you are also 'exercising' of sorts. Perfect. Don't do it for too long though as I can feel my wrinkles getting deeper as I'm squinting at the screen trying to beat me own scores. You'll have the brain of a 20 year old but the face of a 50 year old.
www.lumosity.com
www.lumosity.com
What came first, the human or the brand?
I read this quote from Tom Peter's article 'Brand called you':
“No matter what you're doing today, there are four things you've got to measure yourself against. First, you've got to be a great teammate and a supportive colleague. Second, you've got to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value. Third, you've got to be a broad-gauged visionary—a leader, a teacher, a farsighted "imagineer." Fourth, you've got to be a businessperson—you've got to be obsessed with pragmatic outcomes. It's this simple: you are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.”
It seems to me to be a very narrow vision of a brand. I agree that we are all building our own brands which is the same as building a public person, creating the right impression on others which ultimately helps you to reach your goals. You could say that building brands takes lessons from human instinct as people came first and we intuitively create personas for ourselves in many different ways. I'm not sure if I like the threatening tone of this quote. I mean since when did brands dehumanise us, shouldn't we be humanising brands? Fair enough it was written in 1997, I like to think we've moved on since then.
“No matter what you're doing today, there are four things you've got to measure yourself against. First, you've got to be a great teammate and a supportive colleague. Second, you've got to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value. Third, you've got to be a broad-gauged visionary—a leader, a teacher, a farsighted "imagineer." Fourth, you've got to be a businessperson—you've got to be obsessed with pragmatic outcomes. It's this simple: you are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.”
It seems to me to be a very narrow vision of a brand. I agree that we are all building our own brands which is the same as building a public person, creating the right impression on others which ultimately helps you to reach your goals. You could say that building brands takes lessons from human instinct as people came first and we intuitively create personas for ourselves in many different ways. I'm not sure if I like the threatening tone of this quote. I mean since when did brands dehumanise us, shouldn't we be humanising brands? Fair enough it was written in 1997, I like to think we've moved on since then.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Follow your star... Or not
This article cheered me up on a sunday evening browsing online newspapers. I have always like astrology. I haven't decided whether I believe it or not but I like to read my star sign. I get a really good feeling when it rings true and don't lose anything when it makes no sense to me at all. When they issue instructions, it is always a positive, motivational message which never goes amiss. In my opinion its just a bit of information which you can choose to take on board or forget completely but there's not harm in reading it. The process of assessing yourself or your situation, or preparing yourself for the week ahead is a fruitful one in my opinion, whatever leads you in to it. I find it a kind of cheap indulgence reading about yourself and you can claim it to be 'utter rubbish' if its not what you wanted to hear. Either way you can't lose.
I have chosen to embrace fully the findings that famous writers are more likely to be Gemini, which just happens to be my star sign:
"A Borders survey of the 150 bestselling authors found they were evenly distributed across the zodiac signs, apart from Gemini, which was twice as likely to be the star sign of famous scribes and scribblers. The 27 great writers born under the twins include Chaucer, Salman Rushdie, Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy, Margaret Drabble and Jodi Picoult". (timesoneline)
I have chosen to embrace fully the findings that famous writers are more likely to be Gemini, which just happens to be my star sign:
"A Borders survey of the 150 bestselling authors found they were evenly distributed across the zodiac signs, apart from Gemini, which was twice as likely to be the star sign of famous scribes and scribblers. The 27 great writers born under the twins include Chaucer, Salman Rushdie, Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy, Margaret Drabble and Jodi Picoult". (timesoneline)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Wallpaper
Apparently the colour red helps you pay attention to detail and work more efficiently (when you are in danger your mind will be focused). Blue makes you more happy and therefore more creative. As far as research in to the effect of colours go, I like this one. It sounds pretty believable to me. I have a nice blue happy blog but I definitely don't have enough red in my everyday colour scheme.
I noticed recently that on my home computer wallpaper I have a night time, red toned picture of the Bosphorous in Istanbul. On my work computer I have a day time, blue toned picture of the Bosphorous in Istanbul. I did not purposely coordinate my wallpapers and as it seems, I got the colours the wrong way around. It may be why my presentations at work are full of pictures and hypotheses and lack the details to back it all up.
The wallpaper that you choose is always difficult. To some extent it doesn't matter but the point is that you HAVE to choose one, which automatically makes your choice a significant one. It depends on whether your computer is a private place for you(home computer) or public space (office computer). Sometimes I put a personal wallpaper on my home computer and suddenly feel very self conscious when my computer is under the eye of another. I feel like I should explain my wallpaper somehow to justify it otherwise it is just sort of left hanging like a pink elephant.
My last choice of wallpaper was done like this: I firstly decided on a photograph of my own rather than a picture from the internet. I have had some good pictures from the internet which have made great wallpapers. I hade one of a horse race of people in horse costumes on a real race track which tickled me when I turned on the screen in the morning.
This black and white one of the Russian poet Mayakovsky is one I frequently return to. I tile it up so there are a multitude of his angry confrontational eyes staring at me. I like it because they demand something from me, they make me feel, act, think:
As for the two Bosphourous photos, not only did I go for two landscapes but also two water views. I am lead to think that this means that I want to look out through my screen and seem something vast and expansive beyond and through my computer. The computer screen is a window to the unkown, to new lands, new horizons and it is a journey of sorts.
Computer wallpaper - a great specimen of visual culture.
I noticed recently that on my home computer wallpaper I have a night time, red toned picture of the Bosphorous in Istanbul. On my work computer I have a day time, blue toned picture of the Bosphorous in Istanbul. I did not purposely coordinate my wallpapers and as it seems, I got the colours the wrong way around. It may be why my presentations at work are full of pictures and hypotheses and lack the details to back it all up.
The wallpaper that you choose is always difficult. To some extent it doesn't matter but the point is that you HAVE to choose one, which automatically makes your choice a significant one. It depends on whether your computer is a private place for you(home computer) or public space (office computer). Sometimes I put a personal wallpaper on my home computer and suddenly feel very self conscious when my computer is under the eye of another. I feel like I should explain my wallpaper somehow to justify it otherwise it is just sort of left hanging like a pink elephant.
My last choice of wallpaper was done like this: I firstly decided on a photograph of my own rather than a picture from the internet. I have had some good pictures from the internet which have made great wallpapers. I hade one of a horse race of people in horse costumes on a real race track which tickled me when I turned on the screen in the morning.
This black and white one of the Russian poet Mayakovsky is one I frequently return to. I tile it up so there are a multitude of his angry confrontational eyes staring at me. I like it because they demand something from me, they make me feel, act, think:
As for the two Bosphourous photos, not only did I go for two landscapes but also two water views. I am lead to think that this means that I want to look out through my screen and seem something vast and expansive beyond and through my computer. The computer screen is a window to the unkown, to new lands, new horizons and it is a journey of sorts.
Computer wallpaper - a great specimen of visual culture.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Musical cats
I wish I’d taken a video of my cat when I play the clarinet. She climbs up on to ledges and takes flying leaps on to my head, climbs around my neck which I’m playing, as if she wants to play too. All the time she’s crying out and purring. She’s also managed to climb up my leg and up the length of my body and then sit on my head. She’s a bit big for it now though so she just sits on the floor singing along or climbs along the piano keys providing an accompaniment of sorts.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Russia No.2
In Russia the attitude towards social sites helps to define young people's attitude to groups vs individuality. This is a quote from a Russian person:
"For a long time, I haven't wanted to be part of some group and give myself a name - so that society can put a tag on me? No thanks. I think that is also a trend - individualism. In this respect belonging to a group of friends is a different story"
In Russia, your individuality comes first and friends follow. In England you often find your group of friends first and mutually decide on a direction for the group. Although groups exist in Russia and England, in Russia the group formed by the people in it but in England the people are formed by the group.
"For a long time, I haven't wanted to be part of some group and give myself a name - so that society can put a tag on me? No thanks. I think that is also a trend - individualism. In this respect belonging to a group of friends is a different story"
In Russia, your individuality comes first and friends follow. In England you often find your group of friends first and mutually decide on a direction for the group. Although groups exist in Russia and England, in Russia the group formed by the people in it but in England the people are formed by the group.
Russia No.1
There is a Russian saying: "Better is the enemy of good"
This suggests a respect for stability in Russian mentality. It is similar to the English "Don't fix what ain't broke" but in the Engish expression we are talking about leaving something as it is rather than messing around with it, whereas the Russian expression is saying that we shouldn't even progress to develop a better alternative.
It has a feeling of protection for what has been invented before and clinging on to the recent past, which is part of the present. What is 'good' is what exists in our lives and what is 'better' is the future approaching to eradicate what we have. There is a fear of the future and a trick of creating the 'other' out of it as if there is some sinister external influence in control of it. If we are now, we are 'good', so who is the figure promising 'better' on the horizon and threatening everything that is now?
Russians have a tendency to look backwards fondly and fear the future. Today nostalgia for the past is evident in mass media. There have been several films about Soviet age brought in to a modern light, drawing parallels between then and now. 'Lost Empire' and 'Silyagi' for example. But more about that later....
NOTE: This is the first in a series of posts which are going to be insights and observations about Russia and its people through an examination of language, behaviour, trends, media, cultural phenomena and of course, personal experience. It is only one person's view or Russia. Of course, please feel free to agree, or disagree with anything that I write.
This suggests a respect for stability in Russian mentality. It is similar to the English "Don't fix what ain't broke" but in the Engish expression we are talking about leaving something as it is rather than messing around with it, whereas the Russian expression is saying that we shouldn't even progress to develop a better alternative.
It has a feeling of protection for what has been invented before and clinging on to the recent past, which is part of the present. What is 'good' is what exists in our lives and what is 'better' is the future approaching to eradicate what we have. There is a fear of the future and a trick of creating the 'other' out of it as if there is some sinister external influence in control of it. If we are now, we are 'good', so who is the figure promising 'better' on the horizon and threatening everything that is now?
Russians have a tendency to look backwards fondly and fear the future. Today nostalgia for the past is evident in mass media. There have been several films about Soviet age brought in to a modern light, drawing parallels between then and now. 'Lost Empire' and 'Silyagi' for example. But more about that later....
NOTE: This is the first in a series of posts which are going to be insights and observations about Russia and its people through an examination of language, behaviour, trends, media, cultural phenomena and of course, personal experience. It is only one person's view or Russia. Of course, please feel free to agree, or disagree with anything that I write.
An Italian footballer made of chocolate sauce? I would definitely buy that...
It was a special edition package for Euro 2008.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Yoga in Moscow
This is the entrance to my wonderful yoga centre in Moscow. I love this place because its shabby and rough exterior give it a certain authentic rustic feel. It helps in yoga as it takes away all associations with yummy mummies spending their quite hours between dropping children off and collecting them from variuos child care places meditating with their good looking yoga teacher. In our yoga room there are punching bags, cracked basement windows and bars across the ceiling where our good looking yoga teacher does one-armed pulls ups whilst we're holding various poses. I think it's to test our concentration.
This is the hall where we usually have to wait for the previous class to finish. Russians don't do things by halves and most classes last over 2 hours long. I have been in classes that last over 3 hours and finishing after midnight. Sure enough the next day I dozily hobbled around the office. The sleep was so deep after that, that it took me a few days to wake up again. The good thing is that you really get your money's worth and the teachers guage the level of experience of the class and the energy levels so each class is slightly different. I rarely feel underworked or disspointed.
In most places in Russia there is a little woman who looks very similar to this with somme perfunctory role which usually involves exchanging tokens for money, money for tokens, tokens for other tokends and yelling at people that don't understand the token system. She treats you like one of her own and reminds me of one of the matrons at my boarding school. They also never have any change. This particular one managed to leave mid yoga class last week, locking the teacher's belongings in the office and locking all of us in the basement as she left, locking the door behind her. Luckily its not only women that do yoga and we had one gallant man who found a spade to lever open the door. She does ensure though that you pay them the modest amount of 7 pounds a class, or marks off your monthly card if you are a dedicated and regular yogi.
Their website has timetables, prices and directions for all 4 locations around Moscow and also details for St.Petersburg. There are pictures of all the teachers on there too. The site is also in English and they have some English speaking teachers. This is their website here
This is the hall where we usually have to wait for the previous class to finish. Russians don't do things by halves and most classes last over 2 hours long. I have been in classes that last over 3 hours and finishing after midnight. Sure enough the next day I dozily hobbled around the office. The sleep was so deep after that, that it took me a few days to wake up again. The good thing is that you really get your money's worth and the teachers guage the level of experience of the class and the energy levels so each class is slightly different. I rarely feel underworked or disspointed.
In most places in Russia there is a little woman who looks very similar to this with somme perfunctory role which usually involves exchanging tokens for money, money for tokens, tokens for other tokends and yelling at people that don't understand the token system. She treats you like one of her own and reminds me of one of the matrons at my boarding school. They also never have any change. This particular one managed to leave mid yoga class last week, locking the teacher's belongings in the office and locking all of us in the basement as she left, locking the door behind her. Luckily its not only women that do yoga and we had one gallant man who found a spade to lever open the door. She does ensure though that you pay them the modest amount of 7 pounds a class, or marks off your monthly card if you are a dedicated and regular yogi.
Their website has timetables, prices and directions for all 4 locations around Moscow and also details for St.Petersburg. There are pictures of all the teachers on there too. The site is also in English and they have some English speaking teachers. This is their website here
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