Wordfly- Buzz!!!!!

I've heard "earworms" are songs stuck in the head. I think I've contracted a variation of this mind virus. Of late, I have random words that keep buzzing in my mind. I've been observing and its not a word that I read or heard around the time that this word pops in my mind. Out of the blue, it has made an appearance and buzzes around like a fly. It doesnt go away even if I were to use it when I speak or write on a daily basis- obviously it doesnt support a use-and-lose policy. There's no determinable fix as far as I've seen, after a while the fly just buzzes away till a new one surfaces, again- out of the blue.

For example- right now the word-of-the-mind is nom-de-plume. I mean, come on, its not that I can randomly start up a conversation about Eleanor Hibbert and smoothly state "Oh, her nom-de-plume was Victoria Holt or Jean Plaidy". Sounds way too fake. And I havent read any of her books in a long time now.

Before this one was chagrin. And the one before that was nonchalant.

Geez, I dont know where I pick 'em up from. To an outsider, it almost sounds like I am preparing for my TOEFL or some such thing.

Science, I hear, is yet to find a tried and tested solution to get rid of earworms. I am sure its going to be a while before they get to working on wordflies(which btw, is a term I coined- rather like my version of earworms). I have to resort to home remedies to find a fix for this wordfly and until then I shall continue to string along sentences with these high-strung words in a desperate attempt to rid my mind of this annoyance.

Maybe I should try the transmogrifier and have Calvin mutate it into an earworm. At least that is an established virus. Better a known virus than an unknown bacteria?

Calvin- HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dust you were born and to dust you will return

A potter sat with a mound of clay in front of him. He made a pot and a vase with it. A lady stopped by and picked up both.

She filled water in the pot and her whole family drank cool water at every meal.
Her husband got her flowers once a month at the fair. She used the vase for those flowers.

"You are such a loser" said the pot to the vase. "You just look pretty but what use is it, if you only get to show off once a month. Look at me, I am so useful. The whole family uses me everyday, all the time. They cant survive without me!"




The vase upon hearing this felt depressed. "Its true what the pot says. With all this carving and painting, whats the use of looking pretty if I only get used once in a month. It would've been so much better if the potter had made me into a pot too!"

Once when the vase came out for its monthly display on the ledge, it decided to end its life. It tipped over the edge and fell. Crash! and broke into a thousand pieces.

"Lord!" cried the lady and showed the husband, "Wonder how it fell, it must've been the tremors that caused it. I liked the vase so much, it was so pretty that I bargained with the potter to strike a deal. He gave me a pot for free . Now I'm stuck with the pot.Its been used so much, its going to wear out soon and I'll have to get another one.". So saying she gathered the pieces and trashed them.

Upon hearing this, the pot got distraught. "I came for free???????. God, am I that worthless? Will no one buy me for what I am? I wish the potter had turned me into a vase as well. Now I am worn out and overused, they are going to get rid of me soon. I might as well end my life instead of being discarded."

The pot degraded earlier than its time, it cracked and broke into pieces. "Oh well" said the lady "It was too worn out anyways, time to get a new one" as she got rid of the remains.

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A few "moral of the story" quotes :

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price. ~Author Unknown

Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. ~Les Brown

If you doubt yourself, then indeed you stand on shaky ground. ~Henrik Ibsen

Luxury or Convenience?

Is there anything called too much convenience? I think there is and my bank just delivered a service to that effect.

So, continuing on this topic that I blogged about earlier my bank has taken the term "convenience and service to customers" a notch higher. Maybe where you live(in the neighboring planet, maybe?), this service has existed for many years but for me this was new.

I drove up to BOA's ATM to deposit a check. Earlier I'd have to grab an envelope, counter-sign the check, include my account number on it, then go through the on-screen steps and insert the sealed envelope and about 2 days later I'd see the amount in my account.

And now, gone are the envelopes. The ATM smarts asks that the check be inserted into the receptacle. It scans the check and displays it for one to check the amount. Once the amount is confirmed, it chokes out a printed receipt which includes the scanned check and voila!!! The deposit is done.

Hence, I ask, how much of convenience becomes too much of it? With this kind of service, I'm sure in a few months' time I am going to take my bank too much for granted.

God bless Online Banking and BOA-may your tribe increase!

Amen~

Omkara

The movie : http://www.omkarathefilm.com/

The review : http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2006/jul/28omkara.htm

I think this review says it all.

Watched it last night. Saif is brilliant and has really outshone himself in this movie. This truly establishes Saif as character-actor. I am glad for him. Despite his shaky beginnings he has finally made a mark for himself in Bollywood. He shines throughout the movie and has brought out Iago's character to perfection.

Ajay Devgan as Othello and Konkana as Emilia- well cant expect any less from either of them. Kareena as Desdemona is probably as good as anyone else-better Kareena than say Sushmita. Bipasha Basu and Vivek Oberoi- it could have been any Tom, Dick or Hari doing these roles. Vivek is easily forgettable though he had quite a good role in Cassio. Othello is a dark tale full of hate and jealousy. The movie definitely brings the same emotions out- only with an Indian flavour. Amazing photography and
locales. Definitely worth a watch even if Othello is a tried and tested formula. Due credit must be given to Vishaal Bharadwaj for the music and bringing out the Othello formula with an Indian touch and in a modern time setting.

Trip to Flushing Meadows

I can safely say that most of my sports interests come from my dad. My dad will watch any game that airs on TV and has played cricket with passion for the better part of his life. There have been many times we've been stopped on the streets to be told that someone or the other has played cricket with my dad at the National College grounds.

Anyways, that said, I am an avid tennis fan. I remember the time my dad hurriedly bought a color tv just before Wimbledon, so we could watch in color. I am poor at remembering stats-like I can't remember who played which match in which year but I have strong prejudices for certain players. I love their style and strength. I've watched my dad cheer for Navratilova and Chris Evert and Connors and McEnroe. I have since developed likes and dislikes of my own. I adore Graf and have had a poster of hers in my room for most of my teenage years. Agassi and Sampras have been my favorites in recent times but I've rooted for Becker and Edberg and Sabatini and the best of the best for many years. And I always vowed to myself that I'd watch some(if not all) of them play live sometime in my life.

Let me stop rambling and launch into the reason for this post. I was at the US Open men's final yesterday. We spent the whole day lounging at the USTA center since the match wasnt scheduled to begin till later in the evening. I had great run-ins with Navratilova and Connors- tooks pics and got autographs. I was awe-struck coming face to face with these tennis greats. People I had watched many times on TV and never imagined I'd get to see them in person. Can you believe that Martina won her doubles title just the day before and at this age? What amazing dedication and brilliance. I was sure proud to witness in live her induction into the Court of Champions. Truly a glorious moment.

Sighted some celebrities, played the stop-pong game, grabbed souveniers and generally had a great day at one of the great tennis stadiums. The weather was perfect The finals, well what can I say? There's got to be someone out there to beat Federer-Roddick sure had a good fight going for a bit, but didnt go all the way. Maybe next time. For now Federer rules.

An awesome day and makes me want to visit the Wimbledon and the French and the Aussie Opens. Maybe some day...................