NUMBER GAME Roses

Single bloom red Rose – Love at first sight or I still love you
Single Rose, any color – Gratitude or simplicity
2 Roses – Mutual feelings
3 Roses – I love you
7 Roses – I’m infatuated with you
9 Roses – We’ll be together forever
10 Roses – You are perfect
11 Roses – You are my treasured one
12 Roses – Be mine
13 Roses – Friends forever
15 Roses – I’m truly sorry
20 Roses – I’m truly sincere towards you
21 Roses – I’m dedicated to you
24 Roses – Forever yours
25 Roses – Congratulations
50 Roses – Unconditional love
99 Roses – I will love you all the days of my life
108 Roses – Will you marry me?
999 Roses (WHAT!) – I love you till the end of time

Interesting

the outcome suggests that perhaps there are four main manifestations of ‘interesting’ (broadly speaking):

Common things in life in a common way
This is the very familiar, not particularly groundbreaking, but if it’s done better than everyone else (e.g. like the Japanese who value perfection and continuous improvement) it's interesting. Could also include icons, classics and vintage for example.

Uncommon things in life in a common way
The idea is new and unfamiliar, but the design/execution is familiar, so that people can still relate to it and find it interesting.

Common things in life in an uncommon way
The vision of George Washington Carver above. The idea is familiar, but the design and execution is renewed/refreshed. Quite possibly the holy grail of interesting to the mass market.

Uncommon things in life in an uncommon way
Abstraction and ambiguity. Because the idea and the execution are both unfamiliar, we have no direct frame of reference to guide an interpretation. More likely to interest imaginative artsy folk.

Also just to note that I’m not suggesting that something has a definitive classification here, or that it won't vary person by person. Further, idea and design/execution cannot be neatly separated – they are ultimately bound to each other. But sometimes it can still help to artificially split them - and then piece things back together again when no one's looking ;)

The Power of Prayer

Prayer is a good way of humbling yourself and letting go of ego hassles. Once you pray, you acknowledge the supremacy of a higher power, much greater than you, who can be given the streins of your life. Prayer is a way to get rid of the ego that an individual possesses in the daily transactions of his life. Prayer followed by action is a strong antidote to all the ills affecting mankind. If you pray, but do not act, then you will not be exercising your ‘purushartha’ or your right to change your destiny. With the help of prayer you can also alter the plans of karma that you might have accrued in this or your previous lives.

The main obstacle for happiness, peace or prosperity is the ego, brought into focus by the mind. You have to strike a fine balance between how much you submit and how much responsibility you take for your own actions. Prayer is also a means of healing by which you can change the course of destiny. Prayer should not make you meek or submissive, as is generally the case, but certain mantras and japas, bring out the radiant force within each person and help him to face the challenges life throws at him. To smile in the face of adversity, to be happy in the general scheme of things, to be happy at simple pleasures of life is to pray. Prayer need not be just the manual lip-synching of empty words. The words must carry meaning and must change your thoughts and actions.

To be of strong character amidst chaos, to see the light in any grim situation, to be a beacon of light and positivism is to pray. To understand your function and role you have to play out, to understand the relationship between the individual ego, the world and the Almighty is to pray. To question, seek out, test theories, adapt to change, participate in this pluralistic game of the God, is to pray. Have you started praying yet?


neha singh

original content:
The Power of Prayer

Hand Gestures (Review)

source: http://jeffwerner.ca/2006/03/hand_gestures_r.html

A required three-page report on the process and post-class critique of Hand Gestures, a short film I made for Interdisciplinary Media.

Requirements

Create a short video or film up to five minutes in length. Camera and editing technology at your discretion, though demos for, and availability to, Sony consumer-level MiniDV cameras and Apple iMovie editing stations will be assured. A brief discussion and reading concerning beauty and ugliness will be the sole (and only slightly emphasized) conceptual background for the assignment. Do not make a music video or produce a feature about your pet.

Process (Idea)

I’ve been interested in, and have studied, documentary film and have always had a desire to produce one. More recently I’ve been watching the short films of Charles and Ray Eames (circa 1960s), whose style is often concisely didactic with well-designed and composed subject matter, from spinning tops to bread to animations of the solar system to manufacturing processes.

Like the Eames film for Tops I wanted to study a seemingly mundane and ubiquitous object or form and present it in a beautiful manner, or rather, compose and edit footage in such a way as to highlight the subject’s inherent and easily-overlooked aesthetic qualities. After contemplating everything from stairwells to bicycle cranks to toilets a friend suggested I try different hand gestures.

In addition to creating a video formally pleasing to the eye my second primary goal was to provide the viewer with new information—i.e. to educate—and have he or she come away from the video with a slightly new perspective on the subject and/or a starting point to discussion.

For example, perhaps the viewer knows all the hand gestures featured but only via a North American interpretation (“I didn’t know the ‘OK’ sign could also mean ‘anus’”). Or, a viewer knows something more about a gesture that wasn’t given, or knows a significant gesture that should have been featured but was not (biting your thumb at someone is offensive).

I did not want to create the authoritative account of international body language (esp. within five minutes), thus the process behind my selection of gestures and the way in which I presented them would be significant.

Finally, researched some definitions for hand gestures among sources such as Wikipedia, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and sign language books.

Process (Construction)

My gestural starting point was one I learned during travels in the Middle East, where pulling my sweaty shirt away from my chest with two hands (also a Looking Rather Dapper movement in the West) could be considered rude to an Arab, meaning instead “I have had enough of you.”

While wanting to explore different cultural gestures I also wanted to account for the ambiguity of those well-known to a young, Western audience while still steering clear of the more boring and mundane gestures (such as Handshake or Hi). I compiled roughly 40 different gesture clips split between two performers, myself and—for more contrast, aesthetic appeal and less self-centeredness, a female actor—and imported the footage into iMovie.

I debated between intertitles vs. subtitles and chose the latter in order to maintain more continuity and less jarring edits between shots, for a more direct correlation between description and action, and to shorten the film under four minutes. The timing of the subtitles was also important to create these effects as well as to generate more humour in terms of expectations and evidence (thus the subtitles appear first, slight pause, then action).

During the filming process I instinctively presented the hand gestures in a methodical and, as my third self-imposed assignment criteria, a slightly humorous manner. After reviewing the footage I realized my specific “gesture style” was in direct reference to Martha Rosler’s “system of harnessed subjectivity” in her short film Semiotics of the Kitchen (1975), whereby the artist alphabetically traverses a seemingly benign tour of various kitchen utensils punctuated by sudden violent actions followed by calm and composed returns to monotone composure. I had recently seen this video during an Art History seminar last term.

Evaluation

Classmates and the instructor offered the following during the critique of Hand Gestures:

• Monotone (in terms of gesture) hands were funny
• Sterile aesthetic
• Looks like one continuous shot
• Editing was distracting
• Is it instructional? A social critique?
• What is the context of hand signs?
• Language-based piece, semiotics popular in the 1980s (see Martha Rosler)

Regarding the edits and continuous shot comment: no, each gesture was done separately for ease of editing and acting, though I would have to agree that a continuous take would have been less jarring and more effective, but would have perhaps been less instructive in terms of filming and editing skills.

I wanted to avoid too much politicization of the content and rather leave the interpretations to the viewer, esp. for gestures that differ across cultures like the OK and Stop signs. At the same time I wanted to acknowledge my viewpoint as a western male and thus included primarily gestures familiar to my contemporary audience. The instructor’s comment regarding the semiotics, or the language, of the piece is something I think was beginning to emerge in the work yet was an aspect I, if I were to remake the video, would more consciously incorporate or at least think about.

Overall I think the video was a success if mildly boring. It did elicit a few laughs and myself and some friends are consistently referencing it whenever we make a gesture (I’ll wave Bye and they’ll extend the gesture with a Gun sign, and I’ll counter with a “rub poo in your face” sign).

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7 Innocent Gestures That Can Get You Killed Overseas

By Tim Cameron

If you've ever had your penis cut off and/or been executed while on holiday, you'll probably know that it's easy to offend people from other cultures. Unless you learn the ways of the place you're visiting, even the most well-meaning tourist can regularly find his oesophagus stuffed with burning goat. But surely just plain common sense and good manners will save you, right?

Wrong.

Extend Your Hand, Palm Outward in Greece

What you think you are saying:
"Phew! That was a heck of a moussaka. I'd eat another portion, but I'm completely stuffed."

What you are actually saying:
"Phew! That was a heck of a moussaka. I'd eat another portion, but I'm too busy rubbing handfuls of shit in your face."

What the hell?
In Greece, the "hand out" gesture is known as the moutza, and it dates back to the time of the Byzantine Empire, when criminals would be paraded through the streets on horseback, their faces blackened to indicate their shame. If they were lucky, the blackening agent would merely be charcoal. If they were unlucky, it would be a substance much, much worse ...

SHIT, is what we're saying here. Their faces would be covered in SHIT.

If you really want to piss a Greek person off, you can go for the double moutza, which features both hands splayed above your head. However, this will also make you look like a backup dancer from Cats, so it's your call.

Give the Thumbs-Up In The Middle East

What you think you are saying:
"Ayyyyy! I'm the fuckin' Fonz!"

What you are actually saying:
"Ayyyyy! I'm going to jam my thumb in your anus!"

What the hell?
It's not just the Middle East. This seemingly universal gesture is also hideously offensive in West Africa and South America, whose citizens would doubtless get really confused if they ever watched Ebert and Roeper. "This movie is great, Bill! So great that I'd like to anally rape it with my thumb!"

The thumbs-up sign has been confusing people for thousands of years. Contrary to Hollywood legend, Roman gladiators were not spared by a thumbs-up, but by a hidden thumb. If the origins of both gestures are linked, we can only assume this meant, "Do not kill the prisoner, he seems the perfect solution to the emperor's arthritic finger."

Finish Your Meal In Thailand / The Philippines / China

What you think you are saying:
"This is a delicious meal. I mean it. I'm not the kind of guy who would lie about something like this. In fact, your meal was so fucking fabulous that I am going to finish every last morsel and then lick the plate so bright that it reveals the face of God."

What you are actually saying:
"You call yourself a host? I came here for a meal, not some Lilliputian hors d'oeuvre that wouldn't satisfy a mouse after a sizable brunch. Look at me. No, in the eyes. You disgust me."

What the hell?
It is always important that the host provides you with tasty food. However, in countries where steak in bleu cheese sauce costs approximately the same as a lung transplant, it is more important that the host provides you with enough food.

In China, if you finish every last bite of your meal, you are implying that you weren't given enough. Therefore, even if the meal is the most sexually delicious thing that has ever slid down your throat, you should still leave one last morsel on the plate to stare up at you mournfully while you eye it with ill-concealed resentment.

That said, the Orient isn't as uptight as this example suggests. In China it's considered perfectly good manners to talk with your mouth full and to burp after your meal. Farting seems to vary according to the situation and your current company, so ask ahead of time. Lighting the fart is frowned upon in almost all provinces.

Say "Hi" to a Member of the Opposite Sex in Saudi Arabia

What you think you are saying:
"Hi Steve! How's things? Fancy getting a decaf latte?"

What you are actually saying:
"Hi, Steve! How's things? Fancy booking a hotel room so that I can do immoral sex acts on you in the name of Satan?"

What the hell?
According to sharia religious laws, it is deeply immoral for a woman to greet a man in public, or associate with any man other than her husband without an escort. In February 2008, one American woman openly conversed with a man in Starbucks, and was promptly arrested, strip-searched and forced to sign false confessions.

Though, perhaps this is nitpicking considering women are not allowed to drive, vote, own shops, testify in court or ride bicycles there. Bizarrely, it's perfectly fine for women to fly high-powered jet planes, although they're clearly fucked if they feel like taking a bicycle to the airport.

The point being, if you're a woman and are planning a move to Saudi Arabia, offending them with the whole public greeting thing is probably the least of your problems.

Give an Even Number of Flowers in Russia

What you think you are saying:
"Darling, this week has been the most wonderful of my life. Since I first felt the sweet joy of your caress, I have truly come to know what it is to love and to be loved. Please accept these half-dozen roses as a symbol of my eternal tender devotion." (Lean forward for kiss.)

What you are actually saying:
DEATH! DEATH! DEEEEEEAAAAAAAATH!!!!!!

(Lean forward for kiss.)

What the hell?
In Russia, even numbers of flowers are only ever given at funerals, and such a gift is seen as inviting death, which you obviously don't want to do unless you're banging a goth chick.

Choosing the right gift seems to be a minefield of morbidity everywhere you go. Never give a clock to a Chinese person, as the word "clock" is almost identical to a word for "death." Don't wrap your present in white paper there either, as this suggests funerals. And for God's sake, don't give anyone in Bangladesh white flowers or they will presumably be obliged to buy a spade and bury themselves while muttering at you reproachfully.

You know what, screw giving a gift. You may come across as a selfish douchebag, but at least no one will hail you as the fourth horseman of the apocalypse.

Give a Gift With Your Left Hand, Pretty Much Anywhere

What you think you are saying:
"Thank you very much for letting me marry your daughter. She is very beautiful. In gratitude, please accept this dainty, yet tuneful instrument. Did I mention that I'm left-handed?"

What you are actually saying:
"Thank you very much for letting me marry your daughter. She is the most worthless heap of dog vomit I have ever encountered, and I dearly wish that she would die. In gratitude, please accept a generous portion of my own effluence. Did I mention that I hate you?"

What the hell?
Toilet paper may have been around in China since 589 AD, but for much of the world, it remains a prohibitively expensive luxury. In places such as India, Sri Lanka, Africa and the whole of the Middle East, doing anything with your left hand is seen as unclean, as it is (as least symbolically) your ass-wiping hand.

Eating out? Don't even think about using your left hand. It's better to come across as some kind of retarded monkey child than to imply that you rate your host's food on the same level as a lightly-steamed assburger.

Of course, poop is not the only reason left-handedness is bad. According to the Qur'an, Satan himself was a southpaw, which is why he was able to successfully fool the right-handed batter that is mankind.

Give the "OK" Sign in Brazil

What you think you are saying:
"Hi Brazil, I'm US President Richard Nixon, and I'm feeling terrific!"

What you are actually saying:
"Hi Brazil, I'm US President Richard Nixon, and I'm feeling that you should all go fuck yourselves!"

(Note: The above examples are only valid if you are US President Richard Nixon)

What the hell?
In Brazil, the "OK" gesture is roughly equivalent to the finger in the US, which means you should not use it when your hotel manager asks you how your room is, unless you want to tell him that it's purple and velvety and recently molested his wife.

The most famous incident of a misapplied "OK" sign was, in fact, Nixon's visit to Brazil in the '50s. While alighting from the aircraft, he lifted both hands to the cameras and double-fingered the entire nation. Nixon went on to greet the Brazilian Prime minister with a savage kick to the testicles, and concluded his visit by urinating from the window of a moving limousine.

If you're visiting Brazil, you should also never touch any food with your fingers. Even stuff like pizzas and burgers should be eaten with a knife and fork. Not that you'll ever need to apply this knowledge, because after reading this article, you'd be insane if you ever travel abroad again.

Tim Cameron is a recovering gaming addict. His blog, The Silly Addiction, catalogs his ridiculous struggle to go straight.

Now find out what they'll probably be saying in response to those gestures in our look at The 9 Most Devastating Insults From Around the World. And don't forget to check out this video explaining why Jesus kind of sucked as a carpenter. Or head to the brand new Official Cracked.com Store and become a startlingly attractive walking advertisement for our site.

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CarbonRally - 50 Best Websites 2008 - TIME

CarbonRally

Vie to go green by making it a competition. CarbonRally posts challenges, like cutting your shower time by two minutes or line-drying your laundry for a month, to motivate you to reduce your carbon footprint. Never cleaned your refrigerator coils? Neither have we. CarbonRally shows you how to do it and explains why it helps. You can compete on your own or, for added incentive, as part of a team. For extra enviro-credit, check out Zwaggle, where you can donate used clothes, appliances, books and other merchandise to members, then "buy" stuff from other Zwagglers with the points you earn.

CarbonRally - 50 Best Websites 2008 - TIME

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Nano Test

Take the Test right here ..........

computer games good for kids : study

LONDON: Playing computer games may not always slacken kids’ performance at school, for a new study has found that children who play computer games before going off to school get better grades than those who don’t play such games.

In the study conducted at the St Columba's Primary in Dundee, a group of Primary 5 and 6 pupils played for 20 minutes on Nintendo's handheld DS console at the start of each day which showed ‘dramatic’ advancements in the classroom after gaming for 20 minutes before the lessons began.

The game, called ‘More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima’ features number challenges, reading tests, problem-solving exercises and memory puzzles.

The tasks are designed to ‘exercise the brain’ by increasing blood for to the pre-frontal cortex.

Ten weeks later the group was given a Maths test with the results showing a ten per cent average increase compared to those taken before the experiment.

Additionally, the average time for completion of the test dropped from 17 minutes, 1 second to 13 minutes, 19 seconds.

Some of the children even halved the time it took them while maintaining or improving upon their score.

Another group was given the existing educational movement based programme, Brain Gym, during the same experimental period.

The analyses of this particular group found that these children also achieved better results but not to the extent of the Nintendo group.

Along with the children's test scores improving, notable progress was also made in their behaviour and concentration.

Derek Robertson, Learning and Teaching Scotland's development officer, has backed the role of computer games in improving kids' classroom performance.

"There was dramatic enhancement in their mental Maths ability in such a short period of time. It also seemed to have a settling effect on the children,” the Daily Mail quoted him, as saying.

Song on globalwarming

Song on global warming:

Global Warming ...it's a deadly warning to the earth

this is to inform ....not inform but to alert that....the environment is ringing the bells..and..if we do not recognize the harm that global warming gonna effect us...and its causes ..........we are gonna kill ourselves ...our neighbours ..our children....eventually our planet.............indirectly....!!!! think of it.

bill glass's stats proved true .....i'll support him

Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. Models referenced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that global temperatures are likely to increase by 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) between 1990 and 2100.[1] The uncertainty in this range results from two factors: differing future greenhouse gas emission scenarios, and uncertainties regarding climate sensitivity.....
for further info on globalwarming goto globalwarming


donot forget to post ur comments

HOLI - THE FESTIVAL OF COLORS

 

The Indian sky is changing - the March winds are coming in and winter begins to bow out. Holi is the festival that carries the country into the bright days of summer. A feeling of plenty is in the air - the crops have been cut, threshed and stored or sold. The farmer is at rest and money is at hand. ‘Holi’ falls on the full moon, in the month of Phalgun, which spans the end of Februry and the beginning of March on the Gregorian calendar. A time when Spring is in the air.



The legend of King Hiranyakashipu is associated with the festival of Holi. This legend signifies the victory of good over evil, of devotion surpassing ambition. King Hiranyakashipu was an ambitious ruler, one who wanted absolute power so that he would be worshipped as God. When this wish was made known, the King's own son, Prahlad, refused to obey his father. Prahlad was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, and it was only to his Lord that he gave allegiance.



The proud King was enraged by Prahlad's disobedience and decided to punish him severely. He asked his sister Holika for help. It was believed that Holika was immune to fire and would never be burnt, so the King asked Holika to sit in the centre of a bonfire with Prahlad on her lap, so that the fire could devour him. The bonfire was lit, and young Prahlad sat in Holika's lap, in its centre, praying to Lord Vishnu. His devotion saved him, leaving him untouched by the flames, but Holika was burnt to ashes. To mark this legend, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Holi, especially in Bihar and the rest of North India.

Vrindavan and Lord Krishna's legend of courting Radha and playing pranks on the Gopis are also the essence of Holi. In Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna in his youth has been idealised as a lover, and it is the spirit of his lighthearted, mischievous passion of courtship that enters the Spring festival of Holi. Krishna and Radha are depicted celebrating Holi in the hamlets of Gokul, Barsana and Vrindavan, bringing them alive with mischief and youthful pranks.



Holi was Krishna and Radha's celebration of love - a teasing, affectionate panorama of feeling and colour. These scenes have been captured and immoratalised in the songs of Holi: the festival that is also the harbinger of the light, warm and beautiful days of Spring.

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

yo man! this is a wonderful video,
i bet u cant resist saying wooooooooooooooow and damn coooooooooooooool
(if u r crazy abt technology)
i never thought that web 2.0 is gonna be thaaaaat crazy
and YOU TUBE is the biggest click of web 2.0 apps
and i found that it's being embeded into mobiles soon with Verizon's support

According to Nielsen NetRatings figures:
YouTube attracted some 27.6 million unique visitors in September 2006,
an indication of just how popular the website has become.

Isnt this amazing

  

Godavari Telugu Movie Review - 'Godavari'

I watched the movie Godavari last week and here is my review .....i love this movie and it touched my heart...truely
as "Anand" had left the feeling last year .... i watched it 7 times that's my first movie in life that i've been to watch a film 7 times in theater but this time coz of lot of work i couldnt make it with Godavari. Now i got an online link to watch ...i am unable to control myself watching it when ever i get free time and even i'm listening to the movie while i'm working ......that's really stupending....
Here i collected the movie review that was described very nicely......
Godavari Telugu Movie Review - 'Godavari': "There are movies that draw crowd on their sheer merit. These movies need very little hype, no star value addition, very little skin show and no high decibel brawl. You don't find huge cut outs of the hero of the film staring at the traffic or innumerable banners showcasing the support of fans associations. Movies like these make their entry almost unnoticed but make their presence felt gradually because of their originality and brilliance.

Anand was such a movie last year and Godavari is the movie this year. If watching Anand was pleasurable like drinking a nice hot cup of coffee, watching Godavari is like sipping a soothing cool drink on a breezy beach on a summer evening.

Smoky hillocks, swirling waters and a boat make sure that every scene in Godavari is picture perfect. The scenery doesn't undermine the captivating cinematography rather adds to it. Shot almost entirely on a boat on the meandering Godavari River the movie delves deeper into the human psyche: what kind of a man a self-respecting, independent and nubile woman seeks, why love is such a mushy phenomenon for some and how a man recovers from rejection. It's a little bit like Mills and Boons kind of romance on River Godavari. Add to that an insightful talking dog with a sense of humor and the entertainment is complete.

From the first frame to the last, there isn't a single thing that looks out of place in the movie. None of the characters ever utter anything that's unnecessary. None of the actors give any expression that's out of sync with the scene. That's Sekhar Kammula's dexterity in filmmaking. These days, while rain sequences are shot with mechanical showers and under bright sunshine, Sekhar Kamulla shoots in actual rain and catches a rainbow in the process. This kind of diligence is indica"