Eye Reliever

I had to blog about this because i simply cannot think of a place where i can write this down and will definately refer to after the A levels.

Authors:
Arundhati Roy,
Kiran Desai,
Anita Desai,
Manju Kapur,
Jodi Picoult
Andrew Morton - Diana: Her True Story
Louisa M Alcott - Series after Little Woman

Plays by Tennesse Williams(original name Thomas Lanier Williams)

I shall keep updating this post till after the A levels after which i will need to sort out my previous planner which was never used except to write the titles of books that i have read and want to read again. It also included movies that i want to watch and movies that i have watched and want to watch again. If i still remember correctly, it also includes the names of the series that i want to watch.

I think i should just add those names here should i discover that i had done otherwise.

Series and Mini Series:
The Brady Bunch,
Bewitched,
The Nanny,
Judging Amy,
Family Law,
Sue Thomas F. B Eye,
King Henry the Eigth(roman letters)
Cleopatra( The old series)

Oh and i have to make a list of all the Hallmark Movies that i have watched and want to watch.

Also a List of Movies:
Marie Antoinette (both 1938 and 2006)
Little Woman

Songs that i have to look for:
Usha Uthup's Kohin Yahaan from the movie Disco Dancer.

Natacha Atlas's album: Something Dangerous and other world musicians

Highlife Music - genre from Ghana and recent album: The Guitar and the Gun

Also a album: Garota Moderna jointly produced by Italian DJ/producer Nicola Conte and Brazilian singer Rosalia de Souza

Well this sure does seem like a whole lot of things that i have pending. This will be 2nd on my list next year with the 1st: cleaning and scrubbing out my room and rearranging everything, i seriously have to get my room in a much more arranged manner than it is right now. I know its clean and neat and meticulous and all right now but i just want to be the fussy person that i am, i will still rearrange my room.

Its Autumnal Equinox today!

For all who have some knowledge about geography and/or astrology would know that an Equinox-Autumnal Equinox occurs every year either on the 22nd or 23rd of September. This means that the globe will receive an equal number of hours of darkness and the sunlight. The Autumnal equinox also means that the Souther hemisphere now gets the honour to tip towards the sun which causes countries like Australia and New Zealand and The Southern tip of Chile to experience a change in Seasons from Winter to Spring. This is also why those Down wonder dream of a white christmas while those in countries of the Northern Hemisphere: Scendinavian, EU, The U.S and Canada have a white christmas. The Aussies and the Kiwis celebrate Christmas with Barbeques on the Beach while the Canadians and the Europeans enjoy Christmas with their Turkey and around the fire places or their heated homes.

Summer Solstice(21st June) is enjoyed in the Northern most countries: Finland, Swedan and Norway where they experience 24 hours of day light, while those Down Under freeze. Winter Solstice(21st Dec) means that that Antartica enjoys 24 hours of daylight while the Arctic up there freezes.

It would be amazing to experience 24 hours of sunlight. I experienced close to 15 hours of sunlight in New Zealand, but 24 hours would just be different. Also i would be one very tired person. Also, i would end up looking like some gigantic penguin thanks to all the layers of coats etc that i will be wearing. The sunlight will not prevent me from turning blue.

I am too much of a Spring and Summer person to enjoy the winter. Winter in India is too much for me at times although i do adjust eventually. Thats why i enjoy the Sun, the Light and the Heat so much although its too overbearing at times. Well, there is nothing i can do about the seasons except for moving to an area that experiences 4 different and distinct seasons. That would be fun, i guess.

Bindi Sue's tribute is beautiful

I am a person who doesn't admire others easily. It takes quiet a bit of time and convincing for others to be admired by me. Its not because i feel that i am superior or anything of the sort. I have always believed that for me to admire someone means that i am willing to learn from them and follow what they have done.

I did not join the hordes of people around the world making tribute to Steve Irwin in the days that followed his death because i was not sure about what i really wanted to say about this man that i have admired.

Yes, i have a conservationist streak in me along with the streaks for Human rights: more specifically in relation to women and children.

I have never been able to witness anything in torture before. This may partially explain why i am a vegetarian right now. Also, i have always found it ridiculous from young to take more from others if i do not return it. This applies to inanimate things and nature as well.

While i am not a enthusiast like Steve about critters and the amphibian family, his enthusiam and love for the animals have rubbed of me such that now i am actually beginning to believe that those animals may actually be more afraid of me than i am of them.

I realised all of this when i heard Bindi Sue's little speech to her father. While it was moving and simply beautiful despite it being short and completely free of any flowery language, the truth in it really left me in lurch because i had momentarily forgotten what i was working so hard for.

I have never felt any satisfaction if i do not put in any hard work or can't help others. That is why i admire Oprah Winfrey and Steve Irwin. Yes, they may have received large amounts of money and still do, but they receive it because people have faith in the work that they are doing for the good of the entire soceity. They receive these insanely large contracts because their past record gives evidence to the work they are capable of doing. And more cheques will be sent because despite the fame and fortune, these people do not show any lax attitude towards their work.

There are going to be critics for everyone and everything. To please everyone would be equivalant to being an omnipotent force. These people do enjoy their days off and their other little fancies not because they want to show off but rather because they are human after all.

Also, what makes me really admire these people is the fact that they are willing to let the world see them as they are. They are humans after all and have they drawbacks as well. But what really sets them apart is the fact that they do accept their drawbacks and are not ashamed of them.

I can't seem to upload the wallpaper designed by Animal planet. I first saw it in the Newspapers taking up an entire page. The simplicity of it really does reflect much more then what is portrayed in that wallpaper.

I have already felt the loss of a great man in today's world because he was a mate to all, both the humans and the animals. So here's to you Steve, I do hope to be able to do something that would be a fraction of what you have done. Cheers, mate.

1 hurdle down

I was disapppointed that i did not feel ecstatic at 11.01 am today. The end of the Prelims joy was just that of feel that sun beat down on the numb skin of mine from the freezing hall after 3 hours. Also, the joy that i felt was not due to the fact that the A levels are over but rather the reassurance that my allergy was not as bad as i thought it would be after the sneezing spree i had this morning after my shower.

After all the prelims were just a hurdle that we (especially me, after those dismal grades i got for the Mid-year) had to pass before we could make it too the end. I quote Vanessa who says it is simply a "temporary respite" right now before we head into the month of November.

Actually for all of this week i am looking forward to 11.01 am on the 23rd of Nov more than i looked forward to 11.01 am today.

I simply do not want to comment about how the exam papers were and how i fared because i choose not to remember. The only thing i feel is that i really really do hope that i can achieve decent grades for all my subjects, this is a huge fervent hope that i am harbouring right now. Well - who would be insane enough not hope for the same thing as well. (If there is someone who has wished contrary before, please do not take offense.)

All i want is a refreshing sleep for tonight and a relexing day tomorrow. Also, i do not want the rest of my life to rush past me like how this week did. I quote Wan Wen this time round as she prefers her life to be one that " struts in style". That is a really amazing way to put it. But i really think it does not apply to my life considering how i rarely ever strut, i take huge strides especially when i am alone. I really do want to stop and appreciate whats around me and internalise it so that i can have these memories with me forever.

Familial Ties - their importance

Watching Smallville just now just made me realise how weak the familial ties at home are.

I have no idea what all of us are doing puttig on this act. It has come to such a point that everyone is so distant that this living seems like a really bad joke that is not funny to those in the situation at all. Its a joke to those who have great familial ties in their family and even though they do not say it out loud, their trust and faith in each other will never let them apart.

I have no idea what my parents are living for these days. It seems that my mum is just living to see me achieve good A level grades, get a great career etc and not end up with a husband that she got. As for my dad, i really have no idea. What is it tht he really wants? I have asked so many times but he never gives a answer and rebutts with what is it that i want.

There have been countless times that when i am studying, those horrid scenes just pop into my head and make me feel down before i rationalise with myself. There is simply no use on dwelling on the past, all i can do is to accept what has happened as i can't change anything that has happened and move on with the future and what it has in store for me.

Despite all my rationalisation, i just can't control all the questions that just pop up and all the replaying of those scenes in my head when minutes seemed like hours and how every simgle second outside the house for me was held precious as it prevented me from giving up and doing the wrong things.

Well, i must continue without a doubt. Today was a complete waste in the sense that i didnt get no econs done or anything academice done.

Bust as long as i stand my ground, i should be able to face all those storms that are heading my way be it convectional or monsoonal or just plain freaks of nature.

One more day to Prelims!

Gosh, i feel like slapping myself silly. I just have no idea how my face is going to look when i look at my Econs paper tomorrow. I hope they are understandable.

I was searching about Johnny Depp just now. Please do not ask why. I think the books and the notes are just getting to me although its not like i have studied so well that i know every single word inside-out.

While i know i cannot afford to get the same grades i got for the Mid years, I wonder if my meagre amount og infomation will be able to get the grades that i sorely need.

Ugh....i need a break but i know i can't afford one. I really need a huge wake up call n i hope its not prelim grades.

Why Friendship is one mind in two bodies.

I had recieved an email from a reader and it sure did catch my attention with the following view: "I initially thought you had it the wrong way round i.e. shouldn't it be two bodies of one mind because that gives you two minds rather than one shared between two bodies - but now I'm not sure." So it does seem like it ended up confusing him. Well i did reply and i had to share my reasoning to see if anyone agreed with my perspective of looking at it.

Here's my reply below:
I have always been open to discussion being a debator. While your view can be possible, i feel that one mind in two bodies makes sense as well.

Take the example of two best friends, like my best friend and me. We have known each other for 12 years now since 1st grade. We have now come to a stage where we know about each other such that our similarities,experiences and thoughts are shared by the two of us. So do you see the picture of having one mind (represented by the similarities, experiences and thoughts that we share) between two bodies?

Although our personalities are just as fun-loving and care free, we can be just as different as well. At times our interests differ as well, such that i have been told by a couple of friends that if we had only met recently, i would not have reached a close friendship that we have right now.

Also it just does not apply to my best friend. It also applies to all my other friends as well. I have friends that have different tastes in music, books, fashion and food but that does not mean that we do not share same views on matter, feel the same way during certain situations.

I think it could be due to me being a literature student that has trained me such to look beyond that which is presented at face value. That is why i do not take 'mind' in that phrase to be literal but see it in the perspective of thoughts, feelings and perspectives.

If I were to take it the way you think it should be as "two bodies of one mind because that gives you two minds rather than one shared between two bodies ", i would just make myself seem like someone with split personality. While a person can have two contrasting views that makes him sit on the fence for a certain issue, it does not exactly translate into having two different minds as the person does not always sit on the fence for all issues. Going back to what i said earlier about having the same views shared by two people shows consistency in both whereas there is inconsistency that exists between the two minds.

Also, if two minds were to come together due to the similiraties, they would ultimately fuse as one:not seen in a scientific or medical perspective.

Thus, at the end of this, i still feel that Friendship is one mind in two bodies indeed.

You could be right in bringing out the differences between the two individuals in concern, however, me being who i am i prefer to look for similarities rather than differences. Which brings me to assert that if this way of viewing things/people is adopted by the world, the conflicts that grab the world's attention could be solved.

This can be true for conflicts that are due to religion. From what i do know about the origins of three major religions in the world: Islam, Christianity and Judaism, they stem from the old testament and do have similarities that are valid and are found in the Koran, Bible and The Torah.

With National Geographic's ongoing Genographic Project, it has been proven that humanbeings do seem to originate from a single lineage rather than different beginnings with no connections at all.

So i guess you can see that i am a person that would rather see a glass as half full rather than half empty.

Although it may seem that i may have strayed of from what was the main point of discussion, I do hope that it does have some sort of linkage for you.

Do ponder on this as well which is just as interesting as the phrase that caught your attention: Some people play games with their mind but sometimes the mind plays games on the person itself.

What do you think about it.

I had this quote in one of my earlier entries when i first started my blog.

Hope it doesn't boggle your mind up too much. I also hope that your discovery of my blog was pleasant. I do thank you for interesting way of looking at how the phrase could be as i had never considered it before.

AnneJ
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Once i clicked on the SEND button, i just wondered if it was too much rubbish and if it really made any sense.

Does it make sense to the rest of you?

Preserved Cherries on Cake...Ugh!

I have a thing against those fake pink cherries on cakes that taste like some horrible cough syrup (could have been some other syrup) when i was young. These cherries are a huge insult to real, sweet, red cherried that are nice and juicy unlike those bitter-sweet (its a sick kind of bitter sweet that would insult the bitter sweet taste of Dark Chocolates), preserved cherries. They just gross me out. I think its because i do not like most fruit-flavoured stuff that claims to taste just like the original fruit. I beg to differ, actually i do more then beg, I simply DO NOT AGREE!!!

I am not mad. I am just disgusted at those that came up with the idea of perverting the flavours of fruits to such a low degree.

I just got reminded of those cough-syrup tasting cherries while i was having a slice of my Black Forest Cake(its eggless) that i have at home and saw a huge pink imprint of where the cherries used to be.

The minute i opened the cake box, i got a piece of newspaper and started plucking those wanna-be cherries and dumped them into the scrap newspaper, crushed the newspaper up, squeezed it and twisted it to see if any juices would come out and threw it into the bin. No juices came out which proves my point about how disgustingly fake those cherries were. No juice, so what kind of cherries are they.

Why are these cherries in a disgusting shade of pink such that the girls that adore pink(the colour, not the singer) would be mortified by that shade. Why turn sweet, juicy cherries into bitter-gourd tasting juiceless cherries? Why? Can someone please tell me? Also, is there a group that aims to eradicate such cherries that i can join and go march with my comrades to pass a law that bans these disgusting tasting cherries. Or can there be an option of having chocolate dipped Strawberries(real, red, juicy ones) instead of these cherry wanna-be? (imagining myself in a march for banning these fake cherries is really weird. What would the chant be? We want justice- no more fake cherries. We want justice for our real Cherries!.....haha that is just too hilarious and unbelievable)

Oh well, till then i shall keep plucking off these things of every Black Forest Cake i eat. Maybe next time i should order instead of my dad when it is me who is eating the cake afterall. I think the chef would be happy to recieve my order or a Black Forest cake with no cherries so he does not have to punish himself by making sure that his hand doesnt shake as he gently places the cherries in the right place so that he doesn't mess up the look of the cake.

Incidently, this happens to be my 100th post. So i did fulfil my aim of achieving a 100 posts before my blogs 1st birthday.Yippie for me and my blog.

So please pardon me while i finish my slice and scrape every inch of my dish clean.