Foreign Brand Names!

For years, I have smiled at small Photocopier outlets in some regions like Maharashtra displaying, "Zerox" instead of Xerox.

But, when a recent visitor from "The Auto Expo 2008", Delhi told me that her friends loved the "VOKS-WAGON" car, I thought a quick look at the pronunciation of some Foreign Brand Names could be useful to many!

He were go!

Adidas :AH-dee-dass
Bayer :BYE-er
Blancpain :Blahn-pa(n)
Braun :Brown
Cartier :Kar-t-yay
Christian Dior : Cree-st-yaa(n) DEE-or
Hermes : Air-mez
Louis Vuitton :Loo-wee Vee-tuhh(n)
Piaget :PEE-uh-jay
Porsche :PORSH-uh
Renault :Ray-NOH
Tissot :Tee-SOh
Versace :Ver-sah-cheh
Volkswagen :Folks-VAH-gn
Yves Saint Laurent : Eaves-sahn Lore-rahn

The above pronunciations are indicative only. For accuracy or wherever you are not sure, please download specific sound files which are available at many sites.

And then, there are many more brands out there!

Please feel free to add to the list!

The Calendar Girls!

Aalochana! In Sanskrit, it means Critical Review. As a NGO, it is the Centre for Documentation and Research on Women, set up in 1989 by "five feminists".

Their Vision:

"Our vision is to work towards the creation of a gender just and democratic society based on equality and freedom for all. To achieve this we have committed ourselves to the creation of awareness amongst women about their rights and what they can do to change their lives and the lives of their communities. It
is towards achieving these goals that Aalochana was set up."

Their annual calendar features 12 women achievers from rural areas in Haryana, Uttaranchal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Freelance writer-cum-photographer Vidya Kulkarni travelled for a month across these states to capture "the strength and the confidence that the women exuded" on camera.

The list includes Bele, a zilla parishad member and chairperson of Women and Child Development Committee from Latur, and Latifa Sheikh, sarpanch of Raimoha gram panchayat in Beed.

Is Photography Dead?

Is photography now threatened by "Pixelization" of Media and use of Animation in movies?

Read it all in Newsweek, where Peter Plagens, says:

The last art form to be tethered to realism, its factual validity has lately been manipulated and pixelated to the point of extinction.

Photography is the easiest art, which perhaps makes it the hardest.~Lisette Model

Drop The Mask

Unless you drop your personality you will not be able to find your individuality.

Individuality is given by existence; personality is imposed by the society.

Personality is social convenience. Society cannot tolerate individuality, because individuality will not follow like a sheep.

Individuality has the quality of the lion; the lion moves alone. The sheep are always in the crowd, hoping that being in the crowd will feel cozy.

Being in the crowd one feels more protected, secure. If somebody attacks, there is every possibility in a crowd to save yourself. But alone? - only the lions move alone.

And every one of you is born a lion, but the society goes on conditioning you, programming your mind as a sheep.

It gives you a personality, a cozy personality, nice, very convenient, very obedient.

Society wants slaves, not people who are absolutely dedicated to freedom. Society wants slaves because all the vested interests want obedience.

~Osho

Sources of Inspiration for Photography

Checkout 60 Sources of Inspiration for Photography !

Sample:

6. Shop at a Farmer’s Market
You never know what you might find at a flea market. At a farmer’s market, you know you can find colors, spheres, people and displays. And dinner too.

8. Hit the Water
You don’t have to be a scuba diver to shoot underwater images. You just need waterproof housing and access to the sea, a swimming pool or even a pond. And once you’re wet, don’t forget to look up as well as down. Some of the most inspiring images can be taken at the point where the light hits the surface of the water.

10. Join a Demonstration
Demonstrations are full of flags, banners, placards and crowds. You can lose people in the mass or pick out expressions in the crowd. The only cause you have to support is photography.

Let me add mine!

#61: Hit the the Nature - The leaves, the butterflies, the insects!
#62: Spend time with children - The jumping, the laughter, the mud!

What are yours?

Effective way to copy past (some random thoughts)

How can we copy an idea effectively? Hold on! What is an idea? Is it the flow of thoughts or is it a meaningful thought?

Since I am associated with IT, let me take an example of a software project. What is a project?

Can there exist two similar projects? Technically NOT.

Can there exist two similar ideas? I believe the answer is still NO.

(Assuming you are in mid 75 percentile of professionals)Your boss has given you a new task and the next thing you notice is that your mind started looking for ideas, may be a at google.

What is an idea? Is it an inspirational thought or a catalyst? If yes, what is inspiring me to write this blog? At least I am investing my time here if not money.

Copying an idea seems easy however the difficult part is to identify what you want to copy. For example, msn.com is a good concept which can be copied has a good visual design which can be copied, uses good technology which can be copied, has great data that can be copied etc. etc.

It is not important to identify the source. It is important to understand the destination

cheers
-MV

Intel trying to DE-RAIL the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative?

Lora Bentley reports:

Nicholas Negroponte is accusing Intel of trying to drive the One Laptop Per Child initiative out of business. The OLPC founder says the only reason the chipmaker is selling its Classmate laptop is because the OLPC machine uses AMD processors. And “Intel and AMD fight viciously,” Negropronte said.

This really heats-up the discussion with socialists and free-market proponents not knowing whom to support and whom to criticize!

Have fun with the discussion:
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/bpi/?p=487
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=28722

But, will the child win?