Category Archives: Uncategorized

Love is…

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Love is… is the name of a comic strip created by New Zealand cartoonist Kim Casali in the late 1960s. Yep that’s the first thing which comes into my mind when asked what is love (according to me, but it doesn’t matter as people only stick to ‘their version’ of things always, or does it?) Facts or rather the absolute truth cannot have ‘perspectives’ or ‘opinions’ contrary to what people usually think, and well, who makes sense anyways. Besides I’m tired of all those soapy and cliché talks and will stick to the subject here.

This is a very famous worldwide strip, consisting of a panel with a young boy and girl with different ‘meanings of love’ in a very sweet manner. Ought to check it out if you didn’t knew about it already. Of all those rather intellectual talks, I find this one of the best representations of what love really is. Check out this touching post by a friend and fellow blogger who unlike me isn’t lazy enough to write more on this rather same topic.

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Quite Literally

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Language evolves. The meaning of a word can shift over time as we use it differently — think of “cool,” “heavy,” or even “literally.”

Today, give a word an evolutionary push: give a common word a new meaning, explain it to us, and use it in the title of your post.

Ah this is ‘my type’ of prompt. There are so many such words which have gained additional meanings over time, and sadly all what most people know are the irrelevant or absolute hogwash ones. And many easily associate ones which don’t make sense at all. Others are as said above are just thrown about loosely.

I’d like to share one such story of butchery of a word, here as you might have guess. This brilliant comic courtesy of the ever amazing The Oatmeal.

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The Bigger Picture

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When you gaze out your window — real or figurative — do you see the forest first, or the trees?

If you mean literally, neither. This is what is visible from my living room’s window:

Just some plants

Ya poor me.

Jokes apart, gazing out, I’d see the forest. While the details are important, it’s only when you take a step back you get to see the bigger picture.

Learning from Blogging

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Give your newer sisters and brothers-in-WordPress one piece of advice based on your experiences blogging.

People ask me this all the time, and I’m always at confusion on what to reply to this question. Well I’ve been blogging for over 7 years now, and yet I feel like I know nothing of the subject, or more appropriately, a way of life.

Relax
Yeah that’s rule #1 if you ask me. As I said, blogging isn’t just a hobby, but a way of life. Okay that might be too much to comprehend at the first go, so let me put it simply – don’t stress out too much. You’re doing it because you like it, and it makes you feel good. And a bit of money if you’re at it.

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

― Ernest Hemingway

Or in our case, computer keyboards, tablets and even mobiles. Not that hard eh?

Versatile Interests
You might just stick to one genre, or none at all, but that doesn’t matter. Suppose you are writing about cooking and suddenly once your post becomes more towards book keeping (okay that wasn’t the best of examples so kindly bear with me), don’t panic or think of re-editing or removing it. I have observed despite the fundamental rule of inevitable editing a dozen to hundred times, sometimes the beauty of the uncooked version is like no other. Welcome the change. Your inside knows you well, better than yourself. You might surprise yourself.

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

― Maya Angelou

Read

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

― Stephen King

Wasn’t that sufficient? Read more books, of various genres, and even those which you never tried or you might not like. You might end up liking. At the very least you’ll know what or what not to do.

Language
Now don’t worry about not being an expert in English or whichever language you communicate in best. I have read some of the best posts which completely butchered English, but the reason they were so enjoyable were because of the content, the simplicity and honesty in writing and this makes it just more hilarious. While even I sometimes many-a-times feel like hanging myself at what people say, don’t pressure yourself. But remember, that is no excuse for not using proper language, and in time you will learn as you read (see above) and write more. Remember:

“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”

― John Keating

This is applicable to women too, just saying. I get turned on by intelligence. 😛 Language can be seductive unlike any other. but alas, in my case, such females either don’t exist around this part or already taken. 😥

Enjoy
Now contrary to popular belief, my first point and this are not the same. Relax is the first rule and after everything in becoming a master, the conclusion is – Enjoy! What’s the use if you don’t enjoy what you do? I have no quote to re-quote here as well, just sit up and start writing!

A Manner of Speaking

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Well I don’t know what much to say for this, since I don’t particular have a pattern which can be noticed or mimicked. Though I tend to speak fast and before I used to stammer a lot, for which the insignificant species still at times ridicule me for it but now things are much better. Well I don’t know whether I’ll have to boast about my vast vocabulary or hipster nature, but I use words like ‘godspeed’ and phrases like ‘back in the day’ a lot which is quite prominent. The former mainly came from The Witcher franchise of games, which is my most favourite and one of the best there is, see my review of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings here. While the latter is, well more of a self made thing (origin unknown) which is a favourite of the likes of some I know.

The Glass

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Is the glass half-full, or half-empty?

ImageIt was about time since this common expression was asked here. Actually when I went to attend the premier of Hannibal, there was this interesting psychological test with a doc (I still don’t know when to differentiate between a psychologist and psychiatrist in real life, despite reading up about them both. That’s another one of many misconceptions among general people that they are the same), in my session I was asked this question. Interestingly even was surprised with my answer (and even blown away by a response by a friend of mine to the same question). Well in another story, both of us were certified sociopaths, but lets not go there. 😛

In short for simplicity’s sake, I come under the realist category, well sort of.

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It’s a Text, Text, Text, Text World

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How do you communicate differently online than in person, if at all? How do you communicate emotion and intent in a purely written medium?

I was actually talking about this topic recently with one of my friends, ironically online. A lot has changed over the years. We became more advanced, but less human, and I still debate whether the world has gotten more smarter or dumber. Well I’m not saying that for myself and some, but you get the idea of the masses, the whole reason they are called that…

Anyways coming to my own personal life, I also feels I have fallen prey to the inevitable ‘rise of the machines.’ But I wasn’t the very social person to begin with, though I might come in the ‘internet guy’ category, people very poorly mistaken everything for everything else and combine it in one big mess. And also at the same time I’m not very emotional either, a ‘flaw’ considered by most people who know me. But then again, as I said, that does not mean I’m a cruel dictating bastard.

As to conveying emotions through communication, I feel I do a fairly okay job both IRL AFK as well as online. After all, I’m a writer and blogger too. Sort of?