Tag Archives: life

Call Me, Maybe

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Describe your relationship with your phone. Is it your lifeline, a buzzing nuisance, or something in between?

That is an interesting question. My relationship with my phone has changed quite a lot over time, I got my first phone when I was in 9th grade in school, when I was 14. It was a Nokia 1600 which my pop gave me after he got a relatively better one. Well I remember that not being a good tale, it was some Sony Ericsson phone which got stolen less than a week of getting. The following year I got a good phone of that time, SE W580i. I had a big fascination with Sony Ericsson that time, when they made really great phones, which unfortunately doesn’t exist anymore. Then again the next year, I got the SE Cybershot C905 and it was the best phone I had till date, I had it for over 3 years, also longest yet. I was totally in love with that phone of mine, being an enthusiastic photographer I went about clicking everywhere with it, which rivaled many good cameras itself (it was the world’s first 8 megapixel camera phone and was the best at it’s time). Now it’s dead body remains in my drawer. Many of my good memories of the past were with it, if there were any.

urlWell I used it as a camera most and phone seldom. although there were brief periods when I used to talk to people a lot. I was never a people’s person, and always been a social outcast. Well after it’s demise, since almost the past 3 years I have used multiple ‘spare’ phones, none great and only for basic communication and spent months together without a phone. Yeah that is possible in today’s 21st century, contrary to popular beliefs. Currently I have a not so great, HTC Explorer, not so courtesy of my pop who being a typical Indian parent who thinks he knows everything and mainly because my mother was freaking out as I wander about anywhere and she goes bonkers. Mothers you see.

At least for the first time I’m to a limited extent getting to try out internet and services like WhatsApp for the first time which has been the trend these days. I still wish for a decent phone though, but actually more of a good camera as I don’t believe a cell phone to be an extension of myself.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

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You need to make a major change in your life. Do you make it all at once, cold turkey style, or incrementally?

This is a not-so thought provoking daily prompt. It purely depends on the change which I would want to make. Here I need to lose weight. Now that can’t happen overnight, so it is ridiculous that I drop eating all together and start hitting hours in the gym. It is step by step process. I haven’t done anything anything yet about it so far though, if that makes you feel better anyhow. 😛

On the other hand, if I were to drop a certain habit, I need to start by dropping it immediately. There is no ‘slow process’ as such, the only thing slow here is the pain and compulsion to get back to doing it.

Speaking about change, most people, no matter how much they say they welcome change, it is a fact that moving out of your conventional comfort zone is difficult and most people don’t want to get out of it. But change is one of the most important aspects of life, ironic as it sounds, change is the only changeless factor of life.

“To change with change is the changeless state.”

– Bruce Lee

Legendary Maybe

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Maybe it’s my fault.
Maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn’t.
Maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free throw line, and not in the gym.
Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game winner.
That my game was built on flash, and not fire.
Maybe it’s my fault that that you didn’t see that failure gave me strength;
That my pain was my motivation.
Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God given gift, and not something I worked for… every single day of my life.
Maybe I destroyed the game.
Or maybe… your just making excuses. – Michael Jordan

This is one of my old most favorite ads/quotes which has always inspired me.

Burnt

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Remember yesterday, when your home was on fire and you got to save five items? That means you left a lot of stuff behind. What are the things you wish you could have taken, but had to leave behind?

So today’s daily prompt is a sequel of yesterday’s. Here is my list of the items which I would have grabbed in such a situation. But answering the above question, as it is not possible to grab everything, it will be:

A lot of books. And other materialistic stuff relating to movies, comics, music, Linkin Park, and many others.

This just made my how dependent we all are on many things.

Ode to a Playground

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A place from your past or childhood, one that you’re fond of, is destroyed. Write it a memorial.

Ah yesterday’s Plinky prompt is today’s daily prompt, more or less. Actually the same. I already said what I had to say in this post, have not much attachment to any place in particular. There are many places I was fond of, but none have held a lasted impression to me. I’m one of those who doesn’t miss his childhood.

As for a playground, for me the whole world (or rather wherever I have been) has been one. Thinking of which, I remember technically the first one I have been, the small one outside (my) kindergarten classrooms of my school. It was a small one with sand and the usual stuff like swings, slides and the circle thing which rotated on which kids stand and make it rotate. Remember it being my most favourite, yet (even now) didn’t bother to know what it’s called.

If such a place is no more (and me having some affection towards it), I would just say:

Change is the changeless law of life.

How Music Matters (to me)

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Universally accepted addiction, healing medicine, entertainment or simply for passing time – Music. What would have life been without it?

What role does music play in my life? I should say quite a big one. Although I don’t actively blast listen to much music now due to so many things happening, or simply I prefer the quiet more (dam am I growing too old already?) music had a big impact on my life, more than I care to admit.

Anyone who knows me in person/virtually or simply judging by looking at the image above, Linkin Park is my most all time favourite band of all time. Not only they are great musicians but also great human beings. Their music was one of the first I heard when I started listening to music when I was a kid in school, I didn’t have a computer back then and it was limited to tv, radio, CDs, and computers of cousins and my uncle. Not to forget my school. I was very much into the developing internet and doing various crap, learning stuff like HTML, Flash, Photoshop and other minor stuff along the way while at it. Everything changed in ’05 when I got my very own computer at home. The TV slowly became a long lost friend, as I was no longer ‘needed it; for movies, music, and hell since then till today, all ‘TV shows’ are seen by me on my laptop.

Coming to music here, from Linkin Park and very few other classic artists like The Beatles, Eagles, Nirvana (I remember back then the first time I thought they were an Indian band because of the name), Led Zeppelin and some others. I was never into Hindi music or any of the Indian pop simply because most of them were either crap while others I simply couldn’t understand (Hindi) properly.

Music, especially Linkin Park, changed my life completely. I was always the  lone-wolf on my own, so that was my salvation (in a manner of speaking). Listening to good music and lyrics calmed the mind and made me think (that happens only when you listen to the good ones and not today’s crap mostly in the name of music). Coming to LP, because of them my interest broadened widely, and contrary to my appearance which looks like I’m the kind into rock and metal, I enjoy listening to many artists from almost all genres of music ranging from rock, metal to even classic, orchestra and especially soundtracks from video games, anime, movies and shows. Anything which sounds good to my ears and head.

Heck, Linkin Park has become a part of my identity today, some even introduce me to others as ‘the Linkin Park guy’ here. I have done a lot in my life directly or indirectly inspired by them. Apart from my 2 blogs, I also co-run Linkin Park India Unlimited, India’s #1 Linkin Park fansite, and have met many amazing people here and around the world all thanks to them. I wasn’t always the awesome person I’m now 😛 and I felt shit about myself hell lot of times before, and these powerful words made me stronger and better person. Or I’d like to think that way.

It saddens me a bit as I’m a member of the official fan club Linkin Park Underground and waiting for over 9 years to see them live now, and probably I’m one of the oldest fans/LPUers who haven’t seen them yet. I wish I was (filthy) rich at such times so that I could fly overseas. Well atleast I got all the online privileges and even shout outs by Mike Shinoda himself.

When we started the band, it was because we were waiting for a sound that never happened. We got tired of waiting, and we decided to just do it ourselves.

– Mike Shinoda

This quote by Mike has inspired me a lot personally to do things in my life, and many of my fellow mates at LPIU where we are trying to implement it, in this case most importantly to make our favourite band perform in our country. So far we have managed to achieve some good milestones, small but still important and hopefully will get to see them live here in India soon in the future.

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

– Bob Marley

Live and die on this day

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Looking at today’s daily prompt, I find it quite astounding that just in one of my previous posts I had wrote pertaining to survival, which inspired me to give this title and this being a continuation of sorts. So after reading R v Dudley and Stephens I like most have mixed feelings about this.

So firstly, long story short, if you didn’t bother reading the wiki article which is still small, four crewmen of an English yacht, the Mignonette, who were cast away in a storm some 1,600 miles from the Cape of Good Hope, were stranded in a life boat. They were Tom Dudley, the captain; Edwin Stephens; Edmund Brooks; and Richard Parker, the cabin boy. Parker was 17 years old and an inexperienced seaman.  After a weeks of survival with no food or water, facing a storm, fighting a shark and resorting to drink their own urine for surviving. Parker fell ill and subsequently in coma due to a combination of famine and drinking sea water. After several discussions of sacrificing one so that the other three may live, Dudley with the aid of Stephens killed Parker (killing him before his natural death would make it possible for them to drink his blood) and the three lived on eating his flesh. They were rescued four days later.

After their rescue, this sparked quite a controversy among law makers, seamen, and the public, which developed a crucial ruling on necessity on modern law. The main question however here: Is what Dudley did defensible?

This is not a simple yes or no answerable question, it has certain multiple sides to it. The question is not about whether what he did was right or wrong, but more of necessity and subsequently survival. Firstly Dudley was the captain, and wasn’t it that the captain goes down with the ship? He was the one who ultimately decided that one down is better than four. Was it justified? Not necessarily. Was it practical? Yes. In that situation that was the only practical thing which could have been done, the other option was to wait it out with the possibility of dying. And the instinct of survival is in all living creatures. Who wants to die? (unless you life is a complete mess and you think of kill yourself)

What I find very frustrating was the fact that the reason that Dudley and Stephens were family men so ‘their lives were more important’. What makes their lives more important than the other(s)? And wasn’t the Custom of the Sea that the captain goes down with the ship?

Coming to me, What would I have done? Well I’m not in that situation so I can’t answer honestly. But if it would arise, then I would take the practical route as always and would have gone that course just like them. And if I were in the place of Parker, I would prefer a swift death than suffering (saying purely in such a context only). I’m not going to see how I’m feasted upon after I’m dead right? But in all reality, I would honestly prefer to live it out, and die fighting for survival, if there was any hope of no one getting killed. But again, we can’t say for certain without being the situation itself, and while each life is valuable, who decides that? Like I said in my previous post, live and die on this day.

And lastly, I again found it bit funny that the recent very hit and a moving movie on survival, Life of Pi, the tiger’s name is also Richard Parker. And it has the exact same context as here, you would have realized that if you have seen it, if not I recommend that you do. Looking at my posts, I should perhaps recommend a movie/book in each of my posts now right?