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Lynnisms
stray thoughts about stray subjects
Dog squad [ edit ]
February 08 2007 (09:41:00) ( 3 views )

I am a regular on the 8am IC flight to Delhi, which is always parked at the international airport. Earlier the aircraft used to be tugged to the domestic area, but of late ground control have realised that it's much quicker to ferry the passengers across in a bus instead. It's just a 10 minute ride along the perimeter of the airstrip, past the huge cargo holding area. Just adjacent to this area is where the dog squad lives.

Four bouncy healthy young yellow labradors in a large enclosure that houses their kennels, a run and a play area with tyres on ropes, a little bridge etc. At the time we pass by, they are usually out to play and it's a great treat to watch these otherwise hard working sniffer dogs just having a good romp with a ball. Normally very silent while working and in 'uniform', at 7.45 am they look and act like normal dogs, yapping excitedly at each other.

I have taken to specially watching out for them on each ride to the plane. Just before another long day that promises to be filled with endless drives along dusty roads, a sight like this makes for a positive start.
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Misandrist [ edit ]
February 02 2007 (08:18:00) ( 3 views )

After clocking in 12000 kilometres by air and another 500 odd by road since last Sunday evening, I finally and most gratefully collapsed in a backbroken heap onto my bed last night at 9.30 pm, and switched on the telly. Mr Bombastic was on, and with him, a supercilious stiff stuck up school marm called Rachana who insisted on calling him Mr Khan in an imperious tone that even the Queen herself wouldn't use.

She played well and knew her onions, as they say. Hats off and on and off and on again for the patience with which SRK handled her, even when she rebuffed his 'hug' - so he gave it to her mother instead. The only redeeming feature about her was that she wanted to use her winnings for the animals and street dogs she feeds. Nearly all Rs 12.5 lakhs worth - so I almost want to give her a call.

The good thing is that my respect for SRK, which had fallen quite a bit, shot up after watching last night's episode. In the face of a difficult 'fan', and before an audience of millions, he maintained his equanimity and good humour right through, even feigning fear when required. I guess that's what being a superstar is all about. As for Madam Misandrist, you may be smart but you sure give animal lovers a bad name. Maybe you should have visualised SRK in your mind's eye as a gauti kutra - that might have helped you be more well behaved towards him.

After KBC, I watched this season's final episode of the Office, a serial that's right up there with MASH and Seinfeld among my most faves. As always, it was so damn good that I forgot about my backache and dozed off into deep slumber with the image of Jim and Pam who finally, albeit tentatively, kissed.

Sweet.
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More on Bombastic [ edit ]
January 25 2007 (12:04:00) ( 2 views )

1. He's getting better.

2. Telebus toplines show that he's liked overall . Delhi and Kolkatta adore him and the show, Mumbai is ok-ok. Half of the respondents said they will continue to watch the show - that should have been higher.

3. Clients who use him as a brand ambassador think he rocks. Those that don't, think he sucks.

4. Will my friends in Star please please tell him to stop telling everyone to take a break just before the ads, and then come back because he is waiting for them? Why can't he just say 'don't go away, we'll be right back' like everyone else? After all, it's the advertiser's money that's paying for his salary. The last thing he needs to do is tell people all sugary sweet that they can now go take a leak, because it's just some boring ads coming next and not Mr Oh So Interesting Khan.

Comments

haha I was quite taken aback by his 'showmanship'(?), when I saw the first episode. But i think he's starting to get more comfortable in his skin...which is great for all of our sensibilities, really.
Posted by rashmiblogger on 01/31/2007 04:45:32 AM
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Mr Bombastic, very very plastic [ edit ]
January 23 2007 (06:49:00) ( 2 views )

Perhaps I am too old to enjoy the shenanigans of a gentleman called Shahrook Khan. After 30 minutes of him hollering, high fiving, wisecracking, fidgeting, shamming, hamming, and hogging the limelight as he always does, I could take it no more. (At one point, he also made the cardinal error of looking off camera instead of into it). Thankfully, I was spared the ultimate insult of actually turning off the TV. The lights went out in my area at 9.30 pm and came back on only at 9.55 pm.

I stayed resolutely on with the inaugural KBC 3 show even though my spirits sank during the absolutely horrendously cheap opening song and dance number, only because I wanted to see the new UTI 50 second commercial, our team at Insight having convinced UTI to sponsor the program. Don't get me wrong. Dipsticks around the office seem to indicate that the young people liked him and the new format, Compaqda, Union Bank cheque and all. UTI's money is well spent, I am sure.

Perhaps my tastes are just too eclectic. Give me the dignified Big B any day, a man so tall that he had the humility and compassion to make the nervous common man seated before him the real hero of the show...always. Cinema and public performances are larger than life, TV is more initmate. When you invite someone into your bedroom, you want him to be about you, not about him. So yes, may be this show is for the living room, and the masses. May the ratings pour in.

Julius has commissioned a telebus, so we will have a more unbiased evaluation of the show from consumers by tonight. For SRK's sake, and Sai's (!), I hope the results are favourable.

Comments

Lynn, I love that insight abt the bedroom-drawing room bit...never thought of it that way...wow
Posted by svety on 01/24/2007 03:35:51 AM
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An Inconvenient Truth [ edit ]
January 18 2007 (07:04:00) ( 2 views )

I hadn't met a postman, and don't recall personally receiving normal non-courier non-electronic simple snail mail, for a very long time. (Excluding Christmas cards). Till last Saturday. When a khakhi clad postman handed me a small brown corrugated paper wrapped packet, that had taken over six weeks to reach me from its departure point in the US. A totally unexpected new year present, and the kind that comes once in a lifetime.

The DVD of Al Gore's An Incovenient Truth. It starts with him introducing himself as "I used to be the next President of the US", and goes on to make you aware of some terribly inconvenient truths. How small acts inflict mighty destruction on our planet. What we can and must do to preserve it for the next generation before the world we live in is swamped under the inexorably-inching-closer polar icecaps.

I have decided to pirate this DVD into 100 copies and send out as my own new year present to all my industry friends who are influential and can make a difference. And since I don't want Al Gore to be angry about the piracy, I will send him the payment of the 100 DVD's anyway. Waiting to get 100 copies from amazon.com will take too long. Anything to help save the planet, I am sure he will understand.

Good things come in little packages. Which, when opened, can turn into very big things indeed. Thank you, my friend, for giving me the gift of enlightenment, yet another time.

Comments

Found you!
Posted by Paritosh Joshi on 01/19/2007 12:12:02 PM
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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY [ edit ]
January 03 2007 (06:20:00) ( 2 views )

(written by invitation for exchange4media.com for their Rewind 2006, published on January 15, 2007)

Let’s start with the ugly. 2006 was a year of murder, by several names. The fratricide of a powerful politician. The terror carnage of 210 train bomb blast victims. The manslaughter of a college principal by his own students. The legalized murder of a former dictator in Iraq, and of 5 lakh defenseless bird flu-less chickens in Maharashtra. The DUI hit and run deaths of 11 poor pavement dwellers, and one voiceless elephant. And the brutal serial homicides of over 35 children and young women in NOIDA.

Makes one wonder. Am I proud to be a human being?

The answer is still yes. Because with the ugly also came the good. In many ways, the media performed yeoman service to the community in 2006. Not yet the prying paparazzi of the West, the news media here exposed what needed to be exposed, encouraged constructive public debate, raised funds and resources to help the needy, fought for justice and helped get it.

Noor asked me to write about “what kept the media ticking in 2006”. I suppose it can be called conscience. Without exception, the news channels, newspapers and newsmagazines are my heroes of the year. Amid complaints of ‘irresponsible journalism’, newstertainment and too much advertising, the news media still delivered ratings to their advertisers, engaging content to their viewers and readers, and fearlessly held a mirror up to society.

At the other end, all good, was the resurgence of radio. Against the harsh realities projected by the former genre, the radio stations appeased the senses and made everyone feel happy. Music on radio has emerged as the most engaging relaxing form of content across all media and target groups, according to Engross, our study conducted on ad avoidance and media engagement in November 2006. The radio jockeys all over the country have seduced their listeners, touching hearts and minds through the ears, with their irrepressible humour, sound advice, and caring and encouraging interactions with everyday listeners. No wonder then that this very old medium is now the fastest growing. In several centres, it enjoys the most reach too. My vote goes the radio jockey in 2007, may his or her tribe increase, and may the new station explosion give birth to many many more of them all over the country.

Ofcourse there were several other tickers along the continuum. A good deal of sport, with some headbanging football, some ego clashing tennis, and the return of a dada to cricket. Despite plenty of reality tv, the soaps continued to sud and sell, while Zee TV got smart with the little champs, and Star One danced and laughed its way to some good ratings.

Bollywood didn’t disappoint either with multimillion dollar earners at one end, and truly good cinema like Omkara at the other. Rang de Basanti and Munnabhai have earned their place in history because they came at exactly the right moment in time.

Then there was a proliferation of new magazines of all kinds. I hope they all survive, but at times it does seem doubtful. A bullish stock and property market gave new life to investment media, and competing fashion extravaganzas (oh why do we have two of everything?) made sure there was enough content to fill up the glamour press – whether they got readers or not.

Finally, the new kid on the block sure got off the block in 2006, making young consumers and youth media tick away. Gaming, blogging, social networking – though still confined to the top end – are spreading like wildfire. Engross gave some of the highest engagement scores among the youth to these media forms, with reach in some cases almost as high as the traditional mass media.

So to end on a good note, 2006 was a great year for the media – there was a lot to say and a lot to show, and most of it was well said and well shown. Advertising money too increased by 17% over the previous year, a trend that is likely to continue into 2007. Cheers to the bad and the ugly, for without them, we would never find the immense good all around.





Comments

For the optimists of the world, lets cheer! Its turning out to be a mediated world but indeed with all its virtues perhaps it does seem to be doing good for the humanity.
Posted by Vipul on 01/04/2007 12:53:20 PM

Lynn, :) Went through your bio and not surprisingly (why do I always "suspect" everything beforehand...no surprises..:( )found that you are in advertising..:) A good summary to the year gone by. Media has definitely performed its piece with elan and am more than ecstatic with the resurgence of the phoenix called radio. But I have a couple of complaints..sore points really. One is with electronic media with the amount of repetition they bore us to death with. And God save us on the day when they don't have any significant news, it is blatantly created out of thin air..when so many developmental issues remain unreported. Secondly, I wish the govt. controlled radio change its face as well. Most of the revolution has happened in the Frequency Modulated (FM) arena. I wish that Medium wave (MW) and Short wave (SW) get lucky as well!!
Posted by Kite on 01/11/2007 05:18:27 AM
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Eleanor Rigby [ edit ]
December 29 2006 (05:56:00) ( 2 views )

"Can't be with the one I love,
Don't want to be with the one who loves me"

Keep writing, Father McKenzie. Someone will read that sermon someday even if no one gets to hear it from your mouth today.

Comments

True !! Thats what life is all about; chasing something life-long and enlightenment after getting there. Should I stop my quest and fulfill one's who is behind, to break the viscious cycle ???
Posted by vicky on 01/04/2007 07:29:19 AM
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Happy Birthday, Jesus [ edit ]
December 25 2006 (13:19:00) ( 2 views )

Noel is pleased, I am sure of that. He has grown a foot taller than last year, with an extra row and a half of branches. All dressed up in red and white baubles and silver tinsel, he looks dandy and dashing. Pixie watched me attentively as I decorated him a couple of days ago, and laid out gifts for the kids around his pot. The kids were ecstatic as they searched for their presents, Amanda touching his spiky leaves gently, muttering "this is a real tree!" She has only just realised how real he is after seeing him grow to twice his height from last year.

Tomorrow, I will take off his Christmas clothes and my mum will spray him down, and he will breathe a sigh of relief. But I am pretty positive about his joy at being a part of the christmas celebrations, and somewhere inside his woody heart, he must have preened a little.

Then off to Goa to met Noella, who is now at least six feet tall - I hope the guys dressed her up a little too in my absence.

It's always a strange birthday for Jesus. Everyone gets the presents, except him. He must be the only person who gives us presents instead of getting any. Happy Birthday, Jesus - and thank you for all the awesome things you keep giving me. It's nice to be able to see you in trees and kittens and kids. I guess the only gift I could give you is to be able to really start seeing you in all the difficult adult people I know as well - let me try.
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"DOWN WITH THE ADS!" [ edit ]
December 20 2006 (11:03:00) ( 3 views )

(written for indiantelevision.com's year-ender column by invitation, published on December 30, 2006)

Business wise, 2006 has been a good year for advertising with both value (up 19%) and volume increases. The total number of spots aired on television has shot up by 35% from 10.3 million in 2005 to 13.9 million this year. For the month of September alone there was a 51% increase. Plus there was more branded content on all media including cinema than ever before.

However, was this also good for the lay consumer, the housewife in Amritsar, the executive in Bandra, and the schoolboy in Chhatisgarh?

Our lives have been swept up by the media. A good one third of the average Indian’s waking hours is spent with the mass media in some form or other – all through the day. Our lifestyles, values and opinions are being shaped by what we see and hear on the mass media as never before. 2006 gave birth or renewed life to many news and children’s tv channels, global magazine titles, regional language editions of newspapers, FM radio stations. So far all of these, without exception, are advertiser supported.

It has therefore become virtually impossible for the average consumer to find a free moment in space or time where he or she is not accosted by advertising – on the streets, in malls, in airplanes, on the cellphone, in coffee shops, hotels and health clubs, while surfing the internet - besides the expected fare on tv, radio, newspapers and magazines.

It should come as no surprise to us therefore that he or she has begun to get rather annoyed. Our latest estimate of active ad avoidance in this country has crossed 70% for every medium, among heavy upmarket media consumers. Passive ad avoidance is not far behind. Avoidance of advertising among the rural rich is even higher. I therefore doff my hat at all of us who persist with our careers in advertising. This must be the only profession in the world in which the eventual consumer does his or her best to ignore and avoid and turn away from what we have to say.

Intellect, our research and technology unit, recently released ‘Engross’, a survey conducted last month among over 2000 upmarket Indians to measure ad avoidance, ad perception and media engagement. Since we expected to find high ad avoidance levels, even on the more personalized media like radio and internet, we further probed on the reasons, our suspicion being that perhaps consumers didn’t like advertising at all. Indeed, the feedback was exactly the opposite. An overwhelmingly high cross section of consumers enjoy and appreciate advertising, and find it informative and helpful.

So why do they avoid something they like? Simply because there is just too much of it going around to stomach. The same ad over and over again. Too many ad breaks. Ads inside content. Ads on covers. For the smart consumer, it’s really getting to be a bad mad ad world.

There is a lesson in this for both media owners and advertisers. The day is not far off when these consumers will pay extra for ad free content. The era of subscription rather than advertising supported media content is approaching us fairly quickly. As advertisers we have unfortunately been caught up in the whirlwind of downward spiralling media rates, and have helped compound the problem of over advertising. Every time we have insisted on a lower unit rate we have been given bonus time and space by the media owners, thus contributing to the overload. We have together written up a volume over value charter, and the consumer is now clearly saying to us, “I don’t like this. I don’t like being taken for granted.”

I hope we will all listen to this voice in 2007. Engross gave us another important learning – for years, content has been informative and advertising has been entertaining. Now however, the consumer finds content, even on the so called information media, highly engaging and entertaining, and considers good advertising to be informative. We would therefore be quite foolish to demean the value of advertising in his or her mind through poorly judged placements.

To 2007, may our business continue to grow, and may our customers enjoy it too.






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Amanda's special day [ edit ]
December 19 2006 (09:42:00) ( 2 views )

Amanda is my nine year old god child, a thin pretty girl, gentle and generous, giving and forgiving. I sometimes worry that she needs to toughen up a bit as she grows older, or she might find the real world hard to stomach.

She was given the sacrament of First Holy Communion on the 17th at St Peter's, Bandra. What a strange mass! Instead of the usual sermon, the Jesuits enacted out a play that started with references to phoning a friend in Kaun Banega Crorepati, followed by Satan prancing around at the altar trying to tempt Jesus, while children sat on the floor and discussed occasions in their lives when they were called upon to make the right but difficult choices. The entire message ofcourse being that whenever we are faced with a difficult choice, which is all the time, we need to choose the right one over the convenient one, and call upon the right friend to help us make these choices - friend in question of course being Jesus.

The communicants participated it in too, one little girl offering her mum as the person she would call up for the right answer in 'phone a friend' - which had the whole congregation in splits. A unique and less solemn introduction to this holy sacrament, I suppose, but a great deal more engaging.

I recalled my own first holy communion day in a roofless under construction church in Rajkot on January 14, 1967, the mercury well below zero. My grandfather, Socrates Oliver, had passed away the previous week, and my most vivid memory is that of my mother in a black sari sobbing all thru the mass. I was too little to register much else, and regretfully do not even recall the exact moment when the host touched my lips. However, I do remember being confirmed by the Bishop, with a little slap, during the same mass, even before I received the host. Which is not how it's usually done, but exceptions were made in my case on account of the bereavement.

Amanda on the other hand was fully aware of the significance of the moment, and admitted to me that she got 'a little scared of Satan'. I planned to gift her Fynn's Mr God this is Anna, instead of the usual prayer book or rosary, but it was out of stock. So instead I gave her an interesting book on animals and my own book, A Dog's Life, now that she is old enough to understand it, with some inane comment about also finding Our Lord in all the living beings that he has created.

A message that may not make sense to her parents and grandparents, who do not fully agree with my firm belief that all living creatures have souls, not just man. It is impossible for me to live and work among animals and not believe that I am not in the presence of another soul. Ask St Francis of Assisi. And oh yes, also ask Jesus. I am pretty sure that Our Lord himself would be perfectly happy if young Amanda saw Him in any little pet that she is yet to own.

Comments

My dog Sandy Sunshine (R.I.P, 12th June 2004), was half human by disposition! I'd take a swing at anyone who said that dogs are without soul! I'm not too sure about fish and ostriches though... :) p.s: 'tis usually just Sandy but 'Sandy sunshine' was his show name! He only took part in one when he was a puppy. There were just two of them and he came second! aww
Posted by rashmiblogger on 12/21/2006 04:11:23 AM

:) Rashmi.. I will be right behind you..when you take that swing..though at a safe distance..;) I am sure all sea life has soul too.. Thankfully, being born into a strictly vegetarian family..I never had a chance to placate my tongue with dead flesh of some poor soul..:(
Posted by Kite on 01/11/2007 05:25:27 AM
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