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Lynnisms
stray thoughts about stray subjects
An evening to remember [ edit ]
May 31 2006 (05:59:00) ( 2 views )

Four good things happened.

One, I learned that the medicines are working and there is no need for another surgery. Guess I knew that anyway, when I was able to make an intense half hour presentation at a pitch a couple of weeks ago, with no difficulty at all, and that too after just three hours of sleep. Someone somewhere is praying for me, and I think I know who it is - thank you.

Two, I learned that the WSPA membership for the Goa SPCA has been accepted officially, and the papers are in the post. Now I can seriously look forward to attending the WSPA symposium in London next week.

Three, we saw a good film. Fanaa is a simple filmi story of slightly farfetched love. Aamir has always been my favourite Indian actor by far, and not just because we once played tennis together a lot. He is incapable of the hamming that Shahrook often slips into - in this film, his transition from an arrogant womaniser to a self loathing terrorist was effortlessly done, the histrionics restrained and yet so moving. Kajol was good too. Gujarat is being stupid. There was a quality to Aamir's acting in this film, especially in the second half, that could only have come from personal experience - that's life - from everything not so good, some good must come. Delhi also came through very well, much more romantic than Kashmir (Poland?), but then Delhi has always had that quality. The only downside - playing the soundtrack of Lata's Lag Ja Gale at two moments in the film - it brought back sad memories of an sms I received referring to this track six years ago, but then again, from everything not so good, some good will come.

When we stepped out of Globus, it was raining, the season's first downpour - a medium drizzle with thunderclaps and lightening, that intensified as the night went on. It's the most beautiful day of the year today - weatherwise. And in some other ways too. Aamir looked his most beautiful when he emoted the deepest sadness. Yes, yesterday was an evening to remember, and today is very beautiful.
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Brand Equity [ edit ]
May 25 2006 (06:17:00) ( 3 views )

The 'thought for the day' put up outside Mahim Church and Portuguese Church are truly inspirational. I found today's thought at Mahim church particularly apt. It simply said, "We see the world not as it is, but as we are". What a wonderful way to describe the difference between reality and perception.

We work almost entirely in the perception business. We spend a great deal of time trying to make reality more palatable, often even manipulating it around so that the resultant perception is sometimes far removed from reality, and yet more easily believed.

The Brand Equity Agency Rankings were out yesterday. It’s an annual exercise that places the masters of make-believe at the receiving end for a change. It’s an eagerly awaited perception study conducted among those who interact with us – our clients, our competitors, potential employees and, this year, media owners too.

It’s always full of surprises – this year was no exception. I know that we did well, and I did well. However, so many people on the 'influential' list were much higher than I would place them, and then again, so many much lower. Some agencies seemed to be too high up, some too low down. Maybe the inclusion of media owners in the sample respondents, and the upweighting in Delhi had something to do with it. Who can say? After all, we see the world not as it is, but as we are.

At the end of the day, there is really only one measure, isn't there? And that's your own. If my world is what I am and not what it really is, then why bother with what others think of me? Extend that thought to the company, the community and the country. It's a good thought. We should believe in ourselves, our intentions and our work, and not care what any one else thinks, unless they are people very close to us. The Brand Equity rankings may be a good yardstick, but not one that any agency or individual should measure itself or himself or herself by. For that, the mirror in the morning is a little bit better. (0) Comments | Post Comment
Marriage [ edit ]
May 24 2006 (09:56:00) ( 2 views )

Dr Rathod got married at 12.20 pm today in his native village of Akalkot, 8 hours from Mumbai and 12 hours from Goa. His bride is a college going girl called Sudha whom he met a few weeks ago for the first time, and had a few short meetings with. He left the decision about who he would spend the rest of his life with entirely to his parents.

In this day and age, the fact that a mature post graduate veterinarian who has lived away from his family for several years could base the most important decision of his life on tradition, was something I really wondered about. But then I look at so many other marriages I know of, where love came in a rush and flew out with a whimper, where people who knew each other for decades suddenly discovered they didn't know each other at all, where families that couldn't get along later worked it out, that all one can really say is - who can say what life holds out for you?

Dr Rathod is a kind and compassionate man - he may not possess much by way of wealth and style, but he is a man of substance and perhaps his is the kind of marriage that will truly stand the test of time, and not just for showing to the outside world. The important thing is to know and be who you are and not to pretend to be something you're not - in any relationship, at any point in one's life.
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Of poetry, personality tests and unlikely pets [ edit ]
May 23 2006 (05:02:00) ( 2 views )

Svety has clarified that the poem she posted on my blog wasn't her own, but something she read somewhere and liked a lot - anyway, it was a great gift since I liked the words too. If you want to read some of her own poetry, visit her blog - svety.blogspot.com.

Meanwhile, when blog jumping on the weekend, I came across a reference to a great personality testing site called personaldna.com. Definitely the best I've attempted so far - with three and four dimensional aspects to the testing, using simple graphics that can easily be applied to survey questionnaires in other areas too. Crisply worded results, some simple good advice at the end, and a creatively expressed summary in the form of a DNA strip.

In this company, we use the MBTI profiles to recruit employees and students for the postgraduate programs. INFP for creative, ESTJ for servicing and media. Which is bit off since the media boss herself (me!) is INFJ. We should definitely look at this alternative, which is easier to administer, easier to fill up, and probably easier to fix if a job is on the line - but that last bit can be managed I guess.

For what it's worth, here are the results of my test, which should guide you to taking your own on the site (and yes, they do ask you to recommend it thereafter on riff.com).



On the subject of unlikely pets, Specky and Fluffy have started strolling into our house in their quest for food and water, since the eggs came along. Today they were presented with a small share of Pixie's boiled egg. Usually, Specky stays put in the nest, while Fluffy fills up his crop then goes over to feed her - what a caring husband indeed! We don't mind the visits as long as Gemma doesn't.
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Svety's Poem [ edit ]
May 22 2006 (05:00:00) ( 2 views )

Svetleena Choudhary works in our Delhi office. A media planner by profession, a closet poet by persuasion. Yesterday, she left this amazing little poem as a comment on one of my posts which I have since deleted. The poem deserves to be on a main post, not a closet comment, so here it is:

"Why,
when a housefly flaps his wings, a breeze goes round the world;
when a speck of dust falls to the ground, the entire planet weighs a little more;
and when you stamp your foot, the earth moves slightly off its course."

Thanks, Svety.

Comments

hi lynn just saw ur comment. thank u but i haven't written this.... just something I felt was apt.. its beautiful. i wish i could write like that....
Posted by svety on 05/22/2006 12:12:16 PM
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Of crow's eggs and the Code [ edit ]
May 19 2006 (08:00:00) ( 2 views )

Specky's eggs are a warm aquamarine blue, slightly larger than a pigeon's egg and more elongated.

Three weeks from now, the rains are likely to set in as per the latest weather reports - a week early. I fear for the hatchlings. She should have had them sooner.

Meanwhile the Da Vinci Code movie, sponsored by ABN Amro, will be released next week after the distributors put in a disclaimer required by the government, a week later than the worldwide release today. The movie and its detractors and supporters have made headlines for the past week, with the majority view being that if the movie was such a problem, why did people keep quiet about the book?

It's finally all about reach and impact and the times we live in, isn't it? According to TGI, movies in theaters reach 18% of people over 12 years in ABC homes in the towns, books are read by a close 16%. But the larger than life seat-of-the-pants impact of a movie simply drowns out the quieter, deeper, long term change that a good book can bring about. By critics' accounts, the movie is terrible - from Tom Hank's horrendous hair style to an anticlimactic ending. Movie makers always find the original book a hard act to follow. However, the movie will always generate much more controversy and publicity than the book, c'est la vie. Charles Dickens should have lived today.

As for me, I am not interested in Da Vinci Code the movie. The book was racy and fun to read, like a friend once described it - it's like junk food, you know it's bad for you but can't stop reading. The movie won't be able to top the book - in my best judgement.

I'd much rather wait for Shantaram.....and Johnny Depp. They will both be terrific, I am sure. Like Specky's eggs, worth waiting for, and hope the rains and the Bombay underworld and the cops don't play spoilsport with its release.

On another note, this blog has just crossed the 1000 visitor mark (1060), with 1238 page views, that's not bad for a non-IT, non-journalist type 7 month old blog, I guess.
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Space problem [ edit ]
May 18 2006 (07:22:00) ( 2 views )

Is my love too big to fit inside your tiny heart
Or is your heart too big to be filled up with my tiny love?
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Crow's Nest [ edit ]
May 15 2006 (07:57:00) ( 2 views )

What a wonderful surprise awaited me last Friday when I got home. Right there among the branches of the pine tree closest to my mother's balcony was a perfect little crow's nest. Just four feet away. Specky and Fluffy are not so stupid after all. What they were doing all this while was interesting. I thought they were simply gathering random twigs and tieing them up here and there, but actually they were harvesting. Then one morning, they brought all the twigs together in one place, weaved them around, and shaped out the nest by sitting inside one at a time, pressing down, then pruning and placing the sticking-out twigs properly. This is an absolutely new experience for me - I have never seen a crow's nest so up close, let alone seeing one made. The inside has been lined during the weekend with softer material. I hope to find the brand new eggs in the nest today evening! But Mrs Koel is already hovering about, so let's see what transpires. Gemma couldn't stop staring at the nest this morning when I was grooming her, she usually doesn't like crows but has also made friends by now with Specky and Fluffy. Meanwhile, the pair below have taken to stealing the food I keep out for S and F, to feed their own babies with. From above, their babies now look dull grey and are rather big.
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Books [ edit ]
May 12 2006 (07:50:00) ( 2 views )

Have you ever noticed
how a good book can suddenly leap out of your hands
and pace up and down the room,
talking forcefully and gesturing animatedly,
and, in general, have quite an interesting conversation with you?
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Connections... [ edit ]
May 10 2006 (09:25:00) ( 2 views )

...that seem to happen in an instant
are actually the ones that have been here since creation,
and will be here till doomsday.
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