Legends: Muhammed Ali - Book: The Unseen Archives

Like most people i also have my interests well placed in the lives of great men/women who have carved a niche for themselves. So i decided to start a "Legend" Series (in no special order) where i can highlight what qualities of theirs impressed me the most.

The recent Oscar De La Hoya Vs Manny Pachiao bout made me curious about some of the best boxers the world has ever had. It is no surprise that Ali's name popped up first. So when i was looking for a book as a gift to my friend, i managed to get "The Unseen Archives of Muhammed Ali" which i found to be very good.

I had always found Muhammed Ali a very interesting personality and to see him through pictures was extremely interesting. Normally we would read an author's interpretation and make a mental picture of the same. In this case, you do the opposite - look at the pictures and make an interpretation of them.

Not only was he gifted with extraordinary reflexes, but he was also very strategic. He mostly stayed away in the initial rounds floating around and in the process tiring the opponent only to get back with his legendary knock outs. This resulted in the line "Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee". Also he refusing to join the army, openly displaying hatred for racism and joining "Nation of Islam" are extremely sensational decisions.

Remember, there is no right or wrong!!

Grownup digital

I found this extremely interesting view on the internet generation.

An article that i came across here talks about the positives of video gaming and googling. This is a total paradigm shift from what i sense is the popular opinion.

In my opinon, a good combination of book reading and net searching are needed. Former gives an opinion and substantiates it and the other helps you vet your apetite for information that will help you form an opinion.

I havent read this book and i am not too sure if i will pick this up one of these days...but then if you do read it then do me a favor and let me know on some of the details. I am certainly interested on the reasoning.

Book Review - Dispatches from the edge

CNN's current prime time hogger and a man with a very distinguished lineage, Anderson Cooper comes across as quite an intense character. Through his book "Dispatches from the edge", he explains various catastrophes he has been covering right from starvation in Somalia, war in Herzegovinia till hurricane in New Orleans.

Not only does he talk about the plight of the people under these extreme circumstances, but also the differences and similarities he sensed. It is from a people's angle and does not go into lengths with too much of facts and figures. Emotions ride high when he remembers loud of his secured past when his father was alive.

This book is more of a personal memoir than a complete account of the events that have been described. Infact to be fair, the disasters seemed to me not as mere backdrops, but more of characters who took part in the author's life. There were some sections that i was particularly engrossed in, especially the account on hurricane katrina - you shake in disbelief that even in a developed country such things could happen. Find out yourself by accompanying Anderson Cooper on his various adventures, those which you or i would otherwise not experience!!!

HBR Series - Bringing your whole self to work

I like the Harvard Business Review series even though it is a little expensive ;-) Recently during one of my travels i picked up this one titled 'Bringing your whole self to work'. It is a collection of eight articles falling under the umbrella of improving your effectiveness at work. Most of the concepts discussed apart from the scientific terminologies might seem like common knowledge, but then who said we follow our common sense ;)
I liked all the articles and especially the one on "Making of a corporate athlete" where the four layers - Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual of a person is discussed. And i found the exercise of mapping this to the day to day proceedings extremely interesting. I think layering our activities on this basis and then carrying it out with discipline will make a lot of difference.
One of the other articles talks about ADT (Attention Deficit Trait) and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), their causes and symptoms. There are even some high level remedies that are offered. I do not mention the rest of topics simply for the reason that i dont have the patience now :) So do yourself a favor, add this one to your reading list - live life to your fullest!!

Shekar Kapur's story

I liked this content i read by/about film maker Shekar Kapur a lot.
Suggest you to read it. Also please go ahead and suggest me content
like these with philosophical tone.

<<http://www.shekharkapur.com/blog/archives/2005/11/about_myself.htm#more>>

Enjoy reading!!

No Solicitors Pleaseeeeeee!!

You might have heard of multi-level or network marketing. In case you havent then go through
this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_marketing

Without beating around much, let me get to the heart of the matter.
This weekend i was at the walmart for you-know-what and i met this couple neatly dressed
and curious to know where they can find a smaller version of the utensil i had in my shopping cart. Once they know that, then they want to know since when i had been in the US. Well if i am still there wasting my time, then it is time to exchange the mobile numbers!!! And then it is time to receive a few calls and multiple educational sessions to help you make you some extra money!!

Well it is no wonder that places like Walmart and IKEA are happy hunting grounds for multilevel marketing. These are places where people go to save some money. So take my advice you will have to use more than your polite best if you have to save some irritation.

Book Review - Unaccustomed Earth

Jhumpa Lahiri through her "Unaccustomed Earth" again takes you through the nuances of human feelings. Even though there is a tinge of melancholy in all the stories, I enjoyed the candid expression of human feelings. Irrespective of whether it is a father and daughter relationship or it is the equation between room mates the distances are properly portrayed without any compromise. If i were to summarise "Everyone in this world are alone" ;-)
All the stories involve Bengali families - but that does not really mean that there are lots of references to Bengali customs. All of them have relocated to the US at some point - a context that i think the author is familiar and finds it easy to paint her characters on. I liked the structure of the book - it has a few standalone short stories and some that are connected, almost like a short novel.
Jhumpa Lahiri is a wonderful story teller whose characters appealed to me more than the setting of the story. There is just enough mention of the surroundings, weather etc without distracting the focus on the people involved. At the end, you have a feeling of having met these characters or having conversed with them sometime. They might even be one of your friends and it is this familiarity that will make them very endearing.
Try reading this book - and let me know if you dont agree with me. I can only learn from different perpectives.

Book Review - Not without my daughter

This book is similar to some of the books that i have read in the past like "The Princess", "Iran Awakening", "Kite Runner" etc

Similarity is in the oppressive nature of the cultures that the stories are based on. But i liked this book for the simple fact that it has a happy ending. In short, it is a true story of an American lady who along with her daughter is taken hostage in Iran by her Iranian husband and how she struggles to get out of the country with her daughter.

Rest are details about their ways of life in Iran and what she goes through there amidst her husband's relatives. The fact that she could have fled the country leaving her daughter behind offers no consolation to her. So she decides to stick on until she finds a way to flee with her daughter. After repeated attempts and amidst huge uncertainity she becomes successful.

It is her courage and perseverance that makes this book an inspiring read. I think the happy ending makes it worthwhile. I havent seen the movie, but generally feel it is better to read than to see the movie version of subjects like these. But then if you are looking to get the essence in a couple of hours then the movie (by the same title) is definitely an option!

Once upon a time in Soviet Union - Book Review

I badly want to travel to Russia, mainly to see what the headquarter of communism is like. Now i certainly cannot time travel to see what it was like to be there during the cold war but i can read others experience of the times. I still want to visit Russia someday and hope that this is a practical desire.

Dominique Lapierre and Jean Pierre(with their wives) from 'paris Match' fortunately get permission from Krushchev to travel from one side of Soviet union to the other. Ofcourse there were many conditions that they had to comply with for this to happen. Least of which was to have a Russian journalist accompany them all the time and an itinerary approved by the government to be followed.

What all they go through during this remarkable journey and related incidents thereafter is what the book comprises of. Tales of Russian hospitality, the way the whole nation was shielded from any foriegn ideas or influences makes this book an extremely interesting read. This book is not an authority on the communist regime in Soviet Union but gives a good insight into the lives of the ordinary citizens and their living conditions. This one is a definite recommendation from my side. The fact that the book is extremely small can only help you zero in on this one as your next read!!

Aphrodite - Book Review

If you are below 18 years of age then please do not bother to read this blog.

Well now that i have caught your attention ;-) let me go into details on 'Aphrodite' by Isabel Allende real quick. Brought to notice by a friend of mine, i have been reading about/listening to Isabel for sometime now. So my first pick among her works was 'Aphrodite' named after the Greek goddess of Love. Well the fact that this was the only copy that was available in the library i am member of helped the selection. Nevertheless, the title is quite interesting and set me thinking on what really can be written on this subject that can result in a book of decent size!!
In this book, Isabel teams up with few friends of hers to present wisdom on aphrodisiacs from various parts of the world. Very honestly i could sustain till the end because of her sense of humour and the weirdness of some of the facts!!. May be there is no real need for an aphrodisiac in my life as of now!! Lets assume that there are lots of them who are dying to be enlightened on this subject. For them she also has come up with a collection of aprodisiacal recipes besides general gyan on the subject. Well in short, this book is about what to do, what to wear, what to eat, what to drink and how to smell if you are on an enticing spree!!
I dont feel like putting it in my recommendation list but then if you tend to be the curious variety like me - Enjoy the book!!!

A thousand Suns - book review

One of my favourite authors, Dominique Lapierre in "A thousand suns" shows why he is such a popular writer. An eye for detail, a heart for the poor and tales he learnt from his adventures - he has enough stories to write about. In this book he travels from one part of the world to the other with so much ease. He takes us along and shows us how fortunate we are and yet how less responsible we are to the suffering around us. It is a different fact that we probably dont hear the cries of the needy. We are ourselves sufferers of our own insecurites - though the need for it is highly debatale!!

What impresses me the most about his works is that there is joy in every struggle he sees because he finds them all heroic. He salutes the spirit of the poor and underprivileged who still manage to put up a smile despite adversities. He introduces us to many interesting and passionate men and women who bravely march ahead for the fulfilment of a herculean yet noble cause. Through his eyes we revel in the joy of having discovered things that are obvious and yet unnoticed.

The context just shifts from Bull fighting in Spain to the lepers in India to the Jewish sturggle in Jerusalem in a very beautiful manner. It seems that challenges are universal - we cannot thrive without them and we will not be able to improve without them. All it takes is a commitment to surpass the hurdles - to overlook the bad roads and proceed glefully towards the destination. To remember along the way the spirits of those brave men and women who have laid their lives for a cause. I was hooked on to this book and as usual felt humbled at the power of humanity!! There is so much we can do - There is so much that is being done already by someone!!

The shadow of the wind - Book review

With a lot of incidents happening in my personal life, my reading has taken a hitting. But then i still manage to do one now and then. The latest one is 'The shadow of the wind' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I got this book as a gift and as a recommendation from a good friend of mine. Although i picked this up with a neutral mind, the story, narration and the plot kept me hooked till the end.

The story starts with the character Daniel getting introduced to a book of a not so well known author Julian. When he encounters someone who tries to get all the remaining copies of it and burn them, he starts on a journey to find out more about the author and what happened to him. I liked the plot and the way it develops into a nice mystery solver. Even though towards the end you start smelling the conclusion, it still is racy and interesting anough to keep you hooked on to the book.

I liked the plot, the way the mystery unfolds and the narration by the author. A definite recommendation from me if you are looking for a book for a casual read. Enjoyyyyy..

Easiest way to buy and sell in US

There is no dearth of online marketplaces. Information super highway is one of the best routes to both sell and buy. The convenience it offers for anyone with just a credit card is truely incredible. For a capitalistic economy like US, it is important that people buy and sell and there is constant money rotation. Craigslist is one of them, though you cannot pay over the internet, but then checkout pictures/details and then contact the seller, visit him/her and buy it.

I came to know of the site through my friends and have now started taking it seriously. The amount of buying or selling that happens over this site is tremendous. Although there has been incidents involving wrong usage of the website. For example, prostitution, mugging after posting to sell a Porsche and things like that have happened in the past.

But what is fascinating is that you will find almost everything sold and bought over this website. If you want to have a good laugh then you must visit the 'free' section of the site. Last time i visited this section intially i was surprised how many things are given away as free stuff. Ofcourse lot of those are good enough to be trashed. Some of the funny ones that i saw are some one offering to give away an extra pack of milk he has bought, free hair cuts etc.,

But for that you will find good deals on used cars, rented houses, furniture etc. But the most important thing needed to make a good deal is the ability to understand good stuff and commit on it instantly. All good stuff including cars gets picked in a matter of hours!!! So if you are in the US(dont know elsewhere) and want to buy something quick and economical for short term needs hit off to craigslist - All the Best!!

Azim Premji in flesh and blood

Guess who visited our office - the one and only Mr.Premji. It is kind of a pattern now - considering the fact that i am either writing on books i read or people visiting my office. But then you know what, even birth and death is a pattern. So let me just go ahead with my notes for the day ;)

Jokes apart - i could not resist not attending the session where someone as experienced and accomplished as Premji would share his wisdom.

Everything said and done the start was not very impressive as he came a good half hour late. Dunno if he can blame it on the traffic here!! After that when he started talking, i must accept that i got completely hooked on to the session. He started of with some lessons to carry home and then continued into a Q&A session. Infact the lessons were nothing earth shaking - but to hear it from someone who has a big list of achievements against his name was impressive. Some of the work that his foundation does were quoted with some anecdotes which were pretty good. What swept the audience off the feet was his experience and dignity that he displayed. Well about dealing with business in India, he felt that there has to be a certain insensitivity that needs to be developed for the overall good.

Anything that he would like to change from his past - yes, to have spent more time with the family. Well you dont get everything in life and when the wisdom arrives it is always late for you to react!!