Yipeeeeee!

It's raining, it's raining... it's rai-ai-ai-in-ing!

Yes, the monsoons have begun, bringing the much awaited respite from the sickening heat of the summer of 2009. This is my favourite time of the year, the time I eagerly look forward to every year, year after year. As the dark clouds collect overhead, as they rumble and spark into charged action, the lingua pura of nature never fails to inspire awe in me.

By the way, although it may seem as if the wind, the clouds, and the rain speak different languages, they are still able to communicate perfectly with all entities they influence: plants, animals, puddles, ponds, rivers, oceans, raincoats and umbrellas, half-constructed flyovers, dilapidated roads, deteriorating buildings...

All right, let me check myself before I get too carried away... I wish I could share much more about the pure language with my friends and readers, but, quite honestly, I know that words cannot effectively express the essence of such communication. I shall, therefore, desist, lest I fail as I have on several occasions in the past.

Somebody was heard complaining that rains in Mangalore have lost their intensity over the years; they are not the same as they used to be about twenty-five years ago. Very true, but we - shameless creatures called Homo Sapiens - are solely responsible for such deterioration in the natural standards. We don't have the right to complain as long as we continue to corrupt the music of nature with our needless noise. If evolution does not sort this matter out, Destiny certainly will.

It's raining, it's raining... it's rai-ai-ai-in-ing!

A Small Step

Save power. Contribute to fighting global warming. Use dark colours.

Cheers!

Rewrite: Rolling Stone

I've started rewriting my story 'Rolling Stone'. This rewrite will not only put to use some of the valid criticism and feedback I had received for the draft that I had posted in this blog sometime in the past, but will also expand the material to make it more enjoyable.

Earlier, I had broken down a few portions of Rolling Stone into shorter scripts, which I had posted here under independent heads. The intention was to develop each portion clearly, and to avoid getting my readers (or myself) entangled in a messy web of characters developed unclearly. I had also written a few incomplete bits of scripts, which couldn't see the light in their independent capacity; these will also be integrated into the rewrite.

Shall keep you posted.

Cheers!

Three Cheers To Twitter!

Suddenly I've become a big fan of twitter. Indeed, I was introduced to the concept a few months ago, but had failed to understand its relevance. Now I do see sense in it, thanks to Santhosh Kamath, my colleague and friend.

My latest updates in my sidebar. :)

Cheers!

PS: One of the most inspirational videos I've ever seen:

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

Haiku

I really don't know how I got inspired into writing Haikus; but it happened, and it feels wonderful! Since a few days these short (3-line) haikus have been popping up in my head at odd times. I have posted 6 of them at my poetry blog:   http://endlesschasmpoetry.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed composing them. Surely will do more in days to come.

Cheers!

Writers And Readers

I have great news for all the good writers who have always held an ambition to see their posts in print, but were unable to get their work published for various reasons. I also have good news for all the voracious readers who would like to read some excellent creative writing - stories, tales, scripts, poems, How-to, and other articles - all categorized and structured, and available without spending a penny.

There is a community in the web that not only offers authors a channel of expression by creating their literary projects, but also allows them to obtain valuable feedback on their work from other authors, reviewers, editors, in fact, any other member of the community. Authors may then continue to edit/revise their work based on the suggestions received, while submitting more posts for feedback.

Once authors have written enough substance that could make up a book, have perfected their work, and have earned sufficient stars from the reviewers, they may decide to submit the project for publication. The community considers all such submissions for an open vote, and the top 10% of the projects that receive a thumbs-up are published in print and made available through sites like Amazon.com and a few select outlets.

The membership, the writing space, the feedback, the reviewing, the editing, the publishing and the marketing are all absolutely free! It works on give-and-take policy. You read and review their posts, and they will return your favour by reading and reviewing yours. Invite members of the community to be your friends, accept their invitation, send them requests to review your work, review theirs from time to time, and that's all there is to it. Some projects may also be open to authors other than the project leaders, in which case you may post your work in them as well. If that project gets published, it may also contain your contribution in print.

And hey, in case you are not published during one voting cycle and you think you really are good enough to be published, you are free to resubmit your project during the next voting cycle. There is no limit to the number of times you can submit your project, developing and improving it during the intervening time.

If you are only a reader, all you need is the free membership, a basic profile, and you're on your way... Search for projects that you may be interested in, add the authors as friends, and start reading their work for free! You may also seriously help them review/edit their posts and earn yourself the honor of Top Reviewer. Author can rate your feedback, based on which the honors will come to you. And if some work you have been continuously following gets published, you can also say with pride that you have read the work well before it saw the light of day, and perhaps even contributed much in shaping it. And hey, some project leaders may even share a percentage of their royalty with you for helping them!

It's very similar to blogging, only a lot better and richer experience.

The community is: WeBook ( http://www.webook.com )

You can find my profile at: http://www.webook.com/member/Pradeep

My active project is at: http://www.webook.com/project/The-Endless-Chasm

Join, write, read, and have a great time!

Cheers!

What Have We Here?

Let's be honest. Let's be straight. And let's not lose perspective.

What happened in Mangalore was nothing short of terrorism. That's that. No matter which organization perpetrated it. No matter what they say their motive was. It was terrorism. Simple.

I heard somewhere that our country does not negotiate with terrorists. Wonder if I heard that in a dream.

This incident is a clear reflection of the socio-political impotency in one of the largest secular democratic republics!

This will not stop as long as eunuchs represent us in the government. 

Moreover, I wonder why our so-called religious leaders are silent about this issue. If some Double-H, Tripple-S Somebody Swami were to come out and make a bold statement condemning such dastardly acts, then perhaps...

Or perhaps I'm asking for too much. Perhaps they too have turned into...?

Bah! What a world we live in!