Friday, April 24, 2009

Music, a Global Effort!

Hey!

Back after a long time, have been busy with work.

My good friend Ryan sent me this link http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741 of how music transcends continents, countries, cultures and skin colours!

And it is also a lovely rendition of Stand by Me!

Have a listen and pass on the music!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Future of Formula One!!

So we are 3 races into the 2009 F1 season and what a season it has turned out to be! If the buzz before the season was not enough, with the new rules and the want to change the point systems et all, the grid order after the first 2 races are a testament to the fun being back in Formula One!

I don’t want to praise those group of men who would be sitting with a huge smile on their face for coming up with these new rules to encourage overtaking and making the sport more interesting. No, I would rather say that it is the way teams (& people) have had to adapt to the rules and the ugly cars on the F1 circuits that the sport has become interesting. People were apprehensive about how the new cars will look and how the rules would play the field. Some (claimed they) read the rules differently and hence were caught unawares at the start of the season… there were some who read the rules correctly (still under dispute at the FIA) and they have taken of to a flier of a start! Anyways, I am not here to talk about the rules and stuff.. I want to talk about the race.. the new season.. the new Interesting Formula One we have!!

Yes I was one of those people who did not like the rules and look of Formula One being changed… Ok, I was also one of the same group that said that Formula One had become boring! With Shumi winning every race in sight, which someone said was down to his skill and some said was down to team orders… Formula one had become stagnant with the Ferrari’s and the Merc Mclearn’s at the starting of the grid and everyone else after them! They infused Juan Pablo Montoya with the Williams BMW and later with Mclearn, but he was not enough to infuse the passion back in F1. Alonso picked up the steam with his Renault and started giving Shumi a run for his money.. and then HE moved to Mclearn as well… and then thin fizzled out!! (it seems to be a trend that those who move to Mclearn loose their steam!) but jokes apart, the sport was dieing.. these change in rules has not only brought new life to the sport, but also made it interesting. You no longer have one or two teams leading the pack right from the start. You have the middle runners now fighting for the top spot. You have the Ferrari’s and the Mclearns way down there at the bottom (middle really, the Force India cars are there remember!) you have the traditional winners Hami and Kimi and Massa down there at the bottom of the pack fighting their way up the grid to finish in the points. I mean, it would take me a long time to think back to the time when a Ferrari was in the bottom 7 of the grid! I agree that the new rules were introduce to create a level playing field for the teams on the grid without making them use the same engine or same designed car etc. but somehow I feel sorry for the Ferrari’s and Mclearn’s as it seems that these rules are made to bring down their standards. They are not struggling when others are flourishing! (and the tables were turned all these years!)

So what should we look forward to in the coming season? Well, for sure, a different set of drivers on the podium, surely exciting races and lots of post race appeals!

Formula One 2009…….. BRING IT ON!!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Lord of the Rings!

Today I headed into my first client meeting representing my new team, i.e. Starcom iP ALONE! I was very nervous as this was the first time a client would have associated a face to a service or product he is buying and paying for. And more so, I would be representing an entire company and their beliefs and values and I was shit scared… I was scared as I was not fully confident of what I was presenting. But as the meeting went on, I was made aware that the meeting was more important for the others who were there, than for me. (we discussed things which were not pertaining to what I had to present)
As I sat there, with 4 other men at the table, discussing CRM and BTL and what not, I could not help but notice what was on their fingers… RINGS!
Yup, each of them were wearing at least 2 rings, 1 I assume was a wedding ring and the other was a stone. Each man at the table had a different coloured stone. One had a white, one had a red and the other 2 I don’t remember right now… each of the rings occupied a prominent position on their hands. It was more like the rings which were doing the talking. Some on the right and some on the left hand, each ring was a gold ring (or so it seemed) Which lead me to a small insight into the minds of Indian people, no matter how learned they are, or how well they have progressed in their respective fields, religion and personal beliefs still hold the upper hand in their life. No matter which B school you may have passed out from, if your pandit told you to wear your birthstone, you will attribute your business’s success to the rings! Nice big fat ones, coloured with rocks of all shapes and sizes…

It got me thinking... if THIS is the norm people believe in, then will be successful in my career? I don’t like to wear anything on my fingers!!!