Lessons learn from the movie UP

UP ooozes with lots of great lessons about life. A few that hit home for me were:

1. You're never too old to do anything. 
2. The best direction is onwards and upwards. 
3. If there's something light and bright in your life, have faith in it and let it lead you in the right direction. It will be a memorable journey if you have faith.
4. Who said the only teachers were ever adults? We can learn so much from children if we just stop and take time to listen to them.
5. Make sure you and your sweetheart get to do everything you ever wanted to do.

Via 

Before you shop.

Chictopians recommend considering several questions before purchasing an item:

1. Do I need this?
2. How many times will I wear it?
3. Is it made of quality materials?
4. Does it flatter my body?
5. Could I better spend the money on something else?

The things Mom says...

“Do you think I was born yesterday?”
“You’d forget your head if it wasn’t screwed on.”
“Don’t make me stop this car”
“If everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?”
“It’s all fun and games until someone pokes an eye out.”
“Money doesn’t grow on trees!”
“Don’t use that tone with me.”
“Don’t make me come in there.”
“Elbows off the table.”
“I don’t care what [name of best friend]’s parents say, in our house you follow our rules.”.
“We can talk about the rules when you start paying rent.”
“While you’re living under this roof…”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
“Why? Because I said so, that’s why!”
“Clean up your room, missy.”
“Is that too much to ask?”

Via Oh My Handmade Goodness.

Seth Godin's list of what High School could teach.

What's high school for?
Perhaps we could endeavor to teach our future the following:

1. How to focus intently on a problem until it's solved.
2. The benefit of postponing short-term satisfaction in exchange for long-term success.
3. How to read critically.
4. The power of being able to lead groups of peers without receiving clear delegated authority.
5. An understanding of the extraordinary power of the scientific method, in just about any situation or endeavor.
6. How to persuasively present ideas in multiple forms, especially in writing and before a group.
7. Project management. Self-management and the management of ideas, projects and people.
8. Personal finance. Understanding the truth about money and debt and leverage.
9. An insatiable desire (and the ability) to learn more. Forever.
10. Most of all, the self-reliance that comes from understanding that relentless hard work can be applied to solve problems worth solving.

10 fun cyber loafing destinations.

1. Romance isn't dead.

2. Switcheroo!

3. WWGDBD - (what would God Damn Batman do

4. Fashion PixFix

5 Snack break!

6. Bits of everthin'

7. Pigs and Rats and Crocs (ohmy)

8. Yeeky geeky - (WARNING - R rated verbal content)

9. Yeeky party people

10. Art Envy

10 Habits of Highly Organized People

1. Walk away from bargains: Just because you can buy a cashmere sweater for $20 or three bottles of ketchup for the price of one doesn't mean you should. "Ask, 'Do I have something similar?' and 'Where am I going to store it?' before making a purchase," advises New York City professional organizer Julie Morgenstern, author of Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life.
 

2. Make peace with imperfection: Efficient people give "A-level effort" to the most important projects (say, work assignments or a kitchen redesign), and for the rest they do just enough to get the job done, says Renae Reinardy, PsyD, a psychologist who specializes in hoarding disorders. Maybe you give yourself permission to bring store-bought cookies to a school bake sale or donate a bag of stuff—unsorted!—to Goodwill. "Trying to do every task perfectly is the easiest way to get bogged down," says Reinardy. 

3. Never label anything "miscellaneous": You put a bunch of things into a file or box and write this catchall across the front. "But within a week you've forgotten what's in there," says Morgenstern. Instead, sort items into specific groups—"electric bills," "lightbulbs," and so on.

 

4. Schedule regular decluttering sessions: Rather than wait until an industrious mood strikes (we all know where that leads), have a decluttering routine in place—whether it's spending 15 minutes sorting mail after work or tackling a new project every Sunday afternoon.
 

5. Stick with what works: "I have clients who will try every line of makeup, every cell phone—it's exhausting," says Dorothy Breininger, president of the Delphi Center for Organization. Don't waste time (and money) obsessively seeking out the best thing. 

6. Create a dump zone: Find a space to corral all the stuff that you don't have time to put away the moment you step in the door, says Breininger. Once you're ready to get organized, you won't have to hunt all over the house for the dry cleaning or your child's field trip permission slip.

7. Ask for help: "The organized person is willing to expose herself to short-term embarrassment and call for backup," says Breininger. Which is to say, that elaborate four-course dinner you planned? Change it to a potluck.

8. Separate emotions from possessions: It's healthy to be attached to certain items—a vase you picked up in Paris, your grandmother's pearls. But holey concert tees or cheap, scuffed earrings your husband gave you years ago? Just let them go.

9. Foresee (and avoid) problems: You wouldn't leave the house on a gray day without an umbrella, right? People who appear to sail through life unruffled apply this thinking to every scenario, says Breininger. Have a cabinet packed with leaning towers of Tupperware? Organized folks will take a few minutes to short-circuit an avalanche before it happens. (In other words, rearranging that cupboard now is easier than chasing after wayward lids as they scatter underneath the fridge.)

10. Know where to donate: It's easier to part with belongings if they're going to a good home. Identify a neighbor's son who fits into your child's outgrown clothes, or choose a favorite charity. "It will save you from searching for the perfect recipient every time you need to unload something," says Morgenstern.

George Orwell's Rules for Writers

1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. A writer can do very little with words in their primary meanings. He gets his effect if at all by using words in a tricky roundabout way.

The top 5 reasons Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series has been voted off my island.

5.

Her magical high school is not sufficiently fleshed out.

Where are the unicorns? Where are the rainbows and fluffy lambs? Wait. What? It's not a magical alternate dimension paradise?

Then how come a 17 year old new girl, who is painfully negative and unsociable all the time, is so instantly popular? Bella Swan (yes, ironic initials) "stumbles", "stutters", "glares" and "mumbles" through the whole miserable series and yet she is strangely attractive to all the boys.

*cough*BS*cough*

4.

Ms. Meyer treats punctuation like confetti at a parade.

Throw a random handful in the air, watch it fall prettily and let it sit wherever it pleases.

3.

The "dust moats stirring in the sunlight" sentence.

Although I am curious about that one... Do dust moats still need a drawbridge? Is it like quicksand? Does the sarlacc* lurk under the surface?

2.

The vampires sparkle.

For no known reason since there is absolutely no creation myth given to support this. They just step into sunlight and ta-dah! Sparklefest. And just to make it more confusing, they only sparkle in sunlight. A photosynthetic allergy sparkle that only reacts to the correct frequency spectrum.

1.

Edward is horrifying.

And no, I do not mean in a sexy chill down my spine vampirey way.

He's condescending and superior, calls her an idiot often, "sighs" at her attempts to do anything by herself, threatens her "for her own good", creeps into her room and watches her sleep, is jealous, moody and controlling. He graphically describes the way she would look dead, licks her tears and objects to her friendships with anyone other than the pre-approved Angela. He even takes her truck apart so she is forced to stay home when he says she should. Sex with him leaves her covered in bruises.... Am I the only one who sees domestic abuse parallels here?**

Bonus point:

Ms. Meyer seems to follow the "Baby Kangaroo Tribbiani" method of synonym use.

Right click, pick one, run with it. The bigger the better, right? Even if you end up with phrases like "feathery barrenness", "his eyes dissected my expression", and "little sprouts of hope... budding in my mind."

Edit:

** Went loafing cyberspace and discovered that I'm not! Check this out. Weird but true. :)

Also see this for grammar and editing fun-a-palooza.

This is a re-blog because I was editing on Blog 1.0 and suddenly realised this was a List! Yay.

A song for every day of the week*

*from off my iPod playlist.

Monday:

So many to choose from. But this one remains my ultimate 'Monday Sucks' song.

Tuesday:

How many other songs have sparked a chain of fast food places in their name?

Wednesday:

Is it warped that the blues make me feel happy?

Thursday:

Ok so the fact that there aren't really lyrics makes this a slight cheat... But it's progressive from the good old days so that should get points.

Friday:

Enough said. :)

Saturday:

Another day with lots of songs about it. So I picked the one song I'm most embarrassed to own up to owning.

Sunday:

This time, despite the wealth of choice, I pick the anthem.

10 tips to optimise your blog.

Via Smitten

6 answers to commonly asked questions

1) Yes.

2) Boxers.

3) Card.

4) Large whiskey with water.

5) Down the hall, second door on your left.

6) No.

Four basic priciples of a good healthy lose weight diet

1. Never wake up to tea or coffee. First eat something that'll help increase blood sugar levels that are always low in the morning, and then have your cuppa.

2. Eat every two hours; it actually creates a conducive environment in the body to burn fat!

3. Eat more when you're active (working, travelling) and less when you're inactive.

4. Try to wind up your last meal at least two hours before bedtime so that the body gets ample time to repair wear and tear and rejuvenate while you sleep.

Rujuta Diwekar and Kareena Kapoor. for more follow www.twitter.com/rujutadiwekar 

Do’s and don’ts for the peace journalist

1. Avoid portraying a conflict as consisting of only two parties contesting one goal. The logical outcome is for one to win and the other to lose. Instead, a peace journalist would disaggregate the two parties into many smaller groups, pursuing many goals, opening up more creative potential for a range of outcomes.

2. Avoid accepting stark distinctions between "self" and "other". These can be used to build the sense that another party is a "threat" or "beyond the pale" of civilised behaviour — both key justifications for violence. Instead, seek the "other" in the "self" and vice versa.

3. Avoid treating a conflict as if it is only going on in the place and at the time that violence is occurring. Instead, try to trace the links and consequences for people in other places now and in the future. Ask: * Who are all the people with a stake in the outcome? * Ask yourself what will happen if ...? * What lessons will people draw from watching these events unfold as part of a global audience? How will they enter the calculations of parties to future conflicts near and far?

4. Avoid assessing the merits of a violent action or policy of violence in terms of its visible effects only. Instead, try to find ways of reporting on the invisible effects, eg, the long-term consequences of psychological damage and trauma, perhaps increasing the likelihood that those affected will be violent in future, either against other people or, as a group, against other groups or other countries.

5. Avoid letting parties define themselves by simply quoting their leaders' restatement of familiar demands or positions. Instead, inquire more deeply into goals: * How are people on the ground affected by the conflict in everyday life? * What do they want changed? * Is the position stated by their leaders the only way or the best way to achieve the changes they want?

6. Avoid concentrating always on what divides the parties, the differences between what they say they want. Instead, try asking questions that may reveal areas of common ground and leading your report with answers which suggest some goals may be shared or at least compatible, after all.

7. Avoid only reporting the violent acts and describing "the horror". If you exclude everything else, you suggest that the only explanation for violence is previous violence (revenge); the only remedy, more violence (coercion/punishment). Instead, show how people have been blocked and frustrated or deprived in everyday life as a way of explaining the violence.

8. Avoid blaming someone for starting it. Instead, try looking at how shared problems and issues are leading to consequences that all the parties say they never intended.

9. Avoid focusing exclusively on the suffering, fears and grievances of only one party. This divides the parties into "villains" and "victims" and suggests that coercing or punishing the villains represents a solution. Instead, treat as equally newsworthy the suffering, fears and grievance of all sides.

10. Avoid "victimising" language such as "destitute", "devastated", "defenseless", "pathetic" and "tragedy", which only tells us what has been done to and could be done for a group of people. This disempowers them and limits the options for change. Instead, report on what has been done and could be done by the people. Don't just ask them how they feel, also ask them how they are coping and what do they think? Can they suggest any solutions? And remember refugees/the dispossessed have surnames as well.

11. Avoid imprecise use of emotive words to describe what has happened to people. * "Genocide" means the wiping out of an entire people. * "Decimated" (said of a population) means reducing it to a tenth of its former size. * "Tragedy" is a form of drama, originally Greek, in which someone's fault or weakness proves his or her undoing. * "Assassination" is the murder of a head of state. * "Massacre" is the deliberate killing of people known to be unarmed and defenseless. Are we sure? Or might these people have died in battle? * "Systematic" eg raping or forcing people from their homes. Has it really been organised in a deliberate pattern or have there been a number of unrelated, albeit extremely nasty incidents? Instead, always be precise about what we know. Do not minimise suffering but reserve the strongest language for the gravest situations or you will beggar the language and help to justify disproportionate responses that escalate the violence.

12. Avoid demonising adjectives like "vicious", "cruel", "brutal" and "barbaric". These always describe one party's view of what another party has done. To use them puts the journalist on that side and helps to justify an escalation of violence. Instead, report what you know about the wrongdoing and give as much information as you can about the reliability of other people's reports or descriptions of it.

13. Avoid demonising labels like "terrorist," "extremist", "fanatic" and "fundamentalist". These are always given by "us" to "them". No one ever uses them to describe himself or herself, and so, for a journalist to use them is always to take sides. Instead, try calling people by the names they give themselves. Or be more precise in your descriptions.

14. Avoid focusing exclusively on the human rights abuses, misdemeanours and wrongdoings of only one side. Instead, try to name ALL wrongdoers and treat equally seriously allegations made by all sides in a conflict. Treating seriously does not mean taking at face value, but instead making equal efforts to establish whether any evidence exists to back them up, treating the victims with equal respect and the chances of finding and punishing the wrongdoers as being of equal importance.

15. Avoid making an opinion or claim seem like an established fact. ("Eurico Guterres, said to be responsible for a massacre in East Timor ...") Instead, tell your readers or your audience who said what. ("Eurico Guterres, accused by a top UN official of ordering a massacre in East Timor ...") That way you avoid signing yourself and your news service up to the allegations made by one party in the conflict against another.

16. Avoid greeting the signing of documents by leaders, which bring about military victory or cease fire, as necessarily creating peace. Instead, try to report on the issues which remain and which may still lead people to commit further acts of violence in the future. Ask what is being done to strengthen means on the ground to handle and resolve conflict non-violently, to address development or structural needs in the society and to create a culture of peace.

17. Avoid waiting for leaders on "our" side to suggest or offer solutions. Instead, pick up and explore peace initiatives wherever they come from. Ask questions to ministers, for example, about ideas put forward by grassroots organisations. Assess peace perspectives against what you know about the issues the parties are really trying to address. Do not simply ignore them because they do not coincide with established positions.

Peace Journalism — How To Do It, by Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, 2000.Jake Lynch is a correspondent for Sky News and The Independent, based in London and Sydney. He is a consultant to the POIESIS Conflict and Peace Forums and co-author of The Peace Journalism Option and What Are Journalists For?> Via.

TOP 20 QUESTIONS PARENTS STRUGGLE TO ANSWER

1. How does it rain?

2. Where did I come from?
3.  Are girls and boys different?

4. What do ants eat?

5. Where does the wind come from?

6. Where does God live?

7. Why is the sea salty?

8. What makes thunder?

9. What makes a rainbow?

10. What do fish drink?

11. Why can’t I remember being born?

12. What is heaven?

13. How do spiders build webs?

14. Why is the sky blue?

15. How does a man get inside the TV?
16. 
Why do I have to go to bed when it’s not dark?

17. How do bees make honey?

18. Why can planes fly in the sky?

19. How does Father Christmas get down the chimney?
20. 
How are babies made?

Via

Top 10 food scenes in Children's literature

1. Maria's tea party in The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
2. Famous Five picnics in the series by Enid Blyton
3. Robber tea in The Box of Delights by John Masefield
4. Marilla's raspberry cordial in Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
5. Apples and books in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
6. Milly-Molly-Mandy's muffins in Milly-Molly-Mandy by Joyce Lankester Brisley
7. William in the sweetshop in William's New Year's Day from Just William by Richmal Crompton
8. Pippi's pancakes in Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
9. Paddington's elevenses in Paddington Bear by Michael Bond
10. Match tea jammy buns in In the Fifth at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
       
More about each one here - http://books.guardian.co.uk/top10s/index/0,,2290902,00.html

Golden Rules of Shopping by Mary Portas

1. Don't stand for shoddy service. If you're not being served, simply walk out of the shop. There are few stores selling an item that can't be found elsewhere. It may be an inconvenience, but these shops won't improve their standard of service until their sales figures give them reason to.
2.  Never shop on a Saturday. OK, you've got the day off, but so has the rest of the world. By the afternoon, the merchandise can be all over the place and the staff are flagging.
3. Dress the part. Wear flat shoes, jeans and vests so you are as comfortable as possible when you are walking up and down the High Street. And go shopping on a good hair day — if your hair looks bad, the whole outfit won't feel right. The same applies with make-up.
4. Go online first. Use the internet to do your research before you go out to the shops. Log on after the major catwalk shows to get ideas for what's coming up and check out the season's key fashion pieces.
5. Don't buy in haste. If you're not sure, don't buy it. If you've got time and don't mind taking the risk, put everything back - except exceptional items - until the end of the day before making a choice.

44 lessons life taught me

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 44 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"


1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15.. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".

26. Always choose life.

27. Forgive everyone everything.

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

32. Believe in miracles.

33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

36. Your children get only one childhood.

37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

41. The best is yet to come.

42.. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

43. Yield.

44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

45. If you want to be happy, be.

10 ways to look sharp in photographs

1. Focus your eyes just slightly above the camera lens, move your face forward a bit, and tip down your chin.

2. Put your tongue behind your teeth and smile, which will relax your face.

3. Keep your arms by your side—but not glued there. To look natural, they should be a little away from your body.

4. Test-drive clothing against a white wall, with an indirect, natural light source (under a tree, indoors near a window)—it will show whether blue really is your best color.

5. As a rule, avoid patterns.

6. Photos exaggerate everything, so go easy on the makeup. For women under 30, a little mascara and lip gloss; over 30, add a touch of concealer.

7. Practice the classic model pose: Turn your body three quarters of the way toward the camera, with one foot in front of the other and one shoulder closer to the photographer. When you face forward, your body tends to look wider.

8. For standing photos, belly in, buttocks tight, shoulders back, spine straight.

9. Study photogenic people as well as photos in which you think you looked best. Look at your best angle. You’ll probably see that you were laughing or having a good time. Capturing someone when they’re relaxed or most animated usually makes for the best results.

10. To feel at ease, try closing your eyes, then opening them slowly just before the photo is taken.

Via Reader's Digest

Top 10 irritating phases in English

The Oxford University has just come out with the list of top ten irritating phrases in English. The phrases appear in a book called Damp Squid, named after the mistake of confusing a squid with a squib, a type of firework.

The researchers who compiled the list monitor the use of phrases in a database called the Oxford University Corpus, which comprises books, papers, magazines, broadcast, the internet and other sources.

The top ten most irritating phrases:

1 - At the end of the day

2 - Fairly unique

3 - I personally

4 - At this moment in time

5 - With all due respect

6 - Absolutely

7 - It's a nightmare

8 - Shouldn't of

9 - 24/7

10 - It's not rocket science

Top 10 Things on My Mind Right Now

1. What am I going to wear for New Years?!

2. Will the girls enjoy the let's-come-up-with-ideas tea party?

3. Shouldn't've had the poha this morning.

4. Need to refresh my bedside table with more books

5. Sugar intake! Jeez, how much can I have.

6. Looking forward to being in Kav's mum's home on Sunday.

7. Is my kurta looking faded?

8. Did I water the plants yesterday or on Monday?

9. It's a nice day.

10. Where's my real-time to-do list book?