Confidently doubtful

When Anil met me during the weekend, his first question was: “Are you still doing exercises? You seem to add more weight than reduce.”

“I will try skipping and see if I can trim down. Why don’t you start skipping too?” I asked.

“It is easier for me to skip skipping. Your optimism is admirable. Have you heard a story about optimist and pessimist twins?” he asked.

I blinked.

He shared a favourite story of American psychologist Dr Murray Banks.

There were two (twin) kids, an optimist and a pessimist. On their birthday, the pessimist was left in a room full of toys. The optimist was left with just horse manure. When the children woke up, the pessimist sulked saying, “My brother at the next room may be having better toys.” The optimist was smiling and exclaiming, “Where there’s manure, there’s got to be a pony!"

Yes, a pessimist is a person who says that O is the last letter in Zero, instead of the first letter in Opportunity.

Am I an optimist? I am confidently doubtful.

Just forget it

My wife roared as soon as I entered home: “I told you to buy tomatoes. You have returned with potatoes.” An intense argument followed. She shouted. I yelled. And we both enjoyed it.

But, seriously, I have no complaints about poor memory. It has helped me forget unpleasant incidents. Those days when my dad used to bash me up for poor marks, those days when Chennai newspapers rejected my job applications forcing me to move to Mumbai, those days when that gorgeous girl cried after I got married to another woman (hehe..imagination is my birthright)…the list will be endless.

Founder of the U.S. Red Cross Clara Barton, who never bore grudges, was once reminded by a friend of a wrong done to her some years earlier. "Don't you remember?" asked her friend. "No," replied Clara. "I distinctly remember forgetting that." (Thanks: Pawprints)

Albert Schweitze was perfectly right when he said, “Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.”

What a sweet life honey!

I know it is wise to keep my mouth shut, but I never learn.

My friend entered the room wearing a new T-shirt and I said, “Looks great.”

“Oh, this is a branded one. Not like the ones you buy on roadside shops,” he snapped.

Some people do get overwhelmed by materialistic superiority. They hardly realise that most such pleasures are short-lived.

Have you heard this beautiful story?

A man, chased by a tiger, ran for his life. He was about to fall into a deep pit. Fortunately, a rope came in handy and he clung on to it. When he looked down, he was stunned to see snakes curling along. Above, the tiger waited for him. Adding to his woes, a rat began nibbling the rope. Just then, a drop of honey fell on his mouth from a honeycomb above. “Wowww,” he enjoyed the taste of honey, forgetting that his death was seconds away.

Another lesson I need to learn is to ignore fools.

It was a one-way path. Two guys stopped in the middle. “I do not leave way for idiots,” said one.

“I do,” said another and moved back with a smile.

Active life is happy life

The best way to be happy is to keep busy doing things we like. It can be anything from completing a project, exercising, reading, dinner with friends, watching TV or prayers.

Voltaire rightly said, “Not to be occupied and not to exist amount to the same thing. If you do not want to commit suicide, always have something to do.”

Being immersed in work is so joyful that we even tend to forget things. On many occasions, while working on reports I have left milk boiling on the stove or ignored my wife’s calls to pick up the phone.

There is a story about Issac Newton: He was once so busy, he forget to eat the food lying on the table. A friend arrived, saw Newton busy, gobbled the food and moved off. A hungry Newton later reached the table, saw an empty plate and laughed at himself saying, “I already had my food and still looking for it.”

And, relaxing after a hard day's labour..oooff..simply awesome.

Hey, I read an interesting joke on the Net. How to keep a fool busy? Write “Turn this card over" on both sides of a card and give it to him/her.

Conservationists float ‘save sharks’ appeal

(This is my report in The Gulf Today. Regular posts ASAP. Best wishes to you guys/gals always)
 DUBAI: “Do not buy shark products.” That was the stark message from a group of conservationists led by international shark expert Michael Rutzen on Thursday.
Mike “Sharkman” Rutzen, who has spent more time swimming cage-less with great whites than anyone else, was talking to a select group of journalists at Atlantis, The Palm.
He will be a special guest at The Lost Chambers “Family Fun Day” on Friday and on Saturday he will recount his experiences in a speech on “The Great White Shark Carcharodon Carcharias - Behaviour and conservation.”
He will also have a special interactive session with children. “Kids are amazing. Unlike many adults, they keep an open mind and are always ready to learn.”
To a question from The Gulf Today about shark fin soup being cited as a major threat to the species, Rutzen affirmed that it was a “matter of concern.”
“Shark fin soup has become a status symbol in some Asian countries. There are indications that consumption of shark fin can pose health problems to humans too. It is essential to create more awareness on this front,” he said.
A UAE University doctoral candidate, Rima Jabado, who has spent two years cataloguing shark species in the country, highlighted the need to collect more information on sharks.
“We need to do more research and pick up biological information. We have to involve additional people for the task. Presently, I am the only one in the UAE doing research on this specific subject of sharks and hence it is getting difficult,” she said.
Dubai is a major export hub for sharks thanks to its logistical advantages and shipping links with China and Hong Kong. Sharks are sent here for trading purposes from many neighbouring countries.
“Again, we do not have much information on the species that arrive in Dubai from countries like India, Pakistan or Iran. We need to collaborate with fishermen from other countries too and know what is the value or how it is impacting their livelihood,” elaborated Jabado.
According to experts, there are at least ten different species of sharks in the Arabian Gulf. Tiger sharks, which are considered dangerous, rarely come close enough inshore to pose a danger to swimmers. Shark fishing is banned in the UAE during the mating season between January and June.
Praising the UAE for enforcement of strict laws to protect sharks, Steve Kaiser, vice-president of marine sciences at Atlantis, said: “Our aim is to create awareness among the public through activities like our thrilling shark dive in the shark lagoon.”
Steve is responsible for the eco-system of the Ambassador Lagoon, the 11 million litre marine habitat with 65,000 marine animals and The Lost Chambers, a mystical labyrinth of Atlantean ruins with numerous exotic fish and aquatic exhibits.

Sporting a brown shirt dotted with graphics of sharks, the Hawaii-born says he does not often wear suits. “I have 50 to 60 such shirts with fish designs. That is the kind of love I have for fish. It is a pleasure to have an active shark conservationist like Rutzen join the Atlantis team in spreading the important message.”
http://www.gulftoday.ae/portal/0cf9d804-861c-43af-9f8e-90f3200332ea.aspx

Dig out more on killing of Armenians: Fisk

(My report in The Gulf Today)

SHARJAH: Photographs have an unstoppable power to convince and there is a dire need to search for more documents and evidence on the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks during the First World War, noted British writer and journalist Robert Fisk said on Friday night.
He was delivering a lecture entitled “Reporting the Middle East: Lies and Genocides” to commemorate the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at Pierre Keusseyan Community Hall, Sharjah.
The killings were carried out between the years 1915 and 1918. The Armenian people were subjected to deportation, abduction, torture, massacre and starvation.
Turkey acknowledges that many Armenians died during those years, but questions the 1.5 million toll and refuses to term the acts “genocide.”
The term “Genocide” is defined by the United Nations as a state-sponsored attempt to “destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
Talking exclusively to The Gulf Today on the sidelines of the lecture, Fisk said many photographs on what he called the “Armenian Genocide” are yet to be recovered and perused. “We need to go back to details, keep digging and investigating.”
The noted journalist, who is the Middle East correspondent for “The Independent” and has perhaps won more British and international journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent, also suggested that Armenians should honour those Turks who saved Armenian citizens during the troubled times.
“The world is changing. There are more and more Turks now talking freely about their Armenian relatives and grandparents. It will be a great step to compile a list of Ottoman Turks who saved Armenian citizens during the 1915 genocide,” he noted.
Citing the example of countries like Germany, England and Austria which confessed to their genocides, Fisk insisted that Turkey too should follow suit.
At the function, Robert Fisk signed a selection of his books that were available for sale, including the “Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East.”
He outlined details  about his indepth investigation into the “killing fields.” He described how he visited various spots like Yerevan and unearthed unpublished images.
Some of the photographs were also screened for the select audience, who were mostly Armenians.
The photographs included those of frightened people, of  women and children, and even animals, walking at the beginning of their “death march.”
“Such rare photos are a perfect witness to the terrible events. The photographs’ poor quality, thanks to years that have passed by, actually adds to power. They are authentic and have a major impact,” Fisk pointed out.
On other topics, Fisk said he doubted a State of Palestine would come about, considering the “lack of will” of some prominent world leaders.
Talking about the tragic scenes that wars leave behind, Fisk cited the example of Fallujah.
“Many children of Fallujah are being born with appalling birth defects, most probably due to the phosphorus shells used by the American forces during the wars there,” he said.
Asked about being “technologically-challenged” as he describes himself, Fisk was critical of the Internet, saying it took people away from the reading habit.

“It is because of the Net that words are misspelt and are ungrammatical. I receive around 250 real letters a week and that gives me lots of satisfaction,” he told this correspondent. 

Time with Fisk

I had an opportunity yesterday to interact with famous writer and journalist Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent of The Independent. He was delivering a lecture entitled “Reporting the Middle East: Lies and Genocides” to commemorate the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at Pierre Keusseyan Community Hall, Sharjah. Fisk holds more British and International Journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent. More on the subject soon.

Praise more, criticize less, enjoy life

It’s easy to say that we welcome “constructive” criticism, but I do not think anyone, including me, loves criticism.
Benjamin Franklin was right: “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.”

In my school, teachers were stingy in praise and lavish in criticism. I was failing and repeatedly discouraged until my English teacher started praising me for quick answers. Her encouragement boosted my confidence so much that I could later handle the front page of India’s leading newspaper for years.

Some are born to complain. You must have heard the story of a sailor who was attending a party hosted by a rich family. He saw a baby drowning in the pond and rushed to rescue the child. He emerged with the baby and was happy to see people cheering him. The child’s mother came running. Dreaming of a reward, he thrust the baby in her hands smiling. “Tell me, where’s my baby’s expensive hat?” was all that the woman asked. (I think this was Churchill’s favorite story).

“You bloggers just pat each other. Nonsense,” complained my friend.

Nonsense? We motivate each other and we are stronger. You keep criticizing, brother, and make hell on earth. We are happy. If it pains you, go take a walk.