Fun Zone

Animation Filmmaking at IIT

Industrial Design & Development Center and Department of Mechanical Engineering (SPIC MACAY Digital Heritage Lab)
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Offers short-term courses under Continuing Education Program on Animation Filmmaking

Date: January 02 2008 – May 17 2008 (Wednesday and Saturday 17:00 – 19:00)

Learn:
Developing stories into scripts, creating animation characters, using broadcast quality digital video camera, designing sound for animation, frame-by-frame classical animation camerawork, multi-layering, compositing and non-linear editing.

Special Features:
Animation filmmaking based on Indian art and aesthetics
Developing original animations
Promoting Indian art, culture and heritage
Practical hands-on training
Production of animation film
Student animation film will be entered in international film festivals and broadcast if selected
Each student will receive a DVD of the film and a certificate on completion of the course

Note for IIT students:
The course is free of cost for all students of IIT Delhi. It is conducted as part of the multi-disciplinary Master in Design course DIR 857 Animation 2.5 Credits (1-0-3)

Note for non-IIT students:
All interested are requested to submit the completed form along with a bank draft of the fee of Rs. 5,000/- in favor of the Registrar, IIT Delhi

For further information, contact Mr Nitin Donde thru 9350874962

Some resourceful websites on advertising, media and marketing:

www.adage.com

www.adsoftheworld.com

www.adweek.com

www.agencyfaqs.com

www.brandrepublic.com

www.brandweek.com

www.exchange4media.com

www.mad.co.uk

www.mediaweek.com

Few useful links for those who wants to participate in various design competitions:

http://www.7creation.com/7creation-graphic-design-competition-list.asp

http://www.aiwl.com.au/comp/fashion/fash_des_comp.html

http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/competitions.html

http://www.americandesignawards.com/

http://www.architectureweek.com/cgi-bin/calendar.cgi?d

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/art/showcase/competition/

http://www.commarts.com/

http://www.commonground2008.com/artists/entries.html

http://contests.sitepoint.com/

http://www.core77.com/calendar/

http://www.designboom.com/competitions.html

http://www.designtaxi.com/competitions.jsp

http://www.designvitality.com/blog/wordpress-theme-competition/

http://www.dexigner.com/

http://www.electrolux.com/designlab/

http://www.fashion-beauty.com/FashionDesignCompetitions.html

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/

http://graphicdesignbasics.com/

http://humanehabitat.org/competitions/

https://www.nextgendesigncomp.com/

http://photoshopcontest.com/contests/active.html

http://www.stepinsidedesign.com/STEPMagazine/Article/28491

http://www.thearchitectureroom.com/

http://www.tisimi.com/contests/index

One link for journo's: www.cnnasiapacific.com/yja

Whistling Woods International {www.whistlingwoods.net}
Subhash Ghai's Actors' Studio to train actors to become Stars of Tomorrow
Subhash Ghai along with his faculty members from Whistling Woods will travel across 6 cities to audition and select the aspirants. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ghai said, "We have already received a huge response in terms of applications. We will select 20 deserving actors out of these for our July 2009 intake." The Talent Hunt will commence from June 26th in Chandigarh and subsequently Mr. Ghai will travel to Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Interested aspirants can visit Actors' Studio   at www.whistlingwoods.net to download the application form and send the required details mentioned to actorsstudio@whistlingwoods.net. Deserving students will also have a chance to win Actors' Studio scholarships, sponsored by Mukta Arts.

An Appeal:
I'm forwarding you some disturbing news I just received from UNICEF's emergency operations centre because they urgently need your help.
We knew that in the days after Typhoon Ketsana we could see more rain. We had no idea that a devastating tsunami would hit Samoa, or that earthquakes would rock Indonesia. And unbelievably, it looks like a second typhoon is about to hit the Philippines in the next 24 to 48 hours.
They're stretching every dollar that comes in, but it's just not enough. Thousands of children right now do not have shelter, food or clean water. Many of them are separated from their families.
Already, evacuation camps are running out of clean water, and they urgently need more sanitation kits, and antibiotics.
So many children have been separated from their families and they're working around the clock to reunite them. Everyone needs dry blankets and access to emergency medical care.
I’m confident that if people know what’s happening, they’ll give as much as they can.
As a part of UNICEF's efforts to bring relief to the families most affected by this natural disaster I urge you to kindly lend a helping hand for this very noble cause.
Can you please help us spread the word?
For more details: Mr. Tushar Juyal (+91-9999395690)

Ads:

Ebony And Ivory Studios is one of its kind acoustic interior design company providing turnkey solutions for homes and corporate houses. The company caters to needs in the fields of audio-visual system integration and acoustic interior design and makes a constant effort to deliver the best possible results. They cater to all your needs in the fields of audio-visual system integration and acoustic interior design. They provide designing and consultancy services for any space where sound plays an important role like home theatres, boardrooms, auditoria, recording studios etc.
Contact:
Deepit S. Jain
Audio Engineer and Acoustics Consultant
Phone: 9891828942
Web: www.delhisoundstudio.com

FOOD & BEYOND CATERING COMPANY provides the very best in catering services and event planning services for clients. Each and every employee at FOOD & BEYOND CATERING COMPANY is dedicated to excellence in the catering products served and the catering services provided. They use only the freshest and highest quality ingredients for their catering (Indian, Mughlai, Chinese, Continental, Italian, Mexican, Oriental etc.). They are committed to making each event unique and the best their clients and guests have ever attended. Delivering consistent excellence in performance is the true key to their success and the reason why so many of their clients are repeat clients. They have simply been the very best catering company for over 10 years.
Phone: 9310240777; 9310149695; 9811827184
Web: www.foodnbeyond.com

Contest:
THE FUTURE OF NEWS by STAR NEWS
http://afaqslinux.com/mailers/internal/afaqs/2009/07/fon/20/index.html

Festival:
Silver Salt Animation Festival 2010
(Entries open from 15.10.09; closing date 15.12.09; avail the Early Bird Discount till 15.11.09)
Techniques: 2D animation, 3D animation, claymation, puppet animation, stop motion, cut-out animation, sand animation, pixilation, cell animation, painting animation and photo animation

Workshop:
Institute of Book Publishing is going to conduct the 22nd workshop for publishing professionals (09.11.09 - 18.11.09).

Stayed at a hotel lately? Write a hotel review and win a Canon digital camera!
http://www.oktatabyebye.com/picture-gallery/photos-Uploadalbum.aspx
http://www.oktatabyebye.com/travelogues/travelogues-form.aspx

Reminder:
Its Maiden Creative presents
FURIOUS FILMMAKING workshop
14.09.09 – 25.09.09; 17:00-19:00
“Furious Filmmaking Workshop” is an initiative of professionals from film, TV and animation industry to show it's participants, how films are made. The Workshop will inform and demonstrate all 3 phases of film making i.e. pre production, production and post production in the backdrop of creative, technical and financial aspects of filmmaking. The elaborated approach of workshop is such that it covers all conventional (feature film) and new age visual content as far as the fundamentals of content development is concerned.  So, people who would like to have a first hand exposure to see what all is required to be a film maker and want to become part of a 1 min. digital film production, can expect an  experience of lifetime at the cost of pea nuts. The regular as well as visiting faculties of the workshop are industry professionals with minimum 12 to 30 years experience in direction, production, editing and animation. The workshop is open to all passionate film and TV viewers with an intention to tour miniature world of film development before taking admission in an extensive film making course. The workshop is best for professionals and amateurs who can not spare time or budget to pursue their dreams in visual media.
“Furious Filmmaking Workshop” is conducted by Its Maiden Creative Pvt. Ltd., a renowned production house. It has developed TV Commercials for reputed brands i.e. Chevrolet Optra, Hyundai, Haier, ING Vasya bank, Cantabil, Amway and many more. Maiden Creative is also a franchisee owner of Frameboxx, NOIDA, a premier animation institute.
Venue: D 44, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, NOIDA, PIN 201301.
Phone: +91-120-4281770-4279780, 9818601176

Any photographer?
One of my friends is looking for portfolio shoot.

I need some information on the terms & conditions between an author and a publisher. So in case you have any idea on the same, please let me know. It’d be a great help for me.

Hey all you play-lovers, tele-booking invited for Pierrot’s Troupe’s Weekend Comedy, GHALIB IN NEW DELHI (Hindi Comedy - 259th Show) on May 03 (Sun)   7:30 pm. Watch Mirza Ghalib Posthumously – from staying in Patpad Ganj with a Bihari young man and a Punjaban land lady to becoming a Page 3 celebrity. Pierrot’s Troupe {www.pierrotstheatre.com}, the least pronounceable and the most pronounced theater group in India. Tickets are available at the venue on the day of each show. For tele, corporate, bulk and individual booking contact 9810255291, 9810460366, 40506826 or 29944635
or write to them at pierrotstroupe@yahoo.com or pierrotstroupe@gmail.com
or log on to www.bookmyshow.com
or call 39895050

HuRes Capital {www.hurescapital.com} invites institutes for participating in the event "The Red Carpet". They are inviting around 250 + corporate people. All managers and above from the HR and marketing background. This event is specially organized for the institutes to provide them with a framework to interact with these senior level people. They are targeting banking, insurance, BPO, KPO, IT, automobile, FMCG, travel industry, media companies, hotel, hospitals, realty, education, telecom, power, tyre industry, garments, retail, advertising, legal, PR , production houses etc. For further information, please contact Mr Ravish Rathore thru 9899491579 or ravishrathore@yahoo.com

Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in illustration, the 50th Annual Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Any illustration first printed or produced between March 12, 2008 and March 6, 2009 is eligible. Categories are advertising, books, animation, editorial, for sale, institutional, self-promotion and unpublished. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual and on www.commarts.com, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work. Enter Online NOW: commarts.com/competitions/illustration
And for photography, commarts.com/competitions/photography

The British Council - BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition 2009!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/indepth/radioplay2008.shtml

Corel's APAC Digital Art Competition 2009!

Imagine winning over USD 10,000 worth of prizes with one of your artworks! And have it seen and admired by thousands! You now have that chance, if you enter the Corel's APAC Digital Art Competition 2009! Yes, they are inviting YOU to take part in this competition! The overall winner will walk away with over USD 10,000 worth of great prizes! Take a look at all the great prize packages that they have prepared for you here. All you have to do is to use Corel software to make a creative video or graphic image, submit your artwork between February 05 to May 31, 2009 and be in line to win! Winners will be determined through a scoring process with two components-Judges' evaluation (50%) and Viewers score (50%). This means, in order to win, your work must not only score well with the panel of judges, but the viewing public must also endorse your work by voting for it! The earlier you submit your artwork, the more exposure you will have with the voting public, and thus the higher your chance will be of winning the most Viewers' votes. The top 3 winners from each country will then go into the Final round to compete for the Grand Prize! If you are among the first 30 contestants in each country to submit your artwork for the competition, you are guaranteed to get an Early Bird Prize-gift coupons worth USD 50 redeemable at the Corel on-line shop. For those who just want to enjoy browsing through others' work, you also have a chance to win! Simply vote and forward the competition information site to your family, friends and associates, and go into the draw to win a cool new ASUS EeePC Netbook and other great prizes! The more you forward, the higher your chance to win! So what are you waiting for? Find out more and sign up to win NOW! Hurry–enter before May 31st, 2009!

Journalist training from Reuters Foundation and The Stanley Foundation

Reuters Foundation and The Stanley Foundation are to partner for the third time to provide journalist training. In April they will run a Writing International News course in Mumbai, aimed specifically at full-time reporters from the United States and India . It will cover subjects such as poverty issues, Bollywood , India 's economy, western outsourcing to India (such as call centres) and media topics. There will be a special emphasis on international news reporting for U.S. and Indian audiences. Classroom tutorials will be reinforced with practical exercises and field trips. The two partners previously provided courses in 2005 and 2006 in the Middle East , bringing together American and Arab journalists for workshops to promote better understanding of each others' perspectives by exploring international issues together. The course will run from April 21 to 25 and the deadline for applications is March 1. If you have any queries please email foundation@reuters.com

www.filmaka.in

A site by filmmakers for filmmakers. Filmaka.in is an on-line network created by established independent producers, industry professionals, and film financiers Deepak Nayar, P K Tewari, Anand Tewari, Thomas Augsberger, Christopher Sharp, Robert Herman, Tim Levy, Mahesh Mathai, Kurt Woolner and Colin Firth. The goal of Filmaka.in is to give undiscovered filmmakers an opportunity to show custom made short films to industry professionals, award prizes to the most talented among them, and to find one truly talented director who will win a feature film deal with Filmaka at the end of the year. The jury includes Farhan Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Rahul Bose, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Deepak Nayar, Naseeruddin Shah, Uday Singh, Santosh Sivan. Filmaka will also offer a revenue share opportunity in connection with the short films which the Company decides to pick up for distribution. Filmaka.in - Driving the creation of stimulating content, discovery of new talent online, and extending reach to other media platforms.

Photography & Illustration Competition!

Communication Arts magazine announces the deadline for their 49th Photography & Illustration Competition - March 11, 2008. Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in photography & illustration, the 49th annual Communication Arts Photography & Illustration Competition. Any photograph or illustration first printed or produced between March 14, 2007 and March 11, 2008 is eligible. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors, photographers and illustrators, the winning entries will be published in the August 2008 Photography Annual and July 2008 Illustration Annual. Over 70,000 copies of the Photography Annual and Illustration Annual will be distributed worldwide, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work. As a service to art directors, designers and art buyers, a comprehensive index will include addresses, email and telephone numbers of the photographers and illustrators represented.

For submission guidelines and FAQs, visit:

http://www.commarts.com/Competitions/photography

http://www.commarts.com/Competitions/illustration

To download an entry form go to:

http://www.commarts.com/download/entryForm_photo.pdf

http://www.commarts.com/download/entryForm_illus.pdf

Web Watch ~

www.myntra.com

You want a unique gift for your friend or family or that special someone in your life. You want to express your support for a social cause, or celebrate an event in your own special way. You want to reward your employees for their contributions. You are sick of going to the same stores and looking at the same boring t-shirts, mugs, cards. You want to make one yourself. You want to make it memorable. You want to express your heartfelt feelings. You can do that with Myntra. You have a vision, a thought, an idea or you are just plain bored. You have always wanted to be that girl/boy who designed that awesome poster hanging in your room; you have always been that girl/boy who came up with lines that put those cool Amul ads to shame but you never found an audience other than your hapless friends! You have one now, Myntra. Upload your designs, your pick-up lines and your one-liners so others can see your creativity. And what's more, make money when someone buys your design! Myntra is about YOU, You the friend, the family, the employee, the designer, the citizen.

www.smsgupshup.com

SMSGupShup is a free group SMS service.

www.imagesbazaar.com

ImagesBazaar provides creative professionals with an imperative resource for searching, purchasing and downloading exclusive Indian images.

www.malwarebytes.org/startuplite.php

StartUpLite is a lightweight program that can disable or remove all known unnecessary startup entries from your computer and thus quicken the startup procedure of your system.

www.lynda.com

Helps you learn, master, and apply digital tools and techniques.

Lynda Weinman, a web graphics and design veteran, wrote the very first industry book on web design, Designing Web Graphics, in 1995. She is a prominent educator and the author of dozens of best-selling books. Weinman was a faculty member at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena , CA , in 1989, and has worked as an animator and motion graphics director in the film special effects industry. Weinman has worked as a consultant for Adobe, Macromedia, and Microsoft, and has conducted workshops at Disney, Microsoft, Adobe, and Macromedia. She has been a keynote speaker, moderator, and lecturer at numerous design, animation, web design, and computer-graphics conferences. Weinman and her husband Bruce Heavin co-founded lynda.com, a training company with headquarters in Ventura , CA , in 1995. She co-founded the Flashforward Conference and Film Festival, the largest Adobe Flash® conference in the world, in 2000.

www.kyooriusexchange.com/exchange

Where creative's meet.

www.designinindia.net

The world of design in India .

www.mattersofart.com

India 's first ezine on art.

www.deviantart.com

Art community. You can collect favorites, submit art, and track your friends and favorite artists.

www.livebooks.com

Offers websites and online marketing tools for photographers.

www.styleportfolios.com

Design portfolios for the fashion industry.

www.broadcaster.com

Social video network.

www.specialtemplates.com

Website templates, Flash site templates and Logo templates are available.

www.findarticles.com

News articles, reference articles are available.

www.photolibrary.com

The Photolibrary Group represents over 250 of the world's leading brands and 2,000+ photographers from around the world, to bring memorable, workable content to the creative communities in Europe, America , Asia and the Pacific. They provide customers with access to over 3 million images and over 2,000 hours of footage.

Photolibrary Group was founded in 1967 and, 40 years on has a global presence with offices in the United Kingdom (London), the USA (New York), Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), Singapore, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.

www.gsmarena.com

GSM reviews, votes, manuals, ringtones etc.

www.compare.com

Compare.com was founded in 2001 by a group of individuals dedicated to helping consumers find the best deals on products throughout the internet. Since their launch, they have helped thousands of users on the Internet find top quality products and low prices. Compare.com brand is recognized throughout the industry as a premier, reputable comparison shopping engine. Their mission is to offer the best pricing and most reputable service providers for everything from consumer electronics, toys, books, mortgages and more. They strive to be the most simple, straightforward and honest shopping comparison engine on the Web. Unlike many shopping comparison engines out there, they focus only on reputable retailers through constant quality control by both themselves and their third-party vendors.

www.youtube.com

Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email. In November 2006, within a year of its launch, YouTube was purchased by Google Inc. in one of the most talked-about acquisitions to date. YouTube has struck numerous partnership deals with content providers such as CBS, BBC, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, NBA, The Sundance Channel and many more.

www.jumpcut.com

A free online location where you can use all your media, create great looking movies and publish to anyone you choose.

www.softpedia.com

Free downloads encyclopedia.

www.howstuffworks.com

HowStuffWorks is the leading source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works. Founded by North Carolina State University Professor Marshall Brain in 1998, the site has since grown to be an award-winning online resource for millions of people of all ages.

From car engines to search engines, from cell phones to stem cells, and thousands of subjects in between, HowStuffWorks has it covered. No topic is too big or too small for their expert editorial staff to unmask... or for you to understand. In addition to comprehensive articles, their helpful graphics and informative videos walk you through every topic clearly, simply and objectively. By offering you consumer opinions and exclusive access to independent expert ratings and reviews from the trusted editors at Consumer Guide® and Mobil Travel Guide®, HowStuffWorks can provide you all of the information you need before you make important buying decisions in just a few clicks.

www.stumbleupon.com

Channel surf the internet with the StumbleUpon toolbar to find great websites, videos, photos and more based on your interests. StumbleUpon learns what you like and makes better recommendations.

www.wikipedia.org

The free encyclopedia.

www.wellstyled.com

WellStyled.com web site is intended to be a resource of useful CSS (Cascading Style Sheet), (X)HTML, Javascript and related techniques and tricks for web designers.

www.thakurkainteqam.com

An innovative viral for Orbit chewing gum.

Few good sites to showcase your photography work samples:

Pumping the Performance

If, like Hans Conosa, you have a no-compromise video project to turn around fast, you'll want to explore the performance advantages offered by the new Mac Pro. When rendering or encoding DV or HDV footage, test after test confirms its superior performance.

And in addition to accelerating video processing and rendering, Mac Pro supports more simultaneous video streams and real-time effects. It provides access to high-performance graphics cards with room for up to three more expansion cards. And Mac Pro lets you install up to four 500GB SATA hard drives and 2TB of internal storage.

Feeling their Patients' Pain

While patients suffering from Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) may dutifully report a variety of symptoms, it's often difficult for physicians to determine exactly how serious their patients' medical condition is. And that can lead either to overly aggressive treatment of some patients. Or to treatment that isn't nearly aggressive enough for others.

But now doctors all over the country get to safely experience the symptoms of CHF first hand. Thanks, that is, to Heart FXPod, a 53-foot-long heart-attack simulator on wheels. Strapped into pneumatic vests, doctors watch a video chronicling the experiences of Hank, a typical CHF patient. As Hank tires, has trouble breathing, feels his heart racing, so do the doctors. And that leads both to a better understanding of what patients experience and better diagnoses.

Please think...

Hi. Recently in The Times of India there was an article about pizza delivery companies which guarantee you free pizza if they fail to deliver within the specified time (like 30 minutes). Have you ever wondered who pays for the free pizzas? Well, the delivery boy is made to pay for the pizza. They are paid such low wages and the price of the pizza is deducted from their monthly wages which can amount to up to 60% in some months (It becomes difficult to run their family). To deliver the pizzas the delivery boys take high traffic risks as delivery becomes their priority. Their life and safety risks are neither looked into by the pizza shop management nor the pizza delivery boy himself. (They are more concerned to avoid the deduction from their salary).

If this type of exploitation is carried on in your city's pizza logistics we should stop availing the home delivery system, because to deliver our pizza one person may be risking his life. Is the life of an Indian citizen so cheap and of no value? In case he is late in delivering the pizza, we are enjoying the free pizza at the hard earned money of a poor delivery boy. Is it fair or right on our part to do it?

Please think...

Performance Check

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and asks him for a Phone Call.   Shop-owner replied, Sweetie this is no a STD, but you can do one call.   The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation.   The boy asked, "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn? The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn."   "Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." replied boy. The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.   The little boy found more perseverance and offered, "Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North-Palm Beach , Florida ." Again the woman answered in the negative.   With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.   The store-owner, who was listening to all these, walked over to the boy and said," Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job." The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performance with the job I already have. I am the one, who is working for that lady, I was talking to!"

Problem / Solve

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well. At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back. Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next. This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff. By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, "And why not?" With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, "Big John has a bus pass."

Management Lesson: "Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one."

The New Titanic!

The main pools at night

Royal Promenade

3 Story Restaurant

Aquarium Bar

Top View

[ Contributed by Sonal Makin ]

Oscars for Biggest Blunders : (

Pirates of the Caribbean

The Last Samurai

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Infernal Affairs

[ Contributed by Neha Singh ]

A Great Explanation!

This is one good explanation of why God allows pain and suffering that we see. A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things." The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist." "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me. " "Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

[ Contributed by Amit Jauhari ]

Simplicity Day!

July 12th is Simplicity Day – celebrated on Henry David Thoreau’s birthday, this day reminds us to simplify our lives.

Use Credit Cards Carefully!

Always keep your Credit Card in sight, when you give it for swiping. People use card-reader to transfer the data on to a PC for making a duplicate credit card. The next time you decide to use your credit card on a shopping trip, think again. The Mumbai police have busted a hi-tech credit card fraud which they believe is the crime of the future. Four gadget-savvy youngsters from Andheri, two of them software engineers, got together to earn a quick buck and ended up ripping off over Rs 3 lakh of citizens' money. The foursome was arrested by the Juhu police. Interestingly, one of the boys was all set to leave for the United States for a job in a well placed computer firm. According to the police, the mastermind of the gang is 19-year-old Leo Paul. A second-year engineering student at a Bandra college, Paul had read about a magnetic card-reading device which could store data once you swipe a card through it. Data from at least 12 such cards could be stored at a time. Paul realized that if credit cards were swiped though the machine, the personal data of a customer stored on it could be accessed. He then teamed with Akash Kamble, a 19-year-old Lokhandwala resident, and ordered the card-reader from US, using the internet, since it's not available in India . "The boys befriended a waiter at Kings International hotel at Juhu to take their plan ahead. Every time someone ate a meal in the hotel and paid by credit card, the waiter would discreetly swipe it through the magnetic card-reader, which is no more than 6-inches long and can be stored in the pocket,'' said investigating officer Ramesh Nangare. Once the waiter was done, he would hand over the device to Paul, who would download the data from the cards on to Kamble's personal computer. The duo would then feed the data into blank cards, available in the grey market. The cards were now ready to be used in shopping malls and theatres, or to withdraw money from an ATM. Senior inspector Pradeep Shinde said that the boys forged information from more than 22 cards in this manner. The fraud came to light after officials from HSBC bank complained to the police. The cops quizzed customers whose cards had been duplicated and discovered they had all visited Hotel Kings International and paid by credit card. Investigators then caught the waiter who led them to the four youngsters. Paul, Kamble and the two other collegians identified as Manoj Chauhan and Mahesh Valani, have been remanded to police custody.

[ Contributed by Md. Raza ]

'Face the Nation' with Rajdeep Sardesai is now the most preffered program across all English news channels.

How smart are the IAS Candidates?

Answers given by IAS Candidates, who are Officers now.

Q. How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
A. Concrete floors are very hard to crack! (UPSC Topper)

Q. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take
four men to build the same wall?
A. No time at all it is already built. (UPSC 23 Rank Opted for IFS)

Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
A. It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one
hand. (UPSC Rank 14 Opted for IES)

Q. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
A. No Probs, He sleeps at night. (UPSC IAS Rank 98)

Q. What looks like half apple?
A. The other half. (UPSC - IAS Topper)

Q. What can you never eat for breakfast?
A. Dinner.

Q. What happened when wheel was invented?
A. It caused a revolution.

Q. Bay of Bengal is in which state?
A. Liquid (UPSC 33Rank )

And now the best one:
Interviewer said, "I shall either ask you ten easy questions or one really difficult question. Think well before you make up your mind! The boy thought for a while and said, "My choice is one really difficult question." "Well, good luck to you, you have made your own choice! Now tell me this. What comes first, Day or Night?" The boy was jolted into reality as his admission depends on the correctness of his answer, but he thought for a while and said, "It's the DAY sir!" "How" the interviewer asked. "Sorry sir, your deal was to ask me ONE difficult question only and that you will not ask me a SECOND difficult question!"

He was selected for IIM!

[ Contributed by Sharad Gupta ]

Yeh din bhi door nahin!

Amitabh Bachchan: Mere paas IIT ki BTech hai, IIM ki MBA hai, McKinsey ki offer-letter hain! Tumhare paas kya hai?

Shashi Kapoor: Mere paas Reservation hai!

[ Contributed by Vinita Kapoor ]

Don’t Buy Petrol on Sep 22, 2006

Petrol in Pakistan Rs 17 per liter, Malaysia Rs 18 per liter. In India it's Rs 48 per liter and further hike of Rs 4 to Rs 5 is already round the corner. Why this difference in Asia itself ? World Market Crude Oil is not the reason for this. It's all gain for private owners? As we are the general public, or Common Man as R K Laxman would have said, we have to raise our voice. Therefore Sep 22, 2006 has been formally declared as "stick it up their behind" day and the people of this nation should not buy a single drop of petrol that day.

[ Contributed by Amit Jauhari ]

Globalization

Q: What is the truest definition of Globalization?

A: Princess Diana's death.

Q: How come?

A: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles; treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines. That, my friend, is Globalization!

[ Contributed by Subir Roy ]

Cup & Coffee

Group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups." "Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of life doesn't change." "Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

[ Contributed by Sonal Makin ]

Save Trees; Trees save

[ Contributed by Amit Jauhari ]

Milk Power

[ Contributed by Amit Jauhari ]

Hands-Free-Brushing

[ Contributed by Amit Jauhari ]

Music Power

[ Contributed by Amit Jauhari ]

Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be all right to smoke while praying. Max replies, "Why don't you ask the Priest?" So Jack goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I smoke while I pray?" But the Priest says, "No, my son, you may not. That's utter disrespect to our religion." Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good Priest told him. Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try." And so Max goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I pray while I smoke?" To which the Priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all means."

Moral: The reply you get depends on the question you ask.

For Example: Can I work on this project while I'm on vacation?

[ Contributed by Amit Jauhari ]

Some Ironical Pictures!

Evolution of Aggasi!

Evolution of Gates!

[ Contributed by Nadia Ferreira ]

ICE

There has been a tremendous push to launch the International "In Case of Emergency" (ICE) campaign. As you know, many people get injured in various incidents. Many of those injured were found with their cell phones. First responders used the injured person's cell phone to try and locate a family member that they could notify on the injured persons behalf. However the rescuers found it difficult to locate the appropriate person. Wireless subscribers are now being asked by Public Safety Officials all over the world to store the word "ICE" in their wireless phone address book and put their next of kin's phone number next to it. In the event of an emergency, this person would be contacted quickly by ambulance and hospital staff. It's just that easy! (Source: BBC News). Please take a moment to program someone that you would like to be contacted in case of an emergency into your cell phone with the word "ICE". Public Safety officials around the world will know what this means.

[ Contributed by Pawan Kitchlue ]

Extra Man?

Count the heads. Now wait until the position change. Then count.

[ Contributed by NIFT Group ]

Play Safe

Santa: If you're afraid that someone will take away your slippers when you leave them outside the religious place, what will you do?

Banta: Simple! Following this manner...

[ Contributed by Amit ]

Kiss Your Car Day

July 30. Kiss Your Car Day. Celebrated on the birthday of Henry Ford.

Be respectful. And take it out for dinner and a movie first!

Santa the Great!

Santa had always been worried that why he has one brother while his sister has two???

***

Bush: 'Impossible' does not come in my dictionary!
Santa: Phir dictionary dekh ke kharidni chahiye thi na!

***

Customer: Is mirror ki guarantee kya hai?
Santa: It's 99% safe. 100 feet se fenkoge to 99 feet tak kuchh nahi hoga!

[ Contributed by Abhishek Gupta ]

Good Lines!

Sign on a railway station at Patna :

Aana free, jaana free, pakde gaye to khana free.

Seen on a famous beauty parlor in Bombay :

Don't whistle at the girl going out from here. She may be your grandmother!

Sign at a barber shop in Bombay :

We need your heads to run our business.

A traffic slogan:

Drive Safely. Don't expire before your driving license.

THE BEST ONE:

Its God's responsibility to forgive the terrorist organizations. It's our responsibility to arrange the meeting between them and God.

- Indian Armed Forces

[ Contributed by Md. Raza ]