Blogging for me is an instinct passion and the only barrier that keeps me separated from a daily walk to the blog world is my excuses for lack of daily imagination and finding time.
Well, I think excuses can be undone. At least wordpress thinks so. So, I have resolute myself to go with “Post a Day” campaign of Wordpress and stick to it as far I can. Let me check at the end of 2011, whether I am a better blogger or not.
“Happy New Year”
and
“Welcome 2011”
I was very much enthusiastic about this version of the Harry Potter series. After the grumpy half blood prince version, the hypes and the reviews were much higher about the first part of the climax. The significant highlights of the pre release were
Now back to the reality. The visual effects were quite marvelous. It very well did justice to Rowling’s imaginations, as it did in all the prequels. I would say, one of the best three of the ‘Harry Potter’ series with respect to visual effects.
The kids of past has came well beyond the age to produce few quality smooches. Hermione and Harry Potter sequence while Ron destroys the Horcrux, was quite edgy.
Though not possible to redraw the entire book on the screen, I felt, many key events in the book has been missed out. Like, the past of ‘Dumbledore’, Harry possessing the eye of Mad Eye from the ministry, Harry using invisibility Clock in the ministry etc.
Back ground score was terrible, If they used that kind of music for highlighting the horror and the drenched situations, the music didnt do much good. At most places, it didn't come along quite well.
I would rate this movie as 6/10.
Helen Keller was a remarkable woman, born in 1880 and died in 1968 at the age of 88.
At age two, she contracted an illness that left her blind, deaf, unable to speak,
and was considered backwards of intelligence.
She lived in a dark and hopeless world of her own, until age 7, when she was
placed in the care of her teacher, Anne Sullivan.
Through being taught letters spelt out in her hand, she came to realise
the correlation between those words and their meaning.
From then on, using her dogged persistence, she went on to bring forth her intellectual and emotional abilities, being an avid learner, and despite the social obstacles of her time, became the first deaf/blind person to graduate from college.
As an adult, she travelled the world, campaigned for civil rights, world peace,
human dignity and women's rights, and authored many books and essays.
She became a prominent figure in her lifetime, whose accomplishments
attracted awe, respect, admiration and inspiration.
The story of Helen Keller is the story of a child who, at the age of 18 months,
was suddenly shut off from the world, but who, against overwhelming odds,
waged a slow, hard, but successful battle to reenter that same world.
The inarticulate little deaf and blind girl grew into a highly intelligent and sensitive woman who wrote, spoke, and labored incessantly for the betterment of others.
So powerful a symbol of triumph over adversity did she become that she has a definite place in the history of our time and of times to come.
Helen Adams Keller was born, physically whole and healthy, in Tuscumbia,
Alabama on June 27, 1880 in a white, frame cottage called "Ivy Green."
On her father's side she was descended from Alexander Spottswood,
a colonial governor of Virginia, and connected with the Lees and
other Southern families.
On her mother's side, she was related to a number of prominent New England families, including the Hales, the Everetts, and the Adamses.
Her father, Captain Arthur Keller, was the editor of a newspaper, the North Alabamian. Captain Keller also had a strong interest in public life and was an influential figure in his own community. In 1885, under the Cleveland administration, he was appointed Marshal of North Alabama.
The illness that struck the infant Helen Keller and left her deaf and blind,
was diagnosed as brain fever at the time; perhaps it was scarlet fever.
Popular belief had it that the disease left its victim an idiot.
And as Helen Keller grew from infancy into childhood, wild, unruly,
and with little real understanding of the world around her,
this belief was seemingly confirmed.
Helen Keller's real life began on a March day in 1887 when she was
a few months short of seven years old. On that day, which Miss Keller was always to call "The most important day I can remember in my life,"
Anne Mansfield Sullivan came to Tuscumbia to be her teacher.
Miss Sullivan, a 20-year-old graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, who
had regained useful sight through a series of operations, had come to the Kellers through the sympathetic interest of Alexander Graham Bell.
From that fateful day, the two--teacher and pupil--were inseparable until
the death of the former in 1936.
How Miss Sullivan turned the near savage child into a responsible human being
and succeeded in awakening her marvelous mind is familiar to millions,
most notably through William Gibson's play and film, The Miracle Worker,
Miss Keller's autobiography of her early years, The Story of My Life,
and Joseph Lash's Helen and Teacher.
Miss Sullivan began her task with a doll the children at Perkins had made for her to take to Helen. By spelling "d-o-l-l" into the child's hand, she hoped to teach her to connect objects with letters. Helen quickly learned to make the letters correctly, but did not know she was spelling a word, or that words existed. In the days that followed she learned to spell a great many more words in this uncomprehending way.
One day she and "Teacher"--as Helen always called her--went to the outdoor pump. Miss Sullivan started to draw water and put Helen's hand under the spout.
As the cool water gushed over one hand, she spelled into the other the word
"w-a-t-e-r" first slowly, then rapidly.
Suddenly, the signals had meaning in Helen's mind.
She knew that "water" meant the wonderful cool something flowing over her hand. Quickly, she stopped and touched the earth and demanded its letter name and by nightfall she had learned 30 words. Thus began Helen Keller's education. She proceeded quickly to master the alphabet, both manual and in raised print for blind readers, and gained facility in reading and writing. In 1890, when she was just 10, she expressed a desire to learn to speak.
Somehow she had found out that a little deaf-blind girl in Norway had acquired that ability.
Miss Sarah Fuller of the Horace Mann School was her first speech teacher.
Even when she was a little girl, Helen Keller said, "Someday I shall go to college." And go to college she did. In 1898 she entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies to prepare for Radcliffe College. She entered Radcliffe in the fall of 1900 and received her bachelor of arts degree cum laude in 1904.
Throughout these years and until her own death in 1936, Anne Sullivan was always by Helen's side, laboriously spelling book after book
and lecture after lecture, into her pupil's hand.
It’s another Christmas. Years and years after, the meaning of Christmas has changed for me. Once, Christmas was celebration, then to an occasion to participate and then just another holiday for relaxing from work.
In my early school days, it was moments of Christmas celebration in the school that made the upcoming vacation full of happy memories. Decors, cakes, and Carol songs filled the class rooms. The missionary school, I attended to, offered a lot for celebration during Christmas. The high school, though it was also a Christian missionary school, the celebrations was not expensive, but a bare minimal of Carols by students, some skits and some competitions. The college days marked the parting of Christmas as a happy celebration moments, except for the sms that students used to send each other on day. Since, I hadn't had that luxury to have a mobile on those days, I wasnt part of this electronic celebration.
And now, working the brains out all through the week days and yearning for an off day, the Christmas is rather a joy for ever. An assured time out every year. And for this reason, I have every reason to celebrate this Christmas with my sweetheart in the city of my dreams, where I landed about six months back.
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Achi – Its been a long time ever since, I have been through the sneeze season. I cannot remember any exact time or reason for getting the cold, but I started sneezing right from the morning workout sessions.
The whole Sunday went through sneezing and the subsequent hangover. I hate wasting a precious leave day, but I didn’t have much choice. I spent the day dropping and picking up wife from the super market(Home shopping is better done by her, I don’t want to get into arguments with choices).
The weather in Chennai is still hot and highly humid despite of a heavy rain in the night, 2 days back. My car looks cleaned. So, it would have been quite a heavy shower.
As usual, I hate going to office on mondays and today is a special day with all my sneezing. Praise the Lord
Every morning, I feel that I have attained the limit of my physical endurance. The next morning makes me realize that I was one step behind yesterday.
Being healthy and sorting out health is much complicated adversaries. The most fundamental behavior of human body and mind is to stay at the maximum comfortable level and resist anything that affects the comfort. More often, when I try to get up early for a short jog, or at the least a walk through the lanes, I am often winded down by yawn and sleepiness. The body fights its best fight to draw me back to the sleepy hollow. But, did the body understand that the comfort level it can attain by sweating out at the maximum in the early morning could last for ages. But I think, it is satisfied by the cozy bed and the interim pleasure.
But, I have already decided to invest in long term health and I am have been successful to be regular on that regime for the last 15 days. Believe me, for a lazy guy like me, sticking to a schedule that needs a early wake up, extreme hard work making the body demand is more than a dream. But, I lived that dream. It would be better to say like,’ The dream is real for me now’.
!0 days into my ‘Shaolin Fist Kung Fu training’ and oh man, what I feel? I feel strong and confident and building the will power to achieve more and more after each impossible training routines that is becoming possible on each day ahead. I am very much impressed and fascinated and got involved into this old traditional Chinese martial art. Even in movies, I liked Kung Fu and Kick Boxing more than other martial arts like Karate because of this style, grace and beauty. I found the flowing of Chi in Kung Fu more elegant than the Katas.
Shaolin Kung Fu refers to a style of the martial art that originated at the Shaolin Monastery in China. However, the term has evolved, encompassing fighting styles and forms that are not necessarily associated with the monastery. The Southern Shaolin style of kung fu fighting features low body stances and emphasizes hand-to-hand, close-quarter combat. Southern styles is more hands, close quarter fighting, builds extremely strong bodies, great for self defense.
Southern Kung Fu masters focus on building body strength and teaching effective self-defense techniques.
More important in martial arts as equivalent to style is to have a right and apt master Sifu. The Sifu must be extremely talented and at the same time must be a good teacher. And I was lucky and blessed to learn this art from a master of the right Blend.
Master Sifu of Shaolin Fist Kung Fu International school is a perfect master. He understands each students strengths and weakness and imparts and concentrates on building the same. The regular classes includes strength building, body conditioning, Kung Fu, meditation, Yoga, gymnastics, self defense techniques and weapon training. A complete and authentic training in an ancient martial art form. With such impression, I don’t mind advertising the school through my blog. Anyone in Chennai who is interested to improve physical fitness, learn Kung Fu from A-Z come and join the school. The school details are as below:
No 5/9, First Cross Street,
4th
main Road,
Ram Nagar,
Nanganallur
Chennai 600061
Sifu : Shivabharati
Contact : 9789934930,9789934960
How much things can go funny? A little, a little over. But after seeing this freaking video, I lost all my control and wanted to do sit ups as soon as possible. Worried about belly fat? Try this…
I always wished to do something for the country. Being a normal citizen, there is few that could prove significant, but still I was searching for something that is genuine.
And I stuck on the idea of showcasing India facts in the web world. Being a blogger, this is the way for me to volunteer on my patriotic moves. Hence, I launched
My gentle effort to collect facts that is unique to India and showcase it on my blog is a very long term project. It involves collecting unique facts about india and publishing it for the readers. Over time, I dream this blog to grow as the best repository for the India facts. So, please have a look at it too. It is at its early stages of its life, so, please excuse with the scarcity of contents. I promise, the blog will grow with content day by day.
The sky in Trivandrum is getting cloudy. Another monsoon on the limelight, and the day ahead promises a lot of wet muddy roads, pools in the miniature pot holes and cloudy noisy nights with rain rattling against the window panes. The sun has been angry for last couple of months. The unbearable heat took the toll right from the morning to late night. High humidity added to the discomfort and the broken sleeps. Amidst of all these, the rains are a boon. Moreover, rains in the city raises a lot of nostalgic memories.
I got the first taste of this monsoon, when I wake up in the morning, with the wind blowing the curtains up and the drops of rain rushing into my room. Ever since, the heat became unbearable at night, I had the habit of leaving a window open. That welcomed the rain to my room. When I started for the office early morning, the sky was cloud laden. The rain clouds filled the horizon and promised me a wet day. And wet indeed. The drive to the office had my wiper of the car working hard to keep my view intact. After quite a couple of months, I had a cold morning, surely relieving, I must say.
Rains always had a part in the life of people around here, especially for me. In my school days, the opening ceremony of school after the summer breaks are always accompanied by monsoons. The child's heart after a long vacation and back to school benches are reflected in the dark frowning sky. But, the lightning of smiles when friends gang regroups are much to a relief for the year ahead. The morning rain took me back to those old memories.
Though, the rains are bringing back sweet memories, it is also posing a dangerous outrage in southern states of India. Right now, I read news that, the storm in Andhra Pradesh is getting stronger and the winds are blowing at a brisk rate of 120 Km/hr. Really outrageous. Last time, when monsoons devastated the South Asian region was when Tsunami stuck. I hope, this year the monsoon goes away sweetly.
A car of my own was my dream. And today, I am living in that dream.So, with wheels with hands, I would love an opportunity to turn it and yesterday it was indeed an opportunity. I had to do a transporter job, oh well,not a Jason Stathom kind of, but a cross state cruise for my wife to attend her friend's marriage. For me, it was an excuse to pedal the accelerator.
To my inner soul, I enjoyed this drive. The previous time, I went through the same route, I was accompanied by my cousin brother, who was a very good driver. At that time, I was new to my car and very scared or doubtful at each corner. But today was different. I enjoyed flowing through the traffic, smoking the engine at empty straight stretches and chattering with my wife, who can chit chat for hours non stop.
"Work-life balance was coined in 1986 in reaction to the unhealthy choice many were making in favour of the workplace, as they opted to neglect family, friends and leisure activities in pursuit of corporate goals," according to the Work-Life Balance Centre, a Newton Burgoland, Leicestershire, UK.-based think tank and council dedicated to helping workers gain control of their workloads.
Since the late 1980s, achieving work-life balance has become a concern and goal for businesses, industry and governments worldwide.
When one stops to consider the different areas of life, there are several that require thoughtful attention. If one thinks about it in terms of a pie-chart, each of these areas makes up one piece of that pie, such as Career, Relationships (spouse, family and friends community, colleagues / networking), Spirit (religion / spiritual development), Body (health and fitness), Mind (personal development and lifelong learning), Physical environment (home, office, or car), Finances & Fun and Leisure.
There is a great story. It goes something like this. There was a man who visited a circus. When he saw the clown balancing several objects simultaneously, he was so impressed he sought out the clown after the show. The man asked the clown how he managed to keep all the objects in such perfect balance. The clown replied that he wasn't balancing the objects at all; he was trying to keep them all from crashing to the ground.
The moral, of course, is that balance is not a perfect state. There are always little fluctuations going on to maintain what appears as balance.
Balance means that nothing is absolutely static and unchanging. One can get out of balance for many reasons: -
Having work-life balance thus means that one must also be able to make the decisions about what one is going to do in any given moment.
5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance
1. Figure Out What Really Matters to You in Life
Personal coach Laura Berman Fortgang, author of NOW WHAT? 90 Days to a New Life Direction, says getting your priorities clear is the first and most essential step toward achieving a well-balanced life. The important point here is to figure out what you want your priorities to be, not what you think they should be.
"I use an exercise for figuring out what matters most," Fortgang tells WebMD. She has her clients take a couple days off from work to contemplate the following series of questions:
1. If my life could focus on one thing and one thing only, what would that be?
2. If I could add a second thing, what would that be?
3. A third?
4. A fourth?
5. A fifth?
If you answer thoughtfully and honestly, the result will be a list of your top five priorities. Fortgang says a typical top-five list might include some of the following:
Children
Spouse
Satisfying career
Community service
Religion/spirituality
Health
Sports
Art
Hobbies, such as gardening
Adventure/travel
Ismael Al-Ramahi, a graduate student at Baylor College of Medicine, says his current priorities are his wife, his 4-month-old son, and his research. He tells WebMD the key is not only knowing your priorities, but devoting your full attention to just one priority at a time. "Split your time and your mind so that you're thinking about work when you're at work and you're paying attention to the baby when you're with him."
| 2. Drop Unnecessary Activities By making a concrete list of what really matters to you, you may discover you're devoting too much time to activities that aren't a priority, and you can adjust your schedule accordingly. Since having a baby, Al-Ramahi says he and his wife have become much more efficient in managing their time -- cutting back on television, for example. If at all possible, Fortgang recommends dropping any commitments and pursuits that don't make your top-five list, because "unnecessary activities keep you away from the things that matter to you." |
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3. Protect Your Private Time
You would probably think twice before skipping out on work, a parent-teacher conference, or a doctor's appointment. Your private time deserves the same respect. "Carve out hours that contribute to yourself and your relationship," says Stevan Hobfoll, PhD, distinguished professor of psychology at Kent State University, and co-author of Work Won't Love You Back: The Dual Career Couple's Survival Guide. Guard this personal time fervently and don't let work or other distractions intrude. "Stop checking email and cell phones so often," Hobfoll advises. "Few people are so important that they need their phones on at all times."
If work consistently interferes with your personal time, Hobfoll recommends discussing some adjustments with your boss. "There's a mythology in the workplace that more hours means more," he tells WebMD. Demonstrate that you can deliver the same or better results in fewer hours. Your job performance "should never be judged in terms of hours of input," Hobfoll says. Protecting your private time often leads to "greater satisfaction in both work life and personal life, greater productivity, and more creativity."
If you're your own boss, it's up to you to create boundaries that keep work from intruding on family time. Lachlan Brown is president of Tech for People, a small business consulting firm specializing in Internet marketing. "I make it very clear at the beginning of any new business relationship that if I work nights and/or weekends then this is purely by choice," he tells WebMD. "I've told clients more than once that if they call me at night or on the weekend that they shouldn't expect me to a) answer the phone and b) reply until the next business day."
Brown, who has a 9-month-old daughter, doesn't see his reluctance to work after hours as compromising his career but quite the opposite. "I believe that if I truly honour the different aspects of my life, such as work, play, and family, I will be more successful and fulfilled in each area. If I skimp on family time or 'me' time, then my success in my career will suffer as a result. I look to my daughter to remind me of how to be open-minded and excited and curious about life ... key ingredients for innovative, breakthrough thinking. If I don't spend time with her now, this opportunity will be lost forever."
4. Accept Help to Balance Your Life
Allow yourself to rely on your partner, family members, or friends -- anyone who can watch the kids or run an errand while you focus on other top priorities. "Try tag-teaming," Hobfoll suggests. "One spouse works out before dinner, one after dinner, while the other watches the kids."
To get more alone-time with your partner, accept babysitting offers from friends and family, or try arranging a regular trade-off with another couple. "'I'll watch your kids this Saturday if you watch mine next Saturday.' Tag-teaming is a great way to create extra free time," Hobfoll says.
5. Plan Fun and Relaxation
Fun and relaxation are an essential part of living a well-balanced life. That's why Brown makes time for weekly guitar lessons, a yoga class, a date night with his wife, and a guys' night out a couple times a month. In addition, he exercises on a trampoline in his backyard most days of the week. How does he squeeze in all this playtime while running his business and sharing the responsibilities of raising a daughter? "If you believe that the most important thing is to be happy in life (not when I'm a millionaire or when I retire but right now) then you can always make time."
Until you get into the habit of taking time for yourself, set aside space in your planner for relaxation and fun. Plan what you're going to do and make any necessary arrangements, such as childcare, to ensure you'll be able to keep your commitment. "Remember, you make time for what you want to make time for," Fortgang says. If something is important to you, don't brush it aside with a dismissive "I don't have time for that." You are in charge of your own schedule -- it's up to you to make time.
Follow These 5 Simple Steps To Make Your Life & Work Balanced !!!!
1. When did you help a stranger for the last time?
2. Have you fed any hungry stomach which is incapable of getting food of their own?
3. If you read first two questions, aren’t you lucky that you are able to read it and think about it?
PCP (Phencyclidine) is a dissociative drug formerly used as an anesthetic agent, exhibiting hallucinogenic and neurotoxic effects. It is commonly known as Angel Dust, but is also known as Wet, Sherm, Sherman Hemsley, Rocket Fuel, Ashy Larry, Shermans Tank, Wack, Halk Hogan, Ozone, HannaH, Hog, Manitoba Shlimbo, and Embalming Fluid, among other names. Although the primary psychoactive effects of the drug only last hours, total elimination from the body is prolonged, typically extending over weeks. PCP is consumed in a recreational manner by drug users, mainly in the United States, where the demand is met by illegal production. It comes in both powder and liquid forms (PCP base dissolved most often in ether), but typically it is sprayed onto leafy material such as marijuana, mint, oregano, parsley or Ginger Leaves, and smoked. PCP has potent effects on the nervous system altering perceptual functions (hallucinations, delusional ideas, delirium or confused thinking), motor functions (unsteady gait, loss of coordination, and disrupted eye movement or nystagmus), and autonomic nervous system regulation (rapid heart rate, altered temperature regulation). The drug has been known to alter mood states in an unpredictable fashion causing some individuals to become detached and others to become animated.
When I was taking the drug, I used very small amounts. The effect was incredibly pleasant and social, so much so that me and my friends all used it instead of booze for almost a year. I couldn’t dance for shit on the stuff (I’d get stumbly and actually fell on my ass on the dancefloor once) but the physical sensations and mental pictures were really fun. It is quite different from any psychedelic visuals or even Ketamine visuals…more like rolling through old film footage. To be honest, I liked it more than my experiences on Ketamine. PCP can make one nearly impervious to pain at high doses. Because of this, PCP can make things seem like a good idea that otherwise wouldn’t (leading to the stories of people leaping out of windows, etc.) I experienced very confusing physical reality when really high on it, like being unable to discern the difference between walking up stairs and down them, or standing still and walking. This could lead to very unusual behaviour.
Psilocybin mushrooms (also called psilocybian mushrooms) are fungi that contain the psychedelic substances psilocybin and psilocin, and occasionally other psychoactive tryptamines. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being magic mushrooms or ‘shrooms. When psilocybin is ingested, it is broken down to produce psilocin, which is responsible for the hallucinogenic effects. The intoxicating effects of psilocybin-containing mushrooms typically last anywhere from 3 to 7 hours depending on dosage, preparation method and personal metabolism. The experience is typically inwardly oriented, with strong visual and auditory components. Visions and revelations may be experienced, and the effect can range from exhilarating to distressing. There can be also a total absence of effects, even with large doses.
I had acquired about 8 grams of dried mushrooms and some liquid psilocybin equivalent to another 5 grams of powdered mushrooms. I swallowed the liquid first, on an empty stomach of course. I could feel a slight sensation after about 10-15 minutes. Then I added the powder to some water in a mug and swallowed that also. I then sat by the camp fire, listening to the wind in the trees while I contemplated what was about to happen. After about 45-50 minutes I heard a ‘voice’ calling to me. It wasn’t audible in the normal sense – it came from inside my own mind! Then I was gone – out of this world. I escaped into what I perceived to be the outer boundaries of my mind or my imagination. This placed presented itself as a natural forest with low light. Here I met the owner of the aforementioned voice – the Mushroom Goddess. She took the form of a white, strapless, ankle-length dress, standing side-on from me. For about the next two hours I dialoged with her, becoming totally bewitched by her charm, her wit, her intelligence, her knowledge, her unconditional affection for me and her seemingly infinite perspective. I have come to think of her as my other-worldly girlfriend.
Cannabis, known as marijuana in its herbal form, is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa. Humans have been consuming cannabis since prehistory, although in the 20th century there was a rise in its use for recreational, religious or spiritual, and medicinal purposes. It is estimated that about four percent of the world’s adult population use cannabis annually. It has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, usually by smoking or ingestion. The minimum amount of THC required to have a perceptible psychoactive effect is about 10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. The state of intoxication due to cannabis consumption is colloquially known as a “high”; it is the state where mental and physical facilities are noticeably altered due to the consumption of cannabis. Each user experiences a different high, and the nature of it may vary upon factors such as potency, dose, chemical composition, method of consumption and set and setting.
After taking that first hit, and not feeling the effects within a minute (holding it in for a minute, and then waiting a little bit after exhaling) I decided, well I better hit this again, harder if I can. I took just as large of a hit, and again held it in for longer than a minute. I let my brother know I was really starting to feel something now and I don’t think I liked it all. It snuck up on me really bad, and I still had no idea what to expect. I wanted him to be quiet. Laying down was not helping, so I got back up. I went back to the garage and tried to explain to everyone ‘I am totally fucked up. This is scary!’ I was rationalizing everything tremendously, but it was SO intense! And it was only getting more intense faster! I didn’t know what to expect, I was sinking within myself, accelerating downward like into the depths of my own oblivion. I was a novice, I had no idea what to expect, and the world had become out of synch, the talking of my brothers, his friend, all ridiculous and extremely annoying. I became amazingly irritable and wanted them to leave me alone or not talk in my presence. They did not understand or appreciate my fear, and they began to get loud again. I ran upstairs to my parents bed and laid down with some wistful hope that I could wait out this storm.
Opium is a resinous narcotic formed from the latex released by lacerating (or “scoring”) the immature seed pods of opium poppies (Papaver somniferum). It contains up to 16% morphine, an opiate alkaloid, which is most frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. Opium has gradually been superseded by a variety of purified, semi-synthetic, and synthetic opioids with progressively stronger effect, and by other general anesthesia. This process began in 1817, when Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner reported the isolation of pure morphine from opium after at least thirteen years of research and a nearly disastrous trial on himself and three boys.
I remember that what I smoked was much easier to smoke than marijuana. There was no burning in my throat nor in my lungs. I took a very large, smooth hit. Smoking it like marijuana, I held it in for about 10 or 15 seconds and let it out. It didn’t taste like marijuana, I remember the taste being rather faint. It actually tasted and smelled like incense. I was very surprised to suddenly find myself on the floor, in the dark, with a crowd of people surrounding me. Apparently I had fainted and fallen to the ground, but I hadn’t noticed. The high itself is rather hard to describe. It was much more intense than marijuana. It felt heavy, like my whole body was being impacted… but it also felt very clear and refined at the same time. As I made my way towards the bathroom the drug began to kick in again. My steps kind of faded away and it felt like I was just floating over to the bathroom. The scary thing was though, that I was having trouble seeing. My vision was fading. Distinct figures melted into shadows and everything had a sparkle to it. All of a sudden, everything felt really good. I couldn’t stop smiling. Everything was profound in a very positive way, especially the music since it resonated everywhere. It was a very abstruse experience. I imagine that I was coming down at this point, an hour had surely past by because the band was building a climax to end their first set. I went along with the crowd and made my way outside. The fresh air was wonderful. The cool air seemed to wrap around my body. A slight breeze on the back of my neck sent chills that rapidly multiplied throughout my body.
Ecstasy (MDMA) is a semisynthetic psychedelic entactogen of the phenethylamine family that is much less visual with more stimulant like effects than most all other common “trip” producing psychedelics. It is considered mainly a recreational drug that’s often used with sex and associated with club drugs, as an entheogen, and a tool in use to supplement various types of practices for transcendence including in meditation, psychonautics, and illicit psychedelic psychotherapy whether self administered or not. The primary effects of MDMA include an increased awareness of the senses, feelings of openness, euphoria, empathy, love,happiness, heightened self-awareness, feeling of mental clarity and an increased appreciation of music and movement. Tactile sensations are enhanced for some users, making physical contact with others more pleasurable. Other side effects, such as jaw clenching and elevated pulse, are common.
Sitting comfortably in our cosy living room, Café del Mar and similar CDs playing in the background, we began at 8 pm. I swallowed one white tablet with water. Over the next hour nothing much happened except that I found myself talking quite openly and confidently with the others, moving very easily into interesting conversations. This was a little unusual for me as I am normally quite shy and overly self-conscious in social situations and it takes me a while to loosen up. The next thing I experienced was a striking shift in my visual perception. I don’t mean a hallucination or a distortion, but a wonderful step up in the aesthetic quality. For a moment it was like being in one of those nostalgic TV ads where the world looks all gold and sepia. ‘Everything’s gone amber!’ I blurted. But then I found that my vision was becoming beautifully enhanced. It made my normal visual experience seem like cheap, fuzzy CCTV footage in comparison. Now I was seeing the world anew in sharp, lush, top-quality Technicolor! I also began to move in time to the music. The music! Oh, the music! Wow! It sounded so good, so organic! The uplifted state stayed with me and took a long time to fade — at least a couple of weeks. It had unleashed in me a rush of joy that was still accessible when I focused on it weeks later.
Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, LSD-25, or acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the tryptamine family. Arguably the most regarded of all psychedelics, it is considered mainly as a recreational drug, an entheogen, and a tool in use to supplement various types of exercises for transcendence including in meditation, psychonautics, and illegal psychedelic psychotherapy whether self administered or not. LSD’s psychological effects (colloquially called a “trip”) vary greatly from person to person, depending on factors such as previous experiences, state of mind and environment, as well as dose strength. They also vary from one trip to another, and even as time passes during a single trip. An LSD trip can have long term psychoemotional effects; some users cite the LSD experience as causing significant changes in their personality and life perspective. Widely different effects emerge based on what Leary called set and setting; the “set” being the general mindset of the user, and the “setting” being the physical and social environment in which the drug’s effects are experienced.
About ten years ago I bought my third trip from a guy in my home town Norwich (UK) It was a ‘Strawberry’ and I was told it had been double dipped. The guy had a reputation for selling good acid so I happily gave him my cash. I took the single LSD tab in the late morning in a positive state of mind with no worries or anxieties. I began to come up on the acid towards the lunch time. It was to be the first and last time I’d ever trip alone. Outside it was a glorious sunny day but I was happy enough in my temporary sanctuary to even think about going outside. The LSD rush started blazing up my spine and racing through my guts, I felt a little uneasy with it but had enough mind to allow myself to just go with it and wait until the rush plateaued. I was having a wonderful time, watching floral Escher type patterns breathing over my skin. I vaguely recall deciding to go downstairs again for some reason then the next thing I recall was awakening on the floor of the dining room alone. The first thing I noticed was that there were blowflies buzzing around a bowl of catfood on the kitchen floor. I remember feeling perplexed as to why both flies had two bright neon after images in red and blue. Somehow I navigated myself through Norwich during the busy lunchtime shoppers and begun to head in the direction of the city’s central park ‘Chapelfield gardens’. If you could imagine for a moment being surrounded by people in a busy place where their heads had been removed and replaced by Squids and Octopus you might begin to accurately picture the scene confronting me in the park. Everyone had tentacles smothering their faces and dangling down their necks like fleshy snake beards, even the women and children were not exempt from this disfiguration. In retrospect, it was the worst day of my entire life, It was the closest I can imagine to having full blown psychosis.
Crack cocaine, often nicknamed “crack”, is believed to have been created and made popular during the early 1980s . Because of the dangers for manufacturers of using ether to produce pure freebase cocaine, producers began to omit the step of removing the freebase precipitate from the ammonia mixture. Typically, filtration processes are also omitted. Baking soda is now most often used as a base rather than ammonia for reasons of lowered odor and toxicity; however, any weak base can be used to make crack cocaine. When commonly “cooked” the ratio is 1:1 to 2:3 parts cocaine/bicarbonate.
As I held the smoke in for a ten count and exhaled, I thought I felt nothing except a little excitement that was neither bad nor pleasurable. The complete rush some writers have called a ‘whole-body orgasm’ hit me shortly after and I distinctly remember demanding ‘more’ as soon as the realization of heaven-on-earth came. Some people say that the effects of smoking crack lasts 10-15 minutes. For me, it was just a shortest instant of gratification. Everything afterwards was just a great increase in energy and confidence geared towards obtaining more of the drug.
We first smoked meth on New Year’s Eve because we heard it was great for sex. I had to work the next day and so saved some to smoke before work in the morning. When I got home another g was waiting for me and I smoked every day but one until I finally quit three months later. For three weeks we smoked meth with little consequence, then my skin became fragile and in addition to breaking out, started to swell. I was really worried because I was constantly thirsty and drinking water, but I rarely urinated. Then my kidneys started hurting. I had lost twenty pounds in two months and my husband had lost thirty, and we’d read somewhere that rapid weight loss can cause kidney failure. I slept every three or four days for an hour or so and woke feeling rested. I was an hour late for work everyday. My husband wrecked the truck three times. One day I forgot to feed my son. Everything was either the highest of highs or the lowest of lows, no in between existed anymore. We were banned from the sauna at our apartment complex because no one else could use it. Our sweat smelled so strongly of ammonia it burned the eyes, it was caustic, and it burned our skin too. My husband and I haven’t done any drugs at all for four weeks, and things are slowly going back to normal. But I still want it. I can’t sleep tonight because I want it. I wrote this in all honesty mostly to help myself, to remind myself why I don’t want it. And still I want it.
The cocaine arrived and we agreed to use it at a time that translated to three and a half hours after I arrived. It cost $60 for what I was told was an eighth of a gram. This seemed rather expensive, but I was assured that it was ‘high quality product.’ I took the line up my left nostril. After about ninety seconds, I felt my heartbeat increase. It was definitely kicking in. I began to worry a bit, as I could feel my heart pounding and my pulse increasing. I finally felt as if it had reached a plateau. My heartbeat became level, albeit still very high. Many people say that one feels euphoria – being invincible and/or the desire to clean the house. I did not feel either of these (and I did remember to think about these things). For me, the positive effects of cocaine came directly from knowing that I had reached a plateau and I was going to be fine. I felt invigorated, yet also very comfortable.
For the last 4 months, my partner and I have been recreationally using heroin. H became our weekend ritual. Lighting candles, playing music, brie and wine and grapes, reading tarot and finally fucking… for hours on end, the most intense beautiful technicolor sex. Each time we did it we got closer to each other. And each time we did it, we wanted to do it again, and again. We tried saying we’d only do it once every two weeks, but that lasted 6 days. We have rules about how much we do in one night, how late we stay up and so on. So far the rules have kept us safe from addiction. Unless you consider the nagging i-don’t-wanna-go-a-weekend-or-have-sex-without-it feelings. We’ve never run out, although, once we were down to our last little bit and I left the vial open on the night stand. I was reaching for the lube when I heard the most sickening sound, the vial falling over. Turns out, I was mistaken, I had remembered to put the cap back on. But in those few seconds of uncertainty, my girl and I shot each other a look we had never seen before.. Fear.
What a profound short little paragraph that says it all
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the
wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without
working for, another person must work for without receiving.
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the
government does not first take from somebody else.
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to
work because the other half is going to take care of them,
and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good
to work because somebody else is going to get what they
work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
This hilarious article was written by an expert from Baan, Netherlands who spent two years in Hyderabad. I couldn’t help posting it for the sake of all blog readers.
Driving in India For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.
Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows:
Do we drive on the left or right of the road?
The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the intended direction. Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation, the other drivers are not in any better position.
Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back. Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.
Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts), or, just mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar.
Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rainwaters to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.
Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking colored lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.
Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi): The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion en route to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.
Mopeds: The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.
Leaning Tower of Passes: Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these buses by a width of three passengers.
One-way Street: These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once. So drive, as you like, in reverse throughout, if you are the fussy type. Least I sound hypercritical; I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker"; two for each house.
This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left untarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.
Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Chenghis Khan). In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes. Our roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver, and with the peg of illicit arrack (alcohol) he has had at the last stop, his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously. Of course, all this occurs at night, on the trunk roads.
During the daytime, trucks are more visible, except that the drivers will never show any Signal. (And you must watch for the absent signals; they are the greater threat). Only, you will often observe that the cleaner who sits next to the driver, will project his hand and wave hysterically.This is definitely not to be construed as a signal for a left turn. The waving is just a statement of physical relief on a hot day.
If, after all this, you still want to drive in India, have your lessons between 8 pm and 11 am-when the police have gone home and The citizen is then free to enjoy the 'FREEDOM OF SPEED' enshrined in our constitution.
Having said all this, isn't it true that the accident rate and related deaths are less in India compared to US or other countries!!??
Twilight, followed by Dusk throws langkawi to the beautiful panorama and celebration nights. On the deck of a small cruiser, we could go deep into the sea, searching for the setting sun. Amidst the small islands and the dark forests, sun sets slowly, giving us a once in a lifetime experience. Hanging on the nets behind the cruiser, sea surfing could be done for hours. When dusk leaves for the night, cruise turns to party haven. couples dance, songs by the crew below the starry sky and surrounded by the light decorations in the distant islands and strange sounds coming from distant mangroves.
Langkawi is specifically for honeymooners. All the preparations are intended for them. The resorts built over the sea, pools, gardens, songs, wine and dance are all meant for the romantic couples. The surrounding sea, and the vultures in the sky guard their private moments.
Simple, clean and less crowded markets of Langkawi extends to the sea. The sea breeze always soothes the crowd. All streets smell of chocolates and wine. In sweet streets, sweets of different shapes and colours could be seen. Liquor from all around the world is available here for cheaper prices. Most of the shop keepers are ladies. They always welcome you with their hands on the wine bottles… to the Bar.
Within 478 kilometres, there are no bus service. Taxi is the only public transportation medium. Instead of bus stops, Since vehicles, petrol and land is cheaper, even a average Langkawi citizen is one drop richer.
No matter being isolated, every place has its own myths and stories to brag about. Every place upholds their heritage in those stories.
The story of Mashuri village intermixes events and tears. Around 200 years ago, There was a farmer girl in langkawi village. Her name was Mashuri. The village head eyed to make her his second wife. But, when the first wife opposed he had to resist that wish. Eventually, she married a young guy from the village. Before even the honeymoon days were over, he went to distant lands on a war. At that time, a story teller came to the village. The village mesmerized in his magical words. He didn’t have a place to stay in a village unknown to him. Mashuri invited him to stay at her home, After a night, The wife of village head accused her of prostitution. Though she cried and denied all accusations, village head punished her with death sentence. But she didn’t wait for the sentence. Instead she killed herself by shoving a knife to her neck. Myth says that, to prove her innocence, the blood that splattered from her neck was whitish. This is stated as the reason for Langkawi’s soil being more whitish than else where. With Mashuri’s innocent blood splattered on earth, langkawi was cursed for seven generations to remain deserted and barren. Those cursed seven generations were overcome very recently. The old folks believe this saying that it was after that time, langkawi started to prosper in Tourism.
The knife used by Mashuri and her cremation has been preserved as heritage centres within the village itself by Malaysian government. Mashuri has been rediscovered as a museum of Malay art and culture. Malay houses are idols of simplicity. they are built on beams raised from ground and paved with wooden blocks. They look as beautiful as a small nest.
In Mashuri village, palm and banana grow in abundant. Here traditional Malay music can be heard with it original essence. In closed copper vessels, a cloth laden stick used to play. This traditional music is known as “chalempong”. This instrument is traditionally played by Muslim girls.
A piece of land guarded by sea, vultures and forest. Days blessed by the unity of winds, views and the ‘rain’. And nights are unimaginably unique. farmers songs and hard work fills the fields…
At langkawi, nature and life becomes celebration….
The stony structure of Vulture could be seen from the sky. With its huge wings widespread, eyes filled with a natural hunter’s rage and claws outstretched to embark its prey, the great statue of vulture stand against the sea. With the variations in sunlight, the stony wings of the great hunter takes different colours. Dusk sets behind those massive wings. After that, we can see, vultures raising from different parts of langkawi, ready to hunt for its prey. Flying through the dense mangrove forests, they catch fish from the Kulim river and circle over the rain forests and rest on the trees in the Mashuri village. These vultures roam across the sea and their flight extends through the land locks and up to the shore lines of Thailand. Thus, over the nights and days, these vultures guard the precious piece of land in the middle of nowhere – Langkawi.
The island lives on the beliefs of these sky guards. In local Malay language, “Langkawi” means reddish brown Vulture. In the middle of Andaman sea, situated close to Malaysia, The langkawi island bears a simplicity that is even vibrant and present in the silent wind. The waves that crushes its shores has a rhythm, a rhythm of peace, calm, rigidity. The same attire could be seen and felt in the lifestyle of the natives. It could be felt from the white sands to the denseness of the lush green forests.
Langkawi constitutes 105 island pieces, majority of which are unbiased for human habitation. The mainland of Langkawi is concentrated on 478 square kilometres close to the Thailand border. Within this space, 65000 occupants, wide streets sided by dense forests, clear sky and rain wet twilights… all become part of the city celebrations and the distant sounds of farmers song.
In distant past, Langkawi was a barren island. A greenery occupied by vultures. later, Indians and Chinese who came in search of Gold and camphor spread the human scent across this virgin island. In Malay ancient history, one of the first occupants of this island also includes ancestors from South India. It could be assured that he is of Tamil origin. Because the precedents of this great grand ancestor could be found all over the island with all the physical features and the melodious ‘Tamil’ accent which could traced back to Tamilnadu in south India.
The locals say that this island city is over hundred year old. Houses were used to be built with bricks. Men and women had long hairs and wore sleeveless long gowns. Kings and land lords wore red shawls over shoulders, gold rings and anklets.
Forgetting the distant past, langkawi has entered into a simple life with paddy fields, fishing and rubber plantations. In 1987, the proclamation of Langkawi as “Duty Free island” began the tourist downpour to this island. City squares expanded. Forests, ponds and villages all dressed up to welcome the tourist industry. Vultures became sightseers. Now , tourism is Langkawi’s life breath.
On clear days, the island draped by the frequently blowing sea breeze gives tourists a simplicity of a feather. While boating through the Kulim river, forests, small islands engulfs us in a ethereal web. The ‘Bat cave’ on the shores of Kulim river looks like a lone castle. A torch is a must to enter this place. On upper walls of the cave, bats could be seen as small black dots. Their count doesn't limit on thousands or million. Approximately a cave occupied by a million bats sends a chill through the nerves. The natural relics within the cave say that it was formed naturally a way long past within the sea. The only sound that breaks the haunting silence in this cave is the occasional clattering of the bat wings.
The mangrove forest winds and unwinds beyond the bat cave. It smells of marsh, water and algae. It seems like mangrove roots standing with their hands crossed, through we can see the swinging monkeys staring at us. It was amazing to see that there are vegetarians and non vegetarians in the monkey gang!
The most amazing spectacular scene in the Kulim river is the fish hunting by the vultures. Gliding as a spot on the high skies, dives to the river surface in a lightning speed and grabs heavy fish. Not even making a single sound, or a ripple on the surface, it felt like an art difficult to adopt. With the prey clenched in the claws, they fly and disappear behind the huge rocks or to the dense mangrove forest.
Floating restaurants in the river are haven of Malay delicacies. Chicken blended in honey, hot and chilly sea food and white rice constitutes the main course. Across the floating restaurants, we can see the ecological forest. Felt like “HOLLYWOOD” is engrailed on a huge rock. On rowing ahead, facing the sea were huge rocks that rose to the sky like castle gates. The wind and the sea has given the rocks an eye catching shape. Through them, the river joins the Andaman sea. A half an hour boating along the path will take us to the shores of Thailand.
to be continued…
