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New look, new feel…. again….
Hi all,
BlogForPeace is now sporting a brand new theme… I’ve been planning on doing it for a long time now, but didn’t get time. This theme is much more simpler, and brighter. I think that it focuses our motif “peace” in a better manner.
Moreover, the theme is much lighter, with very little images and effects. So I guess it must be easier on all you guys with dialups or slower internet connections.
If you find any errors or problems anywhere in the site, please contact me…
Cheers, and hoping to blog better 
Going green : 11 steps of advice…
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today is Blog Action Day. Today, we bloggers around the world, including certain hi-fi bloggers like Lifehacker, GigaOm, Google Blog, and so on, participate to help spread the word about a cause. A cause, which needs much concern for it is necessary for sustainable development. The cause, which many of us easily ignore in our haste. Our environment.
I put in my efforts, and did a considerably nice post on my other blog, www.bloggingindia.net. So here’s the post, copied in whole here. My apologies for the focus on India, but then, well, that was my immediate range of approach.
Here are a few things which I think could make an impact. These are the few basic things, which, though we know, we always tend to ignore.
- Please switch off all lights, fans and air conditioning when leaving a room. (Savings on your electricity bill, helps reduce global power consumption, helps reduce power crisis and blackouts, helps reduce global warming)
- Draw back the curtains, and utilize sunlight instead of the bulb in the mornings.(Savings on your electricity bill, helps reduce global power consumption, helps reduce power crisis and blackouts, helps reduce global warming)
- Use CFLs instead of incandescent bulbs.(Energy efficiency, savings on your electricity bill, helps reduce global power consumption, helps reduce power crisis and blackouts, helps reduce global warming)
- Please please please please do not waste water. Please turn off a tap while not in use. Shave using a mug of water. And turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle.
- Reuse paper. In small scale offices and industries, review your paper policy. (Savings on paper, help save trees)
- Put your PCs and laptops on Stand By mode when not in use. Helps save power, and extends the life of the computer.
- Ever tried purchasing wrinkle free shirts and trousers? Saves on the electricity bill BIG TIME (and helps our lazy chaps like me
) - Use plastic bags and bottles again, and again, and again, and again….
- Do you have any idea how newspapers can be reused? Of course, you can sell it to have it recycled, but you can reuse a bit of it yourself, and save a little bit of money (you can also boast to your friends
). What can you make from a newspaper you ask? Temporary table covers, napkins, gift wrapping (especially the comics page), working paper, temporary wraps, file contents separater, CD cover (I’ll be posting that “How to” next time) and so on and so forth… The list is endless. - Use public transport whenever feasible. Try to car pool / bike pool. If you’re in Bangalore, visit www.btis.in to find pooling partners. Offer lifts to those who ask for it. Try to reduce air travel. By doing these, you will be helping to reduce the energy crisis, saving a lot of money, and making a bunch of good friends . (Oops, forgot to mention, WALK wherever possible)
By doing these simple things, you can help ensure yourself, and others, a better life, and a better future environment. Something you should understand (and what my friend keeps saying every single time I mention environmental conservation) is that, you, or I, as a single person can’t do a thing. But if one Billion people of India conserve power, fuel, and water, there definitely WILL be a change. So spread the word, practice conservation methods, and encourage others to do the same.
The steps above are just my views. You’re free to form your own views, ideologies, and methods. Go ahead, spread them, maybe comment here, I’ll add them to the list. Also remember, all these steps cannot be followed in every walk of our life. We’re not fanatics! What we can do is help little by little. Practice little one day, a little more another day, and so on. And finally, we might actually end up saving our world 
.
And for the move active and time savvy of you, here a few more things to do -
- Publicize the cause, and the need. Many people publicize just the cause, and not the need. This leads to false beliefs, and false beliefs to unacceptancy.
- Openly support environmental causes. Use your area of expertise to do your best. Everyone could be a part of it. If you’re a journalist, write about it. If you’re a radio jockey, talk about it. If you’re a web designer, make websites about it. If you’re a software engineer, help organize it. If you’re an LIC agent, talk to your clients about it in every meeting. If you’re an service man at Cafe’ Coffee Day, talk to your customers about it, and maybe distribute extra tissue papers with the logo for the cause?!!!
- Adopt a tree. Adopting a tree isn’t as simple as what we see our politicians do. We don’t just plant a sapling, pour some water and leave it there. Adopting a tree will mean planting it, watering it daily, pruning it, helping it to grow, and protecting it.
- Launch campaigns, and conduct speeches in public areas, schools, colleges, and other educational institutions.
- Conduct such talks in otherwise neglected areas like orphanages and old age homes as well.
I hope that I’ve made my point. I hope that someone will take off from here, and I hope that we can together, create a revolution, produce a change, and delay the inevitable. Peace!
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Technorati Tags: blog action day, environment, 11 ways to go green, environmental conservation, save environment, power crisis, energy crisis, reduce, reuse, recycle
Blog Action Day!
What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day?
One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.
Calling all bloggers. Calling all bloggers.
All you bloggers out there, please take note of Blog Action Day, on October the 15th. You can participate in either of the 3 ways -
- Publish a post relating to an issue of your choice, pertaining to the environment.
- Commit a day’s earnings to an environmental charity. (a list is available in the blogactionday website)
- Publicize Blog Action Day
We believe in spreading peace, love, and universal brotherhood. As a reader, we hope that you go by each of these values. Lets prove our worth… Lets be the pens (uh, keyboards?) of change!
Cheers, and hoping to see you participate.
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Technorati Tags: blogactionday, blog action day, october 15th
Sorry for the outage
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
I wanted to convey my heartfelt sorry for the BlogForPeace website being down for the past few days. It happened due a faulty server change. Hoping that it will not happen again.
Thank you,
Mohan
“The Mess of Love” by D H Lawrence…
Good evening,
My Literature professor has been reccomending the reading of a certain poem over a few weeks now. I caught up on it today, and was amazed to find how, well, radical it was! It is almost as if running at a speed of 100 kmph and ramming into a solid wall! A quite different view of “Love” as such! Without much further ado, let me introduce to you, “The Mess of Love” by D H Lawrence…
The Mess of Love
We’ve made a great mess of love
Since we made an ideal of it.The moment I swear to love a woman, a certain woman, all my life
That moment I begin to hate her.The moment I even say to a woman: I love you! —
My love dies down considerably.The moment love is an understood thing between us, we are sure of it,
It’s a cold egg, it isn’t love any more.Love is like a flower, it must flower and fade;
If it doesn’t fade, it is not a flower,
It’s either an artificial rag blossom, or an immortelle, for the cemetery.The moment the mind interferes with love, or the will fixes on it,
Or the personality assumes it as an attribute, or the ego takes possession of it,
It is not love any more, it’s just a mess.
And we’ve made a great mess of love, mind-perverted, will-perverted, ego-perverted love.
- © 1929 D. H. Lawrence
Now that we have finished reading and assimilating the poem, I would like to comment on a few of his ideas. He goes against the very traditional notions that “love is eternal” as narrated by Shakespeare and Wordsworth. He says that if an individual realizes he/she is in love, then it isnt love anymore. In other words, you realize that you’re in love only when the relationship about to fall apart. Quite a shock for movie directors .
We see movies and soaps which go like “I love you, I love you, I love you……….” and so on and so forth. According to Lawrence, that realization is like the last furious flame of a candle before its estinguished. Interesting field of thought. I wouldnt agree much with it, but I cant be too firm in my opinion since I have never been in a true relationship myself.
But then, most of the people disagree with most of Lawrence’s works, thus I guess I’m justified in my opinion. Maybe Lawrence was a revolutionist, and that’s why we fail to recognize the beauty in the work.
Despite all this, and something I found different from the different reviews of the poem I read, is that it seems like the entire crux of the poem lies in the last line “And we’ve made a great mess of love, mind-perverted, will-perverted, ego-perverted love.” I think that he’s actual opinion is just about the mess of love, rather than the in-eternality of love…
What are your views? Its quite interesting to learn more about love, since as advocates for peace, we keep advocating love, and here we face with a challenge. If any of you have understood the poem in much deeper depth, please do comment.
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Technorati Tags: Lawrence, The Mess of Love, poem, poem analysis, opinions
Hillary Clinton’s expert PR
Hi all,
This was a really cool message forwarded to be by my Journalism professor. Check it out Its really funny! Enjoy!
A professional genealogical researcher discovered that Hillary Clinton’s great-great uncle, Remus Rodham, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. His only known photograph shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is the inscription: “Remus Rodham: horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885; escaped 1887; robbed the Montana Flyer six times; caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.”
This was sent to Hillary Clinton. However, her staff of image consultants got their hands on it and decided they could use it for their own purposes: they cropped Remus’s picture and edited it with image processing software so all that’s seen is his face.They then wrote the following biographical sketch:
“Remus Rodham was a well-known cowboy in the Montana Territory in the late 19th century. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an importaA professional genealogical researcher discovered that Hillary Clinton’s great-great uncle, Remus Rodham, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. His only known photograph shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is the inscription: “Remus Rodham: horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885; escaped 1887; robbed the Montana Flyer six times; caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.”
This was sent to Hillary Clinton. However, her staff of image consultants got their hands on it and decided they could use it for their own purposes: they cropped Remus’s picture and edited it with image processing software so all that’s seen is his face.They then wrote the following biographical sketch:
“Remus Rodham was a well-known cowboy in the Montana Territory in the late 19th century. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor, when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.”
Cool isnt it? I mean, how good do you get! And to think it actually happened!!!!
Cheers, and have a great day!
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Technorati Tags: hillary, clinton, PR, humour, joke, humor
Home sweet home…
Hello all,
Yep, I’m back home for a couple of days. And I’m luvin it.
Its kind of funny how your home always attracts you… The lovely trees… The bed… The beanbag… My parrots… My pigeons… My fish… My chicken… My computer… My lovely beautiful exemplary computer… Oh, and parents and stuff 
Its fun Yeah, a fun weekend get together with a couple of teachers, friends and so on…
Hmmm… No, I’m not letting you spoil my fun… I’m just gonna go ahead and have fun, without too much blogging - sorry pal.
Cya, and have a good weekend folks… [I’m luvin’ it ]
Yet another session at Rajendranagar
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
Last Thursday, I had yet another wonderful session with the kids at Rajendranagar area, the slum adopted by the Center For Social Action, Christ College. I was assigned to teaching Mathematics to the 7th grade students. Along with me were 3 other exchange students - Win, Alex and Samantha. Win and Samantha were from USA, while Alex was from France.
We found that the students were way beyond eager to lap up all we could teach them. Those little brains struggled as we taught them the basics of Algebra. Though it was quiet alien to them at first, they soon caught up, and within a few minutes, they were virtually sucking us for more information. It was lovely to see those young minds perform on mathematical problems.
The four of us split up. Samantha handling three of students who did not know basic arithmetic, Win handling 2 students with algebra, Alex battling with a girl who was finishing the sums she gave to her even before she paused for a breath, and me handling 2 students with basic algebra, and one with arithmetic.
Take my word for it, its a lovely sensation when you do something for someone, and know that it makes a difference, however small the “something” be. And being with those kids was not only fun, but also heartening, to feel that these were the future generation of our world, and to learn that we were setting up a proper platform for them to learn and grow.
Apparently, the kids enjoyed the session as well, since they treated us to the “Rajendranagar handshake” and hearty “bye”s as we left… Thus, we left behind another beautiful evening of fun and truth… We left behind another Thursday of taking out the humane side in us… We left behind, with our hopes set for the future sunrise, and the next Thursday .
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Technorati Tags: rajendranagar, csa, christ college
The flight of Her’s [poem]
Hello all,
A few days back, I faced with a dreadful enemy, what we commonly call “stress”. As in too much to do, too little time, and no one helping out. It so happened that the work I had delegated fell back on myself, and an assignment was preponed, thus very much toppling my schedule.
Quite unhappy, and depressed, I was struggling for happiness, in yet another forlorn period by our crack brained Computers in Communication teacher, when a flighty soul liberated me from all pain and suffering My fine feathered friend flew past our classroom, and showed me the better part of life and liberty. Thus, happiness liberated, I decided to dedicate a poem to my liberator in that dull and mundane period…
The flight of Her’s
[ written in thanks to a brown pigeon which saved my soul from ultimate depression and hate. thank you‘Cross oceans, vast seas, lands she flew,
To find a realm, of peace, of hue.
Unwelcome darts did blockade every path,
Invited they, with open arms, Mars’ due wrath!And as she flew through hearts of conflict,
A tiny beam, a ray, of hope did inflict;
She a happy bird, landed in joy,
To be confronted; Oh She! It was all a coy!Into his heart, she flew in like the wind,
Trapped she was; the heart, she found, had no mint!
A group, and army, saddening that true heart,
She tried to med, alas it was beyond all chart!In those depths of death, so dark,
She clutched onto that heart, that last mark.
And from darkness to light, she flew with him,
A rush of light, liberating his whim!To be free, Oh freedom behold!
Into a rush of change; she did mould!
Thank you, my dear, for driving away the dark!
Thank you, thank you, my fair fond lark!- Neo Garfield
4.7.2007
I hope that you grab the essence of the poem. Please do let me know about your views. Cheers And have a great week
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Technorati Tags: poems, literature, freedom, liberation, philosophy
Unsuni… The unheard…
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
I had the magical oppurtunity today of having watched a wonderful dance-drama show named the “Unsuni” meaning the “Unheard, done by the Darpana Arts and Drama society, about them whom where unheard in our society. It was a true eye opener, or in other words, it opened my eyes even more to certain facts which I was trying to deny, and oppose from existence.
The one and a half hour play discussed about 5 different stories, which were real life incidents, which happened in India. Happenings in the lives of a beggar, a farmer, a manual scavenger, a women’s whose family was massacared in front of her eyes due to socio-relegious issues, and a leper. All these people were denied the chance to justice or their rights. Their living conditions were miserable. They had no place to call their home. Their story was not heard. They had no way to claim their lives as true - the court denied their very existence!
But “they” lived on, and fought for their cause. They made the difference for their community. They made us, call “them” “us”, when we shouldnt have been calling “them” ‘them’ in the first place!
The play was so real and tantalizing, that I felt a part and gestalt of “our” very existence. The questions Unsuni rose, and the questions they answered, and the eyes they opened were eternal and infinite. If you have watched Unsuni, please do comment on your experiences. For the others, you can check out the Unsuni website (www.unsuni.net) for more information about the movement, the shows, the venues and so on…
You can obtain the script of the play on their “Sources” webpage.
Thank you dear reader. I hope you’ll go through the Unsuni script, and support Unsuni with all your heart. We can make a difference. What you and me are doing makes a difference. So lets make it!
What is education?
Hello all,
I had to do an assignment for tomorrow, titled “What in your opinion is education?” Since it was a relevant topic, I’m posting a copy of it here . Do give me your opinions.
What in your opinion is education?
Education, in my opinion, is that factor which makes an individual of the species Homo sapien sapien into what we might refer to as a human. It is one of those factors which distinguishes man from an ordinary beast; the slightest of which, when imparted converts the new born beast into a human. In a nutshell, it encompasses knowledge, grasping of skills, power of judgement, wisdom, creativity and ability to abide by social restrictions. Mark Twain once said, “I’ve never let my school interfere with my education”. The argument which we see today in several parts of our country is whether education is really a product of a school, or a college, or any other such so called educational institutions. I would opinion that education is not just the product of an educational institution. Education begins when a child is born. When the child learns to walk, talk and play, that is a part of education. When the child watches the media, it is education. When the child interacts with his peers, that too is education.
The very first medium of education is the environment; parents, the media, peers, and teachers occupying the second, third, fourth and fifth places respectively. Education cannot be given or provided or sold. It is to be self-comprehended. Educational institutions and teachers are not mediums of providing education, but they are paths through which the student should foray to gain education by himself (or herself).
When an individual can think rationally for himself and make firm decisions; when he is knowledgeable enough to be wise; and is wise; when he is creative enough to create new paths, and not tread through the ones already cut; when he is versed enough about issues to make an opinion; then, he is educated.
Taking all this into consideration, I would question the very existence of words such as “educational institutions”, “Primary Education”, “Secondary Education” etc.
Education is not restricted within the four walls of a building, nor in this country, nor in this world! It is restricted only by the bounding limit of this universe. Man has much to learn.
I hope that you found this meaningful. I invite any differences of opinion, or feedback via my comments form. . Please note that this article is Copyrighted.
(c) 2007 Mohan K.Pillai
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Technorati Tags: what is education, education
Appreciate simple things…
Hello all,
Here’s a wonderful picture containing a wonderful meaning forwarded to me by my dear ex English teacher, Lakshmi ma’am. It calls forth a message to appreciate the simple things in life… Go ahead, take a read. Take a few seconds to contemplate; for it might create that turn in life!
Have a great Sunday
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Technorati Tags: appreciate simple things, simple things
Me, Maths, CSA and more…
Hi all,
I had a truly out of the world experience yesterday. I had volunteered for the CSA, Center for Social Action, at Christ College, and I had joined the wing of CSA named Activity Center, which took classes for students from a slum area called Rajendranagar. The Activity Center head asked me if I wanted to join them yesterday, even before the official CSA inauguration on the 7th.
At Rajendranagar, we were greeted by eager kids shaking hands and saying “hello”s is several dialects. They were a bit apprehensive about approaching me, maybe because I was new, but we got on ok… I went with 2 Activity Center members, the Activity Center head Swathi, and another member, Vandana.
I was assigned to take Maths for the 8th grade students…
And there the story starts. Many students didnt even know the basic principles of multiplication and division. Everyone kept calling me “sir” And they were like so enthusiastic with my presence, though I should say that at the end of the one and half hour session, I didn’t have kids hanging onto my hands, unlike my co-activists’ experiences. I succeeded in teaching a few the principles, and making everyone very Mathusiastic The smiles on their faces when they got the solution to a problem, or when they did a few sums even faster than I did were sights I would never forget in my entire life. And when the time came for me to leave, a few of them did escort me down the stairs till the road. All of them said passionate “bye”s, though they didnt treat me to the traditional Rajendranagar hand shake.
And I left, walking through the broken streets with my counterparts, I had this unexplainable feeling… A mix of happiness, empathy, and enthusiasm. I was happy that they accepted me. I was happy that whatever little I did DID make a difference. I understood their situation and wanted to help in whatever way possible. And enthusiastic to be back and make more of that special difference!
Today, when I submitted my report, a CSA activist asked me about my experience. I told her that I had a “wonderful experience”. She asked me if I was being sarcastic. I gave her a quick smile, and my heart was grinning… Because little did she know how much my heart was willing to go to Rajendranagar every day; how much I would love to do this for the larger part of the day; how much I was looking forward to the next Thursday… the next Maths class… the next difference…
Poem - A walk through the gardens of Peace II
Hello,
Here is a poem I wrote today during an ultra boring session of Computers in Communication, where the professor was raging on about the history of computers and the fullform of ALU…
A walk through the gardens of Peace II
A bay lead drifts in time with the eastward draft,
The smoke trail raises, it came from a shaft!
Another life rose; a lifeless kissed the ground.
The pigeon fell, and She lay closely bound.And doubly bound, she lays; awaits her fate,
The lily drops, leaving droplets red in her wake!
They say where love doth fail, hate begins,
And that is how, the story, fate spins…As pursuit flew, for Laurels more,
Leaf by leaf, the Bay tree doth sore.
Now bald, with pseudo-leaves a part,
Lies the tree, lamenting, for naught defensive darts.Sooth do I speak, I say the garden transforms?
To become but a spring time dorm?
“No sir!” Cries She from her present past;
Contemplating late, Oh, a fool’s repast!- Neo Garfield
27.6.2007
I was treating the issue of world peace sarcastically. They say that we are in a peace situation now. Oh really?!!!
Today, there are wars fought for the cause of peace… Relegious battles… Racist issues… Terrorism… Show of arms… Silent threatning… And they say we have attained peace?
I would love to hear your take on the issue Please do comment! Cheers
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