"Colourful Figment"- A short poem wtitten by me

An average boy, named Chetan tries to write a poem, no creative thought is coming to his mind. This is how he feels:-

I lay still, like a carnivore,
Waiting for my thoughts of prey,
My mind remains blank,
And does not elicit even the slightest thought,
I try harder, but the brick wall refuses to break,
Clamping my nerves, and fracturing my brains,
I cry "Why the juice of creativity lack within me";
I cry "Why have I been made a fool amongst the Master of Creators";

Then suddenly, out of nowhere he gets a creative thought. The thought is simple yet good enough to make him happy. There is a change in his feeling; his feelings are portrayed below.:-

And in a flash of lighting,
Rose a phoenix,
Fluttering its beautiful wings,
It fills me with joy,
I see a million colours hovering in the air,
Constructing a pattern which is my own,
I fall asleep awaking in my dream,
In a land, where I am the Master.



by Chetan M

Bloggerwave: The art of enjoying and making money

If we have a broad perspective everything is art! Making money is an art, and enjoying the process of making money is an art too. In my case, I enjoy creating Blog; If i could find the means of earning via blogging, then my enjoyment would provide me with cash. Is this possible?

It definitely is. I came across a site, Bloggerwave which pays its users to blog. Bloggerwave has a market place where the site enlists various opportunities(according to the advertiser), and you can select an optimum opportunity. You would get paid for each post. The number of opportunities that you can take up depends upon the popularity and quality of your blog. Having a good Pagerank, and an Alexa rank for your blog is an important criteria. Hence , this site provides a good opportunity to Make Money.

At present, according to the rules of this site, you can register at most 5 blogs, but if the quality of your blog is superior then they might bend this rule for you. However , there is no restriction to the number of opportunities that a single blog can take up. This is a good site and I highly recommend this site.

Annotation purpose only, no need to click- bloggerwave

Unreal Tournament

Playing games is the most common source of entertainment. Playing games on console and on PC is good, since a research suggests that playing video games improves our reflexes.

I am going to talk about one of my favourite games, Unreal Tournament.
Unreal Tournament follows the successful game, Unreal. It is a third person shootist. It is a mind blowing game. This games has a very simple concept-"No strategy, no thinking, just annihilate your opponents. The motto of this game should be “frag everything that is not you”.

This game mainly tests your cyber reflexes. It has skillful opponents and imaginative guns. The background of the stages are highly engaging. The graphics is good, and game play is rather simple. It has a single player mode, it has other game types such as Flag Match, Team matches etc. The drawback of this game is that you are left craving for more. This game has 8 levels of play, and hence you can test your skill at various levels. To pump up your adrenaline levels , I highly recommend this game.

Short stories- Indigo stories by Satyajit Ray

A short story is another one of the greats arts. Much Entertainment can be derived from reading a short story. A short story is a pleasant read; a short story like a short film has to end quickly. The artist(author) must be skilled enough to incorporate all the details, and make the scenario interesting within a few pages.

"Indigo stories" is a collection of short stories written by Satyajit Ray, the legendary Indian film maker. He is one of the greatest film maker of this century. He is the only Indian Director till date to win an Oscar. Satyajit Ray was also a writer of repute. Till date, he is considered as one of the most popular writers of Bengal.

Indigo is an apt name, since indigo is the colour of richness and fertility. These 2 factors are incorporated in the short stories.These short stories are highly engaging. The beauty of these short stories are that they do not go into lengthy descriptions. Ray only touches upon the essentials yet, you could feel every part of the characters. Also, the plot of these short stories can rival the best in the business. The plots are highly interesting.

Another thing, that I like about these short stories are the simplicity of characters. The characters are all average men and women, falling into the category of typical Indian middle class. Yet, some supernatural/ unexpected element is included in the scenario which makes the proceedings highly exciting. Ray proves that to understand class, complexity, and variety you should visit the common and not the snob(not all are snobs) higher class.

In these short stories , we are exposed to the fertile mind of Satyajit Ray. Reading these short stories is a highly rewarding experience. I highly recommend this book.

Rating of this book- 4/5

Pottery

Pottery is a type of handicraft. Pottery is the art of making earthenware, stoneware, ceramics.

Usually, in Pottery, the clay body is manipulated to a particular shape, and then the clay body is hardened in a kiln, to induce permanent changes.

Steps in Pottery:-

• First obtain some clay. Wash the clay toroughly in blungers( a large pot) to remove pebbles and sand and other impurities.
• Clay is mixed with water, to moist it. This makes the clay easier to handle by the potter.
• Then a chunk of clay, is put on a potter's wheel and shaped. This is known as "Throwing". The clay can also be shaped in a mould.
• After the pot is shaped, it is subjected to fire in a kiln. This is known as firing. The temperature of the fire has variations depending upon the type of material to be formed. For pottery it is generally, 1420°F.

These basic steps are followed, almost in all cases. Of course, variations can be there in design and shaping.

Some good pottery:-

Satyajit Ray, my all time favourite director

Satyajit Ray is my all time favourite director, and according to me, one of the greatest artist that humanity has produced. He has won 32 national awards, an award at Cannes film festival for the best human documentary, an Oscar( only Indian director to get an Oscar), and numerous awards at national and international level. His massive award collection suggest that he is perhaps one of the greatest director in the history of mankind. Great film personalities such as George Lucas(creator of the star war series), Akira Kurosawa, Lindsay Anderson and many more have highly appreciated his work.

He was also a writer of repute, he wrote novels and short stories. Many of his short stories, were published in "Sandesh"(means sweet in Bengali) a fortnightly magazine, which was started by Ray's father, Sukumar Ray and later revived by him. His Feluda stories, and Gupi Bagha stories have created a legacy.

Along with possessing mastery in all aspects of film making, he could also paint very well. This shows that he was a complete artist.

The best thing that I like about him is that the simplicity with which he portrayed his characters. It takes a real genius to make a complex thing simple, and he mastered in doing that. Even in his short stories, he did not go into lengthy descriptions, he just touched upon the essentials, and yet you could feel every part of his characters.

Let us all "Salute this Genius".

Wood Carving

Handicraft is a kind of craft in which decorative materials are made by using hands and simple
tools.

Wood carving is a type of handicraft. In wood carving the wooden object is given a particular orientation using simple carving tools. A carving tool set comprises of a carving knife, gouge, chisel, V-tool, veiner. A carving knife is a specialized knife for pairing, cutting and smoothening wood. A gouge is used to make hollows. A chisel is used for lining up and making straight edges. A V-tool is used for parting and in some cases for emphasizing lines.

The selection of wood is also important. Hardwood is difficult to curve but has more lusture and lasts longer. Softwood is easier to carve but lacks durability. The selection of the type of wood has to be done by the artist.

Some good wood carvings:-

Review of "Welcome"

Actors- Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Katrina Kaif
Director- Aneez Bazme

Usually I start my critical review by giving a brief gist of the plot, but in this case it would be useless, since the director himself has not been able to explain the plot. It involves an underworld Don, Uday Shetty(Nana Patekar), who wants to marry off his sister(Katrina Kaif) to a white collar person. He ropes in Rajeev(Akshay Kumar), but his uncle(Paresh Rawal) wants to stop the marriage at any cost. Majnoo bhai(Anil Kpoor) is the chief henchman of Uday Shetty, and ably supports him in his deciscions. Other characters like RDX(Firoz Khan) and Ishika(Mallika Sherawat) are introduced and they further complicate the plot.

The comedy is good, but in parts, in most cases cheap jokes and mindless composition dominates the film. The plot is acceptable in the first half but goes completely haywire in the second half. This shows that director lacks script sense. Talented actors like Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor have been wasted. Cinematography is good and the music above average. In totality, it seems like a film which has been very loosely made.

In terms of performances, Nana Patekar steals the show, and is ably supported by Anil Kapoor. Their chemistry is outstanding. Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal are efficient. Mallika Sheravat is average, while Katrina Kaif provides the required glamour. Firoz Khan is good and looks crisp in his usual style.

All in all, a single viewing is sufficiemnt.

Rating- 1.5/5

Pankaj Kapur, my all time favourite actor

For a career spanning 3 decades, he has done very few films, but all of his performances have been masterpieces. Over-rated bollywood stars consider themselves great by giving masterpiece performance in 1 or 2 films, while this supreme genius has been giving "once in a life time performance" all his life.

Be it Bollywood, Hollywood or any other film industry on this planet, no actor has come even close to matching him. According to me, he is the greatest actor in the history of motion pictures and i really mean it!!! What a pity!!! We are having the most precious gem inspite of it we disregard the gem and crave for petty stones(over-rated stars who depend more on hype and media than their acting skills).!!!

Review of "I am Legend"

Actors- Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan
Director- Francis Lawrence



"I am Legend" is a science fiction story; a virus is formulated which has an 100% efficiency in curing cancer, but it mutates to have disastrous effect on human beings. The affected humans turn into blood thirsty monsters. The year is 2009, and nearly all of humanity is wiped out, only few normal humans remain. One such person is Dr. Robert Neville(Will Smith) who is the perhaps the only normal person left in New York city.

This film shows how he goes about in his daily routine. He attempts to cure the disease by various trial and error procedures. The final outcome of the film is a philosophical one.

This film is brilliantly made; the cinematography is good, background scores are excellent and the special effects (as expected out of any Hollywood film) is exquisite. In terms of performance, Will Smith is mind-blowing, his expressions of fear, his deep observant eye, and his helplessness with which he talks to the mannequins completely etch the character he is playing.

I recommend this film highly; a must watch.

Rating- 4/5

Entertainment

Entertainment is the heart of life; according to me the most lucky person is the one who has access to various sources of entertainment. Laughing, singing, dancing, watching films, watching plays are the most common sources of entertainment. Of course you can create your own source(ex.- running through half feet snow in the siberian lands); your innovation will lead to enjoyment.

Art

I am writing my first post today, so let's see, what does the word "art" mean to me (an average 20 year old guy who has no artistic talent) ----> To me art has no definition, art can be anything : it is not the artist who creates art but the perception of the observer which creates "art". Who is the biggest artist? The answer is nature, if you have to compete with somebody compete with nature, you may not win but at least you will come close to perfection.