A Great 2008

By in @tempting humour 23 Comments Tags: ,

Two thousand eight

Might be just a date

But its a good time to wonder if fate,

Will drop these on our plate

Mallya will force India to accept Alistair Perreira as a part of the Formula 1 team.
Abhishek will sulk because his dad stole the limelight as the anti hero in Dhoom 3.
Narayanamurthy will release his first music CD – his version of the national anthem
Uma Bharti’s performance in the music video of the above will raise hackles.
Saurav will finally retire, and automatically become the new coach.
Chappell’s mail on the above will be put up for auction on eBay.
Ram will be issued summons by the supreme court to appear in the Ram Sethu debate.
Yash Raj will announce a reality show in Nepal starring Charles Shobhraj titled ‘Aaja Bachle’
Prachi desai will sue Ekta Kapoor for spamming her mailbox with the message ‘Jhalak Dikhla ja’
Tata’s one lakh car will turn out to be an autorickshaw with a spare tyre.
Shivsena will burn theatres playing Rajni films, claiming that ‘Sivaji’ mis-portrays their hero.
Hillary will star in Kill Bill 3 after the US’ first First Husband insists on using some first aide everyday.
Australia will protest India’s complete dominance in Twenty 20.
Prakash Karat will condemn India’s shift towards nuclear families.
Pervez Musharaff will blame Hindustan Lever now that everyone has seen through the Qaeda smokescreen.
Yuvraj will have a personal cheerleading squad in all matches with Deepika Padukone leading it.
Narendra Modi will encourage internet usage and specifically RSS feeds, but ban pizzas, Ferrari and Sunfeast Pasta.
Emergency will be declared after Pratibha Patil tries to do a Musharaff in India.
West Bengal government will offer Taslima a plot in Nandigram.
Yana Gupta’s marriage to the common man will mean she serves beer in Deccan.
Employee appreciation will grow faster than rupee appreciation
Abhishek will continue sulking because Ash named the baby Salim.
Richard Gere and Rakhi Sawant will star in Ekta Kapoor’s first Hollywood venture, Kkissmat – The Forbidden Kiss.

until next time, that makes a manuscrypts happy new year :)

PS. If you liked that, check out 2007, 2006, 2005.

Choose to opt?

By in 55, Life Ordinary, Think About It 3 Comments Tags:

Choices and options. Similar yet different. Colorful and black & white respectively. Choices are made, options are taken. To make a choice, one reasons with self, and perhaps has to walk a new road. An option is at best a judgment,among the different ones available, the road is one that has been walked on.

until next time, the choice is yours :)

Claustrophobia

By in 55, Stories 8 Comments Tags: ,

He couldn’t believe he’d landed on a burner. He was used to landing on weird things but this was taking it too far. He’d had misgivings from the time he’d started to squeeze himself into that tiny sprout like thing. He’d never seen electric chimneys before. So he really couldn’t be blamed for being shocked.

until next time merry xmas

Gubbare

By in 55, Stories 8 Comments Tags: ,

The heartwarming picture of a little girl holding balloons, while the uncaring world rushed past her, on the busy road. He remembered how much fun balloons and childhood used to be. But wait, there was something wrong with the picture- she wasn’t looking too happy. Was it only because no one was buying her balloons?

until next time, hot air all around

Of content being king

By in Advertising, Brand, India 2 Comments Tags:

actually in this case, what triggered the post was a queen. For those of you who haven’t been watching MTV, do take a look at this.
While I’m not sure about the origin of their latest positioning (its my MTV), and how their content is fitting in, I’m sure that as far as their advertisers go, they’ve been at it for a while – creating customised ads for clients that pass on the client’s brand attributes in absolute MTV style. I remember the stuff they had made for Xbox, and recently, the Vodafone song, though i didnt find that very appealing.
In an age where every ad practically screams out for the customer’s mindspace, the MTV brand of humour is definitely a differentiator. I’m sure a lot of my friends might watch MTV to see glimpses of Rani Bonkeshwari (the link earlier) :) , and that is where MTV scores a win-win. I really hope they don’t overdo it, and keep giving us stuff thats good.
and i bid adieu while you enjoy

Imagine

By in 55, Think About It No Comments Tags:

They dreamt of leading a life that was different. Not that this was bad, but it was quite unidimensional. They imagined a place where people led lives of greed, lust, gluttony and all the so called sins, different from the chaste lives they led here. The utopians even had a word for that place – earth.

until next time, opposites attract

The Finish

By in 55, Life Ordinary, Think About It 5 Comments Tags: ,

On a busy city road, they raced. Only one knew the race was on. And he was sure of winning, until his ‘opponent’ took a turn. Quite like life, he thought, the way he compared and competed with others. Perhaps the challenge was to not to win the race, but to figure out one’s destination.

until next time, race on

Tagged

By in 55, Think About It 5 Comments Tags: ,

It starts from the time we are born. The tags, from a cute baby to a skinny schoolboy to a bookish student to a rebellious teen to a brash young man and son to name some, and then follow us into the professional life too. Tags, which perhaps constrain us, which make us being, and prevent us from becoming.

until next time, web 2.0 is full of them ;)

Square 1.0

By in 55, Think About It 9 Comments Tags: ,

It had to be black or white. Then came the greys, and then, the different colors, a justification for all that we did. But then came the social sites, who just might bring it back to square one. Friendship requests to be answered with a yes or no. A digital age with a binary code.

until next time, zero or one?

Idiotbox 2.0

By in India, Internet, Strategy No Comments Tags: ,

Saw this , apparently the first sitcom (in India), thats been made specially for alternate viewing platforms like internet, mobile etc. Haven’t seen all the episodes, but from the first two, it ain’t too bad. At least its not like Ekkta KKapoor stuff, and the characters are all very urban. But i digress, this is not a review blog!! :)
I’ve always been interested more in content coming onto the net, as say, opposed to internet on TV. While there might not be too many differences at a later stage as far as end products go, i feel that the television can never be a personal medium, not as much as the net.
Meanwhile, doesnt a sitcom for the net offer tremendous possibilities as far as brands go? For one, you can clearly measure audiences, and their reaction to what you do with your brand online . In addition, there is all the stuff that are mantras currently – offline and online media partnerships, product placements etc. And of course, the costs of production and definitely distribution would be really less, which also means the scope for experimentation is huge -brands making more films and UGC ones at that with the product being weaved into the storyline (HLL, oops, HUL could do wonders with that, i’m sure)
How is this different from say, a YouTube? For one, it’ll not be completely user generated, and the brand could build a site/microsite to ensure stickiness. And second, and most importantly, its the content, silly, its almost like the brand having its own channel. Would you watch an ad, or would you rather watch a sitcom with brands featured?
But like many other web related things in India, i guess all this will take some time, hopefully, only time.
and i bid adieu, while you start making the popcorn :)
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