Black or White…
THRILLER passes into HISTORY. A disturbing headline to start the day, which unfolded to reveal that death can’t be less devastating. Yesterday it was news; today every fan of this musical genius terms it a personal loss. Michael Jackson, the virtuoso, spent 40 golden years of a short span of 50 years of his lifetime as a beloved performer.
His life remained a mysterious saga of sordid affairs, so does his death. His life was haunted by lawsuits and controversies; and death unveiled a massive debt of over $500mn. Multiple face surgeries, alleged vitiligo, child abuse and now death as a result of misuse of prescription drugs, were all a part of his bizarre lifetime. Yet, the artiste prevailed over all other antics. As an entertainer, he was impeccable. 750mn record sales are just a testimony to the same. It is wisely quoted that ‘he was precocious as a child and childlike as an adult’.
He screamed “I’m Bad”, yet the fans never stopped loving him. He exhorted to ‘Heal the World’ and even seductively suggested ‘Don’t stop 'till you get Enough’. Remember the Time, Thriller, In the Closet, Billie Jean, The way you make me Feel, are some of my personal favourites. It has been a long journey for MJ. From Jackson 5 to Thriller, to Dangerous and Bad, he created HIStory and seemed INVINCIBLE. His rage was infectious and awesome.
He showed the world how a video looked with 50 people dancing in the background, a trend which still lives on in Bollywood. He redefined smoothness when he effortlessly MOONWALKed. One is at a loss of words while trying to define him. What will you call a singer, a dancer, a music composer and a lyricist? Let’s term him a ‘perfectionist’. An entertainment package, so multidimensional is made once in a millennium at God’s mercy.
It hurts to learn that he spent his last days in depression and anguish. An early death just led to curtains falling on the final world tour of the legendary artiste. A death which prevented his global audience from gasping and crooning as they watched the ‘King of Pop’ perform for one last time. Yet, what we have bequeathed is an immortal musical legacy; just goes about to prove that a legend has so much to give even in his death; that death is just another act of philanthropy. Let his soul rest in peace. As I pray, I assure myself that dear MJ will continue to live for years; in form of memories, in form of his music; reminding generations to come of the HIStory he once created…..
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Order Now!!
Order Now!!
Those are precisely the words that flash on your television screen, and not to forget the loud vocals in the backdrop, announcing “early bird” prizes for the first 20 callers. “So what are you waiting for??? Abhi phone uthaiye aur number ghumaiye”.
Dear folks, this is tele-marketing for you. Welcome to the world of super-attractive products like “Cat – Eye Taveez” and “Maths Guru”, which constitute the latest offerings by the Home Shop 18 or may be SHOP 24*7 or may be some Sky Shop, aahh…kindly forgive me….cant recollect the agency’s name. Nevertheless, their products have never ceased to be less than mesmerizing.
Let’s delve into the details.
“Cat – Eye Taveez”- It promises to ward off the evil ‘nazar’ stymieing your success and bring you truckloads of happiness and prosperity. It can help you flourish in business by elevating your profits. So now, you can give your overworked managers a break and gift yourself the priceless “Cat – Eye Taveez”. If all the sensible as well as the nonsensical stuff on television has exasperated you, then this breed of advertising belongs to a different genre promising unadulterated entertainment. The strategic mind of the ad maker inspires awe. The portraying of evil ‘nazar’ is no cake work. It is presented as two powerful beams emanating from the eyes of the evil-doer, casting its ill-effects in the aura of your workplace. This vandalizing beam is fluorescent green in color; the color emphasizing its strength. Once cast, your days of struggle begin. No efforts bring you back the past glory. A despondent you, sees this life-changing advertisement and without further delay, grab this miraculous yantra. And lo behold! Once you wear the “Cat – Eye Taveez”, the malicious beam debilitates under its impervious aura; and you are protected from all the negativity in the world and can now safely reach out for unfettered success.
“Maths Guru” is magical. I don’t have the words to express its salient features. I’m sure by now you would have left your computers to switch on the television. So, get to know what “Maths Guru” is all about. Scores of other treasures (includes “Dr. Tea” for slimming purposes) are on sale on Home Shop 18 or may be SHOP 24*7 or the same Sky Shop. For all this free promotion, I deserve a share of commission from these agencies.
So when you register your order, don’t forget to give me a special mention to their executives. Happy Shopping!!
Those are precisely the words that flash on your television screen, and not to forget the loud vocals in the backdrop, announcing “early bird” prizes for the first 20 callers. “So what are you waiting for??? Abhi phone uthaiye aur number ghumaiye”.
Dear folks, this is tele-marketing for you. Welcome to the world of super-attractive products like “Cat – Eye Taveez” and “Maths Guru”, which constitute the latest offerings by the Home Shop 18 or may be SHOP 24*7 or may be some Sky Shop, aahh…kindly forgive me….cant recollect the agency’s name. Nevertheless, their products have never ceased to be less than mesmerizing.
Let’s delve into the details.
“Cat – Eye Taveez”- It promises to ward off the evil ‘nazar’ stymieing your success and bring you truckloads of happiness and prosperity. It can help you flourish in business by elevating your profits. So now, you can give your overworked managers a break and gift yourself the priceless “Cat – Eye Taveez”. If all the sensible as well as the nonsensical stuff on television has exasperated you, then this breed of advertising belongs to a different genre promising unadulterated entertainment. The strategic mind of the ad maker inspires awe. The portraying of evil ‘nazar’ is no cake work. It is presented as two powerful beams emanating from the eyes of the evil-doer, casting its ill-effects in the aura of your workplace. This vandalizing beam is fluorescent green in color; the color emphasizing its strength. Once cast, your days of struggle begin. No efforts bring you back the past glory. A despondent you, sees this life-changing advertisement and without further delay, grab this miraculous yantra. And lo behold! Once you wear the “Cat – Eye Taveez”, the malicious beam debilitates under its impervious aura; and you are protected from all the negativity in the world and can now safely reach out for unfettered success.
“Maths Guru” is magical. I don’t have the words to express its salient features. I’m sure by now you would have left your computers to switch on the television. So, get to know what “Maths Guru” is all about. Scores of other treasures (includes “Dr. Tea” for slimming purposes) are on sale on Home Shop 18 or may be SHOP 24*7 or the same Sky Shop. For all this free promotion, I deserve a share of commission from these agencies.
So when you register your order, don’t forget to give me a special mention to their executives. Happy Shopping!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
The new hues of Journalism
The new hues of Journalism
A few days ago, I read about Pulitzer and his concept of the revolutionary “Yellow Journalism”. It was a form of aggressive, severely competitive, at times even manipulative and exaggerated journalism. This concept, albeit suitably modified, has been applied to Indian journalism today.
DNA – Daily News and Analysis, brought the first all-colour 40 page daily to Mumbai city. So, our news didn’t just look “yellow” like those which appeared in Pulitzer’s “New York World” but had every shade to make them look attractive and sound digestible. In our market, gauged by the IRS rounds and Neilson Survey, TOI immediately refurnished its copy of Bombay Times to an appealing new all-colour format and HT decided to keep it short by cutting the crap. Regardless of the competition, the brand new shades were here to stay.
Most of us are in a habit of sipping the morning tea while glancing at the headlines or closing in with a round-up of the day’s events. The all-colour format has made this daily experience a lot more delightful. Gone are the days when the cartoon strips looked blurred. Reading the news has become convenient as it no longer requires an effort to guess the identity of the photographed person. The sports section never looked so attractive. It is now guaranteed more prominence and space. It is illustrated with clearer images of not just the presentation ceremonies at sport events but also of the superb dives and sharp cuts; straight drives and splendid goals; and all the action on the field captured by the finest lenses of the world, is brought to us by the modernized Technicolor printing. Pictures of Sharapova, Graeme Smith and Button can well be a part of the Collector’s Edition. The sordid affairs, the Page-3 parties never looked as scintillating as they now do! At the same time crime and terror stories looked gruesome than ever. But that’s “capturing the reality in its authentic form”. Sadly this reality is ghastly and brutal and its images traumatizing and spine-chilling. On a lighter note, I wish to point out that even Lalu Prasad and Sonia Gandhi looked charming in the digital images and Prabhakaran, less intimidating!
The media by and large portrays the truest picture of the society. What better than have the true colours to its aid! Journalism has gone beyond the realms of meager reporting of facts. It has extended its horizons to explore the power of photography which has instilled life and soul in the mundane reports. It has matured to realize that an attractive format has the power to garner more readerships. It can even make up for the lackadaisical reporting exercised by the media at times. Yet, the revolution is limited to the English dailies only. Majority of the vernacular media is still characterized by ineffective black carbon ink. While journalism as a career and profession is seeing massive growth and revolution today, hope that even Navbharat Times sees the “yellow” light of the day!
A few days ago, I read about Pulitzer and his concept of the revolutionary “Yellow Journalism”. It was a form of aggressive, severely competitive, at times even manipulative and exaggerated journalism. This concept, albeit suitably modified, has been applied to Indian journalism today.
DNA – Daily News and Analysis, brought the first all-colour 40 page daily to Mumbai city. So, our news didn’t just look “yellow” like those which appeared in Pulitzer’s “New York World” but had every shade to make them look attractive and sound digestible. In our market, gauged by the IRS rounds and Neilson Survey, TOI immediately refurnished its copy of Bombay Times to an appealing new all-colour format and HT decided to keep it short by cutting the crap. Regardless of the competition, the brand new shades were here to stay.
Most of us are in a habit of sipping the morning tea while glancing at the headlines or closing in with a round-up of the day’s events. The all-colour format has made this daily experience a lot more delightful. Gone are the days when the cartoon strips looked blurred. Reading the news has become convenient as it no longer requires an effort to guess the identity of the photographed person. The sports section never looked so attractive. It is now guaranteed more prominence and space. It is illustrated with clearer images of not just the presentation ceremonies at sport events but also of the superb dives and sharp cuts; straight drives and splendid goals; and all the action on the field captured by the finest lenses of the world, is brought to us by the modernized Technicolor printing. Pictures of Sharapova, Graeme Smith and Button can well be a part of the Collector’s Edition. The sordid affairs, the Page-3 parties never looked as scintillating as they now do! At the same time crime and terror stories looked gruesome than ever. But that’s “capturing the reality in its authentic form”. Sadly this reality is ghastly and brutal and its images traumatizing and spine-chilling. On a lighter note, I wish to point out that even Lalu Prasad and Sonia Gandhi looked charming in the digital images and Prabhakaran, less intimidating!
The media by and large portrays the truest picture of the society. What better than have the true colours to its aid! Journalism has gone beyond the realms of meager reporting of facts. It has extended its horizons to explore the power of photography which has instilled life and soul in the mundane reports. It has matured to realize that an attractive format has the power to garner more readerships. It can even make up for the lackadaisical reporting exercised by the media at times. Yet, the revolution is limited to the English dailies only. Majority of the vernacular media is still characterized by ineffective black carbon ink. While journalism as a career and profession is seeing massive growth and revolution today, hope that even Navbharat Times sees the “yellow” light of the day!
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