T-Shirt Painting! Part 2

Painted my t-shirt this evening for around 1.5hr. I had painted the design on paper during my std VII vacations. Hunted for that painting, made a couple of changes and traced-painted it right away on my t-shirt while listening to Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad-Poor Dad's audio..Paintin' and Ponderin' hand-in-hand I say..hehehe..Here is the pic:

vocab for the week 22

Why is the place where the pilot sits called a `cockpit'?

The word `cockpit' was in use long before the airplane was invented. Cock-fighting was a very popular sport in Europe. Men would dig a small pit, drop the two feathered contestants into it, and watch as the two birds tore into each other. The original meaning of `cockpit' was a small enclosure where birds fought. With the passage of time, however, the word took on a broader meaning: it began to refer to any place, usually small, where there was a lot of fighting. Belgium, for example, was referred to as `the cockpit of Europe'. When planes began to be used during the First World War, the place where the pilot sat began to be called a cockpit because all the action was taking place in the confined space.

Diwali-the festival of Lights..uh..and Pollution.

So Diwali, like every year, is back with a bang (read: loud,big bang) bringing 3 privileged holidays work for so many people around the country (articled assistants included!), good shopping steals, yummy sweets and snacks (aka 'faraal'), spending quality time with family and friends, exchange of blessings and wishes (in cash/in kind/as emotions!) and some pollution.

Ignoring the long introduction let me come straight to what I wanted to blog on..Pollution during these 3 privileged holidays viz air and noise pollution. Appreciated the article (courtesy: The Times of India) which boasted about students pledging not to burst crackers and donating the money saved. That really touched me.

I get all heated up when I see people, those so-called citizens who are well verse with the cons of bursting crackers. Mind you, I too enjoyed Diwali in my own simple ways (shopping and feasting to name a couple) excluding the so-called joy of bursting crackers. Well you cannot go and give a boring lecture to kids on the hazards of bursting crackers (still I feel they can be convinced to bursting a few crackers instead of dozens). But why do our elders, or even the youth simply ignore greater issues and go on bursting crackers at the cost of their own environment? I am sure you too would have noticed the dozens of mini-clouds formed in the skies at night these days. The crackers are so powerful that the smoke lingers in the air many minutes after the thing bursts. And the boom-bang sounds are loud enough for anyone to go deaf. Instead of enjoying the starry bright skies I was going all cynical on the auspicious occasion of Laxmi Pujan while watching the sky go up in smokes post the bright lightning, thanks to the pollution-friendly crackers. Not only the skies, the roads too are heaped up with red and white paper remnants of the 'joys' bursted these days. These remnants cannot be recycled due to their dangerous chemical contents. The result: another pollution on its way-land pollution.

How can one feel elated by bursting a whole pack of chemicals, coughing in its smoke, clapping while watching black smoke shoot up in the air and dancing around its greyish paper remnants? Its time to wake up and celebrate festivals in the spirit were supposed to be and not in such 'chemical spirit'.


P.S. I confess I lit a couple of those sparklers last weekend..The kids at my building insisted me to participate in their small celebration and I found it too difficult to ignore their smiles..

A bit late, but wishing all a Happy and a Safe Deepawali..

vocab for the week 21

How is the word ‘ensconce’ pronounced?

The first syllable is pronounced like the word ‘in’, and the ‘con’ in the second is pronounced like the word ‘con’. The final ‘ce’ sounds like the ‘s’ in ‘sit’, ‘sun’, and ‘swim’. The word is pronounced ‘in-SKONS’ with the stress on the second syllable. This is one way of pronouncing the word. ‘Ensconce’ is mostly used in formal contexts to mean ‘to settle oneself comfortably’.

*I found Sajid watching TV ensconced in my favourite chair.

The word can also be used to mean hidden in a safe environment, unseen by others.

*The children were playing hide and seek. Chitra decided to ensconce herself in the small cupboard in the kitchen downstairs.

Never Miss A Beat

Sung by A band named Kaiser Chiefs, the song highlights the feeling of not knowing anything yet being happy all the way. Shaking my head and singing 'Its cool to knwo nothing!' Feeling the same this morning..And that's the reason its posted over here. Am sure you too feel the same sometimes. And yeah don't forget to learn a bit of these lyrics and sing aloud when that 'bindaas' feeling pops up. Enjoy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQK7RYDQlSs

What did you learn today?
I learned nothin
What did you do today?
I did nothin
What did you learn at school?
I didn't go
Why didn't you go to school?
I don't know

It's cool to know nothin
(x2)

Television's on the blink
There's nothin on it
I really want to really big coat
With words on it
What do you want for tea?
I want crisps
Why didn't you join the team?
I just didn't

It's cool to know nothin
(x2)

Take a look, take a look, take a look
at the kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat, beat, beat, beat
Take a look at the kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat

Here comes the referee
The light's flashin
Best bit of the day
Now that's livin
Why don't you run away?
Are you kiddin?
What is the golden rule?
You say nothin

It's cool to know nothin
(x2)

Take a look, take a look, take a look
at the kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat, beat, beat, beat
Take a look at the kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat

Take a look, take a look, take a look
at the kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat, beat, beat, beat
Take a look at the kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat

vocab for the week 20

What is the meaning of the expression ‘beyond his ken’?

The word ‘ken’ is Scottish in origin, and it is means ‘to know someone or something’. Therefore, when you say that something is ‘beyond your ken’, what you mean is that you do not know anything about it. It is something that is beyond your understanding.

*Please don’t talk to me about grammar. It is just beyond my ken.

My 'Sources of Smiles'

You might find some of the following joys of mine petty or stupid. But for me, they are my 'sources-of-smiles'(lo! that's a cool term! courtesy-me!)

In alphabetical order:

Adding stuff to my Cars-the movie Collection
Applying a face mask..makes me feel cool!
Blogging on my sources-of-smiles!
Buying good books for me..irrespective of whether I read all of 'em or not!
Cleaning up my already cleaned desk
Decorating my drawing room
Getting into an impromptu jig
Having a hot cuppa tea
Learning an interesting concept at coaching classes
Looking at the morning sky from my terrrace with my mouth wide open
Looking at the sky when in train
Painting a t-shirt for myself
Roaming in The Crossword Book Store
Shaking a leg with my school pals
Shopping along the road side discovering a good steal
Stacking up the already stacked books of my so-called library
Teasing my article-friend who is 2yrs younger to me
Whiling away time on my college's (R.A.Podar) Katta
Writing a poem

(will update when needed)

vocab for the week 19

How is the word ‘officious’ pronounced? What does it mean?


The ‘o’ in the first syllable is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’, and the following ‘ffic’ is pronounced like the word ‘fish’. The ‘iou’ is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’, and the final ‘s’ is like the ‘s’ in ‘sit’, ‘stand’, and ‘sip’. The word is pronounced ‘e-FISH-es’ with the stress on the second syllable. ‘Officious’ has nothing to do with the word ‘official’. When you say that someone is officious, what you mean is that the person is rather meddlesome. The individual pokes his nose in other people’s affairs; he is eager to offer advice. Such people are overly aggressive in their desire to help, and usually have a very high opinion of themselves. The word is mostly used to show disapproval.

It’s not surprising that the officious little man has no friends.