Manish Ahuja

Random Thoughts: Educated Illiterates

Confusing title for a post, isn’t it? Well as confusing as the title may be, the set of people who are the main reason behind this post are far more confusing. Have you ever come across someone who has been educated for almost 20 years of his/ her life in English, but can’t hold a conversation in English? If this comes as a shock to you, you’re definitely blessed (consider yourself really fortunate) to be around people who do not belong to this category but trust me, they are large in number and not that difficult to spot. Also, I’m not referring to students who’re from the most remote villages but students who are from Mumbai, have a college degree and still (in my opinion) are as illiterate as a person can be.

Advertisements - Pepsi FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

Continuing the FIFA World Cup series of posts, here's a new advertisement from Pepsi. The ad features the song 'Oh Africa' by Akon, and some greatest football stars like Messi, Henry, Kaka, Lampard, Ashavin & Drogba. More than anything, it's a really funny ad and must not be missed. Hope you like it. Do feel free to share the same with all your contacts and spread the joy. After all, it takes only a few clicks.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Schedule

I tried looking for the FIFA Worldcup 2010 schedule online and I didn't expect the same to be quite a difficult task. Some schedules available online were just so confusing to understand, some sources didn't have complete information like the venues where the matches would be played. One piece of information which was the most difficult to decode was the exact match timings and at what time would the same telecast in India.

I was so disappointed, I decided to collate all the information and just tabulate the same for all so that they could save the time of going through the trouble which I faced. So here it is, just click here and download the schedule with a few clicks. Feel free to spread some joy by share the schedule with all your contacts so that they could also relax and enjoy the game just like you.

So now that the schedule is not a worry, which team are you rooting for?

Movie Trailers - Just Wright

One common misconception that exists is that (most) guys don't like romantic movies. I'd not want to get into the discussion on that topic right now, but I'd like to talk about my choices of romantic movies that I like. It doesn't take a long, tiring, scientific experiment to prove that I ~~like~~ love watching movies. And yes, I wouldn't mind watching romantic movies too. The catch here is that not all romantic movies appeal to me. The ones which are off beat, not the regular guy meets girl type of the movies are the ones which get me hooked instantly. The movie, Just Wright belongs to that category.

The movie stars Queen Latifah (of Mad Money, Taxi and Hairspray fame) and Common, a popular rap artist amongst other cast members. The movie has been directed by Sanaa Hamri and is expected to release on May 14, 2010 in the United States. Just watch the trailer below and you'll know why and how is this romantic movie different from all others.

Videos - Social Media Revolution (Must See)

Nobody can deny that social websites like Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon, Digg, YouTube have in the recent years changed the way we surf the internet. But are you sure we realize the impact of this change in our behavior? The video below helps put things in perspective. I'm sure you'll be surprised by what you see.

Interesting Links Found Online (ILFO) May 11, 2010

Advertising/ Funny: 10 Bizarre Advertising Spaces - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @OddeeBlog

BlackBerry: Top 10 #Websites for You to Download free BlackBerry Games - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Blog/ iPad/ Apple: What iPads Did To My Family - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @chuckhollis

Chess: Top 15 Original Chess Sets - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Internet/ File Transfer/ Data Transfer: Send Secure Info Over the Internet - Click Here to get redirected to the original content Source: @Flipbooks

Miscellaneous/ Infographics: Where Women Spend Their Money - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Paris/ Photography: Paris by night - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @ubersuper

Paris/ Photography: 22 Beautiful Postcards from Paris - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Photography/ Nature/ Birds: 22 Dazzling Bird Photos - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @anddjournal

VLC Player/ Software/ Tips&Tricks: 5 Things You Didn’t Know VLC Could Do - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @MakeTechEasier

YouTube/ Wikipedia/ Do It Yourself: Turn Your Favorite Wikipedia Page Into a Book (YouTube Video) - Click Here to get redirected to original content. Source: @techiblog

Movie Trailers - Raajneeti (2 Trailers)

One of the most anticipated Hindi movie of the year is Raajneeti. Directed by Prakash Jha (of Apaharan, Gangaajal, and Damul fame); assembles a breathtaking star cast which includes Nana Patekar (of Welcome, The Pool, and Apaharan fame); Ajay Devgan (of Company, Gangaajal, and Omkara fame); Katrina Kaif (of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Welcome, and New York fame); Ranbir Kapoor (of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, and Wake Up Sid fame); Manoj Bajpai (of Satya, Veer-Zaara, and Jail fame); Naseeruddin Shah (of A Wednesday!, Omkara, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fame); Arjun Rampal (of Om Shanti Om, Rock On, and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna fame) amongst others. The movie plans to expose the underbelly of Indian politics and seems really interesting. This movie is also said to be an adaptation of 'The Mahabharata'. The movie is slated to release on June 04 2010.

Interesting Links Found Online (ILFO) April 20, 2010

Advertising/ Brands/ Shoes: 26 Creative Advertisements of Shoes- Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Editorials & Opinions/ IPL Controversy: Pritish Nandy's view on IPL and the ongoing controversy- Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @PritishNandy

Internet/ Facebook: How to Suck at Facebook (user discretion requested) - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Internet/ Twitter: 7 Things you did not know about Twitter- Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @ManiKarthik

Miscellaneous: 10 Things Your Hairdresser Won't Tell You - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @manishmahuja

Miscellaneous: 50 Famously Successful People Who Failed at First - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Miscellaneous: Beautiful Creative Sculptures with Sand- Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @shareordie

Movies/ Saawariya/ Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sony Pictures India: The Curious Case of Saawariya - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @RajeevMasand

Photography/ Volcano: Iceland's disruptive volcano - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @big_picture

Travel: 10 Best Hot Tubs Around The World - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @manishmahuja

Random Thoughts: MBA and the ultimate goal

Disclaimer: The post below doesn't speak about all the students doing their MBA. If you're highly offended by the post below, you're either one of the students being mentioned below or just oblivious to the entire situation. In any of the cases, I sincerely feel sorry for you. My deepest sympathies are with you my friend ;)

The process of getting into a good B-School (Business School) is pretty structured. Students start with the grind of preparing so called entrance exams which is known to test how fast and accurately a student can answer questions based on elementary maths, not so elementary English, deciphering various charts or paragraphs filled with data which you convert into information to answer questions, and in some cases even add ons like General Knowledge etc. What seems like an exam actually resemble the gates of hell if not the place in itself.

Beautiful People Interview with Karan Johar post release of MNIK

If you enjoyed watching the Lalit Modi interview on this blog (click here to check the post being mentioned) earlier, here's yet another interview from the series of 'Beautiful People' by Anuradha Sengupta (click here to follow her on twitter). In this installment the personality being interviewed is Mr. Karan Johar (click here to follow Karan on Twitter) who is by fan one of the most successful Indian film makers. Although a selective body of work of just 4 movies in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and the most recent My Name is Khan (MNIK). Karan is considered a legend in his own right and rightly so.

Create Your New Blog in 6 Steps

Continuing the series of how to create, maintain, promote a new blog with a post which would help the readers to make a note, think and evaluate the steps suggested below before creating a new blog. This post has been written after having been on the blogosphere for over a year and a half now and having made small mistakes, interctions with so many bloggers and getting their views as well.

Creating and maintaining a blog is NO BIG DEAL, it's NOT difficult and most importantly it's NOT just for 'dorks, nerds and geeks'. On the contrary once you start blogging you'd experience that blogging is a highly effective medium to channelize your creative energies and showcase your talent easily.

Random Thoughts: Blackberry

This is the first post in the serious of an idea that I call 'Random Thoughts'. The idea of posts in this category is to share my thoughts with the readers about anything under the sun. The length, number of times when posts in this category would appear on the blog is all relative. I'd request YOU, the reader to please share your views and comments on the thoughts which I share because the main purpose of this blog is to ideally connect with the readers and get to know their point of view vis-a-vis mine. The idea of this post is about my views on BlackBerry (BB).

Movie Trailers - Step Up 3D; The Karate Kid & The A-Team

Continuing the trend of posting trailers of upcoming and hugely anticipated movies.

Step Up 3D (Really good, recommended as a must watch video)

The Karate Kid (This is the second trailer of this movie posted on this blog. To watch the first trailer, click here)

The A-Team

101 Ideas for your new blog

Till date it's not difficult to come across people who think and have a notion that blogging is really difficult or even worse, that it's a thing that nerds and geeks do. That's indeed a clear misconception because blogging has always been a medium to express your thoughts, feelings, opinions etc. on topics which you connect with/ relate to. Having said that, there are no doubts, that there was a time when creating a blog meant knowing a lot of HTML, SEO rules, basic coding and a lot of other things. But that's a story of the past. Today a blog is just as good as the time invested in it by the blogger and the interest taken. Frankly, I think every person should at least try their hand at blogging at least once to understand the real deal. Let's hope these series of posts help you to make your decision.

In more ways than one, owning a blog is an excellent way to utilize your leisure time, it's a liberating feeling which gives you a sense of achievement. The idea of this post (and a few more to follow in the series of how to make your own blog and maintain it) is to help you clear your inhibitions and realize how easy the process of creating your blog is. In this post I plan to mention, not 1; 10; 25; 50 but 101 areas of interest which you can use in parts, as a whole, mix a few topics of your interest together or think of a topic not mentioned in the list below for your blog; because truly, with blogging sky is not the limit, it's just the starting line.

Beautiful People Interview with Lalit Modi, IPL Chairman & Commissioner

Everybody who knows me, knows a fact that I'm not a big sports fan. I just don't enjoy sports, I'd rather choose to watch a movie, read something, stay online, sleep etc. rather than watching a match. However, one fact about sports is that you might love it or hate, you definitely can't ignore it. Cricket is considered as a second religion for most in India. The Indian Premier League or the IPL, in the last three years of its existence has changed the rules of the game in more ways than one and the man behind it all is the IPL Chairman & Commissioner Mr. Lalit Modi (click here to follow his verified account on Twitter, if you aren't following him already). In this post you'll find a two part interview done by Anuradha Sengupta, from CNBC TV18 (click here to follow her on Twitter) in her show called 'Beautiful People'. Also bundled in this post is an ad which was released a few weeks before IPL and which I really like.

Part 01 of 02 of the Interview

Must Watch Video - Story of Stuff

At the outset before introducing the readers to the video, I must thank my dear friend @rhilex who posted this video months ago. I know I must apologize for procrastinating so much but still, its NEVER too late to watch this video. I request every visitor, to take 20 odd minutes out for this video, watch it entirely and if you feel that watching the video did add some value, leave a comment below, think about the issue being discussed in the video, help by spreading the awareness, think about the issues discussed in the video, try to find ways which are in your capacity which would help. I'm trying to do my bit in parts and one of the parts being sharing this video with all my readers.

Movie Trailers - The Karate Kid

One of my favorite ways to unwind is to watch trailers on YouTube. I plan to assimilate some of the best ones which I come across and share them on this blog. Hope you can enjoy them too.

Interesting Links Found Online (ILFO) March 27, 2010

I started this concept of sharing Interesting Links that I find on twitter/ facebook or if I come across something worth sharing online on one of my earlier blogs (then, I called this category as 'Interesting Reads Found Online'). The response to this section was rather overwhelming then and I hope to get similar response on this blog as well. Please feel free to keep providing us with your valuable comments/ recommendations. All sources would be shared.

Advertising: The 75 Sexiest (Female) Celebrity Print Ads of All Time - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Architecture: 10 Buildings Inspired by Nature - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @Flipbooks

Business: The Do's & Don'ts of Buying a Franchise - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @EntrepreneurIndia

Creativity: 15 Unique & Creative Staircases - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @Toxel

DIY: Make your own Photo Kaleidocycle - Click Here to get redirected to the original content. Source: @Foldplay

Blogger Tweaks: Interactive Comments using....

Comments are an excellent way to create loyal readers for your blog. Comments add the human touch to the digital space and feel of blogs. One of the biggest problems with comments is that internet is filled with people who'd leave spam comments on your blog. An easy way to tackle this problem is to make user verification mandatory before posting comments. However, this also proves to be a deterrent at times when the reader doesn't want to login separately to his/ her Google/ Livejournal account to post the comment. The solution to this problem can be found in this blogging tweak.

Blogger Tweaks: Drop Down Menu for Labels/ Tags

Although Blogger keeps updating features and adding many new features constantly (click here to follow the official Blogger blog where all updates are announced) to make the job easier for all the fellow bloggers, there are times when one has to look for tweaks online to customize their blog. One of the best part about having your blog on blogger is that finding HTML codes to make those tweaks work is relatively easy. I've decided to dedicate a post every time I find a tweak and reveal the source from where I found the tweak. This post reveals the tweak to create a drop down menu for the tags of your blog.

Do you know how Google search works?

I found this video on YouTube and I thought it indeed is worth sharing with everybody. As the title of the post suggests, this video shows how Google works and displays the search results when you type on the search text box and hit enter/ search.