My Tribute to Michael John

Johnny was my Sunday School student, he was quite and rather reserved, quick to act but slow to speak.  His father was confident that the boy will grow up the right way. Then I lost touch with Johnny, thanks to social networking he was my friend in Orkut…. then the expected happened he moved on from this world… I went for his funeral  and met up with his friends who were grief stricken…  There is one learning I want to say of him. Johnny was ready to help…. he actually wanted to live his life helping others….. That is noble and a very rare thing to do in this world… and so he has gone to a better place.

I have gone through Johnny Orkut profile and picked up some stuff that actually makes one think that the boy knew it and was being prepared for it…and you will have a glimpse of what he had  nurtured in his heart

His profile update says “live like u mean it”

Take a look at this last video that he posted on his profile

Now look at the profile ‘ a never say die attitude’

The Photograph with his friends

And the comments in Orkut after his departure

He departs to be sown.

Show the other cheek

The Hindu Temple 'Choir'

Choirs are virtually unheard of in temples in India because worshipers tend not to cohere into anything resembling an attentive congregation, said Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of religion and the director of the Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions at the University of Florida.

“People come and go as they please within the temple hours, and it’s more individual prayers,” she said in a telephone interview.

While there are numerous musical traditions that have sprung from Hinduism, they tend to favor solos and improvisation, in keeping with the individualistic and free-flowing nature of Hindu worship, Professor Narayanan said.

She sees the choir as a “gentle process of Americanization” — a kind of adaptation of Hindu traditions to be more “recognizable” to the children of Hindu immigrants and the broader American public.

In Queens, there was a little skepticism at first, said Uma Mysorekar, the president of the temple, one of the largest and oldest Hindu temples in the country. “In the beginning people were a little bit upset with this word ‘choir,’ ” she said. “ ‘Choir — what is this?’ It’s not generally used among Hindus; it’s connected to a Christian choir.”

Resistance quickly faded as Chandrika Tandon, the choir’s founder, who grew up in South India, communicated the joy she had encountered in the gospel choirs of Harlem and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

from the original post in NYT

Vanya and her friend

Me Accomodating all

There was a time when I felt strongly about what I thought was wrong,  now there seems to be a sense of inclusiveness that has prevailed over me ever since I understood that a work can be done by anyone and not necessarily the ones who are considered to be good and intelligent.   Actually most of the work that gets done most of the time are done by people who ‘hardly’ seem to matter and go unrecognized.  Its a pity but thats how it works.  The cake is baked by someone but the one who keeps the cherry gets the credit.

Iam a lot different not, I believe that all people or institutions have a role to play in society –  even if they are designed to be selfish and nasty.  So rejecting them may not be a sensible thing to do.

“Cap-and-Trade” Legislation

What is it?

CAT is an indirect tax on the use of energy (such as coal or fossil fuel) that emits greenhouse gases. It attempts to control pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing polluting emissions.

Its complex “cap and trade” system, which would set limits on carbon emissions through a market of tradable permits.  There is an apprehension that cap-and-trade system could be exploited by Wall Streeters to make millions of dollars in profit.  Its likely to result in  gasoline and electricity prices soaring and kill U.S. jobs but it can also be said shifting to a more climate-friendly economy will create more jobs.

According to Dr Vishal Mangalwadi:

However, this indirect tax could become a corrupt business that cripples the American economy. The government would make some money from auctioning permits but private businesses could make a lot more money without adding any value to the economy. People with cash would buy permits cheaply at auctions and then sell them at a profit to manufacturers, who may not have been able to buy at auction time because of tight cash-flow. Tens of thousands of smaller manufacturers may not be able to budget their expenses because they would not know in advance how much “pollution tax” they would end up paying for the energy they use later in the year. At least in this area, American taxation would begin to resemble the Roman times when privileged and powerful, private Tax-Collectors extracted taxes from powerless businessmen, traders and travelers.

Will the system correct itself?  Or does it need theological intervention?

Linux baby rocker

Baby rocked to sleep by CD rom tray on computer.

The Indian Christian Diaspora

Dr Sam Kamalesan was a great man of God a wonderful talker who inspired many young people in India then  one day decided that his work in India was completed and decided to hit West. Same with Ravi Zacharias, Dr Vishal Magalwadi, Sunderkrishan, Ramesh Richard, Milind Sojwal, Praveen Bunyan and many more. They are used in a great way in their setting, well surely.
Today Liberalized India has got on to the Globalized bandwagon opening up to Satellite Television and World Wide Web.
Wouldn’t it be good if these great minds were to be in India now? – I believe so.  But then if God can raise Abraham out of stones the same God can raise the useless, and foolish people like me to do His work. This is the hope so glorious

The thrill of a teacher

I was at Kirk for the recording of Classic Hymns and during the break I had this lady come to me and talk,  I had forgotten her.  She recalled the training program while I was refreshing my memory another younger girl, apparently the daughter.  Each of them addressed me as teacher and they were introducing me to each other.  Felt a bit strange but definitely a great feeling

"Buyology—Truth and Lies About Why We Buy".

A pioneering study on Neuromarketing will change forever the way marketers and advertisers promote their goods and services. The field of “Neuromarketing” provides a scientific basis on which to make sound advertising decisions, using research about what we know works. Conducted by Brand Futurist and Advertising Guru Martin Lindstrom, this study took three years and seven million dollars of his clients’ money to complete. Some of us, who for years have believed the party lines that “sex sells” and “engendering fear turns people off”, are in for a big surprise.

Examining over 2,000 subjects in the United States, England, Germany, Japan, and the Republic of China, and using some state-of-the-art machines, including Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) technology, Lindstrom exposed his subjects to advertising messages then watched what happened within their brains. What he discovered was fascinating.

In fact, sex does not sell anything. Actually, it distracts consumers from the intended messages. So using members of the scantily clad men and women to sell products and services is not the best use of advertising dollars.

On the other hand, fear does sell. At least in the case of smoking and the warnings on packages of cigarettes, we humans are attracted to the source of our fear and are then stimulated by it to consume more.

So those ghastly pictures on cigarette packs in Canada, Thailand, Australia, Brazil—-and soon the U.K as well. These gory, real-life, full- color photographs show images of lung tumors, gangrenous feet and toes, and the open sores and disintegrating teeth caused by mouth and throat cancers. What Lindstrom found was the more disgusting the picture, the greater the stimulation of the part of the brain that causes craving of the offensive substance.