Tapping the North East

The North East(NE) is a physically and traditionally isolated region of India. Its well heeled cultural heritage, landscape and biodiversity has a lot to offer culture travelers, wildlife enthusiasts, nature lovers and of course, photojournalists.

For decades, NE India has been physically and emotionally marginalized from the rest of India. The biodiversity of this region is known to many, but experienced by very few.

The NE of India comprises the eight states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Sikkim. The region is home to a rich flora and fauna, diverse culture, customs and yet distinguished from each other by interesting paradoxes. While Mizoram has the second highest literacy rate in the country, Arunachal Pradesh lags far behind. Assam is well connected by roads, railways and airway while there is no connectivity of railways in Sikkim, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

NE India evokes myriad images of warm culture and hospitality, interesting cuisine, spectacular landscapes and much more. Yet, somewhere I observe shades of loss and gloom because of the sense of monotony in the day-to-day grind. NE India is in a state of qualified, but perpetual abeyance. This is largely due to the fact that the enormous potential of the NE remains largely untapped, even six decades after Independence.

Even before the rest of India comes to terms with the huge potential of the NE, the people of the Northeast themselves must realize their potential. They must not wait for opportunities to come their way, but must carve out opportunities themselves. I would like to highlight the potential of the North East on a state by state basis –
The beauty and diversity of NE India has attracted those with a taste for mysticism and lateral thinking ever since. Nature has always played a major role in determining the lifestyle of the region. 167,00 sq. km is under forest area and out of the 1300 species of orchids found in India, 550 are from Arunachal Pradesh alone. North East India also supports some of the rarest birds and animals. Mawsynrem in Meghalaya prides in being the area with the highest rainfall while Arunachal Pradesh has the second largest Buddhist Monastery in Asia. In Manipur there is the Loktak Lake while Tripura can boast of an unmatched cultural diversity.

The Ministry of Tourism has called the NE as “Paradise Unexplored”. To say that the NE has tremendous tourism potential is an understatement. But unfortunately, not enough measures have been taken to promote tourism in the region. People are averse to visiting the region because of preconceived notions and due to the geographical terrain and other factors. Infrastructural development must be followed by the revamping of the “Look East Policy” which, without doubt, shall be a boon to the region in all aspects as the region shares close similarities with the people of East Asia.

The very successful “Incredible India” campaign must take into consideration the “unexplored” Incredible North East as well. Enough budgets should be allocated for tourism development in the NE but most importantly, there should be a credible political will as well. Above all, keeping in mind all the factors, the uniqueness of the region should not be disrupted at any cost. A pathway to innovating and implementing sustainable tourism should therefore be the way forward.

ARUNACHAL PRADESH-

There is immense potential for plantation crops like tea, coffee and rubber on the vast tracts of hill slopes. The area is also blessed with a favorable climate for this. The Brazilian variety of the rubber tea has been found to be suitable for this region. Arunachal’s picturesque landscape, lofty mountains, turbulent rivers, deep gorges and thousands of species of flora and fauna present ample scope for the development of tourism. Recreational activities like river water rafting, mountaineering and hiking will add a unique flavor to tourism. The hydropower potential of Arunachal Pradesh is 30,000Kw [Source : CEA ] but it’s a pity that only 0.076% of it’s available potential has been harnessed so far.

ASSAM-

Perhaps no other product has promoted a state as much as Assam tea has promoted Assam. The state’s tea finds its way to millions of homes all over the globe. Other than its intoxicating brew, there is also scope for development of the Khadi industry. Currently there are 55 Khadi production centers producing yarn, soap, cloth, etc. This industry alone can employ more than 100,000 people if properly developed. Inspite of having immense potential for power generation, Assam’s performance in this sector is not encouraging. It also has the unique advantage of being situated close to Myanmar, which is the gateway to the ASEAN countries. Assam, thus, has the potential to emerge as a strategic base for foreign and domestic investors to tap the vast potential of the markets of Myanmar, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia and Indonesia.

MANIPUR-

Throughout the state of Manipur handloom weaving is a popular industry and Manipuri fabrics with picturesque and indigenous designs are extremely beautiful. However, no serious effort has been made to export these clothes to other parts of India or even overseas. To further develop this industry a switch over to power loom would be beneficial. Large deposits of limestone have been located in the Ukhrul region and a cement plant is the need of the hour. There is also scope of setting up a re-rolling mill in Manipur as Manipur is entirely dependent on the rest of the country for all its requirements of iron and steel.

MEGHALAYA–

The potential jackpots in Meghalaya are minerals, food, tourism and health care. The coal available is mainly of the sub-bituminous type and can be utilized in varied industries ranging from power, fertilizer, cement and textile to paper, rubber, brick burning and pottery. The coal can also be converted into coke and recover value-added chemicals like light, medium and heavy oil. Apart from a food-processing unit of 400 MT capacity there is no fruit processing industry. The climate in Meghalaya is congenial for animal husbandry like the rearing of cattle, pigs, goats and poultry. There is also great potential for the development of tourism.

MIZORAM -

Mizoram has a number of areas for development like horticulture, fruit processing, agro-based industries and tourism. A tea industry can be set up in the state as it has been estimated that tea could be raised in four blocks over about 10,000 ha in ten years. The state has the potential for raising about 5,000 ha of rubber plantations in three blocks. For cash crop plantations there is scope for the establishment of nurseries in each block of Kolasib. The annual income of each nursery has been estimated at Rs.2.37 lakhs.

NAGALAND -

The potential exists for the setting up of industrial zones as an integrated approach to address the basic issues of industrialization. Various kinds of minerals are found in Nagaland and the emphasis should be on the exporting of finished products and in attracting investments from outside the State. There is also tremendous potential of trans-border trade between Nagaland and Myanmar.

TRIPURA-

Tripura has that one precious natural resource that very few states in India have-natural gas. If a pipeline can be constructed connecting Tripura to West Bengal it can do wonders for the state’s economy. Tripura is also the second largest producer of rubber in India. But only a fraction of that is exported. Efforts must be made to boost trans border trade between Tripura and Bangladesh. Tripura is a mountainous land divided by valleys of about ten rivers. This naturally beautiful landscape provides scope for the development of the tourism industry, which is at a very nascent stage in Tripura.

In the end it can safely be concluded that the potential NE India has is unbound. The question that we need to ask is will narrow nationalism isolate the Northeast and harm it or will the region impart a sporting spirit of nationalism and thereby open up its wonders to the world. If the NE can live up to its potential the result will be an intoxicating mixture of the outrageous, the unseen and the incomprehensible.

{Source: Excerpts from http://fromnortheast.isgreat.org/?tag=tourism and http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/Northeast-India.asp}

Vince Lombardi - The Number One Speech

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

"There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

"Every time a football player goes to play his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

"Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

"It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.

"And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

"I don't say these things because I believe in the 'brute' nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

Happy 2012

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-enterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the I.R.S.

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May New Year's Eve find you seated around the table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends. May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you have been watching, and may your check book and your budget balance - and include generous amounts for charity.

May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God's love in every sunset, every flower's unfolding petals, every baby's smile, every lover's kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.

Wishing You the Best in 2012!!!

{“Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale}

I Am Nature's Greatest Miracle ~ By Og Mandino

Since the beginning of time never has there been another with my mind, my heart, my eyes, my hands, my hair, my mouth. None that came before, none that live today, and none that comes tomorrow can walk and talk and move and think exactly like me. All men are my brothers yet I am different from each. I am a unique creature. Although, I am of the animal kingdom, animal rewards alone will not satisfy me. Within me burns a flame which has been passed from generations uncounted and its heat is a constant irritation to my spirit to become better than I am, and I will. I will fan this flame of dissatisfaction and proclaim my uniqueness to the world. I am a unique creature of nature. I am rare, and there is value in all rarity; therefore, I am valuable. I am the end-product of thousands of years of evolution; therefore, I am better equipped in both mind and body that all the emperors and wise men who preceded me. But my skills, my mind, my heart, and my body will stagnate, rot, and die lest I put them to good use. I have unlimited potential. Nevermore will I be satisfied with yesterday's accomplishments, nor will I indulge anymore, in self-praise for deed which in reality are too small to even acknowledge. I can accomplish far more than I have, and I will, for why should the miracle which produced me end with my birth? Why can I not extend that miracle to my deeds of today? I am not on this earth by chance. I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy. I have been given eyes to se and a mind to think and now I know a great secret of life for I perceive, at last, that all my problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise. I will no longer be fooled by the garments they wear for mine eyes are open. I will look beyond the cloth and I will not be deceived. No beast, no plant, no wind, no rock, no lake had the same beginning as I, for I was conceived in love and brought forth with a purpose. And nature knows not defeat. Eventually, she emerges victorious and so will I, and with each victory the next struggle becomes less difficult. I will win for I am unique. I am nature's greatest miracle.

Google + a new contender in the social network battle

Google’s venture into the social networking world is exciting – but is it a ‘Facebook Killer’? I’ve just lost few hours to Google’s voyage into the social networking world – or, as all and sundry else in the world is calling it, its “Facebook Killer”. It’s called Google+, and it’s at this time available in the same way as Gmail (and, indeed, Facebook) began: as a limited roll-out to a select few.

Well, it’s maybe not that select now: I nipped in as the first open invites sent out of the Googleplex. With everybody in that wave allowed to send out invitations, the service quickly became overloaded and the gates were shut once more. I can’t visualize that Google won’t be allowing increasing crowds in, however.

So what can I tell you, from this side of Google’s stronghold walls? Well, I’m trying to choke back my geek excitement. I know the tricks that my attention-deficit disordered mind can play on me. My DNA is just a little too close to that of the average Google employee for me to really be able to part their joy at creating a polished new tech product from my joy at taking it apart and playing with all the buttons.

And there are a lot of shiny buttons in Google+. By hook or by crook, in the past few years, the search-engine company has developed a name for a staid, functional aesthetic. That’s surprising, given the bright and breezy, informal tone of Google’s overall voice, and the revolutionary design nature of some of it’s before time non-search products, such as the dynamic Gmail and Google Maps.

But Google+ has put paid to that. The interface is clear, with some nice hidden jokiness, and it has a responsiveness that suddenly makes Facebook look like a creakingly old website.

It is fun to play with, and somewhat addictive. Those are both vital elements if Google is going to be able to drag people away from Facebook, while at the same time requiring them to re-enter and re-categorise all their friends. And reorganising your friends is where Google+ comes into its own.

The service is based on the idea of “circles”. Instead of a nebulous mass of pals, where you end up mostly encouraged to post to everyone, and where it’s hard to control who you hear back from, the first step in setting up a Google+ account is to callously divide your friends into Acquaintances, Family, Friends, and whatever else you want.

The trick is that you can post to just one of those categories, to just one or more people, to the whole word, or to various permutations thereof. At the same time, you can switch between reading the “streams” of these circles, preventing the undivided torrent of news that affects Facebook and Twitter.

If that sounds about as much fun as a tax audit, Google has at least made it as entertaining as possible, with an easy drag-and-drop interface.

Around this core are a few more entertaining mini-applications. By far the most enjoyable is the Hangout, a multiple-person video-chat conference.

There is a well-rounded mobile app for Android (with one in the works for the iPhone and iPad), which has a genuinely useful multi-person messaging tool called Huddle and a tool to automatically upload photos and videos for sharing later.

Is that enough? Well, my suspicion is that Google has planned 100 days or so during which it will include additions to the basic Google+ infrastructure on a regular basis. It’s a great way to steal users from Facebook.

It is clear that Google+ is taking a lot of the cloud computing giant’s creative energy and raw computing power.

The last time Google attempted to pull off something like this, it ended up with Google Buzz, a product saddled with some early privacy missteps.
Google has erred on the side of caution with Google+, but there is still some weirdness. For instance, the service bizarrely requires you to specify your gender (helpfully giving you “Male”, “Female” and “Other”), and then compulsorily shares that with the entire world. I know a lot of women who work hard to keep their gender ambiguous online; and I know plenty of reasons why you wouldn’t want the wrong people to be able to track down all the “Others” in their area.

But these missteps are relatively small, and hopefully will be fixed quickly. In the meantime, I think Google has a hit on its hands – at least among the first adopters, and those who haven’t tied their colours to the Facebook mast.

Is that enough? It used to be. Google’s original search engine spread by word of mouth from techie to techie. Gmail took off because geeks liked it to deal with their heavy e-mail workload, and when everyone else’s spam and inbox grew out of control, they ended up at Gmail too.

But first adopters clearly want an excuse to get out of Facebook and, for them, Google+ is the Pied Piper. Will it tempt the other hundreds of millions who have made their home on Mark Zuckerberg’s servers?

However it plays out, the fight will be entertainment in itself.

Show Up without Showing Off

Woody Allen was wrong.

His famous one-liner was, “80% of life is showing up.”

Wrong. Showing up isn’t enough.

Think about it: How many times have YOU showed up … and sucked?

HERE’S THE REALITY: That you show up isn’t nearly as important as how you show up.

People respond to the sum total of what you present to them. Either positively, negatively, or not at all. It all depends on how you show up.

The problem is, people often shrink from showing UP because they’re terrified of being accused of showing OFF.

This doesn’t have to be the case. You can still show up strongly without showing off annoyingly.

Let’s explore seven strategies for doing so:

1. Stop proving yourself and start expressing yourself. This is a hard and humbling shift to make in your behavior. Took me about five years. And looking back, I now realize there are a few steps that can be taken by anyone to do so:

FIRST: Stop proclaiming and start displaying. Create avenues for others to experience your unique talents.

SECOND: Stop demanding your rights and start deploying your gifts. An attitude of entitlement doesn’t look good on anyone.

THIRD: Stop trying to be somebody. Befriend who you already are. It’s a lot less work.

Ultimately, these practices will enable you to inspire people from the inside, as opposed to advising them from the outside. Remember: The less you have to prove, the less other people will feel threatened around you.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. What does your presence awaken in people?

2. Forego the fear of being found out. If you’re at war with yourself, you will not show up well. And the body count will double every time you walk into a room. Instead, your mission is to preserve an attitude of self-acceptance. To occupy your vulnerability and make friends with all aspects of yourself – even the ones that make you cringe.

That’s what I’ve discovered after 3,278 consecutive days of wearing a nametag: When you relax and assume everything is perfect, you begin to feel rightness and complete appropriateness in who you are. And so do the people you meet.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. Are you AT war with yourself or IN love with yourself?

3. Assemble initiative, not inertia. That means being willing to be heard. That means being twice as proactive in everything you do. And that means being diligent in putting yourself in the success moment, and doing so with deadening regularity.

The enemy of initiative, on the other hand, is being paralyzed by your own mistakes. Being distracted by your own nonsense. And becoming a prisoner of yesterday’s errors. Be careful. Inertia is the slaughterer of success. Only movement counts.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. Are you a cause or an effect?

4. Learn to become a part of every place you enter. In the fantastic book, Honoring, I learned: “Come soft and bright as a sponge to be filled, unresisting; and allow nothing to weigh too much within your soul.”

That’s definition of vulnerability. That’s the epitome of openness. And if you practice this, and you will be welcomed everywhere you go. You will feel at home wherever you go.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. When you walk into a room, how does it change?

5. Learn to become someone when you’re alone. That way, should you find yourself suddenly kicked to the curb (by your job, friends, spouse, partner, whatever), you can still prosper. As long as you listen deeply TO yourself, stay in constant rapport WITH yourself and heed what you hear FROM yourself.

That’s why I love yoga. It’s rock-solid practice trusting your support system of inner resources. Plus, you learn to “take your practice off the mat,” which is the process of transporting what you learned from one discipline into various other life containers.

As Emerson wrote in Self-Reliance, “The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” And ultimately, becoming someone when you’re alone makes it easier to show up AS someone when you’re not.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. How often do you hold daily appointments with yourself?

6. Build a better you. Mousetraps are overrated. YOU are the only product that ever matters. After all, people buy people first. My suggestion is that you rededicate yourself as an instrument, recenter yourself in your commitment and recreate situations where your gifts can flourish.

That’s how you become the person you most admire. By creating a vision of how you would like yourself to be, “trying on” that vision until it fits like a glove, and then making sure lots of key people are watching you wear it.

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. In what area(s) of your life are you most motivated to improve?

7. Don’t just DO differently – BE differently. Here’s how: First, choose to approach the world as one giant banquet. Second, regard every moment as a new, positive opportunity to exercise your choice about how to experience life. And third, live like it’s nobody’s business.

That’s what it takes to BE (not just DO) differently. Sadly, most people aren’t ready for different. They get scared when they meet different. And you have to learn to be OK with that. You have to learn to soar in spite of that. So, remember what my Grandpa says, “Do the best you can with as many as you can.”

Do this, and you will show up stronger than ever. Do you have the courage to be unpopular?

REMEMBER: That you show up is eclipsed by the importance of HOW you show up.

Don’t shrink from doing so for fear of being accused of showing off.

Sculpt yourself into the person you want to present to others.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Few Things We've Learned from the Hollywood Movies

1) During all police investigations, it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.

2) All beds have special L-shaped cover sheets which reach up to the armpit level on a woman but only to waist level on the man lying beside her.

3) The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. No one will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other part of the building you want without difficulty.

4) When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a bill - just grab one at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.

5) Kitchens don't have light switches. When entering a kitchen at night, you should open the fridge door and use that light instead.

6) Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at that precise moment.

7) A single match will be sufficient to light up a room the size of Wembley Stadium.

8) It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting.

9) A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.

10) It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts - your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.

11) Police Departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.

12) An electric fence powerful enough to kill a large dinosaur will cause no lasting damage to an eight-year-old child.

13) If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear.

14) It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations.

15) Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German you need not speak the language. A German accent will do.

16) Even when driving down a perfectly straight road it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments.

17) The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.

18) You're very likely to survive any battle in any war - unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.

19) A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince in agony when a woman tries to clean his wounds.

20) If being chased through town, you can usually take cover in a passing St. Patrick's Day parade- at any time of the year.

21) All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.

22) It's easy for anyone to land a plane, providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.



23) Once applied, lipstick will never rub off - even while scuba diving.

24) Mothers routinely cook eggs, bacon and waffles for their family every morning, even though the husband and children never have time to eat them.

25) Cars and trucks that crash will almost always burst into flames.

26) If a killer is lurking in your house, it's easy to find him. Just relax and run a bath - even if it's the middle of the afternoon.

27) Wearing a singlet or stripping to the waist can make a man invulnerable to bullets.

28) Medieval peasants had perfect teeth.

29) All single women have a cat.

30) Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.

31) One man shooting at 20 men has a better chance of killing them all than 20 men firing at one.

32) Most people keep a scrapbook of newspaper cutting - especially if any of their family or friends has died in a strange boating accident.

33) When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in your room will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish.

34) Dogs always know who is bad and will naturally bark at them

35) When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other.

36) Action heroes never face charges for manslaughter or criminal damage despite laying entire cities to waste.

37) Whenever a natural or man-made disaster is about to occur, the hero escapes (alive) nano second before its too late and is catapulted into the air by the force- but is never harmed

38) No matter how badly a spaceship is attacked, its internal gravity system is never damaged.

39) If there is a deranged killer on the loose, this will coincide with a thunderstorm that has brought down all the power and phone lines in the vicinity.

40) You can always find a chainsaw whenever you're likely to need one.

41) All Americans have phones which can reach throughout the house-even if it has a cord. If its cordless- you can pick up perfect reception all around the house...unless there is an insane killer about

42) all bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off.

43) Guns are like disposable razors - if you run out of bullets, just throw the gun away. You can always buy a new one.

44) Make-up can safely be worn to bed without smudging.

45) Building ventilation ducts are always clean.

46) Film stars are always super-human- they never need to use the bathroom

47) any computer, anywhere, even in the jungle, can hack into the most secure government system.

48) Any aliens from outer space that you meet will speak your language.

49) No matter how many times you punch someone they will always come back for more - and their wounds have healed dramatically the next day

50) All telephone numbers in America begin with the digits 555.

51) All handcuffs can easily be opened with nothing more than a paper clip.

52) Grocery shopping bags are made out of brown paper and there is always enough shopping to fill two bags exactly.

53) If you need to open a locked door make sure you have a credit card handy, that will do. Unless it’s the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.

54) If you need to reload your gun, you will always have more ammunition - even if you haven't been carrying any before now.

55) If your town is threatened by an imminent natural disaster or killer beast, the mayor's first concern will be the tourist trade or his forthcoming art exhibition.

56) Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communication systems of any invading alien civilization.

57) No-one involved in a car chase, hijacking, explosion, volcanic eruption or alien invasion will ever go into shock.

58) When a person is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, they will never suffer a concussion or brain damage.

59) Large loft-style apartments in New York City are well within the price range of most people - whether they are employed or not.

60) At least one of a pair of identical twins is born evil.

61) Should you decide to defuse a bomb don't worry which wire to cut. You will always choose the right one.

62) Honest and hard working policemen are traditionally gunned down three days before their retirement.

63) If you are blonde and pretty, it is possible to become a world expert on nuclear fission at the age of 22.

64) Even if you've been set up for murder, been framed and you have the whole world wide police force hunting you down, you will automatically live happily ever after as long as you break away from the police and kill the bad guy.

65) If you desire to send any car into flame for any given reason, just shoot it three times, even though in real life you could stand right in front of a vehicle and shoot the gun into the gas tank, it wouldn’t ignite the fuel, only 1 or 2 bullets in the world can cause a spark, and it seems every police man in movies who blow up vehicles have those bullets!

66) Any woman who has just witnessed her father, (brother, husband, family member etc.) killed right there in front of her, will never be traumatised, mourn, or be effected in anyway to resist making love to the hero who saved her!

68) Why when the hero of the movie gets the girl at the end, it seems like they will live happily ever after, yet doesn’t even mention her name or remember her in sequels!

69) You never need to look up the phone number for the pizza delivery service and the delivery guy is always psychic -you never need to tell him where you live or what you want on your pizza.

70) After witnessing a horrible crime being committed- don't call the cops, instead conduct your own Private Eye investigation.

71) If a lifetime of watching movies has taught me anything at all, it's to MAKE SURE that a captured secret agent is dead BEFORE you walk away from your miscellaneous torture device.

72) That, and to always look behind you when you hear menacing violin music begin to play.

73) In school, teachers will always be interrupted mid-sentence by the end-of-class bell.

74) Rather than wasting bullets, Megalomaniacs prefer to kill their arch enemies using complicated machinery involving fuses, pulley systems, deadly gases, lasers and man-eating sharks which will allow their captives at least 20 minutes to escape.

75) Never disarm a bomb unless it has one second left on the timer. The same goes for escaping from areas with a timed locking mechanism.

76) Always trust the most annoying person you can find because he/she will always survive.

77) If you are being chased by zombies run as fast as you can, even though they can barely walk they will still catch up with you.

78) Secret agents cannot drown because they have special lungs that allow them to breathe forever.

79) If someone you love dies then start mourning and crying, doing so will mean that they will then magically appear in front of you!

80) If someone or something is about to kill you and you have a gun then you are screwed because even if you have a loaded gun, the bullets will mysteriously disappear once you start shooting.

81) If you are in a vehicle and you have a vision of a huge accident and then get out of it then beware, because afterwards, any random object could kill you in any random way. (From Final Destination)

82) If your wife is having an affair, never kill the person she is having it with, you may have to eat him the next day. (From The Cook, The Wife, The Thief and Her Lover)

83) No matter what your mission is you will be given the latest gadget (or have it installed in your car), which will be the exact thing you need to complete your mission (and it will always work). Also no matter how much experience and training someone has shooting, they will always miss the hero.

84) No matter how fast someone runs through the woods, the killer will be able to walk and manage to get just in front of the person as they fall or turn around.

85) All of the killers’ victims will fall out of trees and become visible only when the last person alive is running for their lives.

86) Being a camp counsellor at a summer camp is as good as a death sentence

87) All zombies roaming the streets have only been bit once or twice, yet when a zombie gets someone on screen they always tear them to pieces

88) Two gophers and a piece of clothes can be made into the deadly weapon known as gopfer-jakus

Source: http://www.area51newmexico.com/page5.php

I am what I am

I am what I am, I can't help myself
And if you don't like it get with somebody else
I'll never change my ways, it's not a phase
This is how it is and this is how it's gonna stay

Because I am what I am, I know what I'm not
I'm not the type of guy that doesn't know how good he's got it
And I won't back down, won't come around
Saying that I changed cause that's not how it's going down

Cause I know (I know, I know)
Wherever I go (I go, I go)
I know where I stand
I am what I am
Hey! Hey!
I am what I am
Hey! Hey!

I am what I am, what can I say?
I'm gonna be this way right up until my dying day
Because that's how it goes head to my toes
And if it doesn't show well I just had to let you know

Because I am what I am and nobody else
And if you've got a problem better take it somewhere else
Because I can't turn back, I'm right on track
And if you think you know well then you better check your facts

Cause I know (I know, I know)
Wherever I go (I go, I go)
I know where I stand
I am what I am

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-am-what-i-am-lyrics-jonas-brothers.html ]

Let me ask myself, am I blemishless?

“You are observing a fast to protest against corruption and to support Anna Hazare but why don't you take a pledge to pay your taxes honestly? Why do you submit fake rent receipts and agreements to get tax deductions and why do you claim medical reimbursements by submitting fake medical bills,” I asked my friend.

He was confused for a moment, not sure whether his fast was for the holy month of Navratra or for his support against corruption; nevertheless, he sees every other person in this world that he deals with as corrupt. He does not think, on the other hand, that his own dubious actions are a corrupt practice. Why? Because everyone else does the same thing, and because he thinks it is the government's fault to have given us loopholes in tax issues so that people act in a corrupt manner. After whetting his appetite on a day of fast with loads of salad and dry fruits, he came up with a fairly concise answer, “If the government wants to stop corruption in tax matters, it should propose a flat tax law.”

When I think of corrupt practices, it's not just politicians that come to my mind but every ordinary citizen that I deal with. Corruption is not so much a political phenomenon as it is a psychological issue. If it takes 30 days to process a passport application in India, there is always a segment of restless people who want it to be done in 10 days. Whether the person doing the passport verification work asks for a bribe or not, there is always a section of people who volunteers to pay “extra” to expedite the process. Before we realise, what looks like an isolated action becomes a practice. When victimised, the beneficiary suddenly starts to shout hoarse about corruption and the thorns of seeds he planted start to prick his own skin.

We, the citizens of India, in our constant endeavour to garner out-of-the-box favours are ready to pay extra to get things done. Whether it is a passport inquiry or an electricity connection, we act as restless fools, not realising that we are jeopardising our own future.

When it comes to choosing patience to procedure, we falter. When we are forced to stand in a queue to pay the electricity bill, we succumb to our own restlessness to find a short-cut. A million citizens may be willing to sit in Hazare's rally to protest against corruption; but when it comes to their own backyard, they are happy to hide the mess instead of confronting it upfront. How many laws do we need to end our misery? Is there a dearth of laws to punish someone for a corrupt practice? Do we lack the constitutional potency to punish the guilty?

No, we don't. There are two things we are lacking in; law enforcement and the psychological strength discussed above. Once we get the psychological strength, law enforcement will take care of itself. Why? Because, those who enforce laws are normal human beings.

If we learn to follow procedures and stop buttering officials, they will realise one day that they need to earn their own bread. Who's going to get bribed when there is no one to give bribe? If we start to change ourselves instead of mustering effort to change the world, corruption can be easily taken care of. Just ask yourself, who is corrupt here, am I corrupt? Is he corrupt? Are they corrupt? If we take care of the “am I corrupt” part, the “is he” or “are they” parts will take care of themselves. Who is going to bell the cat?

Courtesy: The Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article2038320.ece

By Rohit Gupta

(The writer's email is rohitgupta14@hotmail.com)

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