Brahma's flower

This is a rare joy indeed. Apparently, one heck of a brave/foolish plant decides to flower- get this- once a year, between 8 at night till about midnight. The logistics for it to achieve any sort of reproduction seem mind boggling.
Having said that, we saw this flower last night, and it was Awesome. Its bigger than a lotus, similar in look and feel and totally white. My brother's got some snaps of this, and he's going to send em to me soon- will put them up here as soon as that happens.
Its got a sharp, pleasant smell, and its quite intricate really, and just awfully brave but totally gorgeous.

Have Dreams but no Illusions

I woke up with a nice but weird thought today, a poem of sorts that I'd like to share with everybody:
Have dreams but no illusions
Have flights but not of fancy
Connect the dots and get the big picture
Include the world in your dancin'

Hmm. must be the lack of sleep that gets weird ass poetry outta me. People, pray that I sleep well , or you'll be subject to more strange thoughts like these :)

Information Architecture

One of the things I relish about my current job is to do a lot of information architecture for my clients and company. All right, it is probably a glorified librarian posing as a nuclear strategist and getting his moment in the sun. It is still a nascent field, and most people misunderstand it as "design" - only its not just creating pretty interfaces. Its more about customer motivations, business goals, and a librarian's zeal to "clean house".
You can see I like doing this, dont you? The joy of work when you love what you do.

A good fight

Sometimes, what is required is just have a nice big fight with someone. Think that's crazy? Well, think again: a good long argument with a loved one, a relative, or an office colleague- where there are no holds barred, but at the end of it each party sees the other person's point of view- is cleansing.
Of course, if things are carried forward after the event, and bitterness remains, then of course it ain't worth it. But if things actually are thrashed out, there's nothing like a good fight.

Reading the same book

as if it's a new one! I do that often- with both fiction and non fiction. If its fiction, its fun to observe the way in which the writer has written rather than the plot itself (Sherlock Holmes comes to mind). If its non-fiction, it is fascinating to read some concept and understand a completely different angle to it.

I do know a lot of people see funny movies again and again, but have seen a lesser number of loons try this out. I recommend it fully.

Remy Martin

This drink is a real treat. Its not too sweet, not too dry, and just perfect as a post dinner thing (apparently with a Cigar dipped in the glass and lit. But I didn't try that).

I dont know about you, but just reading the exotic description on the bottle of something fine transports you into a fine haze. Especially if its in French and you dont understand a damn word.
I think the marketing communication for most of these drinks really works well, and draws up images of long forgotten lands from where these spirits have come from.

I'd be cynical not to call this a small joy.

Eclipsed

I didnt know what the big deal was about this total solar eclipse. So the moon was obscuring the sun from our view. So it had some superstition and myth around it. So it was probably not going to be seen anywhere except TV. So it was the last time that we'd see it in our lifetime. Ho Hum.

But then I realised how much we have come ahead as human beings. In earlier times, when man couldnt fathom what the heck was going on, he created myths and prayed like hell that things became brighter. Then science prevailed, and we understood what really did take place.

Now, when we see a solar eclipse, total, diamond ring, or partial, and only on TV, we only see a beautiful, rare sight. Superstition has been "eclipsed".