Emma as Belle... dreams do come true!

Emma Watson has been chosen to play the role of Belle in Disney's live-action movie Beauty and the Beast. I'm sure you would have heard about it already; but thought I'd make it clear anyway. I was beyond thrilled when I heard about it. Emma, Belle and Disney in the same sentence... what could be more exciting than that?!

I actually got onto the Harry Potter bandwagon pretty late. By the time I started to obsess over Harry Potter, four books and the first movie had been released. I have to write another post wholly dedicated to my introduction to the world of Harry Potter and my obsession with it. After reading The Philosopher's Stone, I had become a complete fan of Hermione. Just after I finished reading it, I watched the movie and Emma looked every bit of what I had imagined Hermione to be. I instantly wanted to be the girl that played Hermione! I was obsessed about Emma Watson during that phase. I think I read every bit of information about her that was available on the internet. As much as I admired her, I had this crazy desire to BE her! I've had innumerable conversations with her in my mind... not just as a fan; but also a friend! I've gotten over my desire to BE her... but  to this day, I admire her immensely and have great respect for her. I think she is the prettiest actress and love the fact that she has always maintained her dignity. Also the fact that she pursued her education and became a graduate at Brown is truly commendable. 

Belle and Rapunzel are my favorite Disney princesses. I love Belle for her simplicity, love for books, independence and her ability to look beyond a person's looks. Her style is simple but her elegance adds beauty to her. Her ability to think independently and break stereotypes makes her character admirable. I think Emma personifies these very characteristics. She would be the best person to step into Belle's shoes. I think Taylor Lautner would fit the role of the Beast. I can imagine him with a mane and fangs. Who do you think would be ideal to play the Beast? Comment below!

Family.

Hello people,
I hope you are having a great day! A close relative of my family had taken ill and we hadn't visited him because of my exams. They live in a different city and today we went to visit them.
As a kid, I never understood why relatives would drop in when someone took ill. Especially when someone died, lots of relatives would come and each time would ask how 'it' happened and the family members would painfully recount all the incidents. I always felt it added to sorrow rather than help them heal from their loss. Only years later, when my grandmother passed away did I realize, that although the family felt pain when going through the events of the day, relatives' condolences helped them in getting it out of their system. To give an example, when you say something once, it has meaning... when you say it ten times, by the end, it loses all meaning and just becomes a set of words. In the same way, going through the same sequence of events, helps the family come to terms with their loss.

Of course, I've always thought people visiting, showing their support helps one feel stronger. (I only had an issue with them asking questions. :P) I really felt that today. I usually don't like visiting people because it is a lot of effort; but today I was so glad I did. The warmth and joy totally made up for effort. I think it is important for us to visit people, meet them face-to-face more often. Parents push us kids to follow our dreams and fly... and we do that leaving them behind. A phone call or a skype call is nothing in comparison to meeting someone in person. As families are getting nuclear and isolated, I think we should try and help out at least when someone is ill or is in need of help.
I do see this kind of support a lot still, but I feel it is slowly dissipating. I hope people continue to value human relationships more than materialistic things.
Phew!... that was quite deep. On a lighter note, we had a nice journey, it had been a very long time since I had taken a long road trip with my family. We took Tessy (our pet dog) along so it made the visit even more fun!
Have a nice day!
Bye. :)

Survived Exams!

Hello all!
I'm finally done with my month-long exams. They started on 24th of December and got over yesterday! Phew! Now I can devote all my time to my blog... at least for the next few days... and then I start off with my final semester. Trying to concentrate was SUCH a hard task! I kept thinking of how I could make my blog better, what kind of layout would look better etc. I actually created this blog in between my laboratory and theory exams. :P I don't take exams too seriously. I put in my effort, try my best and I think that is all that should matter. My tip to anyone who is stressed about exams:
If you find yourself nervous even after putting in your best effort, try and think about how insignificant your exam is when compared to the universe. Exams are mere human creations! Humans are just 1 species among 8.7 million species that exist on earth. And one exam isn't even the most important thing for humankind! You see how unimportant it is. So relax! :)

I spent the whole of yesterday evening creating new accounts for my blog. I finally have a new Twitter account a Facebook page and a new Google+ account. It feels like I had a virtual re-birth of sorts. It feels very unfamiliar and empty. I'll personalize it and customize it soon. I have added links to each of them and am trying to make them look better using CSS! CSS is a lot of fun. We spent days trying new styles for our projects and now I can use it for my own site! Excited!

I have holidays for the next week. Next semester I don't need to attend college much... only 1 day a week or so. I will start working as an intern from February! This will be my first actual work experience. Excited and a little scared. Will share my experience once I start. Do let me know if you have any tips for the first day of work!

Bye!

See you soon!

The dog that wanted to become an engineer

There is a stray dog that lives on our college campus. He is a black and white dog (mostly black). Although a stray, his coat is always clean and shiny and he looks well-groomed. The most noticeable feature of this dog is his expression. He seems very wise and is somehow different from other dogs. A lot of people feel the same way. There were rumors that he was born the same year that our college founder died and that he too was very fond of him! Students, watchmen, maintenance staff etc have a soft corner for him and never shoo him away.
During our first year, our classroom was on the 3rd floor and there were multiple halls and corridors through which one would have to come through to reach our class. Also, dogs aren't allowed inside buildings. One day, this dog had come up to our class (on the 3rd floor) and had slept under a desk before students arrived! We were all surprised, but no one minded him as most people liked him and he was sleeping peacefully. He stayed there for the entire length of the class and just after the teacher left, he left! He stayed there just for that one class!
We had that particular class (Engineering Drawing) only once a week. Through the week he never came back. Interestingly, the next week he was there again! Sleeping under the same desk for the same class. We were all truly surprised to see him there again. He did the same thing... slept through the class and left at the end of it. This repeated five or six times during the semester (not consecutive weeks though). But only for that one class. The teacher was as surprised as we were and said that he had never fed him or spoken to him at any time. We never got to know why he used to come there and it never repeated. Maybe he was interested in learning Engineering Drawing!
I thought I'd take his picture for this post, but I haven't been able to find him in the last couple of weeks. I hope he's fine and has just decided to move away to another part of the campus. 

Why you should learn to code

In today's world, computers are our new weapons. Whatever may be your profession, being able to use a computer for some reason or the other has become essential. Since computers have become such an inseparable part of us, I think knowing a little bit about how they work and how they can be made to works as per our wishes, is a key skill that can be very helpful at times.
I will try and explain what fascinates me the most about computers. I've always hated large numerical calculations, especially ones involving decimals. I always try to round off/ estimate or find some way to convert decimals to integers because I find them easier to work with. Computers work on just two whole numbers. 0 and 1, high or low, yes or no, black or white. There is no gray region and I think that's the best part! Isn't it amazing that the computer performs such amazingly complex calculations using just 2 numbers? You can breakdown the most complicated problems into such basic structures that they come down to a yes or no question. A branch is taken or not... a part of code is executed or skipped.
Its that simple. 
A computer program is simple logic that is broken down into such basic units that the computer is able to understand and process it. So, if you like logic, you will love coding!
Today, there are umpteen programming languages that have been simplified to the extent, they don't even look like programs. For example, in Python (a programming language) the line

print "Hello World"

will print "Hello world" on your screen.
Easy!
Learning any programming language helps you understand the basic structure of a program. This helps you get a basic idea about how a page could be designed, what logic could have been used to make a website work etc. 

Also, knowing to code equips you to build new solutions. If you have an idea to solve a problem, being able to code can help you develop the solution without having to spend money, convincing people to fund it, work on it etc. But for you to be able to get those ideas, you need to have a basic idea about how to code. There are new tools to build apps, games websites etc, that require no experience or expertise in actual coding. Simple drag and drop features let you have all the functionality you desire without actually having to know how to write code for it. But again, to be able to come up with such solutions and to use these tools, it always helps to know any one coding language. It lets you have a basic idea how the tool could be working behind the scene and this helps you while designing your product. 

Coding is not just a skill. It is an art. Once you get through the syntax and start being able to understand the code, you will start to enjoy reading it! Once you start to understand the logic, you will see how beautiful codes can be. But, to be able to see the logic, you will have to learn the syntax and the basics of how to code in that language. For this reason, learn to code!

 “I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” -Steve Jobs

A few links to get you started:

Tools:

• Scratch  - Helps you create games using drag drop programming. I had a lot of fun with it.
• Livecode  - Lets you build apps. You can use drag drop programming or write code based on your level of comfort.
• Alice - Lets you learn programming in a 3D environment.

Languages: 

• Python
• Perl

 Also, I suggest, you look at the tutorials on w3schools. They are simple and let you alter code and see results without having to download anything.

That's it. Happy coding! :D

What I learnt from Disney's Tangled

Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies and I've watched it a million times. Here is a list of all the things that I've learnt from Tangled:

1) Always be on your guard if you decide to trust a stranger.

Rapunzel keeps her frying pan handy all the time and it does come to good use on multiple occasions.

2) It is okay to take risks and break rules once in a while. 

The minute Rapunzel gets out of the tower, she goes dizzy with fear and excitement. She took a huge risk, and it paid off! She went back to her real parents, she got rid of Mother Gothel AND got a 'happily ever after' with Flynn (or should I say Eugene? That's what she preferred).

3) Try to bring out the better side of people 

Even the meanest looking people can have a good side to them. (except Mother Gothel of course!)  

4) Make friends whenever you can... you never know who could help you in times of need!

Remember how quickly she befriended Maximus, and Maximus helped her through her journey. Also, the thugs at Snuggly Duckling... they were the ones who saved Flynn from being executed!!

5) Observe your surroundings

Rapunzel notices the painting in the city and remembers it. Although it doesn't strike her immediately, it helps her realize later that she is the lost princess. Be observant, you never know what could help later.

6) Things are not always as they seem.

Remember how heart-broken Rapunzel was when she saw Flynn row away in the boat? It was all Mother Gothel's trick! You can't even trust your eyes sometimes.

7) You don't need magical powers to have a wonderful life.

Rapunzel lived locked up in a tower with a witch because of her magical powers. After she lost her gift, she got her freedom, found her lost parents and started to live life on her own terms!

8) Enjoy the journey

Sometimes the journey is more fun than the destination!

9) Go out and see the world! It gives you a new perspective on things

Living cooped up within your own world prevents you from seeing the world from different perspectives. Go out... explore! Rapunzel was under the impression that the world is full of bad people and only her 'mother' was good. Only after she left her tower did she realize how wrong her impression was. 

So these are a few things I learnt from Tangled. Tell me if you have any to add! :)

The Rat.

Today afternoon I thought I'd rest for a while since I had the day off and didn't have much to do. As I lay in bed I could hear my parents discussing about ways to kill the rat which ran into our house yesterday. Yes, I know that sounds like we have a dirty house, but no, its just because our yard is overgrown and the door was open. It ran and hid in a room and we've kept the room locked since yesterday. Apparently there is a thing called 'Rat Glue'. I don't know if it has existed for a long time, I heard about it today. If you don't  know how it works, here it is:
 It is a sticky sheet that is kept and something to lure the rat is kept on it. When the rat steps on it, it gets stuck and will scream and screech and we are to take it out and leave it to die screaming or kill it!
I had somehow convinced myself to allow my parents to poison the rat. There seemed no other way to drive it out. (this is at least the less gruesome alternative I feel... the rat hopefully won't have a painful, long drawn out death) But the rat had developed immunity against the poison and had already eaten it twice since yesterday and was still alive. So, they were considering the option of buying the rat glue. Disturbed by this, I got up and protested and finally convinced them against it. We have to come up with another way to drive it out.
But this got me thinking about how ethical killing the rat is. I don't want to kill it... but we can't live with it in the house!
Just last week there was a news report about a man-eater tiger that was causing havoc in a village close to my city. The villagers were demanding that the tiger had to be put down. It is a valid demand. The people were scared to step out of their houses and kids in the village had stopped going to school. But the tiger knew no better! We keep destroying its habitat and taking away its food. Should it be killed for trying to live? The tiger killed to fill its stomach. Humans kill animals and throw away tons of food as waste.
How can we justify taking the life of an animal just to be discarded? I hope we can do something to better this situation. :(

P.S. I wrote this post about a week back but didn't want to post it during new year as it was a little sad. 

UPDATE: We didn't have to kill the rat after all! It started scratching the door, we made a path for it to run out and opened the door. It ran straight out! :)

Announcements

Hello people!
I have decided to organize my blog posting schedule a little. Starting now, I will post a minimum of 7 new blog posts each month. I thought I'd try a 'Multiple of five' schedule i.e a new blog on each day whose date is a multiple of 5. Since we don't have a '0' on our calendar, I  have decided to start each month with 1st. 
Okay, that wasn't the best way to put it. 
Simple, there will be a new blog post on every 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th and 30th of each month. However, I will keep writing in between if have a lot to say :P

Also, I noticed that the 'Join this site' button had a glitch. I have corrected it now. You can click on it to connect with others following this blog.

PS. I have exams all month long so I maybe a wee bit inactive. But I will definitely post the blogs as per schedule.

Have a wonderful day!
Bye! :)

2015's top 15!

Hello everybody,
I hope each one of you is having a fantastic new year. I thought I'd do a round - up of 15 most interesting things expected to happen in 2015.
Here is a list of the most interesting topics/ subjects/ events/ occurrences that are expected to be the buzz in 2015!
This list is based on what interests ME the most and may exclude events of greater significance. :P
   
     Astronomy:

1. NASA's Dawn spacecraft is expected to arrive at the  dwarf planet Ceres (which lies between Mars and Jupiter) in February 2015. The main aim of this mission is to find out the conditions and processes that took place during the formation of our Solar System.
2. NASA's New Horizon probe (launched in 2006) arrives at Pluto.
3. In September, we will witness the most visible Lunar Eclipse as it occurs on a Full Moon, a Supermoon and a Harvest Moon.

Tech:






Virtual reality
Internet of things- for all the non-geeks out there... Internet of things is the concept of connecting various devices/ applications to the internet to customize the the way they function based on individual preferences.
Big Data - the amount of data collected from various sources continues to explode and Big Data Analytics is expected to be the 'Most sought after skill' in 2015. 

Gadgets:







Microsoft releases Microsoft Lumia 2020 PureView -  Being a big fan of Lumia, this is what has me most  excited! :D
Samsung is expected to release a phone with a bendable screen!
Oculus Rift a Virtual Reality headset -  I'm not a gaming enthusiast, but this features on my list because of the amount of hype it has already created. :P

Movies:







Minions: A Prequel to Despicable Me - Despicable Me was wonderful, haven't been able to watch Despicable Me 2... but excited for this!
Disney's Cinderella -  I think I've watched every Cinderella based movie ever made, and now that Disney is making one, I'm obviously super excited for this!
A tie between Taken 3 and Mohenjo Daro (Bollywood) - After Taken and Taken 2, I have high expectations from Taken 3. Jodha Akbar was the last movie where Hrithik Roshan and Ashutosh Gowarikar worked together. Loved Jodha Akbar and hopefully this will be of the same level! (also it is being made in association with Disney!)(There is news that Mohenjo Daro will release in 2016. :( Will have to wait and watch)

Other:






One Direction' s 'On the Road Again' Tour,  '1989' - Taylor Swift's World Tour
Elvis Presley's 80th Birthday Celebration.
The First World Indigeneous Games in Brazil

So this is the list! If there are any others you are excited about, do let me know in the comments section.

Bye! :D