Aspirations

Aspirations - It is something which we all possess.

In dictionary parlance, it is a will to succeed. Or a cherished desire - which we wish to achieve.

Achieving your aspirations always gives you a high. It will give you a sense of satisfaction. It will also give you a sense of joy and pride. 

And if that aspiration is something which you have been trying to achieve for a long time, a feeling of exhilaration is most common.

But have you faced a situation where people look upto you to meet their aspirations?

Have you been in a position where people think that you are the someone who can help them meet their aspirations, achieve their ambitions, take them towards their goals?

Some people find themselves in this situations regularly.

Barack Obama, way back in 2008, was one such person. Just after winning the South Carolina primary, he said "Yes. We Can". 

And with this, he caught on the hopes of the entire nation - going onto become the President of The United States of America. And in an unprecedented success, he became the TIME magazine Man Of The Year 2008.

Teachers also find themselves in such situations commonly. They are the role models for the students. 

  

Leaders in organizations also have this responsibility. They are commonly looked upto and cherished. And their achievements make their understudies aim for similar goals, if not better.

And most importantly, it's parents who find themselves in this situations - since they are the anchors and guiding stars for every individual in their formative years.

And sometimes, or many a times, they curb or suppress their aspirations to help you achieve yours.

Being in such a situation is not an easy thing. It gives you an extremely huge responsibility. A responsibility to ensure the success of someone else.

But if you succeed in guiding that individual to his or her aspirations, then you would become their hero. 

You would be their shining star - forever. A star whom they can look upto to be their guiding light. 

Pole star anyone??

The Church and Contraception

The Church is one of the fundamental icons of the religion of Christianity.

Contraception is a primal thing surrounding the fundamental needs of men and women - balancing out physical needs and the need for procreation.

And the relation between the Church and Contraception is something which needs to take giant steps forwards for ensuring a bright and a better world.

In my blog post - Ideas And Inventions Revolutionize Life - I discussed how the discovery of contraceptive measures and their effective usage has empowered generations of women and men.

For the sake of it's importance, its worth recollecting that the Birth Control Pill was labeled as the invention of the 20th century.

And in another blog post - HIV AIDS, The Church and Contraception - I reflected on the opinions of the Church on the matter of contraception.

The article said - and I quote below.

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The Church opposes contraception, because it believes it interferes with the creation of life.

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Read more on the blog post.

However, on Sunday 21st November 2010, the Church has taken a giant step in its opinion on contraception.

A snippet of that important thought is as below

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The new book - Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times - is based on a series of interview the Pope gave the German Catholic journalist, Peter Seewald, earlier this year.

When asked whether the Catholic Church was not opposed in principle to the use of condoms, the Pope replied: "She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality." 

==

Net in net, the Pope has advocated the use of contraception on a case to case basis - to prevent the spread of HIV AIDS.

Although the guideline is immensely significant, I think we have a very long way to go before a complete advocacy is preached - considering the fact that Pope Benedict reiterated the Church's fundamental opposition to contraception.

Still, a step is a step - and it can only take the world forward.

The issue is of such importance that all the major websites are running full length articles on this matter on their front page.

Catch the BBC view here. And the CNN view here.

Needless to say, the Pope's comments were much welcomed by UNAIDS. They termed it as a "significant step forward". Catch the entire article here.

Double Century

Three years and two hundred blog posts. 

This has been the journey of my blog since I started writing on this very page. 

Just a fortnight back, I posted the 200th post - without realizing that I had crossed a vital landmark.

Landmarks should be stepping stones to further successes. And with this in mind, I look back at a few blog posts from my collection - the one's who bought in the best traffic, and the one's who didn't bring in much of traffic but made me happy.

My first traffic spinner was Ana Ivanovic, the Serbian Tennis Star, with her photo shoot for Sports Illustrated with Pink Tennis Balls.

This photo shoot of hers has been an hit with online community crazy about Female Tennis Players. And when Google listed my blog page right at the top of the result, the traffic flowed in.

Check out the photo shoot on my blog post and see who catches your attention - Ana Ivanovic or the Pink Tennis Balls?

Next one were the all famous "Football WAGs".

Between June-July 2010, when the World Cup football was in progress, the players took all the attention.

And immediately after the World Cup, their wives and girlfriends were in focus. The ladies who garnered the largest attraction were Sara Carbonero, Alex Curran and Sarah Brander.

These ladies too bought in a lot of traffic. Read about their claim to fame on my blog post.

And most recently, it was a blog post on Mao Zedong, who bought in a lot of viewers.

Courtesy Google, an image on my blog post was listed as the first image in Google Search, with "Mao Zedong" as the search query.

Check out my opinion and links between Mao Zedong, Maoism and Maoists here.

But blogging is not all about bringing in more traffic.

It has more to do with writing things which are close to your heart. Things which reflect your very self. Things which highlight your learnings. Things which make you feel happy, and sad.

Here's a list of my top blog posts in this category.

I didn't know that I could write so much on Eyes.

And on Smiles, which can set a few things straight.

This blog post on Attractive Hairstyles was completely offbeat.

And this blog post - on Parenthesis - reflected the complex relationships in our modern time.

And I can't resist listing the next two blog posts.

The first one is on Enchanting Perfumes.

And the next one is on the eternal theme - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

There are many more which may be worth reading.

Surf around my blog if you would like too. And let me know your opinion.

Ice Cream and Heart

What's common between an Ice cream and a Heart??

Well, it's simple. 

Both of them have a habit of melting!!

And this is what I realized a few days back.

Being in cold storage for long, all alone in the world, they harden up a bit. Rather I'll say, they harden up a lot.

They might be colorful. They might be wonderful. But shelf life is never so exciting.

But when they come in touch with something or someone warm, it's difficult  for both of them to hold on to the coldness that comes with them.

They might be frigid. They might be icy. But the warmth, the love, the fondness, the attraction drives all this away. And they melt.

And nothing conveys the point better than the two images and captions below.

Keep Melting!!

The Wayne Rooney Phenomenon

Flashback to June 2010.

The Football [Soccer] World Cup was in progress in South Africa. This is the single most popular sports tournament in the World. 

More than 200 national teams attempted qualifying for this premier event, played once in four years. Only the best 32 managed to make it to South Africa.

England was one of these 32 nations. As always, a lot was riding on England at the World Cup. 

They have a host of stars in their national team - Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Peter Crouch, Ashley Cole et all. Another set of super stars - David Beckham, Michael Owen - were on the bench due to injury. 

The English Premier League is one of the most commercial success stories in club football. And many a times, their WAGs (read Wives and Girlfriends) make more news than the players themselves.

Come World Cup - and the entire nation starts thinking that their team is destined to win the Cup.

Wayne Rooney was the guy who was considered to be the lynch pin of the English attack. 

Playing as a striker all year round for Manchester United, he was expected to score goals for England. After all, scoring goals, and lots of them, can make your team a winner.

After having scored 34 goals in the 2009-2010 football season, he was expected to be a likely winner of the Golden Boot Award at the World Cup.

And with this kind of expectation riding on him at the World Cup, he was expected to be in an upbeat mood. A positive approach towards the game was anticipated by the entire nation.

However, he failed miserably at the World Cup. He did not even manage to score even a single goal. 

England had managed to scrape through Round 1. But they faltered in Round 2 - losing poorly to the Germans. And within less than 20 days of the start of the World Cup, England were knocked out of the tournament.

While most players would have headed home in view of the shocking exit in a tournament which is played once in four years, Wayne Rooney made his way to Barbados on a holiday - with his wife Coleen and son Kai.

Pictures like the one below enhanced Rooney's image as a doting father. While the loss of the World Cup made the English fans frown, the smile on Kai's and Coleen's face made many a people bright.

A holiday after playing in a high profile tournament would be a well deserved break for any player. And it should not have gathered much attention.

But then came the news that the Rooney's had booked the holiday just two days before England's knock outmatch against Germany!!

Did Rooney sense that England was not capable of pulling it off against Germany? Did he think that the chances of England winning the game in the next two days was negligible - negligible enough to give him the confidence of planning a holiday two days after the game?

Had he lost the mind game much before the actual game on the field? 

What made him give less importance for something which takes place  once in four years - and holds a very significant value to any sportsman, to any nation?

All these thoughts made the English fans wonder - Two days before the critical knock out match against Germany, where did Wayne Rooney focus on? On the game in Bloemfontein or on the holiday in Barbados?

While the answers to these questions can be answered by Rooney himself, we as mere mortals find ourselves in similar situations - occasionally or regularly. 

These are the times when personal pursuits overcome professional quests. 

This is what I call The Wayne Rooney Phenomenon.

Needless to say, there is nothing wrong in it. 

P.S. The last thought made me go the Wayne Rooney way today. :-)

Why Do We Love?

Love is a complex emotion.

Not that I have a Ph.D. in the science of Love to explain its fundamentals.

Every person can possess several traits.

But many a times, you would find yourself loving someone in spite of that individual lacking some or many of these traits.

This is usually easy to feel, but difficult to explain.

Until someone told this to me, recently.

We love not because but despite...

Need I say more??

The Kiss After The Cup

The storyline cannot get better than this.

You have a pretty girl friend.

She accompanies you as go about doing your job.

She is not "just another WAG", but a professional doing her duties.

You are the captain of the national football team.

She is considered to be the sexiest television presenter.

Your team is considered as one of the the favorites to win the Cup. And you lose the first game.

She criticizes you in front of the entire nation when you do badly.

You are the man in charge of stopping the goals.

And when you miss stopping one, she is accused of distracting you.

As you take giant steps towards that greatest milestone, she beams with pride.

And when you are crowned the World Champion, she is right there interviewing you as the television show is broadcast right across your victorious nation.

She asks you about your victory.

You beam with pride as you speak about your country's champion status.

You are the nation's hero.

And you are her hero.

She is your love.

You express your love and affection for her by giving her a sweet kiss - right there on live television.

Well, this is the story of the victorious Spanish Football captain Iker Casillas and his beautiful girlfriend Sara Carbonero.

Catch Iker express his love for his lady right below

Bettina Wulff

Germany has a new President since 1st of July 2010.

Christian Wulff has had the privilege of becoming the youngest ever President of Germany.

The President in Germany has more of a symbolic role. The German president, ensconced in Berlin's sumptuous Bellevue Palace, serves as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation, receiving state guests and occasionally weighing in with contemplative speeches on the issues of the day. 

But his ascent to the presidential role is not the only reason why he is making news.

Making more impact is his stylish wife and the German First Lady - Bettina Wulff.

And why is she making news?

First of all, she is in her mid-thirties - about 15 years junior than her man. Thats a lethal combination.

She is an ex public relations executive who will now essay the role of the First Lady. She met the President on a business trip - and he fell for her. The rest is history.

If this was not enough, she has a huge tattoo on her right arm. This at least seems to be a known first for a First Lady.

Otherwise, she has a towering personality, attractive looks and a smart persona. And with a two year old kid with the President, she is expected to represent the aspirations of a modern working mother and lady to the tee.

And finally, she is considered as Germany's answer to Carla Bruni and Michelle Obama.

All in all, she promises to be in news for the next four years - we hope for all the right reasons.

Why people quit jobs?

The recession is over. Or so they claim.

The job market is opening. And people are switching jobs. Or leaving jobs.

Here's a bird's eye view of some reasons why people leave the job in which they are currently placed.

Education - Leaving a job for pursuing studies is quite popular among people up to five years of experience. But it is not unheard of people with more experience leaving their jobs for similar pursuits. 

All of them have the same belief - this higher education would lead them to better professional opportunities and higher salaries - all of which would translate into improved lifestyles.

Higher Pay - The most significant visible benefit of any job is the salary which a person draws from it. 

People have needs, and as time progresses, these needs increase or become more complex. To support these enhanced needs, people take up jobs which pay them better. After all, we earn to live (or live to earn?)

Stagnation - Many a times people find themselves in jobs - playing roles - which they feel are stagnating their careers. 

Sometimes this is a fact, while in a few cases it is far from reality. But if this thought enters the mind of any individual, the pursuit of better opportunities make them jump jobs.

An Assignment Completion - Quite frequently, people are engaged in long drawn projects (sometimes stretching across several years), which draw out the best out of them. And once these projects come to a conclusion, these guys/gals feel a sense of void within them. 

When the sprint of working in such a high profile assignments turns into a stroll post it, it becomes difficult for people to accept the transition. With this comes a need for a change. And commonly, it translates into a change of job.

Relationships - Most commonly, people switch job for relationships. 

At one end of the spectrum you have people quitting their jobs as their partner's, spouses or families move across cities - which make it impossible for them to retain jobs in some cases. 

At the other end of the line, you have one person in a relationship stay back at home to take care of the home and the kids, while the other partner pursues his/her professional interests. The second reason is less common these days.

A Bad Boss or a Poor Team - For every individual, his view of his organization are his peers and his bosses. A bad team or a poor boss sometimes becomes a driving factor for a job change. 

Commonly, although other factors might be in favor of this individual continuing with his job, negative points on this part make him take a decision for a job change.

Stress - Commonly people are engaged in jobs which are highly stressful. This takes a toll on their health, personal lifestyle and relationships. 

They take a decision that health, life and relationships all come before work. And make a decision to quit. Indeed it is a correct decision.

The Work Itself - Frequently people think they are doing work which does not do justice to their talents. 

I think this thought must be coming to each and every individual at some stage of their professional life. 

While some think that it is just a passing phase, a few think oterwise. This becomes one of the important reasons for quitting jobs - with the expectation that their next job will do justice to their immense talents.

The list is endless and organizations, over the years, have learned to deal with such changes.

Football WAGs

The 2010 Soccer[Football] World Cup has kick started in South Africa day before yesterday. It is the first time an African nation is hosting the premier event. And it has been a moment of unabashed pride for them.

The World Cup is something which unites the world. 32 nations from across the World are playing for the Cup.

As the best footballers from across Europe, Latin America, Africa, North America and Asia will battle it out on the field for the top honors - their better half's would be vying for attention off the field.

I am referring to the WAGs - the Wives and Girlfriends of the super star footballers.

Some of these WAGs are stars in their own domains. 

Commonly they are criticized after their team is knocked out of the Cup. They are accused of distracting the players from their main job - playing football. 

But they are hardly ever praised when their husband's/boyfriend's- a top player - scores a goal and wins a match for his country. In this case, the skill of that player is attributed to his success - and not the moral support, motivation, relaxation et all provided by their better half's.

Needless to say - the WAGs have a thankless job. 

But they will be available in South Africa to cheer their men. And everyone hopes, each of their men perform exceedingly well.

Here is a marquee list of some top WAGs.

The English Squad has some of the most famous WAGs.

First is Abbey Clancy - the wife of English striker Peter Crouch. Her claim to fame - She is a top lingerie and catwalk model.

Next comes England's lynch pin Steven Gerrard's wife - Alex Curran. She is also an English model and a fashion columnist with the Daily Mirror.

Next is Coleen Rooney - wife of English Striker Wayne Rooney. She will strongly pray that her husband scores many goals and helps England lift the World Cup.

Moving on to other countries, first we have Alena Seredova. She is a Czech model and girlfriend of Italian goalkeeper - Gianluigi Buffon. She is an Italian super model and was recently voted as the Italian Woman of the Year.

Then you also have Irina Shayk, the most recent girl friend of Portuguese star Christiano Ronaldo. She is also a Russian super model.

You also have Sarah Brandner who is the wife of German star Bastian Schweinsteiger. Commonly like other WAGs, she is also a super model.

Sara Carbonero is a well known news sports reporter. That's her professional side. On the personal front, she is the better half of the Spanish goalie Iker Casillas.

These are some of the many WAGs who are bound to garner a lot of attention in the duration of the World Cup. Some of them are hoping to make this World Cup a stepping stone to their personal future commercial success.

While these ladies will watch their men play in the Cup, there are some others who wouldn't get the attention they would have liked.

The list includes English Star Cheryl Cole. She was until recently married to English player Ashley Cole, but has recently split from him. Net result - she can't be a WAG. But her ex-WAG status itself will get her a lot of attention.

And finally Louise Bonsall, wife of English Striker Michael Owen. Sadly Michael is not playing in the Cup. But if he was there, Louise - who is known to prefer horses to handbags - would have gained a lot of attention.

Keep reading the tabloids as they follow these super gals off the field.