Thursday, March 01, 2007

i'm Making A Difference

Philantrophy is built into Microsoft culture, coming top down from Bill Gates himself. Today morning I heard about this new effort that has been started. I thought I might share it out with everyone. http://im.live.com/ is a new initiative that attempts to raise money through customer involvement. Quoting the website "i’m is a new initiative from Windows Live™ Messenger. Every time you start a conversation using i’m, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization." I set it up in about two minutes. Now if I can only get someone to i'M me, world peace would be reached must faster :-)

I completed reading 'An Equal Music' and thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the passion that Vikram Seth brings to his characters. There is no hindrance, no hesitancy, no quiet desperation. The words may not flow from their mouths, but the thoughts run unhinged. I have started reading 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' by Salman Rushdie. Shall let you know how that goes.

Remember Rabbi, who rendered 'Bulla Ki Jaana'? That song was one of the biggest hits of the year, and won him a lot of fans for his refreshing voice and attitude. He has been roped into give the music for the movie 'Delhi Heights'. I particularly enjoyed 'Tere Bin', even though my knowledge of Punjabi is a little sketchy. Need to go back to the other songs once again.

Now that blogger has introduced labels, I decided to give it a go and retrofit labels on all my posts. Turned out to be a very time consuming job and its not perfect, but there has been a reasonable segregation of subjects. Let me know what you think.

Oh, and I crossed an ice age in cell phone land. I finally went from my barely functioning Sony Ericsson T610 to a Motorola Q. Finally a phone which can do more than just talk to a person on the other end of the line, which I frankly don't do a lot of anyway. The phone became smarter, hope the owner follows suit :-)

12 comments:

frissko said...

ha..i crossed an ice-age in the opposite direction recently..moved from a Nokia 7610 (which can sing, dance, heat water, among other things) to Nokia 1102 (which is 200Rs more than the cheapest Nokia available here...and i thought i got smarter:)..

if you havent read Vikram Seth's 'Golden gate', try it...thats an amazin book...

Anonymous said...

Regarding IM: Thanks, I installed it, though I don't use my MSN messenger to talk to more than a few people.

Regarding VK: I'm still plowing through (slowly, but surely) 'A Suitable Boy.' With so much reading for my classes, I haven't had the time to read for pleasure at all.

Music: Will check it out.

Labeling is fun! I moved to Wordpress (before the new Blogger or the labels) specifically for that purpose. It suits well. :)

Cellphone: Mine had a minor breakdown itself--the SIM card went corrupt. I just replaced it and it is back to normal (Sony Ericsson w810i).

sd said...

Am not much of a person for chatting - but I guess this is a motivation. Hapy Holi!

Persona non gratis said...

You should have bought a Treo. Happy Holi

Parth said...

@Frissko: Golden Gate is next in line for me. I think I am overdosing on Vikram Seth, having spent a month reading Suitable Boy, and then An Equal Music. But, I am enjoying it; hence no complaints.

@Vi: I have the same problem. I am always logged on, and never chat. Labeling gave me good insight into what I blog most about. Movies, poetry etc. Fiction is lacking and I contirbute a little more in that sphere. If the labels prompt anyone to go look revisit my poetry or fiction or humor, then it'll be even better :-)

@SD: Happy Holi to you too buddy.

@Shreemoyee: Issue with the cellphone provider. Cingular was too costly.

Anonymous said...

Right now, I'm not feeling very well disposed towards MS in general - your guys have been giving us a really hard time! :-( But will check this out for sure.

An Equal Music was wonderful - I finished it in the rick on my way to work a few months ago. What I loved best about the book was the despair that he sings so accurately.

Tere Bin is my favourite song from that album, given that almost every song is really good. I'll send you the translation if you like.

And yes, wanna feel better about your ice age? I upgraded from a Nokia 3310 to a Sony Ericsson Z550i! :-)

Whew! Will stop here but send me your e-mail id if you don't mind... I have some Rock Beach pics I want to share - not ready to post them yet.

Pallavi said...

you write well...i am going to try the song you suggested!

Parth said...

@Extempore: I also liked 'Kitni Der Tak' from that movie. I would love to have the translation for 'Tere Bin'. BTW, you can send me the pictures when you get the chance. The details are on your blog. Thanks a ton in advance. My computer is waiting to be graced with some new wallpaper :-)

@Pallavi: Thanks for stopping by. Hope you like the song.

Pallavi said...

song is totally blown..:).. I am trying to get the lyrics, will give it to you.

Mohit said...

Hmm..Moto Q's CDMA and not in India :(

Had picked up a new Sony Ericsson k610i which got wasted because I got a Blackberry 8700g from work later that month.

The berry's brilliant at mail and okayish as a phone.Great google talk and Yahoo chat client implementation-is the best i've seen as a phone so far.Organiser and to-do are nowhere close to my Palm.Nowhere near the same number of apps too.Decent browsing, especially through Opera.Can have many apps open and switch between them without the device having a fit.

Best of all,doesn't hang and take ages to start.

Miss the camera on my Sony phone though.

:)

Lotus Reads said...

Sorry I've been quiet...my book blog's on hiatus and I've been taking this time to catch up on other interests, namely watching movies and meeting up with old friends. It's amazing how much time blogging sucks up...atleast it was that way for me.

I am also reading "An Equal Music" at the moment. Infact, I am reading it with a friend, it's lovely having a different perspective as I read...it reminds me how much I miss reading in a group. Anyway, yeah, I agree with your assessment of it...it's proving to be a good read so far. It's my first Vikram Seth btw.

Parth said...

@Lotus reads: I think its good to take a break from blogging once in a while. You especially have a more involved blog life than most bloggers I know :-) I am glad you are enjoying it. I am currently in the middle of 'The ground beneath her feet' by Rushdie. It is a good follow up to the Vikram seth book because they are both set in the field of music.