tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77821187317118062732024-02-08T05:27:32.398-08:00SHORT PARAGRAPH WRITINGReaders have little time to go through lengthy discourses. Writing short paras, say within a maximum of 100 words, can become a goal for effective writers. Practice is better than precepts. I am trying to write such short paras and present to my readers. I invite readers to correct me.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-86309766409961549432012-02-10T17:13:00.000-08:002012-02-10T17:19:47.342-08:00This is tiger and that is the tail!Telugu language has a proverb, which approximately means: "If somebody says 'Here is a tiger', somebody else will echo 'there is the tail'". The first person may be under an illusion. The echoing second person will not verify. There may not be any tiger at all. Crazy world, isn't it? (50 words).mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-27945202598887077362011-09-29T23:32:00.000-07:002011-09-29T23:53:45.380-07:00ApologiesI am sad to report that a few postings at this blog have been hacked by unscrupulous persons.<br /><br /><b>Reasons: </b><br />Not known.<br />I have rarely used the email posting facility while writing my blogs. I found that in the settings of this particular blog (shortparawriting) email posting address was not blank. I deduced that somebody might have hacked my email posting address and used it for posting. I have since disabled the email posting facility.<br /><br /><b>Corrective Action taken: </b><br />*Removed the hurting posts<br />*Passwords changed. <br />*Activated an additional feature of getting a security code number through mobile.<br /><br /><b>Further course of action proposed</b><br />I did not have much time to add more new paragraphs here though I have thousands of ideas which need to be expressed very concisely. The max. limits on the number of words and the number of sentences, makes this work emotionally satisfying. This emotional thirst makes me to continue this blog without abandoning or deleting it. I shall actively write these paragraphs probably after a month's time.<br /><br />I am at present engaged in preparing 1000 multiple choice questions on 'Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Indian Banking' with online checking of answers and scoring. I am at present, being propelled by an inner urge to redirect my work into those channels which will help unemployed persons to raise their skills and succeed in various recruitment tests. If you have some taste to acquire new insights and have a feel for attempting some self-assessment tests of your knowledge and analytical and logical techniques, my writings may probably help you. <br /><br /><a href='http://www.ayyo.zxq.net' target='_blank'>Click here to have a look at 1000 MCQs on Indian Commercial Law.</a>. Indian Commercial Law (or Mercantile Law), very much resembles the American and European Laws. Hence, the students of law, Business Administration, Banking and Finance, hailing from other countries can also have a look at these questions. In fact, it is high time, that some comparative analysis is done by somebody who is more knowledgeable and competent than me.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-17650451042448752292009-12-20T22:24:00.000-08:002009-12-20T22:27:26.064-08:00#022 NEED FOR EMPATHY WHEN THERE IS NO ADVERSITY<span>NEED FOR EMPATHY WHEN THERE IS NO ADVERSITY</span><br /><br />Byron said: <em> 'Adversity is the first path to truth'.</em> We have another saying which is akin to this idea: 'Sweet are the uses of adversity'. Adverse circumstances may direct persons towards quest of truth. Yet, we see millions of people who undergo adverse lives and who do not long to find the truth, at least explore the true cause of their hardships. A person has to undergo travails, if he is understand the sufferings of those who face rough winds. This may be true in case of unenlightened persons, for whom empathy is not a part of nature. (6 sentences)mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-77494027511797864252009-12-20T22:09:00.000-08:002009-12-20T22:11:30.873-08:00#021 NEVER is - NOR can be<blockquote>NEVER is - NOR CAN BE</blockquote><br />Byron said: <em> 'A mistress never is, nor can be a friend. While you agree, you are lovers; and when it is over, anything but friends' </em>. We can apply this idea, also to spouses i.e. husbands and wives. Friends can become lovers, mistresses and spouses. Return to the old relationship is difficult, though not impossible. Humans require greater maturity of <br />mind to establish and understand true relationships. The love relationships (marrital or otherwise) may not break up if people have such mature minds. We, in spite of using the best glue and fasteners, cannot tie/paste back to the branch, a pumpkin which has been cut/plucked from it. (7 sentences). <br />REM: <em>Appreciate Byron's sentence construction 'never is - nor can be'.</em>mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-637622760695307042009-12-20T04:00:00.000-08:002009-12-20T04:01:21.288-08:00#020 ARE ADVERTISEMENTS TRUER THAN NEWS REPORTS?<span> ARE ADVERTISEMENTS TRUER THAN NEWS REPORTS? </span><br /><br />Thomas Jefferson said: 'Advertisements contain the only truths to be <br /><br />relied on in a newspaper'. This might have been true in the 18th Century <br /><br />of Jefferson. We , in the 21st Century, have only bluffs to feed on both <br /><br />in electronic and print media. The owners of the media Corporates, have <br /><br />their own personal agenda. The advertising copywriters have their own <br /><br />enslaving obligations to their clients. 'Make believe' and 'cheat the <br /><br />gullible' have become the state-of-the-art in media circuits. (6 <br /><br />sentences).mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-27400346658289912162009-12-20T03:58:00.000-08:002009-12-20T03:59:44.249-08:00#019 WHERE ARE THE WISE AND FRUGAL GOVERNMENTS?Thomas Jefferson said: 'A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government'. Where are these wise and frugal Governments? How many millions of dollars are spent on White House Security every <br />year? The foreign Governments, including those of extremely poor countries like Chad, spend large amounts on American President's security, when he visits their countries. Taking away the bread from the mouth of labor is a global pastime. (5 sentences).mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-26489876823134018332009-12-20T03:56:00.000-08:002009-12-20T03:58:20.939-08:00#018 MOB-RULEMOB-RULE<br /><br />Scholars opine that democracy is mob-rule. Thomas Jefferson said 'A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine'. The other 49% can also be mobs. Jefferson had ignored this facet. We have an assumption here, that 100% will vote, whereas only 50% of the voters may only vote. <br />In such a case, only 25.5% of the people take away the rights of the remaining 74.5%. Democracies are still better than monarchies, because in monarchies and dictatorships, only one man plunders everything. (7 seven sentences).mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-35324369996160625952009-12-19T20:19:00.000-08:002009-12-19T20:21:14.027-08:00#016 MUTUAL EXCLUSIVITY<span style='background:#ffff55'>MUTUAL EXCLUSIVITY</span><br /><br />Mutual exclusivity refers to a situation where inclusion of one thing necessitates exclusion of some other thing. We cannot expect the theories of Adam Smith and Karl Marx to co-exist. The market forces of demand and supply rule the roost if we choose Smith. Bureaucratic inefficiencies crop up, if we chose Marx. Every choice has its own benefits. The technological benefits we enjoy today may be the fruits of Capitalism. Would we have had better benefits, had we chosen Marxism? (Six sentences.)mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-80844459853757545602009-12-16T16:32:00.000-08:002009-12-16T16:33:32.178-08:00#015 RELATIVITY of EINSTEINWe have studied about the 'Theory of Relativity' of Albert Einstein. Here are some ideas which are akin to it. We are nearing December 21. It must be extremely cold in Canada and Northern Russia; extremely hot in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. I live 82 degrees east of Greenwich; it is dawn at this moment. My son lives in U.S.A. It must be dusk there. People living at the converging points of Equator-Greenwich may feel comfortable at these same times.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-4403199055200801882009-12-15T14:12:00.000-08:002009-12-15T14:13:55.258-08:00#014 MONSTROUS CULTURAL BONDAGES of HUMANSCultures have mixed qualities. A person who grows up in a particular culture enjoys its benefits; he is also bound by it. A person has a duty to liberate himself if he lives in the midst of monstrous cultures or at least make efforts in that direction. Caste and racial systems, religious intolerance, cravings to earn and conspicuously consume etc. appear in the list of monstracities. Like a camel which relishes a thorny bush, despite being bled by the thorns, humans relish their cultures.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-28588371651800573402009-11-30T19:33:00.000-08:002009-11-30T19:35:33.978-08:00#013- EATING TO LIVEWe come across two types of people: quantity-fooders and quality-fooders. Quantity-fooders seek frequent doses of heavy diets. Quality-fooders, when go beyond limits, become diet-fanatics or extreme epicureans. Both the fooders live by the goal of 'living to eat'. We may have to question ourselves, when we eat: "Should I eat this quantity or quality of food?" This world will face a food crisis, if all the 600 million people on the earth seek huge quantities of the best quality foods.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-16170014049323313912009-07-20T00:38:00.001-07:002009-12-20T03:55:27.665-08:00#017 Discipline vs. reveryExcess discipline hurts revery. Excess revery erodes discipline.<br>Balancing both will be herculian for individuals as well as societies.<br> Voluntary self discipline is a rare commodity. Enforced discipline<br>increases bitterness. People crave revery. Shakespeare served<br>revery. Milton and Samuel Johnson seem to support stiffness. But<br>occasionally they too show a relaxed vein.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-60729330821478743612009-02-22T20:43:00.000-08:002009-02-22T21:00:13.239-08:00#012- ELIZABETH: GOLDEN AGEI saw this film yesterday (22nd Feb. 2009, afternoon) on Star Movies Channel. The film impressed me. Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth did full justice to her title role. I have learnt through Wikipedia today, that the film has won an Academy Award for Costume design. I am unable to appreciate the music score. The music may be sonorous but it lacks melody. It is difficult to delineate the contributions of the music directors Craig Armstrong and A.R. Rehman. I have not expected that Rehman ought to have played some Indian musical instruments in the background to produce an effect of pathos notwithstanding that the film is historical. The film arouses pleasant feelings.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-50225751097076067032009-02-17T06:58:00.000-08:002009-02-17T07:09:26.361-08:00#011 BABIESTo have babies or not? This question looks outrageous when we decide not to have babies altogether, throughout our lives. It is against nature. We may modify this dilemma as: "To have further babies or not?". Different countries may have their own ceilings on the number of children, their citizens may have. The dilemma arises only after the ceiling is reached. On the other hand, European countries and Japan suffer from declining birth rates. They provide incentives for reproductive couples. The individuals have their own priorities notwithstanding what their countries expect them to do. This world looks weird, but it is not. Are we not here to enjoy our lives fully. Many feel that lives will be barren without children. Hence, at least one baby is a must, apparently.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-65591029475158468482009-02-15T21:17:00.000-08:002009-02-15T21:38:34.132-08:00#010 NANNY DIARIESI saw this beautiful film at Star Movie Channel, on the February 14 2009. The film is very refreshing and stimulating. Well, in this world, the word "trust" is dead. It is natural that a nanny is neither respected nor trusted. The employers use "nanny cams" to spy on the activities of the nannies. I felt compelled to read between the lines when I saw this film. The Capitalism touts to free individuals from tyranny, but it rarely does the liberating act. Individuals are never free. Bertrand Russel rightly said: "<em>Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate</em>”mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-80991490632286199802009-02-15T20:41:00.000-08:002009-02-15T21:10:34.741-08:00#009 PURSUIT OF HAPPINESSI saw this film on Star Movies Channel yesterday evening. The film was (2006) quite impressive. The protagonist was a struggling salesman. He was full of optimism. The way he managed his accompanying precocious son in all their selling adventures and searches for the night shelters was really marvellous. I liked, above all, the way in which he motivated himself by quoting Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the U.S.A. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the <strong>pursuit of Happiness</strong>. The prayer about not moving the mountain of hardships was also very poignant: "Oh Lord don't move that mountain, just give me strength to climb.<br />For if you should move each mountain, I might grow weaker every time,<br />And just as your son Jesus, took the cross up Calvary's hill.<br />Oh Lord don't move that mountain, so I may better do your will.". <br />Conclusion: The film is very refreshing.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-73458652511163740902009-02-06T06:40:00.000-08:002009-02-06T07:01:38.332-08:00#007 IMPECCABLE CLOTHESEvery person wants to wear impeccable clothes. What is the definition of impeccable? It is an abstract adjective. Approximate meanings are flawless and perfect. Different people can have different perceptions and pictures of 'impeccable clothes'. 1. Clothes should fit well i.e. they should neither be too loose nor too tight. 2. Colors should neither be too gaudy nor too inconspicuous with a faded look. 3. The clothes are to be well-ironed. 4. The clothes should be appropriate for the occasion. 5. The clothes should look neither too expensive nor too cheap. Today's stress is on clothes. It appears that we have to abide by the current culture as long as we do not land ourselves in debts.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-40550482085966863782009-02-06T06:22:00.000-08:002009-02-15T20:41:17.174-08:00#008 HAPPY HOMEEverybody dreams to have a happy home. What is the definition of a happy home? The adjective 'happy' is abstract. We can identify some attributes of a happy home, on the basis of general expectations of people. 1. A co-operative spouse. 2. Intelligent and obedient children. 3. One's own loving parents. 4. Loving parents of the spouse. 5. Few difficulties in paying bills. 6. Good health for all family members (occasional minor illnesses strengthen the bonds). (Etc.). Did not Dr. Samuel Johnson say: "To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution."mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-42268704975246465422009-02-06T05:55:00.000-08:002009-12-15T14:11:50.916-08:00#006 HOUSEA house literally means 'dwelling'. It provides us shelter from the ravages of cold, heat and rain. It gives us comfort. This comfort will be a real luxury when we compare ourselves with our ancestors who lived in caves. Houses have now become unduly expensive. The rise in prices of houses is the result of manipulation by builders and home financiers. Their greed has resulted in a great depression-like situation in U.S.A. The same people now drive out the citizens from their houses for loan defaults. Gaston Bachelard (in The Poetics of Space)said: The house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace."mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-60013476211366112982009-01-31T23:13:00.000-08:002009-01-31T23:33:30.574-08:00#005 CLOTHESMaintaining clothes is not easy. There were times when we had been maintaining clothes using just our hands. Some clothes themselves claim to be self-maintaining or maintenance-free. We have washing machines and dryers. We have hangers for clothes. We have to iron the clothes. We have to mend the clothes, checking for precariously hanging loose buttons. We have to check for rips in pants. More clothes means a need for more wardrobes. Gadgets which take care of clothes too need care. We have to take care, not only of clothes, but also of gadgets. Fortunate is the person who has few clothes. Mark Twain aptly said: "The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this." .mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-58068550487650665082009-01-31T22:52:00.000-08:002009-01-31T23:11:36.306-08:00#004 RECIPE WRITINGRecipe-writing is not as easy as people suppose. A recipe-writer has to practise what he preaches. That means, the writers must cook the items themselves in their own kitchens, taste and devor them, before an advice is given to others. The writers have to continuously evaluate their own preparations, placing themselves in the position of the readers. The writers have to keep in mind that the recipes designed by them may have long range implications on the health of the readers. Madame Benoit aptly said: "I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.".mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-84720912095219329302009-01-31T22:14:00.000-08:002009-01-31T22:23:45.990-08:00#003 WEATHER FORECASTING<strong>WEATHER FORECASTING</strong><br />Weather forecasting is not crystal grazing. The meteorologists use modern prediction tools to anticipate changes in weather. The weather forecasting is a science. A few elements of art may also be present. We do not sometimes get the same degree of exactitude which we get in mathematics and science. I view the weather forecasting as a great disaster management aid. Patrick Young aptly said: "The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it." .mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-11782830241081230392009-01-30T21:37:00.000-08:002009-01-30T21:56:03.255-08:00#002. ADOLESCENCEAdolescence is the period from puberty to adulthood in human life. Adolescence affects both males and females. The onset of adolescence may lead to sweeping physiological and emotional changes in boys and girls. The appearance of moustache and beard may cause initial anxiety in some boys. Their non-appearance or late appearance can also cause anxiety in some other boys. The same is the case in girls, with regard to breasts. Voice change is another feature of adolescence. Whether we like it or not, we have to welcome adolescence. We are pre-programmed computers.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782118731711806273.post-66345505678143814072009-01-30T20:58:00.000-08:002009-01-30T21:26:38.069-08:00#001. DRIVE IN HUMANSDRIVES are of different kinds. We have hard disc drives and CD Rom drives in the computer world. We have sex drives in the physiological world. People make love because they have the sex drive. We come across four wheel drives and all wheel drives in the world of vehicles. People love to drive expensive cars. Some people love to drive fast at 200 kmph. People have drives to write creatively. People have drives to sing. People play musical instruments. Political leaders drive themselves to speak endlessly. A drive to succeed has myriad colors. Succeed academically. Succeed financially. Succeed anywhere. Succeed everywhere. A drive makes people to work hard. But a dream without a drive cannot.mcquest yb | ybrao a donkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03373786034243034603noreply@blogger.com0