Random Ruminations and Conclusions...

I received a strange message today from my new blog world buddy, who often comes up with some insightful but mostly really fun comments on what I scribble in this space..The Analyst sent a cryptic comment saying that I had been tagged in one of his new  posts and that I should visit it...Some curiosity and basically the tendency that Malayali 'Commies at heart' have to turn up to show solidarity prompted me to follow his linked route...

And I stumbled upon blogosphere's latest time-pass...I'm no 'social pariah' like The Analyst defines himself..but then that's one of the side-effects of being a journalist...inadvertant eavesdropping, routine networking and the search for new is always on...And so, time and again, I get tagged into 'Use the colour of your underwear to show support for a cause' or 'state a colour to indicate your relationship status' gimmick...

But I'm interested by this tag, because it gives me a chance to reciprocate and pick five( not 7) of my favourite blogs, that I really like reading..and tell you why I like them...

So before I do that, I shall copy paste what I understand is the soul of the game, before I do my little post-mortem...

Tagging v. A gripping game played in the Blogosphere where bloggers link with each other for no apparent reason. From The International dictionary of Blogosphere.

Dear fellow blogger,

You have been invited to join an ominous cabal of bloggers who wish to pass their time by tagging each other. The encumbrance of this task lies upon you to continue this revered tradition of tagging 7 people in blogosphere. We are in the process of creating the fourth Reich in blogosphere, so tag along.

Regards

The Oracle

Rules
Reveal 7 random things about yourself.
1) You have to tag 7 people.
2) You have to link their pages in your tag post
3) You have to leave a comment in their comments section telling them they've been tagged.
4) You have to say who tagged you.

As a creator's tribute you might have to copy paste these rules on your blog enforcing the tag on innocent bloggers who visit your post. Also note that you should reveal random things about yourself.By tagging 7 people you are in process of creating a cult of bloggers thus forming the fourth Reich in the empire of Blogosphere.


Ok now that you know the rules, I hope you understand I'm tweaking it a bit...you don't really want to know too many random things about me...and 5 is my favourite number...so 5 it is...

Let's start with five random things...


1. I hate rice...If I didn't have to eat rice in any form for the rest of my life, I wouldn't miss it a day..Ask me why I had to make that my first thing on the list, and I'd say it popped into my head randomly..


2. Cheesy songs, Cheesy movies are all right up my alley, though I will die before admitting it..and by the way, I'm not too fond of queso myself..

3. Queso brings me to my new found love for Spanish...These days Im elbow deep in Spanish and my ever-present journo notepad is filled with notes in Spanish...from how to give instructions to basic phrases...So next time I begin a post with "Que tal" remember that it means How goes? in Espanol..

4. I am happiest when I know that soon I shall be off and away...I am wary of settling into a routine and finding no way out of the mundane and the inane...Picking up my bags, uprooting myself and settling down in a totally new place appeals to me most of the time, except when my biological clock or near family begins tut-tutting about my aversion to 'settling down' anywhere.


5.I love random conversations, instantly created conspiracy theories and impulsive decisions...I have lived to regret some but never regretted living through them...

Now that brings me to the favourite part of this post..

The five Blogs that I read and are in my pick of 5..( Could you please open the hyperlinks in a new tab...it's somehow not automatically working, try as I might...So unless you are bored with my rants and want to click out, please open a new tab!)

1. Joe's blog: My professor who taught me the importance of good copy...the practical importance of the 5Ws and 1H and even more importantly, the need for an irreverant and fearless approach to journalism...Eggs me on when I flag, ticks me off when he sees things he doesn't approve, generous with praise and patient with mistakes... 


 2. Paul's blog: Love the moaning English expat git...Paul's moans are a lovely antidote to my rants...somewhere the moans and the rants build up a wonderful cacophony in my head...I stumbled on it when he wrote an irreverant piece on Indian broadcast journalism's cerebral lows which I had to grudgingly agree with...

3. The Ketchup Girl: She has multiple blogs and the one she keeps for her little daughter has a special place in my heart...But her food blogs often have me drooling and the best part are the photographs that she takes of the things she cooks...Yummy says the eye, drool goes the tongue..although like everything in the blog-verse, this sensation too is not tangible...

4. Primitive Lyric's blog: Another blogger who was one of my first inspirations to try to keep an online diary..I have been reading her since she began to jot down her thoughts, or so I think and now there are new characters in her life, her outlook to life has gone through a 180 deg change - and her blog remains a refreshing mirror of a life that branched out beautifully after flowing with mine for roughly two years.

5. Satish's blog: He is a journalist whose blogs reflect his varied interests too. Every post has something new to whet my appetite. From photography to films, Satish's interests are as varied as his love his words.

So there you are...my pick of five...And with that, we come to the end of this soliloquoy..Thanks The Analyst for sparking it off...This was an excercise for me too..so for today, my blog shall look like my notebook, quite literally...hastily jotted...no finesse...

Hasta luego, till next time!