I hope you are proud of me!

I am Proud of MYSELF!!!

You can join me too!

Click Here - https://apps.facebook.com/organdonationday/

Appalling Bread at Dunkin Donuts

Dear Dunkin Donuts employee (who might care for his brand's reputation),

This was the second chance I gave Dunkin Donuts a try considering the brand and their reputation for quality.

I was once again shocked that a company reputed for its Do(ugh) had such stale, dry, hard, and chewy bread in their most expensive food items.

I am attaching my latest, and probably LAST Proof of Purchase - to prove that I only wanted to have a good meal, and was disappointed ... Once again.

I feel sorry for having to share this, but i had expected more from this internationally reputed food chain.

Maybe the fault is mine, for having an expectation of good bread from Dunkin Donut.

My jaw still pains at the thought of all the chewing Dunkin Donuts made it do!

I guess I didn't learn my lesson the first time. So I burnt myself again.

Lesson Learnt!

@aseems

Update - No response has been received till date ....

#DunkinDonuts #DunkinIndia #Stake #Bread 

Mad Magazine: MAD's Satire of the "M*A*S*H" Finale

My Favourite Magazine Features my Favourite Show...

What more Reason needed to blog it?

MAD's Satire of the "M*A*S*H" Finale Fri, 03/01/2013 - 8:21am CLASSIC MAD DEPT. Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the final episode of M*A*S*H — with over 100 million viewers, the most watched series finale of all time — but we were too busy updating our Trapper John M.D. Pinterest board to notice. To make amends, we present the entirety of "M*U*S*H", our satire of the beloved show's final season by Arnie Kogen and Jack Davis.  Click each page to make it bigger! SCROLL DOWN !!!! Cover Artist: Mort Drucker Tags:  Classic MAD, Movie and TV Satires, Television, M*A*S*H, MASH, Series Finales, Alan Alda, Jack Davis, Arnie Kogen, Mort Drucker, MAD Covers, Alfred E. Neuman

Maach Mishti & More movie review: Wallpaper, Story, Trailer at Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/bengali/movie-reviews/Maach-Mishti-More/movie-review/17910719.cms

Check out Maach Mishti and More!

Story: As the title aptly suggests, Maach Mishti & More is an urban saga that revolves around a typical Bengali household in Kolkata. Primarily focusing on the three brothers and their romantic interests, the film explores the cosmopolitan city where people fall in love, introspect, dream and find their true calling.

Review: For those who had almost forgotten to smile, having been forced to watch a series of debacles in the name of filmmaking, last year, Mainak Bhaumik's Maach Mishti & More instills hope, right at the beginning of 2013.

Here, we see the eldest of the three brothers, Rahul, (Shauvik) returning home with his wife Reena (Swastika), having quit his cushy job in the US. His dream is to become a chef. He wants to start a restaurant in Kolkata, much to the disappointment of his parents. June (Pamela) helps Rahul set up his restaurant.

Rony (Parambrata) is trying hard to climb up the corporate ladder. He is happy with his take-home salary and his rich Marwari girlfriend, Swati. The youngest of the three brothers, Raju (Anubrata), is an aspiring actor. Unlike his two brothers, he considers himself to be 'different' — younger but wiser. Raju doesn't believe in serious relationships. He needs his space — something his mother fails to understand why. He's more like a friend to Rony and always comes up with his brilliant ideas whenever Rony is in a fix handling his girlfriend.

However, the coolest member in the family is their Dadu (Soumitra Chatterjee) whose policy is to 'live life king size'. He hates following the doctor's advice. And nothing goes unnoticed from his experienced eyes. Dadu believes that if a man's mind is in sync with his body, one can actually lead a happy and healthy life. He not only understands the pulse of every member in the family but also helps a young college girl Sunny (Parno) — who he befriends at his favourite tea stall — confess her love to the man she loves.

The story touches you as one can relate to the trials and tribulations of the characters at some point or the other. Like when Raju tries to rent a place for himself, he realizes that it is as difficult for any young bachelor guy as it is for a girl looking for a sanctuary. And it is Neha (Neha) who holds a mirror up to him.

The way Mainak has woven the plot, highlighting idiosyncrasies of the Bengali mind is laudable. We hear Anuradha Ray, who plays Rahul's mother, sharing her grievance: "Ranna korbe bole chole elo America theke?!"

Even his take on the Marwari community in Kolkata is interesting...er...funny! Swati's dad asks Rony if he would like to join him in his business, pointing out that "Bangalis toh sirf adda hi maar sakte hain."

Soumitra Chatterjee gives a heartwarming performance, while Anuradha Ray essays an archetypal mother. Shauvik, with his accented Bengali, looks the part. Parambrata is effortless as this soft-hearted, confused and romantic guy who hopes there's one Miss Right waiting for him just around the corner! Raima as Ishani, his friend from college and now a yoga instructor and reiki practitioner, is admirable. To some extent Raima's character seems to be an extension of Soumitra's character. She inspires Param to follow his heart. Anubrata and Neha make a good pair on screen; they are vibrant and full of life. Parno does a good job and looks every bit of a tom-boy in T-shirts and capris.

Something we just can't miss about the film is its portrayal of the female brigade. Far from being docile, Neha, Ishani, Reena and June come across as these bindaas babes who know exactly what to do with their lives. They are confident and can tackle any situation head on.

The best part about the film is in its approach, as to salvage these otherwise cliched subjects like love, passion, ambition and self-discovery. Sunny's track is a bit forced.
But for its humour, which compels one to overlook a few flaws here and there, the film also works for its sparkling dialogues. Styling by Neha and Ajopa deserves a special mention; they've done a good job of giving each actor a distinct look, going by their roles in the film.

--

Aseem Seth

Who is Alfred E. Neuman?

Today we delve into the early days of our moronic mascot, Alfred E. Neuman. One day in the 1960s a letter was delivered to the MAD offices bearing no name or address. Other than a postage stamp, the envelope bore only a picture of the magazine's cover boy, Alfred E. Neuman. Clearly, the gap-toothed face of the idiot kid had become iconic. Alfred and MAD, to use an overworked phrase, were joined at the hip. Already the grinning face had shown up in unlikely places: placards of him as a candidate — "You could do worse, you always have!" — were flaunted at political conventions. His features were sculpted in ice at a Dartmouth Winter Carnival. Fred Astaire danced in an Alfred mask during a TV special. A party of climbers planted a Neuman flag atop Mount Everest. Alfred owes his place in history to four men. The first was MAD's first editor, Harvey Kurtzman, who glimpsed the grinning face, captioned "Me worry?" on a postcard in 1954. "It was a kid that didn't have a care in the world, except mischief," Kurtzman recalled. The boy soon made his way into the pages of the magazine, though he was as yet unnamed. Kurtzman had been using the Neuman name mostly because it had the ring of a nonentity — although there was a Hollywood composer named Alfred Newman. Misspelled, with the added "E," it too was integrated into the magazine. When Al Feldstein replaced Kurtzman as editor, he decided to link "Alfred E. Neuman" with the face of the idiot kid. The idiot kid made his official debut in 1956 as a write-in candidate for President on the cover of MAD #30, and the magazine now had an official mascot and cover boy. In the next issue, Alfred made his second cover appearance pictured as an addition to Mount Rushmore. Though others had their doubts, Nick Meglin, then an assistant editor, believed that MAD should continue to use Alfred as the magazine's cover boy. "You'll have to convince me," said publisher Bill Gaines, who had veto power over all MAD covers. Playing up to Gaines' interest in archaeology, Meglin submitted a rough sketch of Alfred in an Egyptian tomb (MAD #32) and one or two others that emerged as cover illustrations later. Having been convinced there were endless possibilities, Gaines agreed that Alfred should reign as the magazine's icon. The Neuman face was created by Norman Mingo. Curiously, none of MAD's artists, though extremely versatile, has been able to render accurately the Mingo prototype. When Mingo died in 1980, his obituary in The New York Times identified him in its headline as the "Illustrator Behind 'Alfred E. Neuman' Face." What is the source of the "What — Me Worry?" Boy? MAD asked its readers to help out and was deluged by suggestions and theories. The kid was used in 1915 to advertise a patent medicine; he was a newspaperman named Old Jack; he was taken from a biology textbook as an example of a person who lacked iodine; he was a testimonial on advertisements for painless dentistry; he was originated by comedian Garry Moore; he was a greeting-card alcoholic named Hooey McManus; he was a Siamese boy named Watmi Worri. One reader dug up a 1909 German calendar bearing a version of the inane smiling face. By far the most pertinent correspondence came from a lawyer representing a Vermont woman named Helen Pratt Stuff. She claimed that her late husband, Harry Stuff, had created the kid in 1914, naming him "The Eternal Optimist." Stuff's copyrighted drawing, she charged, was the source of Alfred E. Neuman and she was taking MAD to court to prove it. Thus began the great Alfred E. Neuman lawsuit. The stakes were not small. If MAD lost, it would be liable for millions of dollars in damages. And Alfred no longer would be permitted to show his worriless countenance in any MAD publication or property... Source: http://www.madmagazine.com/blog/2012/12/19/totally-mad-excerpt-who-is-alfred-e-neuman

The Times Group ­- Where Ideas Get Wings

I am Proud to be a part of The Times Group

Here’s what I suggested to the CEO -

https://twitter.com/aseems/status/173647012368101376

This is what the CEO of TIL Replied –

https://twitter.com/aseems/status/174046517211041792

This is what Happened (after a couple of months…) –

http://www.indiadigitalreview.com/news/times-internet-launches-augmented-reality-app-alive-ios-devices

 Feels Great to be Heard!!!

Thanks @SatyanGajwani! You Rock Sir!

The Death of a Brand - RIP Indiatimes Mail

Dear Indiatimes Mail users, We wish to inform our Indiatimes.com Email subscribers that Indiatimes.com Email Service ("Service") will be discontinued and shall be permanently shut down with effect from 18th February, 2013 - 12 P.M(Indian Standard Time). You will no longer be able to send or receive mails or access your account for the purpose of reading mail and or transfer any data (i.e. emails, tasks, documents, appointments, and/or contacts) currently saved in your account post 18th February, 2013 - 12 P.M(Indian Standard Time). You can however continue to log in to all Times Internet Limited network sites using your Indiatimes.com id. You are advised to immediately download all your emails/contents/data from your Indiatimes mailbox via IMAP at the earliest before 18th February, 2013 - 12 P.M (Indian Standard Time), failing which Times Internet Limited shall not be responsible and / or liable to provide you the content of your mailbox as the same would stand deleted. You are further notified to immediately change your login credentials on networks where you have provided Indiatimes.com Email as your primary/authentication or alternate id. You are advised to visit our FAQ page or write to us at mailsupport@indiatimes.com anytime till 18th February, 2013 12 PM (Indian Standard Time) for assisting you through the aforementioned processes. Please note that under no circumstances, would Times Internet Limited and its affiliates & group companies & associates, be liable and/or responsible, at any time, for any actual or threatened losses, claims, damages, whether direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential damages , including, without limitation for any loss of information, non retrieval or loss of data, business interruption or arising out of the inability of users/subscribers to use Indiatimes.com email services. We would like to thank you for the immense support extended to us, through the years. Warm Regards, Indiatimes Email Customer Services 04th December, 2012

The Doberman, The Panther and the Squirrel

An old Dobermann starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. 

The old Dobermann thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep shit now!" 

Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old Dobermann exclaims loudly, 


"Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?" 

Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. 

"Whew!," says the panther, "That was close! That old Dobermann nearly had me!" 

Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes. 

The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther. 

The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" 

Now, the old Dobermann sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old Dobermann says .......


"Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!" 

Moral of this story... 


Don't mess with the old dogs... Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! 
Bull Shit and brilliance only come with age and experience. 


If you don't send this to five 'old' friends right away, there will be five fewer people laughing in the world. 


Of course, I am in no way insinuating that you are old, just 'youthfully challenged'. 


You did notice the size of the print, didn't you? 

Great Logos with Hidden Messages

Artists have been hiding subliminal and secret messages in their art for centuries. And this tradition lives on Today in the work of logo designers. Find out what's hidden in the FedEx, Tostitos or Baskin Robbins logo. Some of the messages are more obvious than others, but all of them are clever and revealing.

The FedEx logo has an arrow hidden between the letters E and X. Lindon Leader designed this famous logo in 1994, as Senior Design Director at Landor Associates, San Francisco. It was a result of a work where more than 200 logos were designed before the designer arrived to this solution. It won over forty logo awards worldwide.

At first all you see is modern typography, but there is actually a hidden meaning of Sony's VAIO logo. The first two letters represent an analog signal and the last two are the 1 and 0 of the digital world.

Toblerone chocolate company from Bern, Switzerland, which is known for high mountains. Bern is also called "The City Of Bears". Find the hidden silhouette of a bear in the mountain illustration.

Baskin Robbins offers 31 flavors of ice cream. The number 31 is hidden in the logo within the letters of B and R.

The Northwest Airlines logo has two hidden meanings. For one it has the letters N and W in positive and negative spaces. And there is another less apparent idea in there. The red triangle points to north-west within the circle as if it was a compass.

That yellow arrow is not just a smiley. It also suggests that you can buy everything A to Z on Amazon.

Eighty-20 is a small consulting firm. The squares actually a binary code for the name. Top line: 1010000 and on the bottom: 0010100.

The SUN Microsystems logo is a wonderful example of symmetry and order. It was a brilliant observation that the letters u and n while arranged adjacent to each other look a lot like the letter S in a perpendicular direction.

The Tostitos logo has a not so hidden message. The letters TIT are two actually people enjoying mexican food at a table.

The Formula 1 logo has a hidden number 1 between the letter F and the speed lines.

Elefont is another logo with a hidden meaning in the negative space. Find the trunk in the lowercase letter e.

The feathers of this peacock represent the 6 different divisions of NBC. The head is visible suggesting the peacock is looking toward the viewer.

Carrefour is one of the biggest European retailers, and in French, it means "Crossroads". The logo symbolizes this word via two opposite arrows. They also added the first letter of the name, because if you look closely you’ll see the letter "C" in the negative space between the two arrows.

The C and O letters at the beginning of the word shape a tyre, which Continental produces.

Unilever produces literally thousands of different products, thus the letter U is made up of symbols representing all these products and what they mean to their consumers.

Families is a Readers Digest magazine. The letter "ili" are transformed to show a simplified and stylised family of three.

Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged people in North America. The letter G in the logo is a smiling face, conveying the notion that Goodwill provides happiness and relief to those in need.

At first glance, this logo looks like a map of Africa, but if you take a closer look, you will see two people facing each other.

Conceptual logo that shows a golfer taking a swing and the head of a spartan warrior in helmet at the same time.

The Bronx Zoo logo shows the animals within a city with tall building. Smart play with positive and negative spaces.

Snooty Peacock is a jewellery store. Notice the hidden peacock in the face.

The Hartford Whalers logo shows 3 concepts at the same time. A whale's tail, letter “W” in green and the white space forming an “H” for Hartford.

The designer of ED Logo – “Elettro Domestici -Home Appliances” in English, changed the concept of traditional logo designing through this logo. The designer has amazingly used the negative space to demonstrate the letter “E” and “D” making the logo look like an electric plug.

In this Yoga Australia logo you can discover the shape of Australia in the negative space formed between the woman's raised leg and back.

Notice the palm of a hand in this MyFonts logo made out of the letters M and y.

Source

What’s required to be successful

I recently heard from a man who had a job in the city.

He hated his job, but he had to have the job so that he could afford his house. He didn’t like his house much either, but it was all he could find that was close to the city. And he had to be near the city to keep the job he hated, so that he could afford the house that he didn’t like but had to keep because it allowed him to keep the job he hated.

So he quit the job and moved to the country, where the land was cheap, and became a freelancer, working remotely for a lot less money. His old job was an impressive, professional job that he had worked hard to get, and everyone thought he was crazy for throwing it all away, going independent.

But he didn’t think he was crazy.

He was making less money, but because of his new, lower cost of living, he was netting much more. He’d found a way to make less money and have more money, which is just about the easiest way ever to get a raise.

All of the most successful people do things that others call crazy, because innovation always comes before genius, and innovation is — by definition — always new. If you’re the first person in your group of peers to do the most brilliant thing in the world, your peers will still think you’re crazy because you’re breaking out of step. But that’s exactly what’s required to be successful.

- Johnny B. Truant

Introducing TimesJobs.com's new Look!

Introducing TimesJobs.com's new Look !

What Better way to start the New Year than with an exciting new design - TimesJobs revamps its website with a neat new homepage that saves time and effort and intuitive navigation offering informed selections and ease of access

This New Year, TimesJobs.com empowers users with a new homepage that intuitively provides them a host of navigation options right from the homepage itself.

Commenting on this new release, Amit Jain, VP, TimesJobs.com said, "A host of features give job-seekers a clutter free home page experience with intuitive navigation and faster downloads. We hope these improvements encourage job-seekers to fine tune their resumes, enhance their job-search and apply to corporates that are in high demand."

Many modifications & tweaks throughout the website, have led to a 50% improvement in the downloading speed of the site. While there are several small changes to the look and feel of the homepage, users will definitely notice The Enhanced Header, The New Floating Nav Bar, the User Login Form and the Profile Snippet Box. Elaborated below –

·         The Enhanced Tabbed Header offers viewing second level navigation by simple mouse over- informing users of further selections. This feature is applicable across site and makes TimesJobs navigation clean and lets users get a preview of what to expect on the next page.

·         The New 'Floating Nav Bar' - that flashes on the bottom of the screen across site. The floating bottom bar comprises of critical navigation options that offer ease of job search to both logged-in and unregistered users.

·         The new 'User Log-in Form' - a prominent box on the top right hand side of the homepage that lets users login to their TimesJobs' account right away.

·         The new 'Profile Snippet  Box'  - Logged-in users can now view their profile information on the Home Page itself - essentially a condensed personalized summary. This box also facilitates them to update their profile details and view customized recommendations without having to visit multiple pages.

 "Our research showed that the above data fields are critical to a jobseeker's success in finding a matching job, and having them put succinctly in a single box makes it very easy to access." Amit Jain summed up.

So visit the New TimesJobs.com today and tell us what you think!

#####

<ScreenShot of TimesJobs.com Home Page.jpg>

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Happy New Year! Saluting the Minds Behind Great Finds - The TimesJobs.com 2012 Calendar

Saluting the Minds Behind Great Finds

Introducing The TimesJobs.com 2012 Calendar

'Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.'

— Arthur Conan Doyle

December 2012: Sports have known it for long, the talent spotter goes to minor league matches to find the next star athlete. We have seen Simon Cowell and 'The X Factor' relish humiliating those who fell outside their theatric definition of 'talent', but Talent Spotting ought to be searching for stars in a myriad of disciplines. 

This trend has moved into the next generation of politicians, cultural pioneers, business executives and media voices who are starting their first jobs, desperate to escape obscurity, determined to make a name for themselves - All you have to do is have the genius to find them.

Speaking about talent spotting Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Director-HR, Citrix Systems explains "The ability to see the future potential in current employees from current level of performance coupled with effective job behavior is extremely important to us. We use structured performance management, annual reviews & succession plans. We have a reward system like a spot bonus in place to support those who file patents or help in innovation."

"Early talent identification has a two pronged advantage - For an employee, its a process through which he sees a long term career for himself in the organisation and appreciates the organisation investing time and effort to help him excel in his career." added Yunus Petiwala, Vice President - Corporate HR, Piramal Healthcare. "The organisation also reaps the benefit of this process. Especially when there is a talent crunch, a talent pipeline provides ready talent that is utilised when the organisation grows."

Added Deepak Deshpande, Vice President – HR, Netmagic Solutions, "while accepting that everyone has some talent, in my view, 'critical talent' are those who create the value an organisation needs to succeed. My personal view is that real talent doesn't need much hand-holding. It only asks for the opportunities to fulfill its potential."

The TimesJobs.com 2012 Calendar serves to highlight Talent Spotters like these, who identify and promote gifted individuals, and ensures that they are able to fulfill their potential

"We want to recognize and pay tribute to those that spend their careers finding, identifying and recognizing talent, as part of their work – The HR Managers. By publishing the TimesJobs.com 2012 calendar with an illustrious pantheon of celebrated talent and highlighting their Talent Spotters, we wish to bring to focus and pay tribute to the HR Management community." remarked Amit Jain, VP, TimesJobs.com.

Have you heard of David Conover, Jay Oliver, Mc Sennett, Francisco Cornejo, Chuck Silvers, Ray Williams, Bill Thompson or Scooter Braun… probably vaguely, if you have at all… but these are the great minds who spotted talent and promoted it to its rightful place in the firmament amongst the stars.

"She was just Jeane Mortenson, inspecting airplane parts and parachutes. It was David Conover's fine art of spotting talent, that the world knew her as Marilyn Monroe."

"If it wasn't for producer Jay Oliver, she would have remained an elementary school music teacher. It was in the producer's basement studio, where Sheryl Crow was first heard in ad jingles, and then Grammy winning songs."

"He was just another guy in a travelling vaudeville show when a man named Mc Sennett discovered him. And thus was born Charlie Chaplin. A man who never spoke a word on screen but became an icon who'd live forever in people's hearts."

The TimesJobs.com 2012 Calendar celebrates these Famous-Talent Spotters as a Tribute to the HR Managers, who identify, hone and promote talent within their organisations as part of their jobs everyday.