Posted By Unknown on/at Saturday, June 20, 2009
What do you think of the picture above... Not too shabby right... Yeah, I drew it... It's been a while since I flexed my artistic skills... So yesterday I took up that 6B pencil my 2D animator roomie wields with passion and set my lines in motion... Just to see if I still could you know... Work the magic of art...
Of course I was dry out of inspiration... So I gallivanted on, on to my faithful inspiration companion... 'Google Image Search', apparently the 'Microsoft Bing' search engine is also said to be pretty decent... No, my artwork is not an exact rip off... More like, it's a combo of a character and an interesting background I found off you know where... With a lot of minor tweaks and visual effects from yours faithfully... I'm into make believe and hence this 're-creation'...
And watching that roommate of mine work on his daily course of toons and animatoonics, you can't help but get an itch to match his level... Yeah, It's not my best work... It is after all an 'inspired' image... But I'm glad that my skills haven't gone rusty...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Saturday, June 20, 2009
I know I've been a little slow coming up with a post... And this is not so much of a post, so to speak... I've been bogged down with couple of responsibilities... They call for a gargantuan slice of my time... It's virtually left my bank of super power like powers depleted... I think it's because I'm not eating "too" much... Oh, I think I hear my parents rejoicing... If only shedding weight was as easy as bursting a balloon, I wouldn't mind the pin prick at all... As for work, it's so so... Lot of changes to be made in the coming days... I'll be posting another blog within the next 2-3 days...
Until then, cheerio...
...PS. Thanks Aleko for that offer on French!
Posted By Unknown on/at Tuesday, June 09, 2009
"Happy Birthday to me" that was yesterday and it was fun...
Oh yes, my french exam got bombed... It's no bombshell on the dinner table scenario, I'm cool about it... The ad industry doesn't seem to be looking for marks, but talent.. Don't get me wrong marks have to hit a basic level of adequacy... And my marks are pretty good... But studying offers no major challenge and panache... It doesn't cover everything and some parts of it are redundant... At least the Indian education system seems to be so... Me, I'm part adrenaline junkie... Work is challenging, its more like a game but realistic... All the stakes are real... And French well it'll be over by this month end...
Besides, now I've got to get organized... Blimey, I cant believe I said that... I'm more of a "leaf in the wind" lifestyle like person... But times are changing and I guess I should too....
The agency I'm working with is mid-sized and fun... They have only two copywriters now, one of which is me and the other is a veteran, who comes on and off... So I'm pretty much at the helm of things... While I do get an opportunity to stretch my creative limbs, the clients are the kind that often cramp my style... But you know what they say "the customer is always right"... So moving on...
I think I need a Sensei... That's what they call it at Crispin Porter and Bogusky (If you didn't know, CP&B is only like the best ad firm in the planet)... That means a migration is in order... So that's what's on the table... But not soon, probably in a month or three... Till then I want to relish the sweet taste of absolute power... Muahahaha...
Post that there is a plan for a post graduation and the likes... And things of that magnitude...
But all things aside, this birthday was a great one... It was my first birthday, living free and independent... On my own salary... Guess I'm getting older, whether I want to or not !!!
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Posted By Unknown on/at Tuesday, June 02, 2009
As of this past week, I've developed this habit of following the newspaper and news, daily (amazingly)... Occasionally cross-referencing contents online to get clarity and perspective... When we are small, seeing all the grownups read their newspaper early in the morning branded them as such... But then when you actually move into the habit, you realize all of sudden you've got an opinion on everything under the sun...
Oh, of course we all had an opinion on everything even before reading the news... But now you are backed by solid intel... And while on that subject, me being of the media; we are aware that media tends to colour information a little (the technical terminology I believe is ‘Agenda Setting Theory’), but how much??? Well it’s evident when you switch between the nation’s foremost news channels... Yes, I’m talking of NDTV, CNN-IBN, Times Now and the likes... One is pro this, the other is pro that, another is stuck in between and I don’t mean respectively...
Neutrality is a tall order and an expensive one it would seem... But between the lot, it’s an adventure of sorts to sort fact, fiction and lucrative hearsay bundled with a very subtly crafted element of propaganda... I guess it’s time to rewrite an age old adage and make it...
“A little media is a dangerous thing”
So I’ve thought of sticking to the news-tracking habit for now... Although, I plan to keep that habit away from the prying eyes of my fellow cousins and relative (younger ones of course)... Coz I don’t want to be branded a grownup ever... Well as long as I can... I suppose they’ll catch on eventually when my hair shows streaks of white when it catches the light... Maybe 30 years down the line....
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Posted By Unknown on/at Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Everybody loves good food... And that's why Kailash Kitchen is a must for any non-veg lover... Kailash Kitchen serves the most delightful Tibetan food you can have at the most comfortable price you can get ever, in Chennai... Yes, Kailash Kitchen is quite a small restaurant... Four tables that seat four people at a time... But the dim lighting, the compactness and the ambiance of this little restaurant coupled with the genuine warmth of the hosts of this delightful haven leaves you wanting to return here more often...
Moving on to the food factor... Their chowmein(noodles) is unlike it's Chinese counterparts... It's devoid of that excessive oil content and has a distinct flavour of it's own... The Tib Style Chilli Chicken is another genuine treat for the famished wayfarer, because its a delightful break away from its conventional Chinese variant...
For those lovers of tandoori and barbecue variants of Chicken, they have their special deep fried chicken which is simply heavenly... Well marinated and well done with the right mix of grated onions soaked in the dishes core flavour, its... beyond words... And they've got your usual Momo's, Fried Rice variants, Ping Sha's and the likes... But I believe Kailash is an experience you should explore on your own...
A complete meal inclusive of a rice/chowmein and a side dish works out to 80-90 rupees... Throw in another 10 bucks and you get a nice lime juice to top it off... No, they've got no desserts... But step outside and to your left you have 'Cake Park' with its delightful assortments of pastries and cheesecakes...
Location: Opposite Chitra Apartments, Choolaimedu, Chennai.
Mob. No : 09884551113...
Holidays: Closed on all Mondays...
PS. Kailash Kitchen is not a snazzy high class joint, but more of an average common man type joint where they serve good food at a great price...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Friday, May 15, 2009
So for all of you who didn't know, I've currently parked my base in Chennai... Friggin hot place to live in, with off the charts humidity... So how do you pick a neat place to live in? Well, I've already picked a place... It can pretty much shield me from the 'Chennai heat' without much air conditioning... But post-hunt, I stumbled upon a method... To gauge indoor heat bearability levels... In simple terms, it lets you know whether you get fried on the inside...Now please note: if you stay long enough in the house, you can figure it out yourselves... But, this is for those people in a hurry... Or if you're general temperature sense has been shorted... That is, it's been affected by a drive in the AC or a walk beneath the sun.... Both can screw with your judgement... Kapish !!!
Now on to the method... It's simple really... All you need is a good hard solid chocolate... Leave it in the house for a day, when you first check it out... Next day, check whether your chocolate has turned all gooey... If it has turned gooey to the point it goes 'splsshh' as in more to the liquidish state... The heat is a tad bit too much, however if it happens to be squishy but not sticky and all softish, it's just about the best kinds of house you can get in Chennai...
For me, I pulled it off with a 'Galaxy' Bar... But I'm guessing any decent chocolate would suffice... Kinds of puts a whole new spin on the phrase 'Home sweet home', doesn't it...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Saturday, May 02, 2009
It's been a while since I blogged... No surprises there...My exams are done... Thank god for that... I'm taking a break from Chennai... My works happening over the net and phone, my place of stay has changed (again) and now I'm back in my hometown of Cochin plotting how to stay on top of my game... Not exactly a game, but copywriting's not your average kind of work either... It's cutthroat, cutting edge and calculated... There's no place for mediocrity... To stay in, you've got to be f***ing damn good...
So how do you go about doing that? That's what's been eating at me since I got started with my break... People are constant food for thought in my line of work, observation being the grand daddy of all arts... Train stations, parks, cafes are all great places to pick up a thing or two about people... People watching is fascinating, but that's a thought for another day... Not to forget a heavy dose of books and ads (all types and all genres)... It's a great prescription, but it takes time... Impatience can be such a killjoy... You have this urge to move forward really fast until you realize you were born with legs, not wheels...
And there is of course the fact that any work you submit, you know you can outdo; given you had the time... We all have deadlines... Boohoo! But it's part of the game... However, as long as you remain dedicated and committed, you'll be seeing a lot more deadlines and a lot less dead ends... Time does make copywriting better, faster and easier... So for now, it's nothing but to lean on that age old adage "practise makes perfect"...
Jay, over and out...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Wednesday, April 22, 2009
So my course is over, my exams are over... Woohoo... Not quiet, I had this French paper I missed out on one of the previous semesters... I'm not so confident about my confrontation with this particular 'monstieur' from my past... A year is all it took to forget an entire language whole... Damn me and Damn the language... The exam was pretty much touch and go... I'm hoping its 'touch' and not 'go'...Tough call, to figure out whether its 'touch' or 'go'... But I'm moving on, either way I'll deal with it... Sadly, the sad part would be if it's 'go', my parents will be disappointed... I can't bear that... My degree will have to wait until I get past the French debacle... Be that as it may, while I'm indeed slightly worried about the 'go' part, it doesn't throw a wrench in my plans for the future... I've got a job, I plan to work a year... The degree is not going to increase my pay... I'll still get my experience... And hopefully within a year I'll be a pro in French and ace the exam...But that is if its 'go'.... If its 'touch' my parents will be happy, most probably my french would suck for all eternity... And I will be constantly doubting the fact whether or not I should do a PG immediately... The tipping point of course would be my parents happiness...
And you don't need to be a genius to figure out which matters in our country... Now all I need are the 'gods' and some 'luck' !!!
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Posted By Unknown on/at Friday, April 17, 2009
I won't be blogging for a week or so... Oh, I'm not being lazy... I'm in between semester exams... Final year too, the one that's deemed 'crucial'... But that's a farce... All semester exams are equally important... The only difference here being, if you screw up this one you'll hang for it... Lol, no... But your plans for the future, will be put in suspended animation... And I'm not up for being in any form of animation, suspended or otherwise... So bear with me for week or so and hopefully I'll be back, If I have no more innovative excuses to come up with......
Posted By Unknown on/at Monday, April 13, 2009
Occasionally, when I take a second look at my blog, I find myself laughing away into the silence... And laughing hard at that... Often when we have a string of thought to follow, words just seem to flow... Funny though, I often forget that my typing cannot keep up with my mind... And my words can't keep up with the oxford dictionary standards...
Anyways, readers if you do happen to find such hilarious mistakes; please... For the love of god let me know... Maybe, I can start up a blog stream called blogger bloopers, if it's hilarious enough...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Saturday, April 11, 2009
It's not so hard to understand why booker prize winners are booker prize winners, when you see articles like this one... Of course we've seen all the hype around the 'Slumdog' fiasco... Most people I know are of the opinion, it's a good movie, not a great one... And as far as India went besides an award for Rahman (which was long overdue), all it did was sent the image of new India for a toss... Good for AR, not for India...Now back to the point... I think nothing puts the Slumdog fiasco in perspective like this article, by Arundhati Roy... Check it out...
Posted By Unknown on/at Friday, April 10, 2009
And so with the Tata Nano all set to roll out... I too am busy running around for my little portion in motion... However, I'm not gunning for a Nano... With cobblers and the likes booking a Nano, one has to imagine how many Nano's will turn up on the roads... It will be like ants at a picnic... I'm not a conformist, so Nano is out of the question... I hope I won't have to eat my words some day...
Not that I have anything against the Nano... I did, a long time ago when I heard Tata's plan... Because of the traffic woes it may or may not create... But then again, its hard to be angry with a small car that carries more than 2 people, comes at roughly 1 lakh, gives you a great milage and guarantees a safer environment with it around... So salute to the Nano...
So coming back to my little portion of motion... I think the time is right to invest in a cycle... It beats traffic, beats petrol prices, gives a great mileage and gets you to the your destination... Of course, I see a future where a lot of drivers will curse my existence... With all the weaving in and out of traffic, it's bound to happen... But I'll be happy, I think....
Posted By Unknown on/at Thursday, April 09, 2009
Well as of today I'll try colouring up my blogs with pictures... It has a blandness about it that I feel needs to be cured...
Don't get your hopes up, I'm in the business of writing after all...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Deadlines are a dirty word... Between banging your head against the wall and staring into space trying to coming up with great ideas... People might tell you your ideas and concepts are nice just to be polite... But at the end of the day, when push comes to shove, if you can't deliver it on page, you are heading nowhere fast... The greatest ads in the world has been delivered in partnership...
Yes, I'm talking about art and copy... It's a kind of marriage, all the drama included... It's a union made in advertising heaven... But between the two, one thing's guaranteed... They'll make the worst parents ever... Obviously the ads are the kids... That being said, babies are born on the spur of the moment and aborted the next... Of course their are the tantrums and the arguments... But there is brutal honesty too and sharp criticism, and no politeness... And that's a big help despite the drama...
For me most of the best works have come out when I worked in partnership with a friend... His name is... Well, I don't want to swell his head... Amazingly he reads thoughts and executes sparks... Most of the time I trail behind trying to catch up with his sheer volume of ideas... I build on his more often than most... Don't get me wrong I'm pretty damn good at what I do too... But it takes a bigger man to be a team player...
And at the end of the day... That counts...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Regular blogging is not an easy job, especially when you are shifting residence... Shifting is a blog for another day... Anyway, that's why I've not been in lately... I know lame excuse, but I'll more than make up with the blog on shifting...
It won't be up soon, but it will be up eventually...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Wednesday, February 11, 2009
I was busy with an Internship at an Ad agency... Now it's over... It was fun... Picked up my fair share of dos and don't s... Couple of people said I had potential.. I don't know whether they were being polite... But I'm an optimist and a fighter... So I'll strive along the lines of their lines...
I've been thinking about a PG, like an MBA in advertising... Flip-side is the general view is nothing beats experience and on the job mentoring for the like's of a budding copywriter... So, I've been stranded in mid-leap... Agency gyan is, nothing teaches better than the teacher's teacher, the industry...
Of course that includes
- Working under a really good copywriter
- Reading books that wear you out, until you wear out the books
- Eat, sleep and drink ads, basically living off ads
An MBA just throws a wrench into the plans, if you really want to be something along the lines of a creative director... There is sense in that, I agree... An MBA gears you along the lines of technicalities and not aesthetics... But...
But it's just that in life, I've been brought up along the lines of thinking a contingency plan... The thought of making it big without any PG is well, awesome... But the alternate downhill picture is rather depress-iating... And hence the lingering thoughts of a PG...
But I'm shelving my plans for a PG, and rolling up my sleeves... My right hand is twitching, I'm going to write my heart out... I'm going to give copywriting my all... Cannes awards, here I come...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A bit about me as promised...
Born free, I took the name... Joseph John, later abbreviated by friends as Jj... Life has been great so far, blessed with a wonderful parents and a very nice sister (now married)... I'm not married, not at 23... Though feel free to drop me a line... Ladies only... Lol...
I've been in and out of lot of schools... Thrown out of none, thank god... Right now, I'm finishing up my second college life... I've taken many wrong turns in life, but I've learned from them... Did Engineering for about 3 and a half years, and realized it aint my thing... No love for math... Thanks to extensive support from my parents, I realised it was never too late to right the wrong decisions...
I'm doing visual communication as of now... You see, I want to be a copywriter... I dig the Ad industry !!! The game plan is to be a big bucks copywriter... At least that's the plan...
I made my career choices at 20-21-ish... That's quite late... And when you reach that point in life where your life forces you to work around and out of your problems... You'll pick up on the art of living, planning, budgeting etc... You realize that a lot of those tough decisions are easier to make and priorities come naturally...
Sure that's an education in itself, but don't wait till then... Start early, make your choices...
Don't live for the moment, live your dream...
A little realistically, if possible...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Sunday, February 01, 2009
This is unlike my usual blogs, but I felt people need help with this virus because when I looked up help regarding this virus I had to search for hours to find a proper solution...
For what joy do technocratic software wiz's create virus's... I happen to be bogged down by a bug called a 'DNS Changer Virus'... I think it's also called 'Zlob'... It stops short of killing your internet experience... It makes it excruciatingly slow, in techie terms, it creates a backdoor into your system...
That is, besides being able to reach out into your system at any given time, it also reconfigures your net connection to go through someone else backyard... And that means every time you log onto a secure site, you give them access to your sensitive data like your mail, passwords, what porn sites you visit (Hehe), etc... You get the picture, right !!! Embarrassing, really and downright annoying too...
For those who think they've been affected by the aforementioned little bugger, there's a simple way to check... Just go to the TCP/IP settings in your LAN connection's properties (No, I wont elaborate how to do it, Google it!)... Note your DNS settings somewhere, then change it and save it... When you check it again, if it's reverted to the old numbers you've noted you've been bombed...
Anyways there's a simple solution, Google 'Super Antispyware', download it and scan your system... And Voila, you'll have your old super duper virus free system again...
Glad to help...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Friday, January 16, 2009
Its been a rather eventful month long period... New Year, Xmas and all... I've learned a long time ago resolutions are a waste if you have to wait till the new years to make them... If at all there are any resolutions to have been made... It was ages ago...
So what else is new, I'm buried in work I believe I've developed no strategies to encounter it with... Sparks of ideas keep blossoming every now and then... And so I manage to pull through just barely... I'm working on a strategy... I'm talking about copywriting of course... Its not so hard to come up with an idea, its just that it's not 'The Idea'...
Anyways a year has gone past, as far as the country goes its not been too good... My sympathies for our democratically handicapped nation... As far as it goes for me, it went pretty decently... All plans are a go, regarding my fantasy for fame, wealth and happiness...
Asides from that I thought about my declaration that personal stuff wouldn't surface on the blog... And I think I've had a change of heart... It's just that some friends and family keeps tabs on the progress of the blog that I feel restricted in my ramblings...
But sometimes its no fun, if you don't take chances... Hell, whats that saying ???
"Shoot first, ask questions later !!!"...
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Posted By Unknown on/at Sunday, December 07, 2008
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses...
Its always a skill to conjure an excuse at the opportune moment.. Be it a fever, a wedding, a family emergency or any other excuse for that matter... Delivering excuses is an art we develop from childhood...
It is a kind of communication soft skill along with the likes of negotiation, persuasion, bullshitting etc...
There are two types of excuses... Creative and genuine... It's amazing, when they mistake the former for the latter... The opposite case scenario, disappointing really... In the words of my generation, it frankly sucks...
Oh, of course we've got proof and the whole shebang... But the funny thing is, if you're a pro, you know all excuses are ironclad... Oh, it hurts... When you actually come down with a nasty cold, that keeps you in bed, coughing your heart out... And your higher ups give you that look that say's "Who do you think you're trying to fool, kiddo. I know your whole game play by play"... Been there done that kinda thing is annoying...
It's tough being a pro you know... Big expectations can be ruined by the littlest of things... More often you find yourself skeptical of other peoples excuses... The one they claim to be genuine... Yes, its paranoia !!!
I guess in the end it always comes down to trust... And trust is easily given to people who often have no cause for excuses... The irony !!!
Meanwhile, I was down with a bad ass fever... Post that I was a wee bit lazy... Actually a lot lazy to blog anything.... So for now, I'm back till I need another excuse...
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