Monday, December 28, 2009

50 Things to Eat Before You Die!

This post is for those who live to eat... if u dont have a passion for food/eating, trust me, stop reading...

Recently I saw this video titled "50 Things to Eat Before You Die". It was a 50 minute long programme produced by BBC.
Based on the votes by the public, this English Celebrity Chef, Ainsley Harriott takes a tour around the globe in search of the exotic, the bizarre and the downright tasty food. He samples some of the most unusual dishes on the list of the top 50 things voted, from the most expensive Caviar (eggs of a particular type of Fish, and also which is ridiculously expensive - costs upto 700 british pounds per teaspoon) to the traditional Scottish Haggis, which is considered as poor-man's food!!!


I must mention that Ainsley Harriott has an amaaaazing accent. It's a real treat to your ears. The USA might have a GDP of 14 trillion, China might become the number one super power in 2030, India might have very rich heritage and culture, Australia might have kangaroos and fosters, but when it comes to language, style in speach and accent there's no competition to the British. The English accent is the best. Probably this is why they say, "leave it to the professionals". now getting back...

All these 50 things are not exotic, 5 star hotel recipes. some of them are very simple ordinary things that we know... for example one among them is "the mango" fruit!!! most of the people who took the voting have voted for mango, as they feel that, mango is something you must eat before you die. And this is one of the very few thiing among the 50, that I have tried.

The best thing about this video is, half way through, your mouth starts watering!!! believe me, the first time i saw the video, i was in my hostel room, alone and it was 2am in the morning and that's not all... a few hours from then i was going to give an exam. but still I enjoyed every minute of the entire video. (my god i am crazy)

Here's the name of a few dishes which i could remember.
  • the Scottish Haggis (wondering what it is? - watch the video it's explained in detail)
  • the caviar
  • squid/kalamari
  • the mango fruit
  • the jumbo American burger (this is the last wish of most American prisinors before they die)
  • sushi
  • chocolate
  • the American Donna breakfast
  • Cheese cake









now some people have voted for some bizzare stuff, like raindeer meat (no... Rudolph!), guinea pigs, a strange african fruit which smells really bad, Aligator (not joking), kangaroo (apparently Australia is the only place where people eat their own national emblem, it seems - for GK) etc. These thing, I am really not looking forward to eat before I die.

A few more dishes that I remember:

  • Mussels (seems it's best to have it with chips and ice cold beer)


  • pasta


  • Pizza


  • Pancakes


  • oysters (seems oysters turn you on so much - need to study more on oysters!)


  • Barbeque (in general)


  • octopuss



 
yeah baby... an Indian dish in the list! many people voted for the 'chicken tikka masala', which sits at the 10th spot among the top 50!

A few more...

  • ice cream


  • chicken tikka masala


  • lobsters


  • roast ribbs


  • Italian sandwich (may remind you of Joey Tribiyani)


  • coolish pasty


  • the durian fruit

And at the number one spot, the numero uno, was the fresh fried/grilled fish with chips! seems this is the dish which is most wanted/voted as a thing to eat before you die...

Try to watch this video... if you do, trust me, you'll say to yourself "time well spent", because that exactly what I did! I could not upload the entire 345MB video here (I would if I could), but i did find out bits and pieces of the same video for you on youtube... enjoy watching!!!







P.S. you may also get the video directly from me (If you think I am marketing this video, well I dont know what to say... think again! because you read the full post, that means you have a real passion for food. If you dont have a passion for food, then your a loser, because I gave you a disclaimer at begining of the post)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

My life (in 2009) according to Facebook...

I spent too much time on Facebook!




CLINK HERE for the actual link!
New year resoulution: dont waste too  much time on facebook. (I hope this lasts atleast "till" newyear's eve)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Best and Worst Marketing Ideas . . . Ever

Source: Entrepreneur Magazine - January 2009 (http://www.entrepreneur.com/)

Some marketing efforts manage to hit the ball out of the park. They resonate with the consumer, generate tremendous buzz and even permeate pop culture, becoming part of our lives and linguistics.
  • Best 'making the best of a bad image': Las Vegas' "What Happens Here, Stays Here" campaign
After a failed attempt to promote itself as a family destination, Las Vegas finally embraced its Sin City image with its "What happens here, stays here" advertising campaign, launched in 2003. It's still going strong: 2007 marked the city's fourth consecutive year of busting tourism records. "It resonated because it's what people already believe," says Laura Ries, president of marketing strategy firm Ries & Ries.

Lesson: Try to turn negatives into positives.



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  • Best product placement: Reese's Pieces in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Some marketing missteps make you kick yourself. Take Mars Inc.'s failure to take the opportunity to include M&Ms in E.T. After Mars passed, director Steven Spielberg went to Hershey's, which took the offer. It paid off. Time magazine reported in 1982 that Reese's Pieces sales rose 65 percent in the months after the movie's release. Even though the movie never mentioned the name of the product, showing the distinctive orange package was enough, and the placement enjoyed heavy promotional support from the manufacturer.

Lesson: Placing your product in the right media vehicle can boost sales.



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  • Best video ad: Get a Mac
Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign, which launched in 2006, puts the hip, easygoing Mac against the hapless, problem-prone PC. "The message of these ads is clear," says communications professor Stephen Marshall, author of Television Advertising That Works. "Every one of them says, ‘Don't be this guy.' You don't want to be the PC." The TV ads also appeared online, and the company released a series of web-only ads to capitalize on consumer interest in the characters. People got the message--Mac's market share grew by 42 percent.

Lesson: Create engaging characters in your online video to help grow an audience that's receptive to your brand.



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  • Best contest: Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest

Launched in 1916, this homage to gluttony plasters the Nathan's name across international media each year. Brothers George and Richard Shea launched the International Federation of Competitive Eating in 1997. The IFOCE organizes and runs more than 80 eating contests throughout the U.S. and abroad, spurring a subculture of competitive eating celebrities who receive international media attention.

Lesson: Don't be afraid to be outrageous if it suits your brand.

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  • Best use of YouTube: Blendtec's "Will It Blend?"

Blendtec, a maker of high-end blenders, created a series of online videos that depict founder Tom Dickson using his durable machine to smash everything from small electronics to sneakers to credit cards. The videos are on Blendtec's site as well as YouTube, where, through viral marketing, some have been viewed more than 5.5 million times. It shows people are interested--and it saves money, since Blendtec didn't pay for all that band-width. Says Ann Handley, chief content officer of marketing information resource MarketingProfs.com, "They created a campaign that really builds brand awareness."

Lesson: Use various tools to spread the word about how your brand is different.


YOUTUBE LINK
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  • Best slogan: "got Milk?"

What better success benchmark than having your slogan work its way into the national lexicon? It's even better when it includes your product name, says Mitzi Crall, author of 100 Smartest Marketing Ideas Ever. The simplicity of the slogan lends itself to a wide variety of advertising interpretations, ranging from humorous

TV ads to the celebrity-driven milk mustache print series. "The images of glamour and fame contrasted with the hominess of a milk mustache make the versatile tagline a hit," says Crall. A year after the campaign launched in California, the state saw an increase in milk sales for the first time in more than 10 years.

Lesson: Look for slogans that have the potential for longevity.


 






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  • Best jingle: NBC jingle

If you can name that brand in three notes, it must be the NBC jingle. Of course, repetition over the years has reinforced the brand, but there's more to it. "It's called mnemonics, or sonic branding," says Marshall. "By adding sound to its brand identity, it adds another way for customers to experience the brand. It especially makes sense because it's a broadcast medium."

Lesson: Look for ways to add additional sensory branding elements when relevant.


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  • Best use of truth in a crisis: Tylenol

When cyanide-laced capsules of Extra Strength Tylenol were linked to seven deaths in the Chicago area in 1982, parent company Johnson & Johnson faced a full-blown crisis. While other companies might have lied or evaded the situation, then-CEO James E. Burke issued a full recall of the product and engaged in regular media updates that were shockingly honest for the time. All consumers with bottles of Tylenol capsules could swap them for Tylenol tablets at Johnson & Johnson's cost. "Telling the truth is always a good long-term strategy," says Scott Armstrong, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. "When that's violated, it leads to a fall."

Lesson: Be truthful with your customers and you'll keep their trust.

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  • Best use of social networking to target tweens and teens: High School Musical

After the success of the made-for-TV movies High School Musical and High School Musical 2, Disney teamed up with MySpace in what TV Guide called the social network's largest campaign. The promotion included a contest where fans showed school spirit by completing tasks such as uploading videos, changing profile skins and texting votes for their school.

Lesson: Find the media your audience uses and go there.



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  • Best celebrity spokesman: William Shatner as The Priceline Negotiator

When William Shatner first started touting Priceline.com's cut-rate service in 1997, no one thought the relationship--or the company, for that matter--would last more than a decade. But through a savvy reinvention of itself, Priceline thrived with the campy James Bond-gone-wrong Shatner as its public persona. That long-term element is part of the relationship's success, says Ries. "You get the feeling that he's very much in tune with the brand and the company. That kind of longevity and dedication can be [very] effective."

Lesson: A little fun can go a long way.

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  • Best logo: Nike Swoosh


There are a number of rumors about exactly how much Nike paid Portland State University graphic design student Carolyn Davidson for the Swoosh in the early '70s (actually $35), but it's been the brand's mark since it was introduced on Nike footwear at the 1972 U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials. The reason it works? It's an "empty vessel," says Ries. "It's so simple and visible at a distance. Another logo might have been well-known but wouldn't have done the brand as much good if it had been more complicated." Because the Swoosh has no innate meaning attached to it, Nike can use it to build any image it desires.

Lesson: Sometimes too many bells and whistles can make your logo less effective.

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  • Best use of outdoor advertising: The Goodyear Blimp

Is there anyone who doesn't recognize the blimp when it passes by? "The Goodyear Blimp is its own kind of magic," says Crall. "If we see it float by when we're going about our daily lives, we run to get our spouses and children to ‘come see.' We're receptive to the brand message."




Lesson: Be unexpected in how and where you communicate with your customers.

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  • Best use of promotional items: Livestrong wristbands


After the news broke in 1996 that champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong had cancer, he founded his Lance Armstrong Foundation the following year. Working with Nike, the foundation developed a yellow silicon wristband stamped with the Livestrong mantra to sell as a fundraiser. According to lancewins.com, more than 45 million have been sold so far. The bracelets became an immediately identifiable symbol of Armstrong, who often wore the yellow leaders jersey while cycling to seven Tour de France victories.

Lesson: Have a signature look, whether it's a giveaway or simply in how you present your brand, so people recognize you immediately.



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5 worst marketing ideas . . . ever

While some campaigns are notable for their brilliance, others, well, not so much. Here are five marketing efforts we could have done without.

  • Worst campaign to trigger a bomb scare: Aqua Teen Hunger Force In January 2007, Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s promotion of its TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which featured small electronic light boards with one of the series' characters, triggered a bomb scare in Boston.

  • Worst use of body parts in marketing: Logo tattoos In the 1990s, California eatery Casa Sanchez offered free lunch for life to anyone who got a tattoo of their logo. Nervous about how quickly people were getting inked, the eatery limited the offer to the first 50 people.

  • Worst sponsorship idea: Bidding for baby naming rights The dotcom era ushered in a (thankfully small) rash of people trying to sell off their children's names for extra dough. Poor little Widget Smith.

  • Worst campaign character: The Quiznos creatures Superimposed over a Quiznos sub shop were two disturbing, singing rat-like creatures. Fortunately, the shop got wise and ditched them after public outcry. But it's an image that stays with you. Go ahead, look them up on YouTube--but don't say we didn't warn you.
  • Worst plague-like sweep of viral marketing: Starbucks' viral marketing fiasco A free-coffee coupon sent by baristas with no restrictions circulated the internet, causing an overwhelming rate of renewal. Ultimately the coffee purveyor stopped honoring the coupon, causing a mini controversy.

Monday, December 14, 2009

The striking similarity...

A lot of you might share my opinion on this issue.It's the striking similarity in looks between the canadian actress Cobie Smulders & and our very own Katrina Kaif.


This is Cobie











This is Katrina
















before going into detail about who looks better etc, we should accept the fact that anyone who does'nt know cobie and knows katrina and watches cobie on TV or something for the 1st time, would definatly think she's katrina... and vice versa! hey wat's katrina doing in an american tv series?  or, hey wat's cobie doing in this hindi film, dancing around with this shirtless/topless guy?

Both of them are picture perfect! extremely beautiful, incredibly hot. no doubt about that.

The first time i saw cobie was in the TV series "how I met your mother". I started watchin this series, as people suggested it to me and they said it's funny n things like that. It's a good series no doubt. but trust me from the 3rd or 4th episode i kept watching the series, episode after episode, season after season, just for one reason... and you know what it is.

And talking about Katrina kaif, saw her 1st as a kingfisher calender model, then in the movie "boom" and then so many other movies and now she is asia's sexiest woman (she became that maybe because of her 'powerful' boy friend and his influence but who cares) and etc etc etc...

both these acctresses look so similar that we can say that cobie is the hi-fi, sophisticated, 'imported' version of Katrina and/or katrina is the desi version of Cobie.

but upon closer observation one would definatly pick cobie over katrina...



no matter what the similarities are... and no matter what the differences are... both of them rule! I think it's worth dying for any one of them...

and I think all the guys would have the same opinion!!!

for quick reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobie_Smulders

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katrina_kaif

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

My favourite actor

for a very long time, i've been telling everyone that the following 2 actors (obviously apart from rajnikanth who cannot be compared with anyone else) are my favourites:

1)Al Pacino
2)Robert De niro

but i think its high time now to chose one among the two to be my number 1 favourite. the other one can always take the 2nd spot... :)


    

















            Vs



















Now lets see a few facts about the two nominees and why they deserve to be my favourite (all time) actor :-)

Al pacino - 8 times nominated for academy award - won once for 'scent of a woman'

Robert deniro - 6 nominations - won twice for 'godfather part2' and 'raging bull'

so what if they got nominated and won a few oscars? many people have done that...

wait...

lets list out a few fine works by these men (maybe 3 each):

  • Alpacino in 'scent of a woman' - amazing performance - retired army man, blind through out the movie, super attitude, "get me 2 john daniels on the rocks" .
  • Deniro in 'raging bull' - boxer (Jake Lamotta) - sadomasochistic rage, sexual jelousy, best anti-hero movie ever. a martin scorsese(god of all directors) movie, but without deniro it would have been too dark!          


     
  • Alpacino in & as Godfather 1,2,3. - Michael Corleone - following foot steps of vito corleone, michael was simply amazing especially godfather 2 was out of the world. killer performance. he's the best...
         


    
  • Deniro in 'the taxi driver' - a young taxi driver who turns out to help a young girls out of a problem - amazing story - again a scorsese film, but deniro stole the show. his calm and composed attitude in this film was simply superb. any besides who can forget the legendary "you're talking to me...?"
  • Alpacino's best (my opinion) - Scarface - have you played GTA vice city? if you have, then you'll love this movie and vice versa. even otherwise this movie is totally lovable. 100% amazing. story about a cuban refugee (al pacino as tony montana - tommy vercity in GTA) coming to america and becoming a huge drug dealer/don. Al pacino at his best. he redefined the word 'cool' in this movie. any al pacino fan will have this movie in his top 3. this movie is a must watch.
          "Say hello to my little friend..."
                                                         
  • Robert Deniro - as Al capone in 'the untouchables' - he comes as this italian-american gangster - he makes you think that he's the don of all dons. godfather can eat his socks!!! Al capone's the best. though he's not the lead role in this film, he steals the show. my favourite among all roles played by him.say sanjay dutt copied his style from him in this movie.
                                      



having seen all this, now I am in a sivere dialemma to chose one among the two... ok lets see the other parameter.

looks - deniro is definitely more charming than alpacino. evident from movies taxi driver, godfather part 2 where he plays young vito corleone etc.

acting performance - Al pacino definitely has an edge over deniro in this (I feel)

Comedy quotient - Alpacino tried during his later age movies. but Deniro scored with his performance in 'meet the parents' etc...


ok now overall rating (by me) to both these legends will be:

  • Al pacino - 9/10
  • Robert Deniro - 9.5/10
therefore ladies and gentlemen "my favourite" actor award goes to the raging bull, Mr. Robert Deniro


From now on... he'll be my favourite actor.
dear Mr Al Pacino: pls dont worry. you'll be in the 2nd spot.



The BIG MAC Index!


that's a big mac...

The Big Mac (from Mc Donalds) is the hamburger. consisting of two 1.6 oz (45.4 g) beef patties, special "Mac" sauce, Iceberg lettuce, American Cheese, Pickles, and Onions, all served on a three part Sesame seed bun. It is one of the company's signature products.

Big mac index
The Big Mac Index was introduced in The Economist in September 1986 by Pam Woodall as a semi-humorous illustration and has been published by that paper annually since then.
 The index also gave rise to the word burgernomics.

Burgeronomics
 Burgernomics is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity, the notion that a dollar should buy the same amount in all countries. Thus in the long run, the exchange rate between two countries should move towards the rate that equalises the prices of an identical basket of goods and services in each country.
 Our "basket" is a McDonald's Big Mac, which is produced in about 120 countries. The Big Mac PPP is the exchange rate that would mean hamburgers cost the same in America as abroad.
 Comparing actual exchange rates with PPPs indicates whether a currency is under- or overvalued.



pls visit the following link to get a general idea about the big mac index...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F9xIj1YDxo



more on the Big Mac Index... pls visit following link.



http://pds8.egloos.com/pds/200807/25/25/e0023325_48895c6ff0471.jpg



it make us wonder, why India is not on this list.

the Big Mac index, which lists the PPP of almost all the developed and developing nations, does'nt list India. One reason could be that majority of the Indian population is against consumption of beef, so Mac D, when they came to India had to reconsider and change their usual menu. which inturn made them not to have the Big Mac on the menu which is primarily made of beef. we do have other burgers like the Mac Chicken etc. but what's the use..., no Big Mac... no place in the Big Mac index...



Now here's a bonus video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xedkk1xvgeo
enjoi watching!

Monday, December 07, 2009

3 wonderful years in GODREJ...



Let this one post be a quick summary about the time i've not been blogging. 3 sweet year. my association with godrej.

Joined in the month of oct 2006 and worked there with full satisfaction till Jul 2009. had to quit for my MBA at IIT Madras (will come back to that later).

I joined the MHE division of Godrej as a graduate engineering trainee (GET) and then became Executive - Sales and resigned from the company as Senior Executive -Sales. Job was not easy, not at all boring, and definitely not discouraging or demotivating. I had visited allmost all the major manufacturing companies in the regions of tamil nadu and pondicherry. And with my kind of profile i had to deal with various kinds of people in organization ranging from CEOs to Security guards. The amount of learning I got from this sales job cannot possibly be measure with any nominal or ordinal scale... [:)]. it was huge and beyond measurement. pls keep reading for justification...

My profile involved selling industrial equipments in B2B market. some of those were niche equipment. and selling them was a task as huge as the 'mount everest'. honestly not exaggerating... lots and lots of cold canvassing, client visits, discussions and not to forget the travelling, were involved in closing orders/deals. the strike rate was 1/100. If you meet (not contact) 100 prospects, 20 of them will show interest, 10 of them will be genuinely interested and call you for techno - commercial discussions. and finally one guy will buy your product. and that is not easy. this situation was common among all sales guys in this particular market. this is mainly due to the intensive competition from many local player who were ready to give similar products at half the price... what to do... life is not fair after all. But when you get an order in this kind of business, let me tell you, you feel like god. the happiness, satisfaction, sense of completion, pride etc cannot be explained with words of any language known to man...

Inspite of poor strike rate I was considered a hero in my organization (trust me) as I was selling products which were considered very difficult to sell (once again trust me). one of them was a traded product from America, for which godrej was the distributor in India. My collegues are still proud of me for building the population of this particular range of equipments from the scratch (at least this is what they told me...). All my colleagues were extreamly supportive especially my boss (the person 3rd from the right in the above pic). everytime i got an order he used to tell me to have a beer that evening [:]). he was my first boss and in my opinion the best boss anyone can have...

Work apart, the amount of fun I had with my colleagues also cannot be measured. everyone was very close with me and treated me very special. we used to go on combined calls etc. we enjoyed work together. had lots of fun at work and outside office as well. and not to forget the amazing times that we had during the ABP - annual business planing (conferences), that happened once a year. 3 conferences that I have attended with my colleagues one at Ramada - Goa, 2nd at Kumarakom lake resort - Kumarakom, and the 3rd at Orange county - Coorg, were all amazing experiences...
I wolud like to thank all my colleagues very much. I am still in touch with all of them and will be in touch for ever.
Overall I would like to rate my experience in Godrej as 25 (on a scale of 10). - yes you read it correct.

Starting my 2nd innings...

I have'nt been blogging for a very loooooooong time! now decided to start again...
my second innings of blogging begins! i hope there wont be a new 3rd innings (hope this 2nd one last for a long time with regular updates).

let me first give myself a nice 'welcome back' drink... :)