Ananya's birthday pic 

heaven only knows...

5PM of a tuesday evening and I am feeling a lil' down, have tried my best to "move on" with my life (that's what chhavi would always tell me to) but I am still missing someone badly. We shared some of the best of our times together and moving on seems to be as tough as it sounds, as they say time moves at different rate for each one of us & sometimes our hearts move even slower so even after about 7 months of our "break-up" I find it hard to let go. Anyway sometimes it's best to leave things the way they are when nothing seems to be working & any attempt to get things better actually makes them go worse. Have an interview in a company which asks you where you want to go today, don't know why I am giving it, perhaps just for the sake of it. Visited delhi this weekend, was missing the delhi winters off late so the visit was a welcome break (it's a different story that the trip itself was one of the most painfull trips that I've ever made!), saw hulchul: nice light movie, can be seen once. Life has been a lil' tough over the last 6 months but hey I am down but not out...see you on the dark side of the moon.

Astrology: astro-logos (study of stars)

Almost everyone of us believes or has interest in astrology, even though we might not believe it we all know our sun signs and read the daily sun sign forecast in the newspaper with curiosity/interest (it's a different story that more often than not the forecast is incorrect!). So, do the planetes located millions & zillions miles away(Pluto for instance is a member of Kuiper Belt) from earth really affect us? It was just this question which drew me to astrology, here are some of my thoughts about the whole thing:
a) Natal Astrology: I think the natal chart (the positions of planet during the time of the birth) or the birth chart helps a lot in getting to know about the psyche of a person, why do people behave differently in a business relationship v.s. personal relationship, what draws them to other person etc. etc. The most important aspect of a birth chart is off-course the sun sign(the sign in the zodiac where the sun was during the birth) as it signifies the person, his vitality, egoes, pride, self-worth or in general "I".
Second most is the ascendant(exact birth time + location is needed to calculate ASC): It's the degree which was rising on the eastern horizon during the birth & it reflects how we project ourselves to others, how we want others to see us as...if the sun signifies "I", ascendant signifies "I AM LIKE".
Third most important being the moon sign (near exact time needed), just like sun radiates all the light & energy during the day, the moon acts like a receptor & radiates the energy back during the night. It reflects our emotions, how we want to be nurtured & nurture others, our caring self etc..
Not that the other planets are not important, but these three together can give a fair idea about the person's psyche.
b) Predictive Astrology: Predicting life events in everyday life based on the current planetary positions & their aspects(geometrical relationship like square, opposition etc.) to natal planets. I have found this to be not the best way of predicting events, in the hindsight yes you can look at the planetary positions for that event and draw some relationship but I feel it's near impossible to predict someone's future by looking at the planets. We all have free will to do what we want to do, planets or no planets.
There are few more areas where astrology is used but they don't interest me much though one area that I would like to know a bit more about is horary. I think astrology is a good tool to learn about someone's psyche and which areas in life a person might face challenges & thus helping him to overcome those challenges by free will.

The power of music..

Was reading Eric's post on music recommendations (http://blogs.msdn.com/ericgu/archive/2004/10/07/239412.aspx) so thought will come with my own list of recommended stuff, here it goes:
Pop/Classical/Blues:
1) The Moody Blues : definitely my all time favorite band, amazing lyrics & Justin Hayward' s nice voice, anyone who hasn't listened to them yet, I would recommend starting with their album Sur La Mer (On the sea in spanish).
2) Johnny Hates Jazz : They did only one album in 80s before breaking up but their songs "Foolish Heart" & "Turn back the Clock" are among the very best.
3) OMD (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark): Another not so popular band from 80s with meaninful lyrics and nice music (Do listen to "So In Love", "Secret", "Maid Of Orleans", "Forever live & die" & "Very Close to far away").
4) a-ha : Another of 80s band(I am great fan 0f 8os music, almost everyone would/should have listened to their number: Take on Me).
5) Cliff Richard: The oldies stuff.
6) Pet Shop Boys : 80s stuff, this was the band with which I started listening to english music when I was a kid, their cover version of Always on my Mind is a must listen.
7) Modern Talkin : 80s stuff though they did some cover versions of their older stuff in 2000, some nice nunbers include: You & Me, Slow Motion, Love don't live here anymore, Wild Wild Water & Atlantis is calling.
Rock/Alternate:
1) Pink Floyd: I don't think I need to write anything about this band, do listen to their albums: Division Bell, Final Cut & Dark Side of the Moon.
2) Def Leppard: Hysteria is my favorite number of theirs, followed by Miss You in a heartbeat, Love Bites, Stand up.
3) Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits: If you love guitar, you would love Knopfler! Not to be missed numbers: "Romeo & Juliet", "Darlin' Pretty", "Golden Heart", "Storybook love" & "Walk of Life".
Jazz/Hip Hop(whatever):
I hate both jazz & hip hop so don't have any recommendations under this section!
Misc.:
Here are few numbers by bands/singers whom I haven't heard enough but love them nevertheless:
1) Don Williams: I believe in you (classic).
2) The Twins: Deep within my heart (pop).
3) The Cars: Drive (pop).
4) Sting: Fields of Gold & Why should I cry for you (pop).
5) Babybird: You're gorgeous (alternate).
6) Nick Kamen: Win your love (pop).
7) Nirvana: The man who sold the world (rock).
8) Emmylou Harris: Heaven only knows (pop).
9) Ronan Keating: When you say nothing at all (2003ish i think).
10) Moffatts: If life is so short(2000 stuff).
The list can go on & on so guess will stop here, let me know your recommendations too.