Valentine's Day Special - Lovers for year 2010-2011

"Sorry for this title St. Valentine, I have great respect for you."

I analyzed the most famous romantic couples on screen and off screen (reality in India).  I found that Nithyananda and Ranjitha took over Internet like a storm with the love making tape (not a scandal :)) last March 2010.  Because of Lenin's tape, they together qualify as the Most Famous Lovers for Year 2010-2011 (Romantic Year - Feb 14, 2010 to Feb 14, 2011).  I have statistical data to support how much they were  popular on the Internet.  Searches regarding both of them and the alleged tape topped  Google Trends for many days continuously and also searched extensively on YouTube (Check This for Google Trends report for 1 day alone).  The followup news on their alleged sexscapade are still selling hot whenever it happens.  People are interested on news about these lovebirds made popular by Lenin and his tape (lovecriminal's perspective).

Nithyananda and Ranjitha

Unfortunately, Nithyananda was accused of rape charges based on the sex scam video (actually love making video) by Lenin - though Ranjitha herself registered a complaint against him.  Most of us watched the video repeatedly aired on  national networks.  I did not find anything nonconsensual happening between both of them in the alleged video.  It seemed like it was happening with mutual consent at their own privacy.  Lenin got into their private space and exposed the fact that they were lovers - media interpreted it as rape, scandal and so on.  May be Lenin was motivated on extracting money from the God Man - I hope he would have got decent money from the news network that aired this video first.  The video looked like as though Nithyananda as a guru teaching Ranjitha how to attain 'eternal bliss' through him (no obscenity intended).  The video looked like one of the intimate moments between lovers (except Ranjitha was cheating on her husband on the alleged tape - I have started to understand difficult quotes  like "everything" is fair in love and war).

Lot of people accused Nithyananda of other rape and murder charges - not much have been brought into light and it seems like there is not much truth in it.  It might have been like that he fell in love with a voluptuous actress - may be true love.  I don't know whether he was in love, if he was, falling in love was the only mistake he did.

Nithyananda and Ranjitha still continue calling the tape expertly crafted and engineered.  No matter what  they say, this alleged video tape had made them very popular and the Most Popular Lovers for Romantic Year 2010-2011 in the Internet.


This is going to be a very small post - work is calling me.  I think I have made my point in this post and time to stop keying. 

How Indian women use Social Media

Social networking has become a daily activity with people being able to network even using entry level mobile phones.  Social networking activity is not restricted to using PC alone and we could find people posting from mobiles quite frequently.  Along with checking e-mail and internet search, social networking has become a vital everyday activity for both men and women.  People are spending less time in reading newspapers as they prefer going through news websites and reading blogs to keep themselves update.  These blogs can be technology related, politics, general news and more - blogs belong to the social media family.

Social networking between women depicted using vector graphics

Okay, let me get into to the core of the topic.  Around a decade back, men were considered to be major users of internet in India.  Things have changed now with every home having access to broadband internet and most mobile users powered with mobile internet.  Women along with spending time on television and shopping (both working and housewives - most of them, not universalizing) have allocated a significant time for internet - mainly Social Networking.  This blog is gonna present a few lines on how Indian women use social media from Lovecriminal's perspective.  Let me put down a few points which are not in order as they come to my mind.

• You could find very less profiles of Indian women on dating websites.  Even if they exist, they are mostly fakes.  You could find a considerable number of matrimonial profiles.  Indian women are serious on getting married than dating - correct me if I am wrong.
• Indian women prefer Facebook over Orkut (which is very popular in India).  I think it is because of some added privacy, extra features and definitely games.
• Women spend more time on social network games.  We could find them at top levels in most of the games.  Farmville according to me is ruled by women.
• If you find a profile having picture of an actress, doll, baby, flowers - you can confirm it is indeed a profile of a woman.  These people are newbies to social networking and you could find their portraits to be uploaded in the near future if they are hooked on to networking.
• I believe the reason why women spend more time on social networking is . . . . . . . . should I disclose it?.....Ya, will....We know women are good interacting with others and they start conversations pretty good among themselves even thought they have varied interests.  I think the quality of being able to gossip (suggest me another word) efficiently and naturally have made them use social networking more intense than men.  This does not mean they gossip is their main agenda on networking sites.
• The main categories of blogs they follow include food/recipes, fashion/beauty, arts/crafts, interior decoration, and surprisingly gadgets (used to be known as boys toys - not anymore guys).
• Women frequently updates message on walls or status messages and use social media networking sites more frequently.  You can find lot of women posting during office hours too - I previously worked from home and that is how I know it.  Verdict - women use FB, Orkut @ office (so do guys but not as much as women).
• Ebay and other shopping websites are gaining popularity among women, but Indian women still like to go to different shops, do a small research and buy a product.  It does not mean they go through shopping outlets posts on social networking sites.  They do go through them but I do not think they buy a lot from them.

Social Networking - Making Women Happy

Read This (Very Important):  I would like to conclude this post saying that Indian women are very active in social media.  Along being a part of social media, we could also find them contributing a lot of content through blogs, videos, and posts.  YouTube is filled with recipes from Indian women both living in India and abroad.  Likewise, there are thousands of blogs regularly being written by Indian women under various categories.  One cannot also deny the fact that Indian women have been regularly contributing some quality content in Internet through their posts on Facebook, Orkut, Twitter and more.

Family-Work Equilibrium

Maintaining equilibrium between family and work is critical because these two are opposing influences in life.  Permanent equilibrium is not possible in a short term; it is a continuous process persuaded by ever changing demands of work and family life.  Financial goals, gender responsibilities, lack of time, cultural and family background tends to sway away the equilibrium and one has to work on a tailor-fit solution based on their needs, goals and priorities.

The first step is that one has to be very professional in the work they do.  Starting work a little early will help prioritize the day’s work and deliver it in time.   Never bring family work or worries to the office because a clear mind is mandatory to excel at work.  Prioritizing work at office makes the chance of taking work back home very lean which provides invaluable after-work time to be spent with the family. 

The second step is to prioritize all family responsibilities and make use of the weekends and holidays fulfilling them.  Marriage and parenthood has to be planned.  Sharing of housework and child care among partners is vital for working couples.  Decisions are to be made jointly by the couples to avoid any future confusion.  Equal value has to be given to career goals of both.  Having a weekly schedule is very essential to plan and prioritize the weeks’ work.

Finally, never restrict the way of life too much.  Take a break and go out for a movie, dinner, or a windy drive.  Make sure these breaks do not collapse the equilibrium (a little shaking is fine – it happens).  It is hard to maintain the equilibrium but one will come up with efficient strategies once they start working on it.

Levi's CURVE ID - Jeans gets transformed again

Jeans needs no introduction to anyone.  They are trousers made out of denim - some prefer it thick and some prefer a bit thin.  In the recent times, I could see people wearing more tight ones.  If you go back and take a look at history, jeans were considered to be workman trousers and have transformed a lot lately (but it continues to be the heartbeat of many generations).  You may wonder what is the heart in a jean - it is it's color (every jean lover would have a couple of blue jeans definitely).  I am talking about the famous blue color which has become a symbol of jeans.  Indigo dye was used to dye those jeans traditionally, man would have definitely found something more synthetic and durable these days (educate me if ya know about it).  Talking more about jeans would need at least a couple of posts more, but most people know everything about it.

Why Levi's Curve ID was launched?  Levi's understood the fact people wearing the same sized jeans were different (basically at the back and do not forget the curves).  It is a truth which had never been looked upon this deep. Levi's has come up with some kind of formula which categorizes their jeans mainly into 3 types, Slight Curve, Demi Curve and Bold Curve.

Lovecriminal finds himself privileged to dig in this topic and wish you good luck in getting your own Curve ID.

Levi's supermodels showing their CURVE ID

Who are these Curve IDs for?  & What do these Curve IDs do?

Slight Curve is for women who have a almost straight figure (not completely straight because women do have a curve - I believe).  The common issue of these petite (most cases) straight figured women are that the jeans are too tight in the waist and loose on their thighs and seat.  Levi's sports nice back pockets (cutely sized) to give a balanced look at the back.  The jean engulfs the thighs the way it is supposed to be (not loose like most jeans).  The jean has a straighter side seam which tries to show off the very thin curve the almost straight figure types have.

Demi Curve is for women who are equipped with a show kinda waist (no obscenity intended).  Demi means half - like half of earth (hope you got an idea about the shape).  Most jeans fits these women but will not enhance their looks.  Levi's has come with a back to front waste band specially designed to squeezes these curves the right way.  The side seam is slightly curved to promote the looks of the curve (remember they are not straight figures - have some shakin' curves).  Levi's has also worked on this jeans to make the legs look a little elongated (long legs guaranteed).

Bold Curve is for women who are a little bigger on the back side (some people call it Booty - no obscenity intended here either).  The common problem faced by these type of women while wearing jeans the the waist usually gapes or pulls back.  Levi's Bold Curve is dedicated in enhancing the curves (already enhanced curves by God).  The higher back rise holds the jeans without gapping or pulling (happy :)).  It is equipped with a tilted front pocket which compliments your curves.  It also has a small curved waist band and side seam to make it more perfect (too much curves and a big waist band would make it look more bigger and not the right size).

All these 3 curves are available in different fits like leggings, skinny, straight, boot cut, flare, classic fit and more.  To add more denim color to your wardrobe they are also available in different colors and different washes (yes the famous washed out looks which can define you).

Easy KFC chicken bucket clone - homemade KFC

Colonel Sanders needs no introduction and so do KFC chicken bucket.  People have been trying to crack the secret herbs and spices which is told to be stored in a very secure safe in a very secure location.  After dining at KFC, people would always want to clone their chicken at home.  I never wanted to try cloning it (I don't know why), but when I had a kinda KFC clone at my Chithi's place I wanted to give it a try.  Wow !! it was yummy and gave me a spark to try it with my own twist to make the only and the best KFC clone I have ever had a little more better.

Before getting into cloning, I asked myself a question first.  Why do I like KFC chicken?  Aside from KFC being a popular fast food chain (I believe brand name definitely has an impact) I really liked the chicken they served.  It was mainly because it was crispy and tasty outside and at the same time it was juicy and tasty inside.  I wanted to try my hand on cloning after my mom informed me there was a chicken waiting in the freezer (obviously not alive - without skin).

The process flow for my version of KFC is as follows:

• I am very confident that KFC uses chicken with skin (lot of people disagree with me on this), but only skinless chicken was available during the time of trial.
• I marinated the chicken using dark soy sauce, some salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, ginger garlic paste, and lemon juice.
• I let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
• I lost some interest after this initial process as my day gotta little busy while the chicken was getting marinated.
• After I was happy with the marination process (a few hours), I took some all purpose flour (maida) in a bowl and added a few tablespoons of dark soy sauce, some MSG (avoid it if you believe it is carcinogenic - I believe MSG cannot create more damage than the smoke you inhale in thick traffic everyday), Italian seasoning again, some ground pepper, salt to taste, a little ginger garlic paste ++++ my favorite Maggi Magic Masala (it is high in sodium, so please HANDLE WITH CARE).  I have read in various blogs people using chicken soup cubes in their clones - I skipped because of Magic Masala.
• After adding the above contents to your flour, a few lumps would form because of soy sauce and the ginger garlic paste (they are not dry).  It would be very easy to break them.  Also I added some small amount of corn flour to the entire mix.
• I had a beaten egg ready in a saucer.
• Then it was time for the BIG TEST.
• I dipped the marinated pieces of chicken in the egg mixture, then coated it with my flour mixture, and shallow fried the pieces (half of the chicken pieced was dipped in the oil and half above the oil) in a slow flame.  I turned them a few times to make sure that they never got burnt.  I even tried frying them without the egg mix.  I personally liked the one without the egg, but my nephew and niece loved the one with egg+flour mix. 

KFC Clone Trial #1

Result:  I believe it turned out to be a good try and my efforts paid me back good.  I really had made a chicken fry which was crispy outside and juicy inside (the marination helped it to remain juicy and soft inside and the flour mix made it crispy and tasty outside).  It was not exactly a KFC clone (I called it Kanyakumari Fried Chicken - it's finger nakkin' good), but it is definitely something like KFC which my family enjoyed very much as we don't have an KFC outlet here.  They want me to give it an improvised shot again.  I will be updating about the improvisations in my future posts.

Technology Distraction

Distraction is something that takes you attention from what you are doing. Distractions can be interesting, amusing, relaxing – yeah definitely anyone would love that. But distractions are irritating when you don’t want your attention to be diverted. Just like passive smoking, sometimes a person addicted to electronic gadgets not only is distracted by own self but also wastes valuable time he is expected to spend with others (kids on video games, men hooked onto laptops, women chatting away on their mobiles are classic examples of the above – lot of passive damage involved).

Some of us know about technology distraction and some of us really are not aware of the same.  I wanted to write about technology distraction in this blog after a few instances which forced me to blog about this.  Sometime back the status message of my "Anni" got my attention, her facebook status message read like this "Bryan (her son) said to his DAD (my bro) you are like Scrat (Ice age - needs no introduction) and his NUT - Pappa and Laptop."  Most of the dads are hooked onto the laptops, me too, but my daughter is a toddler and just tries to distract me and grab attention and does not say statements like my nephew.  You may think I am cruising off topic, it is not.  I am keying here about technology as a distraction for quality family time.  Many years back laptops were not quite common but still everyone were doing their job.  When people came back home they spent valuable time with the family.  Nowadays with wi-fi enabled homes and laptops becoming cheap everyday, most of the homes have a laptop.  To be honest, people who use laptop at home should ask themselves a question first.  Is it really needed to use the laptop now?  I think most of them would say yes, but in reality it is not true.  Some people like to take home work (I am talking about people who spend time chatting in office versus people who like to work more, more, more, more even if they are assigned regular work).  The technology distraction in the family does not stop alone with the grown men alone.  Kids on the other hand are hooked onto gaming consoles or PC games.  Social media has made stay-at-home moms busy and they either tweet, scrap, post on the wall, or share photos, videos, among friends.  To make everything worse social media is available in most of the phones to bring in more distraction.  Okay let me stop talking about home.

Happy Life with no technology distraction

 In office many people like to show off their fancy ringtones, it is good if you like that particular ringtone, but think if you are in middle of a very important job or a business and you hear Black Eyed Peas "My Humps" on the next desk, to add more flavor to it MORE LOUD.  Not to mention the SMS we receive on our own phones (we have to check on it because it might be an important one from the spouse or family).  The same applies to the marketing calls also.  Even if it is in the vibration mode, it makes us to turn our heads to the phone and then realize that it is not the call for you.  I remember reading somewhere that it takes you 10 minutes to regain concentration if you are distracted.

I think I have keyed in enough for the day, would like to key in more regarding the same in the future.  To all GPS users, I have a question for you all, how you guys are able to concentrate on the road and also look at GPS (don't say you listen to the voice commands because I have seen people using GPS and having their car stereo on).  I would like to know how you could multitask the stereo, the GPS, the traffic, and in India (shift manual gears).

Hunger Strike - Behind the Scenes II

As said before in my previous post, I would like to share about another real example of hunger strike which was unfruitful even after he laid down his life.  It is about Cpt. Thileepan, member of LTTE political group.  This incident dates back to 1986 when LTTE was not a banned outfit in India and other countries.  The reason for Thileepan's fast was certain unwritten agreements between the Indian Government and the LTTE before signing the accord were not implemented.  There was no visible change even after the accord was signed.  Thileepan was one of the delegates who visited Delhi before signing the accord.  Thileepan started his fast on September 14, 1986 at the Nallur Kandasamy Temple. The main objectives of his fast were,

1) Tamils detained as terrorists should be released (even journalists who wrote about Sinhalese atrocities, family members of LTTE, and other people were arrested on suspicion).

2) He wanted the Sinhalese colonisation to be stopped until interim government was formed (The government was making Sinhalese to move into Tamil areas masking it as rehabilitation).

3) New military camps should not be opened in the Northeastern province until interim government was formed.

4) Srilankan army should move out of schools.

During this time, the LTTE was very much working on surrendering their arms and taking part in the peace talks.  Eelam Tamils felt a kind of backstabbed when the Indian government did not push on to support what it promised them.  J. N. Dixit is being blamed by most of the commanders in the IPKF for being a catalyst and igniting the fire between IPKF and LTTE.

Thileepan was very much focused on continuing his fast despite requests from his fellow Tamils (Jaffna people still adore him).  Thileepan firmly believed that Indian government and the IPKF would help in some political development for the Tamils, which unfortunately did not happen.  Thileepan grew weaker day by day.  During his early days of fast, he would make speeches in the podium.  His last days of his fast, he spent most of the time lying down hoping that a political change would happen for the suppressed Tamils.

On September 22, 1986, on the 8th day of Thileepan's fast, LTTE leader Prabhakaran met J. N. Dixit, Indian High Commisioner to Sri Lanka and told him to meet Thileepan.  J. N. Dixit called Thileepan's act provocative against the Indian government.  If J. N. Dixit would have met Thileepan and some political development would have been promised, Eelam Tamils would not be instigated against the IPKF and the Indian government.

Thileepan sacrificed his life for what he believed in and fought for on September 26, 2010.  His tragic death tumbled the peace process as Tamil people were infuriated by his death and blamed India for the same.

Old image of Thileepan Memorial (destroyed by the SLA after Eelam War IV)

I would just like to make a comparison between the FAKE HUNGER STRIKES we read in the newspapers and watch in the television every now and then.  This man laid down his life believing in 'Ahimsa' made popular by Mahatma Gandhi (Father of Indian Nation) which became unnoticed.

PLEASE COMPARE THIS HUNGER STRIKE WITH TODAY'S POLITICIANS.

I would like to wind off with a quote:
"It gives me great satisfaction and contentment that I am fulfilling a national responsibility to the nation." - Cpt. Thileepan

Note:  Lovecriminal wanted to share this information as he had been following this civil war for years.  He in no way supports/supported the activities of the organizations and governments described above.  Lovecriminal is an antiwar activist and hates war and never like people dying.  To know more about the civil war one could google and research (we live in an information era where we get every reliable information easy like a piece of cake).   

Hunger Strike – Behind the Scenes I

Who wants to write about hunger strike in the middle of the night? Definitely no one. I would love to key in a few things before I hit to bed. I would like to share a few things about hunger strike and its hidden agendas - both good and bad.

You may wonder why lovecriminal wants to write about this stuff while lovecriminal is munchin’ his favorite chocolate bar at the middle of the night. The reason is politicians never know the meaning of hunger strike. Hunger strikes are considered to be an peaceful way of opposing and fighting for a point. It isn’t true. In reality, most of the hunger strikes broadcasted in television and covered by the newspapers are faked realities (make a wild guess here). These politicians very well know that they won’t survive if they continue the hunger strike for long and would eventually end it at some point with some juice in a hospital (because the people wanted them to stop it). Lovecriminal is very much sure that it would be followed by a discreet cocktail party in a very discreet location based on the way they have shaken the present government (mostly hunger strike is all about getting attention).

I would like to share about 2 hunger strikes by 2 people I admire in this post. I hope most of the readers won’t know them. The first example I would like to share in this post is Sharmila Irom. Political followers who follow the happenings at Manipur would know her, but certainly not others (majority people). The government has been very successful in hiding this ‘Iron Lady' from the public. This woman is not like the above mentioned politicians, who screw people’s life for a living and then go on a hunger strike to cover that up. Sharmila is a political activist who is on fast demanding justice for her own Manipuri people. She wants the Indian Government to withdraw the AFSPA act from Manipur and its nearby regions. AFSPA Act provides the armed forces right to eliminate anyone in Manipur who is suspected as an insurgent (no judicial involvement and no appeals). The Armed Forces repeatedly had been, has been, and will be misusing this AFSPA Act (this is a proven fact). The Malom Massacre (to know more about it, you can google) forced Sharmila Irom to go on a political fast in demand of justice for the slain innocents of the Malom Massacre by the Armed Forces deliberately on November 4, 2000.

Sharmila Irom was subsequently arrested, hospitalized, and forcefully nasal fed by AIIMS under judicial orders. If Indian Government could do this to Sharmila Irom who is a citizen of India, why cannot it do the same to the famous Chandrasekhar Rao who will go on a hunger strike soon (Lovecriminal believes he will go on it for a strike and will stop it after sometime). They forced Chandrababu Naidu to quit fasting, but never tried anything like they tried with Sharmila Irom. Several police cases have been filed against Sharmila Irom like suicide attempt, working against the integrity of the nation, and so on. She is not allowed to speak to outsiders and is often taken into judicial custody every now and then.

Sharmila Irom being taken into judicial custody with nasal tube

Sharmila Irom still lives with a nasal tube and is losing weight gradually. She paid floral tributes to Gandhiji in 2006 hoping that her fight would have a meaning.

Her letter of request to lift AFSPA Act (A very harsh act which is supposed to be used temporarily, but is permanent in the North-East) still remains unanswered by the President, Prime Minister, Home Minister and a whole of people in power.

Sharmila Irom's 10-year long fast is not responded by the government while politicians are able to find easy solutions through hunger strike in a few days - a sad reality which proves the power of politics.

'Iron Lady' Sharmila Irom should indeed be a noble prize winner for peace in the eyes of all peace lovers.

The second example I would like to share in my future post laid down his life for freedom of a nation from genocide (which also became unfruitful)…..will be continued soon….