Swimming is one thing which I have always wanted to do. I think the desire got stronger after I was instructed by ENT doctors to avoid swimming as I had a big perforation in my right ear. My visits to water parks and swimming pool, as a result, have been limited to being in the shallow waters and pretending to be relaxing in front of swimmers around. :) To save myself from this embarrassment, I got my ear fixed some 1-2 yrs back and about 10 days ago I started going to a nearby swimming pool to learn this cool thing. :)
I have been searching on usual internet resources to learn the basics of swimming, but have come across only myriad scattered pieces on different topics like different swimming strokes, maintaining balance, squeezing more speeds, etc. I didn't easily find a web resource for beginners, a resource which covers the aspects novices need to know in order to swim. The small steps I have taken in last 7-8 days have been full of learning and unlearning. So I thought I would make a note of my learning process here so that it might be of help to someone else. These notes will largely be a result of my browsing on the subject, my swimming trainer's words and my own experiences in the pool. As a result, these notes are subjective and I welcome any comments/advices from experts. I will try to experiment with such advices in the pool and will update the posts accordingly.
Hope this will help somebody somewhere to learn swimming faster.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
book review- The Fourth Estate (Jeffrey Archer)
I have been reading this novel: "The Fourth Estate" for about a month. Finally finished it yesterday. As expected from Jeffrey Archer, it is a well plotted and riveting story with a good measure of twists and turns thrown in. My verdict is a definite thumbs up, though there are somethings I wasn't convinced with.
First the plot. It kinda reminds me of the plot of an earlier novel by Archer, named "First Among Equals". There it was a battle of 4 politicians for the top chair in England, here it is a battle of two ruthless publishers- Keith Townsend and Richard Armstrong- to become numero-uno in the world publishing and newspaper industry. The real beauty in this novel is that you keep changing sides throughout this battle for supremacy- one moment you support Keith Townsend, another moment you go back rooting for Richard/Dick Armstrong! The reason for this wildly swinging loyalties is hidden in the basic human nature. Both of the chief protagonists demonstrate strengths unique to them and at the same time manifest common vice- a complete disregard for the means to achieve the ends. And thats where the famous Archer twists come in as you never know who of them might stoop to new lows to outsmart the other.
Coming to the writing style, its atypical of Jeffrey Archer. Keeping the readers guessing till the end of novel is a skill which is now mastered by many authors but doing the same continuously with each event in a 450 page novel is perhaps mastered by few like Archer. The novel begins from the end of the story and then ensues a long flashback after which the story comes back to the present.
[******Spoiler warning******* skip the next paragraph to avoid it.]
The end of the novel however left me a bit unconvinced. I didn't expect Armstrong to commit suicide, specially after the solidarity he showed in his end days. In the last board meeting in which the chariman resigned, he was as steadfast and ruthless as ever and didn't show any sign of surrender. It is also difficult for me to digest that a fighter like him who fought all his life would not look for any rescuer like Keith got in EB. He knew he was in mess and he knew he needed $50 mn to survive. Why he made no attempt to generate that money, with the exception of thinking of selling his stake in NY star to Keith, is not very clear to me. He simply gives away his empire and disappears in disgrace and oblivion.
As someone who is interested in business side of our world, I wonder why Townsend and Armstrong were always after acquisitions of big established names in the newspaper industry. Townsend was in fact so desperate to buy newspapers that he could be sold coal mines at an exorbitant price in a package deal. Also, in most of then novel we are told only about the insane expenditure by the leading men- how they got so rich is kind of not clear. The figure of $3 billion, which Townsend offers for a major media firm in USA, looks a little too inflated to me, more so considering that it was supposed to happen in early 1980s.
One more thing. I like Jeffrey Archer novels for the learning opportunity they provide. I remember in my early days I was told by him about how Swiss banks work. Then, his short stories had me appreciate tiny tid-bits about life- legal loopholes, politics, etc. In this novel, I learnt more a range of topics- Nazi torture camps, Hitler's nickname- "der Fuhrer", menace of labour unions, etc. It makes the reading so more interesting!
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
My other verdicts to give you some idea my rating scale and my literary tastes:
1. Atlas Shrugged: 4/5
2. Fountain Head: 4.5/5
3. 32 Short Stories by Archer: 4.5/5
First the plot. It kinda reminds me of the plot of an earlier novel by Archer, named "First Among Equals". There it was a battle of 4 politicians for the top chair in England, here it is a battle of two ruthless publishers- Keith Townsend and Richard Armstrong- to become numero-uno in the world publishing and newspaper industry. The real beauty in this novel is that you keep changing sides throughout this battle for supremacy- one moment you support Keith Townsend, another moment you go back rooting for Richard/Dick Armstrong! The reason for this wildly swinging loyalties is hidden in the basic human nature. Both of the chief protagonists demonstrate strengths unique to them and at the same time manifest common vice- a complete disregard for the means to achieve the ends. And thats where the famous Archer twists come in as you never know who of them might stoop to new lows to outsmart the other.
Coming to the writing style, its atypical of Jeffrey Archer. Keeping the readers guessing till the end of novel is a skill which is now mastered by many authors but doing the same continuously with each event in a 450 page novel is perhaps mastered by few like Archer. The novel begins from the end of the story and then ensues a long flashback after which the story comes back to the present.
[******Spoiler warning******* skip the next paragraph to avoid it.]
The end of the novel however left me a bit unconvinced. I didn't expect Armstrong to commit suicide, specially after the solidarity he showed in his end days. In the last board meeting in which the chariman resigned, he was as steadfast and ruthless as ever and didn't show any sign of surrender. It is also difficult for me to digest that a fighter like him who fought all his life would not look for any rescuer like Keith got in EB. He knew he was in mess and he knew he needed $50 mn to survive. Why he made no attempt to generate that money, with the exception of thinking of selling his stake in NY star to Keith, is not very clear to me. He simply gives away his empire and disappears in disgrace and oblivion.
As someone who is interested in business side of our world, I wonder why Townsend and Armstrong were always after acquisitions of big established names in the newspaper industry. Townsend was in fact so desperate to buy newspapers that he could be sold coal mines at an exorbitant price in a package deal. Also, in most of then novel we are told only about the insane expenditure by the leading men- how they got so rich is kind of not clear. The figure of $3 billion, which Townsend offers for a major media firm in USA, looks a little too inflated to me, more so considering that it was supposed to happen in early 1980s.
One more thing. I like Jeffrey Archer novels for the learning opportunity they provide. I remember in my early days I was told by him about how Swiss banks work. Then, his short stories had me appreciate tiny tid-bits about life- legal loopholes, politics, etc. In this novel, I learnt more a range of topics- Nazi torture camps, Hitler's nickname- "der Fuhrer", menace of labour unions, etc. It makes the reading so more interesting!
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
My other verdicts to give you some idea my rating scale and my literary tastes:
1. Atlas Shrugged: 4/5
2. Fountain Head: 4.5/5
3. 32 Short Stories by Archer: 4.5/5
Sunday, April 12, 2009
after a long hiatus..
Ok so I get it now- a little bit of procrastination can soon add up and keep you away from blogging for days and days on. A mental note registered in my mind- write something here twice a week at least.
Oh, btw, did I tell you about the two contradicting inner selves of mine? Well, like most of us, I hear two voices from within- a positive one which basically says- "you rock dude!" and the other self doubting, cynical one which always seems to say - "Umm. Are you sure you can pull it off?". For eg. right now I am telling myself - "Make it a point to blog here, whatever it may be" I say to myself and pat comes the reply from the cynical self - "who reads your blog anyway?". :)
Anyway, one more decision I have taken now it so write something more worthwhile on this blog. As you might have noticed I have written more about my personal outbursts and opinions. And as the famous cliche goes- "opinions are like you-know-what holes", now I plan to write some unpredictable stuff. Like what?. Umm, I haven't really thought much but I guess there will be some tidbits about technology, book reviews, etc.
Back to work now. Sigh.
Oh, btw, did I tell you about the two contradicting inner selves of mine? Well, like most of us, I hear two voices from within- a positive one which basically says- "you rock dude!" and the other self doubting, cynical one which always seems to say - "Umm. Are you sure you can pull it off?". For eg. right now I am telling myself - "Make it a point to blog here, whatever it may be" I say to myself and pat comes the reply from the cynical self - "who reads your blog anyway?". :)
Anyway, one more decision I have taken now it so write something more worthwhile on this blog. As you might have noticed I have written more about my personal outbursts and opinions. And as the famous cliche goes- "opinions are like you-know-what holes", now I plan to write some unpredictable stuff. Like what?. Umm, I haven't really thought much but I guess there will be some tidbits about technology, book reviews, etc.
Back to work now. Sigh.
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