Monday, June 06, 2005

Blogsnobs, dreams, love and being RC

I read this question on a Quiznet quiz today- In the blogging world, what is a Blogsnob?
The QM mentions the answer too - "A person who refuses to respond to comments on their blog from people outside their circle of friends". Hmmmm, haven't heard this expression bandied across cyberspace before this. In fact a google search turns up results for the other better known "Blogsnob", the text ad based service developed by Arnab Nandi and his friends that was acquired last year by the Kalsey Consulting group. If you guys have seen this term spoken about somewhere else do leave your comments, because this seems to have every chance of becoming another of those kitchen trivia questions like the one about the Swami Vivekananda "Pfeiffer" and the 555 cigarrette - Holmes/Sutcliffe partnership connection.

I have a penchant for dreaming. Last night, in the midst of disturbed sleep caused by a non functional A/C (ya i know Chennai is hotter, but then here, I don't have a fan either) I had a dream last night that I met SPB at a concert. We have this nice conversation and he wants to know if I have a song that I would like to hear him sing. And you know what song I request? Sach Mere Yaar Hai (UPDATE: Click link to hear the song) from Saagar. Yeah, that happens to be my fav Hindi song by SPB. But then, in the face of a zillion SPB-IR combo songs, I choose an otherwise obscure Hindi number that a lot of people dont know about? Funny, really funny.

A lot of people I know have been blogging about love. Mushy stories about first crushes and thoughts yearning for that elusive love interest seem to be the order of the day. I smile when I read them, but having seen so many "love" stories go sour, I am wondering if people know what they want when they use the four letter word. Ya, thats what i call it, another four letter word. I still can't figure out why some people claim that a rose and silent conversation while looking into each others eyes is better than a nice analytical conversation about Sachin's tennis elbow. Ok, I know that there is the small matter of both the people being compatible, in such a way that Sachin's tennis elbow seems important to both of them. They are spending time together after all right? And spending time in a way that both parties enjoy. So is compatibility synonymous with love? Or is love synonymous with compatibility. I hope to find out one day! Yeah, I am still RC.

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

what is silent conversation? I only know of loud silences.

Anonymous said...

"Talk about sachin's tennis elbow" :)

You are 27 and still Single...That explains:-)

-Prabhu

(Anyways , its actually not a bad idea to talk about cricket and sachin to the better half..orey kallu'la rendu mangaaaa)

anantha said...

Alpha: From what little i know, when u hold hands and look into each others eyes, its silent conversation - Thamizh la, kannum kannum pesum appadi nu solluva! But hey, you are married and mebbe thats when it becomes loud defeaning silences. Wonder what Pi has to say to that!

Prabhu: That was what i meant by compatibility da. And if I remember right oru 3 weeks back, someone cut a conference and told me that he will call. Was that you, by any chance?

BZ said...

LOL @ another four letter word :)
It is a little hyped in today's world I guess.

Wats RC?

anantha said...

SK: RC na Romantically Challenged. We RCs, are practical ppl who see candles as sources of light and not sources of fragrance. We use room freshner for the purpose of fragrance and electric bulbs as light sources. And btw, Most Tam RCs are Thalaivar fans too.

sensiblystoned said...

Blogsnobs? Come on anti, we thrive on comments. Its as important to our sustenance as a signature song for your thalaivar :)

anantha said...

Sensible: Ya I know da. Which is why i strongly think that this is someone's ultra ripe imagination working overdrive to create a workable quiz question that touches the "in vogue" topic!

Krish said...

How about BlogSlog? The guy who slogs (like me) to post long and thoughtful posts and gets just a handful of comments? :-)

On a serious note, I have seen this BlogSnob thing with a couple of bloggers here in our own "Indibloggers" network. Dunno why I am "achyuth" for them?

Achchuthaa, nee thaan paa sollanum.

:-)

anantha said...

Thennavan: Hmmm...I havent seen that happening much. i mean the Blogsnob thing. But I think I am slowly coming out of the Blogslog group. I never used to have any comments, particularly on my cricket posts :(

J said...

i wanna be a blogsnob too!!!

NS said...

Discussing Sachin's elbow is anyday more romantic than discussing work! And my guy talks only about middleware and mobile technology!:( I'd rather discuss Sachin's elbow and McGrath's 500th wicket!:)

RC's are true believers in Thalaivar's words..
Panam, padavi, ponnunga, idhu pinnadi namma poga koodadhu.. namma pinnandi avanga varanum!

But well, there are die hard Thalaivar fans in the other kind too.. Me is a case in point!

Hawkeye said...

Anti,

I somehow thing mushy mushy hype is created by some wierdo dude and is being sustained by people who wanna fall in line coz they dont wanna be considered un-romantic.

i love my wife but i dont light candles even when power-cut happens and I am reading nirmal sekhar's description of sachin/sampras in sportsstar.

the censor board shld ban eulogies on love beyond a particular point! its spoilin our society.

anantha said...

Bharath: Married ppl work in different ways. I'm just talking about the singles here. But ya, some wierdo is surely playing to the vivid imaginations of the ladies by inventing such things as the scented candle. And movies pathi I don't even want to start. In a way ppl like Balaji Swaminathan must be lynched for making movies like Kadhal! Whatever happened to the concept of compatibility!
Nithya: Ya, middleware and mobile technology, huh. Hmmm... But in a way, most you gals are unknowingly Thalai fans following his ideology without even knowing you are ;)
J: No you don't! How would you meet new ppl then?

dev2r said...

ippa ippadidhaanda solluveenga... once you 'fall', appram polambuveenga.
'Sachin's Elbow' -- and you wonder why you're 'undeservedly' RC. :D

Harish said...

reading mushy stories and smiling??

adadaaa.. enna aachu aNTi ungalukku? :)

GratisGab said...

I've come across the Blogsnob...!

Sach Mere Yaar Hai IS GOLDEN. It's on right NOW! Uncanny!

Vee Cee said...

Anti - if u r practical and RC u should be singing
"Kaadhal oNNiyum kadavuL illaiyadaaa
Indha yezhavu yellaam haarmone seiyyum kalagam thaanadaa"

Vee Cee said...

btw, enlighten me on the Swami Vivekananda "Peiffer", 555 cigarette, Holmes/Sutcliffe funda(s), please.....

capriciously_me said...

rc?? even after ur tulip foto? come on..that cant be true...mebbe u shud put more fotos man ;)

anantha said...

CM: Over rousu.... Oru manushan konjam expressive a irundha podhume, thalaila molaga araikka kalambiduvele :p

VC: Huge story man. Been in quizzes where the quizmaster said that Swami Vivekananda (yes, the same one who spoke in Chicago) took the first recorded five wicket haul in Indian first class cricket. Thalai aatitu vandhuttom. Btw, a Peiffer is (Aussie?) slang for a 5-for (a five wicket haul) cos it rhymes with the supermodel's name. Similarly, another QM claimed that 555 cigarettes were named in honor of the 555 run partnership between Sutcliff and Hobbs in the 30s. That one I have more or less confirmed, is not true. So this one claims Blogsnob is a term for such and such thing. whatever...

Gabby: Uncanny! Another beautiful SPB Hindi number is Aake Teri Baahon Mein (from Vansch, i think!). One of these days, I am gonna do a post on hindi songs sung by SPB. There are a few golden ones. One of these days.. hmm...

Magix: Onnum aagala da. Its a smile laced with irony! Blr eppadi irruku? Death By Chocolate once more saaptiya?

Dev: Look closely dude, I am "undeservingly SINGLE" not "undeservingly RC"! Btw, where are you these days? Lawerence?

Vee Cee said...

Oh! U mean "Pfeiffer" as in Michelle Pfeiffer.

From cricinfo
---------------
"Clarke gets his Michelle Pfeiffer."
Dean Jones's comment on air after Michael Clarke got his fifth wicket at Dambulla

Vee Cee said...

Anti - you should change your description to RP (Romantically Practical). See how many "hits" u get then!!!!!!!!

anantha said...

VC: Romantically Practical is probably the worst oxymoron, ever! I wouldn't wanna use that term to describe anyone, let alone myself ;)
And ya, Michelle Pfeiffer was who I was talking about. Pardon my spelling, cos I am bad with names. For a long time, I used to read Vitalstatix as "Vitalastix" for reasons beyond my comprehension.
But I always have heard only the Pfeiffer used. So Dean Jones must either be stupid or think that his listeners might be incapable of catching the connection, for the Pfeiffer is a common cricketing term, much like the Wagon Wheel or the Manhattan!
Btw, what's the funda behind having a Blogger profile but not a blog ;) Mebbe we could coin a term for you - Blog(com)mentor or a Blogmentor! What say?

dev2r said...

Anti: Btw, where are you these days? Lawrence?
Yeah, still Lawrence.

Anonymous said...

Hey Anti...
By the by, I am posting Comp. Trivia on Quiznet dude... "Trivia Bite" ..
By any chance you tried answering those???


Deepak
http://luvinglife.blogdrive.com

Prabha said...

blogsnob?wow!!what all people come up with!!
And yea that songs obscure alright..never heard of it!!:)
Romantically challenged?hee hee..
eppadi sollara vangala nambave koodadhu ;)

NS said...

Anti,
sent u a mail about the read more thing... assuming ur YM is also ur active mail id!

anantha said...

Dev: Cool da..

Deepak: Nee dhana adhu? Oh ok. I saw the qns. These last few yrs, I have just been glancing thro qns on Quiznet. Romba rare a answering. Certainly not in the last one year though. Will see it again.

Prabha: Chumma andha QM kalappi vidaran nu nenaikkaren. And if you have access to Raaga or Musicindiaonline, go and listen to that song (movie's saagar). SPB rocks! And he sings for Kamal, btw, in that movie. Romba experience maadhri pesara? RC's a yen namba koodadhu? Actually I think its far better to trust a RC on a motorbike than that other kind of guy who seems to ride up to you in a white horse in the middle of Blr wearing a mask! Did u ever think about where the heck he'd have got a white horse, a flowing cape and a mask in the middle of current day Blr? Ellam verum set-up! ROTFL!

Nithya: Ya, adhuvum ennoda id dhaan. Adhu dhaan ennoda oldest email addy. Will chek.. Thanx :)

Anonymous said...

hey Anti...what does RC mean?.....Pls do elaborate

Vee Cee said...

hey Anti - romba tension aitey pola irukku. relax pannu-ba. if no tension and all-cool, then please to excuse.

IMHO - being described with an oxymoronic term like RP is not necessarily a bad thing. kinda like "i am simply complicated".

About Dean Jones & Michelle Pfeiffer - well, that's a conversation for another day.

And yes - for now I am just a blogmentor. Until I can come up with something unique to blog about. I created my blog profile because - (1) some blogs don't allow for anonymous comments and (2) when I comment on something I would like the commentee to have some basic info about me rather than being totally anonymous.

LBNTL (Last But Not The Least) - To really get an idea of how much SPB ROCKS, and I mean TOTALLY ROCKS, I cannot think of a better example than his laugh in the song "Pattukkannam ThottukoLLa" in Kaaki Sattai.

Blog On.

anantha said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
anantha said...

VC: Not at all boss...not tall. No offense taken and none intended certainly. I see you did not pay much heed to the ";)" at the end of my line. Anyways, good idea about that profile. And if someone uses the term "Blogmentor" somewhere, you know where you heard it first..lol..
Ya, Pattukannam Thottukolla, is one awesome song too :) My next post is kinda related to music, particularly TFM. Am waiting for the weekend to actually put my thoughts down. Illa na, topic kku justification irrukadhu, with the amount of ideas i have regarding TFM.

Anon: Yo, if I start explaining my stand, I will have to dedicate this whole blog (not just a single post) for the purpose. It's complicated, very difficult to explain. Being RC is a positive state of mind driven by the tangibles of life, rather than the intangibles. Anyways, a simple search on Google for "Romantically Challenged" ought to give you an idea. Most of these sites are driven towards the goal of improving the reader's RQ (Romantic Quotient), but I think I'm perfectly happy with a low RQ. As one of my good friends says, "if you are hungry, eat and if you are sleepy, sleep". It is the tangibles that drive life most of the time. Don't get me wrong, my low RQ does makes me want to hold a nice gal's hand sometimes, but I'd rather discuss cricket and movies than just "basking silently in the warmth of our togetherness" or whatever it is that authors in the M&B books describe the state.
And fyi, it is in your best interests that you don't take me seriously. This is not a serious blog at all, well, atleast not all the time.

Krish said...

Anti, thanx for blogrolling me :-)

Visithra said...

I've met a few blogsnobs but this the first time I'm hearing the word - apt word if you ask me!

And btw, Most Tam RCs are Thalaivar fans too.
-----lol are u saying Thalaivar does not emit romance??? Haven't seen gals gush over him?

Scented candles can actually kill if used too long in a closed environment

Actually prabha was rights - Rcs ehlam nambhakudathu - after falling manji manji romance mathum kannuku teriyidhunu sohluvange :pppp

anantha said...

Visithra: Romance kannuku theriyadhu nu sollave illa naan. Neenga sollara romance ennoda style illa nu sonnen! :p

Visithra said...

Ipdhi than neriya per rockersnu sohlithu - heart of steel candles all nonu sohluvange - then avangehtan candles ehnna, mushy movies ehnna, teddy bear flowersnu iruhpange :p

Anonymous said...

Good to know that the concept of RC is working and ppl are asking...you know who to thank ;)..btw...if u dint know.. this was the original intent of coining that term. hmm..gud luck da ;)

-Guru

anantha said...

Machi.. Guru.. Vayasu la ennoda chinnavana irundhalum...Nee dhaan da Godfather.. vandhu onnoda kaiya pidichu "paying my respects" pannata? The concept of RC was never in danger of going out of vogue da. More and more ppl are realising the fruits of being an RC and they have stopped fighting the urge to get out.

anantha said...

Btw, those are all like Chidambara ragasiyam da.. lets not divulge it to non-RC's!

Jaldiquizzer said...

Anti,

Never knew that a question on Blogsnob on my site(http://adquiz.blogspot.com) would elicit 41 comments on your blog.

Came across your blog through a link sent by one of my friends.

You seem to have taken a liking to this question and have attributed it to my ripe imagination.

Well, to enlighten you and the rest of the blogerati who read your blog, these are some of the sites on the internet that I visited before posting the question:

http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Weblog

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Weblogs

http://psychcentral.com/psypsych/Weblog

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

I am aware of the one that you have posted and have discussed it out with people who posted their answers too.

Equating it to kitchen trivia question, the likes of which you have mentioned is taking it a bit too far.

Though I would be more than ready to learn and correct any errors and omissions on my part in my blog.

Do point out anything else you put your eyes on in the blog.

Regards,

Aniruddha Dutta
http://adquiz.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

May be you should just stick to your love stories and cool yourself down rather than re-enter the world of quizzing. Have access, will search. Use the search engines more effectively than going on at length about something you have no knowledge of. Don't know about blogs...but snob you are. LOL

anantha said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
anantha said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
anantha said...

Aniruddha, Sorry if this offended you. Thanks for enlightening me about your sources. Will put a disclaimer right there, if you want. Again no offense intended.
Btw, I have to add that the wiki profile is exhaustive, though i did encounter this peice of text on one of the external links presented on the Wiki - Most of the terms herein really are in use but we must confess that a few are, shall we say, rather whimsical..
And even in the main Wiki page, I found it striking that only three words are not hyperlinked to any Wikis of their own - Blogsnob, Blogorrhoea, Blogfoo. Well another word is not too, but that's ping, a fairly common word. And I do see that your answer is sourced out of Wiki page for Blog. But would you agree that Wiki's are what even you and me can create and I would not use that as a source for info, well, at least I wouldn't treat it as gospel, particularly if it is not cross referenced. And if you search "A person who refuses to respond to comments on their blog from people outside their circle of friends" on google, you will find three pages worth of links, but all pointing to the single unreferenced line in the Wiki. So...
I am not claim that I am a trivia guru, but I have had some minor successes in the past and "kitchen trivia" is still one of my pet peeves, because after a point, these things seem to became "true" after some repeats in other quizzes, particularly if the question has been asked in a prestigious quiz. And in this case, every source points to Wiki and to the anonymous person who put that page up. So we shall never know where he/she got it from. If you notice, this was just the reason, to find the source. And I have, though I am still not sure whether my opinion about the question/fact will change.

And ya, before I forget, there is still the case of Anonymous. Anon, Should I even bother to react to your statement? Nah.. I wont. But next time, don't chicken out of leaving a name. Mebbe then I will give you some respect.

Anonymous said...

"Bonasera...Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me." ;)

Dei anantha... maybe the anon is ur admirer da...ipdi dhaan aarmbikkum ;) nalla irundha seri dhaan

-Guru

anantha said...

Furu: I have another name for these "faceless admirers" - STALKERS! They are crazy sometimes. ALMOST every famous person has one and you know i am ALMOST famous!