Vreti sa stiti cam ce fac britanicii intr-o duminica seara de noiembrie? E suficienta consultarea ratingurilor emisiunilor de televiziune, populare showuri TV fiind in derulare la acele ore. Din pacate, popularitatea lor nu deriva din calitatea si rafinamentul respectivelor productii in direct ori inregistrate.

Mai jos, citez din excelentul articol al lui Tim Teeman, publicat in suplimentul cotidianului The Times, care explica psihologia maselor inca magnetizate pe canalul terestru ITV1 de emisiunile X-Factor, vizionat de 15,9 milioane telespectatori, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, cu 10 milioane telespectatori, si Strictly Come Dancing. Vestea buna ar fi ca aproape sase milioane si-au vazut totusi de vietile lor dupa X-Factor, neramanand pironiti in fotolii pentru I’m a Celebrity…

E despre puterea audiovizualului si despre evadarea din realitate a telespectatorului. Inainte sa pomenesc articolul in sine, cam asa as schita experienta mea in domeniu…

“Cum, n-ai vazut vreun episod din <Friends>? Sa nu cumva sa-mi spui ca nici n-ai fi auzit de serial!?” M-a intrebat, asa incat i-am zis colegei de vreo douazeci si ceva de ani si nu doar ca am dezamagit-o dar chiar am revoltat-o. <Friends> e peste saptamana, weekendul fiind rezervat pentru aceste X-Factor, cu cantareti aspiranti interpretand din repertoriul consacrat, I’m a Celebrity…, un fel de Big Brother dar nu intr-un studio umplut cu anonimi ci intr-un cadru natural amenajat pentru persoane facute cunoscute opiniei publice prin mass-media de divertisment, asa zise celebritati, plus Strictly Come Dancing, un concurs de dans imperechind personalitati din lumea sportului cu dansatori profesionisti.

In X-Factor, nu neaparat debordand de talent, poate aparea si vecinul din coltul strazii. Si totusi, am cunoscuti care-l vizioneaza, fie ei chiar lectori universitari sau absolventi de studii superioare cu multi ani vechime in varii profesii, carora li s-ar strica seara daca ar pierde emisiunea. Dependenta. Din autocenzura de a nu le rani sentimentele ori a nu le parea patronant, nu-i trag de maneca sa aspire la mai bine, sa aleaga o forma mai atractiva, mai stimulanta de divertisment. N-am spus nici inaltatoare, nici spirituala. Ci doar una mai aproape de nivelul lor intelectual.

Oferta e atat de mare, gusturile sunt atat de variate. Dar ce se ascunde in spatele foamei atator oameni pentru asemenea emisiuni televizate e mai bine punctat in comentariul ziaristului englez:   “Fanii acestor emisiuni vor continua sa o vizioneze, cu mare bucurie, deoarece samburele lor consta in evadari moralizatoare, ce ne aseaza o oglinda in fata ochilor. [...] In ultima decada, britanicii au devenit fericiti sclavi ai hiper-realitatii. [...] Realitatea de televiziune si showurile de divertisment din aceasta gama au cucerit inclusiv viata publica si chiar discursul politic. Naratiuni cu titluri incendiare la stiri… [...] Confesionalul si monologul au infectat discursul. Psihologia pop si dinamica operei de sapun are intietate in fata dezbaterii intelectuale; Drace, pana si intelectualii simt nevoia sa schimbe o vorba si sa opineze cu copiii pe tema X-Factor. [...] Care in primele 6 saptamani, inaintea reprezentatiilor, ii umileste pe concurenti, servind placerilor noastre umilirea si respingerea lor. [...] Aceste showuri sunt valve de scurgere, autostrazile evadarii noastre din realitate in fantezie. Putem chiar actiona impulsiv, in baza neplacerii noastre viscerale, apasand butonul rosu sau prin mesaje text. Avem oarecare control (sau mai bine zis iluzia controlului) si putem opri concurentii din reprezentatia lor de dans ori cantec sau sa-i punem in situatia de a manca rahat de crocodil. [...] E un ridicol concurs al vanitatii umane.”

Lanturi de librarii dau faliment. Pe nume Borders. Granitele. Limitele normalului si firescului au fost demult depasite. Activitatea paranormala este subiect de publicitate pe autobuzele rosii etajate si aproape orice semn din existenta actuala a individului pe pamant vestic occidental, asta pentru cine are ochii mintii sa vada, are o conotatie intunecata, de la bizar la luciferic.

Iar emisiunile de divertisment TV nu fac exceptie. In fotoliu, telespectatorul comuta pe pilot automat, de la constiinta vie la nerozia digerabila. E tot ceea ce mai poate cu adevarat digera. E un semn al degradarii noastre, al dezumanizarii si imbecilizarii spiritului uman. Aproape o jumatate de natie e cu ochii pe doi irlandezi de 17 ani, John si Edward, cod de piata Jedward, cu frezele lor ridicole, vopsite si electrocutate, in reprezentatia lor tipator de ridicola, lipsita de talent dar aplaudata frenetic, eventual chiar cu lacrimi in ochi.

Jedward au fost “eliminati” dar sunt reincadrati cat ai clipi in I’m a Celebrity…, luand parte la gogomania din jungla. Caci sunt deja celebritati. Aceasta e sub-cultura zilelor noastre si – din punct de vedere al telespectatorului roman – samburele ce a servit drept produs de import peste ani in virtualul din preajma Carpatilor.

Iar pentru cei ce-si spun ca tot ar fi mai atractiv decat “natangul” fotbal, sa stea linistiti. Cu cat a crescut oferta, cu atat admiratorii jocului de-altadata au pasit inapoi, vizionand cu pipeta.

You don’t have the time or the resources to evaluate every applicant who strolls in. to guide your work, you should develop a profile of your “ideal” candidate. You may never find your ideal, but you will establish a basic framework that outlines the person you are looking for.

Developing an ideal candidate profile is similar to viewing a lineup of suspects after you’ve witnessed a bank robbery. The individual you pick out may not be the actual bank robber, but chances are the real criminal is strongly similar. Often, a lineup helps police establish the silhouette or basic framework of the person being sought. The police is clear even if the details are not. Likewise, your ideal candidate profile will give you a sharper idea of what you are really looking for, so that you can increase your odds of finding him or her.

Use the following outline to develop of profile of your ideal candidate:

1. Must have, or have done, or be able to do:
   • Experience: type and years
   • Industry: type, or specific companies, and years
   • Skills or talents
   • Education

1. Should have, or have done, or be able to do:
   • Experience: type and years
   • Industry: type, or specific companies, and years
   • Education

1. Would be nice to have, or have done, or be able to do:
   • Experience: type and years
   • Industry: type, or specific companies, and years
   • Skills or talents
   • Education

Be specific when you draft your outline. If you want someone with strong follow-up skills, say so. If you want an assertive person who can handle high stress, say so. To create a good match between job and candidate, you need to define the person as closely as you define the job.

Keep your company culture in mind, too. If your company is team-oriented and flexible, you want a candidate who is comfortable with teamwork—and not everyone is. If your department is highly structured, you want someone who works well in a structured situation. Describe the qualities that your company values so that you can find compatible candidates.

Just remember that defining the candidate is a lot like shopping for groceries: the more you toss into your shopping cart, the more you’ll pay. The cost of filling a job is influenced by two factors: how long it takes to find the candidate, and the supply of qualified candidates. The greater the number of must have items on your list, the longer it’s going to take to find that person. The greater the experience, skills, or education requirements, the smaller the supply of candidates and the larger the compensation package required to hire the person.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

The first implementation of sgraphics had trouble drawing larger scenes.  If given a scene to draw with too many objects, say, on the order of around 100, it would compile fine, but when calling the quotation was slow at best and “retain stack overflow” at worst.

Optimization being the root of all evil,  I ignored such problems until I was happy with the basic design and feel of the library.  Now that stage zero is over, the implementation needs to be able to stand up to some more demanding applications.

The initial sgraphics compiler would transform each primitive shape into a quotation.  Here’s an example:

( scratchpad ) line{ 0 0 100 100 } gl-compile .
[ GL_LINE [ 0 0 glVertex2f 100 100 glVertex2f ] do-state ]


The list of quotations like this one would then be concatenated together into one long quotation, which in turn becomes the body of the draw-gadget* method for a UI window. This approach worked fine for smaller scene but was slow and caused retain stack overflows for larger ones. Examining the traceback showed that the compiler kept calling post-order-traversal over and over again until the overflow occurred.

As I am still quite unfamiliar with the factor compiler, I sought out help from more knowledgeable source. Dan Ehrenberg advised that quotations should be kept as short as possible for best efficiency. With this new information I devised a new approach. Instead of constructing one monolithic quotation that simply needed to be “called”, I would generate an intermediate data structure and write some code to walk over that instead, hopefully preventing all the confusion I was causing the compiler in the process.

Amazingly, this strategy worked wonderfully. Drawing pictures became much faster and the large scenes that were causing overflows became a non-issue. I’d like to learn more about the factor optimizing compiler and its workings, so the latest sgraphics release contains both the old and new backends. You can switch between them by setting the sg-backend global variable to either the symbol q-backend for the original quotation version, or ds-backend for the new intermediate data-structure version (set as the default).

With this improvement, I was finally able to draw a scene with 32,768 pixels, where each pixels is an sgraphics square.

If you are wondering, this is the so-called “pattern table” for the nes version of pacman.  Look closely and you can see bits of ghosts, fruit, etc.  Click the picture to see a bigger version.

I think the moral of the story here is

• keep your quotations short
• don’t use quotations as a data structure

I’d love to here what more experienced Factornauts think about these, its a subject I think could be documented a little more thoroughly.

Anyway, with this first annoying hurdle overcome, I will get back to writing some cool looking demos to test out the expressiveness of the language so far.  Check back soon for updates!

The mania of the shopping is able sometimes to embrace a lot of persons. Admittedly it is often connected with numerous sales. Then however the majority of made then purchases is ill-considered, because a reasonable price is a main stimulus which is inducing people to the shopping. With most often bought assortment the pose of course is a food clothes. We are spending it on it game of our earnings. Straight out people working in offices of all kinds, offices are forced to purchases of elegant clothes, that is so which are forced to contacts with requiring customers. It is obvious, after all, woman’s suits or suits are diverse far more expensive than normal blouses or skirts. We are spending on clothes, in which we are going to work, so also considerable sums. Our expenses connected with clothes largely are often also dictated with fashion being in effect, on streets, because we often meet people in the same clothes. Certainly it doesn’t result from the fact that there are the same goods in shops, but exactly from the fashion being in effect. With the rest very well one can see it at teenagers which after all walk similarly dressed. Expenses of clothes are conditioned with the fact that after all we are wearing various clothes what the day but everyone want after all nicely and elegantly to look like. Therefore we quite often buy all clothes and shoes, bags as well as a lot of different additions. The part of people is doing the shopping only in shops of remarkable clothes, different are buying in boutiques, shops, supermarkets or even in the street. However this shopping has one – common factor everyone want to look nice not only at work or once in a blue moon but also also, usually. Therefore than they aren’t announcing that the clothing market will collapse, even in the crisis people will be buying clothes. He can in a bit of a smaller amount but certainly they will be buying.

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A factor that is driving the trend towards automating the sales department is the extent to which speed has become a strategic advantage in the selling process. Once, it was acceptable for salespeople to promise to get back to customers with answers to questions. Increasingly, those salespeople are finding that by the time they get back to their customers with the necessary information, the sales opportunity has evaporated. The ability to respond to customers quickly is crucial to success, and the tolerances are narrower than ever before.

Similarly, the ability to compress the sales order cycle is becoming an extremely significant factor in a competitive situation. Your customers, who are under the same competitive pressures as you, are placing more and more emphasis on increased cash flow and reduced inventories. Reducing your sales order cycle from four days to two can make an important and measurable difference, certainly enough of a difference to determine whether or not you get the order.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

“Left In The Dust”
Much Music recently celebrated its 25th anniversary on the air. Looking back, it’s easy to see that it is not the same network that people championed a decade ago. Much has cut nearly every tie it had to Canadian culture, but why?

Walking up the stairs in my best friend’s apartment building has become rhythmic, hypnotic, and most of all familiar. Up two flights of twelve steps each, through the worn-out second floor doorway, down the hallway of painfully bland white walls, and finally in through the last door on the left. I take off my shoes in the entryway, and round the corner into the living room. Without fail the television is on, odds are the dial is turned to Much Music. I laugh now, curious how many times I’ve completed this ritual, and I wonder if somewhere deep inside of me, I’ve noticed the devolution of the once great Canadian culture benefactor.

At the Capital Bar in Fredericton, Zach Atkinson is hard at work. He makes his living as a concert promoter, booking agent, and a graphic designer. On top of all that though is his real passion, music. Atkinson is a drummer in local band the Slate Pacific. He says he remembers a different Much Music than what’s on the air today, one that inspired his musical side.

“Much used to be the source for good Canadian music,” said Atkinson. “Before the internet was so accessible, before Myspace, Facebook, all other social networking and free download sites, and before torrents, Much Music made me want to listen to music and play in bands,” he said.

The network was founded as an independent specialty channel in 1984, by well known broadcasters John Martin and Moses Znaimer. Its mandate was simple, to be a twenty-four hour music video channel. To stay in line with a CRTC requirement known as CanCon, Much had to maintain a proportional percentage of Canadian content. It was that compliance, as well as the creation of VideoFACT – a fund that provides money for Canadian artists to produce music videos – that gained the network a reputation for developing an exciting Canadian music scene.

In the early nineties alone, Much greatly helped launch the careers of Matthew Good, Our Lady Peace, David Usher, Chantal Kreviazuk, and Sloan, among others. All of these artists were young Canadians, who were new to the music industry, but all of their music retained a high level of artistic integrity, and their videos were played in heavy rotation. This raises the question of what has changed in a decade.

“Much Music had some great shows that highlighted great national and international bands such as New Music, Spotlight, The Wedge, Loud & The Punk Show,” said Atkinson. “Most of these shows are no longer on the air, and Much has now moved towards an MTV style of music network focusing on bad realty TV, ‘sister stations,’ and superstar spotlights that just show how spoiled most of these people are,” he said. “They have pulled the focus away from good Canadian content and left its culture in the dust for an episode of The OC.”

It’s possible that priorities changed when co-founder John Martin left in 1993, or even when CTV Globemedia acquired Much in a takeover a few years ago. Somewhere along the way though, the emphasis went from what could be popular to only what is popular. Today, the network is rarely plays anything aside from the Top 40 Chart.

Unfamiliar Records president Greg Ipp believes that the fallout has to do with how VideoFACT and FACTOR – its government counterpart – are dolling out grant money today.

“As the inner workings of the industry become more transparent, and as my personal debt mounts, the process is becoming increasingly frustrating,” wrote Ipp, in an open letter to the Canadian music industry.

In that letter, he describes a tendency for grants to be distributed to “bands under the wing of well-funded labels with cash to spare.” He cites very popular Canadian band Metric, who he says have garnered over $60,000 so far this year, as one such example.

“If the band is relatively unknown to the national music scene, juries are more likely to pass on their application because of their smaller status,” Atkinson agreed.

For now, musicians like Atkinson have to rely on amateur videos, like one recently done by Mitch Fillion of Southern Souls. The production quality is low, the camera work is a little shaky, and there is definite background noise. The music however, stands on its own two feet. It may not be a flashy video, with some big name producer and a five figure budget, but aren’t all of these things just distractions anyway? Cliché as it might sound, a lot of people put the music ahead of they watch while listening to it. I only wish Much Music would return to the ‘good ol’ days’ when they thought the same way.

Not being a particular fan of the popular British TV singing talent show “The X-Factor”, I don’t often watch it, the seasons come and go, and little is known to me about it. Not this season, for during this season, two enigmatic seventeen year old lads stole the headlines in their first audition. Their names? John and Edward Grimes. Singing talent, average at best, however what struck me about them was their confidence, their demeanor and their, to me at least, likeability. Much of Britain launched hatred towards them, booing them when they were on stage and such, while all the while my support for them grew. It really made me think; how two young twins from Dublin could get so much hatred for no reason other than the fact that the judges and the PUBLIC themselves continued to keep them in the competition. It beggared belief to me, and I supported them because they were entertaining, and had so much abuse at them, when all they were doing was making use of their ability and running with it, without making a fuss or standing still like all the other contestants and still being off-key. No, they make an entertaining show of it. Or at least, they did, but tonight, they were voted off, to my despair. They acted like true popstars and never took themselves seriously. I liked that about them, they got it done despite all the pressure, all the crowd booing, hate mail etc. It made me lose even more confidence in the people around me; these are two teenage lads who are going out there, having a good time and a fair number of people are obviously enjoying it too, yet many people decide to fling abuse which has obviously effected the lads.

To quote John, “I haven’t been sleeping for the last two or three nights.

“We were in the street walking to our dance class when a whole family came past in a black car and shouted out, ‘We hate you. You’re wankers.”

I’ll miss John and Edward, and with their departure, that marks the end of my brief love affair with the X Factor, as I don’t have a reason to watch anymore. It was always “I wonder what John and Edward will do this time”, obviously I can’t do that now. I’m sure we’ll see the lads again. As long as the public don’t kill them.

I AM FEELING GOOD

Short Fiction   -   Pure Romance   -   A Love Story

By 

VIKRAM KARVE

Dear Reader, it is a cold morning and during my morning walk this story, one of my earliest writings, suddenly came to my mind and then perambulated in me. It made me feel good. I am sure it will make you feel good too!

I felt good.

My eyes feasted on the snow-clad Himalayan Mountain peaks painted honey-gold by the first rays of sunlight.

Behind me, deep down, was the resplendent Doon valley.

I breathed in slowly, mouth and nose together, relishing the pure, cold, nourishing mountain air.

I felt on top of the world, literally and figuratively, as I stood high in the middle of nowhere on a refreshingly cold bright morning, undecided what I was going to do, or where I was going to go.

What greater freedom than not having anything to do or anywhere to go!

I felt I was flying like a bird in the sky, with no one to take my freedom away.

“Something exciting is going to happen today,” said a tingling sensation within me, as if I were on the top of a high roller-coaster ready to plunge into unknown depths.

Suddenly, at the spur of the moment I decided to visit Victor, and with a spring in my step started walking towards Landour.

“Who’s Piyu ?” I asked Victor, picking up and opening the book lying on the bedside table.

“Piyu?” Victor said, his voice feigning ignorance but his eyes gave him away.

“Yes. Piyu! It’s written here in this book…‘ To my darling Victor, with fond memories of those wonderful moments at Port Blair. Love Piyu ‘… And Wow! Look at the lovely cursive feminine handwriting. So delicate. If her handwriting is so beautiful, she must be really gorgeous. A real beauty! Tell me. Who is she?” I asked teasingly.

“Shalini, you shouldn’t pry into others’ private matters,” Victor said.

“Private ? This is no personal dairy. It’s ‘Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov’. I’m taking it to read.”

“No,” Victor shouted and started to move his wheelchair towards me.

I know I had touched a raw nerve.

“I’m sorry,” I said and gave him the book.

He opened it and stared at Piyu’s handwriting.

“I thought there were no secrets between us,” I said.

“There aren’t,” he said.

“Except Piyu?”

“Please Shalu…….”

“You want to tell me about her?”

“Okay,” Victor said. And then he told me. About Piyu. And him. And their days in Port Blair. Maybe not everything. But whatever he wanted to tell me, he told me.

“Piyu ? A funny name?” I said.

“That’s what I called her. Like you call me Victor.”

I left it at that and said, “Now there are no secrets between us?”

“No! Now there are no secrets between us!” Victor said and gave me the book, “Read it, Shalu. There’s a story called ‘The Darling’. You’re just like the heroine. Always trying to mother me.”

“That’s because you are a naughty boy,” I teased.

“Naughty boy? I’m almost an old man. You should play with girls of your own age.”

“Play? You think I’m a small kid to play Barbie Doll? And you’re not that old either. You are just thirty.”

“I am twice your age.”

“Girls mature faster,” I said. “And your mental age is the same as mine.”

“Come on. You’re just a kid compared to me. I am a man of the world with a lot of experiences.”

“Like Piyu ………” I bit my tongue and said, “I’m sorry.”

“Piyu is a closed chapter,” Victor said.

“I’ve forgotten her,” I said “Piyu will never come between us again.”

“Promise?”

“I Promise.”

“Shalu, why don’t you come to meet me more often?” Victor asked.

“I don’t want to disturb you too much,” I replied.

“Disturb me?” he smiled. “It is impossible to disturb me. You see, I never do anything. Every day is a holiday for me, from morning to night, from the moment I get up to the moment I sleep, there is nothing to do, nothing to look forward to…”

“Don’t speak like that,” I said.

“Okay. But please come more often, Shalu. You make me feel good.”

“You too make me feel good!” I said.

It was true.

Talking to someone who needs comforting seems to make one’s own troubles go away.

“I’ll come on Wednesday. We’ve got a holiday,” I said.

“Promise?”

“Yes. We’ll discuss Anton Chekhov,” I said holding up the book.

“The Darling?”

“The Darling!” I said.

“Okay. Bye. Take care,” he said and lovingly looked at me as I began to walk away.

Victor had come into my life on a cold and rainy evening just a few months back.

I had slipped and fractured my leg playing basketball. It was a simple fracture.

Victor was convalescing from a severe injury to both his legs. His was a complex case, and for months he was confined to a wheelchair not knowing whether or when he would be able to walk again.

Actually, his name wasn’t Victor – he was Vivek – but everyone called him Victor, so I too started calling him Victor.

At first I called him Victor uncle. But as our friendship grew, somewhere on the way, the ‘uncle’ dropped. And now there were no secrets between us.

On Tuesday evening I rushed to see Victor bunking the self-study period.

“A clandestine visit,” I joked.

“Better be careful, Shalu. If your warden finds out, she may think something.”

“Let her,” I said, “I came to tell you I won’t be coming tomorrow.”

“Oh, no! I was looking forward to discussing Anton Chekhov with you.”

“Daddy is coming to Dehradun for some urgent work. He wants me to meet him at the station. He rang up the Principal for permission.”

“That’s great. I’m dying to meet your Dad. Make sure you bring him up here to Mussoorie.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“You must. I want to ask him for your hand,” he said, tongue-in-cheek.

“How cute,” I said coyly.

“I’ll miss you,” he said.

“Take care.”

“You too take care. Okay Bye,” I said and rushed back to my hostel.

On Wednesday morning I left Mussoorie at six by the first bus and reached Dehradun railway station just in time for the express from Delhi which steamed in at eight.

Daddy was the first to get down from the AC coach and the moment he saw me his face lit up and he gave me a tight warm hug and smothered my cheeks with kisses.

“Please Papa,” I said embarrassed, “People are looking.”

“I feel so good when I see you, Shalu,” he said.

Papa kept the bag he was holding next to me and said, “Look after this. I’ll get the rest of the luggage.”

He beckoned to a porter and went back into the coach.

“Rest of the luggage?” I wondered.

Normally Papa travelled light, with just one bag.”

Soon there were three bags, a basket and a tall young woman with a small child in her arms standing beside Papa.

“Shalu, this is Ms. Bhattacharya. We travelled together from Delhi,” Papa introduced the woman, who smiled a sweet hello, and we began following the porter to the exit.

I looked at the woman through the corner of my eye. She was a real beauty, fair, with a skin like smooth cream. She looked straight ahead, as if looking at a distant object, and walked on expressionless.

But I noticed the way my Papa stole glances at her when he thought I wasn’t looking and I knew that she was much more than a mere fellow passenger.

I felt a tingle of excitement. Something was brewing. Maybe Papa was falling in love. Ten years after mummy had gone.

My father walked with a spring in his step, pulling his stomach in and thrusting his chest out.

“You seem very happy, Papa,” I said mischievously.

“Yes. Yes.” he said, “I’m so happy to see you, Shalu. You look so good.”

He opened the door of the taxi and looked at her, trying to mask the undisguised love in his eyes. It seemed a desperate case of thunderbolt.

I decided to have a bit of fun, quickly got in the car, and said, “Thanks, Papa, for treating me like a lady.”

Then I looked at the woman and said, “Bye Auntie.”

“Auntie is coming with us,” Papa said, “Shalu, you sit in front.”

“It’s okay, I’ll sit in front,” Ms. Bhattacharya said.

“There’s place for all of us at the back,” I said. “We can keep the basket in front next to the driver.”

I shifted, she sat next to me with the baby on her lap, Papa next to her on the other side and we drove in silence through Palton Bazar towards Rajpur road.

I kept quiet, waiting for Papa to tell me everything, but he too remained silent, probably because of the driver.

He got off outside an office. “You two can go to the guest house and freshen up. I’ll join you after finishing my work.

We sat alone at the breakfast table. The baby was sleeping inside. I looked at Ms. Bhattacharya. She looked so elegant yet youthful.

Late twenties? Maybe! Or maybe a bit younger.

I was dying to ask her everything, wondering what to say, when she looked into my eyes and spoke softly, “Shalu, I want to be your mother.”

I was touched by the way she phrased it.

I can’t begin to describe the emotions I felt, but instinctively I blurted out, “Why didn’t Papa tell me?”

She touched my hand and said, “He felt shy, embarrassed. You know how he is. He wanted me to tell you. And leave the decision to you.” She paused, and said; “I know it’s difficult for you. I promise we’ll do what you want. But try to understand. Your Papa feels very lonely.”

“And you?” I asked.

“I am lonely too,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Suddenly she started to cry into her handkerchief, “I’m sorry,” she said, got up, and went into her room.

I sat confused.

She had been so calm and composed. And suddenly she broke down.

Had I said something wrong?

Maybe I was too young to understand. All I wanted was that Papa should be happy, everyone should be happy; even she should be happy.

Ms. Bhattacharya came out of the room. She had washed up, done up her face and looked so beautiful, so vulnerable, that I instantly felt like hugging her.

Something inside told me that she would make Papa very happy. And me too!

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that sometimes you wait for a moment and when it comes you don’t know what to do with it.”

 “I like you,” I said. “I know you’ll make Papa happy. Only I wish Papa had told me. Shall I call you mummy?”

She smiled, “Come on Shalini. Be my friend. Call me Priya.”

“Okay,” I held out my hand, “Priya, let’s be friends. And you call me Shalu.”

“Shalu, actually even I wanted your Papa to tell you,” she said.

“He must’ve been embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?”

“To tell me that he’s fallen in love at his age.”

“He’s only 43.”

“And you, Priya?”

“28. Oh come on, I shouldn’t be telling you my age.”

“You look 25,” I said.

She blushed. The baby cried. She went inside.

I went into my room and lay on the bed. What a day! I just couldn’t wait to tell Victor all this. He’d die laughing. Maybe I should marry him. We are so happy together. If Papa can marry Priya, why can’t I marry Victor?

They – 43 and 28 – Adult Love!

We – 15 and 30 – Puppy Love?

It’s not fair, isn’t it?

I drifted into sleep.

When I woke up, Papa was sitting beside me on the bed.

“It’s past one,” he said. “Let’s go for lunch.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Papa?” I asked.

His cheeks, his ears became red. He avoided my eyes.

“I guessed it the moment I saw you two at the station,” I said.

“You’ve really grown up, Shalu,” Papa said. “I’m so happy you have accepted her and your little brother.”

“Brother?” I said dumbstruck, and slowly comprehension dawned on me. I closed my eyes. All sorts of thoughts entered my brains. And suddenly everything was clear. “Oh yes. My little brother.”

Lunch passed off in a trance and soon we were on our way to Mussoorie. I’d wanted to go alone by bus, but Papa wouldn’t hear of it. He had work at the site office near Mussoorie and Priya wanted to see my school. She hadn’t been to Mussoorie before.

It was almost five when Papa got off at the site office and we were cruising on the Mall on the way to my school. Priya was looking out of the window as if searching for something. Suddenly she asked the driver to stop.

“I have to get something. Please look after the baby for a moment,” she said.

I took the baby in my lap and saw her enter Hackman’s, the biggest departmental store in Mussoorie.

She returned fast. “A small gift for you, Shalu” she said giving me a gift-wrapped packet and an envelope containing a greeting card.

I opened the envelope. It was a ‘Thank-you’ card.

She had written a message on the inside of the card:  “…To my darling daughter and friend, Shalini…”

I kept on starting at the beautiful handwriting, unable to read further.

Instantly, I recognized the same unique familiar lovely cursive handwriting, so feminine, so delicate.

Tremors started reverberating in my stomach, like a roller coaster. My pulse was racing. The car negotiated the steep road past Picture Palace up the winding slopes of Landour.

“Priya, look,” I said pointing out of the car window, “that’s the oldest building in Mussoorie. It’s called Mullingar. Isn’t it just like the Cellular Jail?”

“Yes,” she said.

“You’ve seen Cellular Jail?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said. “Many times.”

“You’ve been to Port Blair?” I persisted.

“Yes. I’ve lived there. It’s a lovely place,” she said.

“How lucky,” I said. “I’ve only seen pictures of Cellular Jail.”

Silence. Pregnant silence.

Then I spoke, looking at her child seated on her lap, “Baby. He’s so cute. How old is he?”

“Six months,” she said.

“You haven’t named him?

“Oh yes,” she said, “we call him Baby, his real name is Vivek.”

“Vivek?”

“Yes. Vivek ,” she said “It’s a nice name, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I answered.

I patted the driver on the shoulder and said, “Seedha Le Chalo. Jaldi. Drive fast. To Landour Hospital.”

“Hospital?” Priya asked flabbergasted.

“I want you to meet someone,” I said.

The car stopped outside the hospital. “Come,” I said, and Priya holding her baby in her arms followed me towards the door of Victor’s room.

I opened the door and said, “Come Piyu. Go right in. Your Victor is waiting for you, for both of you.”

I didn’t wait to see the expression on her face.

I quickly turned and ran to the car and shouted to the driver, “Driver – jaldi karo. Be quick. Take me to the site office. Fast.”

As the car descended down the steep slopes of Landour, past Char-Dukan, towards Picture Palace at the end of the Mall, I took out Anton Chekhov’s book from my purse.

I’ll have plenty of time to read it now.

Maybe I’ll keep it as a souvenir to remember Victor.

I opened the book, read on the first page: “To my darling Victor…Love. Piyu.”

I took out my cell-phone and sent an SMS to Victor: “Happy Reunion!”

Then I turned the page and began reading Anton Chekhov’s enthralling short story ‘The Darling.’

As I write this I am feeling good.

Yes, I am feeling good.

Don’t ask me why.

Happiness goes when you speak of it.

VIKRAM KARVE  

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Appetite for a Stroll

http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

vikramkarve@sify.com

Summer is all about having fun and looking good, but the summer months can also cause our skin various problems. As well as the obvious dangers of sunburn and skin cancer, there are other problems we have to worry about too such as oily skin. So what exactly can we do to prevent skin problems this summer? The answer is all in your skin care products!

The Top Skincare Products to Keep in Your Summer Collection:

Luckily for us, there are some products designed to keep us looking happy and healthy, allowing us to spend more time doing the things that we love. Keeping your body healthy during the summer months includes looking after your skin, hair and lips, protecting them from the suns harmful rays. So just what products help us to protect our body during the summer?

All Important Sunscreen

The first product which had to be mentioned was that all important sunscreen. Whilst we may be bored of hearing all the various warnings out there regarding wearing sunscreen, there are reasons why it is always mentioned. One of those reasons includes the people who buy sunscreen but it is not waterproof.

Whilst it is OK to use ordinary sunscreen, it does not protect us from the water and seem as though a lot of us tend to go bathing in the sea, this is not good news, especially if you forget to apply the lotion again once you get out of the sea! So by choosing a waterproof sunscreen, you are better protected and whilst you should still reapply the sunscreen every few hours and after you have swam in the sea, it is not essential and it can wait a while longer than if you were wearing an ordinary one.

The best way to apply sunscreen is to apply it to dry skin, and leave it for at least 15 minutes to dry, before going outside. It is thought that just one ounce of sunscreen will adequately cover the whole body and keep it protected.

Finally, remember that when applying sun tan lotion, you should make sure that it has a high enough sun protection factor. It is said that you should use one which has at least a sun protection factor of 18, and if you have fair skin and freckles, you should use one which is even higher.

Sunscreen For The Hair

Believe it or not, there are products which are specifically designed to protect the hair and scalp from the sun. Spray on sunscreen for hair and some leave on conditioners, help to protect the hair and scalp from the suns harmful rays. The scalp is generally the first thing that the suns rays will touch and it can easily burn. So, for the best protection if you are not going to wear a hat, use a sunscreen spray to keep the hair and scalp protected before, during and after the sun exposure.

Finally, remember that when applying sun tan lotion, you should make sure that it has a high enough sun protection factor. It is said that you should use one which has at least a sun protection factor of 18, and if you have fair skin and freckles, you should use one which is even higher.

Do Not Forget Those Lips!

Whilst we may not actually realize it, the lips can and do suffer from damage caused by the sun. This means that in the summer months it is a good idea to look out for medicated lip balms which contain sun protection factor. Some lips balms contain a sun protection factor of up to 24, so shop around to find the best ones.

Overall, keeping your body looking happy and healthy in the summertime need not be a chore. As long as you buy the right products, you should be able to relax and enjoy the summer sun as much as possible, safe in the knowledge that you are protected. Always shop around to find the best products for you and remember using sunscreen is absolutely essential and you should never go without!

Welcome India to the 21st century. . . . . . .   for the majority of us who don’t know what I an talking about the link is here and the article is quoted below.

November 18th, 2009 – 8:33 pm ICT by IANS from Thiandian News 

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) A new genetically engineered treatment for hemophilia, a dreaded disease where blood doesn’t clot, was launched here Wednesday by a private pharmaceutical company.
Unlike other procedures, this treatment won’t require donor blood for transfusion.

The treatment based on ‘Recombinate’, a genetically engineered and non-plasma derived protein factor VIII (the deficiency of which causes the disease) was launched by pharmaceutical company Baxtar.

This is the first time such a treatment has been launched in the country, where an estimated 100,000 people are affected, company officials said.

Speaking at the launch, Baxter India’ s business unit director Shubhi Khurana said: “Hemophilia, a disease when blood does not clot during injuries and causes severe bleeding has been a major health concern in India. This condition is caused because of the absence of Factor VIII in blood.”

In India treatment so far has been based on plasma (liquid component of blood) and its derived protein factors. Thus human blood donation was essential for treatment of hemophilia like any other transfusion where probability other transmitted diseases increases.

“The probability of spreading blood borne vectors like HIV, Hepatitis B and C from the donor to the receiver was high,” said Alok Srivastava, the head of the hematology department at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore.

He added that only 10 percent of the affected patients were diagnosed at present and this number was growing.

“The demand for the protein factors are increasing with each passing day. Thus the introduction of Recombinate would go a long way,” Srivastava said.

Almost 10 to 14 percent of those with hemophilia are also infected by Hepatitis B and 24 to 30 percent infected by Hepatitis C, according to the July 2009 issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research.

The Recombinate treatment is in use in 41 other countries since it was first launched in 1992.

Vijay Kaul of the Society for Hemophilia Care, who also suffers from the condition, says that almost 20 percent of the total hemophiliacs in the world are Indians.

In a press conference earlier today, Gordon Brown shocked the public by apologising for calling John and Edward ‘not very good’.

He went on to reveal that he had changed his mind and hoped they would do well.

“Jedward is useless, annoying, and hated by large sections of the public,” said Brown. “Most people can’t wait to see them go.

“Yes, they remind me of myself in every way.

“That is why I hope they enjoy huge levels of success, and win every vote that they happen to be part of in the near future by a landslide.”

I wanna recommend you people who read my blog with interest, there is an easy way to keep updated; thru this thing called Bloglovin
Just click this banner and subscribe to me^^

Didnt go out this evening, hopefully next week instead.
So I suppose I will be playing a bunch of Metal Gear 2 this evening
-which I honestly have nothing against

Tomorrow I have 5 hours freetime in the middle of the school day…
Gonna take the opportunity to go to the taxoffice and try to fix a new ID card…urgh.
Somehow I feel like less of a man without an ID card

I suppose it is no greater issue but I have to lay down my opinion about something.
Yesterday this girl came to my school, who apparently is a very famous blogger.
Dessie.

I’ve read her blog before, and wow you never seem to stop getting surprised at some of the loathesome, worthless pieces of shit there is in this CUNTry.
Nothing but a snotnosed, spoiled, little fjortis writing about her ’successful’ life, she contributes nothing of interest or value to anyone who reads her blog; apart from the satisfaction of equally brainless and putrid fjortisar…
When she came to our school, she was litterally reaking with vile and sickening perfume that could be smellt a mile away; I didnt fret to express myself saying out loudly that “It stinks of filthy old whore here!” , and her very presense gave an awful tingle coursing thru ones body.
Attention whore, to make it simple…and what also is sad are her ‘friends’ that seem to love bascing in her fame and fortune, if she wasnt anything, they wouldnt be either.

Sad, sad, sad.

Anyways, having that said…
Im going to play some MGS now, really wish I had all games though.
A Gamecube for Twin Snakes and a PS3 for Guns of the Patriots.
I think in the coming year I will most def get these, but for the PS3 we´ll have to get a full HD tv or it wont be worth a penny.
The new line of LED Tvs are very attractive right now, maybe one of those?
LCD seems to be quite last year?

Author interview with Frances Cole Jones

1. Tell us about your latest book:

The subtitle of The Wow Factor is “The 33 Things You Must (and Must Not) Do to Guarantee Your Edge in Today’s Business World.” The idea is that in this economic climate people need immediate, practical solutions for finding a job, positioning themselves for promotion, keeping their customers’ trust– generally maintaining their edge no matter what their situation. With this in mind The Wow Factor offers11 habits I’ve found my clients must have, 11 things I’ve realized they’ve must know, and 11 things I’ve discovered they can do today to be more effective tomorrow. My hope is that the readers of The Wow Factor will gain the tools they need to do the same.

2. How did you get started as a writer?

By being a lifelong reader— someone who can put words together effectively has always made me swoon. After that I was lucky enough to work with teachers and mentors who pushed me beyond– so far beyond—where I was comfortable. 

3. What does a typical day look like for you?

I get up about 5 a.m. and write until about 9 a.m. After that, I practice Ashtanga yoga; then I work with clients in the afternoon. In between, I’m usually walking my dog.

4. Describe your workspace

My workspace is anywhere I can open my computer—I’m not picky. I write at my desk, on my bed, on the sofa, on buses, trains, airplanes….

5. Favorite books (especially for writers)

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott, Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.

6. Tell us three interesting/crazy things about you

1. I’ve been practicing Ashtanga yoga for twelve years. Ashtanga asks you to be on the mat six days a week: you’re tired, you practice; you’re busy, you practice; you’re sad; you practice, etc. Incorporating this discipline into writing has been incredibly helpful.
2. Thanks to Ashtanga, I can stand on my hands and put my feet on my head—before I started I couldn’t touch my toes.
3. I consider brownies perfectly legitimate breakfast food.

7. Favorite quote

“Write toward vulnerability. Don’t worry about appearing sentimental. Worry about being unavailable; worry about being absent or fraudulent.”

                                                            Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

8. Best and worst part of being a writer

The best part of being a writer is getting paid to write—how extraordinary is that? I’m grateful because it’s a privilege. I don’t know that there is a worst part—I would say the hardest part is that moment about 1/3 of the way into the writing process when I inevitably say to myself, “Well, this is just absolutely awful and I have no idea how I’m going to make it work.”

9. Advice for other writers

Find people who will give you honest—constructive—feedback. It’s not enough to say, “This is just great!” Or “This isn’t working.” You need someone who can say, “This is great and here’s how I think it can be better.” Or, “This isn’t working but I think this is how you can make it work.”

10. Tell us a story about your writing experience. 

My writing experience was a long time coming — when my agent first told me she thought I had a book in me, I told her I thought she was delusional. What I discovered, thanks to her patience, is that—for me—finding the right tone was the hardest part. Putting words together wasn’t tricky—putting them together in such a way that others responded to them was. We went through seventeen drafts of the manuscript for my first book before she thought it was ready to go out into the world- this is why I so strongly recommend finding someone you trust to give you feedback.

The Wow Factor is available on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Wow-Factor-Things-Guarantee-Business/dp/034551789X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258350872&sr=8-1

Posted by Audiegrl

Daily Finance/Jeff Bercovici—Lou Dobbs knows the world is watching him closely now for clues that might explain his sudden resignation from CNN. So it’s probably safe to read some meaning into the choice of the anchorman’s venue for his first big post-CNN interview: He’s going on Fox News.

The network is set to announce that Dobbs will be a guest on Monday night’s edition of Bill O’Reilly’s show, DailyFinance has learned. Warm feelings between the two men goes back to last summer, when O’Reilly publicly defended Dobbs against critics who wanted him fired for repeatedly showcasing the claims of “birthers” who allege President Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. Dobbs offered to be interviewed on The O’Reilly Factor then, but quickly backed out, prompting speculation that CNN had ordered him not to appear on a competing network.

Monday’s appearance could be a make-good for that…or it could be a not-so-subtle signal that Dobbs is inclined to sign on with Rupert Murdoch’s legions, as many believe he will. (On his radio show today, callers were reportedly urging Dobbs to do just that.)

One unknown is whether Dobbs has the contractual freedom to become a Fox Newser. CNN president Jon Klein has said he let Dobbs out of his contract early — it was supposed to run through 2011 — but declined to say whether he did so on the condition that the anchor not go to work for a competitor. It’s possible that Dobbs could join Fox Business Network, which doesn’t compete with CNN or other Turner Broadcasting properties, and then expand into a role with Fox News once any exclusivity period that may exist runs out. (A Fox spokeswoman says there have been no discussions with Dobbs about working at either channel.)

More @

The common idea is that abuse by an intimate partner happens to the poor. Occurs in the lower socioeconomic classes. It is a syndrome affecting the unemployed, uneducated, oppressed … But the fact is, that crosses all borders.

It may be black, white, yellow, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, fat, thin, beautiful, ugly collar, professional, blue … It may be of any religious orientation, in any scheme. This is not a class or lifestyle, it's aboutCONTROL.

I compare his major impact in sweat. Sweat rich and poor, the only difference is they can do so enclosed in the sauna. The fact is they have too many sweat pores and their physiology is the same as their less privileged counterparts.

Abuse and Control as a human condition

The trend toward control of your intimate partner is a human condition, not a social service or economic. This is a control dependence psycho-social.It is an undue hardship to own, possess and control their love objects.

This is the personal satisfaction and well-being in their capacity to effectively regulate their "love" partners, and to regulate itself. More … intimate partner in her own honor.

Domestic Abuse and Financial Strain

However, it is also true that the financial pressure that creates stress, which exacerbates the violence. We can therefore expect to see aincrease in reported incidents of violence to those who have a predisposition to violence in situations of domestic economic crisis.

If you live in the syndrome of domestic violence, we know that this is true. If you are looking for a stranger, a closer look at your rich friends. It is likely that you will notice that many abusive relationships among the rich than the poor.

Mariah Carey is doing Europe for a while because her album Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel will be out there now. Contrary to what many critics would say, the voice is very much still there. But, she needs to lay “I Want To Know What Love Is” to rest now and concentrate on something like our favorite “Standing O” or “H.A.T.E.U.”

Questa sera andrà in onda su Raidue la decima puntata del talent show, X Factor. Oltre alla consueta kèrmesse musicale arricchita

Ron’s new album “The Summer Of Ron” is out now.
It is produced by his cousin Moka Only.
I don’t see the resemblance, but hey, go figure.

“Science Pack”

“Hi.. Ron contour here.. thanks for takin some time to ask me some shnit.”

∆: 1. Scientific Galactic Backpack or Steam Powered Rap Reactor?
“well Im gonna have to go with the scientific kind of backpack. Something that has had plenty of research involved in the creation. you know, maybe like a new futuristic fabric to use or something. I mean, cus, some of us realy use thos things.. I think in the song I may have intended to be describing backpack as a way of sonic life. Its funny how its seen as a bad thing now.. to be called a backpacker rapper. shoot, thats all I am and all I know. its a positive thing. I involve the backpack in my ideaology. Its healthy. Im like a health concious emcee. I could prolly use more money though. less criticism, more money.”

∆: 2. Rhythm X or Mr. Gerbik?
“Rhythm x as in kool keith? I really hope im not going to be getting kool keith comparisons just because I use a free minded approach to the rap. The rap that I do personally is like…ten moons in a different direction than him. Its whenever an emcee gets inventive then the kool keith thing might come up? I dunno, i mean..i have respect for him but we are vastly different.. for instance, he would never talk about the laundry or the pita place or whatnot. these are everyday things. Im not talking about diamonds…because lets face it..i cant EAT diamonds. anyhow, yeah. maybe? yea.”

∆: 3. SP303 or SP404?
“sp 303 i guess but thats more of my cousin Moka’s arena. He is the one that does the bulk of my beats. I make the odd one here or there but its been awhile since ive taken it serious. I think he prefers the 303 though. its less flashy. there are no blue lights and dumb sirens on the 303. its like… the garbage man.. it does its job and doesnt need to be on the runway with blue lights and stuff. its solid state. no space stuff.”

∆: 4. Freights?
“friehgts.. both me and moka seem to share a love fro trains.. and its like.. some cats love cars.. I always hear cats talk about cars in rap rimes. but listen… whats bigger, noiser, stinkier and more mysterious than trains? not a lot. they are the crux. Ya, i was close to taking a conductors course but the raps were my calling really. at least im good at the rap.”

∆: 5. Carrots or Eggs?
“Once again.. thats moka’s album.. i can comment on it but he would be the one to really break down the science behind it. My opinion tho would be eggs. Its just more benneficial. and they are faster to cook.. more protein too.. but yeah, that album was dope,man.. i dont know how he does it..he puts out more shit than me and still gets slept on. I doubt he’ll ever stop. Me and him are very similar in many ways.. Ive just lived in more places than him. Ive prolly had more jobs too. He is like an all music all the time guy. And since im more or less just making the raps I have time for other things like swimming or whatever. You know, just feeling out the clittoris of life… rubbing it.. Regular stuff.”

“Hey I have two new albums comin at ya soon. One is called SAFFRON and its produced by factor. Moka was too busy to help me on that one. And then i have another one called RONTARIO which I am finishing up this month. Moka did the beats for it since he finished his christmas album. ohh.. little known family secret.. moka studies architecture. Mid century modern stuff from the 60s. He has all kind of architect enthusiast friends and all kinda weird non-rap shit. I dont get it. anyhow, thanks!—R”

Massive Thanks To Ron Contour For Participating In The Q&A!
Big Up!

∆

Ahoy!  The big day everyone has been waiting for has finally come.  SGraphics, the simple graphics vocabulary for factor, has been officially released to the public;  the curious and brave can find it in my factor repo on github:  http://github.com/tylergreen/factor  , in the “extras” folder.

The primary goal of this project is to provide an intuitive, extensible language for describing 2D scenes and pictures.   Only a basic understanding of geometry is assumed — no knowledge of OpenGL is required.

SGraphics’ primitive objects consist of points, lines, polygons, and circles, which can be “merged” together to form “scene” objects.  Scenes themselves can be merged with other scenes or primitives to form new scenes.  Scenes are constructed either by calling “merge” on any two graphics objects or using the <scene> constructor on a sequences of graphic objects.

All objects can be manipulated with the three basic geometrical transformations:  scale, rotate, and slide (aka translate), which as normal factor words, can be composed to form more complex translations. Additionally, all objects can be colored (with colors from colors.constants ).

Once you are finished building and manipulating your scene, it can be drawn to the screen using “draw”.

A good place to learn more about sgraphics and how it is used is the sgraphics.demos vocabulary.  Compare the factor code for each to its output when drawn by the factor UI.

SGraphics is still young, so expect changes as it grows and matures.  Any duplication of code from existing factor vocabularies is almost certainly due to own ignorance.  Right now, the vocabulary core, sgraphics.factor measures at about 280 lines (including comments and whitespace); I expect this number to decrease drastically in the future.  If you do try out SGraphics, please let me know about your experience to help me iron out any inconsistencies and confusions that may exist.  Expect more documentation and demos soon.