Disqus - Latest Comments for IdeaSmith

Re: Writers who inspire me

IdeaSmith — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 02:43:48 -0000

Thank you for your words, Sunita. I was having a crazy month and I actually read this mail on my phone, riding pillion on a bike because I've been running behind time. It made me pause for a second and think, my life means a wee bit more than the schedules. So thank you very much.

I'm bookmarking this post to check out the others you have linked to as well. I'm having a happy nostalgia flash of the early days of blogging when this is how people found each other (via link love and posts), not Facebook ads.

Re: The Ugly Truth behind Happy Marriages in India

IdeaSmith — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 10:23:13 -0000

I just wish that this article hadn't ended with domestic violence against men. While this is completely relevant and important, finishing on this note means that a lot of people are going to hijack the thread with 'Women these days are so cruel, they are twisting the laws to harass men'.

I know many men suffer domestic abuse and this will never be okay or a 'lesser evil'. But I think there is a bigger issue at hand and that is the larger numbers of women who face violence every day. Women also face severe censure and pressure to not complain, to accept. I know the video shows people stopping to help the woman who is being assaulted but I don't think that represents India. Every day is full of stories of a woman who was dragged away in the middle of the day and nobody did anything. Don't we all know of one house in our building or colony, from where we can hear screaming and crying at odd hours? And how often is street harassment camouflaged as 'eve-teasing' or Bollywood-inspired 'playful fun'? How often do you think people interfere to protect the woman? As a woman, I can tell you, not much.

Also, considering that this is on a website called Bollywoodshaadis, I think you might have done well to touch on how Bollywood glorifies much male violence against women, especially partners. Thank you for the write-up anyway. I'm glad someone is talking about it.

Re: We’re losing all our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome by Tasha Robinson

IdeaSmith — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 06:05:19 -0000

Well, there is Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games - ambitious, sullen, an accomplished archer paired with the softer Peeta who cooks and paints. But that is an exception, I know.

Re: Rain, Again | India Currents

IdeaSmith — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 03:36:54 -0000

What a wonderful piece! I'm the exact opposite. I hate the rains from the very first drizzle down to the flood-causing deluges. Yet, I enjoyed reading this piece about a person who does love it.

Re: How Women Train Men To Rape

IdeaSmith — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 07:36:18 -0000

I have a problem with most of the articles I see on this site for obvious reasons (woman, non-white, feminist etc). But this article has some food for thought. Sex games are dangerous and should definitely be approached with caution (safe words et al), if they are to be played.

Re: 25 Creative Writing Prompt Ideas for All Ages

IdeaSmith — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:59:18 -0000

I tried this once and it resulted in a children's story. Open a dictionary and at random, pick out three words. Write a story using these three. For a younger writer, a children's dictionary should suffice.

Re: 10 Signs Someone You Know is Doing National Novel Writing Month

IdeaSmith — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 17:10:47 -0000

Yes, oh yes! I've casting all about Twitter for character names and now for minor plot twists too. The line 'he tells you that your dialogue is weak, your motivations are unclear,
your backstory is underdeveloped, and your plot is full of holes.' made me guffaw and then think about my own story with an OMIGOSHISTHATTRUE??! Egad, NaNoFever.

Re: Chennai Express is all about the mythology of Shah Rukh Khan

IdeaSmith — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 16:46:13 -0000

Criticism? Ahem. You really like Shah Rukh Khan, don't you? I agree with most of the things you said about the other aspects of the film - Deepika, beefcake men etc. But I'll shy away from this be-so-kind-to-SRK business. Chennai Express was tolerable, in spite of him, not because of a single thing he did (including your theory of 'breaking fourth wall/being common') He's been a superstar, had his day. He's also made pots of money as he's been clear all along, was his major intention. It's time to retire gracefully from a job that he was never very good at (but successful, nevertheless) or put up with derision and fall from grace.

Re: Tips for your First Social Media Interview

IdeaSmith — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:37:09 -0000

These are useful pointers for anyone appearing for any job interview as a fresher. Well put.

Re: Is LinkedIn the new Facebook?

IdeaSmith — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:30:25 -0000

I think the issue is that people forget that everything professional is
about people too. Conversations and relationships cannot always be
strictly slotted in personal or professional. Especially in working
environments, communication & relationships are a combination of
both. 'Networking' was about realizing that professional gains could be
had by leveraging people's relationships. Social networking relies on
benefits & improvement from people's interactions. LinkedIn falls on
the overlap of these two. In the past few years, their push to move
from a job search site to a social network (albeit a professional one)
indicates that they're seeing the value of conversations over stiffly
defined structures too. And conversations cannot be so stringently
structured, if they are to remain fresh, relevant and engaging.

While I understand
that there would be silly and irrelevant content appearing, it's no
different from what happens in real world professional environments.
People do laugh, joke and make plans for lunch/dinner/tea in offices and
even meetings. It's a matter of ensuring that these don't get in the
way of the main purpose of the meeting and that is upto the people
concerned. I'd say if somebody or some entity's content feels irrelevant
and spammy to you on a particular social media service,
unfollow/unfriend/delink from them. There is no reason to follow
everyone on all the platforms. Streamline the content you want rather
than trying to enforce rules of conduct.

Re: 7 Reasons Why You Should Want to Date an Older Woman « HowAboutWe – Date Report

IdeaSmith — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:54:34 -0000

I'm seeing a lot of articles of this nature. While most of these ring true (as someone who dated 25-yr-olds when 30 and above), I'd really like to see if there's anything in favour of the older woman dating the younger man. Because as far as I'm concerned, the only thing they've got going for them is more (and less grey) hair. The immaturity, the territoriality, the inability to listen, the ego - all of these are worse the younger they are.

Re: Things My Boyfriend’s Female Best Friend Should Know

IdeaSmith — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:47:59 -0000

I feel like I should be writing this letter every time a close guy friend gets a girlfriend. Otherwise, miraculously the phone conversations, then the texts/emails and finally even being welcome in his life stop.

Another thought. How come the men I date never feel like they've to bond with my male besties?

Re: Every Mistake You Make In Your 20s Has Consequences | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:35:01 -0000

I've been there and over the hill (literally as well, I'm over thirty). It does get better. The clue is in something you already said in your piece - "The quicker you come to terms with this, the sooner you can move on and learn to be comfortable in your new skin."

Re: Confessions Of A Self-Conscious Guy | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:18:22 -0000

@Joshua : I'm not an introvert and I enjoy eating alone too. It keeps a basic activity simple & enjoyable instead of complicating it with the pressures of maintaining a conversation, falling in with other people's notions of what one should eat (vegetarians, non-vegetarians, sweet tooths etc).

Re: Confessions Of A Self-Conscious Guy | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:12:51 -0000

Uhm, this isn't self-conscious, it's neurotic. Most of us can identify with at least one of these but all of them together? Maybe you need to get out of your head, put yourself in some of these situations, get embarrassed and realize that embarrassment doesn't kill you.

Re: Sometimes You’re The One Who’s Wanted | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:42:54 -0000

One can wish.

Re: An Imagined Girls Night With Katniss Everdeen, Hermione Granger, Bella Swan And Buffy Summers

IdeaSmith — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:37:00 -0000

LOL, this was a good idea but it seemed to go too much the way of Go Fug Yourself posts.

Re: Have I Been Legitimately Raped? | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:27:21 -0000

May I just correct your last line to "World, is this correct?"

We don't ask for it. We never do.

Re: I Won’t Ever Get Divorced | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:11:26 -0000

Spoken like someone who has never been in a long-term relationship, let along a marriage. Not everyone gets married on a whim. And not everyone who gets together in a mature, sensible, prolonged way achieves their fairytale 'happily ever after'. People change, values shift, problems like death, job loss, mental illness, cheating and other things can cause irreparable damage to a relationship.

It's good to know that you hope these will never happen to you and maybe they won't. But that's a matter of luck, not principles or intelligent decisions.

Re: Dear Bros: Let’s Stop Cat-Calling | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 05:38:21 -0000

I love that a man wrote this piece.

At the same time I have to agree with some of the comments. I believe most of the idiots who catcall (eve-teasing we call it here in India) don't believe that they'll ever actually stand a chance with the said woman. So it's a way to demean her, reduce her value in their own & the eyes of everyone else around, a way to make themselves feel better by putting her down.

Like I said, I love the fact that there are men who think the way the writer of this piece does. But guys like that don't need to resort to putting other people down to feel good about themselves.

Re: Where Is The Pee Hole? | Thought Catalog

IdeaSmith — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 14:59:41 -0000

LOL, this was terribly funny. I can't believe people are nitpicking the numbers line and taking this so seriously.

Re: 11 Things That Didn’t Work in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

IdeaSmith — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:25:01 -0000

What bothered me the most? It felt too much like a sequel to 'The Dark Knight'. In that rehashed plot/nostalgia moments from film 1/too lazy to make a new film way. Enough with the 'Why do we fall?' already!

Re: First Date Questionnaire: 30-Something Edition

IdeaSmith — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:42:37 -0000

This post was XXFactored!

Re: First Date Questionnaire: 30-Something Edition

IdeaSmith — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:41:11 -0000

This post was XXFactored!

Re: 6 Bits Of Information That Should Never Be Relayed Via Text Message - Date Report - Dating Blog | HowAboutWe

IdeaSmith — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 04:36:33 -0000

This post was XX Factored!