Confused? Hope not. I stumbled upon a blog today called "Tiffin Box" that is all about vegetarian cooking. .
"I’m a vegetarian Indian graduate student living in the American Midwest. I love food and I miss home. There’s no “ethnic” market here to speak of, and I don’t have access to most of the vegetables and other stuff I need to cook real home-style Indian vegetarian cuisine."
Yummy stuff. Go check it out (then come back here to comment).
I tooled around this site and made things look a little pretty. If you are reading this blog through a RSS feed reader, you are unlikely to see the sheer beauty of it all [said tongue-in-cheek]. I have thought about having a designer completely revamp this site, but that takes bucks. Got some to spare? I am going to continue tweaking the lists (especially the long ones) so that they are presented to you in a more elegant fashion. My goal here is to have my audience view this page quickly. Even on a fast connection, I sometimes feel I am viewing this site on a dial-up. Ugh!
So, keep coming back and comment here about your experience with this site. What works, what is useful, what is sheer crap. I am all ears. It's time for, um, CHANGE*.
*This post inspired by Sen. Barack Obama.
Oh, yeah, come and check out the "new" site.
How to cut a mat for your prints
Getting Things Done: Mission Possible. Just wish there was a program that morphs the best from Xpad and WebnoteHappy
Those of you who actually visit this site rather than read the contents through a RSS aggregator probably have already seen the change. I decided to jettison the all-black color of the site for a more earthy tone.
I am still figuring out where and how to place all those links on the right and left side. I am curious to know if the drop-down menus I had for a while worked. Do tell me. There is no better way to learning about this than doing and of course receiving positive feedback from people like you.
If there are any designers trolling this site, I would love to hear from you. So, speak up!
1.08308605341 isn't the square root of Pi. It's an approximate average number of blog posts here on Tiffinbox in the past three years. One day. Kinda like a vitamin for your soul.
Yep, I quietly swept past the 1000 post mark. No balloons or firecrackers. I did drink a dry, smooth Cabernet Sauvignon, though to mark the occasion.
If you arrive on the Tiffinbox page [those of you who don't use a RSS aggregator] you will notice now a temporary blue dock at the bottom of the page with a little message from indieKarma, a new micropayment service I am using. If you visit this site on a regular basis, it will only cost you pennies to support Tiffinbox. I am passing around the hat.
Teyaari.com is now Tiffinbox's newest sponsor.
"Teyaari.com is an information services firm focused on event planning and management. We provide customized reports and tailored services for event planners, organizations, and busy individuals. With information on over 5,000 businesses across 13 categories from all over the United States, we can provide helpful information for your next event."
Planning your next event – wedding, conference, birthday party? Stop by Teyaari.com and tell them Tiffinbox sent you.
Spokane's The Spokesman-Review is what I call a photo-friendly newspaper. The editors there, those in management and the trenches, get it about using photography and telling community stories effectively.
Colin Mulvany who used his still camera at that paper for a number of years has now shifted to using his video camera to create Video Journal, a terrific video blog or vlog.
The stories are almost always community oriented. They are edited with great precision and carried me from one video post to another because the narrative is so compelling in each of them. I recommend a broad-band connection, though a lo-bandwidth version is also conveniently available.
According to Melissa Lyttle, “Finding The Frame” is a series of posts on the Video Journal site “where a Spokesman-Review photojournalist gets to talk about how a picture came together, and the audio gives you some insight into what they were thinking when they shot it.”
[Tip o' the hat to A Photo A Day]
This might be old news to some of you, but I just read in Boing Boing that the Pakistani government has blocked the ubiquitous Blogspot.com domain for hundreds of bloggers in Pakistan.
As Danial Ahmad suggests this action by the Pakistani government may be in retaliation of some bloggers posting (or reposting) the defamatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad which first appeared in a Danish newspaper.
In any case, please support Pakistani bloggers and get your very own Don't Block The Blog decal for your site here.
Isn't it a tad bit ironic, though, that this ban went into effect after President George W. Bush left Pakistan after his hand-shake visit with Gen. Pervez Musharaf? Did the Pakistani government wait till the leader of the free world had departed their country before curbing people's rights? Imagine the PR romp if the censorship had occurred before W's visit. Yikes!
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management must have the cajones of an elephant to go after a few prominent bloggers because of what was published. Their PR department must be going stir crazy with all the negative press they are getting now. The IIPM (every organization in India has long, technical names which inefficiently gets truncated to a few letters) is a business school that claims a vast number of things, including being ranked in the top-25 nationally (which they are not) and being "better" than the well-regarded world famous Indian Institute of Management, or, IIM (which is really an inside joke, I am sure).
In a nutshell, here is what happened – Rashmi Bansal, a blogger and editor of JAM, an online magazine wrote this article, calling the IIPM on their tall claims. The IIPM and some of their alumni retaliated, calling Rashmi names and issuing legal notices to whomever linked to the story. Gaurav Sabnis, who worked for IBM lost his job there as the IIPM pulled some strings or played out their drama card of "we'll burn our IBM laptops, if you don't sack Sabnis." Arrrgh!
IBM, did nothing. Sabnis resigned. IIPM, 1. Bloggers, freedom & logic, 0.
Now, if the JAM article was full of crap, that would be one thing. It apparently hit a nerve. Truth does hurt don't it? The way IIPM handled this certainly smacks of a very defensive maneuver. What are they hiding and why? The vitriolic attacks against bloggers only exposes them to necessary criticism and more probing questions, which as experience has shown they are unwilling to answer in a civilized manner.
DesiPundit has the goods on this whole issue. Om Malik's quick take on it for those of you with little time.
Tiffinbox is a labor of love. No doubt about it. However it would sure feel great to receive your support if you really find something, anything useful from time to time.
Starting today, in the upper right hand column is a tip jar. Throw in a couple of bucks. Throw in ten, or whatever suits you. Thanks for your support!
Help me spread the word about the site and send me leads to South Asian photographers, artists, designers, writers, musicians, dancers and events they are involved in. I'll be happy to post their information, be it a link or a series of images, on this site. The email address to send that info to is tiffinbox[at]pipalproductions[dot]com.
For as long as I have been blogging, I have used Bloglet to automatically send updates to your email inboxes. I just checked my account with Bloglet and there are 358 subscribers to this blog, Tiffinbox.
Three-hundred-and-fifty-eight! GAWD! Really? WRONG! Well, a closer inspection revealed that many [hopefully not most] subscribers are those with fake or false email addresses. "admin@flash.com," "card@game.com" and "info@amer.com" are some examples. Either spambots have found a way to enter their email addresses and take over the Bloglet system or there is one very bored hacker who has nothing better to do.
With Six Apart's authentication service TypeKey, I have kept most comment and trackback spammers at bay and have required those of you who want to leave comments to register with the service. I understand that this has discouraged many of you and I regret that you find it a PITA [pain in the arse] to leave your thoughts on this site. But life is short and I didn't want to spend any more time batting away those nefarious emails that we all receive from time to time.
So, with TypeKey in place Bloglet's unreliable and perhaps buggy service is getting the boot. I am bouncing it out of here. In its place I will be using FEEDblitz. Look for the FEEDblitz form in the same place you found the Bloglet form. Subscribe to this blog [yes, still free] and continue to receive all the posts in your email inbox. For those of you who used Bloglet, I have transferred over legitimate email addresses to the new service. The rest didn't make it. It's still a whopping 315 subscribers so Thank You!
And this is as good a time to let you know about Feedburner, my choice of service to publicize and optimize RSS feeds. If you don't know what RSS stands for [in the non-desi sense], fear not. If you are set on receiving all my posts here in your email inbox and your are happy, let's leave it at that.
If some of you have ventured into the world of aggregators like Bloglines, FeedDemon or NetNewsWire, then you can receive my posts as an automatic feed; posts that magically appear in your choice of aggregator along with other weblogs that you read. You don't have, though I wouldn't recommend it, visit this site directly. If for instance, I post images on this site, you are unlikely to see them in an aggregator.
If you do use an aggregator set up, I urge you to use the following FeedBurner feed – http://feeds.feedburner.com/Tiffinbox – to receive it without any interruptions. There are many advantages for doing this; everything looks consistent and clean and is an easier, enjoyable read. I welcome you to give it a whirl.
As always, please send me feedback at tiffinbox [at] pipalproductions [dot] com.
As the country celebrates Independence Day this year, changes at TypePad [actually, SixApart] appear to be afoot.
I noticed something significantly different in the way my site appeared. The list of links on either side of the page appeared to have text that was way too large, line breaks within posts disappeared, obscenely scrunching paragraphs together and images I posted seemed off-center.
I checked TypePad News and sure enough the servers that run the weblog tool of my choice – TypePad – were going through some maintenance. But this was no ordinary fixer-upper. TypeKey, the much heralded system that makes posting comments on weblogs and logging into websites a snap is finally here for TypePad. Everyone say "Amen," cuz I know I have been hit by comment and trackback spammers for quite some time. Now, if you want to comment or send a trackback your identity will have to be verified. So, spammers, &^%$# off!
There are also changes to how one can design a blog, the doubling of bandwidth and the increase in storage capacity that should now make TypePad the all around favorite blogging tool. I suspect there will be some growing pains after this major shift as well, but I am thrilled to see the one feature I kept hankering for: TypeKey, finally here.
If you maintain and publish a weblog, help MIT with their research on weblogging. I am not sure to what end this survey helps them, but it was quick and easy to fill out.
You would think that a blogger working on a blogging project at the SAJA convention would have a moment to post to one's own blog, but it's been pretty busy here.
Yesterday, the convention got into the swing of things; the super workshops, including one for photographers in Jackson Heights led by David H. Wells, were all-day affairs. I bowed out of managing the photo workshop this year as I am involved in producing the convention blog project written by students and edited by professionals.
One of the best workshops I snuck into was the one by Jay Dedman and Ryanne Hodson, both discussing the looming video blogging or vlogging rage. Their mission is simple; to go past the usual gatekeepers of visual content and to essentially become citizen journalists. Well, not really journalists but documentarians of life as they see and perceive it. It's a novel concept and what they are doing is utterly noble. Their secondary mission, if there is one, is to promote the vlogging enterprise; to create vlogs and to view them.
For the last several weeks I have been quietly working with a dedicated group of journalists on a project that will go live today – the SAJA Convention Blog. The general idea is this; student bloggers and a few journalists who will work as editors will come together and publish this site during the upcoming SAJA Convention. Starting June 16 through June 19, you'll see blog posts throughout the day. I am even going to give podcasting a shot. Do let me know what you think. Feedback is vital.
I am getting smothered with Trackback SPAM - that's unwanted pings back to this website. All of it is porn in content. Not sure what to do. Any solutions other than dumping TypePad and going to WordPress or Manish's RocketPost? I received a record 110 trackback pings. I know I can copy and paste the offending IP addresses and “ban” them. But these folks seem pretty determined. Sigh!
Come take a look; I have made some changes on this site. They may appear minor, but after dragging my feet for so long [everyone was asking me what 'tiffinbox' is and who was behind this blog] I have decided to, well, open up a bit. It's a pretty bold move, but I do hope it is one that will prove mutually valuable.
Photo District News's student site PDNedu launched a blog that is full of promise. Help them name their blog and you could win a Nikon digital camera. My suggestions were: Pixel8d and LightChasers.
One of the bloggers of this new site, Jeff Curto, invites photographers to submit work for an open critique. It would make for some great exposure should your image get chosen [sorry, couldn't resist!]. Just be open to positive criticism.
Via Dave Winer
"BlogHer's goal is helping women bloggers identify, reach and grow the audience they seek by raising their visibility and searchability. Once women bloggers build relationships with each other -- online and in person –- it will be easier for Web users to find more quality, relevant bloggers."
Right on my sistas! [Anna you going to this?] It's not only open to women. Men are welcome to attend this conference as well. If there is ever a East coast version, please let me know.
Via International Journalist's Network
Online voting is now open in an international competition to honor the best blogs that defend freedom of expression.
Paris-based press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is organizing the competition, in cooperation with the Deutsche Welle news agency. The aim is to recognize bloggers in various parts of the world who often put themselves in danger by defending free expression.
Anyone can vote once in each of six categories: Africa and the Middle East, the Americas, Asia, Europe, Iran, and International.
Iran, as the only country that has its own category in the contest, has been a difficult place for those speaking out on the Internet. The Islamic state has sought to restrict Weblogs even as they have grown in popularity and influence. Authorities there routinely arrest and imprison bloggers who openly defend the right to speak freely. Recently, RSF reported that authorities arrested one blogger’s pregnant wife after she publicly defended her husband for promoting free speech.
To vote for a blog, visit the following website.
If you have been following along, you know why I dragged my feet to post these pictures from the desi blogger's meetup in Manhattan on April 2. So, here they are, in no particular order. It's quite likely I have missed a few people who were there. Believe me, it's not an intentional omission.
After puttzing around with my digital camera, I have decided it needs to be retired. It's an old cantankerous beast that is wholly unreliable; good only to grab a few passing shots for an eBay auction or two. The images I shot at the gathering were on a compact flash card and it was corrupt. I simply couldn't retrieve anything. I had even told Turbanhead that my attempts to download the images were futile. But thanks to Garrett, photographer and all-round Mac geek, I was able to use a program called PhotoRescue to get something out of nothing.
Someone asked me what I thought of the gathering. It was a lot of fun finally meeting people whose websites I have read and enjoyed a great deal. We'll just have to try and do this again. The food at the restaurant was good, though the manager there threw a bit of a hissyfit when some seats went unfilled. I suspect the rain (oh, do I know about that rain now) was a deterrent to some who couldn't make it. I scanned some of the other sites but I didn't see a whole lot of bandwidth on this meetup. So, do feel free to comment here.
UPDATE: P. Kerim Friedman has his own slick Flickr-based album of the desi gathering.
One final note to all – thanks for coming!
So, as day becomes night and night becomes day tomorrow, I'll be on a train from New Haven barreling towards Grand Central Station. Why? For the desi bloggers meetup in Manhattan of course. I am calling it Manhattan Masala, but I am sure we'll come up with something more elegant over the course of a meal and few drinks.
The venue is Bay Leaf. The time, 1.30 p.m. So far 26 of you have RSVP'd on time (deadline was March 31). Those who are emailing me today – sorry, we would love to accommodate you next year (or sooner). Space at the restaurant is really tight and we have only till 3 p.m. to meet, greet and eat.
The weather is set to be wet, so wear a poncho, carry an umbrella, do a rain dance or whatever catches your fancy. Rain or shine, we are going to be there.
As I said, the first two bloggers to get there receive a copy of Pooja Makhijani's book, Under Her Skin.
To see who is coming, you will have to surf to my site – Tiffinbox – and look in the right column under Manhattan Masala for the names of bloggers and the number of guests they are bringing. I am looking forward to putting faces to URLs. [Thanks JD!]
Via Sean Hintz – Photo Editor, ESPN.com
Do you love sports? Do you work well under tight deadlines and pressure packed situations? As Associate Photo editor, you’ll work with the Photo Imaging Group and the editorial staff to publish the most compelling images onto the internet’s most trafficked sports website. We’ll need you to have an eye for color, and photo layout, as well as have thorough knowledge of photo editing and production software. You’ll need to be able to take direction while adding your own flavor. You’ll be expected to work nights, weekends, and some holidays. The Assistant Photo Editor must be willing and able to communicate clearly with outside sources of photos, including freelancers, wire services, as well as public and private institutions.
Job Requirements: BA or BFA in Digital Art, newsroom experience, expert sports knowledge (current and historical)
Specific Skills – Expert knowledge of PhotoShop, Illustrator or Freehand and other related imaging software
- Thorough grasp of digital imagery, and it’s preparation for web publishing.
- Strong Communication skills.
- Working understanding of FTP
- Ability to multi-task and work on several projects at once
Title: Assistant Photo Editor, ESPN.com
Department: ESPN.com
Location: Bristol, Connecticut
Hours: 30/week
Shift: Nights/Weekends
Please understand that there are no relocation expenses nor health benefits attached to this position. However, for those who are recent graduates, this is a great foot-in-the-door opportunity to get into an exciting world of sports news broadcasting, though there are no guarantees it will convert into a full-time position.
Interested? Please contact Sean Hintz at:
sean.m.hintz[at]espn3[dot]com with your resume/CV and your questions.
Good luck!
Kiruba Shankar is a blogger based in Chennai. He has quite a following. I check his site about once a month. More recently he was to have hosted the Bharateeya Blog Mela. That's what brought me to his site a couple of days back. Well, there I saw his announcement that he would be suspending his blog. I called it a sick April-fool's joke and so it was. 
Just about everyone commenting on this “last” post seemed to get a whiff of bull$&)*wafting from his site. But even people like the conservative blogger Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com bid him adieu – “I'm not in this place, but I understand. When it's not fun anymore, it's time to quit.”
There is a lot of burn-out in the blogging world. Some start with a few posts and the site lays dormant until it just goes away one day. What motivates me about blogging is that I am able to share with you what I have found or seen or what I have been thinking about. The blogging world is truly a marketplace of ideas (yes, gross plagiarism on my part there). As Paul Graham commands: “publish stuff online, because an audience makes you write more, and thus generate more ideas.” How true!
So, what motivates you to blog and do you feel pressured to do it every day? How close are you to burning out and what do you do to bring back some sanity to your life? Do tell. And while it may still be April Fool's Day, do be honest with your responses.
On March 13, 2005 Nilesh writes: "The next Blog Mela will be hosted on Kiruba's weblog."
Small problem. Kiruba in a March 30. 2005 post Kiruba writes: "All good things must come to an end and so should this blog. I'm shutting it down. It's time to move on in life."
Hmmm ... so who is hosting the next Bharateeya Blog Mela? Is this some sick pre-April Fool's Day joke?
The 2005 Photobloggies have been announced. Nilesh Chaudhari handily won the South East Asian/Indian division for his photoblog. If you look at his site(s) you'll know why he so deserves it. Congratulations!
The list of desi bloggers meeting on April 2nd in Manhattan has now grown to 16! I am updating the RSVPs to this event now in a special and temporary link list on my site – Tiffinbox. Look to the right column under "Manhattan Masala."
March 31st is the deadline for all RSVP's to this event; if you are a desi blogger and can make it to a very casual gathering please email me at tiffinbox[at]pipalproductions[dot]com. As I promised Pooja Makhijani there will be no speeches, no toasts, no roasts, just plain schmoozing.
Speaking of Pooja – she has generously donated two copies of her book, Under Her Skin. The first two bloggers [other than Pooja and myself of course] to arrive at the restaurant by 1.30 p.m. will receive these two signed copies. Let the race begin!
JD has taken the initiative to create a graphic to commemorate the Desi Bloggers Manhattan Meet Up on April 2nd. See below!
I am thinking of coming up with a desi-sounding name for what will hopefully become a East coast/West coast annual gathering; any suggestions? Email me at - tiffinbox[at]pipalproductions[dot]com.
Indian bloggers unite! Well, sort of. On April 2, a few desi bloggers are going to meet at the Bay Leaf, for a buffet lunch; to talk about blogging, ourselves or whatever fancies us at the moment. The time – 1.30 p.m. If you are a desi blogger, please RSVP by March 31. You may do so by emailing me at: [tiffinbox at pipalproductions dot com] Replace “at” with @ and “dot” with, well a period. Kill the spaces. Subject line, Bay Leaf.
Prashant Kothari suggested that I keep a running list of bloggers and other visitors who will be attending this little shindig of ours. So here goes:
Manish Vij, Prashant Kothari, Reuben Abraham, Kaushik Banerjee, Atanu Dey, Anna, Amardeep Singh, Shashwati Talukdar, Turbanhead, Sonal Vaidya, Seshu Badrinath, Salil Maniktahla, Divyesh Jariwala & Pooja Makhijani.
Also in attendance will be Anirudh Bhattacharyya, editor of Mantram magazine. Anirudhh is working on an article about Indian American bloggers, so do talk with him if and when you get the chance.
I'll be adding more names as people RSVP me or any of the other bloggers. So, please book mark this post, link to it and spread the word!
Indian bloggers are set to meet up in Manhattan. We need a head count, so that we don't overwhelm the restaurant. Deadline for RSVP is March 31. Email me if you are coming at [tiffinbox at pipalproductions dot com].
Also, joining us are Divyesh Jariwala and Pooja Makhijani.
Please spread the word!
Names and occasionally photographs of people online mean so little until you actually meet people face to face. Well, that time has come for a group of desi/Indian bloggers.
We are meeting on April 2 (notice how we conveniently skipped April Fool's Day) at The Bay Leaf, in Manhattan, at 1.30 p.m.
If you are a desi/Indian blogger, I would like to invite you to join us. It's all very casual, mind you. We'll be meeting around 1.30 for a buffet lunch. You pay as you go.
Here is a short list of other bloggers you are likely to meet: Manish Vij, Prashant Kothari, Reuben Abraham, Kaushik Banerjee, Atanu Dey, Anna, Amardeep Singh, Shashwati Talukdar, Turbanhead, Sonal Vaidya and Me.
For the sake of head-count, we need to know ahead of time if you are indeed going to join us. Please email me at [tiffinbox at pipalproductions dot com]. Email me your name and blog URL. Subject line, BAY LEAF. Cool?
Blogging is usually a labor of love that most of us tackle when we find the time, find the motivation or the inner rumblings of a writer.
Jason Kottke wants to do it full time. That's right. Full time. And I applaud his efforts and his website. If you don't visit it everyday, you are missing out in a big way. Perhaps it's just me, but I find a variety of links there that just lead me to more interesting and useful information.
So a couple of days back, I ponied up $36 and sent it to him via PayPal. I am officially a 'micropatron.' Figuring I visit his web site even once a month, at $3 a read it comes to a whopping $36 for the year.
I have never donated to a blogger before and I am not sure when I will do it again. I just wish sometimes I can have my blogging expenses paid off for the year. I am more than happy to pass the hat but any other ideas?
NewsDesigner.com - an excellent resource for designers and all those who love visual communication. There is even a recent post on the site about how Indian newspapers have considered packaging their news.
The long list of "Today's Front Pages" is simply awesome and is my favorite feature. It gives you a snapshot of what, and more importantly how, some of the world's leading papers are designing their fronts and delivering their news.
I have bookmarked this site and urge you to visit it often as well.
Beginning on January 15, 2005, friend and fellow SAJA member Rebecca Karamehmedovic will co-author the SAJA Photoforum with me.
Yup, I am fishing for votes. If you feel this blog is worthy, please nominate it for the 2005 Bloggies.
Well, here is the deal. I have to renew my TypePad (the tool that I use to blog at Tiffinbox, Omlog and the SAJA Photoforum) service this month.
Now through January 15, 2004 the kind folks at SixApart (the company behind MovableType and TypePad) have offered a rather unique deal. If I renew with them, I get to choose one person (or organization) to receive one year's service to TypePad for free! The great thing is this - I have a PRO account. Whoever is lucky enough to win this will also receive a PRO account. Clear?
I am taking nominations of individuals or non-profit organizations working in one of the following fields: the arts, health, social justice, new media/journalism or photography. The only other caveat is that the blog service you or your organization will receive (valued at $119.60/year) should be used for the public good (doesn't really matter where it is in the world, but hooray if it is South Asian). So, those interested in only creating personal blog spaces need not apply.
I am turning COMMENTS off, so please email me at - tiffinbox[at]pipalproductions[dot]com. Send in your nominations by December 31, 2004 with the subject header of the email reading “BLOGGING FOR FREE.” If I don't see that, your email won't get looked at for a while. Include a brief description of what the organization is about, or who you are as an individual, what your plans are for the blog you intend setting up and why you think you should receive this gift. I am neither asking for a financial statement or proof of your 501(c)3 status, but I trust that you will honor and hold steadfast my wishes as outlined above when you apply. Please be aware that at the end of one year, you will be responsible for continuing the service for whatever SixApart decides to charge you at that time.
It's finally here. With apologies again, allow me to launch into the four (so appropriate, eh?) entries I received for this fourth installment of The Scian Melt.
First up is a lament of sorts by Patrix on his fine blog Nerve Endings Firing Away. And are they ever! Patrix finds the Cobb County School System has succumbed to a form of idiocy; insisting that evolution, or the theory behind it is only that a theory and that creationism, based largely on a Judeo-Christian belief of the world really is the only answer.
Continuing in this vein of science versus religion is Sandeep's post coincidentally titled, The Science Vs Religion Battle. Sandeep suggests that the age of rationale, independent thought, especially on college campuses is in the crosshairs of the ultra conservative propagandists. Dare to discuss a controversial topic and you will be forever branded a rabblerouser and summarily ejected from the system.
On a lighter note, Prashant Mullick has a lucid explanation of how we perceive colors in the sky.
Lastly, continuing to keep our eye to the starry sky one blogger who goes by Broodingdood has some truly fantastic plans for India's odyssey to the moon. Arthur C. Clarke would be proud.
The next Melt will be hosted by Patrix on or around December 25.
It is with profuse apologies to all that I say the links for the fourth Scian Melt will be up on this site only tomorrow (Wednesday, December 8, 2004).
A combination of receiving a dearth of entries (thanks Thanksgiving!) and a slew of personal errands that simply couldn't be put off caused this delay.
Selva has asked me to mention that the next Scian Blog will be hosted by Patrix at or around December 25.
Via John Paczkowski
Microsoft recently launched MSN Spaces, a "free" blog service. But the legal eagles in Redmond have obviously been working overtime.
If you are ever tempted to use their service, you may want to read over this part of the policy before signing on the dotted line:
"For materials you post or otherwise provide to Microsoft related to the MSN Web Sites (a "Submission"), you grant Microsoft permission to (1) use, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, modify, translate and reformat your Submission, each in connection with the MSN Web Sites, and (2) sublicense these rights, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. Microsoft will not pay you for your Submission."
As long as M$ doesn't gobble up Six Apart (whose tool Typepad I use to post my blogs), I could really care less.
Chandrachoodan writes:
"Starting off as a simple thought at the Scian Wiki, the melt has travelled far and wide, first at the Scian Blog, then at Rathodics and has now come here, before going on to it's next port of call."
Well, that next port of call is right here, on Tiffinbox. On December 1, The Scian Melt #4, can be viewed right here in all its glory.
What is The Scian Melt? Good question. What is it doing here on Tiffinbox? Even better question.
To be totally honest with you all, if it weren't for my virtual buddy Prashant Mullick [never met him] and his timely nudge to expand on something I had said on Sepia Mutiny, I wouldn't be playing host to The Scientific-Indian Melt, um, Scian Melt for short.
From my perspective, the connection between science and photography is much too obvious. Now, with digital photography reigning supreme, it's even more of a linked relationship than ever. Claiming no science background [hey, I got a C in high school chemistry] or even for that matter a newly minted PhD. like some people we have come to know, I readily admit that I am a little anxious about this "science" gathering. But with experts like you to explain your findings in illustrative posts, I am sure I will be able to keep up. [deep breath ... now exhaling]
That brings us to a request. If you are a blogger steeped in science and have some way to tie a recent science-oriented post to the Indian subcontinent [on your site or something you have read on another website], please send in your entries to me at ONLY the following email address: tiffinboxmedia [at] gmail [dot] com. Subject line MUST read: SCIAN MELT 4. Capiche? If I receive any entries at any of the other million email addresses I have, it will likely get flushed. DEADLINE: November 30, 2004, 11.59 P.M. EST.
Entries can be in the form of a Permalink. If you wish to add your comments to it [why you think it's such a cool blog post] send it along. I would love to know what makes you tick.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Academy and those bloggers who have preceeded me in this fine adventure - Prashant Mullick [October 6, 2004], Shailendra Rathod [October 20, 2004], Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan [November 20, 2004].
Having a hand at creating and maintaining OMLOG, I found Rebecca MacKinnon's idea at BloggerCon3 to match blogger/volunteers with non-profits to be simply awesome.
BloggerCorps is now live. If you know of a non-profit interested in getting started, this would be a place to start. Please support this non-partisan project and spread the word.
Today I discovered that I too am a nanopublisher.
Azeem Azhar and Shehnaz Suterwalla are two Brits who make up Mink Media who recently launched Honorable Fiend and Wanda Lust, both blogs.
LUXO is an unofficial blog featuring Pixar Animation Studios.
My annual invoice for this blog will be about $120. The balance will be due on December 4, 2004. Other than TIFFINBOX, I also maintain and support a couple of other blogs - SAJA Photoforum and OMLOG. It's all a labor of love and love of labor.
If you find any value in the things that I post here, I urge you to support these projects of mine. Donations are always welcome. Thank you!
Thanks to Sree Sreenivasan for introducing me to Joshua Newton, a Cochin-based blogger, writer and a photographer.
While Mr. Newton wears three hats (or more), what's special about him is that he excels in all three. Truly gravity defying!
His blog is a sheer pleasure to read. It's not just his wit or his command of the English language, but also his sense of style that is very impressive. Take this recent post for example. I loved the way he ended it.
I recommend you subscribe to his webfeed as I have. You may just learn something new, in a new and interesting way.
A blog post on Tiffinbox has been selected for v.2.0 of The Scian Melt.
What is The Scian Melt? Read about it here. I will most likely be hosting the December 1 version, so bookmark this site, or subscribe to it.
Diving into my archives today, I found an image that I had to post on Sepia Mutiny.
Via Steve Rubel
I try my best to credit the source of my information, be it a link or an email address but there is a growing trend where things are read and quickly blogged with no attribution what so ever. That's scary. Not that bloggers are journalists (bloggers can be journalists and journalists can be bloggers, but not all bloggers are journalists – that's for sure), but we need establish some amount of credibility here or we will all end up being CBS. Now, that's really scary.
So, take this pledge of allegiance, nah just sign this petition that states you will credit your source. It's painless, egalitarian and definitely non-partisan.
Amy Gahran's blog Contentious is a must read for those of us in the communication business. Want to learn to write better; she has a tip or a link. Want to disseminate your work to the world via RSS or webfeeds, as she calls them? You got it. She has great, well thought out advice.
Given how much of the Internet (or internet) is splattered with blogs really about nothing substantial (Friends and Seinfeld fans quit whining), Gahran's site in comparison is absolutely rich. If you are interested please sign up for her popular weekly newsletter. I have. There is something in there for everyone. The weekly 'grab bag' is my personal favorite.
The week of August 20, for instance, Amy's 'grab bag' included a link to Acronym Finder, a useful tool if you are trying to figure out what UNHCR stands for and the library is closed for the day. Click on the link to find out what it stands for.
For writers, Amy had links to Elizabeth Brenner Danzinger, her favorite writing coach and author of a book on practical writing advice called Get to the Point. Thanks to Amy, I have now subscribed to a monthly intallment of writing tips, called Writamins by Ms. Danzinger. I'll share them with you just as soon as I get them in my inbox.
I am now publishing a weekly photoblog at Sepia Mutiny. It's quite likely that you will see the same images I post here over there. But don't let that stop you from checking out the fine writing you will find there by scrolling up or down.
Special thanks to Vinod and Manish for inviting me to be a part of Sepia Mutiny. It's a nice play on words and as a photographer I am naturally drawn to it.
Starting out in photojournalism? Mark Hancock, a staff photographer for the Dallas Morning News has a blog that is a good read.
Take this post about pushing and pulling film; I learned something new! And yes, I still shoot film.
The Weblog Review has reviewed TIFFINBOX. High marks on some features, while some others need a kick in the ass.
For those of you who don't know what a tiffinbox is, I'll have a more descriptive "what the heck this site is about" scpheel and yes, I'll tell you a little bit more about myself too. Perhaps I'll even post a mug-shot of your's truly (though the logo in the upper left corner of this space is a good preview).
Thoughts on the review itself are greatly appreciated.
Thanks to Prashant Mullick I have discovered a wonderful photo-blogger (and web designer): Adam Polselli.
Comments welcome.
Thanks (again) Arindam!
Back on January 21, 2004 I exulted in the fact that I had received 50 subscribers to this blog – Tiffinbox. Well today, thanks to you all, I have reached another milestone when the 100th subscriber joined this list!
Your site "TIFFINBOX" received 1 new subscribers today.What would make this experience even richer is if you all could take the time to comment or email me your suggestions. During a recent panel on blogging, I lamented that most of those comments I do receive (and have to delete) are from spammers. Well, let's change that around shall we? It would be great if you could keep your eyes peeled for content that would make for an interesting read for everyone.
It has 100 total subscribers and is ranked #196 on Bloglet.
Some of you have already told me that the site needs a redesign and badly. I am working on that, I assure you. My friend Arindam Mukherjee has designed a new logo. I'll be releasing both the logo and the site in the next few weeks. If there are features you would like to see on this site that you have seen elsewhere, do let me know. I'll be happy to see if it will make or break the site.
While 100 is a great round number, this site isn't just about increasing traffic. It's about involving each of you in this experiment in such a way that we can raise our collective awareness of the similarities and differences within South Asian culture and its ultimate relationship with rest of the world. It's a tall order, no doubt, but it can be done through thoughtful dialogue and an exchange of ideas which could take shape as photography, writing, art & design.
So, if you know of people involved in any of these endeavors, send them my way – email me at: tiffinbox {at} pipalproductions {dot} com. I'll be happy to post a blog about them and link to their website, if they have one.
I welcome all of you to participate and to let others know about Tiffinbox.
I sat with an august group of bloggers last Friday at the SAJA convention in NYC. Jen Chung of Gothamist sat to my immediate left. Others who made the lineup were Prashant Kothari of Finding My Voice, Anil Dash of Six Apart, Mark Dery of NYU, Nimesh Patel of Mahoot Media (and Badmash fame).
While I conceived the panel on blogging for the convention, Mimi Hanaoka of InTheFray.com moderated it with great dexterity, pinching us from time to time to think about how blogging figures in the grassroots mobilization of society (if it does at all), as a part of the democratic process.
There are so many aspects of blogging that I am just discovering. Issues on privacy, advertising and the general lack of access for the majority of people to the kind of technology that makes blogging possible was discussed. It made for an interesting experience.
Rupa Datta, a recent Columbia University J-school grad in the audience sat upfront with her PC laptop propped up on her lap ... blogging! The wi-fi signal at Lerner Hall made it possible for her to post her thoughts on her own blog as the panel on blogging unfolded.
The New York Times today has an article about how obsessive bloggers can be about, well, blogging.
While my habits are not detrimental to personal relationships or my job, the article certainly makes me wonder if and whether one could make a living by just blogging? Anyone else even tempted to consider such an option? Who wouldn't like to troll the internet all day in search of nuggets of information to share?
I think i would do it, if I could be compensated for it (way to pay my bills, buy some toys, pay off school debt and save for the future) and if the topic at hand was something I am really interested in blogging about. At least 86 of you have signed on to receive updates from this site (thank you!) but there are those who blog and have either no inkling of how many people read their writing or don't really care.
I do. Spread the gospel, if this site has been of some use to you. Click on the "Tell-A-Friend" button. See, I do try and make things easy for you. [grin] My goal is to get 14 more subscribers by the end of this month.
Speaking of blogging, I am going to be a part of a panel on blogging at the SAJA convention. Yes, apart from the PHOTOFORUM events, I signed on to chime in from time to time about my experiences in BlogLand.
Moderated by Mimi Hanaoka, Assistant Editor of InTheFray, this panel will examine the ways in which blogging enables broader participation in society – particularly at the grassroots level – while also examining the limits of blogging, asking questions such as: Who gets excluded? Is it possible for this sort of grassroots democracy to effectuate change beyond the Internet at the local and national (or even international levels)? Where do readers come into play in this sort of participatory democracy? How is journalistic integrity compromised through blogging? How does blogging relate to democracy and journalism? Is blogging journalism? Is a blogger a journalist? Why are some newspapers allowing their editors to blog while some others shun the practice? What are photo blogs? How is blogging forcing journalism to evolve?
Panelists will include: Nimesh Patel of Badmash, Jen Chung of Gothamist, Seshu Badrinath of Tiffinbox and Anil Dash of Six Apart, the company that makes MovableType and TypePad, two robust blogging tools. [Please note that Jen Chung and Anil Dash have yet to confirm their presence at the convention]
The panel, called "Blogging Anyone?" will take place on June 18, 2004 (Friday) 2.15 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. at Columbia University's Lerner Hall (part of the 10th anniversary celebrations and the annual SAJA convention).
Via Sree Sreenivasan
Two very interesting proj