Rembrandt van Rijn, 407th birthday, subject of Google doodle!

I hope you all have heard about Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, the famous Dutch painter, and etcher (July 15, 1606 - October 4, 1669). He is considered as one of the greatest painters of Europe and the Netherlands.

A considerable number of his creations were self-portraits. Night watch, The Jewish bride, The Return of the prodigal son, Danae are some of his very famous paintings according to experts.

More info:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/rembrandt_van_rijn.html
http://www.rembrandtpainting.net
http://www.rembrandthuis.nl

If you open Google you will find his painting as the subject of Google's doodle. Rembrandt's 407th birthday is the subject of Google's doodle on Monday, July 15th, that we see when we open our dear Google :) 

Thank you all at Google doodle for remembering a great painter like Rembrandt.
RIP, Rembrandt.

We all doodle sometimes. Likewise, Google founders Larry and Sergey in 1998 doodled their Company logo to indicate that they were 'out of the Office', and thus the concept was born. Later Google began making changes on their logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists. Great idea! Now, as we all have experienced, this activity makes us all remember great people and take note of the many important occasions and events.

We, the users can email Google doodle our suggestions -proposals@google.com

More info; 
http://www.google.com/doodles/about

Stay tuned for Doodle 4 Google 2014 competition for K12 students: http://www.google.com/doodle4google

• Creative ideas like this make positive vibrations everywhere in the world! This innovative idea from Google prompted many to spend their valuable time to find out more about the great creative works of a genius; surely it might have sparked interest in art in at least a few. 

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A visual treat - Dubai underwater aquarium, beautiful!

Dubai underwater aquarium is a very popular attraction in Dubai! It is located on the ground floor of the Dubai Mall. This awesome mall is in downtown Dubai close to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

Dubai Aquarium is the largest suspended aquarium in the world. This tank houses about 140 species of aquatic animals.

The acrylic panel of this aquarium is the largest in the world. It holds a Guinness record for this. There is an Ocean school where kids can learn many things about aquatic life. Educators will explain the beauty and science of marine life. The entry to the acrylic panel view area is free. The view is excellent from all the floor levels of the mall.

There is also an underwater tunnel where we can walk through watching magnificent fishes and see divers feed sharks and rays.

Glass bottom boat ride, cage snorkeling dive, shark dive etc. are some of the other attractions here. Also, there are facilities for hosting birthday parties.

Check their website for full details   http://www.thedubaiaquarium.com

Marine life is always cool to the mind, body, and soul. It refreshes everyone. Life underwater is always exciting. Not everyone can swim or watch underwater life but we have facilities nowadays to experience it. It is a different spectacle but totally awesome!

• It is a pleasure to watch aquatic organisms to calm the mind. Watching beautiful creatures glide through water helps in relaxation; it refreshes the tired mind.  

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Remembering Jim Kelly, a great martial artist!

Jim Milton Kelly (Jim, the dragon Kelly), (5th May 1946 - 29th June 2013) became famous all over the world after of his awesome performance in the epic movie, Enter the dragon, along with Bruce Lee, the Karate legend in 1973.

He passed away on June 29th, 2013 and has joined his co-star and friend Bruce Lee, the great in heaven.

Enter the dragon, the famous Bruce Lee film was released in 1973. I watched this movie about 7 or 8 years later during my College days. Going to the movies in theatres was a big thing at that time. English movies reached our small town years later after their release elsewhere in the world. We were allowed only 3 or 4 movies only the whole year, only during vacation and festival season. No weekend movies :)  at all! It was 40 years ago, no TV, no Internet, no mobile phones and no blogging, lol!

Enter the dragon became a huge hit in Kerala like elsewhere in India and the rest of Asia. Bruce Lee hairstyles became quite common. Karate academies started mushrooming all over the State. The youngsters started signing up for karate classes. Those who could not attend an academy started doing self-learning like hitting the bricks, doing free exercises, kicks etc at home. I was in this group:) Hours together, we friends used to chat about this movie. I think this was the only movie we were able to watch twice in cinemas; we were allowed by our parents to go for it one more time: some extra pocket money :) was given.

We were crazy at that time! The craze still goes on, Bruce Lee is still very much alive in the minds of the people here.

Countless times I have watched this movie when VCD, DVD etc. came into existence. I knew each and every scene in that beautiful thriller by heart. It was my lifelong ambition to sign up for professional Karate classes. Finally, I was able to attend some about 4 years ago. Boy, how thrilled I felt when I put on that white robe with a white starter belt!

Without any doubts, I can state that no other movie star has influenced people in our place like Bruce Lee.

We all liked Jim Kelly very much. It was an everlasting impression he has made in the minds of people in this Asian country as the character 'Williams' in the Enter the dragon movie. When he was murdered by the villain in the movie we simply could not tolerate it; we wanted Bruce Lee to crush that monster then and there. We admired Jim's cool attitude, body language, fighting style and of course the beautiful hairstyle!

More about this legend  http://www.jimkellykarate.com

We miss you, Jim!
May his soul rest in peace!

Productive, happy and cool people are awesome. Some live their life happily, enriching theirs' as well as others' mind, body and the soul. It is an art, living life like that peacefully. We can learn a lot from them. Listen, observe and learn from them. Be inspired; be motivated!

• No need for some great people to prove anything to anybody. They live naturally and will find lots of followers with them forever. We call such people legends.  

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101 Simple secrets to keep your hope alive - a book review

Hello...

Today I decided to rearrange my bookshelf. How we have changed in the modern times, always reading ebooks in iPad, Kindle, laptop or desktops or smartphones and almost stopped reading books in the old fashioned way. I was surprised finding so many books in my shelf both in English and in the Malayalam language, our mother tongue.

So today's post is a book review.
The title of the book is 101 Simple secrets to keep your hope alive. 

A simple book, nothing complicated. I forgot when I bought it, I think it was when I made a trip to Bangalore in 2002. I do not remember reading this book in detail anytime. What a lapse it was from my side! This book is a must read. It has many beautiful and inspiring quotes by great people like Aristotle, William Shakespeare, Mother Theresa and the like. Awesome...!

The book starts with a proverb 'a cheerful heart is good medicine'. :)

Laugh more - especially at yourself. Laughter is the cheapest, safest, and most reliable medication there is. 

Another one - Appreciating what you have is one way to keep your hopes up.

Fall in love with God.

Pleasure in moderation relaxes and tempers the spirit. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! :)

Give hope to others - it will do wonders for you too.

This book has inspiring quotes, practical insights and powerful reminders that will help us find hope when nothing is there to be hopeful. It helps in finding out God's presence in our life especially during a crisis. I would recommend this book to everyone, just keep it in your library, one day you or someone would benefit from it.

Originally published by the Honor Books, Colorado. Compiled by Betsy Williams.

If anyone of you has read this wonderful book, please share your opinion here.

• Finding hope in the midst of crises is not easy. Such books really shine a beacon of hope when dark clouds of hopelessness cover life. Never lose hope. Always believe, there are plenty of solutions for each and every problem in life, be hopeful!

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Real life example of success - Lulu Mall, Kochi, Kerala, India!

Lulu mall is one of Asia's largest!

They are now open at Kochi, Kerala in India. This is the first one on a very large scale in the state of Kerala with world-class facilities. Many multinational brands now have their presence in this Mall in Kerala in South India.  

There is also a huge hypermarket in this mall. I think here you will find almost everything that you may see elsewhere in the world. Truly world class!

Hats off to Mr. M. A. Yussuf Ali, owner of this wonderful mall, who dedicated such an expensive gift to his native place. He is a prominent businessman who has outlets in many countries in the world. Lulu hypermarkets are a common sight in almost all middle eastern countries.

Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India and there are Keralites everywhere in the world. Rapid developments are taking place here recently.

Lulu mall - world of happiness!

http://www.lulumall.in

https://www.facebook.com/LuLuMall

https://twitter.com/LuLu_Mall

http://www.youtube.com/LuLuMallKochi

Or is it the happiness of our small world here? Or both?

• Here is a real-life example of successful fulfillment of a dream of a distinguished person. The hard work, dedication and strong willpower for a noble cause resulted in huge success!

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Relax, refresh, recharge - some cool mantras!

I like this video very much! 

Uploaded it today on YouTube! 

Watch it, you surely will like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYDfpv7lGjo

I still remember the time spent during a weekend at the Dubai Creek. A cool breeze was blowing, I enjoyed chirping of the birds, it was very much refreshing!

• Replenishing depleted energy stores, finding the time and ideal place to relax and unwind; look into all such things, they are very much important to balance life!

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Reduce stress...Abu Dhabi, Corniche, a gorgeous spot!

Abu Dhabi Corniche is a beautiful place. These snaps were taken at the far end where the Emirates Palace, Marina mall and the Centrepoint are located. 

A cool place to chill out and spend the evenings!

 The entrance to the Marina Mall.

Beautiful flowers!

A beautiful city has been built in the desert within a short period. Rapid developments are taking place in this region. Numerous projects with world-class facilities are already there and many more are in the pipeline. All of these are the result of effective leadership, professional coordination, and hard work.

• Converting dreams into realities is possible by proper planning, efficient coordination, hard work and a determination to succeed with a flexible attitude.

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