The Real Deal is here! Launching before Christmas, my course “Become an awesome Technical Writer with Help + Manual” is now priced at $199!
More good news!
The good people at EC Software have even decided to give away free versions of their software priced at $598 to the “first 5 buyers” of this Christmas and New Year offer!
So what are you waiting for?
12, August, 2020 – Course has been removed from Teachable, will surface soon in a new Avatar.
Yes, the most comprehensive Technical Writing course (a self-proclamation) on the planet is here! Everything and anything you wanted to know about Technical Writing and becoming a Technical Writer is here, in this course.
Started in 2014 I was able to complete it only now. I already went through one big major version change of the software where I had to redo the videos and with other assignments holding me back it was really a challenge to complete it. With God’s Grace, I am happy that the course is now complete. I am also offering it at a “Launch Price”.
You can preview the course at the link below and even sign up.
How to become an awesome Technical Writer with Help and Manual
Website and Blog to appear soon. Pass the word around if you know someone who is interested in becoming a Technical Writer, fast. Now, here’s a tall claim. If this course cannot teach you Technical Writing, no other course will!
12, August, 2020 – Course has been removed from Teachable, will surface soon in a new Avatar.
My blog subashsl.com is hosted on BlueHost and I have been with them for several years prior to this and they are one of the best WordPress hosts on the Internet.
If you are planning a blog on WordPress, Bluehost’s Black Friday offer is here, just $2.65 for any of the plans. Yes, you can now enjoy a new Shared Basic, Plus, or Pro account starting as low as $2.65 a month for 36 months. Check their website for more details using the link below.
Hurry! The offer lasts only till November 27’th.
By the way, this is the U.S site and I recommend going with the U.S site only.
Been planning for a while, but what better timing than today, when Coldplay is giving their first concert in Mumbai, India.
Being on the Spirituality path (to a decent extent), I am reminded of Krishna’s advice in the Bhagavad Gita “not to be affected by likes and dislikes” but when there is a band which has actually given me a “pain in my ear” ( I SERIOUSLY MEAN IT!) in all my music listening life, I have to certainly write about them, particularly when there is undue attention being lavished on them here in India. The band’s name is now written in Hindi across the bass drum, amplifiers et all. Music videos have been made in India, one even featuring Indian movie star, Sonam and someone even writes, he/she would sell a kidney to go and meet the band in person?
So why am I penning this diatribe?
Answer (and particularly for those of you, who don’t know) – COLDPLAY IS A U2 CLONE, in every sense of the word. The worst part, lead singer of the band, Chris Martin, trying every bit to sound like singer Bono of U2. I’ll come to the other parts later but let me tell you my experience with this U2 clone and how it all began.
It is 2006, while working for a MNC in India my friend from the U.K gives me a copy of Coldplay’s X & Y album. In fact he could have actually fooled me saying it was U2’s next offering. The album was so very “U2”, the sounds, the voice, the lyrics, almost everything. Wikipedia hadn’t updated the article on Coldplay then as it reads now but here is a detailed song by song review I wrote about the album on Amazon. By the way, I also read on Wikipedia, that Kraftwerk responded with a single worded reply, “Yes” when the band wanted permission to use Kraftwerk’s tunes and beats on this album. While writing the review on Amazon I wasn’t aware of that.
Going back to the imitation, Chris even tries to copy Bono’s sighs, moans, groans, whatever he can imitate of the singer. Wikipedia even reports that Chris even calls himself “Crono” after Bono. As it is, Chris is nasal in his voice and with the imitation you can imagine how painful the singing can become. Whether it is “…I feel my heart beating..” from “Adventure of a Lifetime” or “Sky full of stars..” from the song of the same name, it is only an imitation of Bono I hear. And when I hear songs like “Trouble” I just want to tell Chris to stop singing if he finds it really so painful to sing.
Next, the music. Lead guitarist Jonny Buckland imitates U2’s The Edge. It is official and it is a fact. Even Wikipedia confirms this. We all know U2’s signature sound is purely Bono and the The Edge. Worst part, Coldplay takes to the stage playing a U2 song in the background. How’s that for originality!
The equation now reads – Chris Martin = Bono , Jonny Bukckland = The Edge, Therefore Coldplay = U2.
Just not music and voice but lyrics and music compositions also seem imitated. I have explained these in detail in my review of the X & Y album.
Every time someone tells me there’s a good offering from them, I do give a listen without any prejudice but within minutes Chris Martin’s extreme copying of Bono’s voice starts crawling under my skin and I turn the song off.
On September 15’th, bookings were open and tickets could be purchased for the concert and after the initial reports that sent Twitter ablaze with trolls it has now been confirmed that the first batch of tickets are going for Rs.5000. The Rs.25,000 tickets are to be sold too. How accurate the prices of the tickets are is not the concern but why this adulation for a band that has literally been riding on the wings of another.
Want to listen to something original? Check out these kids, “The Arctic Monkeys” or more recently “21 Pilots”. I cannot stop listening to 21 Pilots. In years I haven’t such a fan dedication as these guys have been getting. Like I titled my review of The Arctic Monkeys album on Amazon, I have only one thing to say,
“Learn Coldplay Learn!”
A few days ago, I am riding my scooter on the OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road) proceeding towards Kelambakkam and just near Hindustan University a white colored Hyundai Santa Fe SUV overtakes me. It is not going very fast and I take a moment to notice it clearly. I then proceed to Kelambakkam to exchange a cable at a spare parts shop for my scooter. After getting the stuff I needed I head back and to my surprise at almost the same spot (near Hindustan University) the Hyundai Santa Fe SUV, the same one that had overtaken me on my onward journey, now overtakes me on my return journey as well. It must have been 15 to 20 minutes for my activities and I was wondering what was the probability that the same vehicle overtakes me twice, both on my onward and return journeys and almost at the same place? One in a million! Even if I had slowed my vehicle a bit or wasted a little more time at the store in Kelambakkam, the vehicle wouldn’t have crossed me. I was struck at the amazing coincidence.
If this wasn’t a good example I have another incident to tell. The timing for this one is even more bizarre. This happened in 2011. I am parking my scooter at the Tharamani sub-urban train station and I notice a couple on an Enfield bullet who are also parking their vehicle. The lady was a white woman and her partner Indian. I could make out from the their English that they were probably from the U.K. We board the sub-urban train at the same time, in different compartments though. That was the last I saw of them. I get off the train at Chindadripet to go to Ritchie street. I have no idea where the couple got off. At Ritchie street I go about my shopping and I am sure I also had something to eat and drink. I then take the train from Chindadripet back to Tharamani. And here’s where the amazing thing happens. As I get off the train, I notice the couple getting off the train from another compartment and are heading to the bike parking area. It was just so bizarre! What are the chances that they should also be in the same train at the same time on the return journey? Again, one in a million.
I call this post “almost serendipity” because serendipity is usually associated with something favorable unless you call this next incident one. As I am taking out my scooter from the parking lot at Tharamani station that day, I see this beauty, India’s (probably the first) 50cc geared motorbike. Launched in the 80’s I cannot believe it is still in use in this decade. I rode pillion on one way back in 2003 but never knew there were others still in use.
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