Shyness and Other Such Antisocial Behaviour

Definition: Contrary to what most people think, an introvert is not simply a person who is shy. In fact, being shy has little to do with being an introvert! Shyness has an element of apprehension, nervousness and anxiety, and while an introvert may also be shy, introversion itself is not shyness. Basically, an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people. - more at +About.com

So yeah, like this is a huge discussion nowadays which before we delve into I must confess that I am an introvert. Not that should come as a surprise in terms of they type of antisocial things I talk about in this blog. Technically, just because I am an introvert doesn't mean I am antisocial and in all honesty, I am not antisocial.

I like to meet people; party; go out as much as the next guy. In fact, I probably go out more than my friends who are all surprisingly social and extroverts of the highest order. I love to go out. I love to travel. I like to attend social events (read: lame school parties) often. I don't have social anxiety. I don't hate everyone (just the incredibly stupid ones...okay everyone). And most importantly, I do not always wish to be alone.

Instead, after attending a party, I like to spend the next day in a less stressful manner maybe sleeping, or reading, watching TV and all things of that sort. Yes, like an extrovert I don't like to party everyday. I find that incredibly exhausting. I like to talk to people but not, small talk. I like to have witty or meaningful (or utterly meaningless) conversations. And that's that.

Being an introvert certainly doesn't mean that I want to hide under the blanket everytime someone looks at me. It means, I want to be the centre of attention all night and then I need about a week to recover from the effort. Honestly, that's all.

5 TV Actors You Need To Know

1. Sophia Bush

She is the ultimate 'beauty with brains'. Apart from being absolutely stunning, she is a keen activist and a fantastic actor. What makes her lovable is how genuine she is.

2. Richard Madden

More popularly know as Robb Stark of Game of Thrones, Richard Madden rose to popularity owing to his good looks, his fabulous acting skills and his impeccable sense of style, so much so that millions of female fans wept over his characters death in the popular fantasy drama series. He looks like he has a bright future ahead!

3. Sophia Vergara

The Spanish actress known for her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in Modern Family earned kudos for her acting even though she is not fluent in English. I love how they incorporated her mispronunciations as part of Gloria's character. She is beautiful, smart and known for dressing well too!

4. Neil Patrick Harris

He's absolutely my favourite actor for being humourous, sexy and such a brilliant actor. His portrayal of Barney Stinson means that I lament for hours every week on why he doesn't exist in real. Oh lord!

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5. Peter Dinklage

What's not to love? He's talented, smart and confident about himself. One of the most talented actors I have come across.

Bad show : The Big Bang Theory?

I was reading an article entitled '8 TV Shows We Can’t Believe Get Such High Ratings' and guess which show was on it?! Yes, The Big Bang Theory.

{Read more: 8 TV Shows We Can’t Believe Get Such High Ratings}

The author wrote - "I’ve watched it. Multiple episodes. I don’t get the appeal. It’s pleasant enough to have on in the background while you’re occupied with something else, but do people really schedule this show into their lives and pay attention to it? The characters are grating, the storylines are the opposite of inventive, and the jokes are blah. Plus, it takes a really good show these days to convince me to sit through a laugh track. This doesn’t do it."

 I obviously do not agree with the views of Miss Jill O’Rourke because frankly speaking TBBT is one of the better shows playing on television today. I absolutely tired of shows that have innumerable heart stopping moments, countless over the top gadgets and a truck load of action scenes. Plus, aren't you tired of crime-fighting shows?

TBBT is one of the those shows you can sit on a lazy Sunday and laugh your way through. So the story line might not be 'inventive' but that's the appeal of the show plus, those nerdy jokes? They take skill and research. They're fantastic. Stephen Hawking thought so!

The characters are grating? Don't you find it absurd how absurd Sheldon is and how much more absurd he makes you feel? I still don't understand why sometimes I feel so tenderly towards Sheldon when it was just in the episode before that, that I wanted to throw him off the roof! He embodies those real life people who annoy us to the extent that we want to wring their necks but their behaviour isn't their fault at all. Leonard, Raj and Howard, Bernadette, Penny and Amy all contain a little bit of reality and really that has been amplified and made into characters. Are the characters 'grating' because they're true?

TBBT is what it is. It's fun, nerdy, intelligent, annoying, slightly provocative and absolute genius. Plus, Sheldon is totally the Spock of today...HOW COOL IS THAT? I suppose you have to be slightly nerdy yourself to watch the show but well...

Do you agree? What do you thinks? Comment below and share your views.

Thanks for reading :)

Sometimes, everyone just needs some distance...

Sometimes, everyone just needs some distance...

I realise I might not be putting up any posts but I just can't. I have my end of school exams and I have absolutely no time to entertain you guys right now. But, I will...(I also realise that it grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with 'but', but what the heck). Having said that, I was feeling kind of conflicted today and one of my closest friends updated a blog post and that gave me the idea to write a post too. So, here I am...

I gave an online test, which was not really a test but a sort of quiz that judges your personality on the basis of a couple of questions. It seemed pretty accurate. It told me that I was halfway between an Extrovert and an Introvert, which I had realised a couple of times in the past. I love my friends and their company and I love socials but, I'm not a fan of hanging out everyday and sometimes, I like to sit back and read through a good book. I have a couple of really close friends but the problem is, I don't know if we really are best friends.

It used to be a big group of about ten people and slowly, people starting leaving and changing and before we knew it, it was just the five of us. Don't get me wrong, I prefer us now but, sometimes I wonder if all of us are really friends or just...just pretending to be. It's great in movies and soaps and books, you eventually figure out who your 'true' friends are but in real life, and you have probably figured, it's not that easy. I don't think they know who I am. I share their interests and everything but sometimes, I feel like they just don't get me. Honestly, it's just a feeling and I have no proof whatsoever...but, it just feels so.

Some say school friends last for life because they are they only ones who are with you when you grow into the person you are. They are the only ones who don't become friends with you for who you are or what your job is or how much you earn. I've been with them long enough but, I wonder- will it last? I feel this strange sort of unease. I wish we could really be the How I Met Your Mother of real life but when, Barney's brother asked Robin, "Do you think your relationship is so fragile?", she said " I don't want to find out." And honestly, neither do I. And then sometimes I feel I do...do they really care about me? Any advice, anyone?

Thanks for reading
That's all folks!
Au revoir..

20 MOST MISPRONOUNCED AND ILL-USED WORDS.

And indeed I will! This morning one of my friends mispronounced 'bury' and when, I proceeded to correct him like the Grammar Nazi that I am, he insisted that he was correct. What was worse was that he was joined by another one of my friends. Two against one, I was losing badly and common sense suggested that their pronunciation was indeed accurate but, I was more than certain that my pronunciation of the word was correct since, my mother had drilled it into me ( for which I am more than grateful). See, the correct pronunciation of 'bury' would be similar to 'berry' whereas, the incorrect one and the most often misused pronunciation is rhymes with 'curry'. 

I had no choice but to 'bury' the topic for the moment ("Humorous play on words." *Sheldon laugh*) and wait, to strike back when I had more evidence. The moment I returned home, I logged on to the computer and furiously googled the correct pronunciation of bury. Satisfied that I was right, I, then, forwarded the links to them which resulted in a severe mocking in relation to my interests. Friends are cruel. However, I did not have any time to pay heed as I came across links that led me to a variety of the most commonly mispronounced words. It was a learning experience but I felt that some words could not have been as "commonly" mispronounced as the links claimed due to the nature of the words themselves. For instance: Chimera which is word hardly anyone uses in day to day vocabulary. Anyway, as a result, I decided to create my own version which is - 20 MOST MISPRONOUNCED AND ILL-USED WORDS.

1) INTERESTING: It perhaps the most ill-treated word in the English language. Unfortunately, I find that people decide to skip the first 'e' of the word resulting in an odd sounding 'intrasting' instead of the appropriate pronunciation - 'Intresting' [ˈɪntrəstɪŋ]. The vowel is short and sharp.

2) TRUTH - It should be pronounced rhyming with the 'Luth' of the name Luther. There is only one vowel, keep it short. 

3) ATHLETE - Here, I have noticed that often an extra 'e' is added to result in the incorrect pronunciation as 'Athelete'.

4) ESPECIALLY - Lots of people struggle with moving from 's' to 'c' in the word. The 'c' is actually pronounced as 'sh' so, the word is 'e-spe-shially' in contrast to what I commonly hear which is more like 'espesially'. 

5) TOOTH - There is a trend of excess vowels being adjusted in words, again in the case of this ill-treated word. It is not 'tuth', it's "Too-th'

6) PRONUNCIATION - Ironically, the word 'pronunciation' is both misspelled and mispronounced as 'pronoUnciation' with that extra, unnecessary 'u' in the middle...wot? why?

7) MISCHIEVOUS - There is only 'vous' at the end, not 'vious'. Be careful!

8) MAYONNAISE - A word that three-fourths of the mayonnaise eating population struggles with like I once did. When in doubt, remember, the abbreviation 'Mayo' is indeed the first part of the word completing to form 'mayonnaise' not 'mannaise'.

9) HERO - The whole of India is guilty of this particular mistake. It is pronounced something like 'Hiero' rather than 'Hee roh'. Let's get it right!

10) ESPRESSO - Not 'expresso'.

11) BLUE - As in 'blu' not 'biloo'. 

12) PEAR - The one which rhymes with 'Pair' not with 'Pier'.

13) BOWL - There is no such thing as a 'bowl' (almost but not completely like 'bowel') but if you're saying 'boul', I know what you're talking about. 

14) VOWEL - Do not say 'vau-well', it is absolutely wrong. Try ˈvaʊəl' though.

15) ALMONDS - Pronounced with the 'l' silent just like the 'k' in knight. Would you like some 'a-monds'?

16) DEVELOP- If you're going to say, 'dee-velop', you're fine but, if you have been saying 'deyvelop'

17) COMFORTABLE - Is pronounced 'comftble' rather than 'come-for-table'...honestly...

18) PIZZA - So often used, so often wrong. Correct pronunciation is 'piːtsə'; neither 'piz-za' nor 'pit-za'

19) FINDING-  'information that is discovered as the result of research into something.' As a result, the sentence - 'I am "finding" my notebook' is grammatically incorrect and sounds absolutely awful. A mistake almost every single person I know makes. The better word to be used here is "look for". Please do continue 'looking for your notebook.'

20) SEEING - '(not used in the progressive tenses) to become aware of somebody/something by using your eyes' which makes the sentence, 'I'm not used to of seeing you everyday' correct but, you cannot 'see' a movie because, the action stops as soon as the sentence finished. 'I saw you'. Stop. However, I was 'watching' a movie and 'I was watching you' indicates continuous action (and also, stalker-like capabilities) but, for heaven's sake, get this right.

Lastly, I also learnt that the word 'respite' is actually pronounced 'respit' and everyone has it wrong including me. The word 'forte' too is pronounced as 'fort' and not 'fortay' as we do except when you're talking in context of music. Such exciting discoveries. I, of course, did not mention 'your' and 'you're', the most common mistake in the world so much so that there are internet memes based on it. Anyway, I hope you found this fun and enlightening. This is my longest post ever.

Till next time, #Thanksforreading #keepreading #lotsoflavh

ReviewThisWeek: Inferno (No Spoilers)

This month saw the release of Dan Brown's latest addition to the Robert Langdon series. For those of you unaware of this series, please do go ahead and settle yourselves down with either : The Da Vinci Code, Angels&Demons and The Lost Symbol. If not, you might also enjoy Deception Point or Digital Fortress which are equally good. Now, I am a huge Dan Brown fan but, I want to make it clear at the outset that Inferno was disappointing to say the least.

The book begins with Professor Langdon waking up in Florence with no recollection of the last 48 hours. The first half is nail-biting and a real page-turner. The suspense is beautifully maintained as the reader joins Langdon in his journey of discovery. The arrival of Dr Sinskey, however, in the main story line spelt disaster; from there the books commences into a downward spiral. The story unravels almost dashing the hopes and desires and expectations of the reader. Instead of something incredible, the suspense unfolded as a case of, what can be named, as a less well-thought of end. Inferno has tons of information that makes the reader marvel at the author's in depth knowledge as well as his ability to blend comfortably into the flow of the story. It seems, around halfway, that Brown lost the plot or grew to tired of finding links back to all the incidents and separate pieces of knowledge. The end is extremely anti-climatic and almost makes the entire book seem pointless.

Moreover, the editing of the book acts like the incessant buzzing of a fly; floating about at the back of the reader's minds and providing as a source of constant irritation. It seems that large chunks of absolutely unnecessary information is spread out throughout the book which could easily have been edited out had the editor done his job properly. Furthermore, the grammar and the overall structure especially of individual sentences were both lacking and juvenile. Standards, that had been set very high with the The Lost Symbol, a book which I thoroughly enjoyed, fell drastically; enough to make me want to pull out my hair at the inadequacy of specifically the first few chapters. (Or better, smack the silly editor's face with the ginormous hard bound book.)  Had the editor focused himself, the book needn't have been as thick and long as it was.

I had expected so much more from someone so accomplished as Dan Brown himself. He has established himself as one of the few authors who still take into consideration a wider audience which includes the young adults, a group seriously lacking quality material to read. The plot of Inferno stagnated and the story became as unappealing as the cover, which to be honest - I am not a huge fan of. On the bright, the first half of the book was indeed incredible, sending chills down my spine as I hurried through page after page. The concept of the book was one that was very interesting and had huge amounts of relevance in today's world.
Still, the faults of the book far outweigh the successes, and so I will give it only a total of 1.5 / 5 stars.

Till next time-  #keepreading #lotsoflavh #believe

Do people even read?

I almost feel like I'm conforming to the norms of society as I type out my first blog post. Why? All my friends have blogs! Okay maybe not all but a majority of them and I feel no different yet here I am typing out my question for the day - Do people even read? I continue to type out this in hope that some of you who surf the internet, actually take time out to read what we write on these blogs. I only hope. I mean, I sure don't read blogs except those of my nagging friends but in my defense, my room is overwhelmed with books.

With the invention on pinterest, instagram, facebook, tumblr & twitter, I feel that people prefer to upload pictures rather than write or read. And slowly, our patience to sit and follow the lines of an unchanging book is rapidly decreasing. Which brings me to my next dilemma. So, the other day, after much contemplation, I decided that I wish to be a travel journalist and promptly announced it to my mother. While, watching Travel and Living on television, she pointed out the advertisement of a fairly new show in which the contestants are required to travel and click pictures to win the contest, and asked me whether I was going to become a photographing journalist and it is at that moment that I realised the biggest, most humongous and glaring flaw in my future plans - who reads travel?

If I wished to travel somewhere I would not search for articles relating to it but pictures of my desired destination. Moreover, more popularly, the shows on television that have beautiful women traveling to exotic locations are more attractive ways of finding out about your dream destinations. So who reads at all?


I do feel slightly old and out dated as I reflect on the kind of hobbies I keep. I am in a process of advancing myself but if you have any views at all, do share with me so that I have somewhere to start.

That's all folks! #keep reading



P.S: Leave a comment to tell me how you felt about this update. #lotsoflavh