Another Blogiversary at Newsmericks!

Well of late, we've been slack, I'll agree,
First the house, then the holidaying spree.
But nothing this day,
Could keep me away,
For today, my Newsmericks turns three!


Yes, we turn 3 today! A toast to all the readers - by asking for more, you have been an inspiration, truly! Cheers!

...And am back from my holidays, so regular posts to resume :D

On our prolonged absence

Our Inkspot ain't finding the time
To serve you those verses sublime,
But dear reader, don't grouse,
For the Chief's moving house;
Don't despair, soon you'll get your rhyme!!


We promise to be back by early June, take care - see you soon!

:)

Inkspot speak

My life has been hectic of late,
Just too many things on my plate.
It's forcing me to reign
In my Newsmericks train -
But I'll soon be back, just you wait!

This year has started on a very hectic note for Inkspot and the pace refuses to slow down. I anticipate that this is how it will be, till early April atleast. This is slowing down Newsmericks for the time being. However, as Inkspot would like to say, do bear with us dear reader, we promise to be back soon, full swing!

And...we're back!

You've been missing ol' Inkspot - I know.
And wondering, "Why this no - show?"
Well, we've been out, see,
On a house hunting spree.
But fear not, we're back with the flow!

This year, we have had a slow start as I have been spending a large part of the day outdoors - and offline. But things look more organized now and so Inkspot will be back with your regular dose of Newsmericks.

Ringing in the New Year

"You've neglected writing of late;
For a new post, how long should we wait?"
To a reader's mailed query,
Inkspot replied, "Sorry,
But I'm partying till 2008!"

We will be off blogging for the next few days as our fearless reporter Inkspot is somewhere out there, partying hard. We'll be back in the New Year with many more newsmericks but until then, here's wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous 2008. May the coming year bring lots of laughter, love and a happy heart.

Blog Holiday

This blog is on holiday till 16th December as Inkspot heads off to Delhi for a week of fun with friends.

Au Revoir, dear readers!

Congratulations Amit Varma!

If you've heard the announcement, then you'll
Know that Amit's won the Bastiat, how cool!
A fan clapped with glee,
And boasted, "You see,
I told you, we libertarians shall rule!"

Yes, Amit Varma of India Uncut has won the Bastiat award for journalism. Now, how cool is that! Congratulations Amit. The cows send their blessings :D

Inkspot is back!

Inkspot is back!

So many things have happened since I went on holiday... India won the Twenty20, Viswanathan Anand became the World Chess Champ, there was flare-up in Burma and back home the newly wed Rizwanur Rahman died a mysterious death... lots of catching up to do!

A reader sent in this note of welcome :

Holiday-minded Ms.Ray

Dared to venture harm's way -

She went with a smile

To the trouble-racked isle

And is back to write another day!

Well thank you dear reader. However, let me point out that Sri Lanka is safe for travel and is not as 'trouble-racked' as people generally view it to be. It is a beautiful country and worth visiting both for its natural beauty and cultural heritage.

Regular blogging will resume Monday onwards.

Sri Lanka calling

"A short break is what I must take."
Said Inkspot while chomping on cake.
"On Saturday morn,
Am off to Ceylon,
Will soon be back, make no mistake!"

This blog is on holiday till 3rd October as Inkspot picks up his backpack and heads off to Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Inditickles Contest: And the winners are...

Hi everyone, the much awaited results of the Inditickles contest has been announced by Oxford Bookstore, Kolkata

...Here are the winners:

Rajiv Dhall, Kolkata

In every field we are fast gaining ground,
In the world arena our standing is sound.
Suffice it to say,
We’re holding sway,
Even in numbers our growth is unbound!

15th August, 1947 till date - Cumulative news made by the Indian populace underscoring India’s phenomenal growth in science, technology, education, sports, entertainment industry, arts and culture, economic prowess… and, of course, population!

K.E. Priyamvada, New Delhi

M. F. Hussain at painting is an ace,
Oh his colours, his brushwork, his grace,
He's also no prude,
And paints Goddesses in the nude,
Making saffron critics go red in the face!

February 2006 and May 1998 - Members of some Right-wing parties protested against the depiction of Hindu Goddesses in the nude by the eminent painter M.F. Hussain. Unfortunately their protests became violent and included vandalizing the artist's studio.

Manoj Vijayan, Bangalore

With his distinctive stutter
He sets girlish hearts aflutter.
But as "Don" will attest,
Shah Rukh's at his best
Playing a homicidal nutter.

2007 - Shah Rukh Khan played the lead role in Farhan Akhtar’s remake of Don.

...And now, we come to the special Newsmericks Award of Merit, that we are giving to a limerick of our choice. We considered various parameters while selecting our winner, namely rhyme, meter, content, as well as the smile on Inkspot's face while reading it :D

...The winner of the Newsmericks Award of Merit is

Sundara Venkatesan, Mumbai

It isn't considered good manners
To shout, jump with joy and wave banners.
But when Kapil and band,
Returned World Cup in hand,
Which red-blooded Indian could ban us?

1983 - India participated in the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and won the tournament for the first and only time up to now. There was great jubilation and even now this victory, in which Kapil Dev played a notable part, both as a player and as the captain of "Kapil's Devils", is fondly remembered.


Heartiest Congratulations to all the winners! You will be getting your prizes soon.

You can read some of the short-listed entries here

Inkspot writes a newsmerick for Oxford Bookstore, Kolkata

The Oxford Bookstore is now under
The spell of the Wizard Boy Wonder.
So rush to Park Street,
For a Harry Potter treat,
To miss it would be a huge blunder!

Harry Potter came to town and his muggle fans got a Newsmerick clarion call from the Oxford Bookstore Kolkata.

Newsmericks turns 2!

Our Inkspot, without much ado,
Would like to take time to thank you,
For finding the time,
To come read our rhyme -
Inspiring us each day anew!

Hello dear reader, today is our 2nd blogiversary!

The year 2006-07 has been wonderful. First of all we got Inkspot, our very own intrepid reporter.

We got some good press, getting interviewed by BBC online, Times-Tribune, Indian Express, HT, ETV Bangla etc.

We held a limerick workshop and helped organize a contest; we are now eagerly looking forward to giving away a special Newsmericks award of honor to one of the entries!

The journey till now has been full of fun and we hope that the coming year will see a lot more events happening at Newsmericks.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you dear readers...your encouragement has helped me better my rhyme. And a big thank you to my friend Avi for creating Inkspot and then immortalizing him on our banner and roll-up.

There's more to come....so do stay tuned to Newsmericks!

After Limermania comes Inditickles: the fun continues!

We had a fun evening at the Limermania workshop at the Oxford Bookstore on Saturday evening. A bit rushed for time now so will fill in the details later. In the meanwhile, let me make the next announcement.

Newsmericks is helping organize an exciting limerick contest - Inditickles - announced by the Oxford Bookstore.

We're celebrating the last 60 years
Of India's independence, my dears,
Thru' a limerick contest,
So please send in your best.
The topic - 'News-makers down the years'!

More details of the contest can be found here.

So what are you waiting for? Put on your thinking caps and start penning those award winning entries! I promise you, there is lots of excitement in store!

Announcing a limerick workshop in Kolkata, India

Finally, a limerick workshop!

If you enjoy Newsmericks and other limerick verses, then find your way to the Oxford Bookstore at 17 Park Street, Kolkata - 16, on 16th June, 6.30pm for the "Limermania" - a limerick workshop!

It is not essential to be a limerick writer to attend the workshop. However if you do enjoy penning them, you are most welcome to bring some of your work along, to share it at the workshop.

So be there for an evening of fun. And of course, you get to meet Inkspot :D

On the occasion of National Limerick Day

A few days back, on 12th of May,
Was the National Limerick day.
Where - can you guess?
In the good ol' US!
And we had fun Newsmericks way!

In honor of the National Limerick Day celebrated in the US on May 12th, copy editor of TheTimes- Tribune.com, Ron Davis, posed some tough questions to Newsmericks. Read more about it here

:D

Newsmericks welcomes the fearless reporter Inkspot!

"We must create," Newsmericks thought,
"A brave heart reporter to jot
The news every morn."
So that's how was born
The fearless news hunter - Inkspot!

Hi friends, Newsmericks gets a new logo!

Created by my friend Avi Das of Avi Das Designs, the intrepid Inkspot will go where no reporter has dared go before!

:D

Blog vacation

I must admit that the heat
Is leaving me drained and quite beat
So am off to the hills
To enjoy the chills
And a cosy cum quiet retreat!

This blog is on vacation till mid-next week as blogger heads off to Sikkim. Au revior!

Taking a break

Newsmericks has decided to take
A couple of weeks off as a break
So there'll be no post
(for 4weeks at the most)
Then I'll be back, make no mistake!

Regular posts will continue after I return from my break, end Feb. Till then, au revoir!

Season's Greetings

Are you wondering why I am not here?
Well, Santa Clause and his reindeer
Have paid me a call
So I am having a ball -
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Newsmericks wishes all its readers a rollicking Christmas and a fantastic New Year ahead. Have loads of fun but be safe.

Note: Posts will be a little irregular until the time I get over my Christmas hangover and am completely sober...hic :P

Newsmericks: An announcement

Dear reader, please do not think
Newsmericks has vanished in a blink
It is just a conversion
To the beta Blogger version
So if needed, please update your link!

Have just moved my blogs to the beta version. I am really glad for the labels in the new version. Have not upgraded my template yet, will need some reassurance that I will be able to put it back together, before I attempt to do so:-)

So if any of you have trouble with the feed, or if the blog appears new in your feed aggregators, my apologies - do let me know. I am a techie dinosaur and so have no clue about such things but I promise to send a prompt SOS to Digital Inspiration for enlightenment :-)