CHILDHOOD

By Clive Pereira

Memories that once were . . .

Childhood : a simple time where your toughest challenges are eating all your veggies and getting good grades. At the time it seemed like it was the hardest gig in the world and you could not wait to grow up, but then you did and you began to see the world in a completely different light. Looking back you see that nothing is better that being a child. The innocence, the utter disregard for anything besides you and your toys, food given to you when you want, and pretty much everyone fussing over you. If you haven’t figured it out... yes I was the youngest of the lot. A little pampered I must admit but none the less I think I turned out ok. Your childhood is

something you can never get back, no matter how hard you try once you grow up, you grow up. No longer can you imagine the bed sheet on a few chairs to be a castle, no longer is an upside

down chair a horse chariot which you use to slay the dragon and save the princess from for the forces of evil. If I must say the most missed aspect about my childhood is neither the toys nor the extra attention, it would have to be the sense of imagination. At that age every object you see can turn itself into something magical, something extraordinary or something out of this world. The possibilities are limitless and the stories are intricate as ever. Neither physics nor any science can explain them but yet you relished every minute of it.

Photo Credit - Prasanth Akki

Childhood memories are not without their dull or less sparkly moments. It’s these moments which make the good ones sparkle even more. There are those times where you felt like there was no hope whether it was a bully or a family feud. The important thing to keep in mind is that it’s the good times that shape you, but it’s the bad times that make you. Don’t forget the bad but look back on the good.

Every good thing has to come to an end, and your childhood being one of the best was no different. The day it happened was a memorable one, it’s was the day you looked at a bed sheet and all you saw was nothing but a bed sheet. When we look back at all out childhood memories sparkling or otherwise we look back at a time which made us who we are.

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Clive Pereira
Interested in adventure sports and experiencing urban culture

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Top 6 Android Applications

By Clive Pereira

It’s extremely user-friendly, addictive, lets you have the world of communication at your fingertips, named after the yummiest deserts and its going to take over the world (well at least the world of mobiles), you guessed it; it’s Google's Android OS.  If you haven’t noticed you probably are living under a rock, the Android OS is here infecting all the phones it possibly can. The user friendly OS takes customizing to a whole new level and allows you to manage the phone just the way you want to.

Place what you want where you want. Let yourself go crazy over the market place where you can shop for whatever application you want be it useful like an anti virus or something as pointless as the moron test. The store has over 300,000 applications to choose form and eighty percent of them are all free. All you need is an internet connection and you are good to go. Find yourself in need of a document reader? Why not just download one? Bored of the commute to work? Chuck some angry birds at bloated pigs for fun. The android brings all of your business and entertainment needs to your finger tips with ease, and the fact that most of the applications are fee doesn’t hurt either.  With so many applications to select from you might find yourself in a tizzy deciding which one is worth downloading. Well we’re here to help you with our list of the 6 most essential apps from the Android Market.

Antivirus
To kick off let’s begin with an antivirus. Sadly with internet connectivity there's the added risk of catching a virus. These viruses can be as gentle as the ones that merely shuffle your documents or as brutal as the ones that shut your phone down completely. Whatever it maybe, keep in mind prevention is better than cure. What you need to do is download that antivirus application before you do anything else. There are quite a few available but my personal favourite is AVG. It’s a light program, free and gets the job done. Nothing gets by this antivirus and is a definite must have in my books.

Pixlr-o-matic
If you’re bored of the usual photographs you take on your phone, then the pixlr-o-matic application is what you need to spice them up. The application allows you to edit all the photographs you take and change them up to look like the most professional portraits ever. The application works in post production and does not allow you to add effects when clicking the picture. It’s a fun app and will definitely add a variation to your usual photos. The software also possesses effortless photo sharing to al social media as well as other devices. It’s an amusing application to toy with (time just flies by) and completely free at the android market.

Google Docs
On a more serious note you need to look into an application which will help you out with work when on the move. Lugging around a laptop all the time is not the answer, instead all your troubles can be solved with the easy installation of Google docs. The application is versatile and lets you read all the document formats including PDF files. The application works seamlessly without any hiccups even when viewing presentations. The only problem with this free app is the fact that you cannot edit presentations, rather only view them none the less a useful app to have. For a more complete package you can always consider a paid application like Quick Office Pro or Documents to Go.

Pandora Radio
Everyone loves a good tune on the go and surely some top forty tracks can do the trick, but what if your local radio station is not playing the tunes you like. Well no worries all you need is the Pandora Radio application. Pandora is not just radio but radio tuned to your needs. In the mood for some Dennis Ferrer? All you need is to type in the name and it will take you to a station playing the song and songs just like it. Pandora Radio is a free app, its radio tuned to meet your every musical need.

  

Kindle
Another one on my personal favourites is the Kindle app. The Kindle has changed the way people read and has encouraged a new generations of readers to pick up a book... well actually a device. The Kindle application is no less and pushes people to turn their mobiles into their desired book. With this app you are open to reading whenever, wherever. You have at your fingertips, the choice of over a million books from the Kindle store.  Need a book mark for where you left off? Not to worry the software remembers exactly where you stopped reading so that you can continue later, even on another device. This gift to reading is absolutely free and a definite must have on every phone.

Shazam
The name itself sounds interesting and the application is no less. Words cannot express how useful this program is. There have been so many instances of me listening to a song and loving it and not being able to get the name so that I can download it. Shazam changed all that. This brilliant software can listen to a song and give you not only the name of the song and the artist, but also where you can download it, videos, concerts in your city and so much more. If you’re in the mood of sharing your favourite tunes then with the click of a button you can let your friends in on what makes you move. The full version of the application is chargeable, but worth every penny.

With that we end our list for the top six android applications (for now of course). Give them a try; you know you’ll get addicted.  

 What's your favorite app? Leave a comment..   

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Clive Pereira
Interested in adventure sports and experiencing urban culture

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Mobile Advertising

By Clive Pereira

With consumerism in our blood stream the next step for companies is controlling it and what better way to do so then advertising? With pictures of gorgeous models and results which seem too good to pass up, the advertising industry has really got people hooked. If you think you are one of those few who are totally impervious to the charms of the industry, then you need to think again. From the brand of soda you order to the gum you chew advertising is constantly playing a role in the choices you make. Though it might sound scary that it has such a great influence, it’s not something to fear, instead take full advantage and get the best you can out of it. Advertisers are always pushing the envelope when it comes to creativity as well as new and innovative mediums to advertise through. 

The latest catch – mobile phones. With most of the mediums covered, advertisers are turning their heads towards advertising via mobile phones. The idea makes perfect sense as the number of mobile users is constantly growing at a rapid rate. Because of this advertisers are able to reach out to more consumers in the least amount of time and with a fraction of the budget required for a television commercial. Mobile advertising is not limited to just text messaging like in the old days(early 2000’s) but instead has broadened to include MMS advertising, internet advertising and Bluetooth advertising. The roads to mobile advertising are broad and many are making the best use of them. Companies like Apple have begun to integrate advertising in the operating system of the phone. How it works is that when you browse or are searching for something online the OS will give you a small bar on the bottom of your screen advertising for something related. You have the option of viewing the advertisement or just closing it. This keeps the consumer informed as well as allows them to make the decision of weather or not they would like to be exposed to the advertisement.  Android phones possess a similar technology. There are in application advertisements which flash below the gaming screen to advertise products. 

There are many reasons why mobile advertising is preferred and why it is doing so well. Advertising on the mobile is much more interactive as compared to television or newspaper advertising. The new advertisements made for the cell phone even have interactive games and other features in the commercial, so ultimately you are not just getting a plain old advertisement; you are getting a source of entertainment. In this way you are bound to take more notice of the item being advertised and more likely to purchase it. With smarter advertisements come greater visuals. The new mobile advertisements are visually stunning and can influence even the most rigid consumer. Advertising on a mobile phone just makes more sense as you are exposed to a larger market. Surveys conducted show that there are more people with mobile phones than internet connections.  The reach of the mobile phone to the consumer is much wider. 

The onset of mobile advertising has noticed a change is the advertising budgets. Less money is being spent on other mediums and more is being diverted to the mobile phone. With advertisers on the constant prowl for the next best thing in advertising, the mobile phone is the Holy Grail.

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Clive Pereira
Interested in adventure sports and experiencing urban culture

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Rewind | A Foreword

 By Clive Periera

They used to put a smile on your face every time you saw them scampering around fighting with one another or just plain lazing around not doing anything besides eating and having the day off. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking then we are talking about your favourite cartoons. Tom and Jerry, Pink Panther, Garfield and Friends, Powerpuff Girls and so many more. When you think back to when you used to watch these cartoons you go back into a simpler time, a time without responsibility, a carefree time just like the one Garfield seems to still have. 

Well, this month, it is all about reliving your childhood. Take a day or two off and spend that time with your favourite cartoon character. Watching re-runs is always fun; every joke, every dynamite stick hits you with a wave of nostalgia. They definitely don’t make them like they used to. Nowadays it’s all peace, love and joy and purple dinosaurs, which ironically makes me feel violent. The classics were not only entertaining, but also educational, giving us ideas on how to get back at our annoying sisters or how to steal pic-a-nic baskets….ahhh childhood… good times!Jokes apart, watching old cartoons makes you realize how clever they really were, and gives you a second chance to appreciate hidden pop-culture references or humor that may have gone over your head as a child; you’re not only watching re-runs, you’re seeing them in a different light.

The old episodes of Tom and Jerry were some of the top rated and had a completely different feel form the modern computer generated ones. Unfortunately, most of the cartoons we love, the classic cartoons, are difficult to come across. They are off the air and rarely found on DVD. The best way you can have access to all those old memories is by turning towards the internet. Websites like toonjet, internet archive, Hulu are some of the best when it comes to old cartoons. You can enjoy old episodes of that modern Stone Age family or episodes of Wile.E.Coyote chasing the Roadrunner (shockingly, for 48 episodes, a half hour special and a feature film; if that isn’t a lesson in perseverance I don’t know what is).

There might be several instances where you feel that the cartoon you were watching was much better back then.  Just chill out, you’re not 7 anymore! Go with it and watch it like you watched it in the good old days (but in HD of course). So with the theme being cartoons this month lap up all you can get and catch up with your childhood favourites!

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Clive Pereira
Interested in adventure sports and experiencing urban culture

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Cartoons & Their Influence

By Clive Periera

What a child watches in a cartoon has a great influence on their behaviour; it’s a sort of “monkey see monkey do” situation.

“Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology”- John Tudor 

With the century of technology upon us the way we used to live our lives is changing. Instead of the passing of time by indulging in outdoor or even indoor activities which are not technology related we are constantly turning towards technology to entertain us or keep us busy. And this is beginning at a very young age. Children, rather infants, as young as a year old are glued on to the television and even have their favourite programs. They do not understand much of what is going on, but are mesmerized by the character movements in all sorts of pretty colours. Believe it or not but this is having children addicted to television before they can even walk. I don’t want to play the blame game but parents are using television as a distraction for their children so that they can get in a little “me time”. It is not wrong to want some time to yourself but it has become a convenience to turn your child towards the television in order to distract them for a while, and boy do they get distracted. You can find some children looking so intently at the television as if in a state of trance. They are even oblivious to you shouting out their names, and in order to get a reaction you have to end up switching off the TV or blocking their view. Sometimes you wonder if the cartoons are ridden with subliminal messages which hypnotize them completely.

Children are more influenced by behaviour acted then preached

 It is important to see the influence which television has on the young mind. Staring mindlessly at the television screen for hours on end is just one of the influences it has. In some way it is robbing children from being children. Don’t get me wrong, television is not all that bad when it is in moderation and the programs watched are being monitored. On that note let us talk about cartoon content. A child’s mind is like a sponge it soaks up all which it is exposed to.  The content in a cartoon has a great influence on a child’s behaviour. Violence in cartoons not only teaches a child what violence is but also normalises it to appear like a part of everyday life and something which is practiced. In some extreme cases it can even desensitise a child to violence which is not a trait you want your child to grow up with. There have been many studies which have been conducted which prove that violence in cartoons has an influence on children’s minds. In one such study there were two groups of children. One group was exposed to a violent carton while another was exposed to a cartoon rid of any form of violence. Upon watching the program the children were left to interact with one another. The results were shocking but proved a point. The group exposed to the violent cartoon behaved in a rather harsh manner some even indulging in full blown fighting. On the other hand the group exposed to the pleasant cartoon were interacting without any scuffles. What this case study showed is a clear influence of cartoons on the young mind. Some more serious instances are where children believe that they have the ability to perform tasks just like super heroes do on the television or fight like the Looney Toons and throw objects at one another. To you and me this may seem ridiculous, but with the increased violence in cartoons nowadays it is what children start to believe.  

There’s more...

Aside from violence in cartoons and its influence on children’s behaviour there is also the matter of the physical harm. Staring into a TV for hours together is going to create a strain on a child’s eyes and mind. The constant glare from a screen can cause a hindrance to a child’s vision and will end up in them having to wear glasses.  

Because we are at a stage where television is an important factor in our day to day lives we cannot bar children from watching cartoons, although what we can do is impart the knowledge that a cartoon is make believe an monitor what they are viewing. Distracting them with other activities be it sports or creative is a more pro-active approach to them passing their time.   

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Clive Pereira
Interested in adventure sports and experiencing urban culture

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