HARJINDER || KHARAR || BLOG

 we promised you real life love stories, and this one’s a doozy!  Anne and Jim McDonnell’s life together was disrupted entirely in 1971 after Jim had a series of accidents that all involved relatively minor head injuries.  One night he decided to walk home from a friend’s house but never made it back to Anne. After 24 hours, the search to find Jim was on.  It was anyone’s guess what had happened, but nothing about Jim’s life suggested he would have left on purpose, and there was no evidence that he’d been the victim of foul play.

He simply vanished.  It turns out that he had somehow ended up in Philadelphia with total amnesia. (Yes, we are positive this is not a plot line taken from a Nicholas Sparks book.)   He built a new life in Philly working at a lunch counter and becoming an adopted father figure for a young family from his church. His new friends didn’t pry about his past, but they noted he didn’t talk much about it.  You can get all the details in this unbelievable Reader’s Digest article, so we’ll cut to the chase.  Fifteen years later, Jim again had a series of small accidents that involved banging his head. This time—boom!—memories of his old life came flooding back!  He made his way back to the New York home he had shared with Anne and rang the doorbell… on Christmas day. (I KNOW, right?! Not Nicholas Sparks, we swear!)  It didn’t take long for them to reconnect and rebuild their life together after what we could call their 15-year hiatus.

Song || Time pass || Harry || Harjinder || Sonal

Haaye garba re beat baaje

On repeat baaje

Aaj ghar jaane ki na baat karo ji

Chaand ko sohne na do

Subah hone na do

Aaj khwabon se mulakaat karo ji

 

Colorful sitare zameen pe hain saare

Ta-thaiya saari raat karo ji

Halo re halo halo re halo

Halo re halo halo re halo halo ji

Halo re halo halo re halo halo ji

Halo re halo halo re halo halo ji

Halo re halo halo re halo halo ji

Haan ude teri nazar meri

Odhni ke sath mein

Dil ka remote zara

Rakh apne hath mein

Tu akela nahi tere jaise kayi

Behke jo baat baat mein

Aisa waisa nahi sabke jaisa nahi

Hai galat yeh galat-fehmiyan

Hai tujhe bhi pata maine jo bhi kaha

Teri aankhon mein bhi padh liya

Isharon isharon mein na ho guzara

Chalo mere sath chalo ji

Ae halo re halo

Halo re halo halo re halo halo ji

Halo re halo halo re halo halo ji

Halo re halo halo re halo halo ji

LOVE STORY

LOVE STORY

Chapter One

Our love story started long before Matthew and I ever actually met.

And when you think about it, most love stories start that way. Every moment leading up to the one in which you meet your future husband or wife somehow shapes you and prepares you for that person you were fated for. Any previous heartbreaks or dark days or lonely nights can be crucially important in the grand scheme of things—sometimes we need to know what something feels like when it’s wrong before we can ever really know it when another thing is RIGHT.


So that’s why I need to start the story with a little bit of background. The whole “girl meets boy, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl get married” model is a little too simplistic for my needs. You people want details, don't you? Of course you do.


When I was 18 years old and working as a waitress at a little family restaurant, I met a guy who was 10 years older than me. He was the one who came before Matthew. We dated for three and half years, and even lived together during the last year and half of that relationship. We moved into a tiny little house and owned Gracie and Cooper together and our relationship was never a terrible one. He was a good guy, I was a good girl, and we really did love each other.


But for every moment of those three and a half years, I had a nagging, itching, aching feeling that he would never be the right one for me. Despite his great heart, he lacked ambition and drive and handled his finances very poorly and, at the heart of it all, was very insecure despite being a bright and attractive guy. I understood him, though. I understood that his family had never prepared him for LIFE, and the poor decisions he had made as a younger man had him caught in a sticky web and a hole he just couldn’t seem to dig himself out of.


As the years went by, he could give me less and less of what I needed. Things became strained between us. I was a terrible nag, and I see that now. But the problem was that there were just too many things about him that I wanted to change. And as I began to realize that I could never change him and shouldn’t have to, I struggled SO much with what the right thing to do was. It ate away at me day and night, because I honestly couldn’t imagine my life without him. And being alone TERRIFIED me.


Somewhere during all this, I read the book The Secret which is all about the law of attraction. I really, really believed in what it said. It inspired me. I realized that I had not arranged my life in a way that allowed for all the things I so desired. I hate to skim over this because it’s so important, but let’s just say that I KNEW I had to decide what I wanted my future to look like and start taking active steps towards attracting that future. And staying in my current relationship at the time was a major roadblock. I knew in my heart that if I stayed where I was, life would always be a struggle. 


So one day the breakup finally happened. We talked and cried for hours and finally decided that we could never truly work. He decided to move out and let me stay in the house and keep the dogs because, on his income alone, he couldn’t afford to live there (I made enough waiting tables to cover the bills if pennies were tightly pinched).


I can honestly say that the 48 hours after that break up were the toughest of all my life. I ugly-cried those kind of tears that come from somewhere inside you didn’t even know existed—a place of fear and sudden awareness that you are completely alone.


And that’s the place I was in when I met Matthew. We met a mere 48 hours after the ex and I called it quits, which could either be considered really terrible timing or really great timing. I choose to believe the timing was perfect.


But let’s back up again for just a minute.


Remember how I was working at that little restaurant? Well, for a couple of years I’d been waiting on my future in-laws without even knowing it. We’ll just call them Mr. and Mrs. D for our purposes here today.


They were an odd couple. Mrs. D was a beautiful blonde and friendly as can be, and Mr. D was quiet, reserved, and hard to read. I really enjoyed waiting on them, though, and I found it amusing when Mrs. D would occasionally mention their son in California and how perfect he and I would be for each other. She mentioned this to me on at least two or three occasions, but I always laughed and just politely reminded her that I had a boyfriend. I came to find out later that, in actuality, Mrs. D talked a whole lot more about Matthew and I one day meeting than I ever knew at the time; Mr. D now says he had to hear about it every single time they came to the restaurant, and Matthew, when he was in town, would always go to eat there and would hear about me then, too. But for some reason, I was never working when Matthew happened to stop in with his parents, and our paths never crossed.


But then one day, on January 19, 2009, our paths DID cross. And to make it all the more strange, I wasn’t even working that day—the encounter was, TRULY, by chance.


Little did I know when I woke up that morning, Martin Luther King Day and a university holiday, that my life was about to be turned upside down.




Chapter Two


It was a Saturday that the ex and I had broken up, and by Monday morning, though I was by NO means “over” the breakup, I was feeling ever so slightly hopeful; or at least looking forward to a fun breakfast with a friend.



One of my male coworkers was (is) like a brother to me; we were hired on at the restaurant around the same time, and over the six and a half years until this point in the story, he and I had become close and occasionally planned a breakfast outing to catch up on the events of each other’s lives. A week prior to this aforementioned Monday, he and I had planned to meet for breakfast at the restaurant where we worked – only I got called into work when another waitress went home sick. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was a game-changing move. One of those moments where the Universe intervenes because that particular event wasn’t in keeping with the greater plan.


Truth be told, if I had met my friend for breakfast on that previously planned date, or if I had shown up to the restaurant even a single moment later on the day we DID end up meeting, Matthew and I would have never met. My life would be drastically different right now. Funny how the smallest little decisions and changes of course can alter the entire plot of your life.


So on that Monday morning, January 19 of 2009, I woke up, got showered and dressed, and headed out to a 9:00 AM breakfast with my friend. Like usual, I was running a couple minutes late.


Once I arrived, I parked my car and walked across the lot and into the little diner where my friend Chris was already waiting in the line to be seated. We chatted for maybe thirty seconds before the outside door of the restaurant swung open and, to my surprise, there was Mrs. D! She seemed excited to see me and exclaimed, “Jenni! I know this might seem strange, and I know you have a boyfriend, but my son is here in town—we were just leaving, and I saw you walking up—I’d love for you to come out and meet him!”


I gave her a hug and laughed, saying, “Well, actually, me and my boyfriend just broke up, so it’s ok.”


I thought I’d humor her. Many proud mamas had bragged on their sons to me before, and if or when I ever did end up meeting these “handsome” princes, things were usually awkward and anything but a match made in heaven.


Mrs. D led me just outside the little foyer where we’d been waiting. Her car was a few feet away, and the driver’s side door was still open where she had gotten out. I peered into the car and there he was: the infamous son.


I’d be lying if I said I heard a choir of angels singing, or if I said a bright light shone upon him like some supernatural vision from God, but there truly was instant attraction. He reached over from the passenger side seat to shake my hand and said, “Hey! Nice to finally meet you!”


He had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, and from then on I was in somewhat of a stupor, which is not unusual for me when faced with awkward social situations (especially involving shockingly attractive members of the opposite sex).


I said something along the lines of, “It’s really nice to meet you too! I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, and I just love your Mom!”


Mrs. D mentioned then that Matthew was going home to California the next morning but would be back in a couple weeks. I replied saying maybe we would see each other again when he returned, and the conversation wrapped up.


But in typical Jenni fashion, I had to say at least one ridiculous thing before going along my merry way, so just as I turned around to walk back into the diner, I decided to poke my head in the car one more time and say, “oh, excuse me SIR? What did you say your name was again? I already forgot!” Yes, I called him SIR. And as soon as that word flew off my tongue I was mortified with myself. Why the !@#$ did I just call him “sir?” What an idiot!


He just laughed and said “Matthew.”


“Ok, thanks!” I replied. “Maybe I’ll see you again soon!”


They left, and I went back into the restaurant where my friend was waiting.


And just a couple moments later we were inside and seated at our table near the back of the little one room diner.


We ordered our breakfast and, after a few more minutes, the hostess walked up to our table and slipped me a little note. “That guy just came back in and told me to give this to you. He saw you sitting with Chris and didn’t want to be rude and interrupt,” she told me.


My heart skipped a beat. I unfolded the little note. Matthew had written his name and phone number and the message: Be back in two weeks. Would be great to hear from you!


I was shaking. I can’t explain it, but I felt like I was dreaming. My mind was racing with thoughts of how completely serendipitous this encounter was, but how completely awful it felt to be entertaining thoughts of another relationship so soon after my last one ended.


One of the waitresses at the restaurant, a good friend and mother-type figure to me, stopped by our table and read the note. She had seen the whole thing unfold, and the way Matthew had come back in and stared back at me as I chatted obliviously with my friend. With a knowing look on her face, she said “Jenni, it’s a God thing.”


And she turned out to be very, very right.


Mrs. D and Matthew both corroborate the story that, when they had left the restaurant after our initial meeting, Matthew matter of factly told his mother that I was the one. That he knew it. And she said she had always known it. She told him what I said about my boyfriend and I breaking up, and Matthew demanded she turn around. They came back, he scribbled his note on that little piece of paper, and he went back in to find me.


And I COULD just say “the rest is history,” but that really wouldn’t be doing the story justice. The part that comes next is half the fun! I suppose that sometimes fate might whisper, but in our case, it screamed. 




Chapter Three


Three full days passed after that fateful encounter, and the little note Matthew had left for me remained tucked away inside my wallet. I certainly wasn’t following any rule on how many days to wait before calling a guy; rather, I was feeling pretty terrible about calling him at ALL, given my still VERY freshly single status. My ex-boyfriend hadn’t even moved out of our house yet, and although I remained fully aware of that note and secretly wanted to call the number on it, I refrained. It just seemed so wrong to be having thoughts about another guy so soon.



Then, on the afternoon of the fourth day, I went to work and, as I clocked in on the register, I noticed a bright blue, folded sticky note with my name on it taped to the window beside me. I pulled it off and opened it, and there was Matthew’s name and number again, but this time in the handwriting of one the hostesses who answers the phone.


I turned to my manager and asked what it was all about. “This guy already gave me his number!” I said, confused. “What is it doing here again?”


My manager gravely told me that Matthew had called the restaurant and asked for me the day before, but since I wasn’t there, he simply left his name and number with the hostess. “Is this guy stalking you? Do you want me to call him?” he asked with concern.


I laughed and said I didn’t think so. But secretly, I was impressed with Matthew’s tenacity. He was interested, and he wasn’t beating around the bush about it. I liked that.


I texted him that afternoon and apologized for not calling. I told him that I’d wanted to, but it had only been several days since my ex and I had broken up and it felt a little irreverent to be calling another guy so soon. I said that I’d call him when I got off work that night.


The reply I received went something like this: Ok, little miss four days later! Good thing I remain optimistic, ‘cause it was beginning to look like I wasn’t going to hear from you! 


Matthew later told me that those were the most torturous four days of his life. He kept his phone within an arm’s reach and pondered whether or not I was playing hard to get or something. When he didn’t hear from me right away, he had called the restaurant (from California!) in case I had “lost his number.” Patience is not this man’s greatest virtue; I can definitely attest to that now!


I don’t want to skim over anything, but I also don’t want to drag this out for weeks. So let’s just say that I called Matthew that evening, and by the end of about a one hour conversation, I knew I had just met the man who would one day be my husband. I called my best friend the next day and told her so, which, naturally, was met with a somewhat apprehensive “umm… ok?” 


Truth be told, the relationship encountered quite a bit of trepidation from my friends and family, and understandably so. Everything happened so fast and so furious and so SOON after the end of my previous relationship.


Matthew was almost seven years older than me, had a successful career in insurance and financial services, lived states away, and still seemed dead set on ME. People didn’t trust him, and even I had my moments of doubt as things moved along at lightning speed.


During the week after our first phone call, we talked for hours every night. I learned that he was a huge fan of the book The Secret, just like I was, and he told me that he, too, tried to live his life by the principles of the law of attraction. Coincidence? I think not.


He also told me he had moved his trip back to Texas up a few days so he could spend more time with me, and our first date was scheduled for less than two weeks after our initial meeting. I remember getting a text from him just a couple days before he flew back down to Texas, and it said that he “couldn’t wait to have me in his arms.” I was a little alarmed by this, given that we hadn’t even had our first date yet, but I sort of loved it all at once. It was nice to feel wanted without that veil of pretense and cautious, “acceptable” behavior. Matthew is one of the few people in this world who throws themselves shamelessly and without hesitation at whatever they desire.


So we had our first date. I wore a little black dress with heels and a bright green sweater, and he wore jeans and a black button up shirt. We met at Starbucks, we hugged like old friends, he led me to the car he’d borrowed from his dad, and he opened my door for me like a true gentleman. He started the car and a CD began to play – all my favorite songs, one after another. I demanded that he admit he’d stalked my Facebook and made a CD from all my listed favorite artists, but he denies it to this day. Either he’s lying, or we just have identical taste in music. Either way, it was perfect.


And that evening began a week of “first dates.” We had dinner together several times, went to the movies, visited the nearby Natural Bridge Caverns and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio, spent his birthday with his parents and grandparents, and then said a very bittersweet goodbye before he headed back to California.


I think it was on the third date that week that I really fell in love. We were deep under the ground in the chilly caverns and listening to the tour guide as she lectured on stalactites and stalagmites, when Matthew wrapped his arms around me from behind and just held me there as we stood. I can’t explain it, but it just felt… RIGHT. 


A few days after he went home to California, on Valentine’s Day 2009, I received a very special delivery while I was at work – a gift that would turn out to be one of the most amazing and romantic things I’ve ever been given.


 Chapter Four 


In part three, the story left off just after our week of first dates and Matthew’s return home from California, and just before Valentine’s Day two years ago. I was at work that Valentine’s Day evening when a special delivery arrived for me via Matthew’s mom! I was too busy to chat with her much when she arrived, but she dropped off my gifts along with a gorgeous dozen white and red roses from Matthew. He had arranged all this before he left!


I waited to open my gifts until the restaurant was closed for the evening, but believe me, I thought about them ALL NIGHT LONG! Once the last customer had finally left, I sat down at a table with my roses, a large yellow manila envelope, and a wrapped gift. A note on the outside of a card instructed that I open the wrapped gift first.


In order to understand the significance of what comes next, you have to first understand my obsession with New York City. During those few weeks that we had know each other up until this point, Matthew and I had discussed how much we both loved it there, and how it is my absolute favorite place on Earth. So I opened my gift and found this adorable New York picture that Matthew had hand decaled with romantic little words:

I was tickled by that, of course, but what was in the big manila envelope was the real kicker.

Matthew had created this full page invitation (with a beautiful photo of a bridge in Central Park faded in the background), and it read:

(My Name)

You are hereby cordially invited to

“The City of Lights”

On Monday, the Ninth of March,

Two Thousand and Nine

at

The Ritz Carlton New York, Central Plaza

Enchantment will start promptly at 8:00 PM,

Romance will begin at first site,

…..Falling in Love will last a lifetime

Host: Matthew (Last Name)

Price of Admission: Your Company, Your Smile, and Your Grace

Please RSVP by February 16^th, 2009

We apologize for any inconvenience,

Kisses are the only form of payment accepted at this time

Ummm, yeah. CAN WE SAY EVERY GIRL’S DREAM COME TRUE?!?! And Matthew had also created a fake airline boarding pass with the assigned seat “next to your man” and with flight and confirmation numbers matching the days of our first two dates. I know. Sickening! I’m here to tell you that not every man is completely clueless when it comes to romance!


So needless to say, I accepted the invitation, and that trip to New York City with my future husband turned out to be the most fabulous few days of my life. The Ritz Carlton ruined me for all eternity. I will compare all hotel experiences to that one, and nothing will ever match up. Matthew convinced the poor fellow at the front desk to upgrade our stay from a basic room to a two room, two bathroom suite, at no extra charge (the guy is a sweet-talker, what can I say?), and from our room on the seventh floor (my lucky number) you could sit on the window seat and gaze down at sixth avenue and central park below. I spent many teary moments on that window seat, wondering when I would wake up from this lovely dream.


Thankfully, I never did.


Matthew had brought along the movie Serendipity for us to watch while there in New York, and the next day after watching the movie in our cozy room, Matthew surprised me with lunch at Serendipity 3. Appropriate, yes? Here we were inside the restaurant:

After that New York trip, Matthew and I continued a long distance relationship. We would see each other every 3-5 weeks on average, he flying down to San Antonio where I lived at the time, or me flying up to Huntington Beach, California where he lived at the time.


In June of that same year, we took yet another trip, but this time to Maui, Hawaii. Mind you, we had only been dating four and half months at this point, but I had a feeling a proposal was imminent. 


A couple of days into our stay, Matthew surprised me with a limo ride to a location away from our hotel, where we found a small table set up near the beach, complete with white linens, a candle, and a little vase of fresh flowers. We had our own private chef, who was arranged about 10 yards away, cook us one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever eaten (some type of grilled Hawaiian fish – whatever it was, it was amazing!). 


BUT. Things really did not go as Matthew had planned for them to or at all how he had envisioned. We laugh about it now, but our romantic and private little dinner table was smack dab in the middle of a grassy clearing between another hotel and an enormous ugly apartment complex with hundreds of balconies overlooking our little spectacle. We were also within about 15 feet of an outdoor shower spicket which people were coming up to from the beach to shower off under! It was awkward to say the least, and Matthew was pissed. At one point he went over to the chef to “check on our meal,” but he was really asking for the ring back – it was supposed to be “served” to me with the dessert, but Matthew was so displeased with the atmosphere that he decided to postpone the proposal.


The meal wrapped up, and I was feeling anxious. Knowing Matthew, I had a feeling he wouldn’t propose under these imperfect circumstances, but I wasn’t sure!


We ended up taking our limo back to our resort – and BY THE WAY. The limo was 1980’s style Uncle Guido GREEN, inside and out, which was another scenario Matthew had not planned for! The whole ordeal was definitely laughable.


So when we got back to our hotel, Matthew suggested we take a walk before the sun set. Mmm-hmm, “a walk.” Ok, buddy! I thought to myself.


As we walked along beside the gorgeous floury-soft sand beach, we suddenly reached a little clearing where there was a patch of green grass beside the sand, and Matthew stopped. My heart skipped a beat, and before I knew it, he was on one knee, saying something about loving me a whole lot and wanting to spend the rest of forever with me, et cetera, et cetera. Honestly, and sadly, I might add, I don’t remember his exact words. Even though I expected this proposal, I was still in some sort of weird shock. Maybe it had something to do with the gorgeous shiny rock that was sparkling up at me as he spoke – just sayin’!


Obviously, my answer was YES. And I believe they usually end these little fairytales with “happily ever after.” 

man, I miss that tan.

But the truth is, things haven’t always been super easy; living states away from each other for that year before our wedding was really tough. Once we DID get married and moved into our home together, we had to learn to live as a couple – but I can honestly say that when you are deeply and unselfishly in love, things aren’t that hard. And I wish each and every one of you, if you haven’t found it already, a love story just like ours – not because our relationship is perfect (because it isn’t – honest), but because we have found a way to love one another despite. Despite our imperfections, despite our quirks and idiosyncrasies, and despite a sometimes uncertain future.


This first year of marriage has taught me a lot, and I can’t wait to share our journey with all of YOU. This life can be a beautiful thing – sometimes sad, sometimes tragic, sometimes full of sorrow and suffering and pain – but ALWAYS full of love.


I’ll leave you with something I wrote on a private blog on Valentine’s Day two years ago, just after receiving those gifts from Matthew:

I have learned to listen to my heart.  I have learned that if you never make room for better things and better ways to be, if you never clear out the things in your life that stand in the way of your happiness, then you are not aligning your universe to allow for amazing things.   In this life, you don’t find yourself.  You create yourself.  And the same goes for love: you don’t find love, you create a road for love to travel and wait for it to come.

*** Here is an important love story update I wrote on our 3 year wedding anniversary. We have had our struggles, but love prevails. :) 

*** Due to way too much random spam about weirdo spell casters (seriously), comments have been turned OFF

Harry Blog, What is TheShortCutts

Harry Blog
My Personal Blog on Web Development, Hosting, Design, SEO, Internet Marketing and Social Media. I have my official blog but I will also like to write on few topics here to share my thoughts, opinion and new ideas

What is TheShortCutts

TheShortCutts is a collection of videos of Matt Cutts head of web spam at Google. Matt Cutts is Google engineers a darling of SEO industry as he helps in replying on various issue relating to search engine optimization. TheShortCutts you can watch Matt Cutts all videos at one place.
Since early 2009 Google's Matt Cutts has recorded a superhuman number of videos to help struggling site owners understand their site in search. While the videos are great, sometimes the guy just needs to get to the point. With that in mind we've done the hard work and watched every Matt Cutts video to pull out simple, concise versions of his answers: The Short Cutts!


 Google Concept by Matt Bullas CEO of Click Consult One of the UK's leading Website Marketing Companies. Visit TheShortCutts.Com

Penguin up date

Penguin up date
Google’s Matt Cutts used Twitter this afternoon to announce that Google is launching the latest “data refresh” of its Penguin spam-fighting algorithm today and that it will affect searches across multiple languages.

Including the original Penguin algorithm launch in late April, this is the third update, so we’re calling it Penguin 3 and avoiding the previous 1.1, 1.2, etc. naming scheme, just as we’ve done with the Panda updates.
Penguin Releases So Far

Here’s the list so far, showing when each Penguin update came out, the percentage of English-languages queries it was said to impact (other languages are also impacted, but we’re using English as a consistent baseline):

    Penguin 1: April 24, 2012 (3.1%)
    Penguin 2: May 26, 2012 (less than 0.1%)
    Penguin 3: Oct. 5, 2012 (0.3%)

Some Details On Penguin 3

Cutts, chief of Google’s spam team, posted about the Penguin update in a series of tweets. The first said that a Penguin data refresh is on its way and that about 0.3 percent of English-language queries will be “noticeably affected.”

    Weather report: Penguin data refresh coming today. 0.3% of English queries noticeably affected. Details: goo.gl/AF5kt

    — Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) October 5, 2012

He added more info via a few replies on Twitter, like these that mention the update will also impact a small percentage of queries in other languages such as Spanish, Italian and French.

    @gfiorelli1 it will roll out for other languages at same time. Spanish impact is ~0.4%. Italian impact is ~0.3% of queries. Hope that helps.

    — Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) October 5, 2012

    @glemarchand @gfiorelli1 0.4% of French queries affected to a degree that a regular user might notice.

    — Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) October 5, 2012

How Google Determines Percent Of Queries Impacted

For the first time that I’m aware of, we also learn a bit about what Google means when it cites how many queries are “noticeably affected.” In this conversation with UK SEO Rob Watts, Cutts suggests that “noticeable” means “above the fold,” at least to some degree.


 October 5, 2012

Google first launched the Penguin update in late April, and even though the company talked about targeting webspam in general, the real impact seems to have been on websites with what Google considers (too many) low-quality inbound links. Prior to today, there was one previous update in late May and Google has promised further “jolts” related to the Penguin algorithm.

Harry

The Islamic baby girl names are extremely melodious and unique. The trend is also to include those names that have a different pronunciation like Ayesha, Alia, Araf, Husna or Shakeela that sound good and yet seem modern. Christian names like Audrina, Joan, Abigail, Neolina, Adelina is getting common to replace names like Alice, Mary or Margaret which was common earlier.

Names are usually kept as per the Raashi in the traditional Hindu homes and that can be interesting though the choice gets narrowed down. Parents also insist on two names that can be retained for official reasons and another as per the customs. Names with G are like Gurjari which means

rose, Gauhar which means a pearl; Gangika is a name for the river Ganga and Gatita which means a river.

Twin baby girl names can also be interesting while retaining the same meaning and yet having a different name like Sarita, and Bipasha mean river, Komal and Soumya means soft, Soundarya and Sulakshana means beautiful. N names were also popular like Niti, Niyati, Nemanika, Nishchita, Nikita, Nishta, Nayana, Nishita and Nayonika. The name that signigies a lamp has variants like Deepa, Dipanita, Deepika, Deepnita, Dipakshi, Deepmala, Dipanika and Diya.

Diksha means initiation and Shrusti means creation. Raga means a tune in music and Sagarika or Sangita is related to music. Dhanashri also means a raga in Indian classical music. There are names like Rohini, Ashlesha, Magha which are related to nakshatras as per the birth chart of the native. Names like Damayanti, Pulkita, Prajapita, Ratika and Rati is uniqe. Jyotika, Nitika, Pritika, Sanishka, Rasika, Latika are some names ending as ‘ka’.

In the sixties, the trend was to name the baby girls with unique names that came from the leading actresses of those times. Hence the names like Asha, Hema, Shashikala, Padmini, Ragini and Nargis became popular. Madhubala or Nutan was very common then. The trend was still to give hindi girl names in the metros and yet go on for traditional names like Shalaka or Sharvari is very much Maharashtiran and Bhavana and Hiral is a Gujarati name,

My Son
It's a Boy! During the time leading up to the birth of their newborn baby, expectant parents have a number of months to research a wide variety of names and their meanings and select the perfect name for their child. In many instances, sonograms can determine a baby's gender about halfway through pregnancy so parents-to-be can focus their name search appropriately.
Choosing A Boy's Name

The choice of a name may involve many factors and parameters. Some parents choose the name of a favorite family member or ancestor. Others select an ethnic or religious origin name. Still others may wish to give their baby boy an unusual or unique name, use the name of a 

famous person, or even .

DOGS - Special Interview

DOGS  Special Interview  lp  1983
Dogs interviewed just after the release of "Legendary Lovers". The band talks about the recording of "Legendary Lovers", about Vic Maile who produced the album, about the writing of the song "Secrets" written in french and in english...
The interview is the same on both sides but is interspersed with  extracts of the song "Secrets" on the B side. Also added are the two versions of Secrets and the song "Legendary Lovers".
Un disque promo qui présente sur les deux faces la même interview des Dogs. On trouve l'interview seule sur la face A et sur la face B, la même interview entrecoupée d'extraits du morceau "Secrets". Nous y avons rajouté les deux versions de "Secrets" et la chanson "Legendary Lovers" qui ne figurait pas (malgré son titre) sur le lp mais en face b du simple "M.A.U.R.E.E.N". Interrogés sur "Legendary Lovers", leur nouvel album ainsi que sur la tournée européenne qu'ils s'apprêtent à entamer, les Dogs parlent aussi de Vic Maile qui produisit l'album, répondent aux questions sur le fait d'écrire les textes des chansons en français ou en anglais , etc.
Ce maxi 45 tours consacré au meilleur groupe de rock français, interdit à la vente à l'époque, était destiné aux journalistes, aux radios et aux magazines.
Pour fans des Dogs !!!
Auxquels je rappelle la sortie en novembre de "Too Much Class..." le livre que Catherine Laboubée, soeur de Dominique consacre aux Dogs et à son frère. Vous pouvez faire des économies en le précommandant ICI ou envoyer un chèque de souscription de 30 euros à Catherine Laboubée - 50 avenue de Caen - 76100 Rouen.
Prix de souscription : 30 euros au lieu de 35. Prévoir 3 euros de port pour envoi chez vous.
Thanks to Fabien!

THE HEART ATTACKS   Heart And Scissor Killers  cd  2005

Untitled / Guilty / Fast Times / You Were Warned / Heart Attack / Gimme A Fix / Heaven Ain't The Place / City Sickness / Chain Gang / Car Bomb / Neck Bit.

Produced by Tuk, Lou & The Heart Attacks.

The Heart Attacks: Dave: guitars / Tuk: lead guitars / Chase: vocals / Paulie: bass / Amos: drums.

Every few years, a new generation of punks works its way back from Green Day to Nirvana to Black Flag to the Sex Pistols to the Ramones. Those who don't stop there at "Blitzkrieg Bop" usually make their way back to the first New York Dolls album, and the result is albums like the debut from the Heart Attacks. Glammy and garagey in equal doses, with theatrical vocals and shout-along choruses dueling with great Johnny Thunders-style brash guitar riffs, "Heart and Scissor Killers" is shamelessly derivative but hugely fun. Unlike many bands working this style, the Heart Attacks understand that the Dolls' secret weapon was their devotion to '60s pop sounds, so songs like "Guilty" and "You Were Warned" have catchy tunes to go along with the distorted guitars and attitude. Energetic and entertaining, "Heart and Scissor Killers" is a great way to kill a half-hour. Dig the excellent rooster shags and mascara look on the front cover as well. Source

The Heart Attacks were a glam punk band from Atlanta, Georgia, and were signed to Tim Armstrong's Hellcat Records. In April/May 2007 the band toured throughout the southern United States as part of a Hellcat Records package tour. Later that year, the band embarked on an extensive East Coast tour that stretched from Florida to Massachusetts, and included a handful of dates in the Mid-West (e.g. Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland)n as well. Their first album, "Heart ad Scissor Killers" featured all original members, Chase, Tuk, Dave, Paul, and Amos. The band was offered a place on the 2005 Warped Tour caravan but due to a scheduling conflict and unable to follow the tour, Amos was replaced by Brad, who became their steady drummer until 2007 when he made the decision to continue his education. During the Warped Tour, their bus broke down in California and with the aid of locals, they made their way back home to Atlanta. Fortunately, they also became acquainted with Tim Armstrong in this time period, and left Brand Name Records for a better-known label. This decision proved fruitful as the band released a more widely advertised album "Hellbound and Heartless" in 2006, featuring a duet between Chase Noles and guest singer Joan Jett. In late 2008 lead guitar player Tuk and Bass player Portwood started a side project along with Joey from Vengeance 77 dubbed Poison Arrows and later the Biters. After lead vocalist Chase Noles was thrown into jail and Bassist Portwood went back to rehab the Heart Attacks would soon call it quits, it seems that it was the end of the Heart Attacks. Source

Buy It HERE

9/21/2012

"Rave On: A Tribute to The Reducers"

 Once dubbed ‘America’s best unsigned band’ by CMJ, New London, CT’s The Reducers spent much of their 34-year career skirting the edges of wider mainstream popularity. But what they lacked in broader exposure, they made up for in critical acclaim and influence on generations of musicians and music fans around the world. A brand-new international tribute, “Rave On: A Tribute to the Reducers Vol. 1″ (Good Sponge Records), coming Sept. 22, features 24 tracks that pay sound tribute to the band’s longstanding musical legacy.

There will be a CD release party for the album on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center Rose Barn in Waterford, CT (305 Great Neck Road, Waterford, CT 06385, (860) 443-5378). The O’Neill’s Rose Barn was the first venue the Reducers played together as a band in June of 1978. The CD release party will feature live performances from Heap, the Dogmatics, the Manchurians, Paul Brockett Roadshow, the Rivergods (w/Steve Elci & Lauren Agnelli), the Clothespins, Jes Farnsworth, Matt Gouette, Blonde Furniture and Missy Roback, and will focus on Reducer’s (and Reducers-related) music. Following the CD release party, the album will be available from Good Sponge Records and via other local and national retailers.
Doors open at 6:30pm. The show runs from 7:00-11:00pm. There is a suggested donation of $10, and CD copies of “Rave On: A Tribute to the Reducers Vol. 1″ will be available for purchase. All profits from the event and CD sales will benefit the immediate family of Steve Kaika, who continue to work through medical bills and other challenges incurred during Kaika’s illness. Beer, wine and other refreshments will be available for purchase at the show.

CITY KIDS - The name of the game (Re-Up)

CITY KIDS The Name Of The Game Mini lp 1983

State Control / Mad Shadows / Name Of The Game / Speeding /Security / Old Man Skin.

Recorded live in Le Havre.

Produced by Rob Younger.

City Kids: Dominique Comont: vocals, keyboards / Eric Houllemare: bass / Stéphane Lesauvage:drums / Pascal Lamy: guitar.

Indissociables de la ville du Havre comme Little Bob Story ou Fixed Up , les City Kids débutent leur carrière avec ce mini lp enregistré live en 1983, sur leur propre label, City Kids Records ! "The name of the game" propose un rock sous forte influence australienne : s'y côtoient Radio Birdman , les Visitors et Died Pretty ! Avec grande classe , les havrais nous assènent des originaux parfaitement enregistrés live et produit par Rob Younger lui-même! Tout au long des six chansons de "The Name Of The Game" le piano vigoureux et la voix grave de Domnique Comont font merveille! Il se dégage un lyrisme à la Doors de ces chansons portées par une rythmique parfaite,, celle du duo basse-batterie composé d'Erik Houllemare (le frère de Christian , membre des Bad Brains qui "commirent" la même année, un excellent mini lp "Legends From The End Of Time" sur Closer Records, d' Happy Hate Me Nots , des Someloves et des New Christs) et de Stéphane Lesauvage à la batterie ! L'incisive guitare de Pascal Lamy orne chacune des chansons et sait durcir le ton quand il le faut !

Les City Kids savaient rocker de façon originale et addictive! Le Havre se souvient encore de cette nuit-là: quelques uns de ses plus électriques enfants enregistraient live pour la posterité et avec un énorme culot pour un premier disque, un témoignage essentiel auquel le grand Rob Younger apportait sa caution de producteur!

The City Kids were a french rock band from Le Havre.Formed in August 1980, their influences are diverse: the Anglo-Saxon rock of the seventies (MC5, the Stooges, the Who), the punk (Clash, Damned,Saints,Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers ...) and especially the Australian rock underground (Radio Birdman, Died Pretty). Since the mid-seventies, Le Havre city has a reputation for being "a heavy rock town"...Thanks to Little Bob Story at the time the only French rock band singing in English to perform across the Channel.

City Kids will soon imitate their elders in 1981 for 25 dates with Doctor Feelgood.The City Kids has performed in France and in Europe with about a hundred dates a year with Iggy Pop in 1990 at the Zénith of Paris. Against the current musical fashions of the moment, City Kids did not got successful beyond a certain part of the rock audience.

Produced by Rob Younger, the first City Kids mini album "The Name Of The Game" was recorded live in their town of Le Havre. A solid album: one of my favorite french rock albums !

Thanks to Max for the cd artwork...

BUY IT HERE!

BATTERED WIVES - Live On Mother's Day

BATTERED WIVES Live On Mother's Day lp 1980

Keep a Knockin' / Daredevil / Freedom Fighters / Everybody Loves A Loser / Sex And Drugs And Rock'n'Roll / Sweet Little Sixten / You Really Got Me / Lucille / Suicide / Great Balls Of Fire.

Produced by Ron Chapman.

Battered Wives: T. Swann: vocals, guitar / J. Gibb: vocals, guitar / C. Anderson: drums / L. 'Jasper' Klassen: bass.

The Canadian punk rock band the Battered Wives formed in 1977. Early members were lead singer and guitarist Toby Swann, bassist Larry "Jasper" Klassen, and drummer Cleave Anderson. Later, singer and guitarist John Gibb joined the lineup, and after Anderson departed the scene, drummer Patrick Mooney came on board as well. In between 1978 and 1980, the Battered Wives recorded a number of singles and three albums, sometimes working under the shorter and less controversial title of the Wives.

the Battered Wives started performing in Toronto in the latter part of the '70s. By 1978, the band had signed a contract with the Bomb Records label and released a self-titled debut album and a two-sided single, "Uganda Stomp" and "Giddy." A lot of the attention the band's name, some of its songs' lyrics, and even lipstick-smeared fist logo earned them wasn't welcomed. Women's groups soon began to picket the Battered Wives at concerts. Though the press wasn't positive, it was still press, and probably in the long run helped the band build a bigger fan base of rebellious teens and young adults. It didn't take long for the debut album to reach gold. Some of the tracks from the successful first outing are "Angry Young Man," "Everybody Loves a Loser," and "Lover Balls."

Just before the band began work on a sophomore release, Anderson tossed in the towel. He moved on to a group called the Sharks. As soon as Anderson left, Mooney was brought in to fill the spot. That second album, Cigarettes, came out under the band's shorter title, the Wives. Although it didn't sell nearly as well as the first, it earned the band a Juno Award. The next album, Live on Mothers' Day, was finished in 1980 under the Ready Records label. The guys were using the debatable name, the Battered Wives again, but sells still didn't rise. It was the last full-length recording the band would make together. In 1999, both albums were re-released on CD. Source
Buy it HERE!

POISON ARROWS - Sticky Situations

POISON ARROWS Sticky Situations 7' EP 2008

Sticky Situations* / Shakin All Over / Wild Hearts Beat Free*.

*Produced by N. Constantine.

Poison Arrows: Tuk: vocals, guitar / Joey: drums, percussion / Portwood: bass / Josh:guitar.

Hailing from Atlanta, the Poison Arrows are no strangers to the punk rock world. Featuring former members of The Heart Attacks, the band plays furious power pop punk with glam roots that is catchy and anthemic as all hell and raging with attitude. Power pop with attitude?

Definitely. These aren’t crying-in-your-beer-over-a-girl love songs. This is the band Tuk, Portwood, Josh, and Joey were meant to play in.

The A-side “Sticky Situations”, about the trouble we all love to somehow get into, will be that foot-tapping, hot jam stuck in your head and stuck on your turntable.

The B-side brings us “Shakin’ All Over” and “Wild Hearts Beat Free”, both songs about rockin’ and rollin’ and livin’ your life how you want. You’ll be hearing a lot more from the Poison Arrows this coming year. Get some! Source

''The crowd quickly warmed up to the group's jarring collision of Cheap Trick and Dead Boys:

I thought you guys were gonna suck because your haircuts are fucking gay—but you rock,”

screamed one audience member between songs.'' Source

Buy It here !

ZACHARY JAMES & THE ALL SEEING EYES

 

'63 MÖNRÖE Stinkin' Out The Joint lp 1985 (cd 2003)

Horizontal Hold / Yumpin' / Twist My Wrist / Can't Trust Her / Soup to Nuts / Henry VIII / 99th Floor / Damage Done / Hey Little Girl / Cyanide / Wrong to You / The Battle of New Orleans / Weekend Punks.

Produced by D. Dekergommeaux.

'63 Mönröe: Steven R Stunning: lead vocals / Pete Dekoker: bass, vocals / Jeff "Rooster" Rooth: drums, vocals / Marky Burnaway: guitars, vocals, synthesizer.

'63 Mönröe is a story all by itself. Success, tragedy... it was all there. I'd write a book if I had the time. They were more than just another sex drugs and rock n roll story. To their credit they never gave in to the music industry.

The band's name derived from the obvious; that being the beginning of a new legend. It is also a statement showing the member's feelings towards the insanity, excesses and stupidity of the jet set celebrities and of their own demise. Although influences on the band had included the New York Dolls, The Ramones as well as early London (Canada) bands such as the Demics, they were aware of the importance of finding their own niche. The sound was raw, but enjoyable to the punk/metal crossover generation...and for those who understood that the band was approaching alternative music from a different angle, they were a breath of fresh air. - Danny Napalm

In 1985, the band released their second album, the highly praised Stinkin’ Out the Joint. SOTJ is a back alley blast of rattling cans and fists on flesh – a steady and raw groove of chunky metal and slumbering punk. Stunning’s voice on SOTJ is particularly interesting, like a psychedelic Wolfman with a new wave echo and inaudible lower east side tongue. The whole thing lacks severely in production value, giving you a sense of what it would have been like to be front row at The Cedar Lounge for a rock show. The success of SOTJ took ’63 Monroe beyond London’s borders, including a show at CBGB’s in NYC with Johnny Blitz’s band...

The scene was hotter than ever and at the heart of it all was ’63 Monroe, whose stage antics began to take on a life of their own – porno broadcasts, platform boots, nudity, coffins, smoke bombs, dry ice. ’63 Monroe was defiantly flaunting raunchy excess as though they were LA hipsters, not London (Ontario) overachievers. But overachievers they were, contently inventing new ways to tear up their hometown instead of going after the tainted allure of fame and fortune. Jeff Warren, Sleazegrinder.com.

Visit on http://harjinderso.blogspot.in/ Thanks in Advance