Announcement – Blog Carnival for Bloggers – Tell the Story-in-the-Caricature – December 2010 – Edition 7!

Dear visitors, bloggers made of matter as well as antimatter, and all other esteemed treasure-seekers,

The November 2010 Storytelling Blog Carnival was…well, to be honest…it had but one participating entry – so, you can’t even say that it was a carnival

But let’s not worry about the past; let us charge into the future!

Here’s the caricature for the December Carnival.

What's his story?

Here are the Rules for the Carnival:

1. Write a story, small or big, about this caricature.

2. Publish the story on your blog, along with this caricature.

3. Leave the link to your post, as a comment to this post here.

4. The festival ends at the midnight of December 31, 2010.

The Three Rewards for this Story Carnival:

1. All the story links added for stories published along with the above caricature, until the last date, will be published on this blog in January  2011, along with the blog-address, and a link to the About Page of your blog.

2. The blog addresses of the participating bloggers will find way into my “The Storytellers” blogroll, and of course in the Carnival posts that I make through out this month.

3. We will also request all the story-writers to publish the links of other story-writers in a blog-post on their respective blogs. This will help the story writers find more readers – but of course, this would be voluntary.

An Important Note:

This blog has absolutely no tolerance for pornography and abusive language and so any comment/story containing such material will automatically disqualify from the Carnival.

Let your creative juices flow…tell us your story

Where is the Antimatter from the Big Bang? I know and I fear for my Life! – A Tiny Verbal Caricature.

I have been invited to speak at a seminar called “Psychological Matters” in a parallel world made of Antimatter. They have couriered an antimatter suit that I should get into at that exact point in time when I step over the threshold of the portal.

The problem is, the CERN scientists got a whiff of it (what with NSA breaking all humanitarian laws to go snooping and sniffing into the emails of innocent people like me) and they traded the information with CERN for their share of Antimatter when its isolated in a reasonable quantity. The grapevine says that as a down payment they are demanding half of the Million Antiprotons that have been isolated.  So there’s this flock of CERN scientists running after me. They want me to lead them to the Antimatter, and because despite all their theories they haven’t been able to find out where all that antimatter of the matter-ial universe landed after the Big Bang!

I was to return in two days – but now I am scared. I expect those scientists to be lurking near the portal, hoping to get into the portal as I get out of it…and there’s going to be a stampede, I assume because when in a crowd, even the scientists don’t think – so they’d be climbing over one another to snatch the antimatter suit from me and get to the other side!

All this is too scary to be posted in your favorite Caricature blog – isn’t it? I’d even classify it as mature matter! So please stay away – expect explosions in a couple of days from now – when I return!

Announcement – Blog Carnival for Bloggers – Tell the Story-in-the-Caricature – November 2010 – Edition 6!

Dear Visitors, Aliens, Occasional-stopperbys, and Everyone Else in this Beautiful Virtual world,

The October Carnival ended on October 31, 2010 – on a really low note (sniff!) I guess the drawing failed to get your creative juices flowing. But two brave-hearts persisted.

Here are their stories:

• Robin & Beth, a lovely romantic story with an unusual twist,  by Creative Barbwire .
• The Trump Card , an eye-for-an-eye story by currently Blog-less Oorvi.

Now if you are wondering why I am still keen on continuing the Blog Carnival, the answer is:  I have a lot of faith in my fellow bloggers. I know that there are many who are sitting on a gold-mine of talent (including some who’ve recently visited mine,) and that one day, I’ll come up with a caricature, which will make them want to write a fabulous story.

So, here’s the Caricature for the November Story-in-the-Caricature Blog Carnival, which I hope will inspire you to write:)

O Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou?

The rules remain the same, but I am adding a new constraint.

Your story SHOULD have a Romeo and a Juliet, who are called Romeo and Juliet, respectively!

Here are the rules:

1. Write a story, small or big, about this caricature.

2. Publish the story on your blog, along with this caricature (A link to this blog would be appreciated, but it isn’t necessary.)

3. Leave the link to your post, as a comment to this post here.

4. The festival ends at the midnight of November 30, 2010 (Tuesday.)

The Three Rewards for this Story Carnival:

1. All the story links added until the last date, will be published on this blog in November 2010, along with the blog-address, and a link to the About Page of your blog.

2. The blog addresses of the participating bloggers will find way into my “The Storytellers” blogroll.

3. We will also request all the story-writers to publish the links of other story-writers in a blog-post on their respective blogs. This will help the story writers find more readers – but of course, this would be voluntary.

An Important Note:

This blog has absolutely no tolerance for pornography and abusive language and so any comment/story containing such material will automatically disqualify from the Carnival.

Waiting to hear from you, O fellow bloggers! Tell us your story!

Caricature/Cartoon Russell Crowe – The Man with a Beautiful Mind, the Master and Commander enjoys the new Gladiator Costume.

Here’s the caricature of Russell Crowe in his gladiator costume, sans the stubble that he sports in the movie!

This Costume suits me. Doesn’t it?

Russell Crowe’s Shortest Biography on the Web:

Born in New Zealand on April 7th, 1964, Russell Crowe is an Australian actor. He began his acting career with television and later worked in the movies. He has received the best actor Academy Award (the Oscar) for his role in the film Gladiator. He is also a musician, loves cricket and horses, and is known for his temper.

Now, wasn’t that the shortest biography of Russell Crowe, on the Internet?

Some of the Best Russell Crowe Movies:

(I’ve seen these movies and so I heartily recommend them to anyone who likes to watch extraordinary stuff.)

• A Beautiful Mind
• Gladiator
• Proof of Life
• Master and Commander
• and Virtuosity (I could never have imagined him in this role…

(Which ones do you like the best?)

The Russell Crowe movies that I’d like to watch are:

• L. A. Confidential
• The Insider (Check the Wikipedia page here. Can you believe the number of awards and nominations this film received?!)

Russell Crowe Quotes:

• I like villains because there’s something so attractive about a committed person – they have a plan, an ideology, no matter how twisted. They’re motivated.
• I really feel sorry for people who are, who divide their whole life up into ‘things that I like’ and ‘things that I must do.’ You’re only here for a short time, mate. Learn to like it.
• People accuse me of being arrogant all the time. I’m not arrogant, I’m focused.

(Source: Brainy Quotes)

Well that’s that then. Enjoy the caricature, send it across to your friends, print it and put it under your pillow:) And of course, comment on this post:)

Caricature/Cartoon – Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi

This simple caricature necessitates the introduction of two personalities – the great political and spiritual leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi; and the awe-inspiring actor Ben Kingsley.

This is the caricature of Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi, in the movie Gandhi.

Ben Kingsley as Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi – Father of the Nation, India.

Mahatma Gandhi was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Porbandar, Gujarat, India, in 1869. In 1883, when he was 13, he married Kasturba who was slightly older to him. The couple had four children, with Harilal being the eldest. Gandhi studied law at the University College of London , and returned to India after having completed his studies. He tried establishing his practice at Mumbai but failed. Eventually, he joined an Indian firm in South Africa , where for the first time, he faced raw discrimination or Apartheid . For the first time in his life, he consciously began to reflect upon the status of Indians in the world.

The foundations of Satyagraha (Insistence on Truth) were laid in Africa. When Gandhi returned to India in 1915, he came to understand the Indian problems. After his efforts in Gujarat, people began to call him Bapu (Father) and Mahatma (Great Soul/Person). In 1921, he became the leader of the Indian National Congress , and the fight for Swaraj (Our own rule) gained ground. Gandhi continued to evolve the Civil Disobedience Movement through policies such as wearing Khadi (hand-spun fabric) (he himself would hand-spin cotton thread to be used for his clothes.)

In the next three decades, Gandhi became the face of an India that wanted to be free. Eventually, when India was offered independence, it was on the condition that India would be partitioned into India and Pakistan. A reluctant Gandhi gave in and India (also Pakistan) gained its freedom at the midnight of August 15, 1947.

The pioneer of the Satyagraha movement, which was based upon Non-Violence, in India, today Gandhi is known as the Father of Nation.
as his movement helped India win her freedom from the British Raj. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, who held him responsible for partitioning India.

Read about Gandhi’s Life and His Eleven Principles here.

Ben Kingsley – The Actor who played Gandhi

Ben Kingsley’s father Harji Bhanji was born of Indian parents, who had settled in Kenya, but who moved to England when he was 14. Thus, Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji – son of a Gujarati Indian Doctor and an English Actress, in the year 1943.

“Sir” Ben Kinglsey (he demanded to be called “Sir” after he was knighted) has won many awards (including a Grammy) and also a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame.
His rise to fame began in 1982, when he starred as Mahatma Gandhi in the movie Gandhi. For this role, he bagged the Academy Award for Best Actor and also the BAFTA award for the Best New Comer.

• Ben Kingsley on Wikipedia
• Ben Kingsley on IMDB

So have you seen the connections yet?

• Both can trace their origins to Gujarat in India.
• Their noses look the same.
• England played a crucial role in the success of both these gentlemen.
• Kingsley popularized Gandhi internationally; Gandhi made Kingsley famous by helping him earn an Academy Award.

(The Caricaturist Wonders – Ben Kingsley was born five years before Gandhi died so it couldn’t have been a case of reincarnation…or…)

Caricature/Cartoon – Brad Pitt and Achilles’ Dilemma in Troy.

What’s he thinking?

I Need Them…Pronto!

I didn’t know that Brad Pitt could look so handsome, until I watched Troy (and until I DIDN’T watch “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Interview with a Vampire.”) In Troy, his bronzed body, his rippling muscles, and his little golden lock bound in itsy-bitsy leather straps, must’ve made him the heart-throb of every movie-going teenager/tweener/thirtier…! But the best-kept secret about Troy was that it didn’t have a single shop that sold good quality heel-guards! In fact, Achilles spent a lot of time, going shop to shop…hoping that he’d find one – so that his heel stayed intact!

Now, you tell me – what was Brad’s Achilles’ heel when it came to his relationship with Ms. High-brow Angelina Jolie (The Brangelina Fever)? (you don’t believe that she’s a high-brow – right? Wait for her Caricature to appear on your favorite caricature blog!) Why didn’t their relationship work out? Who lurked in the shadows…and who came between this happy Hollywood couple (or who all – if we could take cues from the original Tiger Woods Musical Chairs that he played with about twenty (nineteen/fourteen – I don’t remember) beauties)? Is it that an old relationship (with Jennifer Aniston) refuses to die? And also…what exactly is in the air? A Divorce or a Separation? Are they really married?

I am confused.

If you know the answers to these questions, please enlighten this ignorant caricaturist through your comment on this post. Your answers could become part of a star-studded post on this blog, which I intend to call – “The TMZ Caricature!”

(Check out the TMZ Website for the Brangelina rumor - Oprah Winfrey’s blacklisted Brangelina from her show!)

And now, it’s time for a short non-commercial break – Don’t go away!

(Nice tune of unidentified origins.)
Coming up shortly…Celebrity Caricature Calendars of the printable sort! Do return for your copy.
(Another nice tune of unidentified origins.)

Thanks for being with me…
Now it’s time for me to say good-bye. In the next post of this blog, we shall meet the caricature of Angelina Jolie, and ask her what went wrong…
until then…
stay with me – I am Shafali, and…

(PS: Did I get carried away with that “Caricature of a Talk-show”?)

Update – March 14, 2010.

Download the Brad Pitt as Achilles in Troy Hollywood Celebrities Calendar for 2010 here.