New Site To Go Live Next Week

As the title of this entry states, I will be launching my new site, tanveernaseer.com, early next week.  For those who didn’t catch the announcement in my previous entry, this site will become the new home for my blog “So, what were we talking about again?”.

I had initially planned on flipping the switch and making the site go live today.  However, I’ve decided that I’d rather give myself a few more days to make sure everything is in order, as well as to take a little break from the feverish pace I’ve been at the last few weeks getting the site up and ready.  Also, as today does fall in between national holidays in both Canada and the US, it seems more appropriate to launch my new site next week than today.

I’d like to take this opportunity and thank all of my readers for your patience.  I know I’ve been remiss lately in posting new content to my blog.  However, when you see the new site, I’m sure you’ll agree it was worth both the wait and the effort.

Celebrating A Year of Blogging . . . And Some Exciting News

As the title above points out, this month marks my first year of blogging. When I decided to start this blog last June, it was mainly because I wanted to have an outlet for my writing, a place where I could express my thoughts, ideas, and experiences on a variety of topics and issues. Over the course of the last year, my blog has also allowed me to meet and interact with some great people not only online within the blogging community, but also offline with readers of my blog who live in and around my city. Writing for this blog has even provided me with opportunities to write in a professional capacity, a development that is the key reason for the upcoming change I’m using this one year milestone to announce.

In the next week or so, my blog “So, what were we talking about again?” will be moving to its new home at my personal site – tanveernaseer.com. I’m currently working on getting the place cleaned up and ready for the big move (the main excuse for why I haven’t been writing as much new material as of late). I can tell you it’s going to be a fresh and distinctive new look that will better reflect the writing style and content that’s come to define my blog. Naturally, I’ll be posting news of the new site’s launch here, but feel free to bookmark the site tanveernaseer.com in the meantime.

This first year of blogging has certainly been an enjoyable experience and I want to thank all my readers who’ve stopped by my blog over the course of this first year to see what I have to say, especially those who took the time to share their thoughts about the piece in question.

So, here’s looking to another year of blogging on what we were talking about.

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The Fall of GM – Have the Lessons Been Learned?

After months of speculation, the wait has come to an end.  On June 1st, the largest North American car manufacturer, General Motors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  The move comes as little surprise as the writing has been on the wall for some time.  The question now, though, is what the future holds for the restructured, and to be anticipated rebranded “New GM”, car manufacturer.  Some clues on that can be gleaned from what measures they choose to undertake during their restructuring process.

Obviously, one major step that the “New GM” will need to take is to pull itself off the radar.  I know this might sound counter-intuitive when they have so much inventory left to move.  However, what GM needs to do now is take the time to redefine itself, both in terms of its product as well as how the company views itself if they are to once again draw consumers to their products.  Besides, if they had difficulties selling their cars before, I can’t imagine any amount of advertising is going to sway consumers to purchase a car from a company under bankruptcy protection while economic uncertainties still loom.

The reality for GM is that their current restructuring is not merely a setback that

How to Transplant a Rose – An Illustrated Guide

If you grow roses like I do, you know all too well about the pests and other challenges you face in growing these prized flowers. Recently, I dealt with another potential issue for rose gardeners – how to move a rose to a new location in the garden.

In my case, the rose plant in question was one my children had given me as a Father’s Day present. So naturally, I had some trepidation in disturbing this plant by digging it out from its current location out of concern that I might damage or even kill the rose in the process. However, in the last few years, its growing conditions have been far from adequate, resulting in both a decline in its ability to flower and an increased frequency of becoming infected with certain diseases. After doing some research, I used this technique to transplant this rose to a better location. It’s now been several weeks since I dug up the rose and moved it to its new home, but given its current growth in both foliage and new shoots, I can say the transplant was a success.

So here is the technique I used to transplant my rose. I’ve created some illustrations for this technique to make it easier to visualize the process as I go through the steps.

Why Self-Esteem Shouldn’t Come From A Bottle

A few weeks ago, I watched a movie on TV with my family that got me thinking about the issues of self-esteem that young girls and women face. Interestingly enough, this train of thought wasn’t brought about by the movie; instead, it had more to do with the main sponsor of the film – Dove, the personal care products brand. Instead of simply airing commercials, Dove presented short segments at each commercial break that featured mothers and daughters talking about ideas or activities they do to feel good about who they are and how they look. As a man, I have to admit I found these conversations reasserted the notion of men and women being from different planets, the ideas and concepts verging almost on being alien in nature. But as a father of young girls, I found the mere idea that such measures were useful or even necessary for improving self-esteem in girls, as well as women, troubling to say the least. And yet, the idea that caught my mind’s eye most was not so much the message, but the messenger itself.

I’m sure everyone has seen examples of Dove’s recent ad campaign “The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty“, which essentially presents the idea that all women are beautiful in their own way. It’s a great message of self-esteem and empowerment and their ads certainly put forth a compelling case. To wit, Dove produced an advertisement called “Evolution” which helped to demonstrate how fabricated those images of alluring models on billboards actually are –

Saying Goodbye To The Ones We Love

The first time I met my maternal grandfather I was eleven years old, on a trip to visit the homes and places where my parents grew up and lived before moving to Canada. Sadly, it also turned out to be the only time I got to be with him as two months after our return home, he died from a brain aneurysm. While the news hit me hard, what I remember most from that fateful morning was the sounds of my mother’s mournful and inconsolable weeping, of a daughter crying out to her father who just mere weeks earlier had held her in his arms to say what turned out to be his last good-bye. Although that trip was the first and only time I ever got to be with my grandfather, as is the case with life, his passing was to be the first of many times where I’d be reminded of the inevitable truth that no one lives forever.

Of course, the loss of a loved one is something we’ve all had to deal with at one point or another, either directly in our own family or indirectly through the loss experienced by one of our friends. The sad irony, though, is that no matter how many times we experience this emotional turmoil – of feelings of pain, loss and sadness – it doesn’t get any easier to handle, nor does it help us understand better what our family/friends need us to say or do. I suppose the main reason for that is because the death of a person doesn’t simply mean the end of their life; it also marks the end of the relationships they had with those around them, of the bonds that held them together. In that light, it’s understandable that the loss of some people will impact us far greater than others and why we can never really prepare for the loss of someone dear to our hearts, no matter how many times we’ve already endured it.

This issue came to mind after hearing

Star Trek XI Review – Star Trek Finds Its Bearings Again

As was the case for many Star Trek fans, I took the opportunity to check out JJ Abrams latest film “Star Trek” on its opening night last Friday.  Although a few months ago I was cautiously optimistic about this fresh take on the Star Trek franchise, as the movie’s release date drew near, I found I was more and more eager to see this latest interpretation.  After watching Abrams’ “Star Trek”, I feel a sense of elation and satisfaction that those very elements that drew me to Star Trek in the first place have finally returned in full force.

Obviously, as a review piece, there are going to be a few spoilers coming up.  So if you haven’t seen the film yet, do yourself a favour and read this review after you’ve had a chance to watch it.  As was the case with my review of BSG’s series finale, this review is a long piece, in part because there is so much to point out, but also because it’s the first time in a long while there’s been something new and noteworthy in the Star Trek universe worth discussing at length.  Also, like my reviews of BSG, my focus is not on attempting to explain, rationalize or dissect the technological aspects of the work, but instead the character drama seen within it as that’s what is of particular interest to me.  So if you’re ready, click on the read more link to find out what I thought of JJ Abrams take on the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek XI – The Anticipation Grows . . .

In North America, tonight is the night that many of us will finally have the chance to see Abrams’ take on the Star Trek franchise. Perhaps it’s a reflection of my change in social internet circles, but it’s nice to see that the last few days leading into tomorrow’s official release has been marked by a sense of anticipation and enthusiasm. I know I’ve been feeling more and more excited by this film’s arrival as opening day edges ever closer that “Star Trek” might finally mature into something more contemporary, instead of being relegated into being a vehicle for Trekkies to latch their childhood memories onto.

Of course, that’s not to say I’m not a fan of the original version featuring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley in the iconic roles of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. On the contrary, of all the variations of Trek that have been made, the first one, now referred to as “The Original Series” or TOS for short, is still my favourite simply because I enjoy watching the interaction between these characters. In fact, it’s my belief that the only reason Star Trek has maintained interest for so long is not the often-repeated notion that it presented hope for the future; rather, it had to do with its charismatic and engaging characters presented within tales that peaked the imagination and, when it was really good, offered us glimpses into humanity’s drives and motivations. Indeed, this is the reason why Shakespeare’s plays, set in time periods and social settings far removed from our own, as well as other literary works written centuries ago still hold up today – the characters that exist in these works cast light on the nature of humanity and our interpersonal relationships, something today’s audience can still relate to and find much relevance in.

Sure, many Trekkies have complained that Abrams has

Dear Susan Boyle – It’s Not You, It’s Us

Much has been said about Susan Boyle’s performance on the variety show “Britain’s Got Talent” and of our initial summary judgment of her based solely on her appearance before she even began to perform.  But there’s a new chapter to this story that hasn’t be addressed as of yet.  In the last few days, word has come out that Boyle has recently undergone a makeover – nothing really dramatic unless one considers a woman getting her hair done and buying a new outfit significant.  What is noteworthy, though, is the public’s perception of Boyle’s decision to pamper herself.

Within hours of pictures being released on the web showing Boyle’s new look, people were either expressing dismay or cynicism regarding her ‘transformation’.  It was clear that many people were disappointed that she decided to make such a change in her appearance.  And yet, Boyle’s makeover sheds some light not only on how this whole situation has impacted her, but what it says about us.

A Guide to Understanding the Current Economic Crisis

With the ongoing uncertainties of when the global and regional economies will pull out of this deep recession, I think it’s important that all consumers understand what exactly led to this situation rather than simply relying on economic forecasters and politicians for their stance on the matter, which seems to change on an almost weekly basis.

To that end, I want to share this video created by Jonathan Jarvis called “The Crisis of Credit Visualized” as it does an excellent job of breaking down this complex issue and presenting it in a fashion that is easy for everyone to follow.  Thanks to Jarvis’ video, viewers will not only have a better foothold on what exactly caused the current financial meltdown, but they’ll also be able to better evaluate whether the measures our respective governments are putting into action will resolve this economic downturn, if not why new regulatory measures need to be implemented to ensure such a situation doesn’t arise again.