Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts

July 04, 2011

The Headshot Controversy: ArnabSen.com

My namesake website was relaunched, coinciding with the initiation of my job hunt after my return to Canada from China. ArnabSen.com features information about the companies I worked at and types of projects I was responsible for handling, as well as a link to this blog.

The website content is pretty standard, apart from a controversial head shot which steals the show. The background photo of me is so deliciously sinful, that a few nations immediately moved to block access to the website. As always, my friends provided positive feedback on the vivid imagery:

The website seems like a temple to yourself

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Some constructive advice... kindly  remove the 'masturbatory' statements.. and your handsome pics  ... and let your work talk for themselves...

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Holy crap!! That's the only word i can think of. The height of it all is the face profile pic....

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Can't even open the page it's taking so long to load! is there arnaboner in the site hence the block? must be the purported intensity of the profile pic.

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Whao a Bollywood movie star!

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Have posted this picture of you on craigslist with your email address.

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MY EYES!!! BUT MY EYES!!!

Arnab what the hell is up with the bigass picture. that was utterly unnecessary and your potential employer might balk at such blatant display of handsomeness. ur practically bragging. tone it down would ya. or better yet do without it.

July 28, 2009

Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom

When not instant messaging, napping, working, or watching subtitled episodes of the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants on their computer, Chinese cubicle dwellers often play a web-based game that involves planting flowers and watering them. Occasionally another player comes along and steals a plant, upsetting the victimized player who has been robbed of a chance to smell the roses. Having never played it myself, I presume the social aspect of the game is what makes it so captivating.


*****

"Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting progress in the arts and the sciences and a flourishing socialist culture in our land."
- Chairman Mao

June 02, 2009

ARNABlocked

If you are reading this message that means that I no longer have access to the Blogger platform that is used to host ARNABlog. 

ARNABlog has been SENsored by the authorities from the moment I arrived, and perhaps even earlier. The gatekeepers of the Internet allowed most other blogs to merrily exist in the new engine of the world economy, but ARNABlog could only be accessed from within the People's Republic sporadically. Presently, the Great Firewall of China has ARNABlocked not only my site but also all others that are hosted on Blogger. Although I could not view my literary output online, I could still publish my inner thoughts. At the moment, even that is not possible until the ARNABan is lifted.

June 10, 2008

The Madman

According to the Are You a Psychopath? Test, I am not one:

"You have many of the same qualities of a psychopath while also showing some delusional tendencies. This is deeply concerning, but there is a faint chance that with therapy and medication you could be a productive member of society. You're probably not a psychopath."

Four variables were tracked to determine my psychopathic makeup - empathy, delusionality, sociability, and lawfulness. I was higher than 13% of the other survey takers on the empathic scale, higher than 55% on delusional, higher than 20% on sociable, and higher than 36% on law-abiding.

March 23, 2008

ARNABloating

ResponseTek is a leader in collecting real time feedback from customers of large scale firms. After a graphically gifted associate of mine created a composite image containing side by side before and after pictures of me, I posted it on a popular social networking site. Following in my company's footsteps, I was able to informally gauge popular opinion on the transformation of the ARNABody. The results were surprising. Although only two options were presented, to my astonishment a write-in option also gained considerable support from the masses.

On the ballot:
  • ARNABony - post India and pre-ResponseTek skinnier version
  • ARNABlimp - after 5 months at ResponseTek
Write in choices:
  • ARNABuff or ARNABuilt - a mythical muscular being
  • ARNABetween - the mean average of ARNABony and ARNABlimp
The voice of the people was captured and transformed into an ordered list which showed the public preference of the future direction of the ARNABody. After filtering out votes stating no preference as long as they got a taste of the ARNABody in any shape or form, the results were:
  1. ARNABuff
  2. ARNABlimp
  3. ARNABony
  4. ARNABetween

March 11, 2008

Pure Genius

I applied the Blog Readability Test to ARNABlog to measure the intellectual capacity of my readers. A reading level equivalent to that possessed by a genius is required to comprehend the full depth and breadth of ARNABlog according to the test results. I could not find a corresponding tool to gauge the writing level of the blog author but I would assume it is greater than or equal to the reading level.

October 17, 2007

Blog Action Day

It was Blog Action Day on October 15, 2007 - a day on which over 20,0000 bloggers from around the world would unite to write on a single topic of global interest and personal relevance - the environment. I had signed up to participate in this event but after reaching home using public transportation to minimize my usage of fossil fuels, I discovered my computer was turned off to save electricity so I could not post an entry that day.


"And the honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world's multitudes should become a source of social good." -- `Abdu'l-Bahá

Future Me

Today I received another interesting email from Arnab Sen. Apparently on Friday, October 17, 2003 past me sent current me a message through FutureMe to be delivered to my inbox in four years time:

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Dear FutureMe,

Have I graduated yet?

Love Arnab

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My reply on on Wednesday, October 17, 2007:

Dear PastMe,

How were you? You will be delighted to know that I have graduated! I can only assume you meant Simon Fraser University, and not the International Institute of Heartthrobs, but either way I passed with flying colours.

Love Arnab

September 06, 2007

Did You Mean...?

When a user searches for "arnablog" on Google a surprise awaits them. The world's favourite search engine's suggests that the future ARNABlog reader may be better off perusing "arseblog" instead:

August 31, 2007

BlogDay 2007

Some of the items that come up frequently in ARNABlog posts are school, work, travel, India, and quotes. As today is Blog Day, I would like to recommend one blog in each of these categories:

Rate Your Students
  • This blog which looks at academic life from the perspective of professors. The viewpoints of those who are supposed to teach are quite different from the ones of those who are supposed to learn.
Overheard in the Office
  • The "Voice of the Cubicle" is a collection of humorous fragments of conversations collected by colleagues, customers, and other eavesdroppers.
Brave New Traveler
  • Informative articles for the intrepid adventurer as they wander the Earth.
A Wide Angle View of India
  • Provides a thoughtful commentary on a range of pressing issues that India faces today.
A Blog Around the Clock
  • The few lines that make up a memorable quote often resonate stronger than complete novels. The "Clock Quotes" section of this blog serves up a few timeless ones.
"Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experience and invest them in the future." - Jim Rohn

August 17, 2007

ARNABlog Fan Club!

Never one to praise myself, the legions of ARNABoys and ARNABettes have taken it upon themselves to compliment me. My writing has been compared to that of an English Literature student and my physical appearance to a work of art. With such a groundswell of support it was only a matter of time before the collective appreciation of all things Arnab would manifest itself on a larger platform. Facebook, which has often been referred to as the Arnab of the social networking world, would prove to be just that. Rishi, ardent fan and one time coordinator of the Satyam Crossover exchange program which I was a proud participant of, created the ARNABlog Fan Club as a Facebook group and invited me to join. For those of you on Facebook, I also extend the same opportunity:

Join the ARNABlog Fan Club

"Arnablog needs no words of eulogy and praise from me. In fact I can hardly find out sufficient and suitable words which can be used either to describe it or to praise it adequately from my poor vocabulary. The notes of Arnaboss are perhaps of greater emotional appeal to his innumerable fans (Arnabelievers) than his rare speech. Arnablog could really be called " all in one", " all in all", and "all and all" as it offers everything from Arnabiology to Arnabuzz." - Rishi raves about the ARNABlog

August 05, 2007

Gmail Grievances

In the early days of Gmail's existence, I was able to obtain an email address that corresponded to my name - Arnab Sen. My namesakes were not very pleased with this turn of events although they were good sports about it, as I recently received this message in my inbox:

Hi Arnab,


I thought you are a decent person. But you let me down completely. You should have considered my welfare before blocking arnab.sen[at]gmail.com for your personal use. I had a talk with other 'Arnab Sen' holding ' sen.arnab' Gmail id and he said that you deprived him of his preferred id too. Why did you do that Arnab, why? It's a crime on humanity and I have no words to despise this act. Now I have to carry the burden of a numerical one within my email id. It seems that I am thrown into eternal darkness with no way out.


Do reply,


Arnab Sen

March 29, 2007

Travel Yup

After filling in a short questionnaire on the travel website World66, I was provided with an automatically generated travel type. I am a “Travel Yup”, which has the following definition:

"The Travel Yup likes exotic and adventurous travel, but prefers big cities with fast paced life. He has a keen interest in other cultures and always brings home a few souvenirs. Shopping in Bangkok, getting a tailor made suite in Kuala Lumpur, that's the kind of thing the Travel Yup is into. Even though he likes to get away, he prefers his travels to be comfortable."

All in all, quite an accurate overview of the Indo-Canadian Temptation.