Year: 2018

Arijit Singh: Claustrophobic when I hear my songs

Arijit Singh said he feels claustrophobic when he listens to his songs. At the International Film Festival of India in Goa in 2018, Singh addressed host Amit Sadh`s question on whether he listens to his own songs, stating, “I feel claustrophobic when I listen to myself.” His directorial debut, Sa, will be screened at the festival. The opening ceremony of the festival was attended by Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, and actors from Bollywood. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2018 opened Tuesday as a collage of cinematic glimpses, bursts of pride, colour and loads of `koffee`.  Day one of the 49th edition of the country`s leading movie extravaganza was high on Bollywood starpower with emphasis on sports as a nation-building exercise and strengthening ties with Israel, which is this year`s country of focus.  The lamp was lit by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore, I&B ministry secretary Amit Khare, and the jury. The Statute of Unity also found mention at the festival as an audio-visual of the …

Top 10 Favorite K-dramas of All Time

Almost exactly six years ago, I discovered my first K-drama. It was Coffee Prince, which I binge-watched in my pajamas over the course of Thanksgiving break. By the end, I was overly tired and in desperate need of a shower—but I also found a new love. Coco and I built this blog because we wanted a way to connect with other fans before the widespread popularity of K-dramas hit. I know there were plenty of K-drama viewers who found each other long before 2012, but it was nothing back then compared to the widespread popularity now. Back then, I was too embarrassed to tell anyone I knew in real life (aside from Coco, of course) that I would even dream of watching a show called Vampire Prosecutor. Saying Goodbye (for Now) to K-dramas Over the years, we’ve met so many likeminded fans both online and at events like KCON and the DramaFever awards. We’ve laughed together, cried together, and thrown things at the computer together when a show suddenly gives a character amnesia to draw …

Good employee selection practices makes a difference

Industrial relations reform In Australia, both the unions and federal government are mounting major advertising campaigns about proposed changes to the federal industrial relations laws by the Australian government. The changes are part of the government’s industrial relations reforms. Whilst I do not want to debate the merits of the union and government cases, I do want to continue discussion of the theme of employee engagement covered in a previous employee engagement article. The Australian union movement, through the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), has mounted a national advertising campaign. One TV advert features a mother, obviously enjoying a healthy work/life balance, being confronted with the threat of dismissal by an employer requesting a change of roster. Another union advert features an employee being forced under threat to change his employment status by the employer representative. There is much debate in Australia about whether the scenarios depicted will actually be possible under the proposed reforms. The detail is still to be released, so I cannot comment one way or the other. What I can comment …

Dealing with positive staff performance

Industrial relations reform In Australia, both the unions and federal government are mounting major advertising campaigns about proposed changes to the federal industrial relations laws by the Australian government. The changes are part of the government’s industrial relations reforms. Whilst I do not want to debate the merits of the union and government cases, I do want to continue discussion of the theme of employee engagement covered in a previous employee engagement article. The Australian union movement, through the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), has mounted a national advertising campaign. One TV advert features a mother, obviously enjoying a healthy work/life balance, being confronted with the threat of dismissal by an employer requesting a change of roster. Another union advert features an employee being forced under threat to change his employment status by the employer representative. There is much debate in Australia about whether the scenarios depicted will actually be possible under the proposed reforms. The detail is still to be released, so I cannot comment one way or the other. What I can comment …

Staff motivation and industrial relations reform

Industrial relations reform In Australia, both the unions and federal government are mounting major advertising campaigns about proposed changes to the federal industrial relations laws by the Australian government. The changes are part of the government’s industrial relations reforms. Whilst I do not want to debate the merits of the union and government cases, I do want to continue discussion of the theme of employee engagement covered in a previous employee engagement article. The Australian union movement, through the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), has mounted a national advertising campaign. One TV advert features a mother, obviously enjoying a healthy work/life balance, being confronted with the threat of dismissal by an employer requesting a change of roster. Another union advert features an employee being forced under threat to change his employment status by the employer representative. There is much debate in Australia about whether the scenarios depicted will actually be possible under the proposed reforms. The detail is still to be released, so I cannot comment one way or the other. What I can comment …

The Best Advice for Time Management

Farah’s struggling. She’s got a lot to do, and the day just seems to get away from her. The 40 minutes she spent surfing Instagram didn’t help her cross items off her list, but it was the only break from work that she took all day. Still, at the end of the day, she feels unsatisfied and downcast because she didn’t complete what she had on her to-do list. Farah thinks she has a time management problem. Farah’s problem isn’t time management. It’s even bigger than that. Remember a day when you got three times as much done in the same time frame on the previous day? You had the same number of hours on those days as you did on the ‘meh’ accomplishment days, right? We all do. So what got you going on those high achievement days? Focus. What makes you focus? Something important you want to do, a goal you want to reach. What makes you focus is the impact you want to have. Farah’s big problem was that she wasn’t clear …

Work enjoyment helps employee retention

Morale in a magazine review article, a cartoon showed the typical slave master, complete with whip, walking the aisle of an old style ship. The rowers were struggling under the threat of the whip. The caption stated: Apart from greater use of the whip, the new IR rules have made absolutely no difference to the way we treat our employees. It reminded me of the old saying (source unknown): We will stop using the whip when morale improves. The cartoon was a “tongue in cheek” comment about the new industrial relations (IR) legislation introduced by the federal government. In a previous article, Staff motivation in the industrial relations reform context, I discussed some of the motivational issues raised by the various campaigns surrounding the reforms. The imagery of the cartoon again highlights the importance of the employer/employee relationship. This is now even more important, given that employee retention is now such a big issue. So what can you do? Employee friendly policies and practices Young people are more mobile and less committed to individual organisations. The …

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty K-drama Review

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty is the latest in a long line of makeover K-dramas. Given my overall distaste for the genre and my recent propensity for quitting dramas at the first sign of trouble, I’m more surprised than anyone that I made it all the way to the end to review this particular series. Honestly, I didn’t even realize this was a full-length series when I first started watching. I saw the promos and idol-turned-sorta-actor Cha Eun Woo headlining the cast, and I assumed it would be a short, shallow web series full of offensive stereotypes about appearances. Color me pleasantly surprised to find that My ID Is Gangnam Beauty—while definitely on the fluffier side of the K-drama spectrum—managed to avoid many of the pitfalls I initially feared.  What it’s about: After enduring years of severe bullying about her looks, Kang Mi Rae (Lim Soo Hyang) chooses to have plastic surgery before starting college. She runs into her old schoolmate Do Kyung Seok (Cha Eun Woo), who doesn’t care what other people think. The Good  …

Here`s what Nargis Dutt told Sanjay Dutt that helped him quit drugs

Rajkumar Hirani`s Sanju brought to light various unknown facades of Sanjay Dutt`s life. One of it being how the actor overcame his drugs addiction with the help of Nargis Dutt`s messages. The biopic of Sanjay Dutt revealed that legendary actress and mother of Sanjay Dutt, Nargis Dutt would record voice messages to talk to Sanjay Dutt while she was in hospital battling cancer. After witnessing the bond between the mother and son in reel life, we have got our hands on a rare audio clip of Nargis Dutt in real life where she is giving a sane advice to her son Sanjay Dutt, which had actually helped Sanjay Dutt to overcome his drug addiction. Nargis Dutt is heard saying,”More than anything Sanju, keep your humility, keep your character, never show off, always be humble, and always respect the elders that is the thing that is going to take you far and that is going to give you strength in your work.” While Sanjay Dutt`s life, time and again made headlines, a lot of unbelievable aspects …

Secretary Kim, Are You Human Too, and Life on Mars Reviews

Another week, and more new K-drama premieres! This week was packed with a nice variety of genres, and the trifecta of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Life on Mars, and Are You Human Too? included a couple of the K-dramas I’ve been keeping an eye on all summer. Given the drama slump of this year, I didn’t want to get my hopes too high for What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim or Life on Mars, so let’s review and see how they’ve fared so far! What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim K-drama Review What it’s about: Narcissistic heir Lee Young Joon (Park Seo Joon) finds himself at a complete loss when his faithful secretary of nine years, Kim Mi So (Park Min Young) abruptly tells him she wants to quit. Episodes watched: 2 First impressions: I’ve been waiting with bated breath for What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim. All I’ve wanted over the last few months is just one lighthearted romance with a smart script and a talented cast.  So far, this is exactly what I wanted. The rich …