Visual CV: A Review

The traditional CV does not say it all anymore. The world is a dynamic bouncing ball, where people keep taking swings in all directions; they fine new ways to connect every day. The exuberance and vibrancy of it all, doesn’t always fit under ‘work experience’. We have all been feeling that for a while, but it took the folks at VisualCV.com to do something about it. 

VisualCV.com uses Web 2.0 technologies to benefit employers and potential employees alike. When putting up a CV at the website, students and professionals have the option to include their blogs, projects, previous work, writing samples et al. The idea is to show skills to companies and organizations, not just tell them. The visual CV will, therefore, link to any work you’ve done, that is available on the web. YouTube or other multimedia widgets on your page can be used to make short presentations you might want to do for potential employers.

For the employers, on the other hand, it is all about saving time and being able to choose the best, when supply is aplenty and vacancies are limited. If they hover over a university name on a prospective employee’s page, Visual CV will instantly pull out information on the school and its standing according to Princeton Review, for instance. These kinds of features save employers precious time, and account for more sound decisions.

In a pre-dominantly employers' maarket, Visual CV is a hot tool. It offers extra-ordinary features and interface, among an ocean of a million job sites on the web. What’s more, you can link your CVs to social-networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Copyright (c) 2008 Saadia Malik

Satire

I have yet to come across a TV junkie who doesn’t think that The Simpsons is one of the best shows of all-time. It screams brilliance every minute. I can even foresee a day when ‘simpsons’ is incorporated into english dictionaries, as a word that best describes genius satire. Or the day when ‘satire’ is defined in dictionaries as ‘The Simpsons’. Err…you get the point, right! Even though the verdict for the most popular character on the show is out and out in favour of Bart Simpson, I can’t help but love the fact that Homer Simpson just is. His stupidity quotient can only be matched, and surpassed, by the one and only: George Bush Jr. (Why can’t we stop missing him?)

Three other animated shows I’ve enjoyed over time have been, Beavis and Butthead (for sheer dumbness or dubya-ness), The Family Guy and King of the Hill. But none ever got close to the kick and the thrill of The Simpsons. Till…

…till The American Dad. Its been running in the U.S. on Fox TV since 2005, but has made its way to Pakistan through satellite only now, or perhaps I’ve been slow to discover. Have you? What do you think? Viewer response has been good, but generally, the other four are rated higher. I fail to understand!

It tracks the life of CIA Agent, Stan Smith, his right-wing philosophies of America under-threat, his admiration for George Bush Jr., the Patriot Act and Karl Rove. Hilarious! Of course, it is satire, so all doves out there should enjoy the thrashing that the Republican Party and its obsessions against anybody remotely outside their white American bubble, gets on the show. [Disclaimer: I hope y’all aren’t sensitive to exaggerations and stereotyping, sport!]

Some memorable quotes:

[Stan brings home a baby to replace Hayley when she moves out]

Roger the Alien: Is that a Chinese baby?

Stan Smith: Sure is! Japanese, to be specific.

-----

Francine Smith: We're so glad you could make it. Where's your wife this evening?

Bullock: Handcuffed to a radiator in Fallujah. She wanted to come, but I do not negotiate with terrorists. Hey, do I smell meat loaf?

-----

Hayley Smith: You know, Steve's dog would still be alive if you right-wing lunactics would agree to gun control.

Stan Smith: You know what I have to say to that?

[pauses]

Stan Smith: Ah, I thought I was gonna fart.

-----

Stanley Smith: Why can't you take a page from that bitch Hillary Clinton and let it go?

-----

Copyright (c) 2008 Saadia Malik

Invasion

A couple of bloggers here, because of sheer kindness and nothing else, have been making me feel like a superstar. They've been sending messages, pinging me again and again, to post something. Yes, it seems, the gaps are on the rise. I consider it altogether unnecessary to explain now, for their sake, since it seems to be developing into a norm rather.

My husband (a teacher) has written a couple of guest posts for me on this blog, and all of a sudden, his students - girls mostly - have started sniffing around my page. Word has gotten around campus about it, and google analytics reveal that 90 per cent of search engine hits come from his name-search alone! None from my own. I have, therefore, gotten a little wary of the entire charade. The few things I've wanted to write about lately, have had one thing or the other to do with our personal lives. Or maybe, some of my personal experiences. If I write about a recent trip to an embassy - this is just hypothetical lest some of those eager hormones make their way to a certain office in question - he'll instantly be exposed to queries about our travel plans. There have been demands of sharing wedding photographs and the sort. It is not that I do not approve of a good rappo between teachers and students; most of these lurkers have already graduated his classes, which is a good thing, but word gets around like anything, and before you know it, incoming students will have researched his personal life (and wife) to be in a place that would seem a bit too comfortable to me.

Now don't I sound like a snob? Maybe I truly am a superstar.

Please pray otherwise!

Laughing Gas

So Ramesh just pinged me a while back, asking when I'd be posting next. Yes, its been a few days. The reasons for my absence are three-fold: internet problems, lack of inspiration and a very bad response-meter to my last post (shame on everybody but me!). The first problem has been temporarily fixed, thanks to my father. The second too, thanks to him. He just emailed the following and I'm in tearful bliss. So here's some laughing gas for you all: