In the competitive era of business today it is imperative that all your written work be accurate and concise. Be it’s sales letters, brochures, newsletters, or daily correspondence,clients and prospects will measure your company’s professionalism by the quality ofyour marketing material.

• Keep your writing simple and easy to read.

• Vary sentence length and arrangement.

• Use active voice whenever possible. A passive voice slows the pace and the reader.

Active voice: Our Company produces ten thousand widgets each month.

Passive voice: Ten thousand widgets are produced each month by our company.

• Use positive statements.

Positive: As a leader in total home security, Trusty Alarms can protect your investment.

Negative: No other security company can protect your investment like T rusty Alarms.

• Keep verb tenses consistent and understandable.

Common verb tense errors:

I should have went to their office yesterday. [should have gone]

The dog has bit the boy seriously. [has bitten]

• Use strong nouns and verbs to eradicate as many adjectives and adverbs as possible.

• Write to “express,” not “impress” the reader. If the right word is long, use it, but if a shorter word will do, use the shorter word.

• Ensure that your words can’t be misinterpreted; e.g., the senior citizens were reluctant to book their holiday to the “hot” destination described by the travel agent.

• Get to the point and finish.

• Never state the obvious as it wastes words; e.g., never begin a sentence with “I am writing you…” of course you are, start right in.

• Avoid wishy-washy openings; e.g., Do you like…

• Avoid clichés. Tired expressions such as “a good time was had by all” are annoying and lack creativity.

• Write the way you talk. Keep the tone conversational, but grammatical.

• Read everything out loud. If you stumble over a word or phrase – revise it.

• Proofread for spelling and grammatical errors.

Here are nine easy, economical ways you can change your decor for spring, just by adding or changing your pillow. Plus, find out which pillows are the most popular.

1. Bring the outdoors inside:

Botanical and floral print pillows will bring the feel of the outdoors in. Combined with textured fabrics, they’ll make your décor feel more connected to the earth even in the heart of the city!

2. Seasonal makeover:

Update the look of your home seasonally with new pillow covers and trimmings. Most pillow covers have zipper closures, so you can put lighter colored pillow covers on your existing pillows for a fresh look. Just store your fall and winter pillow covers flat in the linen closet. Choose lighter weight silks with a slight sheen to capture the light and add sparkle to your room.

3. Mix fabrics like a pro:

Professional designers combine different fabrics, shapes and sizes for a layered look. Mix florals, stripes, textures and solid colored pillows and build a collection of different fabrics to add color and personality to your home. Unify an open plan décor with fabrics that reflect and tie together the colors in the rooms.

4. Inexpensive updating:

To modernize an outdated room or sofa, pick new pillows in a color that you like. It will let you test out the new colors in the room, and begin the transformation. You don’t have to redo the whole room at once; reupholster that sturdy reading chair and ottoman or throw in cozy chenille. Do it piece by piece as budget allows.

5. Use pillows as art:

Use hand painted, one-of-a-kind pillows to add original art to your home, or try a pillow that features the work of one of your favorite artists. They are so easy to decorate with, and don’t leave holes in the wall!

6.Take the indoors out:

Decorative pillows offer an ideal way to help transform your outdoor living space into a comfortable continuation of your home. Whether it’s a kitchen, family room or bedroom that opens up onto a deck or poolside patio, try using throw pillows that pull from the dominant color of the adjacent indoor room. The transitional effect will create harmony and continuity between your indoor and outdoor living spaces. Don’t hesitate to use designs that might typically seem unfitting for the outdoors. Go with pillows that feature bold circles, stripes or colors not standard of nature, such as black and white. The pillows will stand out amongst all the earthy greens and browns and really spice up that outdoor space!

7. Keep the peace:

She wants mauve florals, he wants green and orange geometric pillows. Compromise with pillow covers in each color scheme and theme, and alternate them occasionally. Or try finding some common ground with a coordinating pair that combines the ‘Yin’ and the ‘Yang’. Your room will feel new, and the change will be refreshing. Everybody’s happy!

8. Dressing up a child’s room:

For the kid whose room is never tidy, solid color pillows will help create a less muddled look. Or if texture and pattern is what you are after, you can add wide wale corduroy or striped pillows to a boy’s room, and wavy or florals for the girls. Choose soft, durable pillows for a child’s room made from microfiber suede. The microfiber fabrics are so tightly woven that they are tougher and more durable than most other fabrics. Spills just bead up and roll off, and they can be wiped clean with a damp cloth! Large floor pillows are perfect to sprawl on while reading a book or playing a game.

9. What’s hot now:

The hottest new pillows are the versatile rectangular shape, sometimes referred to as “lumbar pillows”. They can be used in so many ways, to add back support or color to an armchair, or nestled against each arm of your sofa. Layer them in front of larger, square pillows in the corner of your sectional, or on a window seat or daybed. Add one in front of pillow shams to give your beds a decorative touch. On a low backed, clean lined sofa, place one at the back of each seat cushion.

It is a city that you will fall in love with. Friendly people, homely atmosphere and beautiful sea. Given a choice, you might want to stay here forever.

We are talking about Mangalore, coastal city of Karnataka, about 300 km from Bengaluru.

The city is changing rapidly and it is just a matter of time before Mangalore makes its mark on the world map. Today, it is rated as the second-fastest growing Indian city in terms of real estate boom, according to the global real estate consultant Knight Frank.

Investors targeted Mangalore rather late. First they explored Bengaluru and then moved on to Mysore.

Real estate prices have hit an unimaginable high in the past six months, thanks to various developers showing interest in the place. The advent of information technology units has contributed to the city’s rapid development.

Now with both cities having almost reached a saturation point, the next stop has to be Mangalore. The upgradation of the Bajpai Airport to an international one is one of the reasons for investors to show a keen interest in this city.

The revamp ensured that the city is now well connected by land, water and air. Moreover, unlike Bengaluru and Mysore, plenty of land is available, especially in the outskirts of Mangalore, drawing IT giants as well as other investors.

According to the Knight Frank report, Mangalore is among the eight tier-III and tier-IV cities in India that are emerging as big growth centres.

IT major Infosys has already set up base in the city. Several other IT majors, who have been cribbing about the lack of infrastructure in Bengaluru, are also expected to shift operations to the city soon. This would mean that BPOs (business process outsourcing units) too would come up in Mangalore leading to further growth.

Apart from IT and BPOs, Special Economic Zones would also play a major role in the development of Mangalore. Infosys is setting up a 300-acre facility at the IT SEZ in Konaje. Satyam and Wipro will also be setting up base at a 200-acre campus in Ganjimutt where an export promotion park is coming up.

ONGC is planning to invest Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) at the yet-to-come up SEZ in Mangalore. The city is already home to big companies like Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers, BASF, Nagarjuna Power, GMR Group, Suzlon, etc.

The change: These factors have had a straight impact on the prices of real estate. According to Ranjan Shetty, a leading real estate developer in Mangalore, there has been a drastic increase in the prices of land and it is going the Bengaluru way.

Land prices at Kadri, one of the best residential areas, stand at about Rs 700,000 per cent (1/100th of an acre or 435.6 sq ft). The ‘apartment culture’ — so far not too popular in Mangalore — too is on the rise. The prices of apartments (flats) in the city are steadily shooting up. Land that used to cost Rs 1,200 per sq ft is now available at Rs 2,500 per sq ft.

The prices of commercial property too have risen from Rs 500,000 a cent to Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million) in the past two years. In case of residential property, the prices have shot up from Rs 1,200 per sq ft to Rs 2,500 a sq ft in two years, Shetty added.

Mangalore’s situation is so much similar to Bengaluru where very expensive prices are being quoted, but in many cases there are no takers for the same. Shetty says there are several instances where a fancy price is quoted, but there are no buyers.

This is exactly what happened in Bengaluru too. Builders quoted fancy prices for their apartments and as of today almost half of them lie vacant.

Areas in Mangalore where prices are going up are Falnir and Ballal Bagh. The Lal Bagh area, which was more a blend of commercial and residential complexes, is gradually transforming into a pure commercial area and is competing with areas like Hampankatta and Balmatta in pricing.

Vikram Hegde, a leading advocate in Mangalore, says the city is growing very fast. In fact, it startles one to see so many new complexes and residential buildings coming up at such a rapid pace.

What will Mangalore be like in the years to come? Ten years ago, it used to be a quiet town. The major shopping hubs were Hampankatta and Balmatta. It had two pubs, one discotheque and a couple of ice-cream parlours. The only non-Mangalorean crowd that existed were college students. But the city’s scenario has changed over the years.

Mangalore is a popular tourist centre now. The Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatheshwara Temple, Kadri Sri Manjunatha Temple, Mangaladevi Temple and the Kudroli Mosque are few places of religious importance in Mangalore.

The New Mangalore Port, St Aloysius Chapel and Sulthan Battery are the other places of religious importance in Mangalore. Proximity to the temple city of Udupi make tourists flock this place.

It is worth mentioning that banks like Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank and Karnataka Bank were launched in the Mangalore. The city also houses the country’s most prestigious institutions like the Kasturba Medical College, SDM Law College and the St. Aloysius College.

All this is bound to change, says Hegde. There will be more people from outside coming into the city and that, in turn, will ring in rapid social change. Mangalore might soon get rid of its laid-back culture and become like Mumbai, where no one has any time for others, says Hegde.

A lot is being done to attract people from outside to invest in Mangalore. The airport upgradation is one of the major factors. Apart from this, the Mangalore Corniche project will soon become a reality and is expected to give the city a new feel altogether. The Corniche is a 31-km promenade along the sea.

Mangalore currently lacks in the hospitality sector. There are very few quality hotels in the city. However, now that seems to be changing too. There are proposals from the Hilton, Leela, and Intercontinental groups for setting up hotels in and around Mangalore.

Will Mangalore lead by example or will it go the chaotic Bengaluru way? Only the time will tell.

This is the Beijing Capital International Airport. It is the world’s largest airport building and the centerpiece of China’s multi-billion-dollar infrastructure boom and provides a glimpse into China’s vision of 21st-century air travel.

The futuristic airport has been built in preparation for the millions who are likely to visit China for the Olympic Games and to meet the country’s booming air traffic.

An airport employee cleans the floor at the new terminal building Terminal Three — T3 — at the Beijing Capital International Airport. This is the world’s largest terminal.

The roof of the swanky new terminal looks like a dragon from the air with its wing spread running 3.25 km. The giant dragon-shaped terminal is 100 hectares in size: that is as big as 170 soccer fields.

This makes the airport larger than the Pentagon and almost 20 per cent bigger than all five terminals of London’s Heathrow put together.

The terminal has walls of glass. The skylights of the terminal building are designed to look like scales on a dragon’s back and to let natural light into the building. The dragon is considered a sign of strength and luck in China.

Almost 50,000 workers toiled round the clock in 8-hour shifts and built the colossal $3.75-billion terminal in only four years. China wanted the airport to be ready before August 8, when the Beijing Olympic Games begin.

However, the construction of the airport involved the demolition of thousands of houses that rendered more than 10,000 Chinese peasants homeless. China’s autocratic Communist regime could thus manage to do something that democratic governments — like India’s — can hardly ever match.

The airport was designed by British architect Norman Foster, who has also designed Hong Kong’s famous Chep Lap Kok airport.

British firm Arup, which has provided engineering and architectural design services for the Hyderabad International Airport, built the airport.

The new terminal will have a capacity of 75 million passengers a year. It features an extremely high-tech passenger baggage system — on 50 km of conveyor belts — that can handle 19,800 bags per hour.

The size of the new Beijing airport can be gauged from the fact that it boasts of 64 restaurants, 80 retail stores, 175 escalators, 173 lifts, 437 travelators or moving footpaths, and 300 check-in counters.

The terminal has a 3-km long concourse, divided into three sections and connected by a shuttle train. The airport’s shuttle train service can ferry passengers around the mammoth airport.

According to Norman Foster, the airport’s architect, the airport is ’so big that under a certain amount of light you can’t see one end of the building from the other.’

Apart from the shuttle, a high-speed commuter train (subway as also elevated) service will carry passengers between the airport and Beijing in 15 minutes. Two Airport Lines, scheduled to open before July, on elevated lines connect the airport with the transport hub of Dongzhimen. The Olympic branch line has four stations, each with a theme.

The airport’s runway is capable of handling the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380.

The airport building has integrated environmental control systems to minimise energy consumption and carbon emissions, report say.

The airlines that will use airport initially include Air China, Sichuan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Hong Kong’s Dragonair, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Qatar Airways, Qantas Airways, El Al Israel Airlines, Emirates and other Star Alliance members.

This blog has been dedicated to all the lovely, wonderful (I know all moms are wonderful ) mothers of the world!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mothers Day

A Mother loves right from the start.

She holds her baby close to her heart.

The bond that grows will never falter.

Her love is so strong it will never alter.

A Mother gives never ending Love.

She never feels that she has given enough.

For you she will always do her best.

Constantly working, there’s no time to rest.

A Mother is there when things go wrong.

A hug and a kiss to help us along.

Always there when we need her near.

Gently wipes our eyes when we shed a tear.

So on this day shower your Mother with Love.

Gifts and presents are nice but that is not enough.

Give your Mother a day to have some peace of mind.

Be gentle, be good, be helpful, be kind.

Happy Mothers Day.

~~ Carol Matthews

The cutest poem for Mother’s Day

If I were granted any wish,

I’ll tell you what I’d do,…

I’d wish my kids were small again,

for just a month or two.

To hear their squeals of laughter,

to watch them while they play.

And when they ask me to join in,

I’d NOT say “Not today.”

To hug again their chubby frame,

to kiss away their tears,

and cherish childhood innocence’s

that’s washed away the years.

Then when it’s story time again,

I’d stay a little longer,

to answer questions, sing the songs,

so memories would be stronger.

But time is callous, wishes, myth,

yet God in all his wisdom,

has given me another chance

before I join his kingdom.

The face may not be just the same,

the name is changed, ’tis true,

but yet the smile that radiates,

reminds me so of you.

God must have known that Grandma

would need a chance or two.

For many little happy things

she hadn’t time to do.

So God gave love to Grandmas

to equal that before,

that, in effect embraces

those little lives she bore.

~~ Author Unknown

Mother…

Mother, what to say about her,

She is a friend?

A sister?

Or is she everything to us?

Mom, a loving soul,

Working night and day

Leading us away from foul,

About her, what to say,

She is like the moon,

Cowering from the limelight,

She is like the moon,

Shying away from the light.

She wears specs gilded,

Over often flashing eyes dreaded,

But she lets us have our way,

In spite of much cry and sway.

She does her work quietly,

Like a breeze,

Never does she speak complainingly,

Leading our family without a crease.

A lamp, she is, true and old,

With a heart truly of gold,

Never will her heart waver,

More than the dying soldiers, braver.

A lamp, whose light will never dim,

Even if the sun and the moon perish,

Even if we become dim,

She turns us bright in a flourish.

Love you, O mighty soul,

Who will protect us even from a ghoul,

Carrying on her work,

Without the slightest jerk.

~~ Ayshwarya.R.Vikram

Mother’ Day Poem

Another Mother’s Day is here,

Bringing joy and pleasures new,

On this special day, Mother dear,

I want to remember you

I cannot give you costly gifts,

And I’ve told you this before,

No matter what I give to you,

You give back much, much more

I’m giving you a pure, sweet rose,

Gathered in the early morn,

This rose you planted in my heart,

The day that I was born

In kindly, loving thoughts of you,

And with the faith you still impart,

The rose I give to you today,

Is the love that’s in my heart

~~ Author Unknown

Mother’s Day

Mothers Day Mothers day comes once a year

So I am writing this poem to bring you cheer

My wish for you is happiness and glee

I only wish in return what you have given to me

Thank you so much for all the time that you have spent

Never expecting anything in return from all that you have lent

You’ve done so much for me in my life

You’ve been a great mother and a very devoted wife.

Sometimes we all made you mad

Sometimes we all made you sad

But now that were older we just want to make you glad

Looking back and remembering all the good times we had

On your anniversary cooking all that wonderful food

Setting the table and setting the mood…

Your a mother to many because you’ve been there for them through and through

I thank you and I’m sure if they were here they would thank you too

You’re great mom, I love you and I hope you enjoy this day

I hope you enjoy this poem in the very mounth of may

I love you mom and I have just one more thing to say

I hope you have a great Mothers day!!

~~ Cheryl Whitehurst

Mother’s Love

Her love is like

an island in life’s ocean,

vast and wide

A peaceful, quiet shelter

From the wind, the rain, the tide.

‘Tis bound on the north by Hope,

By Patience on the West,

By tender Counsel on the South

And on the East by Rest.

Above it like a beacon light

Shine Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;

And thro’ the changing scenes of life

I find a haven there.

~~Author Unknown