A couple of things that made me think

The irony of Real Good chicken having an expiry date on it.....

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On one of those inane remote flipping trips, i somehow got stuck on the initial minutes of Salmaan Khan's Judwaa... Dalip tahil and Reema lagoo have just had twins and are being congratulated by kader khan, a family friend.

Kader Khan: Badhai Ho

Reema Lagoo & Dalip Tahil: Aap ko bhi..
And i had a startling revelation - that david dhawan was a filmmaker far ahead of his times. They tomtom movies about human relationships these days, but this was way back and i was amazed by his subtle way of handling a complex extra marital affair with three mature characters who acknowledge it..

until next time, did that provoke you, the thoughts , that is?

Evil designs

Lingerie strewn around, and women. That might sound great, but he wouldn’t agree. His furtive glances to see her weren’t looked upon kindly by the women who seemed to be everywhere. They were looking at him in distaste. He wondered which moron had designed the lingerie section near the fitting rooms. The sale didn’t help.

Until next time, a Westside story

To boldly go

where no other tv crew has gone before.... what had perhaps started out as a spoofy ad on how television channels report even the most inane news as breaking news, ballooned into a series of ads on a whole range of products, and before we know it, its a trend, that every fmcg worth its salt wants to ape.

Salt, lets start with that... the ad goes this way, a guy is brushing his teeth, when all of a sudden, a tv crew barges in and gives hima lecture on having Active Salt in your toothpaste and obviously xyz is the only brand that has it... there are similar ones for stains on clothes (multiple brands - powder and soap), stains on vessels,and so on....

D says she would love to meet that 'Vanish' lady and get her to remove the turmeric stain on a handkerchief. apparently the damn thing didnt work on it when D tried:)

I have a bigger fear, what if soaps get into the act, followed by Kamasutra?

until next time, ad shads

Hogwash - The Finale

The day before the world goes potty for the final time. And tradition demands that this version releases a day before. So here it is, and for those who are still not quite clear on what we are talking about, here's the story so far.. and now

Parry Hotter and the Deathly Hallows

Legends never die, and Parry Hotter is no exception. As he struggles to relate to a world that has become a constantly blurring phenomenon between virtuality and reality, the world suddenly witnesses the sudden disappearance of celebrities. Parry is forced to get back to his old profession as he tries to seek out his young missing relative, who is a socialite and happens to have the same initials as him. Because of her constant use of controversies to generate hype around herself, the media and the law are not too keen on tracking her. But is that all there is to it?
Parry begins his investigation on Whotube, where she had posted a cryptic video about her seemingly planned disappearance. As Parry trudges the murky territories in cyberspace, he realises that both of them might be mere pawns in a diabolical game played by whotube, a video sharing site, now owned by the famous search engine Hoogle. It was no secret that Hoogle had paid too much for their new acquisition and Parry realises that Hoogle is desparate to get people addicted to their site.
As more celebrities and socialites continue to disappear,after messages posted on Whotube, the traffic in the search engine and its new acquisition soars. Parry begins to realise that this may not be a coincidence and there might be a sponsored link behind the seemingly random occurences.The tension mounts as new videos begin to surface on Whotube, showing the execution of celebrities amidst bizzarre religious ceremonies. Parry is now convinced that the search engine is not as hallowed as perceived, and the white homepage hides deadly secrets.

In a fitting finale to the series, author Howling pits the old school detective against the new age search engine. Can Parry Hotter feel lucky or will he become just another part of search history?

So, whats the brouhaha all about?

A half dinner at 7 on a saturday night is bound to leave one in a confused state of mind. Fortunately, a few centuries back, man discovered a way to handle most of the confusions in life - caffeine. Unfortunately though, many know this secret and so we have a chain of cafes mushrooming all over the place, which leads to more confusion - where do we go now?

But since we were near the locality where Bangalore's next blogger's meet is scheduled, i thought i would drop in there. I mean, what if by a quirk of fate, i miss it and the rendezvous with Brew haha in my destiny got postponed indefinitely? Anyways, the place is pleasant enough and those games are a nice touch, though i managed not to get adventurous and stuck to an old favourite, Uno, which D immediately liked.

In between the coffee and the sandwiches and figuring out what was on the cards, i saw a duo at the corner working on a laptop. I have a theory on people working on laptops in cafes, and another one about people doing it on Saturday nights, but we'll talk about that another time. So, D and i were discussing what they could possibly be doing, and i suggested that it could be a start up and maybe we can read about them a few years later in Forbes or something (oh, okay, Business World) where they discuss how they initially used to work out of Brewhaha (and then maybe i can write a coffee table book on how i noticed them and finally make some money).. flimsy premise, but i have read worse..hehe

Meanwhile there was another younger couple on the next table who were also busy working, not on a laptop, but PDA. They were well on their way to a start up, the kind whose gestation time is about nine months. :)

until next time, whats brewing?

PS: Ramana, Deez, Arunima, Layon and so on, any of you planning to attend the meet?

Still Trippin'

They almost threw me out when i asked them if i can get travel reimbursement for ego trips.

until next time, we need humour resources :D

Making my trip

The flight was delayed by over 2 hours, which meant that i was taking potshots at anything resembling a Go Air employee and in some cases, other passengers whose flights were on time :)

He: Have you scanned it?
Me: Yup, did that at home. Don't think i have forgotten anything.
He: I meant the machine, sir
Me: Then why don't you ask the machine?
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He: (while trying to elbow his way past me during the security check): (pointing to the machine): My phone's in there, let me through.
Me: (after letting him past): Where do you think mine is?
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He: (while telling me to use the entry at the back of the plane) You can go behind.
Me: Behind who?
He: I meant backside
Me: Behind whose backside?
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And as they kept running laps on the runway without taking off, i loudly sang "Udhale Udhale..."
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D refused to allow me to have more fun. I especially missed asking the air hostess, whose name was Smitha, whether her first name was Silk.
In fact D was so rude, she pointed to me, when they came around with the trash cart.

until next time, way to Go?

..Earth...home....

And I have finished the last book of the Foundation series.. dragged it on for as long as possible, but had to end it.. dragged it because it wasn't an experience that can be replicated anytime soon, because its truly one of a kind, and i haven't come across anything in the genre that comes close to it...

Anyways, the book also gave me a glimpse of the fact that inspite of the passage of time, there might be some things that would never change.. the main protagonist has to make a choice that will decide the future of humanity, and he feels that somehow the answer to his dilemma lies on the planet of the humanity's origin - Earth. By then, Earth isa forgotten entity, and no one knows where it is... and so the search begins....

i guess, its the same with us too, as we grow older, and as we face the ups and downs of life, we all long for the place where we hope to get the answers, the place where everything'll be set alright, the place we like to call home..speaking of which, as Daughtry sings

Well I'm going home, Back to the place where I belong....

Until next, they call it God's Own Country :)

Space, the final frontier

All the Star Trek fans would know that bit, the one that starts this way and ends with '..to boldly go where no man has gone before'... Well, Sunita Williams did, and now she's back... like i read somewhere, she must be stinking, but thats beside the point... i think it must've been one awesome experience, though i wish we would learn to celebrate with dignity, and not create a popcorn tamasha of everything...

I am reading Asimov's Foundation and Earth, and that'll finish the series for me.. rather, re-finish it, and i don't think this will be the last time... i still remember the first time i saw it, that was way back - when i was in school,i didn't understand most of it, and left it... i made contact for the second time when i was in my first year of grad -and it took many library visits and many long months for me to finish off all 7 books of the series, and that was an awesome experience. Years later, i have managed to buy all the 7 books, and that took around 2 years, mostly thanks to the one i am reading...

I read an article last week in TOI, about a new design of spaceships that they were going to start using in 2010 and which might be the first step towards interstellar travel.. For once, i wish i were born in the future, just to experience space travel, to watch the stars and to feel first hand the awe-inspiring vastness of the galaxy... what an awesome experience that would be... But thats something that can't happen and so, centuries later, when men, and women, would be freely roaming around the galaxy, we would be, perhaps, a remote statistic that existed in the initial days of humanity...

until next time, live long and prosper :)

Sites and Insights

D went to see the Niagara fall last weekend... and it did, several times, she said thats why they call it Niagara Falls. ok, i take responsibilty for that nonsensical humour(?) :

Which made me wonder, there are so many sights around the world that I'll never manage to see? I can choose to see it, but then why would i choose to see it over, lets say, the Stonehenge, or the Great Barrier Reef, or the Sphinx,or the Colosseum, or London Bridge. Even if i had all the money and all the time, could i ever manage to see all the sights that are worth seeing? Can i even imagine the different sights that are spread across the geographical expanse of the planet?

So, do i miss seeing them? Not exactly, because i dont think i will notice the difference between sunsets in Goa and say, the Riviera or the nightview of the Queen's necklace and the Quai des États-Unis. Maybe thats just philosophising or maybe i am in denial.. :)

Or maybe, its just a function of who you're with and what you take out of those sights... Awe, splendour, amazement, bliss, joy...and so on...

And thats why an internet connection is so damn important, coz if you can't do it really, you might as well do it virtually - from panorama to vista and discovery to explorer.. Because the plethora of content does to me exactly what books do to me - gives perspectives.. of people i have never met, and places I have never seen...

until next time, see you on orkut ;)

Pati, Patni aur Woh

Exactly the current president's cup of tea - that what this presidential election has become - rocket science. But unfortunately, that doesnt do him much help, coz he has already backed out. But that's only after doing a rose petal stunt of 'will he, wont he', and then saying he would stand for a second term only if he were assured of a victory. By those standards, i wonder how he was so active sending up rockets, considering that most of them came back faster than they went up. And forget achieving their objective, the only thing they succeeded in doing was to destroy some poor fishes' homes in the arabian sea/ bay of bengal or create a theme park/ picnic spot for the fishes' children. No wonder they always said there was always something fishy in India's space research..sorry, i digress.. All said and done, doesnt look like the man who made the chikunguniya look fashionable, and the one who inspired salmaan for the 'tere naam' look is going to have a second term as Rashtrapati.

Which brings us to the prime contestant - the one who has been accused of shielding a killer, of defaulting onpayments for a factory. I say it is wrong that such a person should contest for the notional post of President, Indian politics has lost a true flag-bearer. She has awesome qualifications to be PM, but the nation is into non-controversial PMs these days, sigh. Chalo, at least this way, we get to see our first Rashtrapatni.

The current VP, was once upon a time, regarded as an almost definite P, but unfortunately for him, all his ex-supporters now only say, oh, woh?

Why am i writing about it? Because it was so damn inconsequential, but true to his name, Dr.Kalam, has converted the entire exrecise into a PJ !!

until next time, shall we tell the president?

Gestation Time

She hated this wait. It had been many months now, and she still had some more to go, before the result showed. She was a bit nervous. It definitely wasn't the first time that she was going through this, but she was still young, and not, lets say, a seasoned player, though how anyone could be a seasoned player inspite of multiple experiences was something beyond her imagination, since every experience in this regard was a unique one, with its own set of ups and downs and idiosyncrasies.

He was not exactly what you could call a big help, though he was definitely much sweeter and understanding than most others of his breed. She had heard enough horror stories to realise and appreciate that, but unfortunately it was more of her cross than his. But wait, it wasn't exactly a cross and besides, in his own right, he would be tense too, but he couldn't or rather wouldn't show it to her. She wasn't sure if it was a 'man' thing- this entire show of bravado, when being tense.

But, to be fair to him, he had been very supportive and understanding when she had mentioned her desire to him. He thought it was pretty natural. In fact he had initiated the process and gone through it without much fuss. In fact, she thought, that was an understatement, because it had been pure pleasure.

But she hated this wait, especially since one couldn't be too sure of everything turning out right, because though both of them had defintely played their parts, the higher powers had a say in it too. But though she hated the wait, she would grin and bear, after who could every say no to appraisals and increments?

until next time, the thought was conceived after reading this :)

Old School

I'm still quite unsure about the name, old n' all, though i have to admit, it does sound a bit 'in'. What am i talking about? It's the new (or at least i discovered it only recently) programming on Zee Cafe. (are you listening guys, thisis kinda endorsement and stuff) Unfortunately, its only about an hour everyday, and the timings aren't exactly what I'd call user friendly. (i thinki blew that endorsement deal)

But what it does give, if you can get around to seeing it, is those old favourites that used to appear on Star Plus (yeah, there was a time when it was sans saans and bahus and ekkta kkapoor stuff). I'm talking about Doogie Howser MD, Ally McBeal, The X Files and my personal favourite - The Wonder Years.

Actually it isn't just about watching old favourite content, its about bringing back those days when i used to watch it every evening. As everyone who reads this blog would know by now, all it takes is a bit of hint for me to go onto nostalgia mode. I guess, thats why they called it 'Old School'.

And as Kevin would say, “I remember a place... a town... a house like a lot of houses... a yard like a lot of other yards... on a street likea lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I sill look back... with wonder.”

until next time, back to school :)

The right turn

On my way to office, there is a junction, and like many junctions there are rights and lefts varying from 1 degree to 179 degrees, and many times, i end up giving directions thus, "not that right, the other right'...

A few days back, i ended up playing whistle blower on an online plagiarism case.. no second guess required whether it was the right thing to do, but the implications did make me wonder whether i could have maybe not have done it at all.. But i also got a forward around the same time.. it went thus - there are two sets of railway tracks. One used, the other unused.There is a warning board on the used one that warns kids not to play on it. The scenario is that a train is approaching on the used track, there are five kids playing on it. A single kid is playing on the unused track. You are in charge of the tracks. With a single button, you can divert the train onto the unused track,saving five kids and sacrificing one. You obviously can't do the movie hero stunt of running faster than the train and rescuing all kids concerned, and you have only moments to decide. Before you make the decision, remember that the single kid was following instructions and doing the right thing.

There is no 'correct' answer, it is a choice, but it helped me stick to the decision i made. Maybe, it is a step towards a 'no compromise' policy towards doing the right thing... Meanwhile, the turn to my office is the exact right, all of 90 degrees :)

until next time, i write, you read :)

Social Networking

I once had a scrap on Orkut.

I won.

until next time, feeling anti-social.