It must be all those Swine flu jokes I cracked in the past.... who knew I'd end up paying for it more than a year later. That's right folks I have just been tested positive for the ole H1N1 virus along with most of the family.
Regular services are expected to resume shortly.
See Australis, told ya it was a doozy! :D
16.4.10
Macchis ki Teeli
1 am and the weekend's around the corner. Not that it matters to people like me who're no longer restrained by the ole corporate leash. Haven't felt like writing in a while and like I was telling someone not too long ago that it kinda surprised me just how long I've been away.
But I'm back... if only for a little while (good lyric this...)
So what can I write about? Perhaps we can do a little rundown on whats been happening in my life recently. Easiest place to tap into for some material. Went for this play on a Friday some weeks ago called Ismat Aapa ke Naam which was 3 one wo/man acts based on the writings of Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai. Funnily enough I was supposed to have gone for an English play on Saturday night but gotarm-twisted gently coaxed into attending this one as well. So me who hadn't seen a play in over 15 years finally ended up watching 2 plays on consecutive nights. Sort of...
Patience Gadhadhari Bheem... I shall explain.
Now Ismat Aapa... was enacted entirely in Urdu (and that too the hardcore wtf-did-he-just-say kinda Urdu) as was wished by the director who wanted to stay true to the writings of the author. Well I'd say he succeeded quite admirably coz I understood jack! About 80% of all the dialogue just went flying overhead and I was just about able to get the gist of the overall plot. The first sketch was enacted by Manoj Pahwa whose name you perhaps will not recognise but whose face you certainly will. Now this guy has acted in several Hindi movies off late and falls into what I refer to as the mandatory sidey comic role required in most films these days. The writing is so terrible in today's movies that you automatically vent your ire at actors like Pahwa who're.. well.. just doing what's been written. I was so happy to eat humble pie that night. He is a wonderful performer and, despite obvious personal language barriers, made his act an enjoyable one. And if Pahwa was fun to watch, his wife Seema who followed in the 3rd act was a complete riot. Again someone who is relegated to doing the sidey stuff in Bollywood. These two are truly talents who are wasted on the big screen and walking out into the night I was happy that to have had some preconceived notions shattered that night and also bemused at how much you have to dumb down your craft go to earn your bread and butter...
Now the next day I went to see a famous play called Waiting for Godot. And... I walked out during the interval! It's supposed to be this deep thinking play about the harshness of life and existentialism. There are many levels to it relating to religion, philosophy, politics and psychology as explained by a friend who had come along. But all I could think through 45 minutes that was the first half was, "Ayyeeeee bhaaaaaiiiiii.... apne palle kuch nahi pad raha...". I guess my choice of entertainment over the past many years now veers to anything which either amuses and/or enthralls me and certainly at the very least which I am able to understand quickly enough. Sure there are many ways to interpret a play like this one but it failed to capture my interest which means I will not even bother dissecting it like I would have any book/movie/TV show. I probably come across as less evolved by many who hold this play in high regard. Guilty I suppose but if there's one thing at all that I can be sure about, is that I could probably rewrite that play (the dialogues anyway) and make it atleast a tad more entertaining than it was (for me) that night.
On a positive note, it was pretty cool to watch Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani for the first time live. These guys are the big daddys of Indian theatre and yeah while the play itself bored the crap out of me, the performances were pretty darn good. I had no idea till a few days later that Randeep Hooda (he of Monsoon Wedding and D fame) had played the heavily bearded character of Lucky the slave.
In other news, I will doing a little thing on a community radio station with the Madman (he of my other blog fame). We two suave worldly gents willtake on the forces of evil and vanquish them resoundingly whilst rescuing dainty maidens and ride off into the sunset talk about civic issues that are hassling the neighbourhood. Of course with our irreverent spin on it :) We've already been warned about (not) dropping the F-Bomb on the air by our Program Director. So if you're in and around Bandra from the 1st of May, tune into Jago Mumbai 107.8 and give us a listen...
Also joined a band in the recent past although it seems like we barely got together before the bassist had to take off to join his new job and our lead player leaves for the States in August. I really must find people my own age to jam with rather than dudes who're either in/barely out of college. But the good thing is we're planning to do a band within a band side project of acoustic and indie covers. 1 guitar 1 voice kinda thing. The first two songs on the setlist are courtesy the lovely and refreshing Nimbupaani (who ought to put up posts more often but then that'd be the pot doing the proverbial thing) which are Blue October's - Calling you (Acoustic) and Winterpills' Cranky.
And this third one is an Elton John classic covered by My Morning Jacket... I'm not married. In fact I don't even have a significant other and of course no kids either but fuck this song gets to me each time I listen to it.
I usually try to end on a positive or funny note but not this time... Probably one of the most moving death scenes in Indian cinema, I choked up at THIS scene of a brother losing his sister and couldn't stop the tears from falling especially at 0:23 - 0:31
But I'm back... if only for a little while (good lyric this...)
So what can I write about? Perhaps we can do a little rundown on whats been happening in my life recently. Easiest place to tap into for some material. Went for this play on a Friday some weeks ago called Ismat Aapa ke Naam which was 3 one wo/man acts based on the writings of Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai. Funnily enough I was supposed to have gone for an English play on Saturday night but got
Patience Gadhadhari Bheem... I shall explain.
Now Ismat Aapa... was enacted entirely in Urdu (and that too the hardcore wtf-did-he-just-say kinda Urdu) as was wished by the director who wanted to stay true to the writings of the author. Well I'd say he succeeded quite admirably coz I understood jack! About 80% of all the dialogue just went flying overhead and I was just about able to get the gist of the overall plot. The first sketch was enacted by Manoj Pahwa whose name you perhaps will not recognise but whose face you certainly will. Now this guy has acted in several Hindi movies off late and falls into what I refer to as the mandatory sidey comic role required in most films these days. The writing is so terrible in today's movies that you automatically vent your ire at actors like Pahwa who're.. well.. just doing what's been written. I was so happy to eat humble pie that night. He is a wonderful performer and, despite obvious personal language barriers, made his act an enjoyable one. And if Pahwa was fun to watch, his wife Seema who followed in the 3rd act was a complete riot. Again someone who is relegated to doing the sidey stuff in Bollywood. These two are truly talents who are wasted on the big screen and walking out into the night I was happy that to have had some preconceived notions shattered that night and also bemused at how much you have to dumb down your craft go to earn your bread and butter...
Now the next day I went to see a famous play called Waiting for Godot. And... I walked out during the interval! It's supposed to be this deep thinking play about the harshness of life and existentialism. There are many levels to it relating to religion, philosophy, politics and psychology as explained by a friend who had come along. But all I could think through 45 minutes that was the first half was, "Ayyeeeee bhaaaaaiiiiii.... apne palle kuch nahi pad raha...". I guess my choice of entertainment over the past many years now veers to anything which either amuses and/or enthralls me and certainly at the very least which I am able to understand quickly enough. Sure there are many ways to interpret a play like this one but it failed to capture my interest which means I will not even bother dissecting it like I would have any book/movie/TV show. I probably come across as less evolved by many who hold this play in high regard. Guilty I suppose but if there's one thing at all that I can be sure about, is that I could probably rewrite that play (the dialogues anyway) and make it atleast a tad more entertaining than it was (for me) that night.
On a positive note, it was pretty cool to watch Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani for the first time live. These guys are the big daddys of Indian theatre and yeah while the play itself bored the crap out of me, the performances were pretty darn good. I had no idea till a few days later that Randeep Hooda (he of Monsoon Wedding and D fame) had played the heavily bearded character of Lucky the slave.
In other news, I will doing a little thing on a community radio station with the Madman (he of my other blog fame). We two suave worldly gents will
Also joined a band in the recent past although it seems like we barely got together before the bassist had to take off to join his new job and our lead player leaves for the States in August. I really must find people my own age to jam with rather than dudes who're either in/barely out of college. But the good thing is we're planning to do a band within a band side project of acoustic and indie covers. 1 guitar 1 voice kinda thing. The first two songs on the setlist are courtesy the lovely and refreshing Nimbupaani (who ought to put up posts more often but then that'd be the pot doing the proverbial thing) which are Blue October's - Calling you (Acoustic) and Winterpills' Cranky.
And this third one is an Elton John classic covered by My Morning Jacket... I'm not married. In fact I don't even have a significant other and of course no kids either but fuck this song gets to me each time I listen to it.
I usually try to end on a positive or funny note but not this time... Probably one of the most moving death scenes in Indian cinema, I choked up at THIS scene of a brother losing his sister and couldn't stop the tears from falling especially at 0:23 - 0:31
Labels:
news
25.2.10
Track 1 or Track 2?
Like most kids back in the late 90's, I too was a big fan of the wrestling action from WWE featured on Prime Sports (anyone remember Prime Sports?!!). Of course back then it was popularly known as the WWF. And that went on for many a year till the World Wildlife Federation stepped and said, "You indescribably monstrous looking hulks are giving the real animals a bad name... The throbbing of those steriod-pumped veins in the sides of your necks are in fact scaring some of them! So give us our acronym back, McMahon and Co.!"
Now I bring up the matter of the WWE because after years of watching 'real' wrestling, I realised what I found completely fascinating, besides the athleticism of the wrestlers, was how the crowd's reaction could be so easily manipulated with a piece of music. I'm talking about the entry music of the participants which used to (and still does) drive the crowd wild!
Anyway back to the matter at hand which involves a decision of sorts to be made. I am at a stage in my life where I can actually make an entry into an arena (ok so it's a casino on a ship... don't scoff at my inner 14 year old!) accompanied by a piece of entry music.
So check out the two tracks below and tell me which one you like best...
Now I bring up the matter of the WWE because after years of watching 'real' wrestling, I realised what I found completely fascinating, besides the athleticism of the wrestlers, was how the crowd's reaction could be so easily manipulated with a piece of music. I'm talking about the entry music of the participants which used to (and still does) drive the crowd wild!
Anyway back to the matter at hand which involves a decision of sorts to be made. I am at a stage in my life where I can actually make an entry into an arena (ok so it's a casino on a ship... don't scoff at my inner 14 year old!) accompanied by a piece of entry music.
So check out the two tracks below and tell me which one you like best...
Labels:
entry music
4.2.10
Musically humped
and I don't mean that like when you bump uglies with Boyz II Men playing in the background...
There's a word in eleet known as 'Pwned'. No, eleet or leet or leetspeak isn't a foreign language but it is considered to be an alternative language to English. This 'language' (some might call it a corruption of sorts) was cooked up by the techie community. An example of leet will clear things up adequately (and if it doesn't, forget this long drawn ramble and watch the damn video already... I pity the foo!... (yeah ok just saw the A-Team trailer again today).
Right so back to the example - now the word leet itself would in leetspeak look like 1337 or l33t. Gaming legend has it that 'Pwned' as a word originated from the game Warcraft. When the computer beat a player in the game, the words "Player X has been owned!" were supposed to flash on the screen. But one of the designers screwed up while writing the code and misspelt owned as pwned. Slowly the typo/word took hold in the gamers' lexicon and before you knew pwned meant Perfectly Owned. These days of course while still primarily used by gamers, it has entered mainstream vocabulary case in point, "India totally pwned Bangladesh in the recently concluded test series."
So you might be now asking, BF you blithering twit, what on earth are you going on and on and on about?
Said blithering twit would like to direct your attention to the video below.
Please pay particular attention to 03:12 - 05:55
Moral of the story - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan pwned Ali Azmat's a$$
There's a word in eleet known as 'Pwned'. No, eleet or leet or leetspeak isn't a foreign language but it is considered to be an alternative language to English. This 'language' (some might call it a corruption of sorts) was cooked up by the techie community. An example of leet will clear things up adequately (and if it doesn't, forget this long drawn ramble and watch the damn video already... I pity the foo!... (yeah ok just saw the A-Team trailer again today).
Right so back to the example - now the word leet itself would in leetspeak look like 1337 or l33t. Gaming legend has it that 'Pwned' as a word originated from the game Warcraft. When the computer beat a player in the game, the words "Player X has been owned!" were supposed to flash on the screen. But one of the designers screwed up while writing the code and misspelt owned as pwned. Slowly the typo/word took hold in the gamers' lexicon and before you knew pwned meant Perfectly Owned. These days of course while still primarily used by gamers, it has entered mainstream vocabulary case in point, "India totally pwned Bangladesh in the recently concluded test series."
So you might be now asking, BF you blithering twit, what on earth are you going on and on and on about?
Said blithering twit would like to direct your attention to the video below.
Please pay particular attention to 03:12 - 05:55
Moral of the story - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan pwned Ali Azmat's a$$
Labels:
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
22.1.10
Rocket Man
It was late at night. Not surprisingly the stars were not visible at all. What's the point of living on the 11th floor if you can't enjoy the view?! thought Rajeev. But he shouldn't crib... because tonight was New Year's after all and this is what happens on every New Year's eve. The city goes berserk with its crackers and fireworks. He was used to seeing lacs of rupees being set on fire. Damn smog's gonna last for days...
The wind was whistling thru his hair... "It kinda feels nice..." thought Rajeev...
"Hmm... perhaps I fucked up..." and he closed his eyes.
Next day 11am
"Yo man... that was a killer evening last night."
"Yeah dude but I really haven't had much sleep"
"How come?"
"You remember last night before we went to G's house, when we stopped to pick up some munchies and ice, I was talking to a guy outside the shop?! My friend Sanjay's cousin..."
"Haan haan shortish chap with the 'fro like hair... right?!"
"Yeah the weird thing is I had a dream about him the night before and I remembered that while we were talking outside the shop and it felt even more strange...."
"Hmm... that is a pretty strange coincidence."
"And now I am more than a little freaked out coz this morning at 5 am Sanjay calls me to tell me Rajeev's committed suicide. He jumped off the 11th floor of his building..."
Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says, says
Say it's true it's true...
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one
I...I will begin again
I...I will begin again
The wind was whistling thru his hair... "It kinda feels nice..." thought Rajeev...
"Hmm... perhaps I fucked up..." and he closed his eyes.
Next day 11am
"Yo man... that was a killer evening last night."
"Yeah dude but I really haven't had much sleep"
"How come?"
"You remember last night before we went to G's house, when we stopped to pick up some munchies and ice, I was talking to a guy outside the shop?! My friend Sanjay's cousin..."
"Haan haan shortish chap with the 'fro like hair... right?!"
"Yeah the weird thing is I had a dream about him the night before and I remembered that while we were talking outside the shop and it felt even more strange...."
"Hmm... that is a pretty strange coincidence."
"And now I am more than a little freaked out coz this morning at 5 am Sanjay calls me to tell me Rajeev's committed suicide. He jumped off the 11th floor of his building..."
Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says, says
Say it's true it's true...
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one
I...I will begin again
I...I will begin again
Labels:
not quite Fiction
19.1.10
Year of the Tiger (cue in Survivor*)
I'm not very good with resolutions. The last time I made one was a good 7-8 years ago. I think I quit smoking for about 27 hours... does that even count as quitting?! Anyway this year as with most years I didnt give a hoot about making any resolutions but I did promise myself that I would put up a new year (sorta) post in the first month of the year rather than in Feb as I did last year. (in case you're a first time reader, yes, I like writing long sentences and sometimes I write even longer ones in brackets that follow said original sentence... and yeah it can get even longer than this one sometimes).
Speaking of the New Year it was quite a sober affair... for an hour. But yeah it was devoid of the usual shooshaa associated with NY parties. It was a small group of 7 that gathered on a friend G's terrace. The nippy air was a nice change of pace for this city's usual weather and made me feel glad I had an inner tee on.
No! You're the pussy who can't stand the cold!
The libations were flowng... some fantastic grub courtesy G and the reliable if occassionally nutty company of good friends made for a great night. Despite being nice and buzzed, I was reasonably in control of my senses. Unlike last year, where I am not sure how I got from the party venue into bed. (Well I do and if you're reading this... Grazie!)
The highlight of the night had to be the fireworks. The terrace being as high as it was afforded us a great view of the city all round. It was mad seeing fireworks going off at the same time across the city. Will not forget those few minutes in a hurry. Also two of our lady friends who made the night a trifle more interesting... You know who you are ladies and thanks for the show! Woweee!
What's changed in the last year? Been writing a fair bit more... not so much on the blog (in fact i wrote lesser posts than the previous year) but more on the web content side of things. Good to make some spare change for the beer and peanuts. The year ended with the germ of an idea for a project and it has quickly blown up into something which I didn't think was possible. If you have visited the blog recently you know it has to do with poker which I am quite pleased about. There are many pots bubbling or in mid-bubble on many fires and like I was telling S the other night, I am quite possibly feeling the highest levels of creative satisfaction and contentment at this moment in time, which I didn't think was possible when I had a corporate leash on a year and some months ago (see... told you I wrote long sentences).
For a short while I was a tiny bit bummed at not getting adequate attention from the blog world about my writing . But a level headed friend then reminded that the blogger's world is mostly a mutual admiration society. You like someone, comment on their posts and pretty much expect the same treatment back. That hasn't happened for this blog till I realised that this was supposed to be my own space where I could put down what I felt like and not care so much about what others wanted to read. I now remind myself of that everytime these thoughts come into my head. That said, there are some readers who come along and spend a few minutes out of their day here, generally contributing to this blog's tiny amount of traffic and my enormous sense of well-being. Thanks to all 4 of you!
The year gone by had 3 darn good trips. In the initial part of the year, we did a road trip to Goa (last one was 5 years ago) and had a great time there. That was followed by a trip to Bangkok in the middle of the year where I finally got to see the Grand Palaces and the temples. Bloody humid day and heat mein Wat lag gayi! hehe come on... it was right there. How could I possibly resist?! We also spent a couple of days prior in Pattaya as well but were pretty much confined to the hotel room coz there was torrential rains lashing the area which meant no watersports because of the rain and tides. And wouldn't you know it, the day we are to head to Bangkok, the sun is burning hot and the water has receeded 200 metres out. That sucked. But we caught the final of the Wimbledon at one of the local bars when the rain held up one night and that was awesome fun although the alcohol did me in for a while. Never start drinking before the sun sets btw.
The trips for the year ended with Christmas weekend being spent at G's uncle's home in Alibaug. What a lovely location and an equally nice house too. Loved the hammock and the massive game room next door. The trip was also good because my brother was along and its rare that we travel and hang with the other's friends. But they enjoyed themselves as did we all. Taboo is THE game to play when you are more than few drinks down.
On our last night there I lay in the hammock and gazed at the stars with the music streaming into my ears courtesy the pod. A whole year had gone and I couldn't help reflect on many of the things that were and could have been. As I looked back, it was obvious that the area of concentration for the coming year had to be work. The end of '08 and most of '09 was a time of doing whatever I felt like. It's come to a point now that I will continue to pursue the things I want to do in life and now that the new career is up and kind of running I gotta ride that baby to make me enough money.
So I'm gonna sign off by saying Happy New Year and as we head into 2010, I wish for good things to happen for you.
Wish the same for me too ok?! :)
*I used to be Glen once
Speaking of the New Year it was quite a sober affair... for an hour. But yeah it was devoid of the usual shooshaa associated with NY parties. It was a small group of 7 that gathered on a friend G's terrace. The nippy air was a nice change of pace for this city's usual weather and made me feel glad I had an inner tee on.
No! You're the pussy who can't stand the cold!
The libations were flowng... some fantastic grub courtesy G and the reliable if occassionally nutty company of good friends made for a great night. Despite being nice and buzzed, I was reasonably in control of my senses. Unlike last year, where I am not sure how I got from the party venue into bed. (Well I do and if you're reading this... Grazie!)
The highlight of the night had to be the fireworks. The terrace being as high as it was afforded us a great view of the city all round. It was mad seeing fireworks going off at the same time across the city. Will not forget those few minutes in a hurry. Also two of our lady friends who made the night a trifle more interesting... You know who you are ladies and thanks for the show! Woweee!
What's changed in the last year? Been writing a fair bit more... not so much on the blog (in fact i wrote lesser posts than the previous year) but more on the web content side of things. Good to make some spare change for the beer and peanuts. The year ended with the germ of an idea for a project and it has quickly blown up into something which I didn't think was possible. If you have visited the blog recently you know it has to do with poker which I am quite pleased about. There are many pots bubbling or in mid-bubble on many fires and like I was telling S the other night, I am quite possibly feeling the highest levels of creative satisfaction and contentment at this moment in time, which I didn't think was possible when I had a corporate leash on a year and some months ago (see... told you I wrote long sentences).
For a short while I was a tiny bit bummed at not getting adequate attention from the blog world about my writing . But a level headed friend then reminded that the blogger's world is mostly a mutual admiration society. You like someone, comment on their posts and pretty much expect the same treatment back. That hasn't happened for this blog till I realised that this was supposed to be my own space where I could put down what I felt like and not care so much about what others wanted to read. I now remind myself of that everytime these thoughts come into my head. That said, there are some readers who come along and spend a few minutes out of their day here, generally contributing to this blog's tiny amount of traffic and my enormous sense of well-being. Thanks to all 4 of you!
The year gone by had 3 darn good trips. In the initial part of the year, we did a road trip to Goa (last one was 5 years ago) and had a great time there. That was followed by a trip to Bangkok in the middle of the year where I finally got to see the Grand Palaces and the temples. Bloody humid day and heat mein Wat lag gayi! hehe come on... it was right there. How could I possibly resist?! We also spent a couple of days prior in Pattaya as well but were pretty much confined to the hotel room coz there was torrential rains lashing the area which meant no watersports because of the rain and tides. And wouldn't you know it, the day we are to head to Bangkok, the sun is burning hot and the water has receeded 200 metres out. That sucked. But we caught the final of the Wimbledon at one of the local bars when the rain held up one night and that was awesome fun although the alcohol did me in for a while. Never start drinking before the sun sets btw.
The trips for the year ended with Christmas weekend being spent at G's uncle's home in Alibaug. What a lovely location and an equally nice house too. Loved the hammock and the massive game room next door. The trip was also good because my brother was along and its rare that we travel and hang with the other's friends. But they enjoyed themselves as did we all. Taboo is THE game to play when you are more than few drinks down.
On our last night there I lay in the hammock and gazed at the stars with the music streaming into my ears courtesy the pod. A whole year had gone and I couldn't help reflect on many of the things that were and could have been. As I looked back, it was obvious that the area of concentration for the coming year had to be work. The end of '08 and most of '09 was a time of doing whatever I felt like. It's come to a point now that I will continue to pursue the things I want to do in life and now that the new career is up and kind of running I gotta ride that baby to make me enough money.
So I'm gonna sign off by saying Happy New Year and as we head into 2010, I wish for good things to happen for you.
Wish the same for me too ok?! :)
*I used to be Glen once
Labels:
hello 2010
27.12.09
Fa La La La La...
I was supposed to post this before I left town for the Christmas weekened...
Many many months ago, I saw this show by an illusionist called Criss Angel... I'm sure most of y'all have heard of it... it's called Mindfreak. Comes on AXN or some similar channel. Anyway the show closed with an illusion he did at a swimming pool in one of Vegas's fancy hotels. The trick was Walking on Water and yes the man walked on water and cut right through the pool with people who were swimming around him and even underneath him as he walked right on...
I knew it was just an illusion and while Criss had walked on something it sure wasn't water.
Last night I saw another illusion-based show. Only this one dealt with revealing how these tricks and illusions were pulled off by the illusionist. And ironically this show too closed with the reveal of the Walking on Water illusion. I got to see that I was right after all. Yes there was a method to the illusion. And its kinda funny how that made me feel a little sad.
Over the years that little wide eyed kid that's there in all of us grows up a little more. With the passing of time, it seems to even disappear in most of us. But its when I see things like these magic shows with their corny tricks that I remember that younger me. I scoff at these tricks now but there was once a part of me that used to be amazed at them. I miss that guy. It's easy to lose yourself in the ratrace of this city. It can be frustrating and even cruel. I auditioned last week for a major gig and they called back earlier in this week to let me know I didn't get it. So been in this freakin' blue funk for the past couple of days. Doesn't help that I've had an awful sore throat and I miss my smokes... sigh!
Anyway I saw this show and I realise that I can't afford to let go of that little guy in me. In some ways I'm happy to say I haven't. For instance I still tend to believe the best of the people I meet (till they give me a reason not to). Frankly this particular trait hasn't really done me too much good through my life. People who I thought were worth it just fucked that notion into the ground.
And yet I persist... For those few I met and who kept the faith. For the those few who justify their positions as very important people in my life. For family who're like friends and for friends who've become like family.
I'm not quite sure what this ramble is all about right now but it did start out with me wanting to write a Christmassy post. That somehow morphed with the thought of not letting go of that inner child within all of us. Maybe it was just a lil mental tap to myself to give that inner cynic the day or month off...
Speaking of which, a personal pet peeve - It's "Merry Christmas".
Not Happy Christmas... not Merry X'mas... and for the love of Christ not Happy X'Mas ever!
Best of the season folks!
Here's one of those Mindfreek shows which scared the crap out of a former colleague when I showed it to her
Many many months ago, I saw this show by an illusionist called Criss Angel... I'm sure most of y'all have heard of it... it's called Mindfreak. Comes on AXN or some similar channel. Anyway the show closed with an illusion he did at a swimming pool in one of Vegas's fancy hotels. The trick was Walking on Water and yes the man walked on water and cut right through the pool with people who were swimming around him and even underneath him as he walked right on...
I knew it was just an illusion and while Criss had walked on something it sure wasn't water.
Last night I saw another illusion-based show. Only this one dealt with revealing how these tricks and illusions were pulled off by the illusionist. And ironically this show too closed with the reveal of the Walking on Water illusion. I got to see that I was right after all. Yes there was a method to the illusion. And its kinda funny how that made me feel a little sad.
Over the years that little wide eyed kid that's there in all of us grows up a little more. With the passing of time, it seems to even disappear in most of us. But its when I see things like these magic shows with their corny tricks that I remember that younger me. I scoff at these tricks now but there was once a part of me that used to be amazed at them. I miss that guy. It's easy to lose yourself in the ratrace of this city. It can be frustrating and even cruel. I auditioned last week for a major gig and they called back earlier in this week to let me know I didn't get it. So been in this freakin' blue funk for the past couple of days. Doesn't help that I've had an awful sore throat and I miss my smokes... sigh!
Anyway I saw this show and I realise that I can't afford to let go of that little guy in me. In some ways I'm happy to say I haven't. For instance I still tend to believe the best of the people I meet (till they give me a reason not to). Frankly this particular trait hasn't really done me too much good through my life. People who I thought were worth it just fucked that notion into the ground.
And yet I persist... For those few I met and who kept the faith. For the those few who justify their positions as very important people in my life. For family who're like friends and for friends who've become like family.
I'm not quite sure what this ramble is all about right now but it did start out with me wanting to write a Christmassy post. That somehow morphed with the thought of not letting go of that inner child within all of us. Maybe it was just a lil mental tap to myself to give that inner cynic the day or month off...
Speaking of which, a personal pet peeve - It's "Merry Christmas".
Not Happy Christmas... not Merry X'mas... and for the love of Christ not Happy X'Mas ever!
Best of the season folks!
Here's one of those Mindfreek shows which scared the crap out of a former colleague when I showed it to her
19.11.09
Ode to the Nice Guys
This below mentioned rant written by some 'nice guy' for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal.
This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.
This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.
This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.
The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!)*. But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.
So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.
I'm still smiling and shaking my head at some which hit ridiculously close to home... er.. no not the GTA3 one... OK fine! maybe a little.
*The Madman once paraphrased this quite eloquently, "Agar hum itne hi acche hain, toh ch*do na!"
This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.
This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.
This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.
The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!)*. But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.
So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.
I'm still smiling and shaking my head at some which hit ridiculously close to home... er.. no not the GTA3 one... OK fine! maybe a little.
*The Madman once paraphrased this quite eloquently, "Agar hum itne hi acche hain, toh ch*do na!"
20.10.09
Sabotage
Q. What do you want to be when you grow up beta?
Every little kid wants to be something when they grow - Astronaut, Cricketer, Pilot, the guy that gets shot out the cannon...
I was asked the same question too. And I had a bunch of ideas and options in my mind too... one of them being the now repulsive "I want to go to office."
But wanting to be on stage never featured on that list for the first 20 years of my life.
Circa 1989...
A: "I want to be a scientist!" (yeah I don't know what I was thinking either...)
Sabotage was the first Beastie Boys song I'd ever heard. I think I was in school or just out of school. Some late night show on MTV (the 'original' version not the crap that's on today) which played it. I really couldn't understand what the fuck was going on at the time. Too much of an assault on my senses but I knew I wanted to hear it again... That didn't happen for probably another 5 years.
I just think these guys are the epitome of nerdy cool especially in the vid below.
Circa 2009...
A: "I want to be on a stage like this... to sing for a crowd that's a.l.l around me like this... pulsating boom from every amp cranked to the m.a.x like this... lights flashing intermittently like this... and rocking the ever livin' shit outta e.v.e.r.y single body just like this!"
The hunt is on...
Every little kid wants to be something when they grow - Astronaut, Cricketer, Pilot, the guy that gets shot out the cannon...
I was asked the same question too. And I had a bunch of ideas and options in my mind too... one of them being the now repulsive "I want to go to office."
But wanting to be on stage never featured on that list for the first 20 years of my life.
Circa 1989...
A: "I want to be a scientist!" (yeah I don't know what I was thinking either...)
Sabotage was the first Beastie Boys song I'd ever heard. I think I was in school or just out of school. Some late night show on MTV (the 'original' version not the crap that's on today) which played it. I really couldn't understand what the fuck was going on at the time. Too much of an assault on my senses but I knew I wanted to hear it again... That didn't happen for probably another 5 years.
I just think these guys are the epitome of nerdy cool especially in the vid below.
Circa 2009...
A: "I want to be on a stage like this... to sing for a crowd that's a.l.l around me like this... pulsating boom from every amp cranked to the m.a.x like this... lights flashing intermittently like this... and rocking the ever livin' shit outta e.v.e.r.y single body just like this!"
The hunt is on...
Labels:
music
15.10.09
3:05
AM is the time this post is being written on a Thursday morning.
No sleep... don't know why.
But sometimes there are good things that come out of lying awake thru the night.
![]()
Bliss Logic is something else. This trio plays music which is a mix of rock and jazz with a bit of electronica. I just chanced upon them a few days ago and knew I wanted to go to Zenzi for their live gig and album release. Heard just the one song coz the tiny room was packed to the gills. But there's some mad freakin' talent here.
Been listening to them for the past couple of hours... I can't get over the blend of this music. So many different elements to the music and each of them more appealing than the other. Can't explain it. Do yourself a favour and listen to them. You can download their track 'New Message' here.
Tiny scrawl on the BL CD jacket says:
Bliss Logic: Advisory
Get Cozy + Switch Off Mobile + Send Fumes + Play Loud + Drift
Currently drifting....
No sleep... don't know why.
But sometimes there are good things that come out of lying awake thru the night.
Been listening to them for the past couple of hours... I can't get over the blend of this music. So many different elements to the music and each of them more appealing than the other. Can't explain it. Do yourself a favour and listen to them. You can download their track 'New Message' here.
Tiny scrawl on the BL CD jacket says:
Bliss Logic: Advisory
Get Cozy + Switch Off Mobile + Send Fumes + Play Loud + Drift
Currently drifting....
Labels:
Bliss Logic,
music
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