Nov 26, 2009
Nov 25, 2009
Birthday Wishes!
Happy Birthday to one of the nicest people I know - Asha!
Have a great day. You will always have my best wishes!
Nov 22, 2009
The best therapy in the world
Its so curious that you never feel that you need any kind of companionship until you're actually receiving it. Its a strange moment when it strikes you that this must be what you've been missing for a while..
For me,there's no therapy like hanging out with the girls.It puts things into perspective. I met some of my previous room-mates after a long time. It was a pleasant afternoon and evening.
I think a good old conversation with a friend is loads better than any romantic relationship a person can get into. How often do you get anything without any strings attached? Its like becoming hungry at the sight of food.
The moral of the day is that every single person in the world has his/her struggle.
What sets one person's struggle apart from another person's is how they've responded to it.Its your choice if you want to clean up the spilt milk or just let it stink on your floor while you bawl over it.
When you get hurt,you either pick yourself up or you don't. That seems to me now, to be more a choice than a play of fate or destiny. Blame the world all you want but you're still hurt and nobody likes a sob story for too long.Yeah,they don't.I never said the world wasn't cruel.
Today I got a hint from my friends about how to keep my sanity in this world:
Take Care!
Its actually as simple as that!To think that one of the shampoo brands has been screaming that tag line for ages to an audience that hears things selectively! Look good and you'll feel good (Works for me). Its never good for your self-esteem to be way behind your parlor appointments, breakfast times, early morning jogs or whatever suits you...Its stupid that the first thing we sacrifice is our health and well being when in a crisis.
I know that from now on I'm going to put in a little more heart into my efforts to be healthy. I will not miss on the good things in life which I can have even if Mount Vesuvius was erupting in my cupboard without my knowledge.Amen.
For me,there's no therapy like hanging out with the girls.It puts things into perspective. I met some of my previous room-mates after a long time. It was a pleasant afternoon and evening.
I think a good old conversation with a friend is loads better than any romantic relationship a person can get into. How often do you get anything without any strings attached? Its like becoming hungry at the sight of food.
The moral of the day is that every single person in the world has his/her struggle.
What sets one person's struggle apart from another person's is how they've responded to it.Its your choice if you want to clean up the spilt milk or just let it stink on your floor while you bawl over it.
When you get hurt,you either pick yourself up or you don't. That seems to me now, to be more a choice than a play of fate or destiny. Blame the world all you want but you're still hurt and nobody likes a sob story for too long.Yeah,they don't.I never said the world wasn't cruel.
Today I got a hint from my friends about how to keep my sanity in this world:
Take Care!
Its actually as simple as that!To think that one of the shampoo brands has been screaming that tag line for ages to an audience that hears things selectively! Look good and you'll feel good (Works for me). Its never good for your self-esteem to be way behind your parlor appointments, breakfast times, early morning jogs or whatever suits you...Its stupid that the first thing we sacrifice is our health and well being when in a crisis.
I know that from now on I'm going to put in a little more heart into my efforts to be healthy. I will not miss on the good things in life which I can have even if Mount Vesuvius was erupting in my cupboard without my knowledge.Amen.
Nov 19, 2009
I saw Kellan Lutz's appearance on Ellen Degeneres's show... gasp! *drops*
I really didn't care who he was until I saw him do push-ups on the show. I can't describe it! You've got to see it! How does one person have so much energy?The ease with which he was twisting and turning and clapping his hands while doing the push-ups!I don't know if he lost a breath or two or not but it took my breath away! He suddenly seems very attractive :p :D
Came to see Janis. She's so cute and loving.
I really didn't care who he was until I saw him do push-ups on the show. I can't describe it! You've got to see it! How does one person have so much energy?The ease with which he was twisting and turning and clapping his hands while doing the push-ups!I don't know if he lost a breath or two or not but it took my breath away! He suddenly seems very attractive :p :D
Came to see Janis. She's so cute and loving.
Nov 18, 2009
Nov 17, 2009
Feluda
I've been reading some mystery short stories by an Indian author, Satyajit Ray. Anybody who has a soft spot for Bengal and all things Bengali the way I do,should definitely grab this book called "Feluda". Of course, you can also read it if you like the occasional nice,clean and pleasant mystery which doesn't scandalize or overpower you.
Its inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The main character Feluda is a huge fan of Holmes and keeps saying "Sherlock Holmes showed us the way". It still has original tales of mystery though.
The main character Pradosh Mitter a.k.a. Feluda assisted by his young cousin Topshe solve mysteries in various cities of India and sometimes abroad as well.They are joined later by a novelist Lalmohan Ganguli whose every twitch and turn provides comic relief.We have our Moriarty in Maganlal Meghraj and Mycroft Holmes in Feluda's uncle.It does borrow a teensy bit from Sherlock Holmes as far as the characters are concerned.
The stories mostly start in Calcutta.Its set in the good old days when most things used to cost around a rupee and you didn't have to bother your head considering a lot of options for anything.It has short and nice descriptions of places which the trio visit while solving mysteries.
I loved the simple narrative and the fact that it proves that mysteries can be written and become successful too without heavy doses of drugs, sex, violence and illicit relations. I don't mean to say that there are no murders in the stories. The books were aimed at young readers and all the stories keep the sensitivity of that age in mind. I wish I knew about this one when I was 13 or 14, I'd probably have given up Tinkle earlier than I did and maybe,just maybe passed on the Godfather for later too! The stories were only written in Bengali. They were later translated into the English version that I've read.
Feluda's character is quite different from Holmes's. He isn't unemotional which I liked about him and he's intelligent too. It was easier to understand and relate to cause his behaviour sounded so Indian :p.Another difference between Holmes and Feluda is that there is a lot more humour in Feluda.
There isn't a lot of detail about Topshe but he is the good,faithful sidekick. All the humour comes from Lalmohan Ganguli and his mannerisms. Throughout the book, he's writing various adventure novels. The stories he writes are unintentionally funny and have a lot of mistakes which Feluda keeps correcting. Its not the kind of humour that makes you fall off your chair laughing but it is pleasant and does make you smile.
I haven't seen any of Satyajit Ray's movies but will definitely try catching one. It would be nice to read the Bengali version of Feluda but I have lost touch with the language since I left West Bengal.I'm proud that I can still summon an occasional Bengali poem from memory :D
There's one joke that I read last night and must put it down here. It was so cute.
Our threesome are in Hong Kong following a criminal in a Hong Kong taxi.Topshe looks at the meter and says "What the meter showed in Hong Kong dollars was the equivalent of a 100 rupees but we had no choice but to pay".
Indians! I fell asleep grinning on this one.
P.S. I have only one silly little wish. I wish there had been some descriptions of Bengali food!! I miss Sandesh,luchi,toor dal,and rasgullas :( Ah...Stop shaking your head and ignore the post script!
Its inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The main character Feluda is a huge fan of Holmes and keeps saying "Sherlock Holmes showed us the way". It still has original tales of mystery though.
The main character Pradosh Mitter a.k.a. Feluda assisted by his young cousin Topshe solve mysteries in various cities of India and sometimes abroad as well.They are joined later by a novelist Lalmohan Ganguli whose every twitch and turn provides comic relief.We have our Moriarty in Maganlal Meghraj and Mycroft Holmes in Feluda's uncle.It does borrow a teensy bit from Sherlock Holmes as far as the characters are concerned.
The stories mostly start in Calcutta.Its set in the good old days when most things used to cost around a rupee and you didn't have to bother your head considering a lot of options for anything.It has short and nice descriptions of places which the trio visit while solving mysteries.
I loved the simple narrative and the fact that it proves that mysteries can be written and become successful too without heavy doses of drugs, sex, violence and illicit relations. I don't mean to say that there are no murders in the stories. The books were aimed at young readers and all the stories keep the sensitivity of that age in mind. I wish I knew about this one when I was 13 or 14, I'd probably have given up Tinkle earlier than I did and maybe,just maybe passed on the Godfather for later too! The stories were only written in Bengali. They were later translated into the English version that I've read.
Feluda's character is quite different from Holmes's. He isn't unemotional which I liked about him and he's intelligent too. It was easier to understand and relate to cause his behaviour sounded so Indian :p.Another difference between Holmes and Feluda is that there is a lot more humour in Feluda.
There isn't a lot of detail about Topshe but he is the good,faithful sidekick. All the humour comes from Lalmohan Ganguli and his mannerisms. Throughout the book, he's writing various adventure novels. The stories he writes are unintentionally funny and have a lot of mistakes which Feluda keeps correcting. Its not the kind of humour that makes you fall off your chair laughing but it is pleasant and does make you smile.
I haven't seen any of Satyajit Ray's movies but will definitely try catching one. It would be nice to read the Bengali version of Feluda but I have lost touch with the language since I left West Bengal.I'm proud that I can still summon an occasional Bengali poem from memory :D
There's one joke that I read last night and must put it down here. It was so cute.
Our threesome are in Hong Kong following a criminal in a Hong Kong taxi.Topshe looks at the meter and says "What the meter showed in Hong Kong dollars was the equivalent of a 100 rupees but we had no choice but to pay".
Indians! I fell asleep grinning on this one.
P.S. I have only one silly little wish. I wish there had been some descriptions of Bengali food!! I miss Sandesh,luchi,toor dal,and rasgullas :( Ah...Stop shaking your head and ignore the post script!
Nov 16, 2009
Nov 15, 2009
Night in the Elfin Grove
Last night I went to the elfin grove
I looked into the lake to find that I had wings
As light as the dew on a spray of dark grass
My wings were a dull pink in the moonlight
and I dared not touch them lest they should soil
I moved with a newlyfound spright under the black woods
The cold wind billowed through the leaves
It stung my cheeks and carried me with itself
Into a blinding glade that seemed to be singing
I fell on the snowy white ground
Looked around for the bright light,it had ceased to glow
I heard a hiss that startled me
Was that a tree who whispered to me?
I was surely under a spell of my own doing
My feet took me to a fire that glowed like rubies
Thats when I saw them dancing in a chain
They looked at me with a smile
I froze,Did they know me?
They didn't say a word
but took my hand into their tiny grip
A ripple of light flowed through my veins
I opened my eyes to the smell of roses
I felt glad that I had come here
my heart warmed inside me
I moved with a grace matching their's
Now I saw the roses,red petals twined in my hair
I spun around with an abandon,I hadn't felt before
Their laughter a musical note.
There was no music
Except from the twigs and the leaves,
the gush of strong wind striking the trees
The birds were awake watching us in the glade
I danced and whirled,
And I knew I'd never be weary.
They whispered in my ear
They would watch me by the moonlight
When it was crowned by a thousand sparkling stars
They touched my eyes and I felt lost again in sound sleep
I looked into the lake to find that I had wings
As light as the dew on a spray of dark grass
My wings were a dull pink in the moonlight
and I dared not touch them lest they should soil
I moved with a newlyfound spright under the black woods
The cold wind billowed through the leaves
It stung my cheeks and carried me with itself
Into a blinding glade that seemed to be singing
I fell on the snowy white ground
Looked around for the bright light,it had ceased to glow
I heard a hiss that startled me
Was that a tree who whispered to me?
I was surely under a spell of my own doing
My feet took me to a fire that glowed like rubies
Thats when I saw them dancing in a chain
They looked at me with a smile
I froze,Did they know me?
They didn't say a word
but took my hand into their tiny grip
A ripple of light flowed through my veins
I opened my eyes to the smell of roses
I felt glad that I had come here
my heart warmed inside me
I moved with a grace matching their's
Now I saw the roses,red petals twined in my hair
I spun around with an abandon,I hadn't felt before
Their laughter a musical note.
There was no music
Except from the twigs and the leaves,
the gush of strong wind striking the trees
The birds were awake watching us in the glade
I danced and whirled,
And I knew I'd never be weary.
They whispered in my ear
They would watch me by the moonlight
When it was crowned by a thousand sparkling stars
They touched my eyes and I felt lost again in sound sleep
Nov 14, 2009
Joke of the Morning!
The MNS has refused to let the cyclone into Mumbai until it is given a marathi name!
At a loss for words
Last night, I saw some really disturbing news on TV. A girl took an auto from Forum Mall in Bangalore. She was talking on her phone while the auto driver was driving her to her destination. On the way, he turned into a deserted stretch and sprayed something on her face which made her lose consciousness immediately. She was found lying on the street a few hours later by some people who took her to the hospital. She had no recollection of what had happened to her. The doctors told her upon medical examination that she had been raped.
She consulted a counsellor who visited her. The counsellor hypnotised her and while under the effect of hypnosis she remembered that she had been raped by more than one person in the auto. The counsellor stayed with her for some time and then left her asleep. The next morning, the girl jumped off her apartment building and died. She was from a North-Indian family who refused to file a complaint with the police. The counsellor decided to come forward anonymously to report this incident to the media as the auto driver is still at large on the roads of the city and will obviously never be caught. There will be no one to testify against him even if he was caught.
This is such appalling cruelty. I couldn't sleep for a long time after listening to this. To think that I see Forum mall every day of my life, sends shivers down my spine. I don't think I'll dare get into an auto for some days now. Its an occupational hazard being a girl,working and alone.
She consulted a counsellor who visited her. The counsellor hypnotised her and while under the effect of hypnosis she remembered that she had been raped by more than one person in the auto. The counsellor stayed with her for some time and then left her asleep. The next morning, the girl jumped off her apartment building and died. She was from a North-Indian family who refused to file a complaint with the police. The counsellor decided to come forward anonymously to report this incident to the media as the auto driver is still at large on the roads of the city and will obviously never be caught. There will be no one to testify against him even if he was caught.
This is such appalling cruelty. I couldn't sleep for a long time after listening to this. To think that I see Forum mall every day of my life, sends shivers down my spine. I don't think I'll dare get into an auto for some days now. Its an occupational hazard being a girl,working and alone.
An evening with Aaj Tak
I was watching the news on T.V. after a long time. I flipped the channels to aaj tak for some fun. The Headley-Bhat story was on and after some time even my little pup's (innocent that she is) mouth fell open at the way they were narrating the story. But even this story wasn't half as funny as the special report on Sachin Tendulkar.
First things first before I go on. I don't care a fink about Kcricket!
Apparently yesterday was twenty years from the day that Tendulkar first started playing international Kcricket for India. I won't get into the details of his glorious *yawn* kricketing career.
They were doing a story about how he met his wife and how they had come from completely different family backgrounds..loads of pictures thrown into the mix..It described their relationship from courtship to marriage. It might be sounding slightly bland here but I wish I had video recorded the entire thing. I could have listened to the entire thing and included some of the finer expressions of that anchor here. I have a feeling Kekta Kapoor has taken over the kcreative control of that channel by secretly buying their kshares.
First things first before I go on. I don't care a fink about Kcricket!
Apparently yesterday was twenty years from the day that Tendulkar first started playing international Kcricket for India. I won't get into the details of his glorious *yawn* kricketing career.
They were doing a story about how he met his wife and how they had come from completely different family backgrounds..loads of pictures thrown into the mix..It described their relationship from courtship to marriage. It might be sounding slightly bland here but I wish I had video recorded the entire thing. I could have listened to the entire thing and included some of the finer expressions of that anchor here. I have a feeling Kekta Kapoor has taken over the kcreative control of that channel by secretly buying their kshares.
Nov 12, 2009
Wanted : A Miracle cure for unruly hair!
I hate winter for more reasons than just the cold. It makes my hair stands in all directions possible :( It looks like its been pulled a lot. Is there something in this beautiful world that would make my hair straight,soft,not as dry as a dead leaves (when I come back home from office) without any complications in the long-term?
There was a time when I used to dream of bleaching all my hair pure white! I didn't colour it white though I did colour it something else...Those were fun days *sigh*
I wish I could find the answer to this problem in the Sherlock Holmes mystery I'm going to watch next.
There was a time when I used to dream of bleaching all my hair pure white! I didn't colour it white though I did colour it something else...Those were fun days *sigh*
I wish I could find the answer to this problem in the Sherlock Holmes mystery I'm going to watch next.
Nov 10, 2009
Heights of Desperation
How desperate can a person get?
I was checking my mail and saw that there were no mails in there. I found myself looking into my spam folder a second later! Need to get a grip!
I think I'll be making quite a few blog entries in the coming days. Saw Taylor Swift's Saturday night live appearance on youtube. It was hilarious. She will be having a concert in San Jose in April next year. I intend to catch it!
I was checking my mail and saw that there were no mails in there. I found myself looking into my spam folder a second later! Need to get a grip!
I think I'll be making quite a few blog entries in the coming days. Saw Taylor Swift's Saturday night live appearance on youtube. It was hilarious. She will be having a concert in San Jose in April next year. I intend to catch it!
Nov 9, 2009
Fun time with Comic Books
I recently prepared a presentation on comic books. I had a lot of fun doing this thing. It was very enjoyable reading the story about its beginnings and development. Its amazing how comic strips styles and content were influenced by the occurrences and events of those times. I actually saw a comic book featuring the superhero Captain America punching Hitler on the chin.There were several other anti-Nazi superhero comics. Some of these were unbelievably racist too.
I found the Green Lama comic quite intriguing. A superhero who practices Buddhism..devoutly! :p
Another astonishing thing I found out was that the creators of Superman, Siegel & Shuster only ever received $130 in payment in their entire lifetime for their efforts from Diamond Comics. That was seriously crazy! DC still makes billions of dollars from Superman. We sure live in a great world!
I had only read Tintin, Calvin & Hobbes and various Hindi comics like Chacha Chaudhary, Pinki, Billu etc until I started making this highly interesting and rewarding presentation. I wish I could get my hands on those 'Yellow Kid' comics. They went out of print in 1897 :-/
I remember my younger cousins used to be crazy about some Indian superheroes like Dhruv and Sabu etc. I'm going to have so many comic books in my library!
I have a Japanese Manga at home which I haven't touched. Actually now I remember that I did touch it but didn't understand anything beyond the first two pages which made me abandon the book. I have some renewed enthusiasm now. Think I'll try it out again.
The guy who created the first comic strip in the world - Rudolphe Toppffer was an absolute genius. I really liked his idea of Les Amours de M. Vieux Bois (The Loves of Monsieur Vieux Bois) It was later called as the adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck in English. It was hilarious! He narrated the story of a young man hopelessly in love with an extremely fat woman who rejects him. He describes Oldbuck's numerous failed attempts at suicide. In those days,the idea of speech bubbles hadn't occured to anyone, Toppffer used captions under his panels. I think I'll put some pictures here.
The material for the presentation came from a Michigan University professor! It was actually a course being offered in the History Department! Isn't that amazing? Our teachers here would probably have fits if I told them I was researching comics!
Making this presentation makes me feel like researching some more on some other interesting topic. I will have to think of something soon. Wine-making?? :p
I only hope that the actual presenting part for this presentation which happens on Wednesday goes well.
I found the Green Lama comic quite intriguing. A superhero who practices Buddhism..devoutly! :p
Another astonishing thing I found out was that the creators of Superman, Siegel & Shuster only ever received $130 in payment in their entire lifetime for their efforts from Diamond Comics. That was seriously crazy! DC still makes billions of dollars from Superman. We sure live in a great world!
I had only read Tintin, Calvin & Hobbes and various Hindi comics like Chacha Chaudhary, Pinki, Billu etc until I started making this highly interesting and rewarding presentation. I wish I could get my hands on those 'Yellow Kid' comics. They went out of print in 1897 :-/
I remember my younger cousins used to be crazy about some Indian superheroes like Dhruv and Sabu etc. I'm going to have so many comic books in my library!
I have a Japanese Manga at home which I haven't touched. Actually now I remember that I did touch it but didn't understand anything beyond the first two pages which made me abandon the book. I have some renewed enthusiasm now. Think I'll try it out again.
The guy who created the first comic strip in the world - Rudolphe Toppffer was an absolute genius. I really liked his idea of Les Amours de M. Vieux Bois (The Loves of Monsieur Vieux Bois) It was later called as the adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck in English. It was hilarious! He narrated the story of a young man hopelessly in love with an extremely fat woman who rejects him. He describes Oldbuck's numerous failed attempts at suicide. In those days,the idea of speech bubbles hadn't occured to anyone, Toppffer used captions under his panels. I think I'll put some pictures here.
The material for the presentation came from a Michigan University professor! It was actually a course being offered in the History Department! Isn't that amazing? Our teachers here would probably have fits if I told them I was researching comics!
Making this presentation makes me feel like researching some more on some other interesting topic. I will have to think of something soon. Wine-making?? :p
I only hope that the actual presenting part for this presentation which happens on Wednesday goes well.
Nov 2, 2009
The Yellow Kid
I've finally decided what my second presentation is going to be on! Here's a glimpse for those who feel humorous at times
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