(WARNING: Loooong tag ahead)

Perx tagged me like ages ago! I finally got down to it just err today.. here goes.. I am supposed to list 10 shows that made TV worth watching. Unfortunately I am not a big TV guy these days.. I am a chronic channel swapper and cling on to programmes for an episode and forget about it totally.. So I have modified the rule to fit in 5 channels that made TV worth watching.

1> Cartoon Network and POGO
Its these channels that I turn to when I am really upset or when in bad mood. Takeshi’s Castle on POGO is one of my favorites

2> Discovery Channel
Nothing interesting to watch? Switch to this one.. There is always something good around

3> ESPN/STAR
They are best sports channel around.. Their cricket coverage is simply fantabulous unlike some others

4> Asianet Jukebox
Only mallus must have heard of this. It is a city centric channel.. One can call up a telephone number and select the next song to be played from an on-screen menu.. (I use this to listen to some songs when I go home)

5> Star World
They go the best sit-coms (and The Simpsons).. I hope they restart crystal maze.. so used to love it!

This second tag came from Ruhi..

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Tashan
2. What book are you reading?
Book? You mean blog?
3. Favorite board game?
My favorite ‘bored’ game would be hmm monopoly
(the darn thing never finishes.. its always a tie)
4. Favorite magazine?
RAVE music magazine
5. Favorite smells?
I like BOSS and Versace as long as I don’t have to pay for them!
6. Favorite sounds?
Flowing water
7. Worst feeling in the world?
Lonely… I am do lonely (Akon)
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Shit! Its 11 am already!
9. Favorite fast food place?
Kitchen at home
10. Future child’s name?
Todays “short” names might be long by then.. so something like jo, lo ko would be cool. Hey they are unisex too
11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?
I would do something about my teeth.. they are worse than Indian roads.. full of holes!
12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Used to till I was like 9-10! (no teasing now)
13. Storms - cool or scary?
The one in Xmen? Kuel!
14. Favorite drink?
Chocolate milk (slurp)
15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
Get back to designing.. my portfolio!
16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
I do.. er they are not poisonous right?
17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
Dye me? NO WAY!!
18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
Calicut (aka Kozhikode), Kannur, Eranakulam (aka Kochi), Manipal, Bangalore
19. Favorite sports to watch?
Cricket of course!
20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Her comments make you really think! (not that others don’t.. she just pushes it!)
21. What’s under your bed?
Dust.. wheres that broom?
22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
I don’t want to die in the first place!
23. Morning person, or night owl?
Night (YAWN) owl
24. Over easy, or sunny side up?
Ain’t there a middle path?
25. Favorite place to relax?
In front of my PC!
26. Favorite pie?
Apple pie.. duh!
27. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate.. whats vanilla for?
28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
Sorry yar am a journalist not an astrologer (hmm I wish I could predict)

Tagged to Xylene, manuscrypts, Vijay, Yaake

Anyone else who is interested to do the tag please go ahead.. would be interested to know more about you

Pathetic, lousy, hopeless, dreadful, pointless, terrible, mundane, preposterous, poor, awful.. all these words combined or individually describe the movie Tashan.

Yash Raj needs to be banned from making movies and their studios need to be burnt down for making this movie, but lets hold that plan for a while because they are making “Roadside Romeo“. (I am looking forward to this one)

There was nothing good in the movie according to me, except *cough* that song featuring Kareena *cough*. In fact I rate this movie below “Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag”!
Anil Kapoor plays a UP don and was a heavy disappointment for me! Saif Ali Khan WAS one of my favourite actors because of movies like “Omkara”, Dil Chahta Hai and “Being Cyrus,” he looked too cheesy in the movie.. may be its not him its just the script and the characters which are sub-standard. The movie has way too many plots and sub-plots to remember and by the end of the movie you are left wondering - What just happened?

Ooooh how could I have forgotten this. The stunt scenes performed by Akshay Kumar.. they put Rajnikanth to shame. He doesn’t split the bullet, but he manages to rip off an iron-electric pole and strike 20 odd villains into oblivion… baseball style.. er I mean T20 shtyle! There is also this stunt scene in which he is being shot at by 30-40 commandos and policemen. He manages to not get hit and jump around barrels, parapets, building roof and in the end snatches a gun and shoots down all of them.. sheesh not even Max Payne could have done it…

<< This is what the movie is actually worth!

If anyone went for the movie already, I offer my condolences

Here is the “action sequence I was talking abt.. watch out for the second half of the video

I love wordpress, but why did you have to introduce the changes (and a drastic one at that) out of the blue! Why didn’t you leave us with the option of reverting to the old scheme till the new one is ‘perfect’? This is not an agony post, it is just a thought expressed by many others across the wordpress forum though in different words
I like the main page of dashboard but the changes in widgets page (for example) just made it more confusing and difficult to comprehend. Another major issue has been incomparability with the existing CSS styles

The sheer number of topics the changes have thrown up is an evidence to my point… pls pls pls make it possible for us to revert to the previous version of dashboard while giving one the option to test out the new version.. that way the bugs can be taken care of and the transmission will be a smoother process

COMMENTS CLOSED — PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS AT this topic in wordpress forum

I don’t remember the last time I used a pen except to sign a cheque or to mark my attendance, but what I do remember, is that it used be my best pal a few years ago. I also remember that it used to be strict no-no for me as a kid.
“It is meant only for grown-ups,” my mother used to say while I doodled with my pencil and glared at the ball-point pen near the telephone. I don’t know what attracted me to it was it the sticky blue ink or the magical nib that never broke, I cannot say for sure! I continued to have a fascination towards them until I got my first pen - a sparkling red fountain pen. Now do not assume the fascination I mentioned died off, it just grew into an obsession. Things moved on, the fountain pen was soon shelved and was replaced by a ballpoint and the ballpoint soon stepped aside for rollerball pens.
By now, pens were no longer just quills they were our playmates much like bows to an archer and eagles for boy scouts. The games we managed to create around this simple instrument were not just entertaining they were also highly creative in nature.

pic: news.yahoo.com

Roto-Pen
A game of Roto-pen would make your pen feel giddy. The gameplay was simple. Tie a rubberband around the middle of two or more pens and they were struck hard on either end and this would send them into a dizzying spin. The pen which spins for longer duration wins the ‘battle’.

Pen fight
Pens were like sumo wrestlers in this game and our classroom desk was the wrestling ring. The objective of the game was to hit the opposition pens out of the table by using your pen like a striker on a carrom board. You were not allowed to push your pen but had to strike with the index or middle finger. There was a team game as well as a last-man-standing variant of the game.

Pen Spinning
Pen spinning can be misunderstood to be a sign of restlessness, but it is a sport which demands high skills. It involves spinning a pen between your fingers repeatedly mixing multiple styles similar to juggling. The sport is quite popular in Japan and Hong Kong. The winner in a competition of Pen Spinning is decided depending upon his/her smoothness, speed, difficulty and creativity, while awarding extra points for special moves.

Pen jump (Posted by Ish)

This can be played only with those click pens. You click open the pen, put it on the table and then release it. Obviously it jumps because of the spring and the one who’s pen jumps higher, wins.

A 16 year old was recently declared the pen-spinning king

Do you know any other game that can be played with pens?

Everyone hates those pesky calls which try to sell you products (I was being generous.. they try to force products down our throats). There are many ways to deal with them. Either you can go the way Xylene suggests or do it my way

(to be honest I got it as a forward.. damn my conscience!)

1 After the telemarketer finishes speaking, ask him/her to marry you. – Oh thanks for calling.. I was feeling so lonely in life after my GF met me.. sob sob.. I need somebody in life.. I have everything in life money, car a job… Will you marry me? (In case she says yes, its your turn to hang-up!)

2. Tell the telemarketer you are busy at the moment, and ask him/her, if he/she will give you his/her home phone number so you can call him/her back.

3. Ask them to repeat everything they say, several times. — Eh what I didn’t understand.. can you explain it again..

4. Tell them it is dinnertime, BUT ask if they would please hold. Put them on your speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation. — Oh thats a great plan really.. smack.. slick.. Wow the paratha is owesome.. can I have some more butter pls…. and lassi too.. (I prefer northy stuff for dinner)

5. Tell them that all business goes through your agent, and hand the phone to your five year old child.– ga ga ga ga goo goo ga ga

6. Tell them your hearing is weak and that they need to speak up…. louder… louder… louder! — Hello HELLo… Can you be louder pls.. hello…

7. If they start out with, “How are you today?”, say “I’m so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems…. ……… “

8. Tell them to speak very slowly because you want to write every word down. So.. t-h-e plaaan ccooveers.. aaaall paternal.. eh how do I spell paternal?

9. Cry out in surprise, “Helen, is that you? I’ve been hoping you’d call! How is the family?” When they insist they are not Helen, tell them to stop joking. This works especially well if the telemarketer is really MALE.

10. Tell the ICICI call centre guy to call on your office number (ehm.. low battery.. I like ur plan.. if only you could call me in..) - and give him the HSBC call centre number. (CHUP-chap favourite!! )

Did I mention I became an uncle? Hmm…. No I didn’t. The reason.. I did not have the photos of the baby to upload.. The kid was born when I was in Calicut, but I couldn’t meet him (yes its a him) because of a hartal declared by political parties! =(

Today finally I got a few pics by mail and here they are…

He has not been named yet.. and the naming ceremony is within a two weeks.. any suggestions? The name should start with A, M or S

cross posted at family blog

I am not a big fan of tags and memes, I have been trying to stay away from tag chains, only to be tagged by two — Xylene and Amit!

Xylene wants me to list a few movie quirks of mine while Amit’s tag requires me to list out personality quirks!

I will start with Amit’s one

The Rules first :

- Link to the person that tagged you.Post the rules on your blog.

- Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

- Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1> I prefer to bathe in cold water than in hot water

2> I spend a minimum of 26 hours a week playing games!

3> At home I eat dosa with butter only (that too heaps of it…. stay away sambar, chutney)

4> I prefer to wear two t-shirts even on a very hot day! (absolutely no logic.. i knw)

5> The whole world is out to get me! They never spell my name correctly.. To know my FULL name, visit my orkut profile.

6> I hate wearing shoes!!!!

Movie quirks

1> I used to watch maximum one movie in two months when in Kerala now I watch one every two days!

2> I used to be member of almost all Indi-torrent sites while in college (ex-torrent guru)

3> I hate those dingy, stinking, movie halls in Kerala (pampered by multiplexes u see)

4> Ehmm may be I hate theaters in Kerala but I try to see as many movies as I can when at home because of low ticket prices (cheap popcorn to add to the fun)

5> I can watch any kinda movie no discrimination!….

6> Don’t beat me up for saying this.. I liked RGV ki Aag when I saw it first! (what was I thinking)

7> I worship Mohanlal (ehm reason why I liked Aag.. come to think of it.. he was pathetic in the movie!)

Yesterday was long day; in the sense I was up quite early and went to bed quite late. But yesterday was also the day that got me thinking on three different topics, all due to three different kind of people I met.

The first was a woman who was begging near Minerva circle. I have this funda of not offering money to those who beg with a child in their hand. They poke, nudge and do anything that they can, to freak out people sitting in their vehicles to get a rupee or two, with which they supposedly feed the baby. I no longer believe thats the case after reading a story in Bangalore mirror on babies being available for rent in the city for begging! So whenever someone approaches me for money with a baby in their hand, I give them a few biscuit if I happen to have a pack with me.
And I did this time too, only my hand was rudely pushed away!! She didn’t want food for her baby or herself apparently! She just wanted money! Now why does she need money? To pay for the ‘protection’ some local goon is offering her? Does she need this money to patch the roof of the hut she stays in?

I couldn’t shake out the thought of this woman almost the entire day, it remained somewhere in the back of my head, until I reached PvR. I was reminded of an incident that happened to me last week.
I had planned to go for a malayalam movie - Kadha parayumbol - for a long time and it was only that day that I got company. N decided to come along on the promise that I will translate the movie to her (not a mallu u see)!! As I was the first one to reach, I decided to buy tickets for the movie, I decided to buy the tickets from Cinema Europa where the movie was playing.

Me: Got seats for kadha parayumbol?
Man at counter: Yes sir, how many seats do you want
Me: Oh cool, I need two seats pls
Counter: Here is the ticket
Me: I offered him Rs 500 note..
Counter: Here is the change sir.. he gives me back Rs 180. Now, I don’t always count money I get or check if I got the exact change. But this time something though I did and when I did, I realised that the ticket prices were just Rs 300 and he has charged me Rs 320. So I stood there confused trying to understand where the balance 20 went. The guy at the counter saw my expression and immediately shot me a question… “How much did I give you sir?”
Me: You gave me 80!
Counter: Really sorry sir, pls give me 80 I will give back 100
(I did and he did)

Now I was totally confused, if the ticket prices were only 300 why did he charge me 320? Was he trying to make a small profit and did he just play the ’sorry-sir’ role because he felt I was going to protest? Would he have given me 20 bucks back if I hadn’t stood there with a puzzled expression?

This incident happened last week so was easier to put aside for me then… after finishing my work at Forum (which included buying a few moser-baer movie cds) I was off to M G Road and like always I took my favourite ride in the city! Auto rickshaw.

Autos all over south India have a negative aura around them you know. In Kochi auto drivers will demand all the money in you wallet. In Chennai traveling by taxi is cheaper that auto. In Bangalore your experience with auto guys will depends on your bargaining skills and your ability to maaro senti (will blog later abt this)

So today I wanted to go from Forum to Brigade road and surprisingly no one was out bargaining like they would usually. There was a sign of desperation on their faces and I couldn’t figure why, until the driver of the auto I was traveling in got talking.
Apparently there is a shortage of CNG gas in the city (It is compulsory in Bangalore for autos to use CNG, they cannot run on petrol)
Auto: No gas bhaiyya, hum log auto kaise chalayange? I have two three litres left, what after that…..??
Me: Then why are you wasting that too? Why don’t you wait till all other autos run out of gas and run your auto demanding higher rates? (trying to be sarcastic)
Auto: (laughs) Good idea, but if I don’t run auto today, and make some money, who will give me money for a things I need to buy for my family?

I didn’t have an answer to that question. For the first or may be second time in my life, I felt pity for an auto guy in Bangalore. He was a nice chap, he did not speak another word, he just drove well and dropped me at Residency Road - Brigade Road junction. I gave him ten rupee extra on the meter. He did not utter a word still, nor did his expression change. He pocketed the money and waited there for the next customer. In spite of making a few extra rupees, he did not look happy, he still wore a confused expression which made me feel like he was simply playing a prank on me. He did make the extra ten bucks which I would have otherwise not given and that too without any bargaining at all!

So was that senti just a way of making extra money without having to ask for it? Did he actually deserve extra money because he was going through a rough stage?

Have you sinned today?

Chances are you have, atleast according to the new set of ’sins‘ Vatican has come out with. So what are the new sins?

Ehm here goes:

• Pollution
• Gene tampering (stem-cell research)
• Drug-pedalling

Its nice to see that pollution and drug-pedalling are now considered to be sins. But stem-cell research? I don’t agree. I will write more on this later but now let me go confess for I have sinned! I used an automobile today.. eeks.. I polluted! Oh god have mercy (ehm on earth and on ice at it’s poles)

Meanwhile remember the ‘old’ 7-deadly sins? Know the punishments for them? I saw this at timesonline

Pride — Broken on the wheel
Envy — Put in freezing water
Gluttony — Forced to eat rats, toads, and snakes
Lust — Smothered in fire and brimstone
Anger — Dismembered alive
Greed — Put in cauldrons of boiling oil
Sloth — Thrown in snake pits

Interesting heh!

And if you are a ’sinner’ you might be interested to know what hell is like (look and feel). Silverine thinks it might be like this! 

A bunch of Bangalore kids has been a cause of migraine for babus at Bangalore. These kids wrote on Bangalore and its crumbling infrastructure, on disregard towards their health among youth, and also on many other lighter issues that mattered to these college students.
The bunch, nicknamed Mirror Squad started writing for Bangalore Mirror not long back, but they have already created a space in the minds of readers of Bangalore Mirror. So don’t they deserve some space online?? Well yes they do and they have got it.. Mirror Squad has started writing (eh or should I say blogging?) at mirrorsquad.wordpress.com

An extract from their about section

For those who haven’t learnt how to read images, er, the Mirror Squad is an initiative by Bangalore Mirror. It consists of us - 10 college students, who will write about issues that matter to us, and why they matter to us, as young members of today’s society and as tomorrow’s adults. No, we won’t be that serious all the time. In fact, our aim is to make our presence felt all over the paper from front page to films and everything in between, and have loads of fun while doing it.

PS. We’ll try not to tamper with the listings page.

 

 

Sounds interesting… Now if you think I am plugging Mirror Squad just cause they are part of BM you are wrong.. I genuinely like their writing..

And this is NOT my way of saying ‘thank you’ to Bangalore Mirror for letting me blog from office!