Tuesday, January 30, 2007

hmm

its over, she won it, made lots of money, generated lots of buzz and got a new infamous publicist to boot. the best career move shes made ever, I'd say.

I miss it a bit tho...my new-found daily fix of voyeurism...I surprised myself...usually break out in rashes with reality anything...but this one got me...switching over to E4 now and then to see what they are upto, in the live bits...characters / guinea pigs...

it must be so strange for them...boxed in there with their quirks, likes, dislikes, rants, smells for 25 odd days and then back to living out their public polished (?) image...they must miss it in private...Stockholm syndrome-ish. surreal.


wonder why I didnt take up psychology when I could....in hindsight, everything looks doable and clearer...no regrets but quite a few why-the-hell-nots?

life.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

I'm IT

so, got tagged by Nee...here goes...

word(s) of caution - you might need some oregano with this! :-)

Three things that scare me:
1. my mind
2. slimy wriggly blind worms
3. tiny closed spaces

Three people who make me laugh:
1. woody allen
2. groucho marx
3. anybody who hits the F spot

Three things I love:
1. Travelling
2. Having a moment with him and my lil girl
3. A crazy roller-coaster ride

Three things I hate:
1. pettiness
2. stinginess
3. negativity

Three things I don’t understand:
1. what the *&%%^ am I doing on this lil watery planet thats crammed full of idiots like me.
2. who gives people aka society the right to dictate how one should live when they have no say in one's birth or death.
3. people who can't let go.

Three things on my desk:
1. dont have a desk where I am right now so...
2. ditto
3. ditto

Three things I’m doing right now:
1. rescuing a dolphin
2. writing my paper on climate change and how it is responsible for my comp acting up lately
3. pole-dancing

Three things I want to do before I die:
1. See the great annual wildebeest migration in Africa
2. work on one of my lil dream projects
3. Bungee jump off the Angel Falls

Three things I can do:
1. Guffaw
2. Listen
3. Evolve, moult, change

Three things you should listen to:
1. the sound of silence
2. your subconscious
3. nature

Three things you should never listen to:
1. people trying to make up your mind for you
2. me singing. you might not survive the episode.
3. me not singing. I'm even worse just talking.

Three things I’d like to learn:
1. couple of languages
2. swimming
3. rock-climbing

Three favourite foods:
1. Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese
2. my mom's fried fish (among others)....heaven!
3. Nizam's/Karim's kebabs n rolls n biryani n....

Three beverages I drink regularly:
1. Tea
2. Tea.
3. Tea.

Three TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:
1. Chitrahaar
2. Agatha Christie/Enid Blyton stuff
3. The Old Fox

Three people I would like to tag:
I do?! alright, then...if they want to, that is!

1. QSG
2. Laila
3. Sundar
4. Rain

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

another theory

hmm...so, not so promising for me then. :-)

___

so damn cold here since yesterday...

de-stress

one of my stress-busters is a good episode of Takeshi's castle...feels good to laugh my insides out at some of the segments...maybe its a touch sadistic seeing the participants get all black n blue during their endeavour to conquer the count's castle...but hey, they all look pretty happy if foolish through all the bumps and thumps....

if Japan ever happens, will try and look up General Lee. :-)

___

was telling my hubby yest., how our lives are a bit like BB...we are all put under certain circumstances and have to find excuses, reasons to go on living till its time to be evicted..no one's a loser or a winner, in the end tho...we have our rows and flirtations, our cliques and lone-ness....one tiny planet and we all have to get along even if it means killing each other. the prob is that we're wrecking our home in the process.

wish we cd have learnt some from all the other species here that share an amazingly symbiotic relationship...and its us who're superior given the ultimate tool/weapon, the brain?

more like the weakest link, I'd say.

Friday, January 19, 2007

waxing n waning

I really dont get Madame Tussauds.

I mean what is the big deal about lifelike wax statues of the famous. What purpose does it serve for the general public? So when they are dead and gone, you can still put your arm around their shoulder or kiss them on the cheek while posing for the camera...what?

I did visit the MT in Las Vegas some years ago...curiousity plus part of the touristy thing to do in vegas with the gp...took some rather silly pics with some of the celebs I'm partial too...but it all felt silly even then...trying on stupid wigs and outrageous accessories, that was fun.

so, yes I really wouldnt pay to go see or stand next to or grope wax statues...however uncanny the resemblance....the originals themselves dont seem so amazing to me so why bother with the fake....theres honestly not a single famous person I would want to meet...let alone take an autograph of or take a pic with...thats the way its been for quite some time in my world...boring.

so, dont get it, the MT thing. maybe as a record for posterity...?

___

its funny how in all the stuff abt the two actors getting hitched, there were lots of ppl ruing the guy's fate and how the lady's using him to climb up and all that stuff...

I didnt see anyone, maybe just one or two, muster up the gall to say that hey shes much more famous than him, whatever the reason, and wouldnt she be clipping her wings by marrying into such a conservative family which is clearly a patriarchal setup....she is a definite brand name...a global one at that...wouldnt she be diluting her punch by marrying into this seemingly orthodox place?

I hope its not indicative of apna public's chauvinistic leanings. Sad, if it is.

___

Saw 'Infernal Affairs' last night...really good stuff...as the quote says, almost "out-Heat(s) Mann'...

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

more BB

Channel 4 and Endemol's laughing their posteriors off now...TRPs skyrocketing with people who usually dont have any fondness for reality tv tuning in to see what the blessed fuss is all about....its all snowballed into this big political cultural PC smorgasbord.

Its sad that the trio and the utterly single-celled BF might be seen as representative of multi-cultural Britain. If the show is, as they say holding a mirror to society, the problem runs deeper into the fabric.

M.K. Gandhi once famously replied when asked what he thought abt western civilization, that its "a good idea". Seems like it still is pretty much stuck in the conceptual form. And all it needed was an outsider, a visitor from a remote developing world to open this Pandora's box. Or not.

It might all just blow away and life will get back to its normal un-PC ways. Its no longer about the game which is funny.

But some show, this is turning out to be!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

meet the trash

Have been following the Celeb BB pretty closely...the prime reason being obviously the Indian factor. Today, it seems quite a lot of viewers have complained to Ofcom and other watchdogs of racism and bullying in the house. Specifically, targetted at Shilpa Shetty.

The lil clique in question that seems to not have enough of baiting "the Indian" were just plain nasty to watch in the last couple of days.

More than sheer ignorance, a very low IQ and a latent racism, it was just pure insecurity - given that Shetty is pretty much the hottest woman there who is quite popular with the guys inside. Add blistering spice to it with the fact that she comes from a world these people have no clue about and still comes across as quite confident and articulate.

She does have friendly people in there who seem as mortified as she is at the going-ons. Tho the bullies seem to have watered down a bit now

But what is most pleasantly surprising is that despite her occasional and justified breakdowns and giggles to cover her sadness up, Shetty is pretty strong and quite ready to talk it out with the others. Have to give the lady credit...shes acting with dignity and won't walk just yet, I think.

As they say, every experience, horrible or good, has a reason and teaches you something. For a person whos coming from a fairytale context like her, this is an education.

Am not so sure tho about the other group. Feel sorry for them. Wonder if its really a *developed* nation...in human terms.

Monday, January 15, 2007

much ado abt...

so they've got engaged. finally. two people in love who took the next logical step. but not so simple considering the context they are in.

hope in vain that this should reduce the noise on countless forums across the online world where people evaluate the implications/motivations of the hook-up, passing value judgements (mostly on the lady) and some going to the pathetic extent of character assassination. and these are educated (i assume) people of reasonable intelligence (assuming, again)...who have: a paycheck to bring home, bills to be paid, the trash to be taken out, a good book to finish, the planet to save...

why cant these guys just accept that they're just two people in love, without reading so much of the imagined between the lines.....must be one of the occupational hazards of being a celeb these days...having people who dont know you from Eve or Adam pronounce verdicts on your past and present. and the media's on a feeding frenzy...feeding off the public response to a non-issue and seriously raking in terrific hits & the TRPs.

but I spoke too soon I think when I said this might be the end of the frenzy....rediff has a segment on what Ash and Abhi should do? LOL. I know what rediff should do...get off the topic and get a life! Report on something thats of a lil less personal in nature...what is the need to open up a topic concerning an event in two people's lives to public comment or venomous diatribes as has often been seen in its spaces! Pretty darn ridiculous and distasteful too.

Hopefully, the waters will be calm again once they tie the knot. Or not.

Monday, January 08, 2007

.|.

Life is

comings and goings,

outgrowing

and trying on skins,

doors closing

windows opening

a shared laugh and idle chatter.

Life is

just passing through,

not looking back to see who turned at which corner and if there was a

goodbye, ever.

or was it I who checked out first

and did not notice

they were...where?

Faces now.

The way it should be.

Life is.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

memories, already

our tiny visit to West Cornwall...

Our room in Penzance had the most amazing view...waking up and going to bed with the ocean...the gales howling and shaking the window, the ocean murmuring, the gulls in the morning...

...and the promenade itself...all kinds of people strolling along at any time...couples, loners, families, and yes dogs...almost everyone has a dog or two. The British are crazy about their pets, a fact more evident here than anywhere else.

I miss the promenade so.

Also, squeezed in Sennen and St.Ives. Beautiful.

Promenade





























Good morning, 2007!















St.Ives















Sennen Cove

...

its not going away anytime soon...

step up or down?

So.

Shilpa Shetty's in for an experience in this instalment of Celebrity BB. This shd be interesting.

A shrewd marketing move by the franchise given they will be tapping into the voyeuristic instincts of not just the desis here, but also if they get to telecast the show in India, potentially more than a billion eyeballs.

Wonder what this will do for her career, considering she is holed up with has-beens, B/C grade celebs of the West...apart from her 'Phir Milenge' which was a good flick, she doesnt seem to have much...maybe shes just planning to have fun while creating a first of sorts. The first bonafide Indian entry into non-desi living-rooms across UK, for a month atleast.

Was kinda moving watching her walk up the red carpet in her sari with the desis yelling out her name...wish her the best...

Shes pretty much the hottest in the whole sad motley bunch tho. :-D

__

Train fares just got more expensive here. Its ridiculous given how bloody steep this place already is, compared to anywhere! And I really dont see where all the money's going.

We went for a short trip to Cornwall through the New Year weekend and on the 5 hour journey to the place, the boiler wasnt working, so no hot drinks. No tea, no coffee for 5 hours.

On the return journey, the buffet wasn't open, so no food, no water and no hot drinks obviously. It was only at the very fag end of the starved and parched 5 hours, that they finally opened up and we opted for a coffee considering we were almost home!

What struck me most was that the junta was SO complacent and stiff upper lipped about all the snafus. In the latter case, it was only at the very end that they actually murmured and confronted the rail official. Makes you wonder.

In India, there would have been huge outcry or atleast crowd chatter over any delay or non-delivery of goods. And am sure, they wouldnt be able to hike any prices up without the other parties boycotting Parliament. Mamata Banerjee would go on a fast, there would be traders striking and paralysing life.

Ah, the benefits of a multi-party system. A true democracy, thats apna desh.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

ugly, just ugly

Couldn't agree more.

Saddam didnt deserve the end he got. The execution was unnecessary.

Yes, he was a despot and had the blood of many on his hands. But he could have been left to rot in prison till his end came naturally. A complete mockery of justice...where sheer vendetta was allowed to take over.

The whole spectacle was so debased...something so barbaric and inhumane about the event. Horrible.

There is blood on the hands of the self-righteous too!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

nostalgia

Love the soundtrack of 'Salaam Bombay'...L.Subramaniam's wizardry...and the music has its own special memories for me...a train trip more than a decade ago etc... :-)

idly tried finding it on youtube...funnily enough, didnt get any...got this rock-ier version tho...it does manage to capture an iota of the mood...sigh!