And it became ME T!me

Longer days and Shorter nights of work and sleep would only make one crave for a well deserved break. Me being no exception to that!

Struggling hard to open my eyes on to wake me and my mac. While gmail was quicker - It had already started signaling the world... Sum1s up!!

Coincidentally finding a spl friend online; making opening my eyes easy and starting Saturday with a smile... :)

Dilly-Dallying with Sun and Shower, Not quite sure how else Breda wanted to treat me today!

Knowing its pretty late for lunch. I stash out on a bicycle, listening to what you are listening now; hoping to catch more of sun.

Brushing aside pedestrians with smiling faces after their busy shopping day, I began speeding to get to the cafe at the end of the shopping street.

Although, inches were reducing distance-wise but increasing shower-wise. I am sure, It would have been much lesser than 10 deg and sun's presence couldn't out do the shower and the cold wind.

Witnessing the bright evening turning cloudy and grey within moments. Feeling, there soon is gonna be a heavy downpour. I manage to find a parking space and begin to barge into the cafe finding me a place to get cozy. Only to realize that I was lucky to call for d centre table overlooking the Church at the City Centrum. Seated face to face with the landmark of Breda with just a wide pane of glass between us. I could see sun losing its charm on this monument giving way to the heavy downpour that was soon expected, making the diners from the terrace rush into the cafe seeking the company of warmth and light.

It is said one must get at the right place and the right time, in stead of terming it luck... Well, I was treated well by Breda and T!me :)

With this song "Halo" gripping me totally, making me want to listen to it incessantly. What more could I ask when I was served my freshly brewed cuppa koffie steaming right in front of me, between my eyes and the Church making it a picture perfect moment.

It was a nice feeling being amidst strangers, smiling and graciously wishing me a nice evening talking about the unpredictable weather in a language totally (not greek and latin) Dutch to me :D

No sooner did Sun decide to paint this picture perfect moment to THE PERFECT moment by adding not just light and climbing on top of the Church, but by also filling life into the Shopping Street after the rain and grey time.

T!me for a moment seemed still, with... Rain diminishing to a few drops from sky... grey turning to light.... Kids on their bikes... An elder sister carefully guiding her little siblings... A table getting set right in front of me for two ladies meeting each other after what seemed like eternity.... Catching up on the years they never met while sipping on Wine. Gazing thro' the glass and I see.... A couple holding each others arms expressing that they care for each other, so what if they are old now and they walk slowly!

While still listening to this song which was seasoning the moment (that unveiled in front of me) with a heightened sense of emotion. Relaxing me and making it "My" time to cut out from the regular routine of work...

I sat there stealing it and making it a memory!

I leave you with this thought....

We capture flashes hoping to surf through the smiles with our near and dear ones; soon..... not knowing when that is......

Trying to remember the story behind every captured moment!

Some capture not just moments, but the story and the feelings gift wrap it with words and blog it!

With the hope I have done half justice to that!!

My dear blog..... I promise not to S!lent again :)

PS:
The Cafe seemed like this from the outside, From the inside I was busy carving the moment and hence I was tad lazy to click it!

Heights of Technology!!

I know long time....

Was asked to script an article on "Usage of Technology in Literature" for the book readers community!

I was presented with a choice of writing on either Google Book Initiative or Technology in Literature....

The former was more lucrative and a never heard of (at least for me); Thought lets Google it, but later felt it’s THEIR initiative, they definitely would brag about it! So I binged it. On reading more, I felt it would be more of a Ctrl-C + Ctrl-V [which we as is do at work Against Integrity Policy!! ;) ]

So I chose the latter... binged further and discovered that, for some, Literature is too big a word to encompass the works of Jeffery Archer! While the dictionary suggested it’s "the profession of a writer or author"

Talking about technology in literature everyone would definitely like to accolade Adobe for the PDF

Today almost all books are available to us in that format. Not only saving on the shelf space but also portable (wouldn’t have to worry about carrying a 1000 page book on travel) with the help of my PDF reader or PDA. Not just that but also the plug-ins which convert Text To Speech (TTS). Now you’d have the tool reading the content for you too while you read. :)

Audio Books are yet another way of having books in your pocket (thanks to iPod and all mobile phones). Be it the Barron’s (for GRE prep) or novels. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince strikes the silver screen and one of my acquaintances goes frantically searching for the audio books for the first five novels (so that he’d be able to accompany his girl for the movie!) stating “Thanks to Bengaluru traffic, I can listen to them while commuting” (not that you can’t read and drive with the prevailing conditions!)

How can we leave the search engines like Google [@Microsoft lovers: Bing too!! :) ] and the internet behind? They make research papers from all streams (which are also considered as literature) available in a jiffy!

Hey… wait a second that was literature (novel, poem, prose and essays) a decade ago!
Today’s world adds some more to the list (or at least I’d like to believe so...) Podcast, Wikipedia, Blogs, Twitter etc., the authors need not be an individual but instead a group people. Technology has enabled collaborative contribution.

To ensure you don’t get lost in this world of letters and sail smooth we have Technoratti and Digg to help you with what you want.

Technology is unbiased. It can help a guy avoid skimming pages by a couple of clicks, it definitely would aid the differently-abled. For instance, Touch Screens for interactive learning, Braille books etc.

With technology enabling this much, don’t be surprised when you hear your gal say “Huny! I’ve frgttn d art of lttr wrtng!”

However, technology still cannot find a replacement for - A Saturday noon, bean bag, the fragrance of freshly brewed coffee and the book :) or who knows it may?!?!?

Happy Reading Fishes!

Killer combination: Wine and Water - The English and The French

I am really sorry for being away from you for the last 3-4 months...

I know am giving an excuse... Been actually finding some intersting stuff to bug you with... If you can buy that for an answer.. ;)

Commuting to office in Bangalore for 4 hrs every day has been a ritual for me for over a year and a half.

Lets not get to the question.... Am i being wise by spending my time in the cab, instead of re-locating to a place with office in my vicinity?

Well not intending to give a sugar coating to the bitter pill. I have been justifying to all my folks that i am utilizing those 4 hrs fruitfully.
If you think reading, debating with my cabbies (Prashmob and Rangaji) and conversing with my good old friends is not fruitfully utilizing one's time... Rest assured i am paying no heed to it!!

Remember the Disclaimer??... its my blog honey ;)

I almost forgot to tell you this.. Reading usually is the past time for the onward journey... FM, Debating and Conversing is the routine for the return. No i didn't set a time-table or instruct my cabbies.... it just fell in place.

So one evening.. Ranga-ji (Ranganath) our commuting helper ( it is actually a better way to pronounce one's services, hence the word), and i were discussing about the Traffic scenario in Bangalore (okie.. Bengaluru for those who wish to hear it that way) and we were weighing the pros and cons of "CAR-POOLING" as suggested by Radio-One 94.3 FM, for the FataaFat Generation... Thats the way the brand themselves.. So i just helped them!! :)

Doing so, there goes my cell-phone.. The expression and smirk on my face gave Rangaji and Prashmob a hint that i need to get to a conference with some of my good-old friends at school and continue chatting till i get dropped off. :)

Will definitely blog about them soon... ;)
You got it right, i dont spare anyone!! :)

The call reminded me, that it had been a couple of weeks that we got updates from each other. Btw, We remain connected by getting on to a conference and screwing each other for our foolish doings.. Lest i mention that! Bet you must b doing something vigorous than that!! :)

I can actually get a little foul-mouthed at times, traffic was driving me crazy that evening... Being a little perky that evening... i go like.. "Arvind, pardon my French".

AP: "Goes Pardon my what??...... Saala angrezi jhaad rahaa hai....." as he had to change the topic from the fcukn traffic!!

Talking about english, our thoughts got drifted to our tenth grade english classes and the gentleman (Mr.Vernum) who handled it!! We were pulling his leg for the way he recited poetry and shakespeare.

My mind, picking the word poetry from the last dialouge made me to question Arvind. Dude.. u remember the poem called..... Lochinvar ??

AP: Yeah... don't tell me you remember the lines and dont expect any outta me!

RJ: Duh!! There is something tricky!! Remember this guy Lochinvar to get his bride goes all the way to her wedding to win her hand.

AP: Yeah... go on!

RJ: He drinks wine and throws his goblet n stuff... remember that one line was handled for an hour in the english class that day?? Vernum said it was customary for the english then to drink the wine and throw the goblet.

Now the googly comes here...

The statement which i uttered "Pardon my French"....

Poet: Scottish poet
Poem: A part of English literature,with English customs.....
Product used: Wine - A French product (at least thats what i have learnt till date... It was firstly fermented in Europe by the monks in France)

AP: Are you going to tell me about Globalization and shit??

RJ: No, Where the fck in history did they start to have differences?? lol.....

Am leaving you with this thought, think over and feel free to comment... don worry i wont get foul mouthed.... lol.......... ;)

Hope ya enjoyed it!!

SPLITZ Returns!!

Guess the director/producer/viacomm would hav thought "we haven't troubled the viewers enough", thats y they striked again with their second round of non-stop non-sense!

This time they wanted to award Shitsvilla contestants... "Excuse me!! Are you trying to imitate the Film fare or something???"............. There are somethings which change for everything else there is "Splitzvilla" :)

Anwyz....

The categories of awards rolled out is as follows...

"The most dramatic entry to Spitsvilla" - You said it for yourself.... it was "dramatic".. Should we dwell more on this?!?!

"The most romantic moment" - Every moment was dramatic how did they choose the winner??

"The most shocking dumping" - Buddy.... every dumping was a shock... you'll ensured it..... Then why dis category

"The most unfortunate dumping" - Shouldn't it be fortunate.. for she wouldn't have to suffer more of Splitsville! :)

"The most romantic date" - Eureka!! I thot dates were meant to be romantic!

"The most craziest girl" - Tell me who among those wasn't!

"Best Cat Fight" - There was only 1 nomination and it was declared as the winner!!!

"The most unfortunate girl" - I am not commenting on this!!

"Miss.Einstein" - ?!?!? All were equally dumb!

[ Why do you'll forget.... someone didn't know what T9 stood for!..... On the other hand someone took time to realize 15 + 15 + 10 = 45 ?!??!? ]

You know wat....... We shouldn't be surprised if Splitzvilla team comes back to life and start observing Vishal and Shraddha!!For it is obvious, they wouldn't get into a relationship. Now they dump both (for lack of chemistry.... bcoz on the show it was all a gimmick) & promote Varun & Prianca as VJs!! They are capable of doing this ppl..... :)

Man a couple of weeks of Splitzvilla and i have started thinking like dem!! Eeks i hav been Splitzvillized............ I better stop right here!!

But, Before i stop yapping..........

An observation: This time RanVijay was dressed normally!!

Ranvijay: You didn't follow the dresscode!

Beware... during your appraisal this would be considered as a -ve point!! :)

As it is there is a lot of downsizing going on now-a-days!! So watchout!

The usual disclaimer: I woz flippin' channels and the above mentioned categories were highlighted....... There was more i guess!!

But, pls refrain from assuming I went thro this SHIT!!

SPITSVILLA | SHITSVILLA | FAKESVILA | SPLITSVILLA - Wat is it?

Lets take a sneak peek on wassappenin wid the idiot box...

"Where love is War..." Yeah am gonna yap about "Vodafone Presents MTV Splitsvilla - Where Love is War".

The Usual:

Disclaimer - Those of you who don watch it, i ain't sure if this blogs gonna be of nuisance value to u. So take the call!

Been a couple of weeks that i've got addicted to watching "SHITSVILLA / FAKEVILLA".Man!! Everytime I get to watch it.... This question oft surfaces up in my mind "Are they really looking for a VJ?? OR is it a hunt for a Politician??".

Every episode looks so perfectly planned. The SPARKS that contestants trigger while leaving the show after being DUMPED by the Boyz right since the first episode till the episode where Shraddha is declared winner.

It looks so fake & the director ensured that it looks like an EDITED footage. Shitsvilla team if that is what you'll had intended to do............Kudos!! You'll have aced at doing that. Is this a new Trend?!?!?!? A Reality / Talent hunt Show made as a script for a SOAP!

If they were trying to make the audience feel that the show is live and Real - Team; We aren't stupid enuf to buy it all.

The best part rolls out here, When in between ads you find a scroll - "For uncensored videos log on to MSN.com.........."

Buddy........... If the Censored version (which is being aired every saturday) can contain glimpses of contestants uttering FCUK, BSATARD and BTICH with a BEEP (I dont really understand y do they beep those words wen one can figure out which word is used without breaking a sweat) as every third word in their sentence, and to top the charts Varun n Bianca almost getting intimate during the Vodafone Second Chance!!!!! There is lot to add to the list lemme haul here.

Am inquisitive ta know What exactly happens in the Uncensored version?!?!?

When a contestant quits the show they ought to give a feedback about every secure contestant. SO lemme try that now.

YAMINI - GUess only this lady was her real self on the show. She maintained her inividuality. Ofcourse she was attracted to a couple o gals on the show. So i aint commenting on her sexual orientation! :D

BOSKI - When she was dumped by the boyz, she utters this to Varun - "If you do not find true love on the show, don't worry i'm jus a phone call away! I wont say i would fall in love with you. But i am sure, we can always work something out!" What are you getting at my dear lady??? Whatever, she deserves to be in politics and not in modelling! Lemme wish her luck.

PRIANCA - Well, the director ensured that she gets a BTICHY look. Somehow, I felt she deserved to win for she was really choosy with her words. If BOSKI played politics with her actions then i must say Prianca played it with her words. Finally actions spoke louder than words. But Boski, the spark with you triggered lasted long! :)

VARUN - The guy suffering with Saturday night fever! Finally, he learnt that SXE APPEAL is not equal to DANCING but being a TARZAN! All the best for you. But before i stop, you were a nut to choose Shraddha. Had you chosen Prianca/Heena, either of them would have given you a good chance to win. But, what can you do? Director saab forced you to do so! Else SHITSVILLA would have seemed like a reality show, so dont feel for it! I bet Ekta Kapoor would be eyeing on you. Check if you can get to play the role of a 5th grader in her SOAPS!

SHRADDHA & VISHAL - You'll looked like a lovely pair but anywayz, as the FAKESVILLA protocol demands i should bitch about you'll. Yaar both of you'll are way too soft to be a VJ's. And Vishal, you seriously need some SPOKEN ENG on the other hand Shraddha, you deserve some SPOKEN HINDI; I don't know why were you trying to imitate the accent that Katrina puts up?

Everyone who parted from SHITSVILLA spoke about all contestants! Why on earth didn't you'll feel like commenting on RANVIJAY??!?!?!?

But Ranvijay, don worry i am here to do the honours!

RanVijay - the anchor, The very guy who begins the Fake Show by Yelping "Ladddddddddies". He was so used to doing that, that in the last episode it made him address the boyz in the same fashion. Pity you Varun and Vishal!! :(

If you think only Mentally retarded wear a (WHITE) Tie with Short Shirt and 3/4ths and how can i miss a blazer as well!! Time for a change in opinion ppl! Hosts of such useless Shows have come up with a Dresscode, like how Ranvijay flashed in FAKESVILLA!

So watch out for this Warning next time when you flipping channels. :)

That's all from me folks, meet you next week same time same place till then don't forget to tune into Blogspot.com for more nonstop nonsense! :)

Thoda Hot Thoda Copy and Thode Mistakes

It is better said... "Expect the Unexpected"..

Am not gonna focus on something very specific this time. Happened to read some reviews about "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic", It was described that this movie is a perfect melodrama for a family. Lil' bit of rona dhona etc., Not gonna get into details now.

The question to be asked is... Was it a genuine script or yet another copy of an English film?? On the looks of it, one can easily figure out that it is a stereo-typical copy of "Sound of Music". Before you make any decisions about my statements or even wanna differ from my views. You are welcome to argue. But as usual the disclaimer quotes: "I still haven't watched the movie!"

I kinda checked on the reviews in TOI. Where the reviewer quotes that the movie could have been titled as "Thoda Rona Thoda Dhona". Well, this individual has claimed it to be a Treat for kiddies! Excuse me.... Would someone still say so after watching the Track "Lazy Lamhe".... Huh?? Wherein, Amisha sets the silver screen on fire with her sizzling appearance! Amisha quite didn't succeed in publicizing her zero figure like how Kareena did it for Taashan. That's yet another hopeless movie. Yeah! I went thro' the whole shit! Eeeeeks :(

No personal grudge against Amisha / Kareena. If you permit me, "Does it still sound like a TREAT? Or is it a THREAT to the parents??!!??" :D Guess the reviewer missed out the 'H'!! :P

Now all that's accolades to Amisha for her dazzling looks. Muzic was indeed groovy. You can find the credits for Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy on the following link (of NewYork Times) which is a must Read. "http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/movies/28magi.html".

Are you wondering how come a Masalaa Hindi Film get listed on that newspaper? Not sure about you, but i realized it when I read the entire article to add to my disappointment I find Shankar was rechristened as Dhankar. [Last paragraph 3rd line, Last but one paragraph 3rd line]

Best part is all other artists names are listed flawless excepting for Shankar Mahadevan. :(

Should i say..... lack of Vitamin-'O'bservation for NYTimes?!?!?!? ;)

P.S: Ain't trying to trigger an outbreak like Indian Politicians! But just to remind that, "To Err is human...."

My First Firsts

I do not know where do i begin from.....[ Don't tell me from the beginning ;) ]

Internet made this happen. That's where i saw her for the first time.. She looked absolutely stunning and jaw dropping gorgeous! I remained gaping at her! Couldn't figure out was it jus' another emotion passing like a cloud (euphemism for infactuation), or was it indeed my first crush?!? You really can't control such feelings rite?

Didn't take long for me to realize that there was gonna be a surge of thoughts in the corners of my mind, raising questions like... "Am i sure about this? Am I making a decision too quick? Is this the right time to get her?"

Sometimes you really like somebody but you don't know why! Probably, for the way they are. I felt really possesive about her. I could see her with me in a couple of years to come. That's when Cupid struck the arrow right into my head making me realize that i was smitten by the love at first sight bug :) [Lets not make it filmi by saying, violins and guitars were played!!]

My Thoughts Per Second were out doing my Feelings Per Second.

It was a war raged between Mr.heart and Mr.Mind, stirring a turbulence which soared within me. As far as guyz are concerned Thoughts are immediately Shift+Deleted from the battleground and Feelings are Ctrl+c'd and Ctrl+V'd. After a lot of deleting and pasting, Mr.Heart proved victorious.

Contended that Mind had submitted to Heart, I assured myself to succumb to the next step. Like every guy, I traced my footsteps back to her. I got to know more about her, from the internet and her friends. Every time I saw her I skipt a heart beat. Everytime i thought about her, there always arose Mr.Confusion who provoked Heart and Mind. I am not sure if "Idle mind is a devils...." but for sure it was Mr.Confusion's workshop. Having provoked them, Heart goes mocking at Mind, by saying "We have been through this earlier, and at the end..... you inevitably give up!"

This time Mind came up with a new thought, "How would my parents react?" But, little did Mind know that Mr.Decision was already in place and there was no room for Mr.Confusion any more. I contacted her place. Met her for the first time. I'm running out of words to portray her appearance when i saw her at first (Not intending to make this post an essay). I grew interested in her. It was a YES!

It was raining that day, I decided to take her out, and I covered her to avoid her from getting wet. I brought her home. The ambience and she just blended profusely, for what seemed like eternity to me. Wished if I could remain gazing at her eternally. I held her close to me, helped her by undoing the cover, Unveiling her gleaming body. The curves on her body were vivid, she had them in the right set of places.

Further, I opened her.... [Stop thinking wild!! :P ]..... and turned her on. I was craving for this moment, for it was my first laptop! ;)