The world as seen by Sankoobaba a.k.a. Sanket Kambli

hoping

2012-01-18T09:44:00.001-08:00

I never did stare at the sky..

irony is I never could find the time

the warm sun would be ignored..

so would the shining moon..

someone said just give it glance..

and be washed in the beauty..

for the moment be lost..

in something that doesn't make sense..

since then sky is not the same..

so much that even clouds talk back..

does bring back fleeting memories..

of the time of being a kid..

counting the stars claiming to own a star..

hoping .. for something.. and still hoping..

emotional fool

2011-12-06T09:32:00.001-08:00

girl: I can't believe it, you could not find time to meet me, in spite of we working nearby.
guy: I don't know what to say.
girl: you could not spare time even for a cup of coffee
guy: its not like I did not have time. Its just that going out of the way to do something I don't do.. I ...
girl: we are not strangers, are we?..
guy: no! . its just that .. uhh.. I am sorry..
girl: sorry! yeah .. right...

guy: (lost in his thoughts)
{how can I tell her that since she got engaged, I have been trying to avoid her. She is somebody else's now. How can I even be friends with her. I feel sad. .... feel like a loser .. loser who did not get love but also lost a friend.. .. Wait ! I shouldn't feel sad. How much effort did she take to meet me? How many times did she even bother to call or text me? I mean!! shit !! why didn't I propose to her earlier .. shit shit shit !}

girl: hey! what happened? don't think too much about it..

boy: no! yeah!, at least we are here now...meeting finally
(again his mind wanders!)
{but it isn't the same, anyway, I am sure , he is perfect for her, something I could never be. I always knew she was too much for me. No, I mean we are too similar in our likes, but then don't they say, opposites attract..arrrgh! i am such a ..}

girl: yeah, it feels good..
boy: by the way, how is he? is he still working at...
girl: (she interrupts) didn't I tell you? we broke up !
boy: .................

---------------------------------------------------
p.s. another attempt at narrative fiction, still working on it.. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Mistake

2011-11-18T03:57:00.001-08:00

This is what is referred to as the “Double Bill”. Not inexact terms. But using the theme of mistakes, I have portrayed two distinctthought processes revolving around a similar premise. Ok! I will stop foolingaround with words. Just read them.

“Mistake” Vol. 1 : -

Even after a long time

I still feel regret

Still feel "what if"

friends say it’s called insecurity

I still don’t know what it means

just like i didn't know back then

All the time that I had you near

It wasn't even one of my fear

It should have been crystal clear

as you now feel dear to me

Should have called you when you needed a talk

Should have walked when you needed a walk

Should have been where you were

waiting and waiting with no sign of me

shouldn't have left you stranded

or ditching you at last moment

But I didn't see it through

Had no knowledge of feelings being true

Should have showed that I did care

of course I am now just too scared

afraid to accept that you are gone

become somebody else's soul mate

I still wait not for you to be back

But for time to heal me through

And I hope I don't repeat

the mistakes that I still rue

even after all this time

as I lie here in my dying time

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Mistake” Vol.2: -

free me now

from the love

that I felt

bymistake

I didn't mean

to feel love

that Ifelt

bymistake

I didn't know

that by knowing you

Itwould feel

like a mistake

Because you don't

feel love

the wayI do

Isit my mistake?

Withdrawal Symptoms

2011-10-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Yeah I am showing withdrawal symptoms due to 5 day long vacation from work. Getting back to work after a break of 5 days is not an easy task. Alarms, schedules and routine have to be reset again. Usually 3 day break is enough for me to face this problem, adding 2 more days is always going to complicate things.
I have been careless with my health these last few days or should I say weeks, eating junk food, late night movies, fizz drinks, no workouts, etc. So I need to fix up that part of routine too. Oh no! its not part of any new year resolution. I can't wait for two more months and let things deteriorate further.
..........................
My mind just went blank. I don't know what else to type. It happens sometimes. When I have lots of thoughts but by the time I am ready to write/type them they hide themselves. Its like Anil Kapoor from Mr. India, and looking through red colored glass doesn't help.
Winter is sure to mark its arrival soon, and I hope it chills a bit more than usual. Even though I am not a fan of cold climates, I love change. And since it has been raining crazily in monsoon, I hope it cools well enough in winter. So that I can go on a nice bike trip or a trek to Torna Fort.
Yeah! Torna fort! plans have been made to go to this fort for more than 2-3 years, but never have these plans been put to action. One of my dear friends has said she wants to go for a trek, somethings I promised her many year back. But Torna fort is not for beginners. So I am still thinking which would be a easier trek to go for. Will post about it when I decide.
..........................
RaOne (I know, but not jokes please) and InTime are movies to watch out for coming weekend.
..........................
Arsenal had a terrible start to the season so far, but we are recovering and proving recovery by beating the cunts from stamford bridge 5-3.
..........................
First every Formula One Grand Prix at Buddh International Circuit was superb. S. Vettel is currently class apart. Lewis Hamilton is crazy and imperfect driver but always eventful. Force India could do better.
..........................
Have been listening to some Indian bands recently. "The Echoes", "Skinny Alley" and "Menwhopause". Will post reviews as soon as I can.
..........................
Well I hope that's all for now. More, soon than later

One more tag post

2011-10-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

One more tag post.
1. Do you have any favorite movies? If so, then which ones?
uhh.. lots of movies in this list. Almost of all genres. I love movies. Lets talk in terms of 2011 releases. Super 8, Kung Fu Panda 2, Xmen First Class, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Cars 2, Source Code, The fighter, Unknown, Adjustment Bureau.... and many more.. see I told you, list for a year itself is endless.

2. Favorite actors/actresses? Is there any specific reason to why these are your favorites?
This isn't easier than the previous. But current favorite for 2011 among actors are Cristian Bale, closely followed by Jake Gyllenhaal, Matt Damon, James McAvoy, Alan Rickman and Kevin Bacon.
Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Uma Thurman, Sandra Bullock, Ellen Page, Emma Watson, Julia Roberts, and Meryl Streep round up the all time favorite actress list.

3. Which TV-series do you follow?
None currently, but I did follow Dexter, Big Bang Theory, White Collar, Burn Notice, How I met your mother, and Kekkaishi.

4. Which is the best environment for watching a movie?
Anywhere. I can watch movies with anyone, anywhere or for that matter alone. Even though I used to do it earlier, I haven't watched a movie in theater all alone recently.

5. Unless you’re an omnivore ;P, which kind of movies would you rather avoid?
None. I watch them all.

6. Which is the scariest horror movie you’ve ever seen? How did it affect you?
When I was a kid, I was scared of horror movies, even crappy hindi horror movies. But recently only the Japanese version of "The Grudge" series could provide me with the chills.

Behind the Wordages

2011-10-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Shomoita for the tag, check out her excellent blog >> http://shomoita-dreamer.blogspot.com , after reading through mine.

1. What encouraged you to create your own blog and write the very first meaningful blog post?

Well I found out that my blogging began on Sunday, January 16, 2005. I tried blogging out of curiosity. Just to try it out, and use the only decent skill I have i.e. writing, and since then I am trying to write the best blog post ever. The operative word here being "trying". Anyway my first post was barely meaningful, it was verging more towards ridiculous. Well things have not exactly looked up since then. I have seen many of my friends start blogging and then give up, some even deleted their blogs. I can't think of such a thing. After 6 years of posting, I am emotionally attached to my blog. Even though I don't blog regularly, I am not giving up on it. As long as www.blogger.com exists, this blog will survive.

2. Do you still have the same old reasons to blog or something new added up?

Reasons are still the same. Just to write stuff. Of course, "stuff" doesn't equal literary genius. And this stuff has evolved over the years, but it hasn't taken any concrete form.

Well that's enough of introspection. Thanks for reading, and hopefully I will post more regularly thanks to inspiration from all of my dear readers.

Fussy eater - 1

2011-10-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

I am not a person who has too many likes and dislikes in terms of food. At least when I am not home, I am not much fussy. But at home, I tend to nitpick things about food a bit too much at times.

For example, when having a "bhakari"(Indian bread or roti made of either rice, jowar, bajra), only a certain types of veggies/curries go with it. Any kind of leafy vegetable cooked with chilly and onions is better than a curry of large pulses like blackgram etc.

And on the other hand, while having "chapati"(thin Indian bread made of wheat), pulses curries or dry veggies are better.

Having pulan-pori (Chapati with sweet filling) standalone is not a great idea, toping it up with ghee makes it easier, but its better to have it with a spicy curry to offset the sweetness.

And tomatoes are not my exact favorite if they are sour. I know tomatoes are supposed to be a bi tangy, but a bit too much sour puts me off anything.

I think cup cakes and for that matter biscuits are not meant to be eaten dry, as they don't go down the throat smoothly, its always better to dunk them in hot tea of milk.

But then in that case, such a cup of tea or milk should have less sugar in it or else it becomes a over sweet concoction. Give me a plain glass of milk over a sugared one any day, unless you have added childhood favorites like Horlicks.

I have never come around to liking coffee, filter coffee is drinkable, but tea always overrules the caffeine kick.

But then even a spicy pani-puri( a spicy snack) can give a good enough kick. As long as they don't ruin it with too much ragda/boondi (filling used) .. or make the cardinal sin of watery tasting "paani" that is just salty not tasty.

But then one can only enjoy "paani-puri" after snacking on either "sev-puri or bhel-puri". This applies only when you are hungry, but then if you are not, then why are you having anything at all. Because if your hunger is taken care of, you can enjoy "paani-puri" just for the taste attack.

And this is just the beginning of the fussy tale of eating habits.

p.s. please pardon the typo errors

The suspicious neighbor

2011-07-27T03:18:00.000-07:00

voice1: I can't see anything.
voice2: look again
v1: really..I can't ... wait! I can see movement..
v2: See I told you..what do you see ?
v1: This is not good, it is quite big!
v2: How big?
v1: Come on! I can't measure with my eyes..
v2: Is is still there?
v1: Its still at the door.
v2: so what do you think?
v1: can't really guess the motive..but you know how bad I am at judging.
v2: that is true
v1: "sigh of relief" ......the rat is gone !
v2: my nerves have been calmed by this news
v1: So we are safe for now..
v2: for now...don't know for how long..

At peace, he sits down staring at photo frames of friends and relatives.
Breeze blew in through a half open window rustling a pile of newspapers.

He places a large knife on the pile. Picks up a dart and throws with fury on dart board to his left side, all the while screaming

"Why wasn't I alert at that time"

A cuckoo flutters into the window, eyes fixed on its beauty, he mutters.
"Birds always fascinated him, they still do."

Suddenly he gets up. mumbles to self: "Stay focussed"

Goes across the room, flicks on his TV, and runs a DVD.

He stares at the screen as the speakers blurt out a news report.

Car bomb blast kills 50, injures 90.
Suspected bomber found dead at blast site.

A family of five whose car was closest to the terror car coincidently were later identified as neighbors of the suspected terrorist who was living in a leased flat next door.

Tears drop down from his eyes..."Only if I had...."

The Catcher in the Rye ; book review

2011-07-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

It requires special patience to read this book. Not that this book is bad, but at times it seems too depressing.

But nevertheless its a well written book. The book is written in a narrative style, the narrator is the lead himself. Not only do we get a insight into his personality, but also he explains his likes and dislikes with sufficient reasons.

Beauty of the narration is that when you feel you have really understood him, he comes around with thoughts that will stump you.

The end is the really beauty of this book, and the reason why I liked it. Not that I would have found it hard to like him, as a part of me identifies with him for his style of thinking.

You will dislike parts of his personality or his behavior. But that is also the reason why this book is so good. You like him, and dislike him in equal parts. And its one good ride into his world, as long as you can tolerate his negativity.

Give it a try, its unusual book, you may just like it.

Trivia-

Adam Gopnik considers it one of the "three perfect books" in American literature, along with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby, and believes that "no book has ever captured a city better than Catcher in the Rye captured New York in the fifties."

Mark David Chapman murdered former Beatles member John Lennon due to obsession with Catcher in the Rye. Chapman remained at the scene, took out his copy of The Catcher in the Rye and read it until the police arrived. Chapman stated, "I’m sure the large part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must be the Devil.

Stanley and his chillar party

2011-07-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

No its not any new movie. It just combines two movies that were recently released. One was "Stanley ka dabba" and other one "Chillar Party".

While the first one is more of a real movie without entertaining songs ,while the later is more fictional yet it is very good.

The best part about both the movies is that scenes with kids in it felt written for kids. The dialogues were not sermons written by adults for kids. They were short and to the point told in a kids style.

Child actors acted in such an authentic way that it reminded me of my childhood days.

Both movies deserve applause as they entertain, have a message, sufficient plot, excellent acting, and nearly authentic setup. And more than anything they don't really on star power, marketing gimmicks, item songs, or special effects.

Yet they could do much better, something that portrays a kids imagination gone wild, etc.

Nevertheless a good start.

free your soul

2011-06-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

shift..shift..shift..
shift the gears..
twist..twist..twist..
twist the throttle..
lean..lean..lean..
lean in corners..
wind..wind..wind..
wind in face..
rush..rush..rush..
rush of adrenaline..
ride..ride..ride..
ride till you tire
free..free..free..
free your soul

Stuffed

2011-06-28T06:07:00.001-07:00

I chose this title because I am stuffed. Stuffed, as I have eaten too much "Chinese bhel" .

This snack, as the name suggests is combination of Indian and Chinese styles.

But lets talk about something else. we will begin with movies.

The weekend of blockbusters has begun and one after another super movie is releasing to my and mahendra's delight. Mahendra is one of my best friends, and my best movie buddy as we have seen countless movies together.

Monsoon has dried up, and it rains sporadicaly, which isn't a good thing.

I recently visited a waterfall at kharghar called pandavkada, usually entry is banned as it is dangerous but due to low rainfall it looked meek. I rode my bike to the foot of the falls, and it was thrilling to do some off-road riding.

The reason it is called pandavkada is that "the pandavas" during their exile stayed in the cave which is behind the curtain of the waterfall.

so thats all for now. thank you for reading

The musical tag

2011-06-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the this musical tag.
Whoever wishes to take it up is most welcome to do so.

Rules::
1. Turn on your music player be it, winamp, Windows Media Player, IPOD etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button, listen to the song, and get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS

1. If someone asks you, “are you okay ? ?” you say:

Lookie here momma let me explain ya this
If ya wanna get crooked i'll even give ya my fist
Ya might read from revelation back to genesis
Ya keep forgetten your southern can belongs to me

(Your southern can is mine - The White Stripes)

2. How would you describe yourself ?

You got guns? we got guns...
Yo, I got straps, we got straps...
A million muthafuckas on the planet Earth
Talk that hard bullshit
'Cause it's all they worth...
(Been there done that - Dr. Dre )

3. What do you like in a guy/girl ?

It's time to escape, but I don't know where the fuck i'm headed
Up or down, right or left, life or death
I see myself in a mist of smoke
(Serial Killa - Snoop Dogg)

4. How do you feel today ?

Understand the things I say
Don’t turn away from me
Cause I spent half my life out there
You wouldn’t disagree
(Ode to my family - The Cranberries)

5. What is your life’s purpose ?

She was sixteen and six feet tall
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo
She stumbled started to slip and fall
Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes
I happened to catch her and said,
"maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"

(A martyr for my love for you - The White Stripes)

6. What’s your motto ?

I reckon you ain't familiar with these here parts
You know, there's a story behind that there saloon

(Bad meets Evil - Eminem)

7. What do your friends think of you ?

Yes, it's time for the Dr. Gobbles Show
There's this tower in the heart of London
With a radio station right at the top
They don't make the city beat
They're making all the action stop
(Capital Radio One - The Clash)

8. What do your parents think of you?

Chori Chori ..jab nazarein milli
(Kareeb - hindi movie)

9. What do you think of often ?

Standin' on the corner of civilization
There's a time there's a place for me
In a world where I can't be found
Cold and mean people give me the creeps
(Naked in the rain - The Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

10. What is 2 + 2 ?

Girl you have no faith in medicine
Oh girl you have no faith in medicine
Acetaminophen you see the medicine oh girl

(The White Stripes)

11. What do you think of your best friend ?

The Nurse should not be the one who
Puts salt in your wounds
But it's always with trust that the posion
Is fed with a spoon

(The Nurse - The White Stripes)

12. What is your life story ?

Yeah, yeah.. haha yeah!
All my gangsta niggaz is in the building on this one!
You know! Yeah yeah ya know
It's real!! Hussein what's happ'nin nigga?
I see you, aight Shadow what's poppin BLAT!!
Haha haha, yeah my nigga O-1 in the motherfucking house
(Clap back - Ja Rule)

13. What do you want to be when you grow up ?

Niggaz won't creep these streets with me
cause you know fuckin what these streets'll be
Make you wanna.. then I'm gonna..
cause I gotta.. POP POP, POP POP (nigga!)
(The Professional - DMX)

14. What do you think when you see the person you like ?

was sitting there in a comfortable chair
And that was all that I needed
Then my friend offered me a drink for us to share
And that was all that I needed

(Take, Take, Take - The White Stripes)

15. What will you dance to at your wedding 4th anniversary?

Ja Rule, Chuck B-more
Every thug needs a lady
And every thug needs a down ass bitch, huh, feel me
Every thug needs a lady
Baby I'm convinced, you my down ass bitch
(Down Ass Bitch - Ja Rule)

16. What will they play at your funeral ?

Dil Ko...Tumse Pyaar Hua
Pehli baar hua ...
(Rehna hai tere dil mein-hindi film)

17. What is your hobby/interest ?

Do right, use your head, everybody must be fed
Get together, break your bread, yes, together, that's what I said
Do what you like
(Do what you like - Blind Faith)

18. What is your biggest fear ?

I know 'cos I've seen it
It was great and I want it
There's no point in sitting
Going crazy on my own
(Modern Way - The Kaiser Chiefs)

19. What is your biggest secret ?

Somebody's screaming
looking at the ceiling oh oh oh
everything's so funny
I don't have any money oh oh oh
people don't even know me
but they know how to show me oh oh oh
(Why Can't You be nicer to me - The White Stripes)

20. What do you want right now ?

I've got myself
In a masochistic hold
Why don't you let go
Shake it off
Just to redirect my flow
Come on let's go

(On Mercury - The Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

21. What do you think of your friends?

Lift me up on my honour
Take me over this spell
Get this weight off my shoulders
I've carried it well

(Sweet Talk - The Killers)

22. When you want to rush to the toilet, what do you think ?

Haule Haule se hawa lagti hai..
Haule Haule se Dawa lagti hai..
(Rab ne bana di jodi-hindi film)

23. Person you hate the most is in front of you, what will you tell the person?

Far from the evergreen of old Assam
Far from the rainfall on the trails of old Saigon
Straight from the poster town of scorn and ritz
To bring you the wilder side of gold and glitz
(The Killers)

24. You have just won a lottery. What will you sing ?

I am as ugly as I seem, worse than all your dreams
(As ugly as I seem - The White Stripes)

25. What will you post this as?

Midnight to six man, for the first time from jamaica...
(White Man In Hammersmith Palais - The clash)

Melancholy

2011-06-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hayden:- Listen jack, this doesn't look good.
Jack:- What do you mean? You were supposed to fix it.
Hayden:- I know....I tried....I could not....Its..
Jack:- Wait a minute! I gave you the notes, it should been fixed by now.
H:- Notes are useless! They..
J:- They are not, I got it from the guy who created this machine. They can't possibly be..
H:- Fake, but they are. Nothing works, and now I think we should just run away.
J:- Run Away? Leaving all this mess. Just like that..
H:- Come on! We will call the cops and tell them some supernatural thing happened and now all the people in the nieghbourhood who use cellphones are being brainwashed into killing each other
J:- You have any idea how ridiculous it sounds? The cops will..
H:- Shit! They will blame us for it. We are the only ones who are not affected. And this crazy machine is in our house.
J:- whoa! not our house; your house!
H:- What? Now please don't do this.
J:- You did it all and now you are telling me not to. I have nothing to do with this.
H:- No! No! don't desert me now..Please, help me.
J:- ......I didnt steal it and then use it! ..you did.. [starts to step back..out of the house]
H:- Damn it! I am telling you, don't go. Stop!
[Hayden jumps towards Jack, with his hands aimed at his neck]
J:- ucckk...ucckk...ssttoopp...mmyyy nnneecckk..hhhuurrtsss...uucck..ucckk.. ... ...
H:- Dead...Good...Good?...Dead!...One by Me...!!!
H:- Searching New Target....

[Hayden leaves, and the red LED light on the bluetooth headset clipped on his ear shines bright....still]

p.s. This is my second attempt at fiction. My first attempt was of writing a sci-fi story, a decade ago, so maybe someday I will post it too.

Its time to tag them all

2011-06-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Chocolate Lover (http://chocolatychocolatelover.blogspot.com)

Thank you for the tag. I am doing a tag after a long time.

Tag Name:-My favourites

Food: I love all kinds of food. But more than full course meals I love small snacks of all kinds like cutlets, spring roles, pattice, chaats, samosa, kacchi dabeli, medu wada, etc etc..I love soups a lot...and fried prawns give me a high..as long as it doesn't have brinjals or bittergourd.

Color: I liked many colors, but I wear only a few. Green, Blue, Black, White.

Sports: I played cricket when I was a kid, and still play when my office friends plan anything. But I am pathetic with the bat, but I can bowl decently. I love football, but don't play much. I ride a bicycle sometimes. Also like to play carrom.

Dessert: Jalebi or Strawberry milkshake

Artist/Singer/Brand: lots and lots ..just cant list here all of them. It depends on my mood.

If I need to be in creative/aggressive mood:- Heavy Metal

Calm, yet awake mood:- classic rock

just woken up:- punk rock

stuck in traffic, so don't need complicated:- alternative/pop-rock

in mood to dance or jump around like a monkey:- hip-hop

need to sing a few songs:- hindi music

I also love to try out all forms of music.

Pair of shoes: I don't really have too many pairs. I have one chappal (traditional indian footwear), a pair of leather shoes, a pair of floaters. thats it!

Accessory: my dearest watch, and a belt.

Hobbies: Reading (books, mags), writing (anything), watch movies (on TV or theaters), watching (Football, F1, MotoGP), trekking or visiting new places with
friends, riding my motorcycle, also like to sing.

Beauty product: Protein hair cream/hair gel, a deo-spray (?), sun screen lotion

Snacks: all kinds of snacks, but love chaat more than anything.

Movies: all kinds action, sci-fi, thrillers, adventure, horrors, comedy and animation flicks. Love english movies most, but also a fan of Korean, Japanese and French movies. Also watch many hindi movies, but rarely more than once .

-That's it-

I am tagging:

I am not saying it

2011-06-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

I believed in love and its power in any form except the one between man and woman (marriage,etc). Things have changed though and slowly my hatred for that kind of love is reducing. Still it has got a long way to go for me to become a romantic.

No, I haven't fallen in love. But somehow time has worked its wonders I guess.

--------

But then wonders are something I wanted to see after going to Chennai and I was disappointed. Recently I was on a trip down south. First got down at Begumpet in Andhra. Then after roaming around in boiling heat, headed towards Narsaraopet. It was no better and heat continued to suck out water from out body. After attending a friends wedding, we moved to Tirupati which was much cooler place to be, and a very clean and good religious destination. From there on, we had to catch a flight from Chennai to Mumbai, and we had about 8 hours to kill before getting to the airport. The climate of chennai was a welcome change from energy sapping dry heat of Andhra, as humidity is more tolerable for someone coming from Mumbai. But Chennai visit ended up being waste as Guindy National Park was closed on Tuesday and Marina Beach was too far from Airport also it was the same day Jayalalitha landed at Chennari airport. But overall the trip was good, except the food. Its all rice, and rice and more rice. Coming from a konkan family we are also rice eaters, but I am an exception. I eat rice only nominally due to it being part of a balanced diet. Even though I love many food items made of rice, be it dosa or biryani. I can't tolerate too much of rice. And so I had rice-mares for two nights after returning back from trip down under. I used to dream of being forced to eat plates full of kilos of rice.

---

Ok, I better stop cribbing as it is raining now, and it is time to haggle friends to come with me for a trek in the greens!

Reviews n all

2011-06-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Kung Fu Panda 2 (movie review):-

Absolutely stunning, prolific, funny, stellar movie....and I could go on.
Rich script, gripping plot, and terrific dialogues.
Brilliant voice-overs.
Worthy of the tag 3-D, as it was superb 3-D animation.
Animation standards are not just high, but also a mixture of different styles.
Keeps the spirit of the first movie, and yet reaches another level of awesomeness.
I just don't see any reason why anyone should not watch this movie.
It is one of those rare sequels that does better than the first.
This non-stop rollicking action is so thrilling that we couldn't even finish the popcorn.
Watch it in 3-D and be enthralled.

Ready Movie Review :-

Its part Dabaang, its part Wanted, and its completely Salman Khan.
Other actors try this kind of movie, only Salman Khan gets it right and pulls the crowd.
After a long time I found out that it was difficult to get first day movie tickets, that is the magic of Salman Khan.
Movie has not plot. I think after making the movie, the makers felt happy that didn't require any script.
Still the dialogues will induce laughs/claps for either being witty or silly.
Movie moves along at good enough pace, with a sprinkling of decent/ridiculous songs, and one item song.
Casting is good. All other actors have been well chosen and nearly don't overact, which is reassuring.
It can be called entertainment, it can be called fun,yet you may not watch it twice, and if you do, it means you like Salman Khan.
Oh! did I mention Salmaan Khan rules in it.

Bike Ride from Mumbai to Pune and back

2011-05-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Date:- 15 May 2011
Duration:- 8-9 hours
Distance Covered:- 320 kms
Journey:- Thane - Panvel - Khopoli - Lonavala - Pune and back !!!!
Average Speed:- 70-80 kmph on empty roads, otherwise 50-60 kmph
Fuel Economy:- Not Available :)

Experience:- My first ever solo (at least one way) bike ride ever. And also first ever bike ride to Pune. NH4 is absolutely brilliant. In parts it has bad surfaces, but otherwise it has all the twists and flats to enjoy riding a bike. It was great to ride the bike on the Mumbai Pune expressway, if only for short distance.

Honda Twister:- Amazing power delivery for a 110cc bike, it is able to keep up with traffic, except powerful cars and bigger bikes. With good enough stopping power it is reassuring. Seat is comfortable, but this is not a cruiser, so I didn't expect sofa like comfort. Crosswinds and high speeds are not good combination for such a light bike, yet it holds its line in most cases. Solid and pleasing performance.

Movie Reviews

2011-05-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

Fast Five a.k.a Fast and Furious 5 mini review:-

5 reasons to watch Fast 5 a.k.a. Fast and Furious 5
1) fast paced thrilling action involving hottest cars
2) fast paced thrilling fight scenes involving some super bodied action heroes
3) not one but two hot skinny chics (you can even say 3)
4) Vin Diesel v/s Dwayne Johnson face-off
5) There is no logic, but that is what adds to fun of it all.

Shagird (Mini review) :-

Stellar performance from Nana Patekar.
Absolutely brilliant. A superstar who lifts this movie all alone to new heights.
To aid his performance are some solid actors, who didn't put a foot wrong throughout.
The hunk in this movie, Mohit A. acted good enough, neither bad nor great.
I still find the bengali sweet, Rimi Sen alluring.
And coming to story, it is not perfect. A lot more could have been done.
But it is the pace, style and dialogues that keep you riveted.
Many dialogues are either cheekily obscene or rabidly philosophical. All of them perfectly scented with variety of flavors of character who mouth them. Evoking lots of claps and whistles from the viewers.
Action scenes, sound effects are perfect. And so are scenes of Delhi and its monumental surroundings.
All of them make an effort for us to believe that it is all real.
Direction wise, except the rubbish romantic/melodramatic scenes everything is perfect.
Amazingly it has got no songs, which is great as all that stupid/imaginary song/dance distorts the rhythm of the movie.
Its worth a watch, surely. I would say even more than once, if not, then at least once.

Thor Movie Review

2011-04-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Thor (2011) movie review

Thor kicks ass!!
It is following type of movie:-
"Total Value For Money"
"Please don't end"
"We want more"
Excellent acting and superb casting.
Plot is simple, yet explains the concept of Thor.

It grips you from start to end, leaving you satisfied yet yearning for more.
Dialogues don't have "action movie" one liners. But they are good enough for chuckles and smirks.

Action scenes are well done. Sound effects and overall effects are top quality.
3d is fun, 2d won't be much of a loss.

Old man Anthony Hopkins is still commanding.

Yet it is Chris Hemsworth who steals the show, he is perfect as "Thor", thats the end of it.

Natalie Portman is so perfect in her role, that she ceases to be actor and more the character she is playing.

Stellan Skarsgård,

Tom Hiddleston,

and remaining cast blend perfectly into Thor and his universe.

The beauty of this movie is, that you don't need to really know much about "Thor" and his background. It is very well covered here, but sprinkled with action and drama so that it doesn't end up being a historic documentary.
I would say don't miss this if you like fantasy/action/adventure films, and even if you don't you won't mind it.

Special note to Trivia hunters:-
Similar to the Iron Man 2 movie, at the end of credits roll there is small sneak-peak into 2012 scheduled release movie called "The Avengers". So wait till the end.
Oh Yeah! Also please don't miss Stan Lee in his usual cameo role.

Dum Maaro Dum - movie review

2011-04-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

One of the better films. Script is short, so it is stretched with tolerable songs and a couple of useless scenes. Movie never gets preachy. Dialogues are good, not irritative.

Camera work is excellent except when it comes to fight scenes. They have sprinkling of Goan/Portuguese(?my guess?) words, but its not overdone. Suspense is good, the fizz provided by it is fun too. A bit lacking logic at times, the plot remains believable.

So AB Jr. doesn't disappoint. No complaints, good performance from him.

Prateik Babbar continues to shine but needs more screen time than what was given to him. And also he needs kick ass dialogues if he wants to be a star and not just an actor.

Veteran actor Govind Namdeo is solid

while actor from down south Rana Daggubati is good too, and is perfect for role of Goan boy

Aditya Pancholi continues to be a good(!!) villain.

Now eye-candy is good for those who think Bipasha is hot (me)

and also for those who think Skinny-Bonny Deepika is hot.

And finally Goa. Now I have not been to Goa, I mean going there as a kid (when I was in class 4th) doesn't count. So I don't know how much authentic it is as compared to what is show in DMD, but it looked authentic enough.

They tried to capture all possible moods of Goa and it comes out as competent effort. The drugs part won't scare people away from Goa, but at least it will alarm the ignorant ones. Anyway, a bit more pace, a bit more thrill, and more superb one-liners and this movie would have been perfect.

TV stuff.. what I see..what I could see.. what I dont see..what I did see

2011-04-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

I have never been able watch TV serials regularly. Either I would forget or I would not remember.

But since last few weeks I have consistently tried to watch all episodes of two TV serials.

Ok, they are not soaps/sitcoms. They are animated series shown on two different channels.

First one is "Kekkaishi" shown on Animax. It is action packed magic/ghost/demon themed anime based on manga (comics) of same name. It has original Japanese voice with english subtitles, which means we have to read the dialgoues to understand whats going on, but it is fun to listen to original Japanese words/phrases.

Second one is "Penguins of Madagascar" shown on Nickelodeon. It is a spinoff from hit movie "Madagascar" and has some famous characters from that movie. It is funny.

At the same time of this show on Nick, there is horror mini series on Animax called "Fear Itself". It is creepy, gross, and very good horror. Some episodes are good, some seem inspired while a few are over the top. But for a TV series its good.

On weekends I try to watch "Oggy and the cockroaches", whenever I can. Best is to watch it in Hindi dubbing, it is hilarious.

And Simpsons too, which needs no introduction.

There are other animes on Animax that I find interesting, but not able to watch them because either I don't remember their schedule or it is aired when I am not at home. (Bleach, Blassreiter, Gurren Lagann, Idaten Jump, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan)

I used to watch Inuyasha too, but missed so many episodes that link is broken and I cant make head or tail of the new characters.

"Burn Notice" is another favorite for being smart/cool/tough/thrilling/action all at the same time.

Among other TV serials.

"Big Bang Theory" shown on Monday is another favorite of mine.

I like "House", "Spartacus Blood and Sand", "How I Met Your Mother", "Parks and Recreation", "Vegas" and "The Mentalist" too. But again don't watch it regularly.

Of course reruns of "Friends" episodes never get boring. There are more TV shows that I watch occasionally, so if I list them out, this list would keep growing.

So that is all for now. Will come back with more stuff soon.

variety

2011-04-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

Chinese F1 GP:-

A thrilling race, eventually won by Lewis Hamilton after some hard driving and perfect team strategy.
He ended Vettel's winning streak who finished 2nd.
Webber drove astonishingly to finish 3rd after starting from 18th on the grid.
Button missed podium finish for McLaren as he came 4th,
ahead of Rosberg who had a see-saw race.
Ferrari continued to disappoint with Massa 6th and Alonso 7th.
Schumi was 8th, while Petrov and Kobayashi rounded up 9th and 10th scoring positions.
Force India drivers missed scoring points by finishing 11th(Di Resta) and 15th (Sutil).

And finally Karthikeyan's car lasted the whole race as he came last.

-->>>>> Hamilton is my favorite and I like Vettel for his consistency. So its good both are doing well.

---------

Thank You (mini film review):-
Akshay Kumar the usual cunning/smart hero. Not boring but not as different as "Patiala House".
Real showstealers Irfan Khan and Suniel Shetty, both of them so comfortably funny in their own distinct ways.
Sonam looks starved. Rimi Sen still steals my heart. Celina Jaitley still the same, same as in (No Entry, Golmaal2)
Bobby Deol was average. Remaining cast of actors just to fill up space.
A few decent one-liners, but otherwise average script.
Story is fluffy but at least it is present.
Movie is full of unnecessary songs. Overdone theme tune is not irritating.

-->>

I don't know why I am behaving like a sadist and watching not so good movies and missing out on good movies.

-----

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. ~Pablo Picasso

Man’s greatness is not in what he is but in what he makes possible.

-->> love these quotes...

-------

Dont darofy !! simply karofy !!! just mohabbat !!! just mohabbat !!!

This is tune from a hit sitcom called "Just Mohabbat" which I watched when I was in school. It was fun and this tune always improves my mood.

------

Nikon D3X ..World's best DSLR camera...24.5 megapixel professional-grade full frame (35mm) .... costs only 5,50,000 rupees ....wow...if that isn't super expensive then what is.

------

Sprite (fizz drink) .. their tagline... "First Drink ... Then Think"

If Sprite was a beer brand.... their tagline should be....

"First Drink...Then...No Need To Think"

bang !! bang !!

2011-04-06T23:18:00.001-07:00

I am not back with a bang
not here with specific plan
I try to write what I am thinking
end up writing what not thinking
not making sense is what I love
don't look here for treasure trove
in the groove I just wanted to get
because work I do made me lose my edge
don't try to find meaning in these lines
it don't mean anything if you don't mind
I hope it kick starts my creativity
and kicks out lazy mentality
its been stretched out ride here
to write good post haven't got near

Honda Twister 110 Bike Review

2011-03-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

The following site published my bike review. Please check it out.

http://bikeadvice.in/honda-cb-twister-110-review/

waved away

2011-03-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

i dont want to know what happened

always I run away as they tell me

as if the length of hope is shortened

I drift away through passing life

insensitive is what they think Iam

but my feeling for feelings is there

the tiff that made me stay away

as loved ones were waved away

as I hiked up the mountains

with bottled up rage

even sage couldn't put sense in me

but all it took was a wave

radio cracked of quake news

and of reports of tsunami wave

name of my town ringed in ear

I stumbled down the hill in fear

realization of being late came soon

never could I forget the noon

if I had stayed back with them

throwing away my egoisitc rage

I wouldnt have saved them

but with tears in eyes cuddled them

p.s. This is a ficional account of a guy who is the only one from his family to have survived as a tsunami crashed onto his hometown

The Fighter: Movie Review

2011-02-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Brilliant movie, with solid acting from everyone.

Engaging story with sufficient lessons about life, but never gets preachy.

Screenplay moves at a good pace, and never makes you lose interest in it.

Mark Wahlberg surprises with his acting.

While Amy Adams plays a stereotype breaking role excellently.

Melissa Leo acts so well, she has to be given an award.

But the real "Pièce de résistance" movie is, Christian Bale.

Bale is surely on the path to become a legendary actor, or maybe he really is. He transforms himself so well that all that we can do is admire his dedication to the craft of acting while our jaws drop to the ground.

He has set the bar of performance so high, that not many may reach forget about scaling it. And he has lot of lessons in acting for an Indian actor who is called "perfectionist" among other things by his fans.

Bale has shown that its not about body shape, hairstyle, makeup and clothes. Its also about a few more things, namely body language, accent, character, and personality.

Boxing scenes are also very well done, and they are more like a real match than dramatic movie scenes. And opponent boxers are also not over the top.

The essence of a industrial town neighborhood is so well maintained throughout, we fell we are transported there.

Go watch this, this movie is worth the money spent. Some critics don't agree, but I don't really care, this is one of the best movies of 2011, till date.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep By Philip K Dick

2011-02-07T04:33:00.000-08:00

Mini-Book Review:-

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep By Philip K Dick :-

One of the best science fiction books.

Its not just about technology but deals with ethical questions with regards to Androids. Also touches on spirituality and humanity on the whole, but never gets boring as it maintains sufficient thrill with good pace.

Well divided chapters hold your attention as you dive deeper into the mind of the lead character who questions himself inadvertently makes you question yourself.

The future is so well done in this book, that it doesn't get in your way, and yet you don't question it.

This book was made into a movie called "Blade Runner". I have Director's cut DVD, but I wanted to read the book first.

The author, has written few more sci-fi books, so they are next on my list.

Highly recommended

If only I knew

2011-01-18T02:07:00.000-08:00

I never knew what I knew best
Had no idea what I was good at
Was used to doing what others did
Used to think was right what they did
Never knew what skill I had
Floating through life as events happened around
Never thought of steps to take
Just stepped on the one that was closer
Now when I see maestros all around
I realize why I couldn't realize like they did
Now it seemed easy thing to do
Something back then I could never do
And clearly I feel its too late
I am sure in future I will look back
And say that back then I should have changed
And in reminiscence ponder If only I knew

Back from a sabbatical

2010-12-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

I have been staring at the PC screen, yet I am unable to think of a better starting line for this post. I guess I have to continue typing and see where this goes. Because someone once said, its not about the destination, but about the journey, that you should be enjoying.

Talking of journey, a short bike ride of 200 odd kms got canceled at the final moment, disturbing my mood for the weekend. But since my sister is back from Pune on break from here studies, weekend will be more tolerable.

What I cannot tolerate is one office colleague calling SRK "bakwas actor". Now I am not claiming he is best actor in the whole world, he surely isn't the worst. Talking of movies, I hope at least one Akshay Kumar works, as I am starting to feel sympathetic towards his flopping movies. Yet I have no sympathy for Abhishek Bachchan who continues to work in one flop after another.

What isn't remotely flop is Harry Potter and deathly hallow Part 1. I really loved this movie a lot, and I am eager to watch the 2nd part. I really love the way in which director's interpret a book. It is not always same as the book, but its surely entertaining.

Well, I have no idea how I have been able to type all these lines. Because I have got what people could call a blogger's block. I am just not able to write a invigorating blog post. And talking about refreshing, it is refreshing to know that Arsenal are back to winning ways.

But the climate here has gone bonkers, it rains one any day without warning. Its so bad, people are calling it London weather. But the mood for me right now is French. Oh, yes ! I am mesmerized by Carla Bruni.

Sometimes

2010-10-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we think grass is greener on the other side, and we find out that it is really green, but not edible.

Sometimes I drink lots of cold water/fizz drinks/chilled juices and yet not have a bad throat. And one bowl of (bitter) dahi of dahi-wada makes my throat feel funny.

Sometimes I get tired of listening to pop, or hip-hop but some retro hits of acts like Scorpions/Deep Purple never feel like overdose.

Sometimes I think, most of the time I don't.

Are you wondering why I left this space blank???

Well I said, sometimes I just don't think. And I love it.

Spread the love. Not the kind of love that leads to breakups.

Ok, I will stop before the "devdas" in me, comes out with more negative cupid-killer quotes.

So may things going on..so little can fingers type..

2010-10-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Movies:

Watched "Taken", a french action film starring Liam Neeson. Enjoyed the thrills. Watch it!

Music:

I have been listening to DMX and Eminem after a long time, a welcome change from Scorpions, Metallica, and Marilyn Manson.

Food:

Had a filling lunch of yummy Palak-Paneer and Butter Naan. Loved it. When it becomes difficult to choose from a menu due to confusion, I go for palak-paneer.

Climate:

A bit dry and slightly chilly in the morning, a bit hot into the day sometimes, stuffy in the evening, cools down through the night. I forgot November is approaching.

Work:

Lots of changes, lots of work, lots of decisions.

Bike:

Completed 500kms (only??).

Football:

Arsenal best Birmingham 2-1 with goals from Marouane Chamakh and Samir Nasri, after being a goal down.

I have lost it!!

2010-09-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

I have lost it. No, I am not talking about my virginity. I have lost my stamina for gluttony. I am aware of the fact that it is one of the so-called 7 deadly sins (Morgan Freeman,Brad Pitt movie). And reality is that I can't anymore eat plateloads of food without breaking a sweat (if it is a A/C room).

I am not sure I know the reason behind this loss of appetite. Earlier eating out with friends/family never saw food wasted due to over-ordering, as I was able to finish off everything, with my friends comparing my eating capacity to that of bike's fuel tank.
Maybe it is because I have become flab conscious. Because even though I never became obese, I did gain weight, as compared to my skinny-look of college days. And now the target is always to eat less calories than what I consume. Neither do I work-out everyday nor I am a couch-potato. But of course, I have found that, eating less takes less effort than doing a rigorous physical work out.
So maybe I do know why eat less, especially during late dinners with friends/families. Food intake is so less during these late hours, that sometimes a bowl of soup is enough for me. In spite of that I don't mess around with my breakfast and it is as filling as it is was.
I guess eating less at the end of the day, isn't such a bad thing.

New Bike, ... Upgrade or Downgrade

2010-09-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

That is Bajaj Pulsar 180, my first bike. I called it "Road Runner" Owned and enjoyed it from 2006 to 2010. Clocking more than 35,000 kms. And then sold it.

And bought this, Honda Twister.

Now those who are tuned in to bikes or automobiles in particular would have observed the clear downgrade in terms of CC (or cubic capacity) of the engine.

The trend is that people upgrade, usually from 100cc to 150 cc bike, from small car to big car, so forth and so on.

So not only I was breaking a trend, I was also making changes in my riding habits. Mainly in terms of power difference, and bike handling.

But technical issues and social trends aside.

My old bike was giving problems, due to my heavy/rough riding and also it being my first bike, it had share of accidents/incidents. While Bajaj haters would say Bajaj bikes are not reliable, I would say, a bike turns out how you maintain it. And my riding meant maintaining it was eating into my wallet already light due to low fuel efficiency.

Then during my decision making, came the news the fuel prices were being deregulated. Which meant companies could change fuel rates whenever they wanted. Also Dad said buy a bike which he could ride as he found Pulsar too powerful.

Finally I looked at bike magazines for opinions and buyer guide. And there, I saw pictures. Not of this bike, but of bike trips.

I remembered the days when bike trips were more frequent. And reality was that my biker group had split and they had all moved on to not riding bikes to trip, instead renting a car or something.

And with high maintenance and fuel costs, solo rides were not only expensive, but risky if bike broke down somewhere.

And finally I wanted to experience a fuel efficient bike, the feeling of not having to visit the fuel station frequently.

Friends said, you will miss the power, I said, maybe I will. But at least I have experienced power. Not let me experience this.

And about viability of such low powered bikes for long trips was answered by people who have ridden minimum 500 kms in a day on 100-125 CC bikes, and not only that they have ridden such bikes in merciless terrain of Himalayas with sufficient luggage.

But then there was a problem that fuel efficient bikes were not that good looking. Well that worry was wiped out by Honda Twister.

So is it a downgrade or upgrade? I don't care, all I know its something different.

It has self start, so no kick-starting the bike. (Same as old bike)

Disc brakes, for accurate braking (again not a downgrade)

Tubeless tires (upgrade!!)

Most powerful engine in its class (same as old bike)

Maintenance free battery (again same)

Very good handler (they use it for racing in a championship in Chennai)

Dashing looks and distinct color (same as old bike)

And it has the famed Honda reliability and a confident 5 year warranty on engine/gearbox/electricals.

Now that I have learnt from my mistakes, I have to be more careful with my bike. More than anything staying within limits of my skills.

And get on with the business of logging more kms, and visit some great places.

So lets button start a new adventure on my yet unnamed bike. Suggestion for names are welcome

p.s. I had shortlisted different names like Shrek (its green), Poison Ivy, Green Day.

Theo Walcott is on fire !! Hat-trick man!

2010-08-21T13:41:00.001-07:00

Arsenal's hat-trick hero Theo Walcott celebrates.

Arsenal shot 6 goals past 10-man Blackpool.

It was joyous occasion for many Arsenal fans, including me, to see youngsters like Walcott, Chamakh, Diaby, Wilshere play well. But it wasn't just youngsters, but also players yet to show true potential like Rosicky, who has been out due to injuries, who showed why he is called good.

And also Arshavin, whose performance in 1-1 draw with Liverpool was called uninspiring. Other team regulars like Sagna, Clichy, Vermaelen were solid as usual.

Song did well as center back. Well I could just say whole team played really well. Now we just need to play with same consistency against other teams, who may not be this weak to allow 6 goals (except Wigan I guess who have conceded 10 goals in 2 games).

And finally score more goals than we conceded, its that simple, but not as simple as it looks.

Best wishes to Arsenal! Go Gunners!

Why is it

2010-08-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

Why is is that, after sporting a french beard (the kind Hans sported in Die Hard movie), you shave it off and my face seems empty.
It seems as if there was a painting and someone just removed it and now there is just a empty frame.
So to avoid emptiness I decided to leave a bit of facial hair in the form of goatee. I like to experiment with my look. It is interesting to note how perception of people towards you changes by addition/subtraction of beard or mustache.
So if I clear the mustache and keep a beard, mom says thats a muslim style. I furthur found out Amish people and some muslims actually do that.
Sometimes due to my french beard some people ask me if I am christian.
So its really funny how people are over enthusiastic to stereotype others.
Like if I say I listen to dido/nelly furtado, I am quickly stereotyped as a pop fan, and I am asked if I like Britney Spears. And this comes without realizing that I am not your typical music listener who listens to one genre of music. And my playlist has not only dido, but also BIG, Dre, Korn, Scorpions, Joe Satriani, Green Day, Indus Creed, Johnny Cash, Mohd. Rafi and many more music acts cutting across genres. My motivation to listen to different kinds of music is not only to appreciate and understand all music forms but also because I listen to different kinds of music according to my mood.
So if I am riding bike, I don't listen to heavy metal, as it makes me ride in rash manner, so its usually punk rock, as it is simple and doesnt take up too much concentration while riding.
If I need to lose some pent up energy then what is better than some air guitaring while listening to iron maiden or for that matter KISS.
When I need to listen to soothing voices its usually dido/nelly furtado/KT tunstall. And if I am really down then Mark Knoffler, Johnny Cash.
Then when I am walking through my childhood neighborhood, I listen to retro classics like Scorpions, Deep Purple, Doors.
When its time to move to a beat its usually some copied bollywood dance number or some crazy hip hop beat like JayZ.
When my mind is over run by english songs I playback some hindi songs that I like both old and new, from Mohd Rafi to Adnan Sami.
Now that doesn't make me a loyal fan of anything, and this doesn't even cover all the music acts that I love. Still I have just begun and there is a list of movies I love yet to come.
But I will stop and hope that people don't stop.
I hope people keep stereotyping me, there is more fun in making people think something you aren't. And then shocking them by doing something they didn't expect "my kind" to do.
Adios ! Amigo! gotta go to work!

p.s. pardon the spelling/grammatical mistakes, I haven't proof read it.

when are you marrying

2010-08-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

I see them everywhere
they are called happily married
together they find happiness
separated they are lonely
it scares me to the bone
I never knew I was paranoid
when people ask me many times
when are you tying the knot
I wonder if they seek my smile
or want to join them in pain
as they realized the bindings
of a clichéd heavenly match
for me its not a matter of hate
maybe it can be termed as fear
of being ruled by a tyrant
it may seem I am demonizing
a nice prospective bride
but once crowned wife
she will be lord of my life
laying down rules day-to-day
list of chores that overflows
sharing sovereign couch
conceding TV remote
and then watch in horror
as dark days descend on me
and filled with sarcasm
will run around asking
my friends when they marrying

p.s. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

What I am doing, when I am not working

2010-08-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Nowadays I am too busy. Ok, not in the truest sense. But yeah, in a way. So I am busy watching Star Wars. Not one movie, all the 6 movies. Since I don't have luxury of time. I have only finished watching 3. So more to come. I have seen all the movies earlier, but I love Star Wars, so I am watching again.
This movie marathon has begun after I watched the "Alien" quadrology (4, out of which 2 are best).

Maybe I will put some reviews later, but not for now.

Oh! yes, one more thing, I am trying to see if I like any shows on Animax channel, but it is very difficult. Only one I saw was InuYasha, which wasn't exactly cool. Any tips for better shows on Animax.

So that's the movie/TV part, in music I am out of the contemporary music mode, and diving straight into 80's music, I agree KISS are not best of its era, but. I like their songs. After KISS, it will be Doors.

So take care guys, will be back with some decent post and not one-liner post like this.

This is Sankoo-Skywalker signing off. May the force be with you.

Khatta Meetha : Movie Review

2010-07-23T13:00:00.001-07:00

Let us first talk about the hatred of critics and "so-called" sophisticated moviegoers with regards to Akshay Kumar and his movies.

He never claims any of his movies to be life-changing movies with a social message or poignant dramas.

Still if they find out Akki's movie is comedy they go expecting Hera-Pheri.

If they know that it is action, they think they will get Die Hard.

If it is serious they think it will be a satritical/black comedy etc like RDB, rajneeti, dr strangelove.

If he does something different like Tasverr 8x10, they don't even bother to watch
and so on.

When in reality his movies are really simple, they try to entertain, banking on him, and trying to sell to people what they had liked in him.

Of course most of the aforementioned people dislike it.

They complain he doesn't experiment like Aamir Mamu, well since his efforts are never appreciated he doesn't mind the mindless entertainers. At least, that way, he keeps getting paid and so do the film technicians and also the film critics.

Well since I am not a critic, but just a movie lover. Lets not fall into same Akki-bashing routine.

Lets talk about Akki's latest movie.

It is khatta-meetha.

Its like eating noodles, as you slurp the noodles, it takes time for the long noodle to end up in your mouth, only then releasing true mix of taste. But not everyone likes noodles.

So in short its a mix of comedy-melodrama-social issue-action in typical Akki style.

Johnny lever in cameo is hilarious as usual.

Rajpal Yadav stay in character, plays it best in his style.

Akshay Kumar grips each scene and keeps you entertained.

Other good actors in different roles are competent and not sloppy.

Trisha Krishnan may not win too many fans due to her looks, but then her acting was also not superb. While Urvashi Sharma looks stunning.

Direction and camera work has no fault. Like I said, plot is like a bowl of noodles.

Dialogues are witty/sarcastic when trying to be funny, yet the social awareness ones are not too preachy.

A song or two feels forced.

First half is stretched too long.

Since it doesn't cater to any specific kind of audience, it maybe its only biggest disadvantage.

It has little bit of everything, but not everything for everyone to like it.

So all those with expectations of avantgarde cinema, stay at home. Others who don't mind giving Akshay Kumar a chance to impress you, then give it a try.

Inception: quick movie review

2010-07-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Watched Inception, and I want to watch it again. Christopher Nolan and Leonardo DiCaprio fans shouldn't miss this. If that is enough reason for you to watch this sci-fi/action/thriller, then don't think any more, just go and watch it.

For others who are less convinced, here are a few more reasons.

It cannot be slotted as sci-fi or thriller or action/adventure. It is something of all.

Go with an open mind, you will enjoy it. Go with skeptical mind, you will analyze and debate it.

Acting is perfect, style and cinematography is pristine.

No over the top special effects.

Pacy and intricate storyline, competent plot, sufficient thrill, open ended climax and a mysteriously enticing intelligent concept backing it up.

Tea time story

2010-07-11T23:07:00.001-07:00

I have had enough of this. I am going to get my cup of tea. With these words I entered the pantry of my office. I was reluctant to prepare tea for myself, as I had been used to getting tea served at my desk at my last workplace. But the temptation to have tea overpowered my laziness. I had already observed others, as to how they operate the "hot pot" to pour tea/water. And so I tried to follow the same process; pour some hot water, then some milk and put the tea bag, then add sugar, and mix it all up. Not only was the milk lukewarm. The tea bags were not dripping the flavor quickly. The end result tasted less like tea and more like flavored milk. Well, one more reason for not making tea. But then what should I do when I am tempted to have tea? Maybe I should carry a thermos filled with hot home-made tea. Maybe! Or practice to make better tea with those stupid Tetley tea bags.

Spain win the World Cup for the first time.

2010-07-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

image sourced from www.sportinglife.com

So Spain are world champions.

After being crowned European champions, they held their nerve against Holland, to become World Champions for the first time in their history.

Hyped and expectant teams went out of the world cup, as two unlikely teams (even though they were my fave) battled out in the 2010 World Cup Final. Andres Iniesta scored a late goal in extra time to save Spain from Penalty Shootout trouble.

Holland played well, but lost their nerve, while Spain were more patient in a way. Maybe it was confidence that they could win it in spite of taking off David Villa. Whatever be the reason, they have won it. And this golden generation of Spanish players will be applauded by many.

From Arsenal perspective, its good that one of the Gunners, Fabregas will be able to lift the World Cup. Still, it does bring forth the question of his move to Barcelona. Anyway we will know it sooner than later, whether Fabregas will be Gunner for another year or not.

Robin Van Persie was dejected as was any Holland player, I hope it fires him up to do well for Arsenal, and I hope he stays injury free from now on.

So now that World Cup has ended, its time to move on to Premier League. As new season begins, lets dream that Arsenal are crowned champs, and realistically hope that Arsenal finish at least second or win European Cup, now thats wishful thinking. More on that later.

World Cup Mania nears its end

2010-07-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well, my Facebook status had mentioned that in the face of my liking of both Germany and Argentina, I had decided to side with Germany on back of their good attack and solid defense, as I had felt Argentina didn't have good defense.

Well, my words sounded true, as Germany shot 4 goals past Argentina. Even though I never had complains with their attack, I had this nagging feeling that if they had gone 1 goal down in the first few minutes they would find it tough to come back out of it. While the Germans in same situation would have fought back, as they have already faced 0-1 loss.

Well, with the Spanish finally finding the net in the last few minutes, have setup a match with the Germans. To defeat the Germans not only do the Spanish need to improve their finishing, but also their defending, or else we may see another set of 4 goals shot by. Thomas Mueller will sadly miss the game. So even if both teams are my favorite. I think Germany seem unstoppable, unless of course the Spanish possession masters (Cesc! Cesc! score a goal!!) create some magical chances and Villa/Torres doesn't waste them. Go G-E-R-M-A-N-Y

Along with that, another yummy match coming up. Oh yes! Robin van Persie will get another chance to score a goal at the world stage as the Dutch try to score more goals than Diego Forlan's Uruguay, who are the last S. American hope. Go Oranje!!!!!

In both matches Arsenal players will have chance to shine!

a poem written by me

2010-07-03T01:27:00.000-07:00

I have posted a new poem on my poetry blog, please do check it out and give feedback.

Here is the link.>> Click Here

footie crazy .. goals galore

2010-06-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

gooooooaaaaallllllll

not one!!! but seven..

In my last post I said, Portugal were disappointing and so were Ivory Coast. Well, Portugal have erased all that with their performance. hats off to them.

C. Ronaldo as a player is very talented, but his attitude and play-acting do irritate me. And being Arsenal fan I have very few reasons to like him, other than for his football skills. But lets not get there, the point is it wasn't just one man show, and Portugal played well as a team.

I am not sure I would rate them as Final candidates, but they surely can't be ignored. The reason is they had one good match, but so did Germany.

So lets hope they don't crumble against Brazil. A spectacular win can lift confidence, and a team on confidence is unbeatable, as long as they don't get complacent.

So will I add Portugal in my world cup favorite's list? No! not right now.

For now its still Argentina/Holland/Germany/Spain. Yeah I shuffled it, according to their performances.

And what to say about the fighters and underdogs. Lots of them in this edition of world cup. Low-hyped or Underdogs: - Uruguay, Mexico, Paraguay, Chile, Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal

Fighters: - Greece, Swiss, USA, Serbia, Slovenia, Ghana, Japan, New Zealand, Australia

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Analysis (Dissapointments)

2010-06-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

Group A: -

France: - Spiritless performances. Is playing in world cup, not enough incentive.

Group B: -

Nigeria: - Tournament in African continent felt like best chance for them to excel, alas! they were in a tough group of fighters (S. Korea, Greece).

Group C: -

England: - I don't agree with England being called failure of talented players, I call it failure of over-hyped players. They need radical changes in team lineups, which will not happen easily.

Group D: -

Germany:- Loss was shocking, considering a 4 goal victory in their previous match.

Group E: -

Cameroon: - Another african team looks like going out.

Group F: -

Italy: - They are on level on points with New Zealand, and are second placed.

Group G: -

Portugal: - Tough to choose between them and Ivory Coast, still this team since they are a more hyped team.

Change in choice from Portugal to Ivory Coast, as Portugal manage to shoot 7 goals past N. Korea.

Group H: -

Spain: - Biggest shock for me. But not too surprising, due to over attacking players, super passing and rubbish finishing.

<=These are for me the biggest disappointments of their group, some among these may clear group stages, but not all=>

p.s. For Arsenal fans!! Bendtner scored !!!! Now for Cesc to rock and roll!!!

Shreewardhan Bike Ride

2010-06-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Please reduce the volume as there is lot of wind chatter. The video was taken by my friend while I was riding along the Shreewardhan beach. Beautiful beach!!!

==low quality video==

Football Mania

2010-06-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

I know FIFA World Cup 2010 has already began, but I had something to talk about its effects on me. Its not easy deciding which team to support as some players I like are spread around in different nations. Anyway, looking at team lineups my favorites are Spain, Argentina, Germany, Holland.

But that is not what I am writing about here. Right now, I am sitting here typing, as my head is hurting, throat is itching, and eyes are drowsy. But the spirit of football is keeping me awake. Awake so that I can watch late matches (11.50 PM).

And consecutive days of watching late matches will surely take a heavy toll on my health, and also my ability to focus at work. So I may have to miss some matches, or parts of it and rely on highlights. But at least the weekend will be devoted to football.

Well, thats all, I have to say for now. adios!!

Rajneeti Movie Review

2010-06-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

Excellent political drama.

Very good dialogues.

Strong story with elements from Mahabharat and Godfather.

Excellent casting and solid acting by the star cast.

Nana Patekar gives a subtle and subdued performance that woos you.

A bit long with stretched 2nd half.

Thankfully no stupid songs.

Ranbir kapoor for the first time impressed me.

While other stalwarts were stupendous.

Katrina Kaif does well too.

Arjun Rampal continues to improve.

If you like serious movies don't miss this.

Shrek Forever and After: Movie Review

2010-05-23T02:53:00.000-07:00

Watched Shrek Forever and After:-

It is a fun filled thrilling adventure.

If you don't mind love stories and fairy tales, you shouldn't miss this one.

It is an engrossing movie, makes you wonder why it doesn't go on and on.

Animations are top-notch, 3-D effects are subtle.

All voice-overs are superb and whacky.

Villain of the story is very well and evil, as he should be.

Love stories are rarely well said than this (p.s. Anurag Basu).

It is a perfect combo of fairytale, fantasy, humor, drama and life lessons.

It is said its final part of Shrek series, so what are you waiting for?

"Shrek Forever After- gives us the chance to fall in love with the entire franchise all over again. Only you don't have to sign your life away to figure that one out." - Adam Tobias

Movie Review : Kites

2010-05-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

Paid Preview of KITES :-

Slow love story with mix of action.

Hrithik Roshan is excellent but at times felt confused about emotions to show.

Barbara is hottest and acted quite competently, at times felt like overdoing "I am sexy latino" thing, but yet nothing you would found too unusual

The villain (Nick Brown) is average/boring. He just makes faces and shouts, no menace, in beginning he does well, then it deteriorates.

Kabir bedi and Kangana (cutie!!) are wasted.

Not much of a story, and english-spanish dialogues had neither smart one-liners, nor regal romantic quotes.

Chemistry between the leads was there, but yet, something was missing.

In the first half you may think the movie will pick up pace, but the thrill is absent and whatever scope there was for adrenaline has been wasted on excellent cinematography.

A very stylish movie, which fall shorts in other departments, except Hrithik Roshan who was good. But is it enough to carry this movie forward, I doubt.

Hrithik Roshan fans don't miss it, others can watch on TV.

Iron Man 2 : Movie Review

2010-05-10T18:51:00.001-07:00

I watched Iron Man 2 on Saturday.

It is an explosive action packed Block Buster.

Robert Downey Jr. shines throughout, he adds something more to any character he plays.

Don Cheadle and Mickey Rourke were underused but were solid, Scarlett Johansson is yummy, Sam Rockwell and Gwyneth Paltrow are perfect in their roles.

Movie has excellent special effects.

It has decent storyline, good one-liner's and exciting pace.

Super heroes have issues too, and Tony Stark has them king-size and he handles them in his flashy yet quirky style.

Some say 1st movie was better. I say chuck the comparison and go out there and enjoy.

Masala .. Housefull .. Strike .. Thoughts

2010-05-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

Post Dated: 02 May 2010

I am sitting in shade on the terrace of my apartment as the May heat thaws assortment of red chilies left out to dry. Yeah I am in place of a scarecrow, to scare away, not just crows, but also pigeons and sparrows, or at least those curious enough to poke their beaks into the chilies.

The chilies are being dried for our well known “Malwani Masala” which we (mom/dad) make at home for “domestic consumption”. Yeah we do give some to friends and relatives. I just love it. I love spices, so much that sometimes I cant eat pizza without adding Tabasco sauce. Non spicy authentic pizza tastes good, but sometimes I miss the spice. All this food talk makes my stomach growl. Hungry!!!

Post Dated: 04 May 2010

Mumbai suburban railway motormen strike has finally been called off, ending hell for many. I ride bike to work so I was affected only by the increased road traffic due to non-operation of trains.

Also watched Housefull on Monday.

A typical Sajjid-Akki flick.

Its a no-brainer comedy with a dash of emotions and stupidity. You may enjoy it once, but if you like movies like Hey-Babby, De-Dhan-Dhan, etc you may like it a lot.

Boman Irani very good but slightly over-the-top.

Arjun Rampal had a small part but was ok, his real test would be “Rajneeti”.

Among the girls, Deepika was enchanting; Lara kept up the oomph factor, while Jiah was sparsely used.

Randhir Kapoor seemed drunk or too-jolly throughout. Not a great comeback.

Akshay Kumar was solid as usual. He was funny and sensitive but within the boundaries of his movie character.

A fun filled entertainer where there is negligible over acting. Critics will hate it, masses will love it. Just watch it to be entertained not to learn a life altering lesson. You decide.

Awards Nite!

2010-05-01T09:03:00.001-07:00

gracias! thanks a lot to chocolatychocolatelover for this award.

According to the rules of the tag. I need to tell 3 good things about me. But also that I have freedom to add more if I want.

>>If I dedicate myself to something or someone, I put my heart into it and also all my effort.

>>I can really plan things very well.

>>I also write quite well, usually better than I can speak.

>>I am quite good at riding two-wheelers, from a bicycle to a motorcycle.

Ok, enough of self boasting.

I pass on this award to Niyati, Shruti, Chandrika, Pooja, chocolatychocolatelover, gentlewhispers, humming words, tys on ice, priyanka, Tasha, Sameeta, Priyanka M, Radhika M , Refak, Sonali, Rajlakshmi, Sorcerer

Sure I can write! uhhh.. I hope so.... uhhh...

2010-04-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what to post. Earlier a flash of creativity used to make me post something good. Nowadays my posts have become like Facebook updates. Of course, I can't deny that morning tea tastes good only when reading newspapers or facebook status updates.

Its Sunday, and steaming/yummy poha is enticing me so I should try and post a bit faster. But its really difficult because I am still staring at this small plant on my desk and wondering what to write about.

Yesterday two wall lizards (tiny ones) waltzed into my sisters room, and she freaked out. Part of the reason for her "freaking out" is that once a lizard had fallen on her head. Well, I rushed in and had to ki.... (next part had to be censored because of risk of protests from PETA), as they were trying to hide into tiny gaps.

So after such brutal assaults on these creatures I need to go and confess my sins to god and ask for forgiveness.

I have not yet recovered from the hangover of eating to many veg. cutlets yesterday and it is having adverse effects on my writing, I better stop.

Adios !!

Updates

2010-04-23T01:02:00.001-07:00

I have been away from my blog as I was down with heat boils/skin rash due to summer heat.
Usually I don't face much problem due to summer heat, but there is always an exception when my habit of eating spicy and heat inducing foodstuff (non-veg) can make things worse.
Still anyway things are better now, and I am back.

In sports update, Arsenal are out of the title race sadly.

Mumbai Indians are in IPL finals which is good news.

In F1, Force India missed a chance to score points in Shanghai GP while Karun Chandok managed to finish the race. In the same race Hamilton came second while Vettel and Kubica were dissappointingly below in the standings.

Now that I have missed watching "Green Zone". I am waiting for another action movie to reach the theaters.

Right now, Agile Methodologies And Extreme Programming is interesting me a lot, so I am reading up and hoping to implement it soon.

Prince movie review

2010-04-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

Watched "Prince".

Enjoyed making fun of stupid scenes.

A couple of smart scenes were applauded.

Plot is not intelligent and too mashed up.

Dialogues were cheesy not one memorable

There is 5% thrill, even though the special effects are top quality (bollywood standards).

Sound effects were excellent too, but movie had unnecessary songs and that irritating singer loved by everyone called Atif Aslam

But action scenes were bland. It was as if they all were trying too hard to be cool. And ended up looking dumb.

Aruna Shields was only eye candy in spite of the movie starring two other actresses, the reason is she acted better than both.

Vivek Oberoi was disappointing, I expected more from him, looking at his performance in "Shootout at Lokhandwala", "Company", "Dum", "Saathiya", "Yuva" , "Mission Istanbul" it was a valid request. Alas he was suffering from the same "I have to look cool" syndrome as everyone in the movie.

Prince is a "campy" or "Cheesy" movies.

The makers of the movie tried too hard, they should have watched 16th December, not the best, but at least it had decent plot in the 1st half. And also they can learn from "Blue" for action sequences. Action sequences isn't about slow motion, its about thrilling people.

Mind you thriller doesn't mean you add stupid twists.

It is only appealing (to me) because of its bad taste and ironic value.

I still think, "Tashan" is my favorite cheesy film of recent time, even "Race" was better than "Prince" according to me, maybe because of Anil Kapoor.

Its fine, if you miss it in theaters, but watch it on TV, if you are curious.

Clash of the Titans movie review

2010-04-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

Watched Clash of the Titans
Here is a short review:-
Thrilling action sequences
Superb acting
Good script
Predictable climax but worth it
Perfect sound effects
Scenic locations
And very good one-liners!!
I didn't watch the movie in 3D, but loved it in 2D.
Go for it if you like action movies and don't mind Greek mythology.

Sporting Week

2010-04-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

IPL watch: Mumbai Indians seem to be cruising towards being crowned the IPL-3 champs

English Football: Bendtner scored in stoppage time to give Arsenal a 1-0 victory against Wolves, thus keeping them in title race.

Champions League: Arsenal drew 2-2 with Barcelona at Emirates stadium and now have to win at Nou Camp

F1: A good day for my fave F1 drivers at Malaysian GP..... S.Vettel wins it.. Kubica came fourth..and Hamilton fought his way up the grid to finish 6th...good day for Force India as Adrian Sutil came a very good 5th ..showing his prowess in wet conditions....Karun Chandok finished the race in decent 15 position . wow!!

Phew!!

Telly movies

2010-04-03T23:57:00.001-07:00

Among the numerous movies watched on telly, here are this weeks favorite.

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"

A (1988) comedy starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin. It is basically a story of these two con-artists out to outsmart each other. It isn't a super story and its twists are not necessarily unpredictable but what will delight you is the stupendous acting of Michael Caine (got golden globe for it) and also Steve Martin (one of the best of his career). It is one very very good comedy movie. And surely a movie theme that may have been "copied" in a bollywood movie or two. Go watch it for some hilarious moments.

Second recommended movie is, a movie I liked a lot.

Rescue Dawn

The movie stars one of my favorite actors, Christian Bale.

it is said "he is the most accomplished character actor of his generation and a man whose talents have been on display for so many years that most people just overlook him"

also many critics say "Bale is a master of using his entire body as a performance tool, letting a thousand meanings play around in his eyes or face and doing whatever’s required for the part to shape his body around the role"

To put it simply it is story of fighter plane pilot who bails out of his plane to land into Viet-Cong controlled area of Laos. From then on it is his story of survival in the prisoners camp. I am tempted to reveal the further story, but it would damp out your experience. So watch this movie about survival and spirit if you don't mind a few scenes which are required to be shown in such "survivor" kind of movies.

Beauty of this movie is that it does not take a political stance instead focuses on the lead and his survival. Its a story that is moving in its simplicity.

Forgot that my blog is 5 yrs old

2010-03-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I completely forgot that some 5 years back on Sunday, January 16, 2005 I began this blog. And as time passed, the content of the blog also passed through various stages. And in spite of 5 years of evolution, my blog still lacks the ability to belong to any genre of blogosphere.

So as I continue on this direction-less journey, I would like thank all my current and also past readers (if they are still reading!) for reading my posts, commenting once in a while, and inspiring me to keep posting at least "something" to keep you entertained. And special thanks to followers of my blog, Niyati, Rajlakshmi, chocolatychocolatelover,Refak, Tasha, Mamta and Priyanka m.

Even though entertainment is still a bit low, the blog still abides with it tag-line,

the world as seen by sankoobaba i.e. ME

See you! When I see you!

adios!

Things and stuff

2010-03-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

Trying to finish a book, "Icon" by Frederick Forsyth. I really like his style. The way he builds the story and characters without acting in hasty manner is commendable.

Arsenal drew with Birmingham (1-1), making me sick.

My guess of RCB (Bangalore) winning IPL this year looks difficult if MI (Mumbai) play well.

In Formula One, Force India continued to win points in the second race at Australia. Among my fave, S. Vettel could not finish the race, Hamilton came 6th and Kubica came credible 2nd.

Indian interest Karun Chandok of HRT came last but at least he finished the race.

Also I am trying to increase my practical knowledge of UML and Software Engineering models, with special focus on "Agile Model".

One of my best friend Mahendra Bhatt rejoined our company, after leaving it for EClerx a couple of weeks back. He was very disappointed with their work environment, as he does not approve of environment which looks like an assembly line of robots. Well, his talent is valuable to us, so their loss is our gain.

With my promotion to designation of "Team Leader", I am looking forward to the responsibilities of this new role. Hoping for the best.

The climate here is settling down to more of"March heat" instead of the "blistering May heat" as it did a week back.

Thats all! Adios for now~

Awards Time!!

2010-03-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks a lot Rajlakshmi, for honoring me with this award. I am floored. She is a talented writer/excellent poet and her blog is really wonderful, here is the link again.

http://destinychildosheen.blogspot.com

The rules of this award are:
1. Acknowledge the person who gave it to you and link back.
2. Give it to 15 bloggers who you love visiting

So I bestow this award to following fellow bloggers:-

Niyati, Shruti, Chandrika, Pooja, chocolatychocolatelover, gentlewhispers, humming words, tys on ice, priyanka, Tasha, Sameeta, Priyanka M, Radhika M , Refak, Sonali .

This award which comes from Rajlakshmi is for all my dear readers.

And this Best Poet award is for all the great poets out there. So I award it to, Niyati, Rajlakshmi, chocolatychocolatelover, Sameeta

Weird post that sees me rambling on and on!!

2010-03-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Its not always that the topic of a blog post begins from comments section of another blog (blog of my wonderful friend Tasha). And of course this isn't the case, but maybe it is to some extent. Anyway, I should shed this style of confused stupid writing before I lose more readers.

But its not easy, when friends( 3 to be precise) with whom you studied at college for 3 yrs and after graduating, worked at the same company for almost 4 yrs, suddenly move on to different companies. The attachment levels of 6-7 years is a bit too much. Of course, I don't cry as I don't generate tears anymore. The sorrow does manifest in different forms, some of them leading to variety of emotions that seem out of place in the head of a so-called mature 24 year old.

So lets not talk about these thoughts too much, as giving importance to useless things, is akin to promoting them. Still its not easy to hide the fact that I am going to miss these guys. Of course we will meet, for movies, for trips etc, etc. But for how long, a few years, then they will get married, and then their dear wives will eat up into any remnant time left for old friends. I have seen some of my friends go from "single" to "committed" that never have time for old friends.

All this self depreciating talk may seem doom-gloom but for me it is funny, as I am no better friend anyway. As I think same thing may happen to me after I get married, as I already imagine marriage to be another 6-9 job, more like "work from home".

You can clearly emotions have very much messed up with my brain. Also, since it is know fact that I tend to, lose things that I love a lot, makes me a bit apprehensive about being too attached to anything, be it person or a thing.

And all this pessimist talk comes from a guy who is really optimistic about all other facets of his life and cheerful about the whole world in general. This is highly irregular, but I know with time the cracks in my brain will be patched up again, and I will be my cheerful self, writing short/sweet posts about general things, instead of rambling on like a first grade lunatic, in need of dire psychological counseling.

Adios!

thoughts and some fragments!!

2010-03-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many noticed this, but I felt that the movie "Alice in Wonderland" was at least a bit about woman empowerment. Not only was a girl shown making decisions about her life and not toying to her parents/society ideas of that she should do. The hero or should I say the Heroine and Villain of the story were women (in a way) while the men were to just fill out roles without any initiative. Would do you think?

--------

Today is Sunday, tomorrow is of course Monday and then Tuesday is holiday from work due to Gudi Padwa. Still don't know whether it was worth writing in a blog post. hmmm..

--------

One of my best friends Mahendra Bhatt has left our company and he will be missed a lot by one and all. Kind of like Justice League without "Superman". Of course being together in college and also at work, totaling about 7 yrs is going to leave a huge gap to be filled, even if we meet every weekend. Because it is one thing to meet every weekend and another to work everyday together. Still life has to go on. Mahendra Bhatt is and will always be one of my best friends. I think we can talk for hours about anything and we never have enough time to talk about things from science to movies. I have always admired him for his super talents and always believed he is destined for some great things. Take care and best of luck.

--------

I have to change topic before I get too sentimental, which creates problems. Problems like dreaming about saving your ex-girl friend from zombie attack. Weird, very weird. I agree its irrational, but dreams rarely are rational.

--------

Football wise, Arsenal won once again thanks to Bendtner. In F1, Force India secured two points, while my two favorite drivers, Hamilton and Vettel finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Indian Driver Karun Chandok could not finish due to car failure.

--------

Well I think thats enough mish-mash for today. More soon.

"soon?" I think so!

Movie Time

2010-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Alice in Wonderland:-

A good fantasy movie with good script, funny moments, typical good ending.

Johnny Depp and Helena B. Carter were stunning while others in the cast were perfect.

Effects were smooth and excellent and 3-D bits were subtle and not over-the-top or forced (don't expect Avatar).

Music was apt throughout.

Not too many faults, very enjoyable if you don't hate fantasy movies.

p.s. I don't how much faithful it is to the original story, as I haven't read it.

-------------

Avatar :-

Well not much to say. I watched Avatar in 3-D at IMAX again. And loved it a lot. I still think it should have won Oscar for Best Picture. Because its not a movie its a phenomenon, an experience. I believe, you can make movies like "Hurt Locker" (I haven't seen it) again, but a movie like Avatar is rare. So.

--------------

Also watched two movies on TV.

K-PAX :-

very good in the weird movies category, very thrilling and brilliant acting by Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges.. watched it twice... good dialogues and unusual ending...a kind of "I won't blink so that I don't miss anything."

Mr. Brooks:-

a good serial killer movie to start with, the last half could have been better but acting was spot on, and so was the script otherwise. Still "American Psycho" staring Christian Bale was better than this.

-------------

Award

2010-03-09T18:04:00.001-08:00

I know I should have posted this earlier. I have been awarded this award by Chocolate Lover

So, thanks a lot!!!!! a million!!!

Statistics !!

2010-03-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

HT-CFORE survey found out the following things. It was a survey of middle- and upper-middle class men who have grown up in Mumbai. Each question was posed to 500 men in the relevant age groups. Here are two questions from the survey.

Would you marry someone who is better educated or earns much more?

Yes=83% No=17%

I think the reason for high percentage of "yes" could be financial security. At least for me it is. So mine would have been "yes" too.

Would you marry a woman who can't cook or won't cook?

Yes=46% No=54%

This is tricky, since it is nearly 50-50, most men don't usually cook. They may cook sometime, but those living with families don't, so the result. Even I may side with the 54% group.

Still makes me wonder, whether I may change my opinion at the decisive moment. What if I fall in love with someone who is perfect on all counts, but can't cook. Ahem! Food for thought for later (pun!!)

sporting life

2010-03-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Newly founded HRT F1 team has confirmed Indian driver Karun Chandhok for 2010 season along with Bruno Senna. This is great news, even though expectations from him, are only of finishing all races.

I think after Narain Karthikeyan, he could be the second Indian to race a F1 car in a Grand Prix.

Narain Karthikeyan is one of my favorite not for his driving skill, but for ideals. There was a news item that when he was looking for sponsors, some cola giants were ready to sponsor him. But he decided against them as he thought cola's were bad for children/youth's health, so he can't endorse something which is bad for their health. That made an impression on me.

My affair with F1 began in the days of Mika Hakkinen. He was my favorite. Of course, after his retirement favorite changed to Kimi Raikonnen. And surely Schumi is also my favorite, especially I remember his and Ferrari strategies. One or more races, whenever he lost lead after pit stop, and then the race leader took pit-stop, Schumi would put up a lightning fast best lap time, so when this guy came out of the pit lane, he was sure to race behind Schumi.

Currently I have no exact favorite. But S. Vettel looks promising, but so does L. Hamilton, so I can only decide after the racing season begins.

I also like WRC (world rally championship), but don't watch it regularly. It really is very very challenging. Oh! I love it. They race like men, be any climate and surface. Snow, mud, gravel, you name it.

Same with MotoGP, not watched regularly, but exciting and yes fast! I have promised myself I will try to watch both regularly, time permitting.

IPL is about to begin, so office will be abuzz with discussions about it. Not sure which team to support, will have to check the team-lineup. Dada (saurav ganguly) was my favorite in his playing days and to me was India's best captain. So maybe....I could....uhh.. still not decided.

And as always, love for Arsenal, means I will still be rooting for a win in every game.

Other than Football, F1, MotoGP, WRC, and cricket, I don't watch much sports.

But I like hockey a lot, both Field Hockey (watched Ind-Pak world cup match) and Ice Hockey (winter olympics Canada v/s Switzerland) . Tennis is a good game but never interests me.

I find Golf to be one of the most wasting game. It just waste of space, so many acres of land wasted. One man plays with one small ball over huge surface area of land. waste!!

found sanity

2010-03-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

too many thoughts clogged my brain

thinking clear brought more confusion

and in the head caused lot of pain

for it no doctor had medication

instead of a solution

that indicated alleviation

all I was left with was

more and more disorientation

still I hoped for tunnel-end light

it wasn't about perseverance

it was more that I had no other way

than to just sit and wait

wait for the knots to clear

then I grasped why that guy sang

"give me some sunshine"

"give me some rain"

he thought that would erase the pain

so as the sun sliced the clouds

in a proverbial way I found direction

not exactly the perfect one

but at least I am no more lost

and now I can relax

that my sanity is back

Awards!

2010-03-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

I was given,

Happy award by Destiny's Child – a talented writer and a budding poet.

Along with this award, here are some rules.

Rules to accept the award:
1: Link to the person who gave it to you,
2. List 10 things that make you happy,
3. Pass it on to 10 happy bloggers.
4. Notify the nominees about this Happy Award.

So here are 10 things that make me happy

1) Riding my bike or bicycle. Long rides/short rides, riding alone or with friends!
2) Making people happy (friends/relatives or strangers).
3) Tasty food, mostly spicy, and mostly snack or light meal instead of full course meal. (chaat!! Indian Chinese soups!! )
4) Watching movies of all kinds, and be it in any language (with subtitles for foreign stuff), and especially late night movies which leave me with hangover the next day (lack of sleep!).
5) Music, lots of bands to choose from, but for the moment, Green Day, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers, The Offspring or Goo Goo Dolls, Scorpions, U2 ...oh I could go on!!
6) Reading blog readers comments, facebook comments, and orkut/gmail buzz comments
7) When people praise my efforts and dedication at work.
8) When my parents and friends feel proud about me.
9) Traveling with friends to different places, be it forts, beaches (love them!!!), forests or desert (never been there!)
10) When Arsenal win!!! Go Gunners!!

So I present this award to,

shruti, chandrika, humming words, tasha, chocolatelover, niyati, sameeta, refak, xorkes, supriya

Potpourri of varied topics.

2010-02-20T12:15:00.001-08:00

Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland. Nicklas Bendtner of Arsenal taps in from close range to give Arsenal the lead against Sunderland. Fabregas seals the result with a penalty kick.

Very good result for Arsenal. ManU lose to Everton, but sadly Chelsea won.

Cheers ! Go Gunners!!

A good win, to wipe out the pain(to some extent) of losing clumsily to Porto FC during a CL match.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Haven't watched "My Name Is Khan" yet.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Watched Zombieland, Up (animated movie), Tropic Thunder. All three were total fun. Especially Zombieland.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The whole week I have been listening to "Black Clouds and Silver Linings" an album by Dream Theater, who are a progressive metal band.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Holi festival is around the corner, signaling a chance for a long bike ride. So lets see, how it pans out.

----------------------zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz--------------------

sleeeeeppp! interrupts!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzz~

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Arsenal win 1-0 against Liverpool

2010-02-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

image sourced from www.sportinglife.com (best sports site )

yyyyyaaahhhoooo!!

Diaby's header powers Arsenal to a victory over Liverpool. Chelsea lost to Everton and ManU almost lost but finally drew at Aston Villa to keep Arsenal in the title race. I hope Nasri is not out for long time due to injury. But Bendtner coming back from injury was reassuring. I stayed up late to watch the match (from 1:30 AM IST) and it was totally worth it.

Go Gunners!!

clueless thoughts of a helpless mind

2010-02-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

i am still lost, looking for a way out.

i m clueless, cant really decide.
what to do, is something hard to choose.
confusion playing all time, in my mind.
clearly seeing things, is very hard for me.
i just cant decide, don't know what to do.
work is a chore, just a task told to do.
i see no growth, no money to bring some cheer.
still heart says, persist with you have.
you matter, what you do makes a difference.
hopeless thoughts, helplessly override my mind.
same way, it mirrors my romantic life.
love is forbidden, with no real future.
holy union, not possible in this time.
still heart says, spend time together.
future unknown, tomorrow no one knows about.
days go by, hours pass me of indecision.

of how my life, is a result of dazed confusion.s

kambaqt taqdeer (damn luck) and Ishqiya experience

2010-01-31T10:32:00.001-08:00

Arsenal lost 1-3 to ManU, this means that only miracles can keep Arsenal in the title race. Fingers Crossed!

Watched Matchpoint, a dramatic thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen. I am not an admirer of Woody Allen, but I like this movie.

And I enjoyed watching 'Ishqiya'. This movie is fast paced story of crime taking place in so called "middle india" or "indian hinterland". Its not preachy, its not lengthy, it hasn't even got message. But its enjoyable, only if you can ignore the "dehati gaali". Arshad Warsi is the show-stealer, and Naseeruddin Shah gives another credible performance and never letting his brilliance overshadow Arshad's emergence. I also liked Vidya Balan's act in this movie, while other actors seemed perfectly authentic and natural in their characters. The script/dialogues are witty/smart and if serious never out of place. In the end this movie feels like a "Spaghetti Western". I won't spoil your experience by telling the theme and story of this movie. Don't compare it to Tarantino's work but I am sure its not really far from his excellent style. Kudos to everyone who made this movie possible. Watch it guys, and avoid it if you like sugar-coated conservative stories.

Missed "Veer", which in the end turned out to be blessing, as my friends did not really praise the movie.

Its getting late, I need to sleep.

Adios Amigo!

Finally I did it!!

2010-01-31T10:19:00.001-08:00

So finally I did it. After nearly a year I got my hair cut. It had grown reasonably long, almost till my shoulder, and my hair had natural "step cut" as described by my sister. Anyway, now all of that is gone. And with that goes away, oiling-massage-washing-drying process that took away precious time of my routine. Now there is no worry of all that and I can be carefree about them, no typing bandana etc. Still I fondly miss my hair, that were a great accessory to use while head-banging to heavy metal music. Now my bandana's need to folded and be placed in the drawer, and I need to buy a new cap. Vanity aside, I was really determined to grow my hair even longer, but insistence from some people I love, made me go for a snip. Heck! I was almost rivaling Hrithik Roshan's current look (for the movie 'Kites'). Of course, that would be like comparing Taj Mahal (his looks) to Biwi Ka Maqbara (my looks). So enough of self-depreciating humor. I love trying out new styles, be it, hair styles or beard styles. I like change, at least for things I can change, hate to do the same thing over and again. Of course, it doesn't apply to everything, but still.

Adios to you all.

And also adios to my long hair! may they stay happy without me. :(

stuff and more

2010-01-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Arsenal face bolton again today.. I hope Arsenal win!! Sol Campbell believes he can provide Arsenal with the experience they need to land the title...i hope he can....

In last match, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas produced an impressive display on his return from injury as Arsenal won 2-0 to spoil new Bolton manager Owen Coyle's 'homecoming'.

I watched "Sherlock Holmes", its a mind blowing movie. I am a big fan of "Guy Ritchie" movies. Really loved his earlier two movies. Here Robert Downey Jr gives a new twist to Holmes character and acts so brilliantly, that in each scene, you stop caring about the story, and always wonder what cool quotes he will make. Jude Law and other actors act perfectly, the story and theme setting is also engrossing. A very good movie, worth a watch more than once.

Also saw "Chance Pe Dance", its a time pass movie, like "ajab gajab", while this is less comedy than later one. But theme is similar to "luck by chance" . This one is for Shahid Kapoor fans. For non-shahid fans there is his dancing, always bubbly n cuddly Genelia. Story is light but half baked. Little bit of emotion more fun and no logic. But its all about Shahid. His style and dance.

A quote from the movie: Sherlock Holmes:- Never theorize before you have data. Invariably, you end up twisting facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.

Also had watched "Paranormal Activity (PA)" some time back. Not exactly the best horror movie. But in the breed of no-budget films shot on a elementary camera, it is one of the best. It follows the realistic documentary style of "Blair Witch Project(BWP)" and to some extent "Cloverfield". Still among the three, Cloverfield is special because it gives a "first person perspective", while "PA" and "BWP" are both good, "BWP" is marginally a better movie. Still "PA" in all is a good movie, which may not scare the "horror movie experts who fear none" but surely will scare others who are more gullible.

So lots of stuff, happening in one post, more comprehensive and analytical post some time soon.

Adios! for now..

Natarang - Movie Review

2010-01-11T02:29:00.001-08:00

I watched "Natarang". Its a marathi movie, which tells the story of an artist struggle in the field of Marathi folk entertainment art form called "Tamasha". His ordeals as he is typecasted and abused for playing a feminine male role called "Nachya". And how he overcomes the abuse to achieve fame and success. This movie has many elements jokes, tragedy, socio-political mirrors, love story, artist struggle, selfish behaviour, sacrifice, but more importantly its a window into the world of one misunderstood person. Played superbly by Atul Kulkarni, who deserves an award for it. Sonalee as the dancer is perfectly seductive, while other actors acted convincingly. None of the characters seemed out of place. Not the kind of movie you may see too many times, but a movie which should be in the list of one of best marathi movies. Worth a watch for the quality of performances.
And one more thing, I felt it was technically a brilliant movie, good production and great visuals, which some time back was unheard of.
Kudos to everyone who made this movie possible. And congrats to Atul Kulkarni for his excellent performance. And still can't forget the seduction of the character played by sonalee (a young actress).

Quickie!!

2010-01-04T18:34:00.001-08:00

3 idiots mini review:-

Watched 3 idiots..good movie...if you liked munnabhai series ..you will love it... Omi Vaidya as "Chatur" , Booman Irani as head of college were excellent... aamir/sharman/r.madhavan were strong as usual....watch it once for some good laughs...each actor has one or two gags of their own...and also there are couple of teary scenes for sentimentally inclined. Watch it with friends, and keep repeating "Chatur's" dialogues.

Arsenal won against West Ham 2-1 in FA Cup. I could not see the match, but it was a good match where Aaron Ramsey (Fabregas replacement) and Song (one of our most consistent players) scored.

Sore throat is not a good thing, but it is sure to happen, as I drank too many fizz drinks in such a cold climate.

A horror flick called "Paranormal Activity" which was made on a small budget but has got critical reviews across the world will arrive in our theaters this weekend, it has also got recommendation from Steven Spielberg. Now that is one movie I would like to watch.

Thats all for now. Adios!

a kind of flashback tag

2010-01-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

sourced from http://chocolatychocolatelover.blogspot.com/

1.What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
A..Went on a trip to one of the best beaches of konkan with ... "wink* *wink*

2.Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

A..I don't make any resolutions so no need to worry about keeping them.

3.How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
A..In a train traveling to Parbhani with my best pals

4.Did anyone close to you die?
A..grandpa

5.What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A. No Breakups!

6.What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
A..When I fell in love with my -ex and also the day we broke up

7.What was your biggest achievement of the year?
A..River Valley crossing using a rope

8.What was your biggest failure?
A..

9.Did you suffer illness or injury?

A.. knee scraping incident due to bike slippig.

10.What was the best thing you bought?
A..new novels and a red tee

11.Where did most of your money go?

A..home loan :)

12.What song will always remind you of 2009?
A.. gum-sum ho kyon - shaan

13.What do you wish you'd done more of?
A..Sleeping

14.What do you wish you'd done less of?
A..Playing football manager; a game.

15.Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

A..No

16.What was the best book you read?
A..Icon-Fredrick Forsyth

17.What was your favorite film of this year?
A..Avatar!!!!

18.What did you do on your birthday?

A..Traveling to Orissa, with some of my best friends, enjoying the East coast of India

19.what kept you sane?

A. Family, Friends and movies

20.What did you miss?
A..Arsenal matches, Transformers 2 in theaters.

21.Who was the best new person you met?

A..Many

22.Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009?

Still clumsy and stupid in matters of love.

23. What else happened this year?
Many Many good things

Happy New year Everyone!

A tag dated: 31-dec-2009

2010-01-04T09:23:00.001-08:00

Since I was out of town for new year celebrations, and had no access to Internet, I forgot to post this tag earlier. Its called

:The Lucky Chinese Tag:

This tag is supposed to bring some luck in the new year, so thanks "chocolate lover" for this "good luck"

8 TV shows I like to watch:
(this is tough, I don't watch TV shows regularly, its mostly movies,but these are watched occasionally)
>Video Zonkers(AXN)
>America's Funniest Videos(AXN)
>Big Bang Theory(Zee Studio)
>Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chasmaa(SAB)
>TMZ(HBO)
>Highway On My Plate(NDTV good times)
>Megastructures(Discovery)
>Whose line is it any way(Star World)

8 favorite place to eat and drink:
>Chaat stall at thane near St. john's church (pani puri with boondi and not ragda, its heavenly)
>Cutlet experts on Gokhale Road (its yummy)
>Samosa of a sweet shop in my locality (hot samosa and chutney)
>Champs Chinese (VFM)
>Hotel Sudhavihar (good food, good ambiance)
>Hotel Gopalas (great ambiance, good food)
>Samosa and Ragda at Thane Railway station (hot, spicy but no ambiance)
>A fountain soda stall in my locality(super variety of flavors)

8 things I look forward to:
>New challenges in work at office
>Travel to new places with friends and families
>Making new friends
>Making people happy
>Do at least one thing so that my family and friends are proud of me
>Rainy monsoons, less chilly winters, sunny summers.
>Watching good movies be it in any language (with sub-titles if foreign language)
>Write more poems, more blogging.

8 Things that happened yesterday:
>Watched Arsenal win 4-1 against Portsmouth by staying awake (match started at 1:10 AM).
>I ate one of my favorite pulses curry called "mataki usal" (in marathi).
>Finally laid my hands on one of my favorite movies, "Snatch by Guy Ritchie" it has witty dialogues.
>Also watched "Motorcycle Diaries", one of my fave movies, it tells story of che guvera.
>Worked late in office to finish of work, so that I could take "leave" on 31st!
>Had Prawns curry for dinner.
>Packed my bags (!!)

8 Things I love about winter:
>nothing
>nothing
>nothing
>nothing
>nothing
>nothing
>I get to wear a jacket
>no sweat

8 things on my whishlist:
>Maruti Gypsy and Ford Fiesta
>1 TB(1 Trilo Byte = 1024 GB) Hard Disk for my songs and videos
>52 inch Plasma TV
>Honeymoon in Paris or Bahamas
>A powerful PC with the best hardware
>Meet Saina Nehwal and Arsene Wenger
>A High Definition-HandyCam
>A soul-mate

8 things 'am passionate about:
>Biking
>Football
>Food

>Poems

>Thriller novels

>History/Architecture

>Trekking
>Movies

8 words/phrase I often use:

>achaa

>yeah

>oye

>kuch bhi

>khatarnaak

>shit

>fucking cool

>damn

8 things I learnt from the past:

>that past should not be regurgitated

>past is nostalgic

>it can induce tears or smiles

>I still can't handle a love relationship

>I have a tendency to say the wrong words at the wrong time

>I don't devour sweets like I used to

>I still don't like dry winters

>I love movies

8 places I would love to go/visit/see:

>Paris

>Bahamas

>Mt. Everest

>Amazon river

>Caribbean Beaches

>Kulu-Manali

>Kashmir

>Assam

8 things I currently want/need:

>Sleep

>Watch more movies

>A long ride on my bike with best pals

>A new Hard disk

>Fizz drink

>Pastaaa!!

>Winter to get over

>more sleep

Finally 8 people I want to tag:
1. Sameeta
2. Niyati
3. Xorkes
4. Tasha
5. Amita
6. Supriya
7. Refak
8. Gautam Mengle

Now... you know...what I did on New Years Eve....

2010-01-03T23:20:00.000-08:00

I am back to work and trying to quit the habit of writing 2009 as current year instead of 2010. So a new year begins with lots of secret resolutions.
On new years eve i.e. 31st Dec 12:00 PM, I was traveling with my best pals in a train headed towards Parbhani. We began the year by seeking blessings at Gajanan Maharaj temple at Shegaon, enjoying the sights and sounds of "Anandsagar garden-cum-meditation center".
This garden has everything for everybody, in a way. Peaceful areas for meditation, scenic locales with greenery and a lake for lovey-dovey couples, amusement rides for kids and adults alike. So from spirituality to fun, the 1st day of 2010 encompassed it all, only to be spoiled by rubbish food (due to our bad scheduling, which left us limited dinning options).
2nd day began at Ajanta(spelled "ajinthaa" in marathi), we were short on time as our plan was to visit ajanta caves, ellora caves, deogiri (daulatabad fort), biwi-ka-maqbara, gyanenshwar gardens, lonar lake etc.
But since we had only one day, we had to cut it short, so we could only visit Ajanta Caves, Bhadramaruti Temple, Daulatabad (Deogiri fort) and Biwi-Ka-Maqbara.
Short visits (like ours) don't do justice to Ajanta caves and Deogiri fort, you need lot of time to really savor the art and history behind both.
Ajanta Caves are magnificent to some like me, but incomplete or broken etc for many. History fascinates me, interest me and amazes me and I loved them. Not everyone shares my curiosity for interpreting cave paintings so I had to curb my enthusiasm.
Deogiri fort is one of my favourite forts and is a very strong fort, next favourite is Rajgad. Its plan is such that it was almost unconquerable and it was conquered by deceit in the end. Its security plan was like European castles with moat and secret passages.
Biwi-Ka-Maqbara is a poor clone of Taj Mahal, but made with good intentions by a son for his mother.
Bhadramaruti temple was built by Bhadrasen (a king) who was a ardent devotee of Hanuman. It is the only Maruti temple, where the idol of Maruti (Lord Hanuman) is in the sleeping position. There is belief that a visit to this shrine will fulfill the desire of a person.
Since this trip didn't allow us to really explore Aurangabad and its vicinity areas of historic and artistic importance, meant that a second trip needs to be made to fully devour it all.
Our tight schedule meant I could not really enjoy "the food trip", where a food trip, is a trip of enjoying the best of local delicacies. In all, a very good trip, be it in terms of fun, history, travel, chilly winds. But more than that, a very good way to start the new year by visiting places about which we had only read in books, in stead of watching movies or TV.
Yes! I know its late, but anyway..so.. Best wishes to all my dear readers, may you have a new year filled with happiness, fun and adventure!

Arsenal best Aston Villa 3-0

2009-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Arsenal scored 3 goals to secure a very important win against Aston Villa.

At half-time the score was 0-0, but after 10-15 minutes into the second half, Fabregas was introduced. He played for 20 minutes and scored 2 goals, showing fantastic commitment and good leadership.

After his 2 goals, Arsene Wenger didn't want to risk injury to him, as he was just recovering from one, so he was replaced by Ramsey.

But Fabregas had done his job, and Diaby later made the score look better by scoring the third one.

A good second half performance and safe but solid one in first half, saw Arsenal get important 3 points.

Team Lineup

Almunia

Sagna Gallas Vermaelen Traore

Song

Denilson(57) Diaby

Nasri Eduardo(63)

Arshavin

subs-> 57 (Fabregas)-replaced by Ramsey(84)

63(Walcott)

Goals: Fabregas 65, 81, Diaby 90.

I am very happy with this result because yesterday Chelsea drew dropping 2 points. But at the time of writing this post, ManU were leading against Hull, so hoping Hull can draw level somehow.

Still a good result for Arsenal. But Song will go to play for his country in ACN(African Cup of Nations) so not sure how team will play in his absence. Till then, all Gunners out there keep smiling and enjoy the sweet feeling of a very good win.

I can explain

2009-12-26T10:03:00.003-08:00

I can explain why I penned those lines in my last post.

Because I am in senti-mood, blame it on "rab ne bana di jodi" (SRK movie).

Watching "Transformers-2" will surely help to ease me out of senti-mood.(will watch it after I publish this post).

I saw Avatar on Thursday. Magical movie that everyone should watch at least once in 3-D. It does not matter if you don't like English movies, you will find something to like about it. I hope to watch it again, but I think my pals would go for 3-idiots. I would prefer Avatar but would not mind 3-idiots. 3-idiots has one of favorite actors Sharman, R. Madhavan, and Boman Irani. I am not a fan of Aamir, so.... we better leave it at that.

I am listening to Mudvayne right now, a very good album. But I don't listen to Heavy Metal music while riding my bike, as I tend to get over-excited as if I am in action movie doing crazy stunts.

So usually while riding, I listen to punk rock or alternative rock. Stuff like red hot chilli peppers, offspring, greenday, U2, scorpions, etc. I also soothe myself by listening to songs by Dido or KT Tunstall, I don't exactly identify with their lyrics but they have a nice voice. And once in a while I flip through some hindi bollywood songs. I don't stick to particular genre of music, though I prefer rock music, I love the best of each genre of music too.

So two days of the long weekend are over, and one more day to go, don't know what to do tomorrow, other than wasting time, and wasting time.

I have, I haven't

2009-12-26T10:03:00.001-08:00

"My eyes hold back tears,

heart tries to suppress pain.

still it does not receded,

familiar feeling of losing.

mind tells to get over it,

no big deal its a movie.

maybe on screen it shows

painting of imagination.

but I find it familiar,

similar to what I felt."

Movie ends and begins an ad featuring a tag line, "Move On".

I say I have, people say I haven't.

-----------------------------------------------------

(I am inspired to write poems again, all thanks to "Niyati" and "chocolate lover").

An award, and two tags to know me more..

2009-12-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

I received this award from Chocolate Lover, Thank You very much. She is a very good poet and a potential lyricist.
So I have to do these two tags now.

One is where I have to write down 7 things about me, which are unknown to fellow bloggers

Tag 1:-
>I hate brinjals and Goldspotted grenadier anchovy(fish called "maandeli" in marathi)
>I hate winters or specifically cold climate, when chilly winds and dry skin attacks are rampant.
>Of the time I watch TV, I mostly watch english movies or football, nothing else.
>I don't know how to swim, but enjoy frolicking in water.
>I have slight fear of heights, but I enjoy trekking, Someday I will atleast climb Mt. Kalsubai(tallest peak in Maharashtra).
>I love riding two-wheelers, especially my bike and my bicycle. I hate when people ride stupidly. Also hate people with no traffic sense, both drivers and pedestrians.
>I used to be short-tempered, I still loose temper, but it happens less frequently.

and here is the second tag.
Tag 2

1. What is your current obsession? Bikes and Arsenal Football Club
2. What are you wearing today? Red shorts and Red Tee
3. What’s for dinner? Veg. Pulav
4. What’s the last thing you bought? Himalaya Hair Cream
5. What are you listening to right now? Magnificant - U2
6. What do you think about the person who tagged you? Very good poet, possibly a good lyricist if these poems are turned into songs.
7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? On one of the carribean islands, sea facing, and I would have a store that sells surfing and diving gear.
8. What are your must-have pieces for summer? Bandana for my long hair (by a guy's standard)
9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Paris, since it is night right now, and Paris looks good at night.
10. Which language do you want to learn? Spanish, Bengali and Sanskrit
11. What’s your favorite quote?Never give up. And never stop believing. (Rocky Balboa)
12. Who do you want to meet right now? Bhatt, Vishram, JP, and Abhay.
13. What is your favorite color? Green, Blue, White and Black.
14. Give us 3 styling tips that works for you: A bandana, Leather Jacket and Blue Jeans
15. What is your dream job? A music composer or lyricist or a Bike Racer.
16. What’s your favorite magazine? Bike India, JLT(out of print)
17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? Upgrade my bikes performance or buy new riding gear (jacket, gloves, etc)
18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas? Wearing formal shirts with jeans, esp. ripped jeans.
19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon? Everyone else, there was only one, Feroz Khan.
20. What kind of haircut do you prefer? No hair cut, trying to grow my hair, as long as my patience allows it.
21. What are you going to do after this? Have dinner
22. What are your favourite movies? Too many to list. I usually don't like dramas but otherwise too many of them, still if I have to choose, I will choose an epic or an action flick.
23. What inspires you? See a smile on someones face.
24. What does your friends call you most commonly?kambli, sanket,
25. Would you prefer coffee or tea? tea, not too hot, and of course not cold.
26. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed? listen to pantera or 'System of a Down' (heavy metal music), watch a mindless action movie, play football manager, write in my journal or talk to my sis about it
27. What makes you go wild? Riding Bikes, Trekking forts/mountains, frolicking in water(be it wavy sea or a flowing river)
28. Which other blogs do you love visiting?Lots of blogs, of fellow bloggers, blogs about bikes, arsenal, comics and technology.
29. Favorite Dessert/Sweet? Jalebi/Rossagulla or StrawBerry Ice cream
30.How many tabs are turned on in ur browser right now?gmail, orkut, facebook, google reader,
31. Favorite Season? Summer and Monsoons
32. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me? uhh.. funny tasting tea/coffee, scrambled eggs, toast, maggi, french fries.
33. Last time you got stopped by a cop? two years back while riding bike in wrong direction on a one-way road.
34. What are you afraid of the most? That I will self-destruct someday.
35. What's the first you do once you have booted the system? Start Opera browser or Football manager
36. What brings you smile on your face instantly? When others are happy
37. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Scrapped my knees after my bike skidded on wet road.

I tag:-
Niyati
Shruti(High Spot)
Sameeta
Xorkes
Refak
Amita(Directly from heart)
Supriya(Smiling tears)
and everyone else

Rules for those who are tagged:
Respond and rework –
answer these questions on your blog,
replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own,

and add one more question to the list.
Then tag eight or ten other new set of people

Year end blues...or new year blues...or.. no blues...or??

2009-12-19T01:53:00.001-08:00

December 2009.

So is it time to welcome with eagerness 2010?

or time to loose oneself in nostalgia of 2009?

I am not quite sure which flow of emotion should I dive into.

I am a dreamer so I can easily dream out the most ideal 2010 for me.

And also I love to roam the streets of nostalgic memories, even if they are only a year old.

Still I can't forget the forgettable New Years Eve of 2008, when I decided to take power nap just before midnight celebrations and ended up sleeping through the fireworks to wake up on 1 Jan 2009 uttering..> [damn!! ]

And I think it was damned anyway with recession, commodities price rise, "break--up", stalled US work opportunities, our Project manager leaving our firm, and other assorted not-good events.

Still 2009 continued to shine in parts like sunshine on cloudy days, and I am thankful to god for all that.

Be it, the "break-up", more job responsibilities, MCA degree completion, some good travel experiences with friends and family, learning yoga, getting back my fitness levels (lost due to desk job), watching good movies, making new friends(!!) and many more.

So as I put the events of 2009 into the library of past events in my brain, I can't help but feel "Butterflies in the stomach" regarding what 2010 has in store for everyone, irrespective of good or bad events.

Because even though nobody likes to hear this, truth is, "whatever happens, happens for the good."

So ... its good...but also not good... because till now, no plans have been made with regards to new year celebrations. So lets see.

"Gracias por leer mi blog, y los puede tienen una feliz Navidad y año nuevo muy impresionante"

it means "Thank You for reading my blog, and may you all have a merry Christmas and very awesome new year"

p.s. I love spanish language, want to master it someday.

again p.s. if any reading this wants to update the good and bad events of 2009 for me, let me know, as I tend to have a very faulty memory.

Arsenal beat Stoke 2-0 with Arshavin and Ramsey on target, also a cleansheet for Almunia.

2009-12-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Arsenal beat Stoke 2-0, with Arshavin and Ramsey on target, also a cleansheet for Almunia.
Today Arsenal played the following formation,

                                               Almunia
Sagna                 Gallas                              Vermaelen                  Traore(Silvestre)
Eboue(Ramsey)                       Fabregas                      Denilson
                          Nasri                                 Rosicky(Vela)
                                                Arshavin

Fortunately Eduardo's absence didn't leave the score-card barren.

Elsewhere, ManU scored 4-0 against West Ham to keep pressure on Chelsea who play ManCity in a late match, and Liverpool fans will be disappointed with their draw with Blackburn.

That's all for now, right now I am happy to see Arsenal winning and Liverpool not winning, sadly Man Utd won.
Technically Chelsea not gaining any points from the ManCity match is good for Arsenal but ManCity winning is also not good, still lets hope Chelsea lose.

Arsenal, Carling, Stoke and missing Song

2009-11-30T10:54:00.001-08:00

Arsenal deservedly lost to Chelsea who were a better team on the pitch. Arsenal's formation and tactics are always attacking, so they have to score more goals, than they let in, which they are sure to concede , especially if there is drogba in the opposite team. Anyway, blame game has been done by everybody and Arsene has protected his players, so its better to focus on the next match. Carling cup match on wednesday will feature youngsters, so focus should be on match against Stoke City. Arsene will have to change formation to suit absence of Persie and Bendtner or needs to give team-talk to eduardo and arshavin. And also to Denilson to step up, as Song may go and play for his national team in a few months time, so he is our only replacement for Song. Oh! can you believe it, A season or two back we hated Song, now we miss Song. Funny!!

--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler
to know more about me>http://sankoobaba.blogspot.com/
to read my simple poems>http://www.xanga.com/voidskam
to read my abstract poems>http://thunderskam.blogspot.com/
-----------------------------------
"I've never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates.
Anybody can do well at something he loves -- it's just a question of finding the subject."

Go Gunners

2009-11-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

Arsenal meet Chelsea this weekend, and this will be a very important result for Arsenal. Arsenal are facing bad luck with injuries, but Home game goal scoring record of Arsenal is very good, so fingers crossed. Hope for victory. Go Gunners!

My Best Friends Wedding

2009-11-22T07:16:00.000-08:00

Yes! the wedding ceremony went very well. And the happy couple were all smiles.
It was not just the wedding ceremony that is etched in my mind, but also the four days of fun I had with some of my best friends and some new friends.
It all began on a shy note, with we barely interacting, it took mahendra's jokes to get the ball rolling, and to speak proverbially it hasn't stopped rolling since then. Not only did I make new friends, we had so much fun, someone would think that we had been best friends for a long time.
Four days spent seemed like more than four days, and we didn't want the fun to stop, thinking why do the days seem so short.
We cracked jokes, sang songs, danced like there was no tomorrow. Filling water from a well, designing the Banner for the bride and grooms name, all the wedding ceremonies from "haldi" to "waraat(baaraat)" were fun.
Found a new friend in Kimaya, a young girl with a perfect smile and mesmerizing eyes, who dreams of a great career in Hospitality Industry, good luck to her. And found a new buddy in a little kid called Yash, smart kid with big dreams too. Amol: JP's brother-in-law, reserved guy who took time to open up, but when he did, he is fun to be around with. Not to forget Shraddha, the kid who wants to be a doctor.
It was good experience for all of us, as sometimes when you are working, you get into a routine, and not only that, the people whom you meet in your line of work are people who have achieved many things in life, that they barely have any dreams. So when you meet such youngsters (mind you the age difference was barely averaging 5-6 yrs), you realize that you are not really that old, you are still young at heart and age. And inside this exterior of seriousness and formality are hidden, kids who just want to have fun.
All credit goes to all these relatives (which includes all of the above) who never made us feel left out, we were treated like we were part of the family. So total credit to all of them. Still regret I could not thank all of them for everything they did for us.
Knowing how to ride any kind of bike, helps when there is a bike in the household and small tasks requiring short trips to market. So I got to ride a Bajaj Boxer and Bajaj Discover 100 over the days, and riding through village roads surrounded by lush green fields and fresh air blasting my face was a very good experience.
There are more events that happened, lots of fun that I may not have mentioned here, part of the reason is that it brings about a flood of emotion and a kind of nostalgia that creates problems as I don't really like the sentimental emotionality that leads to teary eyes, what people call "Khushi ke Aansu" or "Tears of joy", as I prefer the quotes like "Boys Dont Cry" and "Show No Tear". Anyway, this by far, was the best wedding I ever attended, and also one of the best times I had in life with anyone. I Thank you all. And I Thank God.
Adios!
--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler

know more about me!!

2009-11-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Niyati

LAST TIMES…
1. Last beverage: pepsi

2. Last phone call: kim

3. Last text message from : kim

4. Last song you listened to: Bend & Break by Keane

5. Last time you cried: :Show no Tears

HAVE YOU EVER...

9. Lost someone special? Yes
10. Been depressed? Yes

11. Been drunk and threw up? I don't drink!

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:

12. Green

13. White

14. Black/Brown

15. Red/Blue

FIRSTS :
16. Made new friends: Yes

17. Fallen out of love: naah!! still believe in power of love

18. Laughed until you cried: yes

19. Met someone who changed you: Yes

20. Found out who your true friends were: Yes.
21. Found out someone was talking about you: No

HAVE YOU:

23. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: 30%
25. Do you have any pets: Fish
26. Do you want to change your name: No!

27. What did you do for your last birthday: Had great time with friends at Orissa

28.What time did you wake up today: 0600 am (usual time)

29. What were you doing at midnight last night: sleeping

30. Name something you CANNOT wait for: winter to get over..its cold...its dry...

31. Last time you saw your father: 2 mins back

32. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: Nothing

33. Most visited web page: blogger, facebook, orkut, gmail, google reader

WHAT'S YOUR :

34. Name: Sanket

35. Nicknames: Bhai, Kambli

36. Zodiac sign: Leo

37. Male or female or transgender : Male.

38. Elementary: B.Sc. (Comp. Sci) / MCA

40. Hair color: Black
41. Long or short: long enough to reach my nose tip

42. Height: 5'8
45. Piercings? No
46. Tattoos? No! want one!

47. Righty or lefty: Righty

48. First surgery: No!

49. First piercing:
50. First best friend: Sameeta(my sis)

51. First sport you loved: Cycling

52. First pet : Fish

53. First vacation: Dont remember, maybe Mahabaleshwar

54. First concert: Rock concert in college

55. First crush: Cute girl in my class at school, later she called me brother.,,, ha ha ha

56. Eating: no brinjals and I am happy

57. Drink: water, or any fizz drink

58. I'm about to: drink tea

60. Waiting for: nothing

YOUR FUTURE

63. Careers in mind? Sky diver or bike racer or pilot

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?

64. Lips or eyes: Both

65. Hugs or kisses: Both

66. Shorter or taller: Not too short

67. Older or Younger: Younger

68. Romantic or spontaneous: Both

HAVE YOU EVER :

74. Lost glasses/contacts: No
78. Been arrested: No..
79. Turned someone down: ha ha No

80. Cried when someone died: I believe in "Show No Tears"...so...

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

81. Yourself: Yes

82. Miracles: Yes

83. God: Yes

84. Love at first sight: Yes, I believe in love at first sight,, but not sure such love lasts

85. Heaven: No

86. Santa Claus: No

88. Angels: No
89. Devils: No

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

92. Wanted to kill someone ever? : Yes.. too many,,, but remember eye for an eye makes the world blind,,,better kill completely and leave no trace for CSI
94. Committed a blunder and regretted later? many times,, I am master of cover-ups

ASSOCIATE WITH SOMETHING YOU WEAR :

96. White: Shirt
97. Black: Jacket
98. Red: Tee

99. Pink: I dont wear it, but it looks great on girls

100. Blue: Jeans

And hence I tag -
Sameeta, Tasha, Xorkes, Shruti and everyone else

--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler

wedding blues

2009-11-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

No! not me!
One of My best friend (JP)!
He is getting married next week, to the love of his life.
Its a love marriage, where only the marriage is going to be arranged, not love. As they are crazy in love with each other.
So do send him all the wishes!!!
--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler

and what else

2009-11-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

Yes! what else is going in your lives guys?
Yesterday watched movie: 2012.
In short...
>excellent jaw-dropping effects
>must watch on big screen
>decent storyline
>competent acting
>not boring
>wanted some more to be shown, something like post-apocalyptic world
>very enjoyable and fulfilling
>not oscar winning but a true blockbuster for a family
>no hot chicks
>go for it... at least once...even non-english movie lovers can enjoy it

--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler

"BLUE" movie review

2009-10-25T07:03:00.001-07:00

Watched the action flick, "BLUE" last week.
Good action scenes
Brilliant underwater shoots
Lacked smart one-liners
Needed more suspense or at least some pace in first half
Sanjay-Lara seemed odd couple
Rahul Dev acted very well
Akshay was "usual", script had no scope for more improvisation
Zayed still is not that good
Katrina looked wierd in wierd hairstyle
Good for novelty factor, but not a memorable action flick.
Anthony D'Souza (Director) and Ajay Benson (Writer) should watch Indiana Jones or at least National Treasure (never copy) to learn how to create some excitement in a treasure hunt!

--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler

-----------------------------------
"I've never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates.
Anybody can do well at something he loves -- it's just a question of finding the subject."

A-Z tag ... tried every line from A-Z ...

2009-10-21T10:07:00.001-07:00

Tag Sourced from http://gentlewhispering.blogspot.com/
This tag is called the A-Z tag, here goes:

1) A – Available/Single?
Single. but its expensive to mingle!!

2) B – Best friend?
Not one, not all, but a few.

3) C – Cake or Pie?
Cake, with lots of cream and chocolate

4) D – Drink of choice?
Water or Thumbs Up (fizz drink)

5) E – Essential item you use every day?
Cellphone, watch, hair cream, deo.

6) F – Favorite colour?
All colours, soft spot for white/green but blue/red/black are next fave.

7) G – Gummy Bears Or Worms?
Gummy Bear

8) H – Hometown?
Thane

9) I – Indulgence?
Pani Puri or any chinese soup

10) J – January or February?
Neither ...very cold months...

11) K – Kids & their names?
Got no kids but like these names, Abhimanyu or Ranveer and Madhura or Preeti

12) L – Life is incomplete without?
Friends, family, newspapers, book, PC, cellphone, TV, FOOD

13) M – Marriage date?
near future??? scarY!!!

14) N – Name? Your real name!!
my name is not know to all,

15) O – Oranges or Apples?
Apple... Orange.... uhhhh...both

16) P – Phobias/Fears?
in the past, a mix of slight claustrophobia and slight fear of heights....nowadays i fear myself

17) Q – Quote for today?
Never give up and never stop believing

18) R – Reason to smile?
Never need a reason

19) S – Season?
Summer and Monsoon

20) T – Tag 3 People?
Tasha, Sameeta, "High Spot"

21) U – Unknown fact about me?
I dream a lot

22) V – Vegetable you don't like?
Brinjals

23) W – Worst habit?
Laziness

24) X – X-rays?
Once. When I swallowed a broken teeth.

25) Y – Your favorite food?
Lots of, but something I won't mind having everyday... then.. it is chapati and usal (pulses with spicy gravy)

26) Z – Zodiac sign?
Leo, compatibility with Aries was a bit too fiery so maybe next time it will be Sagittarius.

--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler

Post Poll Musings

2009-10-14T00:25:00.000-07:00

Its second time I had my finger inked. (Exercised my voting rights). Last time was for Lok Sabha elections, this time for assembly elections. Last time my vote resulted in victory for the candidate, now lets see what difference my vote makes. I was also in the pessimists camp, thinking all politicians are corrupt, what difference does it make if I vote. My opinion has not changed, I don't expect anyone to do any work for my constituency in spite of winning.
Still I vote because that is my duty, to vote for a candidate I think who "could" help to improve our locality. So I tell all people who don't vote, please vote next time.
Our politicians shirk from their responsibilities, but why should we behave like them and not vote. Lets be better than them, lets do our duty, lets have a say.

I know this post came a bit late, and should have come before the election day. But being busy, and not expecting my words to make any difference to anyone, made me post this a bit late.

--
Regards
(¸.·'´(`'·.¸(`'·.¸* ¤ *¸.·'´)¸.·'´)¸.·'´)
«´¨`·..¤Sanket Kambli¤..·´¨`»
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´* ¤ *`'·.¸)`'·.¸)¸.·'´)
Software Engineer/Writer/Poet/Biker/Photographer/Traveler

Red Wave

2009-10-09T00:29:00.001-07:00

Walking down a path of change
shedding blood for this change
thinking its the right way
onward marches the red wave

creating terror in innocent lives
killing people always they strive
not affected is administration
coz they don't value cops life

onward marches the red wave
lives lost no one cares
they thinks its for a cause
cause value is long lost

red wave is called killing machine
no knows why they really kill
red wave is not bothered anyway
they just want revenge in some way

(a few lines on naxal issue as portrayed my media)

penned down

2009-09-29T01:00:00.001-07:00

Here are contrasting thoughts going on in minds of individuals.
First one, wants to be with someone but cant
while the second one, is with someone but out of compulsion.
and the third one, is pleading his love to believe him

--First One's thoughts--

i need a moment of love..
i don't know what else...
but i need a moment of love..
nothing else would do....

a moment with her..
is better than nothing...
and not being near her...
is making me go mad...
---------------------------

--Second One's thoughts---

every time I am with her
feels like walking in darkness
there is no moment when I feel
that I am here with someone

like a shadow with her
still never really with her
furthur away are your hearts
even if we are holding hands
---------------------------
--Third One's thoughts---

believe me I am not lying today
i didn't lie any other day
i will keep my word
wont go break promises

doubts may cloud your mind
even caution for some time
but try to put worries away
and believe in what I say
---------------------------

.. (p.s. all thoughts are fictional visualizations are not representative of authors state of mind. )

thrilling rides

2009-09-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
after a long time!!
Highlight of the weekend was visit to local fun-fair, where biggest attraction was the Ferris wheel. These fairs are mostly visited by local youths, middle or lower-middle class families and are not even a shadow as compared to big theme parks like Essel World. Still it was a welcome change for me, that shook me out of my dreary routine.
I sat in 4 rides, as they were the only challenging among other kiddie stuff. First was ferris wheel, which was a good warm-up, and set pace for thrill to follow. Second ride was a not ferris wheel but a ride which whirled in elliptical fashion, this was not much scary and even the height was not that "high", but it was placed close to trees, which initially made me paranoid about my legs hitting a tree branch.
Now after these two rides I had warmed up very well, and went towards a thing called "break dancer", I had not seen it in action as I was busy with other rides, so when I sat in it and was locked in, did I realize that it was going to be one funky ride. The cart was literally throwing me in all possible directions as other carts crisscrossed each other in colliding fashion and nearly missing each other.
As the ride came to a stop, I stumbled out of it, and stumbled into another ride which ended up being crazier than the third one. It was a small ferris wheel kind of structure, but difference was that the carts were different. There were like cages and one sat in a push-back seat fashion, clearly the cages were suspended(not fixed but rocking) from the arms of ferris wheel. Now as it started moving, the cages rocked forth and back, moving us in the same fashion. Now this may not be that exciting, but as speed
picked up, the pull-push began increasing in magnitude and at its top speed, we literally thrown out of our seats and pulled in our seats.
Description maybe sketchy, and ride is not even marginally scary as compared to other rides in bigger amusement parks, but it was worth the 20 bucks I spent (first ride cost me 25, second 15, then 25, last one 20).
In the end, the experience was thrilling and exhaustive because I sat in rides back to back, without any rests. And this has made me excited for a trip to Essel World, whenever it comes.

The world as seen by Sankoobaba a.k.a. Sanket Kambli

hoping

emotional fool

Mistake

Withdrawal Symptoms

One more tag post

Behind the Wordages

Fussy eater - 1

The suspicious neighbor

The Catcher in the Rye ; book review

Stanley and his chillar party

free your soul

Stuffed

The musical tag

Melancholy

Its time to tag them all

I am not saying it

Reviews n all

Bike Ride from Mumbai to Pune and back

Movie Reviews

Thor Movie Review

Dum Maaro Dum - movie review

TV stuff.. what I see..what I could see.. what I dont see..what I did see

variety

bang !! bang !!

Honda Twister 110 Bike Review

waved away

The Fighter: Movie Review

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep By Philip K Dick

If only I knew

Back from a sabbatical

Sometimes

So may things going on..so little can fingers type..

I have lost it!!

New Bike, ... Upgrade or Downgrade

Theo Walcott is on fire !! Hat-trick man!

Why is it

when are you marrying

What I am doing, when I am not working

Khatta Meetha : Movie Review

Inception: quick movie review

Tea time story

Spain win the World Cup for the first time.

World Cup Mania nears its end

a poem written by me

footie crazy .. goals galore

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Analysis (Dissapointments)

Shreewardhan Bike Ride

Football Mania

Rajneeti Movie Review

Shrek Forever and After: Movie Review

Movie Review : Kites

Iron Man 2 : Movie Review

Masala .. Housefull .. Strike .. Thoughts

Awards Nite!

Sure I can write! uhhh.. I hope so.... uhhh...

Updates

Prince movie review

Clash of the Titans movie review

Sporting Week

Telly movies

Forgot that my blog is 5 yrs old

Things and stuff

Awards Time!!

Weird post that sees me rambling on and on!!

thoughts and some fragments!!

Movie Time

Award

Statistics !!

sporting life

found sanity

Awards!

Potpourri of varied topics.

Arsenal win 1-0 against Liverpool

~~ clueless thoughts of a helpless mind ~~

kambaqt taqdeer (damn luck) and Ishqiya experience

Finally I did it!!

stuff and more

Natarang - Movie Review

Quickie!!

clueless thoughts of a helpless mind