This one's for more than the eyes

I had an amazing weekend- Went to Aero India 09, which is totally worth seeing atleast once, and hung out with some people that I don't normally hang out with. Was great, just great. Ah, what I wouldn't do for sundays like those.

But monday is here and I'm way too tired(already) to even type. Besides, there are people out there who do a fantastic job on what they write/blog about, and so, I shall point you in the right direction if you'd like to read, for a bit.

Radhika's blog has a nice article on Abusive Men. Here it is:
Reduce, Abuse, Recycle.

Zubin Driver has a different take on the Pink-chaddi-Ram-Sene issue that I've ranted on about, with an interesting link to terrorism in India. Here it is:
How did Mutalik and the LeT crack our code?

Ever heard of the 7 more phenomenal wonders of the natural world? This article gave a neat explanation (finally) to one that I've seen many, many times at night. Yes, I'm talking about the moon being orange in colour. Check it out!
The 7(more!) Phenomenal wonders of the natural world

I'll be sure to post other stuff I find. You do the same.

courtesy Radhika, Varun and facebook.

When weather pervades your inbox

Google really knows how to do it all. I've always been a weather person, and I never felt like talking about the weather was restricted to conversations that are dull and lifeless. I feel like the weather is very much a part of our everyday life..it changes our moods, affect how we look, what we wear, what we eat, and pretty much everything. For instance, when I went to bombay, my hair was icky and frizzy, my skin felt better, I didn't feel like wearing clothes that weren't cotton and I kept drinking juice and was generally more upbeat, but I also felt more unclean. Back in bangalore, a whole load of things changed.

When gmail introduced their themes for the inbox, I was happy but I never really gave it much interest..I just picked something called "desk" with the hope that it would make me feel professional. Today, for the first time, I actually checked out the themes they have..and they're awesome! I particularly like "tree", because it changes based on the weather in your city! That's really fun, actually...because you can identify your surroundings with it. Funky! I liked "pebbles" and "graffiti" and "planets" and "ninja" and..the list goes on. Needless to say, google's done it again. I'm yet to meet someone that doesn't like google.
It's just hard, because they come up with stuff that no one can really have any objection to.

Google is awesome, because the weather pervaded my inbox, because gmail is easy and uncluttered and simple, because my one google id works for so many applications, because I don't go a single day without using their search engine (what did people do for everyday queries before google? who did they ask?), because I can check out a book before I buy it without getting out of the house, because I can find directions to anyplace, anytime, and because of so many other reasons.

What's your favourite theme?

Bell Bajao

Speaking of campaigns, here's another one. This one has been around for longer than the Pink Chaddi Campaign. I wanted to blog about it a while back, and somehow, I didn't end up doing it.

But someone else has Blogged about it, and iceman's done a great job, so..I'm just going to provide you with the link to his Post. I think you should read it, whether you've heard of the campaign already or not. You should also popularize it..any additional buzz is good! Blogs are great at it, too.

Before you read, watch this ad..



and now...

Read!

Tagged!

I've been tagged! It's something quite simple, really, but fun!
Sure gives you something to post about:) I got tagged by perplexed. (Thanks!)
Basically, if you've been tagged (by me), you've to take the sixth picture from your sixth images/pictures folder and write about that picture. So if you've been tagged, find that picture and post!



I'm smiling. I really am.

This picture was taken in goa, when sutta, sound, minks, kee and me hit Goa! I think..two years ago! It was such a laid-back, fun trip. What you're seeing is what we attacked every morning..it's called the Chocolate Breakfast at Britto's on Baga beach- which became our favourite by far. We were hooked, the minute we got to the place. You get a cup of hot chocolate and a nice, dreamy, creamy chocolate mousse cake. And trust me, that is by far the BEST way to start a day.

So the fun part was..I couldn't actually finish my breakfast, but since it was so good, I'd keep shoving it in, anyway. So i'd be saying "Man, I can't eat another morsel!", while I'd be eating my head off! I even ate up the others' breakfasts, all the while saying that I was just going to die if I ate any more! My friend Radhika once kept calling cake "lovecake" in an attempt to get people to eat it at a party..and I did the same for the breakfast in goa!
I just couldn't bear to see chocolate ANYTHING go to waste.

Anyway, its still fun for the girls to talk about..reminding me of the glutton and hypocrite ways of mine. Cannot eat anymore but still will!

Goa was where we came up with the ritual..our ritual for those days was going to Baga near sunset, everyday, and just sitting on the beach with good food and drinks we'd picked up. It was fantastic. Ah, the ritual. We even tried some sort of revival thing once we came back, but the ritual still remains to be continued in true goa style.

And when it does, you can be assured that there will be a post on it:)

I'm passing on the tag to Radhika, Aradhana, arnika, stargazer, Akaash and shruti.
And Hiroshima, if you'd like to start blogging then I'm tagging you too. (Idea for your first post!)

Take THAT!!

If you've been reading my last two posts (and don't worry if you haven't), you should know by now that I cannot stand what is happening in India right now- women are being treated like rubbish. Beings composed of nothing but rubbish that is meant to be subdued, tortured, molested, hit, told what to do, and treated like what some extremist groups think they are-rubbish.
And it sure helps that the government is just sitting on its sorry ass.

But, there is something we can do. A WHOLE lot of campaigns have been springing up, from sending Mr Mutalik a whole bunch of Valentine's day cards, to going to a pub on Valentine's day and ordering ANYTHING-even juice. I love that people aren't taking the truck load of hell being flung at us, sitting down.

Presenting--the pink chaddi campaign! If you agree with my views on what's happening so far, Make SURE you check out this site..

CHECK IT OUT!!

That's a great space to get you started on flinging back something to Mr Mutalik. Buy a dirt-cheap pink chaddi. Heck, buy many. And send them to him.
Because finally, there's atleast something we can do.
I think the folks who came up with this are doing a phenomenal job. It's an absolutely brilliant idea. I think we should also find a delivery guy who will fling all the chaddis at the dude and holler, "Take that, *****!!!"

I am truly proud of my fellow Indians. Kudos.

The consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward women also have a facebook group..details are on the link I've already provided. Join, folks!
You don't have to be pubgoing or loose to join..those are just terms meant to annoy the very groups that accuse women of being nothing but that..you just have to want women to lead actual lives in India!

I'm all set to send Pink Chaddis.
I hope you are, too!

Because we all want to get married, on the roads..

With Strangers by our side. Hey, folks..weddings are expensive, recession is here, and saving money is in. I've been reading enough and more about Brides renting out their white gowns, simply because second-hand in white-bridal-gown-land is more like been-worn-only-for-a-few-hours-and-never-again-hand. Good sense will always prevail.

Come to bangalore and experience a recession like no other- in terms of our emotional stability. Why spend millions on a fabulous wedding when the oh-so-esteemed Shri Ram Sena (which must make Lord Ram want to crack every sena-dude's skull) will marry you and your boyfriend/girlfriend on the roads if they happen to see you on valentine's day? My, my..looks like there are other people in the world who hate Valentine's day even more than me.

Yes, folks..my country is going to the dogs as we speak. Democracy is a facade while the rest of the country wastes its precious time arguing about how Slumdog Millionaire, a perfectly decent film, portrays India negatively and it's wrong (SO tempted to make my next post on that. What the heck- I will.) We're silently ignoring (By we I mean YOU, Mr yeddy..our oh-so-wow chief Minister. How can you not Ban these louts?! You are, in every way, SO UNFIT to be chief minister and I'm sure more than half the state thinks that by now.)

Wow. There is so much that's wrong around me that I'm digressing. I don't know what to vent on first!

Anyway, so..the Sena will get you married on the roads. While we're supposed to be a cosmopolitan city that celebrates diversity, we're so backward, that a sena (read Pig-heads) considers it ok, at this point in time, to marry off couples that are going out. The very same Sena, that won't ban blue films like "Doodhwaali" because they cannot ban that which will pleasure their pig-brains. So they'll ban civilian life, instead.
Charming.

So..I'm gearing up for Valentine's day by making my own pepper spray. Apparently even shops selling cards will be targeted. And this has been calmly said in the papers. Our chief minister is still snoring, or farting, or GOD alone knows what, as he ignores all of this madness.

I'm single and thank god..but I sure hope the couples that don't want a fabulous cheap wedding on India's streets decide to stay put.

Valentine's day for couples is way too cheesy anyway.

Here's to spreading the love, and going back to pre-historic human behaviour.

Champion

Even Nadal-supporters-all-the-way felt that prick. It's the prick you get in your eyes when greatness is right in front of you, but that greatness seems different. It seems..subdued, lost. In hiding.
Worse, it seems defeated.

Roger Federer is a man most of us have never met in person, but we've seen enough and heard enough to believe that he is greatness, and I'm not really talking about tennis. It's obvious that he's incredibly hard working, and that's enough for me. Enough to consider someone as the personification of greatness. Life can only give you so much, but Federer grabbed all he had, with both hands, and any other way he could. He's been friendly, humble, sensible and a delight, even, in interviews. It's obvious that he loves what he does, and he's phenomenal at it. He even possesses a certain easy, quick grace when he plays..something most players find hard to emulate. He's a champion all the way. He even makes all swiss people look good (Haha! Yes, someone's told me that they've found the already nice swiss-people to be even nicer once they first discovered Federer is swiss)

And to watch a champion like that cry because what he wanted suddenly seemed out of his reach is a feeling like no other. People felt like it was them, on the courts, who hadn't won. The collective sadness is incredible, and it's hard to explain. I don't know if he knew, but Roger Federer wasn't alone that day.
He wasn't alone at all.

Some people say he is now officially on the down-slide, because he's been defeated five times by the other great Champion, the Spaniard who consoled him. Some people say the felt like they were watching the demise of his greatness.
I feel like the hallmark of a great champion, is his comeback.

I respect Roger Federer all the more, because he is man enough, heck..human enough, to cry in front of practically the whole world watching. I respect him not because he's phenomenal on the courts, but because he's shown the whole world that he's a human being, and he can handle it. This doesn't mean that I don't respect people who don't cry publicly, but for a champion to cry, and handle it, is just something else. Sure, I'm assuming he had no other option in this case. He couldn't dash off somewhere, and he probably couldn't control himself. It was downright misery, and I felt defeated watching him cry- I don't remember the last time I felt that defeated. Either way..just because he cried, doesn't mean he stops being a champion in so many eyes.

Its unfortunate that this has been blown out of proportion, the crying, but I can understand..I'm blogging about it, aren't I? Parents and friends cry with you when you win, or when you lose and you cry, right? I guess that's an even bigger compliment to Mr. Federer- he's got friends the world over.

Nadal is breathtakingly brilliant in his own right, but the champion is going to make a comeback. I believe that, and it keeps me going. It will keep everyone going, and more than anything else..it sure will make tennis even more interesting when it does.