Date:	2003-07-18 16:45
Subject:	Optimism
Security:	Public
Mood:	optimistic

Time may dull my ambition.
Time may soften my killer instinct.
Time may unrhyme my poetries.
But one thing I am sure of - time may never blunt my optimism.
This is one thing I've loved about me (considering that I don't consider too many things to be loved about me - but that is fodder for some other long long post on my blog).
Even while wallowing in the direst of straits or bobbing in the deepest of seas, I've always held alive my hope and optimism.
And, it has always seen me through.
I think being an optimist does count.
It lets the fighter in you rise to the tallest of challenges and surmount the strongest of perils.
When I think I am down, I think of Stephen Hawking. The guy is a paraplegic and yet has the most brilliant mind among the contemporary physicists and achieves everyday, a lot more than most of us achieve in a lifetime.
Optimism grabs me by my collars and shakes me hard - making me dust off my dreads and despair.
If I have optimism by my side, I win no matter what.

I remember the day vividly. I was in my sophomore year at college. We had plans for going to IITK for a student fest the next day. I got back to my room after classes and was dumbfounded to see the door of my room wide open. With a thumping heart I looked inside, only to find all my precious possessions like my walkman, assortments of cassettes, money everything stolen.
I slammed my doors, shut myself inside and cried silent tears for all that was lost.
I knew they were lost forever.

I was down and out. But still my optimism kicked me in the guts and made me look for a way to win my possessions back. I was wondering if I should still go to IITK for Antaragni.

I did go eventually and participated in the creative writing event.
Out of various topics, I chose to write on The joys of being a loser.
I poured all the pain from my fresh wounds into it, and loved the poem I wrote.

That poem won me the 2nd prize among some 100+ entries...
.. and 500 bucks :)
Which I used for buying back some of the cassettes I'd lost.

From that day on, whenever I falter in my steps, I know my optimism and my hope will hold me tight and not let me fall.

No matter what !

Date:	2003-07-14 11:11
Subject:	EVERYDAY
Security:	Public
Mood:	high

One smile a day is all I beg of you
A simple smile that's ringing true

That whenever I close my eyes, I see
You're smiling at me in effortless glee

Just let me feel you are happy galore
And make me strive to make you even more

No one knows what does lie ahead
But then never live in future's dread

Smile and make your present shine
And then all your dreams shall be mine

Never let tears get hold of your life
Just remember someone waits for your smile

waits for your smile .......
Everyday.


© Abhi

Date:	2003-07-11 15:55
Subject:	Cobras and other snakes..
Security:	Public
Mood:	curious

That's the King Cobra, the deadliest of all snakes. For more details see this.. and have fun !

.. which were the oldest web pages in the history of the Internet ?

Date:	2003-07-10 17:47
Subject:	Southpaw Satan
Security:	Public
Mood:	bouncy

This post is inspired by the recent string of victories of the Indian Hockey team.

My contribution to their success has been in not joining them as a player. Not that I had any offer, but it's my blog so I have the convenience of making the assumption that I would have been offered a place had I shown interest.
Those days I was too busy with cricket to waste any particular attention on my hockeying skills.
Not that those were not worth noting.
On the contrary I was the most dreaded player on the ground, if I was allowed on the ground.
You may think otherwise but southpaws have their own set of advantages.
If you've seen a hockey stick you'll realize that unlike the cricket bats or baseball bats, these sticks totally cater only to people who favor their right hands. So if you want to play hockey, you bettter convert to being a northpaw (if there was any word).
Or you play like me.
With the stick held like a shovel.
In fact an umpire commented Are you playing hockey or shovelling
So my main utility was to fill the team in case there were not enough to make 11.
And when I was aground, I'd hear hoarse whispers running awild the enemy camp Abe, wo lefty aaya hai.
My primary function was to protect the goalkeeper.
All I used to do is see the coming ball and strike it so hard that it went back at twice the speed.
If the ball was coming too slow, I'd scoop it.
The shot and the scoop were a terror for all the people around (friends and foes alike) .
The moment I got near the ball, the enemies would be scampering to get out of the line of the shot either by jumping, ducking or scuttling.
I'm sure the Indian hockey team could do with some more agression to strike terror in the hearts of the Austrailians and the Germans.
Maybe I'll get a call one of these days ..
Maybe they have a slot for a leftie defender (with a fancy WWF type name like Southpaw Satan)

They already have my number and I'm waiting..

Looks like blurty doesn't display some of the images well.
Here's a link to the 2 pix I posted earlier:
Coral
I shot a redwood
Hope you're able to see em now.

Date:	2003-07-09 15:23
Subject:	Jul 4th Fireworks
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Better late than never ;)

5 days have elapsed since I saw the famed July 4th fireworks in NYC, but what 5 days! Busier than hell and finally I get some time to actually update my blog without having to pinch a poem from Lord Byron.

4th was a hot and beautiful day with overwhelming crowd in under-covering dresses lined up on the South Street Seaport along the East River in NYC. We'd come over to the area almost a couple of hours before the start of the fireworks, since we'd been forewarned about the crowd. Still it was a big throng of people awaiting the fireworks and within a few minutes the entire street was closed because of overcrowding.
The view of the Brooklyn bridge presiding over the shimmering river was mesmerizing.
There was no place to set foot on, so we went into the adjoining air conditioned mall. There was a huge line of ladies in the mall - I thought there must be some huge sale on. Later I realized that it was for the loo ! Some lady commented that one should know at least 1 hour before the need to pee, in order to pee with dignity :)).
We all had peed recently and at leisure, so that was not a problem for us.
The problem was how to get a place to sit and pass time for 2 hours.
We saw a Chinese restaurant which was selling samosas. Yes our desi authentic samosas.
Don't the Chinese care about copyright ??
After a wait for 30 mins, we got a place to sit. And sit we did. We ordered a plate each of samosas and springrolls. The guy (trying to drive us out seeing the minisculity of the order) informed us that it'd take at least 45 minutes for the order. To his disappointment, we hardly hid our glee when we said "Take your own sweet time buddy".
So we sat in the airconditioned restaurant munching samosas and talking about life in general, careers, school et al. Finally when it was barely 5 minutes for the fireworks to start, we went out and scanned for and pushed and shoved to the spot with the best view.
Eventually the fireworks started, and it was good very good. But nothing great !
There were a few new ones ( the smiley fireworks ) but overall it started with a whimper and ended in a fizz.
We had a heated discussion on whether the people who made those fireworks actually went through some training in some college (Like Guys I'm Masters in Firework Technology from Harvard) .. as with most of our discussion, it concluded without a conclusion with each side lending to the discussion the aspects of firework technology that you won't even want to think about. (The firework labs must be fun .. Their classrooms must smell of Magnesium and Sulphur all the time .. They publish fireworks instead of paper)
Well, that was about it.. we reached home - had a coolatta (cool latte) on the way. Had a peg (or two) of rum and bid each other a Happy 4th July.

Date:	2003-07-07 14:52
Subject:	My Soul is Dark -- Lord Byron
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

My soul is dark - Oh! quickly string
The harp I yet can brook to hear;
And let thy gentle fingers fling
Its melting murmurs o'er mine ear.
If in this heart a hope be dear,
That sound shall charm it forth again:
If in these eyes there lurk a tear,
'Twill flow, and cease to burn my brain.

But bid the strain be wild and deep,
Nor let thy notes of joy be first:
I tell thee, minstrel, I must weep,
Or else this heavy heart will burst;
For it hath been by sorrow nursed,
And ached in sleepless silence, long;
And now 'tis doomed to know the worst,
And break at once - or yield to song.



Read more about Byron's life here..

1. "Pink Floyd" had several names before they settled on "Pink Floyd". Name one which was related to cups and saucers..
2. What movie did "Pink Floyd" help finance because they were fans of the performers?
3. What song was also also known as "The Return of the Son of Nothing"?
4. For the cover of the album "A Nice Pair", the Floyd wanted a picture of boxer Floyd Patterson painted pink. The idea scrapped because Patterson was allergic to body paint. True or False ?
5. For which work did Pink Floyd ger their only Grammy award ?
6. What was the date of the famous "spitting incident" in Montreal?
7. "Pow Wow" What album was this the working title for?
8. What are "Floyd Droids"?
9. True or false: Pink Floyd were awarded a Grammy award for "Dark Side of the Moon" for Best Engineered Recording.
10.What did the crew call the two pigs used on the "Division Bell" tour in 1994?

Answers: see comment

My college life fodder:

Pink Floyd - Coming Back To Life

Where were you when I was burned and broken
While the days slipped by from my window watching
Where were you when I was hurt and helpless
Because the things you say and the things you do surround me
While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words
Dying to believe in what you heard
I was staring straight into the shining sun

Lost in thought and lost in time
While the seeds of life and the seeds of change were planted
Outside the rain fell dark and slow
While I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime
I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the moment had arrived
For killing the past and coming back to life

I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the waiting had begun
And headed straight..into the shining sun

What is your favorite autosignature ?
Mine is:
"Ease is the lovely result of forgotten toil"

Date:	2003-06-30 12:58
Subject:	Movie review: Jhankar beats ..
Security:	Public
Mood:	cheerful
Music:	Tauba tumhare ye ishare - Chalte Chalte

Rocks !
It's a great watch. Some fantastic laughs and some really good acting. Great story, screenplay and ULTIMATE songs. Worth a watch guys, take my word !!

Date:	2003-06-27 16:07
Subject:	Hilarious: Newton, Mithun and Rajnikanth*
Security:	Public
Mood:	numb

Recently the father of physics (Issac Newton) made a visit to earth to watch a movie. He watched a few Indian
movies and had his head spinning. He was convinced that all his logics and laws in physics were just a huge pile of junk and apologized for everything he had done.

In a movie of Mithun Chakraborty, Newton dada was confused to such an extent that he went berserk. Here are a few scenes:

1) Mithunda has a Brain Tumor, which, according to the doctors can' t be cured, and his death is imminent. In one of the fights, Our great Mithunda is shot in the head. To everybody's surprise, the
bullet passes through his ears taking away the tumor along with it and he is cured.
Long Live Mithunda.

2) In one of the movies, Mithunda is confronted with 2 gangsters.Mithunda has a Gun but unfortunately only one bullet. Guess what he does? He holds a knife in his hand facing it towards the bullet shot. The knife cuts the bullet into 2 pieces and kills both the gangsters. Then, Mithunda utters the following dialogues "Apun Ka Naam Hai HIRA, Apun Ne Sabko CHEERAA (Split into two)".

3) A gangster chases Mithunda. Mithunda has a revolver but there are no bullets in it. Guess what he does. Nah not even in your remotest imaginations. He waits for the gangster to shoot. As soon as the gangster shoots, Mithunda opens the bullet compartment of his revolver and catches the bullet. Then, he closes the bullet
compartment and fires his gun. Bang!!... And the gangster dies.

4) The heroine is tied to an electric chair and the remote is in the hands of the villain about 100 km away. As usual, the villain confronts the hero saying:
"Hathiyar Phek Do Warna Main Yeh Remote Ka Button Dabake
Tumhari Mehbooba Ko Mar Doonga".
The usual fight occurs and just as the hero makes the final blow, the villain dies but not before he presses than damn button. Now what to do? Sure enough, there is a horse and the hero jumps on it. Now there is a race: The current in the cable connected to the electric chair is moving fast but our hero and his horse are desperately
trying to catch up.... Goes on for a few km and just as the current would hit the chair, the hero jumps from the horse and picks the girl away from the chair and husssshhhh. She is saved. The poor electric current only goes to an empty chair. Climax, taaalian. Hero!
Hero!!
Hero!!!

This was too much for our Newton to take and he was completely shaken and he decided to go back. But he happened to see a Rajnikanth movie for one last time and thought that atleast one movie will follow his theory of physics. The whole movie goes fine and Newton is happy that all in the world hasn't changed. Oops not so fast. The climax finally arrives. Rajni gets to know that the villain is on the other side of a very high wall. So high that Rajni can't jump even if he tries like one of those superman techniques that our heroes normally use. Rajni
has to desperately kill the villain because it's the climax Newton dada is smiling since it is virtually impossible). Rajni suddenly pulls two guns from his pocket (Probably a backup). He throws one gun in the air and when the gun has reached the height of the wall, he shoots at the trigger of the first gun in air, with his second gun. Now the first gun fires off and the villain is dead.

Newton faints

*Stolen from a junk email

There are 10 kinds of people.
Those who know binary and those who don't.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date:	2003-06-27 14:06
Subject:	World's most haunted places..
Security:	Public
Mood:	curious

Here's a list of the world's most haunted places..

This guy is the friend of a friend of mine..

Date:	2003-06-26 09:56
Subject:	Talking of pranks..
Security:	Public
Mood:	devious

This one happened to a friend of mine.
Diwali was around the corner, so some guys thought of playing a prank on this guy. Only they chose the most opportune moment and the most opportune device.
He was tending to his daily ritual in the toilet (Indian Style) and the guys dropped by and confirmed his location. Next they threw in a chocolate bomb ,with its long fuse on fire, from the open top of the stall.
The bomb managed to land right in the midst of our hero's creation :))
No sooner had he taken the requisite evasive action, than the bomb went off, converting the Diwali into a Holi for our hero.
That day the cleaner must've have wondered what exactly happened in there (a bad case of diahorrea??). What must've stumped him though, was the temporary chandelier on the ceiling above the stall in question..

Our group of 7 was most feared for Pranks.
We did a lot of innovative ones :) and were specially active during exam times.
A friend of ours was amazingly afraid of ghosts. He'd need someone to accompany him to the loo if he needed to pee at midnight.
We scared that guy.
One of us got under his bed, before he went to sleep.
Another one got on the terrace and swung a lighted candle like a pendulum, so that it was swinging exactly in front of this guy's window.
A third guy stood silently in front of his door - wearing a white bedsheet(covered from head to toe) with a black specs over his eyes and a candle in hand.
The guy under the bed started making frightening noises (OOOOOooooooooooo, woOOOOOOO etc.).
Our hero woke up and saw the swinging candle.
He was totally freaked out.
Jumped out of the bed, opened the door and saw the ghost in white, standing in front of him !!