Russel Peters break dances on stage while telling the audience about how parents embarrass their kids and how ‘ugly’ the English accent can be.
Month: September 2007
ROSHAN’S ELEVEN : Dire Straits Songs
Arsenal 1 West Ham 0
Although midfielder Alexander Hleb may be out for a few weeks after receiving a nasty leg injury, Arsenal are still on top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over London rivals West Ham United. The Belarussian international was stretchered off mid-way through the first half at Upton Park after being felled by a crude, shin-high lunge from Mark Noble. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was livid at the press conference as Nobel only received a yellow card for the tackle. Hleb left Upton Park on crutches and has been ruled out of Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with Steaua Bucharest, although speculation last night that he had suffered a broken leg proved unfounded. Robin van Persie’s well-taken 13th-minute goal, the Dutchman nodding in at the far post after Hleb had crossed from the right, maintained Arsenal’s 11 match unbeaten run and ensured that they stay on top.
I’m Hot
And not in the way that I like! :( For the last few days, my sinus infection is causing havoc with my health. I have a cough that won’t bloody well quit, a blocked nose and a throat that hurts, especially when I cough or sneeze. I was so down that I was lost without any thought in my mind at various points of the day both yesterday and the day before that. I was supposed to take an off today and work on Sunday instead. However today by 11 am the plan was changed and I went for the office a little after 12:30 pm in order to take a few sessions on Information Security.
This is a really big deal for our firm and I will be following up with my personal audits on the advisory level of employees. That will be followed up by a small team of outsiders who will do their own random audits at the office and we damn better get certified. I didn’t work on a day that I was sick for our center not to get certified. So in between coughing, sneezing and wheezing I took three sessions. I also had high temperature and was freezing in the cold air conditioned training room.
Glad to note that we have a new vending machine at the office that also dispenses – get this – tomato soup! I wasn’t a big fan of it but it sure tastes good to me. Did some good to my clogged sinus. And that was the only thing that I felt like having all day, skipped lunch & breakfast. Just good old hot soup! Ahhh!
And The Truth Comes Out
Read this and this first before you go through this blog post.
The same person came back to the office after a gap of a few days, which we were told was due to a really bad fever. She said that she was too weak to come to work and that she was taking lots of medicines & antibiotics to get better that that made her even weaker. When I walked in yesterday into one the training rooms that we have, for a brief instance I was pleasantly surprised that she was there, since I expected her back only by Friday or Saturday. That lasted for just one brief moment. When I saw her condition I was shocked.
She, who was very thin anyways, had lost even more weight! Was that possible? And she had huge purple marks around her eyes that were black to begin with. When I expressed my concern, she said that it was due to her lack of sleep even though she had the high fever and the effects of the strong antibiotics. I was at a loss of words for quite a long time and all I could do was pat her on the head. When the others saw her they had similar reactions.
We went on with our daily routine, finished our work and had a meeting with the national head of HR and stuff. By 8:30 pm it was just 5 of us in our department and we decided to head to the cafeteria for dinner. She said that she wasn’t joining us as her husband was about to come and pick her up any minute. I said ok and the rest of us went for dinner.
When we came back, we saw her on the phone speaking to someone and wiping her eyes. I began to suspect what I used to fear at many times. A few minutes later she said that she wanted to speak to me alone and I took her to one of the empty discussion rooms. And she cried her poor heart out and let me in on what was always suspected by us. That the marks under her eyes were made by her husband, of just a couple of months, when he hit her with his fists and a ring that he wore on his hand. He can’t control his anger when they argue and as a barely recovering drug addict, his rage fluctuates. I have known about their fights, which were usually about where he was and what he was doing during the evening hours.
My friend cried as she told me that even though she is fed up, she stayed with him because when the drugs wear off, he cries and is remorseful of the anger he has displayed. But this is no way for any individual to live. I tried to be as supportive as I could and I consoled her as much as I could. Her parents have come to know about it and they have filed a domestic violence case against him. I also came to know that she attempted to slit her wrists!
She said to me that, she wanted to open up to someone, that atleast someone outside of the two of them should know the truth. She plans on collecting some of her belongings from her husband’s house and returning back to her folks. They want her back and they want her away from him. My advice was the same and I added that, if he gets the medical & mental help that he requires, then maybe they could get back to their lives. But his parents have turned a blind eye to all of this and they blame her, saying that it’s because she argues back at him. Baloney!
So she is going back home to her folks but they also want her to resign from her job and just stay at home for a few months. Although I am gonna miss her, I think that it’s probably the best thing for her.
You know what I think? You know what I want to do?
I want to beat him black and blue, drag that motherfucker on the streets, gouge his eyes out, castrate him, stick a big pole up his ass, pour fuel all over him and light the cocksucker with a match and watch him go straight to hell!
Topics That Need More Coverage In India
- How religion runs the lives of Indians – Too much is too much
- Bad parenting – a lot of parents I know would be arrested in Western Countries for physical punishment of a minor and forcing them to do things against their will
- Cricket – let’s face it! It’s rigged! (but not that I care)
- Why are Hindi sit-coms not the least bit funny? (I don’t watch them but what little I have seen proves my point)
- Are we really a Democracy?
- Are you just looking for a fight? (for every member of a political party)
- Indian music – how Indian is it when it sounds like a bad imitation of a Backstreet Boys or some really bad rapper’s song with Hindi / Tamil lyrics?
- What’s with all the white dancer girls in the almost every Bollywood song?
Downtime- What I Do Offline to Recharge
- I must admit, coffee is one of my addictions. I don’t have many, just a couple, but this one is an outright addiction. I would rather drink 3 cups of strong black coffee than have breakfast. I would rather drink 4 cups of coffee than have dinner or lunch. That is an illness.
- Reading. I read novels. I like to spend hours on my bed reading something by John Grisham, Michael Crichton or Stephen King. I also like to drink coffee while I read.
- Music! I listen to music and now I have my 1GB iPod shuffle along with the 1GB memory stick on my cell. Life isn’t worth living without rock music.
- Watching Sports on tv. Football is one sport that I follow as much as I can on tv, although I must say that it’s a lot less than I want it to be. Ideally I would want to watch 2 games each on Saturday & Sunday and probably a game or two during the week. And I want really good choices for matches that they show on the sports channels.
- Drinking & Hanging out with my friends. Especially Anil Alappatt & Madhu Nair. These guys are my best friends since the last few years. We worked together in Aspin Wall back in 2003 and have been buds since then. It usually is great fund when we get together and we aren’t too noisy either.
- And watching a good movie or tv series. Nothing beats a good movie. With the Starship Enterprise coming out as the victor in the end.
What do you guys do?
Could I Quit My Day Job
watch night train online I wonder how many of you ask yourselves this question each day. How many of you want to be able to afford quitting your job and walk out the door knowing that this is the last time that you’ll be in that office. Being able to strut and walk with a little bounce in your step. Heaving a sigh that the ordeal is over. Looking an arrogant employer at his face and telling him off and / or flipping the bird. Doesn’t that sound great in your head? Don’t you already have a song picked out that will be playing in the background if you were doing that? I certainly do.
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Can I really afford to quit my job, without finding a new one immediately or finding one first and then quiting? The second one is the wise way to go about things. But the temptation is there to throw caution to the wind and march straight in and say “I Quit” and set sail. I wish I could do that. I just can’t do it at the moment. I get my monthly salary on the last day of the month, by which time I would be down to my last Rs.100 of the previous month. That is just not done.
So I don’t have enough as backup in case I want to quit. Otherwise I would. Immediately! And what about you? Whoever reads this entry, please enter in the comment about your feelings.
Sweet Suzie McNeil
If you remember her, she was a contestant in the first edition of Rockstar in which the Australian band Inxs were looking for a new lead singer. Suzie McNeil, a singer from Toronto, Canada, finished in 4th place but won lots of fans & admirers with her ballsy approach to some of the songs that she performed at the contest. Reality Television at it’s best Rockstar : INXS brought to the attention of the music world many a talent and Suzie was among the best. The band members of Inxs themselves were quite impressed with her even though they decided to go along with an equally impressive J D Fortune.
That’s ok, Suzie can try her success at a solo career. announced plans to record her first CD with Executive Producer John Kalodner and Producer Marti Frederiksen. In the summer of 2006, Suzie performed as a backup singer for Pink on Pink’s North American tour. She had also sung backup on a couple of songs on INXS’s Switch cd and dueted with JD Fortune on the band’s God’s Top 10 song. Her solo album Broken & Beautiful was released this year.
Della Brown – Queensryche
Late last night I was going through Queensryche clips on Youtube. I found this gem of a version of Della Brown. Queensryche are one of the best rock / metal bands around, Empire is one of my top albums of all time and this MTV Unplugged version of this song is killer!
A Fan? How Many Years?
I was talking with a colleague at work about the different bands that we like and I was thinking aloud about which were the bands that I have been into the longest. That took some thinking and I was mentally going through my list of songs & albums and decided that it deserved a post. So here it is, in descending order, the bands that I have been a fan of (I’m not including bands that have disbanded but artists who have died are included, provided that they have a considerable amount of recorded material) :
Band / Artist No. of Years Year which I first heard them
- Bon Jovi – 21 – 1986
- Europe – 21 – 1986
- Scorpions – 20 – 1987
- Van Halen – 20 – 1987
- Deep Purple – 20 -1987
- Bryan Adams – 19 – 1988
- Def Leppard – 19 – 1988
- Neil Young – 19 – 1988
- Eric Clapton – 19 – 1988
- AC / DC – 19 – 1988
- Aerosmith – 19 – 1988
- Metallica – 18 – 1989
- Alice Cooper – 1989
- Warrant – 18 – 1989
- Poison – 17 – 1990
- Iron Maiden – 17 – 1990
- Jeff Healey – 17 – 1990
- Queensryche – 16 – 1991
- Megadeth – 16 – 1991
- Rush – 15 – 1992
- Pearl Jam – 15 – 1992
- Joe Satriani – 15 -1992
- Yngwie Malmsteen – 15 – 1992
- Steve Vai – 14 – 1993
- Alice In Chains – 14 – 1993
- Crash Test Dummies – 14 – 1993
These are the longest that I can think of. Among my current favourites, the Barenaked Ladies are 9 (1998). There are other bands that I like, but I either own just a few songs (like Ozzy, Judas Priest) and or never bought any of their albums (Led Zepplin). And oh, I took off Guns n’Roses cause they haven’t put out stuff since 1993! That is too long!
Arsenal 5 Derby 0
I kinda feel sorry for the fans of Derby County. They must have felt that without Theirry Henry there would a chance against Arsenal. But…Emmanuel Adebayor scored a hat-trick as Arsenal turned up the heat on their Premier League title rivals with a 5-0 thrashing of Derby at The Emirates stadium on Saturday. Cesc Fabregas and Abou Diaby as the Gunners made it six wins out of six in all competitons and extended their unbeaten start to the season to nine matches.
download kid for two farthings a dvd
Among other matches, Liverpool were booed by their own crowd in a 0-0 draw against Birmingham, Manchester City drew 3-3 & in the match I just saw sometime back, Manchester United beat Chelsea 1-0 in which the Blues were playing with 10 men from the 32nd minutes as Mikel was sent out. Newcastle United beat West Ham 3-1 while Aston Villa beat Everton 2-0.
Correction : It ended Manchester United 2, Chelsea 0. There was that dubious penalty given towards the end which Louis Saha converted! My sincere apologies
@ CCD
I spent an hour or so at Cafe Coffee Day today for some good cold coffee & relaxation. I haven’t been there in a few weeks, which really is odd. I normally go there once a week but I guess I have been going out on weekdays after work and staying in on Sundays a lot more. Plus I was sick last weekend! I do miss my coffee. Anyways, once I was feeling awake enough to take a bath & dress, I took my iPod, my phone and a copy of John Grisham’s A Time To Kill (which I somehow can’t seem to finish) and took an auto to the ATM before stepping into CCD.
Surprise, surprise! They had changed their furniture and it looked a whole lot different. Infact too different that I actually took a step back and checked if I actually was in CCD! It was quite tasty looking, the tables, sofas & chairs were the colour of coffee & chocolate, making it the perfect setting for having a cup of your favourite beverage, hot or cold. However, they weren’t as comfortable as the earlier ones. Is that on purpose? Maybe they don’t want people to sit there for hours at a stretch, sipping miserly out of a solitary cup and not buying anything else!
Which brings me to my next observation – CCD has become a lover’s hangout. Couples of various castes, financial status & ages have decided that CCD is where they will hold hands and coo at each other and take up space for hours. Don’t get me wrong – I used to do that at a cozy ice cream parlour ages ago, when I was 19, 20 with an ex. I haven’t turned sour against all other lovers just because I am single! Not in the least.
It’s the posers and stupid idiots that seem to be all over town these days. They are so pathetic that it’s obvious that they want people to see that they are together. The guys show off their girls (see me, I got this big boobed bimbo wrapped around me), while the girl pouts and tosses her mane while the whiff of her reeking perfume assaults the noses of poor unsuspecting people. There were two such couples over there today. And I was so happy when one of them left.
Well the staff at CCD can’t control that but I also have a grudge over CCD’s poor choice of music. That they can control! It used to be dumb techno & hip hop non-sense or the latest Hindi film trash or Tamil film rubbish! But today they went one step ahead – some lame Indian band doing weak covers of rock classic! Oh man, you don’t want to torture yourself by inflicting pain to your ears like that. Luckily I had my earphones to block out the waves of mediocrity.
Of Cats & Dogs
There is something to be said about sitting late at night online on my computer in my room, with the windows open and a gentle rain bearing down on the streets. I love the cool wind that blows in and caresses my skin. It’s 2:30 am and tonight, sleep will come instantly as I lay my head down on the pillow. I feel as if I am surrounded by a huge bed of flowers.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my late dog Shawny and my sister’s dog Shawny Jr. (who lived in my house for a year). I miss having a dog around. There is something about owning a dog that is so human! Ironic I know, but it’s true. I think every home should have a dog & a cat or more than one of each. I like cats too. Sometimes I think about the two cats I had, although it’s been 15 years since they died.
I’m beginning to fade away. My eyes are getting drowsy as I type this. The last couple of sentences had many mistakes when I typed them up and I corrected them on the spot.
So, let me go to sleep. And dream of a large meadow, filled with flowers and butterflies for my dogs and cats & me to chase lazily as a cool wind blows in our faces. That fills me with peace and joy so much. I just want to be with my pets. Go on a long walk in the meadow and chase the butterflies and watch the water flow on the river.
Saturday Is Here
Last evening was fun at times and boring at other times. We did get to plug a few phones & my iPod shuffle to the speakers and blast a few good rock songs for a couple of hours. That was fun.
I need to get my new glasses today that have been waiting for me for a little over a week. My current ones are barely in one piece. I also have a craving for some wonderful coffee at CCD.
I’m not looking forward to the meeting that my department is to have with upper management about the issue that we have. I haven’t had any progress on the new job hunt and I need to step it up next week. The meeting may decide whether I remain at the office or not (solely my choice, cause I know that I am wanted there as I do a good job but I am not ready to accept bullshit) or how long I will remain. I have decided not to remain but it all hinges on me finding a better paying job elsewhere. I do not want to just join any old place that pays less or with a worse position. But how much nonsense can you bear?
Please Understand!
Bye Bye Jose
over her dead body dvd In a statement issued by the club yesterday, coach Jose Mourinho has left Chelsea on mutual consent. Mourinho is believed to have informed senior players of his decision to quit following training on Wednesday. His departure sent shock-waves through English & world football for the Portugese Jose has been the most successful coach in Chelsea’s long history. The outspoken manager has transformed the nation’s football landscape since taking over at Stamford Bridge in June 2004, winning two Premier League titles in his first two years in charge and the FA Cup last season. Of the 185 games he has been in charge, Chelsea have won 124, drawn 40 and lost 21, a record that includes a 60-match unbeaten run in Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge. Many players like Frank Lampard & Didier Drogba were very upset on hearing the news. However he was no doubt one of the most admired & most hated coaches in recent history, as he came across as being harsh & arrogant.
Arsenal 3 Sevilla 0
A first-half strike by top scorer Francesc Fabregas along with a goals from Robin van Persie and Eduardo gave the Gunners a 3-0 win and sent the London club to the top of Group H. The win gives Arsenal the edge to qualify on top of their group and advance to the next round. Although this is just the first of 6 games in the round robin round of 32, it’s a massive mental edge for the London club. However it was the Spanish club that started optimistically, in the sixth minute when winger Jesus Alves fired a spectacular effort narrowly over the crossbar with Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia floundering. But in the 27th minute Faregas converted the home side’s territorial advantage into a goal, with van Persie following in the 54th minute & Croatia international Eduardo put the icing on the cake for Wenger’s men deep into injury time.
In other results :Barcelona beat Lyon 3-0, AS Roma beat Kiev 2-0, Man Utd beat Sporting Lisbon 1-0, PSV beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 while Inter lost 0-1 to Fenerbache.