Here is part two of my food & beer reviews from Manhattan Brewery; their German Wheat beer or ale and their Pepperoni Pizza.
Month: April 2016
Pretty Average & Dull Week
This week has been pretty boring to say the least. Well it’s hardly much different from my usual weeks but the only difference is the timings of my work shift and how much time I spend online. With this work shift timings, 1:30 pm to 10:30 pm, I reach home by around 11:30 and watch some tv shows and fall asleep by 1:30 or so but I wake up only by 8:30 am and that gives me about 2 hours to be online. Half hour to rub the sleep from my eyes and go take a leak and brush my teeth and wash my face and then go get some coffee.
Breakfast and another cup of coffee will be while I am at the desk using my laptop and checking Facebook as well as Twitter, Youtube and blogging. That is so little compared to what I am used to. I do lose an hour and a half in the afternoon and an hour in the night going to the office and coming back home, which is something I wish we could adjust by atleast half an hour each way. That remains a distant dream. Anyways, lunch at the office has been distinctly bad – yesterday’s rice and curries were mediocre to be polite – and last night as I was really hungry but didn’t want too much to eat I asked for an egg fried rice but what I got was boiled rice with bits of scrambled eggs in it. And that too overboiled rice!
The good thing about yesterday was that at a meeting we were informed of new processes and businesses coming to the company. They are expanding by taking up another floor which will make it three in this building. Space has been and will continue to be at a premium for a while, as this expansion will be completed only by July. But that means a possible option at a change for me, which I have been wanting since January. I might look for something if it were possible.
Clingy Bitch Dream
Weird dreams are made of me. I am hitting it out of the ball park with these dreams during the last few years. I don’t have them very often but when I do, it’s so real and it stays with me for days after.
LAst night I had this weird dream of me being at a wedding. In a large hall with so many people and I was with 2 other guys and we were looking out for one thing and one thing only; eligible women who we can strike up a conversation with. We found some good looking women in sarees at one corner and we joined them and tried introducing ourselves. I lost my friends in a few minutes while I struck up a conversation with a women I thought was attractive and we hit it off so well that soon it was just the two of us sitting and talking alone. When it was time for lunch, she walked with her arm in mine and we had a nice time eating and talking during lunch.
Once lunch was done we walked back to sit alone and away from people and talked for a long time. Things were going so well, us talking with her arms clinging to one of mine until….she made a rather insensitive remark. I tried changing the subject but she brought the topic back to it and made more derogatory remarks (don’t ask me what it was,I have forgotten as soon as I woke up) and when I defended / spoke diplomatically she said an even worse term and said some more disparaging things about people who support the topic. I got pissed off and said “You know what, that’s it. I just wanna go now. Goodbye and let’s not call each other” and I tried prying my arm away and walking off…but she was having none of it!
She wouldn’t leave me and kept grabbing my arm even when I yelled at her to let me go. She kept pulling me in one direction opposite to the one I was trying to go to. As people kept staring at us, I thought I’d try and shame her away and said stuff like “Hey lady, I won’t pay you for sex”, and “I don’t want to give you babies” and other things. You’d think she’d back off but she just kept grabbing me and grinning maniacally. Finally she and started abusing swear words at each other but she still wouldn’t let go. But this time we were on the middle of the road and a huge truck was bearing down on us and I heard a loud horn just before the truck was about to hit us….
And I woke up! Shaken! What a dream!
RIP Doris Roberts
5 time Emmy Award winner Doris Roberts has died at the age of 90. The beloved American actress who also received a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which began in 1951 was perhaps best known for her role as Raymond Barone’s mother, Marie Barone, on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005). She’s also starred in tons of other TV shows and movies, like “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “Grandma’s Boy.” She’s survived by her son, Michael Cannata Jr., who she had with her first husband. Doris’ second husband, William Goyen, died in 1983.
Roberts’ acting career began in 1952 with a role on the TV series Studio One. She appeared in episodes of The Naked City (1958–63), Way Out (1961), Ben Casey (1963), and The Defenders (1962–63). In 1961, she made her film debut in Something Wild (1961). She appeared in such 1960s and 1970s films as A Lovely Way to Die, No Way to Treat a Lady, The Honeymoon Killers, Such Good Friends, Little Murders, and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. In 1978, she appeared in a film about John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Ruby and Oswald, in which she played Jack Ruby’s sister. She also appeared very briefly in The Rose, as the mother of the title character (played by Bette Midler).
I first saw her on season 2 of Remington Steele in her recurring role as secretary Mildred Krebs who later became a main character from season 3 onwards. Roberts achieved much of her fame for her role as Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. She was reportedly one of 100 actresses considered for the role. For her work on the series, she was nominated for seven Emmy Awards (and won four times) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Roberts married Michael Cannata; they divorced in 1962. Their son, Michael Cannata, Jr. (born 1957) is her only child. She had three grandchildren: Kelsey, Andrew, and Devon. Her second husband was writer William Goyen. They were married from 1963 until his death from leukemia.
Food Review #80
Gun Powder For Condiments?
Well I am here in my sister & brother in laws apartment. Sitting in one of the bedrooms at the end of the apartment, which is usually my younger nephew’s. My folks are in my older newphew’s room and my nephews and niece sleep in the 6th floor apartment of their paternal grandmom. I woke up early yesterday and post coffee and breakfast I was on the computer till 11 am when I took a shave and a shower and then got ready to go to work.
Work was ok, I was alone at my desk for most of the day from 1:30 pm till almost 8pm. Lunch was terrible at the office cafeteria – at 1:45 pm they had run out of most stuff so I had some rice with the bottom section of sambhar which was so little that I asked for beef curry and some cabbage thoran. The beef was so hard and rubbery – I am sure if I took a piece and threw it against the wall it would bounce back like a ball – and the curry was so spicy that my eyes watered. So spicy, I think she put gun powder instead of spices! It was an awful experience.
I continued with my work until 8:30pm and had a much better dinner which satisfied my hunger and made up for the disaster at lunch. I was one of only 5 people leaving in the 10:30pm cab from the office so I rushed down by 10:32pm and waited for the others and was dropped at home by 11:30pm (only because one of the girls messed up the directions to her place) and watched a couple of episodes of Motive’s season 4 before I slept off.
The Manhattan Brewery & Pub, Gurgaon
Although it has been a few weeks, I would like to now introduced you, my dear viewers/readers, to the excellent Manhattan Brewery & Pub in Gurgaon, Haryana. During my 2 week stay in that city I took the time off on a Saturday and went to the Global Foyer Mall on the outskirts of the city to drink some craft beer and try some awesome food.
They have a dark yet inviting and welcoming lightning and the decor is awesome with some tv screens showing the current live sports and a larger screen that displays music videos.
The beer was cold and delightful and the food was amazing too. The video reviews will follow up soon.
Google & Rescue
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
I use google a lot. For a lot of things, day in day out. Sometimes for checking on spellings, meanings and usage in sentences. To check for facts, to find out new things that I do not know about or had ever heard about before, to reconfirm and get the details that I need for something that I need to have details for.
I search for movies, music, details of movies, images, wallpapers, themes and everything else on sports and television series and all that. Google is my dictionary, novelty store, entertainment search, my library and my think tank. We are so reliant on Google and yet people are still so ignorant in these times when information is at the tip of their fingers and all it takes is a little typing of the keyboard to find the needed data and educate yourself about the topic at hand and yet stick to their biased opinions.
Use Google, find the right websites, go through the details and see if they make sense, are from a legitimate source (check if the data is genuine by rechecking as to who posts it) and then make your points based on it.
Prompt from The Daily Post at WordPress.com
Sunday 17th April Update
Well time to give you an update. I am surprised that I didn’t write up on this yesterday in a post but I am just recovering from a very bad cold and sore throat. The weather in Kochi has been terrible since last month and it is so hot and humid right now that even the African natives in Kochi are going nuts. A Kenyan native told me on Friday that this place is hotter than anywhere he has been in Africa! That’s how fucking hot and humid its is. So I have been drinking lots of water with ice and that too at 3:30 or 4:30 am at home. Hence, I gotta a bad cold and sore throat.
As I was feeling ill at the office on Friday I left early, by 1:30 am, via an Uber and went straight to bed. I was so ill that could only manage to get up at 11:30 am on Saturday. And I felt miserable. There went my Saturday evening plans! I managed to stay upright on a seat for 90 minutes before I had a quick lunch and went back to lying in bed and I watched Star Wars : The Force Awakens. A good way to spend an afternoon sick. After that I watched a bit more tv before getting some coffee and spending the next few hours in front on the laptop watching Youtube before a dinner at 9pm and I went to sleep by 11.
Today my family and I moved from our apartment to a nearby apartment which my dad had bought way back in the late 1980s and which was gifted to my sister and her husband just after they got married. My sister and her husband and 3 kids plus Barfi the pug stay here and they also have a house in Chalakuddy. Anyways, since our elevator in the building is being replaced, and it will take atleast 2-3 weeks to get that done, we have moved temporarily to this apartment. The kids will stay with their grandmother (my brother in law’s mother) in her apartment in the 6th floor of the same building. I am not very happy about this arrangement but it’s ok for now I guess. I don’t want to have to climb 7 floors every day but also the maid won’t come to the apartment for cleaning and cooking and also the vegetable delivery guy, and any delivery guy for that matter, won’t come up.
So it’s an adjustment for a couple of weeks.
Food Review #79
I finally get to try out another iconic fast food franchise. Wendy’s does not have an outlet in Kochi or anywhere else in Kerala and that is why I had to try one while I was in Gurgaon.
I love the decor and the tables and the chairs. It’s a really nice place.
Ofcourse they do not serve any beef in their outlets in India. Just like every other national/international food franchises. Most of their menu is either chicken or paneer based patties.
But they do have bacon and pork bacon at that. I ordered a Chicken Baconator and french fries with an iced tea.
It was an awesome meal with that delicious bun, great chicken patty and bacon. Lip smacking and their fries are really good too. Iced tea was just ok. Enjoy the video.
Star Wars VII : The Force Awakes
Finally got around to watching the first Star Wars film since Disney took over. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) is a 2015 American epic space opera film directed, co-produced, and co-written by J. J. Abrams. The seventh installment in the main Star Wars film series, it stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow. Produced by Lucasfilm and Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
The Force Awakens is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi and focuses on the search for Luke Skywalker who has gone missing several years ago. From the ashes of the Galactic Empire, the First Order has risen and is arming itself to defeat and wipe out the New Republic. Leia, or General Organa, leads the resistance that seeks to protect the Republic and fend off Supreme Leader Snoke, and his disciple the dark warrior Kylo Ren. Ren attacks the planet Jakku to get a chip that shows a map of where Luke currently calls home. He kills an elder named Lor San Tekka but the chip is in the hands of resistance leader pilot Poe Dameron who hides it in his driod BB8, when his ship is damaged and cannot take off. Poe is captured and taken to Starkiller Base, where Ren tortures him and learns of BB-8. Poe’s droid BB-8 escapes with the map, and encounters the scavenger Rey near a junkyard settlement. Ren tortures Poe using the Force, and learns of BB-8. Stormtrooper FN-2187, unable to bring himself to kill for the First Order, frees Poe, and they escape in a stolen TIE fighter; Poe dubs FN-2187 “Finn”.
They crash on Jakku, and Finn survives but is unable to determine if Poe did as well. He encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike. Finn, Rey, and BB-8 flee the planet in the Millennium Falcon, which they steal from a junkyard. The Falcon is then captured by a larger ship piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca – the scene you see in the trailer that goes “We’re home” to the sound of a million fanboys & girls weeping) and he confronts Rey and & Finn but must now fight 2 groups of smugglers who are here to collect debts from Han. The 4 are able to escape and then go to the planet Takodana to get help from cantina owner Maz as the map is incomplete. Rey is drawn to a vault on the lower level and finds the lightsaber that once belonged to Luke and his father Anakin Skywalker. She experiences disturbing visions and flees into the woods. Maz gives Finn the lightsaber for safekeeping. While this is happening, Snoke orders his general to use the Starkiller weapon as he doubts Ren’s commitment to the cause due to his father Han Solo – Ren says Solo means nothing to him. Starkiller Base fires and destroys the Republic capital and fleet. The First Order attacks Takodana in search of BB-8. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, revealing that he survived the earlier crash.
Leia with C3PO reunites with Han – they had separated due to Kylo going against the Jedi teachings of his uncle Luke and going to the dark side – and Chewy. Meahwhile, Ren captures Rey and takes her to Starkiller Base, but when he interrogates her about the map, she is able to resist his mind-reading attempts. Discovering she can use the Force, she escapes using a Jedi mind trick on a nearby guard. As Starkiller Base prepares to fire on D’Qar, the Resistance devises a plan to destroy the superweapon by attacking a critical facility. Leia urges Han to return their son alive. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the facility and plant explosives. Han confronts Ren, calling him by his birth name, Ben, and implores him to abandon the dark side. Ren kills Han, enraging Chewbacca who fires and hits Ren. He sets off the explosives, allowing the Resistance to attack and destroy Starkiller Base. Ren pursues Rey to the surface and they fight in the snow. A lightsaber battle between Ren and Finn ensues, leaving Finn badly wounded. Rey takes the lightsaber and uses the Force to defeat Ren, before they are separated by a fissure as the planet begins to disintegrate.
Snoke orders Hux to evacuate and bring Ren to him. Rey and Chewbacca escape with Finn in the Falcon. On D’Qar, the Resistance celebrates while Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han’s death. R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, which Rey follows with R2-D2 and Chewbacca to a distant planet. She finds Luke and presents him with the lightsaber. Is that his daughter? Dunno but probably yes. The movie ends without Luke having said a single word. Many critics praised the film and compared it favorably to the original trilogy. The film has since broken many box office records, becoming the highest-grossing installment of the franchise, the highest grossing film in North America, and the third highest grossing film of all time with a worldwide gross of more than $2 billion. It received five Academy Award nominations and four British Academy Film Award nominations, where it won Best Special Visual Effects. Two sequels, Episode VIII and Episode IX, are scheduled for 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Really? This movie that basically rips of the original movie in its storyline? What about Rey being able to use the force so quickly, less than a few hours after learning she might be a descendant of a Jedi or atleast have the force be really strong in her? Anakin couldn’t do it, Luke couldn’t do it! And Finn, a Stortropper suddenly grows a conscience? And Luke ran away when things got bad? Boo hoo hoo! I am not blown away but then what do you expect from JarJar Abrams, who likes to rip old stories into new and think he is smart! A 7.5 outta 10!
New USB Data Card
Just went out on what is a fucking hot and humid day to go and buy a new USB data card connection from Tata Docomo. Ok, the heat and humidity is really bad, it’s probably the worst we have seen in decades. I probably say it every year but it really is terrible. Anyway the reason I am getting the USB dongle is because I will be staying in another apartment for the next 3 weeks or so and will need internet connectivity there.
So I got one and paid Rs.2000 for the device and the first month which will give me 6.2 mbps for 15 GB. After that it’s at a nominal 64kbps which is nothing really. I think I can get by on 15GB of data for 3 weeks but just in case I don’t I can add a booster pack for about Rs.200 more and which will get me another 5GB or so. I have to call them up and find out. Anyways, I have to wait till today evening to get the connection activated after pre-verification and will probably only see how it works by tomorrow, as I work in the evening shift.
Packing My Bags Again
So I am packing my bags yet again but this time it’s not to another city or state. It’s just a few minutes away from here. Our building is having it’s elevator replaced, the only one we have in this stupid building. And hence people like me and my folks who live on the 7th floor are gonna have it tough. We won’t get our stuff delivered, mail man, vegetable delivery guy, our maid etc will not come on up the 7 set of stairs to our apartment. Which is difficult. And it will take almost 3 weeks to get the work done. The work will start on Monday.
Therefore my parents and I will be temporarily moving to the apartment, which is in my dad’s name, but where my sister and her family live. I stated a few days ago that my brother in laws father passed away. Well he and his wife used to live in their own apartment in the same building as my sister & brother in law and their 3 kids plus Barfi the dog. Hence the kids will go and stay with my brother in law’s mother in that apartment while I and mom & dad will move in for 3 weeks to theirs. All of us will be split across these two apartments in the same building and 6 bedrooms. I am not looking forward to it.
Anyways what can ya do? I could stay back but it’s going to be tough. We will be moving there on Sunday. Tomorrow I am going to go and buy either a MTS India or TataDocomo USB dongle for high speed internet. And by Sunday morning I gotta get all my stuff packed and ready.
Room (2015)
Room is a 2015 Canadian-Irish independent drama film directed by Lenny Abrahamson and written by Emma Donoghue, based on her novel of the same name. The film stars Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, Sean Bridgers, and William H. Macy. Held captive for seven years in an enclosed space, a woman (Larson) and her 5-year-old son (Tremblay) finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time. Larson’s performance won her the won multiple awards for her performance, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award. Room also received three other Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Teenage Joy is abducted by a man only called “Old Nick”, who pretended to have lost a dog. Joy tried to help him and ended up being a prisoner of his for the next 7 years, getting regularly raped. Two years after the abduction she gives birth to a son, Jack, who she raises in the makeshift room in Nick’s shed in his backyard and which has an electronic lock, who’s combinations are held secret by Nick. Room has a bed, toilet, bathtub, television, and rudimentary kitchen; the only window is a skylight, all of which Jack calls by name, as if they were living. Nick holds them both captive and he supplies Joy with food, medicines and vitamins. For Jack’s 5th birthday Joy bakes him a cake and they celebrate. At night she puts him to sleep in the little bed in the closet just before Nick visits for sex. She tries to stay optimistic for her son, but is suffering malnutrition and is sometimes overcome with depression. She allows Jack to believe that only Room and its contents are “real,” and that the rest of the world exists only on television.
Old Nick tells Joy that he lost his job and threatens he may not be able to afford their supplies in the future. When Joy reacts badly, he cuts their heat and power. Joy decides to tell Jack about the outside world; he reacts with disbelief and incomprehension, but also curiosity. She has Jack fake a fever, hoping that Old Nick will take him to a hospital where he can escape, but Old Nick says he will return the following day with antibiotics. Fearing that the tactic will not work, she coaches Jack to lie still and pretends he is dead and rolls him up in the carpet. Crying she makes Nick put the carpet in the back of his pickup truck and take the boy to a nice spot near the trees to lay him down. At a stop sign, Jack as coached by Joy, unrolls himself from the carpet and jumps out. Although stunned by his first exposure to the outside world, Jack jumps from the truck and attracts the attention of a passer-by. The police arrive and rescue him. Joy is rescued, Old Nick is arrested, and Joy and Jack are taken to a hospital.
At the hospital Joy is reunited with her parents; her mother Nancy and father Robert have divorced and her dad lives in another city while Nancy lives at their home with her partner Leo. After a few days Joy and Jack are brought to the house where Jack struggles to get acclimatized to a whole large world and is overwhelmed and even later asks his mother to go back to Room. Robert is unable to accept Jack and leaves back for his home. Joy struggles with anger and depression, lashing out at her mother and ignoring doctor’s appointments. She agrees to a television interview, but becomes angry when the interviewer questions her decision to keep Jack after his birth. Overwhelmed with guilt, she attempts suicide and is admitted to a hospital. While she is away Jack slowly starts to bond with his grandmother Nancy and Leo, who introduces the boy to his dog Seamus (Jack had an imaginary pet dog while in Room). Jack also makes friends with a boy his own age and who lives in the same neighbourhood.
Believing his long hair will give Joy the strength she needs to recover, Jack has his grandmother cut it for him so he can send it to her. He even tells Nancy that he loves her. Joy returns home and apologizes, thanking Jack for saving her life again. At Jack’s request, they visit Room one last time, escorted by police. Jack is confused; their possessions have been removed for evidence, and he feels it has shrunk, and that it is a different place with the door open. Joy asks Jack if he wants her to shut the door, but he says no. He and Joy say their goodbyes to Room and leave.
Stunningly acted by both Larson and young Jacob Tremblay, it’s a riveting film that makes you feel for the plight of the duo. Amazing what a low budget film can do with a good script and wonderful actors. I give this film a 9 outta 10!
Bedtime
Bedtime schedule is different for different folks. On a weekday vs a weekend is also different for me.
Monday to Friday it’s pretty much the same for me. Depending on what work shift timings I am doing (I usually work a 4:30 pm to 1:30 am work shift) and what time I reach home. So if I reach home by 2:15-2:30 am I usually come to my room, change clothes, or remove clothes since I sleep in the nude, and switch on my laptop. As I lie in bed, I will watch a tv show episode before I fall asleep by 3:30 am.
Weekends are usually a lot better ofcourse. I will be watching a movie or two or three episodes of whatever show I have lined up for the night. Sometimes there might be a football match on at 9:30 pm or 10pm and I will watch that before I go to bed. Then 2 to 3 hours in I will enter lala land. Zzzzzz
On several nights though before I drift off to sleep there is that inevitable thinking about my life and how it’s so not where I want it to be. The regrets, the mistakes and the what ifs. And I will dream! Of what could have been!
Next In LIne
Given the choice, would you rather be heir to the throne, or the (probably) off-the-hook younger sibling?
What? What kind of a question is that? Hail to the king baby! I wanna rule the world. I wanna be emperor and sit on a giant throne and have jewels and diamonds and a crown and splendour and all kinds of things. People bowing before me and wenches to do my bidding. And a royal palace. With a royal everything. Travel in style and stay in amazing places.
I don’t want to be the second in line. I mean, it might be nice. Have all the fun and riches without the responsibility and enjoy the high life. Shop in the best places and stay in the best & richest places and yet not have to contend with major decisions at all. That could be fun. Ofcourse you might get bored after a while. Just fun, fun, fun without some work to earn that fun can get dull after a while.
So make me king
Prompt from The Daily Post at WordPress.com
Old Style Frame, Contemporary Interior Upgrades
Beer Review – Amstel Light Lager
Amstel Brewery is a Dutch brewery founded in 1870 on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was taken over by Heineken International in 1968, and the brewing plant closed down in 1982, with production moving to the main Heineken plant at Zoeterwoude. Amstel Lager uses predominantly light pilsner malt, although some dark malt is also used. It is sold in 75 countries. Amstel Light is a 3.5% abv pale lager. Basically it’s for grandmothers and small kids. If it was a hot day and the beer was quite chilled, I guess it would be very refreshing. I would want atleast 4.8 – 6 % alcohol in my beers.