My lyrics for today:

faces that i've seen turn old and grey
i've lost too many freinds along the way
memories i never thought would fade
they fade and blow away
i wish that i could disappear
unzip my skin and leave it here
so i could be no one again
and never let nobody,
i'd let nobody, i'd let nobody in

StainD - Blown Away

Subway: Are we choosing well?

Our (Ajit's and mine) Sunday dinner always ends up being a Subway sub because of the Sunday making of chicken in the house. I really really like Subway (even though I absolutely adore Quizno's ;)) and have it anytime I possibly can.. I am also impressed with their 'Choose Well' ad campaign... However, I wasnt really sure how true their claims really were.. I mean, sure.. Jared lost sooooooooo many pounds by eating just Subway and documentaries like 'Supersize Me' show the problems of eating unhealthy fast food.. But just how can we be so sure that what Subway say, is the whole picture... I present to you what I came up with... The information presented here is taken from Subway and Burger King.

I always have a Veggie Footlong on Parmesan Oregano with pepperjack cheese, with both Chipotle and Sweet Onion sauces. Here is the nutrion info. on the same.

Parmesan Oregano Bread: 420 Calories/60 Cals from Fat/7 Gms of Fat/80 Gms of Carbs
Pepperjack Cheese (4 triangles) : 100 Calories/70 Cals from Fat/8 Gms of Fat/no carbs
Chipotle Sauce : 90 Calories/80 Cals from Fat/9 Gms of Fat/2 Gms of Carbs
Sweet Onion Sauce: 40 Cals/none from Fat

Total: 660 Calories/210 Cals from Fat/24 Gms of Fat/82 Gms of Carbs

Comparing it with what I like to eat at BK (BK Veggie and Medium Fries).

BK Veggie: 290 Calories/60 Cals from Fat/7 Gms of Fat/44 Gms of Carbs
Medium Fries: 360 Calories/160 Cals from Fat/18 Gms of Fat/46 Gms of Carbs

Total: 650 Calories/220 Cals from Fat/25 Gms of Fat/90 Gms of Carbs

How about that?? If you guys think that this is something to do with the veggie you could try comparing the ever favourite (Anya's for sure) Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki footlong with a BK Chicken Whopper+Fries. You'd find the results pretty alarming.

The way we (and I think most people) have our subs, they arent much better than having a BK or McD's. I'd really like to ask Jared about these figures.. Wouldnt you? I mean... are we really making the right choice here?

Will Boston defy 'the Curse of the Bambino' this time?

I am writing this as the Yanks are losing it.... Its the top of the 8th and they're 9-3 down to the Bosox... Well I was gonna write a post about how Boston are cursed right after the fourth game when they almost got swept.... And here I am writing about the best comeback in the history of baseball... The Red Sox were within 3 outs of getting swept 4-0 in the best of 7 series and yet here they are on the verge of a historic win... So up comes the question again for any Boston Red Sox fans out there... Will the curse of the bambino strike again?

For those who dont know what this curse is all about.. A little history.. Boston Red Sox were one of the premier team back in 1918 and they had won a leauge record 5 world series which was more than any other team ever. One of the major contributors to their victories was a young pitcher (who later went on to become a star hitter) named George Ruth (popularly known as the Babe or the Bambino) . However, in 1920 the owner of the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for a sum of $100,000 and a loan to finance his girlfriend's musical on Broadway. Well, since then, the Bosox have not won 'A SINGLE' world series. They have gone to the world series 4 times since 1920 and have lost every single time, in 7 games... In contrast the Yankees who had never won a championship before getting the Babe, have won 26 titles since then. Many Boston fans believe that the performace of Boston is due to 'the Curse of the Bambino'..

So what do you think guys... Will Bosox finally find it in them to get the better of the curse or will the curse get the better of them... yet again...

P.S. -: Anya, AT... happy now!!! The Yanks are losing man :( ... they just got outplayed... hats off to Boston... and good luck too..

'Friday Night Lights' shines....

We went for the movie 'Friday Night Lights' on Sunday... This is certainly not gonna be one of those comprehensive reviews that ones reads elsewhere. My way of judging how good or bad a movie is, is very simple. For me, if I can sit there for the length of the movie, and it completely absorbs me... If the movie doesnt let me think of anything else besides what is happening on screen. If the movie makes it through my short attention span.. Then I believe that the movie is good... And this one folks.. is really really good.

The movie is about a high school football team from a small town called Odessa in West Texas and how they stand up to the challenges of playing without their best player and living up to the hugest of huge expectations of an entire town. The movie is based on a true story converted into a book written by H.G. Bissinger. Billy Bob Thronton gives an awesome performance as the coach of the Permian Panthers team. Other notable performances include Lucas Black (the Quaterback of the team) , Garrett Hedlund (son of a local football legend) and Tim McGraw (the father of the afore mentioned).

There's this one dialouge in the movie that got stuck in my head... Its when the coach is giving his team a pep talk in the half time of the final game (where they're getting mauled badly)... He says

"Being perfect is not about winning or losing... Its about being able to look your friends in the eye and know you didn't let them down.......forever is about to happen. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, with love and joy in your heart? If you can do that, then you're perfect."

I am kinda biased towards movies based on sporting stories... especially the football (the american kind, where almost no foot is involved ;)) movies... Names like, 'Remember the Titans' , 'Varsity Blues' and 'Rudy' readily come to mind.. Now I can add this one to the list as well :)

Speaking of football, how about them Vikings eh :) .... Yeah I know, its too early to blow the trumpet (since we started 6-0 last season and yet didnt make the playoffs) but yeah the offense is playing damn good.... Well I'll just keep my fingers crossed... Will we see some playoff action this time? Watch this space....

So FINALLY they get him!!!

The man was wanted for the murder of 120 people... Killing 2000 elephants and smuggling around 88000 pounds of ivory and sandalwood (read article here ).. But according to reports he was finally shot dead along with 3 of his associates.. Thank god. He has been an outlaw for almost 40 years and the special task forces of 2 states werent able to catch him. The bible says, those who live by the sword, die by the sword and I guess it was a deserving end to a bloodthirsty murderer. Had he been caught and tried in our esteemed courts , I'm sure he would've lived to be 80 or something. Somehow, I believe that people like him deserve to die the way they do... I might be taking the hardline, but think about it. He killed people in cold blood. That according to me is the most barbaric crime one can ever commit. He asked for it, and he got it.

One amongst a kazillllllllllllllllion !!!!

Sometimes you just feel so humbled :)

A molecule of fat :(

You are a lipid. You know whom you like and whom
you hate, and you like hanging out with people
who think like you do. People who disagree with
you annoy you to no end. You either love
Abercrombie and Fitch or you despise it, but
there's no middle ground. You're polar.

Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

P.S. -: I love Abercrombie and Fitch clothes... Unfortunately my wallet and my heart dont go hand in hand :(

Jagjit and Kaifi Azmi: An amazing combination

Koi yeh kaise bataye ki woh tanha kyun hai?
Woh jo apna tha wohi aur kisi ka kyun hai?
Yahi duniya hai toh phir aisi yeh duniya kyun hai?
Yahi hota hai toh aakhir yahi hota kyun hai?

Ek zara haath badha de toh pakad le daaman
Uske seene mein samaa jaaye hamari dhadkan
Itni kurbat hai toh phir faasla itna kyun hai?

Dil-e-barbad se nikala nahin ab tak koi
Ek lute ghar pe diya karta hai dastak koi
Aas jo toot gayi phir se bandhata kyun hai?

Tum marsarat ka kaho ya kaho isse gam ka rishta
Kehte hain pyaar ka rishta hai janam ka rishta
Hai janam ka jo yeh rishta toh badalta kyun hai?

Such amazing lyrics. They mean so much. Say so much... This one is from the movie 'Arth'. Jagjit has rendered it really really well. You should really hear it out. Ask Ajit. I hear it every day. Poor guy gets so bugged after a while. But then.. thats me.. I bug the hell out of people ;)

What is up with this world...

Here are a few things that are happening around the world these days....

The second presidential debate happened yesterday... and it is all over the news today. A New York Times article read like this -:

"An Associated Press survey published Friday, just before the debate, showed Mr. Kerry leading Mr. Bush 50 percent to 46 percent, reversing Mr. Bush's 52 percent to 45 percent lead from two weeks before. The margin of error was three percentage points. Time magazine has the two deadlocked at 45 percent, with Mr. Bush having lost a six-point lead, and Mr. Kerry with a strong advantage among women."

Now personally, I dont have any love lost for Bush. I think the war is Iraq was stupid and unnecessary and that his stand on the same is questionable. But then I dont like the way Kerry 'changes his mind' on things.. I mean at the start of his campaign, his first ads on television talked about how under the Bush regime American jobs are being outsourced to other countries. In yesterday's debate Mr. Kerry says that outsourcing cannot be stopped. Dude make up your mind... Its a no-win situation actually. I dont like Bush and I dont think Kerry would ever be able to make up his mind.. Man Clinton was so much better :)....

Another thing that was all over the news (on which Conan had an amazingly funny segment on The Late Show, last night) is Martha Stewart going to jail. One thing I like about America... They can impeach their Presidents for lying under oath and they can send their celebrities to jail.. I wonder when would Salman Khan be tried for hunting an endangered animal... Will Laloo ever pay for the fodder scam????

The oil prices just keep on climbing. They've now crossed $53 per barrel which is an all time time... Thank god I dont have a car right now.. Man when I came here 2 years ago, the gas used to be $1.30... Its now $1.94... So much for the argument that the war on Iraq was all because of the oil... ;)

Afghanistan had their presidential elections today after 22 years of war.... I really wish that country some peace... They deserve it...

Another place that is gearing up for elections is my home state (yes it is my home state, cuz I was born in Bombay and am an unofficial Puneite :)) Maharashtra... Wonder how Sharad Pawar and co. would do against the tiger (personally, I think hez no tiger) with failing health... Would Sena/BJP be able to come back to power... I think not.. But I wouldnt want to predict anything... Going by how elections have been going these days, anything could happen...

The Twins lost :(..... yeah i know i know.. most of u would go, Twins who... The Minnesota Twins.. get it.. they play baseball and were playing the playoffs against the Yankees (my second favourite team..) and lost about 30 minutes ago... I was watching the game... Damn they were leading 5-1 till the 8th innings... Talk about chokers... (what say you AT??)

Talking about chokers... how about our esteemed cricket team... Ok so they were set a target of more than 450... But there is a dignified way of losing and there is a way of losing your dignity.. These guys are just doing the latter.. The best batting lineup in the world on paper.... They keep disappointing dont they... Last season they played so well, I was like... Finally we have reached a place where we can safely say that we arent chokers.... Take the Pakistan series as a case in point... But what the hell... look at their record this season... They are back to being the India of the old.... To be fair to them though... The umpiring standards in this test atleast were really really questionable... I havent had the benefit of watching most of the questionable dismissals... But I did see the one that was not given.. Michael Clarke on 92 facing an Anil Kumble flipper takes one on the front pad right in front of the wicket... and Bowden shakes his head... I mean... come on... and this just keeps happening with India doesnt it... I would be the last one to attribute our teams bad performace to bad umpiring.. But then time and again, we just are handed out the most worthless decisions ever... Oh well.. lets hope for the best for the rest of the series....

Looks like Taiwan has gotten itself the world's tallest building.... The Taipei 101 tower has been officially certified as being the tallest building in the world.. Its a whopping 508 meters high.. Thats more than half a freaking kilometer... According to this site there is speculation that India might be the site for the world's tallest building.. Any guesses how long that might take ;)....

Closer home... Everyone here in Duluth (read: Ajit, Nag and Anoop) is talking about the fall.... Now I dont want to add my bit here except that I dread fall becuz it tells me that winter is coming and damn do I hate the cold.... Besides that... the insomnia continues unabated... The cricket match doesnt help much (but then I know its just an excuse, I'd stay up anyways)... thesis is just going along.. 'the dude' wants me to write another piece of code... life goes on....

My lyrics for today....

But I'm in so deep. You know I'm such a fool for you.
You got me wrapped around your finger,
Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to, do you have to,
Do you have to let it linger?

Cranberries - Linger

Joey is missing his friends...

I'm sure you all have atleast heard about (if not watched) the new sitcom Joey on NBC. I have been such a big fan of Friends . I have probably seen most of the episodes (its impossible to see each and every one) of all the seasons.... So when I first heard that they were going to end the series and start a new one with just Joey in it , I thought hmm... this might just be good.. I mean you know that Joey was arguably the funniest of all six of them (actually, before he mellowed down (after he started going out with monica .... a bracket inside a bracket.. WOW) Chandler was THE funniest... I mean could anyone else BE any funnier ;) ....)

So anyways.... I have now seen the new show a couple of times... and I am disappointed... bigtime.. I mean I really thought that Joey should be able to pull off half an hour of being himself ...but frankly... I think he cant and shouldnt... I think I (and most of america) is so used to seeing him with Chandler and the rest of the gang, that seeing him with his elder sister (man she sucks...) and nephew (whoever thought Joey would have 20 year old nephew..... its just kinda wierd) is something that is just unbearable... Also, I think that the Joey Chandler team was just too awesome.... It made the show so much better.... Its just too difficult to think of Joey without Chandler and hence the disappointment.... I so wish that they had just ended the series and not brought out this show.... I dont think it would do well... I just wish they'd just ended the series for good... atleast that ways we wouldnt have to see Joe doing his thing without everyone else making fun of him (it was so great the way Joey never understood that his friends were making fun of him....) . I feel for Joey..... he soooo misses his friends.... and u know wat?? I miss my friends too... :(

I need some sleep....

I need some sleep.
You can’t go on like this.
I try counting sheep,
But there’s one I always miss.

Everyone says, "I’m getting down too low"
Everyone says, "You just gotta let it go"
You just gotta let it go
You just gotta let it go

I need some sleep
time to put the old horse down
I’m in too deep
and the wheels keep spinning round

Everyone says, "I’m getting down too low"
Everyone says, "You just gotta let it go"
You just gotta let it go
You just gotta let it go

You just gotta let it go
You just gotta let it go
You just gotta let it go


Eels - Shrek 2 Soundtrack

THE most played songs this summer : My Rating

Now that the summer is officially over (damn the winter has started , here in Duluth), I look back and the one thing that comes to mind (musically) is the songs that we all heard on radio. We have some awesome stations in Duluth but unfortunately, the one bad thing with radio (as with TV here in the U.S.) is repetition... I mean they play the same songs over and over again. I can sing along to most songs that are played on the radio today and that is just because they are played so much.... Neways, here is my list of the best and most played songs on radio over the summer....

10. Yeah by Usher featuring Lil' Jon and Ludacris (Now personally I am not into Rap,HipHop or RnB, but this one is kinda catchy so it finds a place on my list)

9. Move your body by Nina Sky (Another really catchy number.. Damn this one is for the dance floor)

8. Turn me on by Kevin Little (this is an awesome song just for the way he sings it... the lyrics though... they're something else ;) )

7. Hey Mama by Black Eyed Peas (awesome group... they played at UMD last year and man have they got energy... The song is good too.. Not as good as 'Where is the love?' though)

6. How far is heaven by Los Lonely Boys (this song finds a place here only because it is played atleast 5 times a day... everyday....)

And now my top 5 favourite (overplayed...) songs for the summer -:

5. 100 years by Five for Fighting (never heard of the group before this and never heard of them after. But the song is a great to listen to...)

4. Broken by Evanescence (they are a great group... simply awesome.. love the lyrics of this song but I think My Immortal is much better....)

3. She will be loved by Maroon 5 (amazing song... It sounds sooooo good... This one is from their first album 'Songs about Jane' which features a couple of their other famous songs 'This love' and 'Harder to breathe')

2. The Reason by Hoobastank (almost my most favourite song for the summer.. great lyrics.. sugar sweet... amazing voice... was number 1 on the U.S. charts for a while)

And my favourite song for the summer, and an addition to my top 50 favourite songs (I might just post the list someday... need some more time when I have NOTHING to do.. but i'm off topic)...

1. Accidentally in love by Counting Crows ( they've been one of my most favourite groups for a long time... Some of their best songs are 'Rain King' , 'A long December' and 'Big Yellow Taxi'... If any of you ever get a chance, then give them a listen... they're really good.. Now to the song... I can listen to it any time and all the time.... The music is great and so are the words.... and Adam Duritz has a great voice... its got everything that a good song should have and that is why it wins... Also, its on the soundtrack of my favourite movie for the summer 'Shrek 2' , so it leaves the compitition 'far far away'... hehehehhee...)

Whatever has to happen will happen????

How many times have you heard someone say "Whatever has to happen will happen" ??? Believe me when I say it, I have heard it said to me alone, a zillion times by all kinds of people. It seriously makes me think. To what lengths can we go to run away from the fact that we are the ones who are responsible for the situation we are in and we are the only ones who can change it. I have always believed that 'Whatever happens, we make it happen'. Its not fate or destiny or act of god or whatever you may call it. Its our own doing. Its my belief that our life is based on a set of choices we make and however good or bad it may be, its all because we chose it to be so. Now you might say that circumstances play an important role in our life being what it is. I say that its we who create those circumstances. We choose not to change those circumstances. Its always in our hands.

Which brings me to another of my much abused (by other people;)) philosophy. I've always thought that whenever I dont succeed in doing something that I want , its my fault. Its so easy to blame a failure on someone/something else. But if we look deep inside, we'd realize that somewhere, it was our fault. Its a very hard thing to do. Sometimes, its very very harsh on oneself. It hurts, a lot. But then I believe that it makes one stronger. It makes one want to not make the same mistakes again and thats the most important thing right? I wouldnt say that I've always done this. I try to. But there are times when I end up saying 'Now where did I go wrong over here? It surely couldnt have been my fault".... But then thats just my frustration talking. I'm just trying to take the easy way out and I shouldnt do that right... So I am trying... really hard.. This time.....

Rahman creates another masterpiece

Have you heard the music of Swades ? Its all that I've been listening to recently and knowing me and my taste in music, that is something. Rahman , as always does an excellent job and thankfully we dont have a young Sonu Nigam singing for an old Shahrukh. And in case you dont trust my taste in music (do u dare????) , well read Suneet Kapoor's review here .

Happy Birthday Mr. Gandhi

Today is the birthday of the father of the nation. Gandhiji is probably one of the most maligned people in India. Now I know everyone respects him because we 'have' to. But do people really believe that what he did for the country was something worth respecting him for? Do people really think that he deserves the title of 'the father of the nation'? Do people really think he was 'Mahatma Gandhi'? I for one have heard him being called everything , from 'ganja buddha' (a guy in my school once reffered to him like that) to an extremist (my good friend AT calls him that). India is a free country and everyone has a right to freedom of speech, right? So they can say anything they want. But really, maligning a person who got us that freedom of speech, is criminal I'd say. Of course, I also know that had he been around, he would have accepted such talk with folded hands. Such was the greatness of the man. Such was his total belief in non-violence.

I respect Gandhiji for what he was and I hold him high in my thoughts because of what he did for our country. But it seems like our country has forgotten some of the basic things that he fought for. Anya talks about the abuse and opression of an innocent man. Nagaland Violence . The Gujrat violence. Graham Staines's gruesome murder. Ayodhya. Everything. What do you think he could have done had he been around? Could he have been able to fix the mess that we've gotten into? We wish, right.....

The First Post

So I decide to take the plunge into the world of blogging... For no obvious reasons. Actually I had a few reasons why I didnt want to take up this activity. For one, I wasnt sure how updated could I keep this thing. Another thing that bothered me was that I didnt want this to end up as some personal/public diary (believe me I've seen so many blogs like that) . Well anyways... I just have been reading a lot of blogs lately and I've always wondered how it would be to write a blog of my own.. And even though I have so many other things on my mind right now, (finish my damn thesis for one) this might just end up being some fun... So let the drivelling begin.

P.S. -: Pure Drivel is a book by Steve Martin that I enjoyed reading a lot. I'd suggest it as a good read.