The Past Few Weeks - The Greatest Lesson

The 'Past Few Weeks' saga came to an abrupt end. You see, there is this problem, called time, so many of the things that I wanted to write about did not actually make it up here. Fine. But this one is a must.

There comes a certain time in everyone's life (I guess) when reality dawns, and when we finally realise something so..well...DUH. This was just one thing, which I feel is the cause of all disappointment, cause of all problems, cause of all fights, cause of all hatred and well, everything else. This 'cause', I feel, is that we expect too much from people. Atleast I do, and as a matter of fact, quite frankly and unhaughtily, I should rephrase that too some of us expect too much from people. How many times have we heard people complaining 'he should have done that' or 'why is he late?'. Okay, yes expectations are required, otherwise this world would not function. Everybody expects, but the people who really suffer are who 'expect too much'. And I am one of them. It's not bad, actaully the intentions are all good, but it is harmful. Because when someone doesn't meet your expectations, you get disappointed, irritated, stressed and depressed. There is no need for that.

Be it your best friends, your girlfriend, your peers, your elders - everyone disappoints. It is not like they mean to, but then we get so troubled and demanding about everything, it just happens. The worst scenario is even when you talk to these people - and they still don't get it. It's so frustrating. You start thinking and speculating and wondering, and then the worst bit - you start to blame yourself. You don't feel like talking, you don't feel like doing anything for anyone, but then again you care. So you get even more perplexed, you feel like hitting your head against the wall, and then you try to do something about it instead - so you try to pick up the phone and call - But then again, you check yourself. STOP. No. How much can you say? That's when it hits you - stop it. Stop expecting so much. Continue to do what you want to, continue to try to meet other people's expectations, (not that it always happens - but I have realised it so I need to practice it as much as I can) continue caring and for once, putting other people before you - but without too many expectations.

I have somewhat started doing that and the feeling is awesome. If you haven't already realised, the most amount of joy is felt by us when we don't expect something and we get it. WOW! Think about it, I really don't know what you think - but to me, this holds a lot of reverence. As my Elvis puts it, reflect.

The past few weeks have taught me just that. It has come to me like a plate of food comes onto a wife-betrayer's face. But then again we need to question: How much do we expect from ourselves? Because we cannot not expect anything from ourselves, then we would end up no where. Again, reflect.

Robbie Williams In Dubai - The Aftermath

I am NOT gay - so don't judge. But...

Have any of your dreams come true? If they have, you will understand the pure euphoria that comes along with it. I had one such experience. After watching Robbie Williams blow everyone away at Live 8 with his mesmerising performance, and then watching him entertain 400,000 people at Knebworth on DVD, I felt that Robbie Williams would never come to Dubai, or that I would never be lucky enough to see him perform in his prime days.

But thanks to Midas Promotions, and Mr. Williams himself, this one dream of mine has come to life. It started with a hiccup as I mentioned in my earlier post, and ended with orgasmic joy at 10:50 pm on 21st April 2006.

Due to my absurdity, Billy, My-Favourite-Guitarist, Elvis, My-Best-Bald Friend and I reached Nad Al Shebha at 10:00 am (Gulf News got it wrong) for a show that would eventually begin only at 9:00 pm. We were the first few to reach there, and the most foolish ones because we didn't have front pit tickets. It was all my fault, so I apologize for it. But please note, for Robbie William's earlier concert in Pretoria, people had started lining up from 5:00 am - but then again I forgot, we lived in Dubai - the land of the pampered and the lazy.

Football, SAT study, and more football kept us occupied in a truly boring build up to the concert. The initial organisation was pretty poor, with no proper queues, and limited food arrangements. The queue fiasco was especially frustrating because our early arrival paid hardly any dividend. People like Ms. Ohri and Ms. Hussain got in at the same time as we did, even though they arrived 6 hours later. Anyway, it's cool - they are good company - :P.

Behind us in the queque, were these 4 Robbie fanatics. It was their third Robbie concert, and one of them had also been to Knebworth to watch him there. And, that my friends, is truly insane. Anyway, the night before the show, Robbie Williams was at 'Trilogy' - a bar in Dubai, and these groupies had met him there. Surprisingly he was a little rude to them - and they blamed it on the negative effects of money. But all I wanted to tell them was - hey, it's Robbie Williams - he must be high on alcohol or something, and hell, he has millions of 'No.1' fans - and he can't possibly be nice to everyone, especially after a high dosage of good old beer. Apparently he left the bar quited unhappy, his supposed last 2 words being - 'F*** that!'

The gates opened at 5:30 pm. The 7 and a 1/2 hours of waiting, which included Elvis' visit to the ambulance nearby because of his high fever, extreme heat and sheer restlessness, seemed worthwhile eventhough it didn't give us any real advantage. However these bulky self-obsessed, know-it-all, 'too-cool' bouncers committed a stupid error. They tried letting only one person go at time, one of 25000 people. Freaks. Obviously it didn't work, and luckily enough nobody assaulted them - but just pushed them aside instead. 25000 are definitely stronger then 2 bulky men.

It was then time for 'The Big Race'. Everyone sprinted to get as close as possible to the stage. Here's where fitness helps. We got the best standing area possible with our dhs. 195 tickets, and quite unexpectedly, it was pretty close to the stage.

Contrary to the external organisation, the internal arrnagements were excellent. However I pity the people with dhs 495, dhs 595 & dhs 695 tickets, because according to me those were not worth it. They were seated behind us, the cheapest ticket holders. And who the hell wants to sit down and watch Robbie perform?

An average DJ kept us going for some time, and then 3 and a half hours later, at 9:00 pm sharp, we witnessed magic. The lights went off, and on came the presentation on the big screen on the rear part of the stage. Breathtaking images of Robbie (more cool that 'hot') accompanied by entrancing sound effects, and heated firebolts made everyone hyper and eager. Finally, from beneath the stage, with streams of white smoke, emerged Robbie Williams in his long buttoned coat, cravat, jeans and sun-glasses, and our ears resonated with shrill cries of the crowd and then the beats of his first song that day - Radio. The crowd went offcially bezerk. We went offically bezerk. We were witnessing one of the greatest perfomerers ever. Rock DJ followed and that really got us going. Robbie played most of his hits, and kept us screaming continuously. His humour, his passion, his style, his talent and his charm came out with such ferocity that it left us incredulous to everything. It was like this mighty wave that crashed upon us, but instead of pushing us down, lifted us to such heights of ectasy that these moments would never be forgotten.

From his sexy camel pose, to deriding J.Lo, Robbie was pretty hilarious. It was a dual show - an amazing musical performance and a side-by-side stand-up comedy act. He imitated 'Jacko' and the great '106-years-old' Mick Jagger. His 'portrayal' of I Can't Get No Satisfaction along with a mockery of Mick Jagger's dance and voice was stomach-splitting. His Jenny From The Block 'emulation' (uhm..uhm) followed by a marvelous delivery of his modern-Shakespeare-like soliloquy added to a truly memorable night.

Robbie did screw up once - he messed up 'Ghosts' completely and also admitted it later - 'I scuffed it'. But that didn't really matter - he was totally awesome. The only downside of the whole concert was, quite frankly, the audience. We 'Dubaites' don't realise how lucky we are to see such great performers with such ease. The crowd wasn't bad, but it wasn't as frenetic as Robbie's usual fans - that I can tell from the many Robbie concerts I have seen before on DVD. There were many people who were there just for the hype. Anyway, everything can't be perfect.

The best permformances of the day were Kids and Let Me Entertain You. Kids is just a really good song, and the awesome,'brilliant' lights - as My Fave Guitarist puts it - made the song even more dynamic. But the best was when he really 'entertained' us. After the cliched act of saying 'Goodnight' and coming back onto stage, Robbie hit us with Let Me Entertain You. This is by far his best performance song. The magnificent lights, and the steamy firebolts, with a great background, one that Rubin and Mr James would be proud of, and the brilliance of the song itself made it the most exhilarating performance that I would probably ever witness.

At 10:50 pm the gig ended. Robbie made us 'feel' all the 'angels' above us, and 'made us pure'. Hopefully, I enthralled 'Ish' by carrying her on my back for Robbie's last song - 'Angels'. She seemed to have enjoyed it. However in the process she almost lost her shoe, and I almost broke some other female's knee.

Beside me, was a hysteric Billy, my Robbie buddy. He also equally enjoyed the concert. Actually, maybe a little more. For me it was orgasmic, for him, in his own words, it made him 'lose his virginity' - now you decide what's better? However his desperate efforts to show Robbie his pretty poor poster went in vain, but then again that was just a little glitch.

Also, it was in it's own way a romantic night. Billy and Lem, Tejas and Ms. Ohri and the other couples who I don't know were together, and enjoying a great, moving performance by his highness, Mr Williams. How I wish she was here! But then again, that night left Lem thinking whether Billy loved her more or Robbie Williams? :P
No people Billy is not bi. And Lem, chill. :)

It hasn't sunk in yet. I am still incredulous towards the fact that I actually witnessed this magical performer live, right in front of my eyes. For all those people who didn't watch this concert, you have obviously missed a chance of a lifetime.

I would again like to highlight the sheer joy and memories a 1 hour 50 minute concert can give, so if any of you get any chance of seeing Robbie, or any other good performer for that matter, grab it with your hands, your feet, your stomach and everything else that is possible - because it is rare. You certainly missed this one, but I didn't. Now looking back, those 8 hours of waiting don't seem that boring.

In short - Robbie Williams rocked the hell outta Dubai.

The Past Few Weeks - Robbie Williams

It took him 3 hours to apparently sell out when his tickets first went on sale in Dubai. I did not get a ticket. I am not blaming any one or anything - it was my ignorance that did not give me a ticket. Robbie Williams holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest selling tickets. If only I had known that before.

Distraught, I stopped listening to his music, because everytime I did, I felt depressed. I thought I had missed my chance to see him.

But one day, bolt from the blue, when I really needed it the most, my sister SMSed me that there are 2500 Robbie tickets going on sale at The One. I informed only Billy Shakespeare, my Robbie buddy, and we lined up at 5:00 am to get the tickets. We got the tickets, but even when we went that early, we were like 100th in the queue. But the twist was that the second flurry of tickets did not get sold out. So queuing at 5:00 am was not really worth it. But it was an experience on its own. People had slept over in the queue, which strangely enough, included my 'Prime Sports' boss. Coffee mugs, books, crosswords, disc-mans, ipods, chairs, beds, lots of food, playing football - every possible way of being occupied was engaged. That was cool, and fun.

The reason I have included this post in my "The Past Few Weeks" saga is that getting a Robbie William ticket was one of the few positives in the past few weeks. Though many people classify him and his music 'gay' (not literally, but synonymously loserish), he is by far one of the greatest performers of today. And knowing that I would get to see him gave me something to look forward to and something to lift me up in a time I felt so pathetic about myself and about everything around me. So Robbie, thanks. But the fight I had with my parents to get front pit tickets was unsuccessful. Now I only hope I won't regret that too much.

The Past Few Weeks - Charity Fundraiser

The rollercoaster ride has ended, or rather will end today. A part of it ended yesterday, a part of it will end on the 27th of this month, but today it will end - for us. This rollercoaster is unlike the rollercoasters of Dubai, you actually feel satisfied and thrilled after the ride.

Just like any rollercoaster, the initial excitement of a new beginning filled us all with ambition and vision, we wanted this Charity Fundraiser to be the best - ever! Regular practises and religious devotion made it seem that we were certainly going to break barriers. But like every rollercoaster, there were points where the thrill itself was so scary, that momentarily we were hit with these sudden phases of tension and terror. And like every rollercoaster, this ride had had its ups and downs. Misunderstandings and miscommunication led to clashes and emotional 'fights'. Unrelated personal catastrophes intertwined with apathy and resignation made it almost seem to me that the fairy-tale finish that we dreamed of will certainly not be achieved. Drowned by other matters like family, personal relationships, school and studies, for me these few days were almost traumatic in their own way, disseminated with a few moments of joy.

However it all came together in the end - like it always does - with special thanks to people who make us so confident as to the fact that it will come together. This gratitude is not for the performers, but for the people behind the scenes who dealt with even more pressure and tension. Hats off on a great tuesday show.

The Past Few Weeks - Student Politics

We have reached 12th grade, and the prefects have already been declared. A couple of students have been disappointed, but on the whole I feel it has been taken well.

According to me, the teachers have reached a very fair and just decision regarding the choice of prefects. They haven't been to generous, nor too stingy. However, they certainly do know how to build the tension - do not declare the 'Head-Boy' and the 'House Captains'.

Discerningly, a few of the students who will not get a badge have changed the attitude completely. An indifferent and conceited attitude has swept over them which is precisely why they don't deserve the badge. However, I do feel sorry for the 'lights-handler or Dinesh's replacement', who has really taken it well, even after some extreme initial frustration. He is now trying to show why he deserves the badge - props to him.

Who is headboy? Eventhough I am considered to be in the running for that coveted honour by a few people, I would quite frankly count myself out of the competition. Whether I feel I deserve it, is only for me to ponder upon and only for me to conclude - or rather, it doesn't matter. To an extent, it's all about what impression you give because it's nearly impossible for a teacher to know every student inside out and extremely fairly come to a decision. Moreover, it is near impossible to be liked by every single teacher because for that we need to take into consideration both the teacher's and the student's attitude, not only the student's.

It's 'near' impossible, because 1 person has sort off pulled it off - and he is a part of the potential 'wonder couple' - if you know what I mean. It's not necessarily good - but hats off to him - because it is difficult. My money is on him - or rather I am pretty confident about it. Or you never know, the talented Mr Verbose from Orion House may be the surprise package.

I have to admit that the prospect of being head-boy did fill me up with a little hope and tension, but now I can almost say - the school-prefect-headboy tension is over. Sometimes irritation and frustration did make me unstable, for I felt I did give a lot to this school. But now, honestly, it doesn't matter. All that matters of my experiences in school is how much I have learnt from them, and unpomphously - that's a lot.

In true essence, it doesn't matter what I become (as in, in school), because it will not stop me from what I aspire to do in school. And for that matter, it shouldn't matter to anyone what they become - as long as they know who they are and what they want to do.

Please feel to comment or confront me with your views.

The Past Few Weeks - Romance :P

However cliched and lame 'Romance' sounds, the past few weeks have had the scent of love, or to put it more prematurely - new bonds, which hopefully will mature into something more enduring.

• "You're-fat-you-suck" sayer and the gorgeous singer.
• Shyaaaat-up and nickcy.
• My best bald friend and 'my-miss-Bengali'-name-sounds-like person.
• The potential wonder couple - 'potential' because of the fact that they are not yet together, but it's coming soon...hopefully.

Read between the lines. Most of you won't get every connotation, but let's see how many you do get.

I wanted to start up with something positive - so I chose 'romance' because there is nothing like seeing my friends really happy. Now, it's my favourite guitarist's turn. :)

I am truly happy for every single couple mentioned above and let's hope that your relationships are prosperous, enjoyable and passionate - not constrained.

Read On - and Comment On - Let's see your almost-riddle-solving capacity.

The Past Few Weeks...

Am I blogstipated? No. It's just that the past few weeks have been so eventful and ambivalent, that they have occupied most of my time. Any spare time I had went in prudent thinking and character analysis. Yeah, that does sound weird, but still. Anyway 'being busy' should never be an excuse.

Politics, misconceptions, brilliance, carelessness, emotional breakdowns, new apparent 'love' or 'going-to-be love' bonds, fights, smashed hopes, new discoveries and life's biggest lesson - the past few weeks have had everything. From school to family, my life (however self cenetered it sounds) has had highs and lows, more of the latter, in these past tension filled days. It's not over yet, but boy I can't wait!

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa! sponsored by LULU Hypermarket

24th March, 2006 - the day when I got 2 free tickets for the live recording of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, the Indian singing competition show played on Zee TV, the day where the true colours of typical Indians once again flashed on my face and also the day when I ate KFC for the first time in over a year. I took Romit along with me, because he was my closest friend who knew atleast something about Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

Okay - you know how much I despise Indian Television, so I need to clearify why I went - I went because I was curious to know what happened behind the scenes. As in the 'Talias', the outakes and the ever prominent mistakes. Basically I took it as a learning curve, but it was more of farce, quite honestly.

Poor organisation, poor performances and extremely extremely irritating audience which, unfortunately Romit and I were a part of, but please note that we were not even close to the major contributors of irritation.

Firstly, inspite of having Very Very Important Person (VVIP) tickets, we were seated in the row furthest away from the stage, an area which didn't even come close to making the television frame. Later, when we did make it to the front, we were not too surprised to see people with the passes for the wrong day in the front row, after all it was an event organised by us Indians.

After every imaginary commercial break, Shaan started the program with a rather animated 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa- Middle East Ka Mukabla, sponsered by Lulu Hypermarket' - as if we, and the eventual television viewers, were retarded. You know what, maybe we were, because our retard-ness was emphasized when a few of us joined him in a truly 'wonderful' chorus. However this intro had more energy than all the participants combined - so that's good in way, isn't it?

I completely agree with Romit who said that the eventual dull and uninteresting winner will only end up as a back-up singer, for some sidey melodramatic hindi soap opera. All of them lacked, completely lacked star quality. They were like boiled eggs who couldn't move and who didn't even know the words to the songs they sung. One of the participants sung one of his songs twice because 'he forgot the words'. And guess what, this 'forgot-the-song-words' guy was the evetual winner. Uptill now, it was all a drag. After the intial fascination, all that followed was sheer boredom and apathy. Only one of the performers, Paresh, was decent. He was the crowd favourite. But, guess what, he did not win. The words-forgetter won. It was at this moment that things got exciting. The crowd was up in rebellion. The uncles, and aunties and Ali's Bhainji's all stood up and started screaming and taunting the TV producers - 'give this man chance one more!' And instead of ignorance, Ismailji, the gangster looking, bearded, long haired 'music' director, added coal to the fire and confronted the audience. At this point it got hilarious. Only after Paresh played the good boy and accepted his defeat did the crowd quieten. That was the end of the semi-finals.

The producers tried to get some order in the auditorium, and asked all the NON VVIP people to vacate the front row seats. Obviously this didn't happen. The co-ordinator then announced that saving seats was not allowed. But, he forgot that he was speaking to Indians. So instead of the stopage of this practise, the ambivalent public thought that this obviously meant that more seats needed to be saved. That was the explanation to the scattered empty seats in a supposed full auditorium.

From the last row, we tried to get into the first few rows. This was a difficult process, as more and more people were trying to get into the already front Sheikh Rashid auditorium. We, well we wanted to be on TV, and we were considerably large so we made into the first section. There were 4 empty seats next to us, so a man innocently came and sat there. A couple of minutes later, uncleji and auntyji came and told him to get up from their seats. They were like these are our seats, we were sitting on them earlier. The young man didn't know what to say. Then uncleji was like, 'Leave these people alone, they don't understand manners'. Hello, freak! Uncleji, don't you get it! Saving seats is not allowed, hell you had not even saved them. Don't you dare go on about morals and manners - people - ahh!

The supposed 15 minute break between the semi-finals and the finals strected to about 3 hours, which is not that bad, considering Indian standards. We obviously didn't wait. But my parents, who had also come along, were also there and they waited.

The canteen had its own story. It had some food, so there has to be some chaos. And there was, people were fighting for food, which did not look too good, as if they had never seen anything like it. Pushing, throwing and yelling for a useless burger and a Pepsi gave me a picture of savages fighting for food to survive.

We exited, and advised a few people outside, that it was not worth it. We then walked to KFC in Khao Gully, and I relished my first scrumptious leg piece. The genius combination of deliciously fried skin and well marinated meat, provided saliva for my mouth, that made me consume every bite like it was the last.

A profoundly deep and interesting conversation with Romit and his company was the only useful thing that illustrious day. My belief of the deficiency and discrepancy of Indian Television was further amplified. It was a memorable and learning experience - how not to be and how not to produce a television show.

Kishanji, Namaste

The above tiny man, with the mike in his hand and the camera next to him, certainly seems out of place. But guess what, they will soon say that he is the 'Speilberg' of Bollywood. This new director, has so much potential, it's unbelievable. Well, after all he is only 10 years old.

Yes, Kishan Shrikanth is only ten years old and his first film is due to be released this April. Though it looks ridiculous, this kid is a supposed 'genius'. Having acted in 1000 Kannada Soap Opera episode, and 24 regional films, this experienced kid does indeed show a lot of promise.

Kishan's first venture is going to be a Kannada film, C/O Footpath, and guess what, he has co-written it too.

But, as usual I am going to be critical. 10 years old, he has made a career in acting, why the hell does he want to start directing? And who in the right mind would invest 8 million rupees on him? According to me it's a publicity stunt. It has everything that media wants, youth, weirdness and intrigue. The only thing it doesn't have is sex-appeal. Hey but wait, Hollywood might be inspired by this and Paris Hilton might be paid to direct. And hell she does have it all.

Anyway, even BBC has been seduced by this stunt. It is definitely smart, but how long is it going to last. This BBC article about Kishanji is worth reading. I bet the producers, and the master-minds behind this are praying that their 8 million rupees is worth.

Dubai Desert Rock 06 Rocked!

Friday, 16th March, 2006. We lined up at 11:30 am, four and a half hours before the actual start of this 'mega' event. And deservingly got to be in the first row, yes the first damn row! As we were not real hardcore heavy metal rockers, we did frustrate a lot of long-haired men, who especially attacked Ali because he sported a 'Metallica' t-shirt in a 'Megadeth' concert, and that is quite daring, because Metallica and Megadeth don't really get along. Actually they kinda hate each other. Anyway that's Ali for you.

The first few minutes made us feel like we were in Hollywood - hundreds (ok not really, maybe like 5 or 6) of cameras flashed upon our faces, and we all gave poses and 'horn-fingers' and 'rocker-like' expressions (please see above). We were probably the gayest rockers there - but we bloody well enjoyed. As Ali says (who wore a 'Metallica' t-shirt, shorts, socks and floaters), 'It's all about the music, you need to feel it...' and bla. Anyway, our gay apparel was not so bad as we made it into quite a few papers such as the Emirates Evening Post, and City Times.

After the 'red-carpet' experience, the extravaganza finally started with 'Mannikind' - a local band. They weren't bad, but the lead singer was hilarious. He was considerably stout, and was jumping and head-banging like a freak, not to say he was only 17. For those 'Modernite's' who cannot imagine, picture Manish (no offense dude, you rock), with longish braided hair, jumping all over, and moving his head in an up-down motion, and screaming into the microphone. Scary, huh?

Then came 'Testament'. They were ordinary, not that good. We did not know their music, and maybe that's why they were not so exciting. But from experience (as in watching Sepultura last year), I can say that they were quite dry, but we were in the first row, so it was still fun! This concert was characterized, by this Iranian dude's white nose hair and constant stabbing motions. In his pursuit to push us away, and get into the first row, he gave us both entertainment and pain. He desperately tried to get between Ali and me, and guess what, he did eventually succeed, but that was only after giving us outrageous laughter and a view of his white nose hair. As expected, Ali was first to notice this. Anyway, this dude did not know proper english and did the following things:
1. He screamed(literally - those horse screams, like the one's of Brad Pitt in Troy when he's killing someone) for no apparent reason.
2. He showed the finger to everyone around for no apparent reason.
3. He shook his head so vigorously, that we thought it might come out.
4. He tried to hit on some school girl, by constantly giving her his hand and trying to let her come next to him in the first row, but I obviously didnot allow that.
5. He was not that bad though, because he made friends with security people in front of us and gave us free water.

The next band was Reel Big Fish. They played ska-rock. They were funky and hilarious. Great performers, who won the love of Harry. The band was basically a mix of hard rock, and trumpets and trampones. So it was quite different and fun.

Enter Tejas' 3 Doors Down. The most 'poppy' of the bands, they were the one's we wanted to watch the most, but they were the one's that nun of the heavy metal hard core rockers wanted to watch, who couldn't wait for Megadeth. They behaved like such losers, because they kept booing them and constantly chanted 'Megadeth'. They compared them to the 'Backstreet Boys' - and that was weird. And when the lead singer came into the crowd, these same rockers were like, 'I love you' and felt him up. Such hypocrites, and as Romit would say, 'Losers, man'. Anyway, Tejas knew every single word of every song they played, and as we were all in the front row, the lead singer Brad Arnolds obviously noticed, and thus began the great love story. Tejas' Brad almost came into the crowd and almost jumped on Tejas - literally. He shook his hand and then made continuous eye contact. At one point he also gave him the fingers, as in the horn fingers. It was then the turn of Tejas to go insane. Love must be reciprocated, so his constant 'Oh-My-God's and groans and wows must have made Brad proud. Anyway, Brad certainly made Tejas' day, and he certainly made ****** jealous (I don't think I am allowed to mention the name). Personally I enjoyed 3 Doors Down the most, because I knew some of their music, and generally prefer their sort of music to heavy, heavy-metal.

Then the main event - Megadeth - were okay. We took a step back to save ourselves, and save Tejas who would have definitely been squashed by the 'metal-hungry' rockers, who were basically drunk and insane. Ali enjoyed, and more importantly survived Megadeth because he fought like a brave soul and stayed in front. Where as the rest of us found them to be average, I actually fell asleep at one point. But that was maybe because I was too tired.

All in all, it was an extremely memorable day, and a day I will not easily forget... (add all other cliches please)

I feel concerts are the epitomes of entertainment. The amount of joy and pure energy that a good band can give off is amazing. This only refers to popular good bands, and not any other side show. So what I basically want to say is, see as many concerts as you can - because they are loads of fun and great memories.

Rock on!

We Are The Arsenal!

The historic victory against Madrid loomed over Highbury as the Gunners took on the 'Champions of Europe' in their second premier league meeting. And well, Arsenal lived up to their billing and pulled off a 2-1 victory with two goals from Henry, but what should be highlighted is the Gerrard howler. Gerrard was caught unaware, and a careless back pass let lose the gallant Henry - and there was only one result.

Liverpool have been pushed aside. But what I want to highlight is the sheer determination and youthful exuberance with which Arsenal are playing at present. More than the Liverpool game, the 2nd-leg home fixture againt Madrid was a showpiece of the grit and passion of the Arsenal team. A young team, missing the likes of Cole and Lauren, battled it out as if their lives were on the line. Tackles flying in, unbelievable blocks, and non-stop running propelled the Arsenal to the quarterfinals of Europe's premier tournament.

Besides Henry, players worthy of a mention are Hleb, Fabregas, Reyes, Ljunberg, Eboue and Toure. The energy with which they played against Madrid was not only laudable, but was also a moment of pride for the Arsenal fans. The hearts of the Arsenal faithful were thumping with joy as they heard the final whistle at Highbury on that memorable Wednesday night.

Arsenal have progressed, but only to stumble upon the Italian Chmapions, Juventus. Viera is coming back to Highbury, but this time in a black and white shirt. The fixture is mouth-watering. Don't count Arsenal out yet. With able leadership and an Arsenal team brimming with confidence and dedication, the Turin team will definitely be asked questions, afterall it was only an unbelievable, last-minute goalkeeping blunder that put them into the next round.

My previous Arsenal posts have almost been bad-luck charms, as the highs mentioned by me have been followed by terrible lows. But I don't believe in such kind off luck, let's just wait and see if I should.

Widening The Blogosphere

Ok, I am going to be a very good blogger and do a bit of advertising. As our exams have ended, most of the people I know, will probably be sitting and doing nothing - so here is just something intriguing + funny.

Let me give you a few blogs to visit, and believe me each one is special. All are not good, but are still special.

1. Newley Purnell - This guy inspired my sister to blog, who in turn inspired me, and the chain has continued. His blog is quite interesting - worth a read! A voracious blogger, he expresses the strangest of happenings in the world, and himself is an ardent traveller.

2. New York Hack - This female is a New York Cab driver by day, and blogger by night. Her gifted writing has won her more than 140,000 hits a week, and she has been covered in 'The Times' and in 'Gulf News'. She writes about her experiences with her passengers and is quite frank and outspoken - is a fascinating read.

3. 'My Dirty Little Secrets' - Ok, this is a funny stupid one. I was using the 'visit random blog' option at 'www.blogger.com' and I came across this site. A 16 year old CRAZY female who writes aboslute shit on her blog. It's quite funny, and she is quite conceited - thinks she's damn good looking. Dream on, girl! :P - Its quite funny - go check it out. However crap it is, it's won my attention - so hell it can't be that bad.

4. Vinita Bharadwaj - Does the name sound familiar? Well it won't but just check out the Gulf News tabloid. She is one of the journalists, and a good friend of my sister. It's a decent blog, and it's interesting for us because we can relate to it - as in the fact that she's in Dubai.

5. Elite Football Talk - All those people who think they have decent football knowledge, do visit this site and express yourselves - they are very good at replying and host very healthy football discussions and analysis.

Enjoy - all are worth visiting.

A Blog Chain (:-P)

Believe me, there has developed some sort off a chain blog post, that I am forced to follow. My maha sister has passed the 'tag' to me.

But before I do so, let me first express my dogmatic approach to chain mails - absolutely pathetic. Death threats (if you don't forward this, then u will die), stupid jokes, name lists (:S), friend threats (I find this one particularly bemusing - 'oh, you will be come friendless, if you don't forward this'),love stories, personality tests (this I despise,especially when people try to judge you with your favourite choice of colour) and what not! I don't even read half of them, it's called 'untouched disposal' - straight into the trash can. Yes there are some exceptions, such as when the twins and Gomezzz hit it off about elephants and trumpets. Those are quite entertaining, even the miss velocity one was quite hilarious - and it also gave us an 'MI' period from you know who.

So my message to these 'forwarders' is that please avoid forwarding void stuff to people because of superstious beliefs or plain boredom, believe you me, there is a lot more to life. (:P)

Ok, now I am going to be a hypocrite. But wait blog chains don't count - they are not that annoying, and I am almost forced to do this because my sister is the one who has 'tagged' me. So...

Four jobs that I’ve had:-
Student
Student
Student
2-week-voluntary work at Ten Sports/Prime Sports as an 'Assistan Producer'. (:P - honest!)

Four movies that I could watch over and over:-
Identity
Gladiator
The Matrix
Rang De Besanti

Four places I’ve lived in:-
Amravati, India - well I was born there, just that, but it's important.
Aurangabad, India
Dubai, UAE
Dubai, UAE

Four TV shows that I like:-
Friends
American Idol
Everwood - call me 'gay' if you want - but that show rocks!
Does an Arsenal Premiership match count?

Four places where I’ve vacationed:-
Australia - Darwin was the best, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast
England - Manchester United Soccer Schools, Yarm, London
Turkey - Istanbul
Bhandaradhara - A semi-hill station town in Maharashtra, India

Four of my favorite dishes:-
Chinese all the way! - Chicken Lollipops - yeah I know it's a common favourite
Pav Bhaji (:P)
Thai green curry
Pooran Poli - a Maharashtrian sweet chapatish roti.

Four sites that I visit daily:-
www.soccernet.com
www.youtube.com
www.arsenal.com
www.elitefootballtalk.blogspot.com

Four Bloggers that I’m going to tag with this:
The 'Serious' Thinker
The Verbose tall-person
The 'Twins' Irritator
Mathew

Once again I apologize for the hypocrisy.
Blog On!

Best Of The Best Of Bush

Respected President of the United States Of America, World 'Leader', Mr George Bush,

We bow at your stupidity, and the fact that you are one proud jackass. Forgive me for the profanity but the truth is the truth.

Every single one of you has to watch both these videos:

This one's called "George W Bush's Best Hits'



And this one is called "George Bush's Top Ten Moments".



His own country ridicules him. The President of the most powerful country does have a, uhm 'funny' side.

I wonder how Bush handles the pressure, actually I know how he handles it, he just doesn't seem to care. He doesn't care about his image, says the stupidest things, and takes the worst decisions. How the hell is he still President? It's unbelievable. He is, as the twins would say, 'deplorable, and goes against everything that modern stands/holds for'.

Let's hope America doesn't get it wrong again, as in after the Bush era. Comment on.

Game, Mirza.

The 19-year-old supposed Indian prodigy is the latest-Indian-public-advantage taker. Oh sorry, let me rephrase that, she is the latest media-exploited personality to storm into the Indian sport/media scene. After her breakthrough into the international tennis circuit, a year back, things looked extremely bright. Not that they don't now, she is 19, but the first thing India did to her success was take advantage of her endorsing potential.

She had won the hearts of most Indians, especially the youth, with her attractive charm and one hell of a killing spirit. And then, enter media. We started seeing her in more advertisements, starting more 'clubs', and being in the papers more in her sarees than her sport-skirts. One minor WTA triumph in a below-standard line-up is basically all that she has to show.

Last year, her breathtaking performance against US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in Dubai left me mesmerized. Even though she wasn't the fittest, or the fastest, it seemed that this teenage sensation was soon going to make her mark, not only on Indian tennis, but also globally. But a year has passed, and I see no progress. Her same lack-lustre fitness, slowness on court and unnecessary unforced errors is still in prominence. Where is the improvement? Yes, she is still 19, but so is Sharapova. No sorry, Sharapova is 18! It took her only a year to reach the number one spot, and she is only becoming better.

Who is to blame for this? Is it Ms. Mirza for getting transfixed into this media swoon, or is it the media who have pulled her in?

Sania does have potential, her power and killing spirit and are two resourceful positives. All she needs now is practice, and some magical spell to avoid media distractions.

But besides the tennis, she has now, probably because of media hype, earned enough money to last a lifetime. So the money she hasn't won in prize-money, she has got through endorsements. But is that all? Is that all the spirit of sports is about - Money? I feel she is the latest breed of an Indian cricketer - she has the support of a billion people, and she uses a bat (yeah I know, a racquet), and a ball to earn her 'cash'.

There is a lot of time for her to improve - I agree. 'Yeah someday she'll make it' - but that's not how we should keep putting her aside.

Anyway she has the money. So is it game, Mirza?

I can't wait for your responses.

Nineyearaldo?

If you thought I was decent at football, or for that matter Daniyal or Aaron - watch this kid, and then let us all stop playing football.

Bored At School! ~ ?

Eamonn, Shrivats, Kaushik and I are sitting in the school's IT Centre doing 'precisely nothing' - as Shrivats put it. Youtube, and Miniclip are our sustainers - and I have exposed these naive twins to the beauty of the internet (or Youtube). They are quite fascinated by some of the videos we saw. ;)

So if you, are ever bored, sitting in your school's 'IT Center'. Here is some really funny stuff you can watch - if you have not already!



If you, like me, fell for the infamous Nike ad, when Ronaldinho hit the bar four times on a trot -you need to watch this!



Enjoy!

What Happened On Your Historic Birthday?

Well, for all of us self obsessed and jobless people - here is something you might enjoy, if you have not already done it! Check out all the events that took place on your birthday in the past!

Like on my birthday, Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga football team was founded! - hah Harry!
The American Civil War took place - it started or something. Quite fascinating!

Valentines' Day & Grandparents' Day? :S

Yes today is both Valentines' Day and Grandparents' Day and no, I am not wishing you either. Today, there is a 'special' day for anything, absolutely anything. It has almost become a mockery. Yes Christmas, Diwali, Eid, and even birthdays are exceptions. They have been there for quite some time, and have good reason to exist.

But nowadays, these 'special' days of 'celebration' are produced - literally! Our society is waiting to find an excuse to celebrate some occasion or the other, or to remember some person or the other, or to express your love for some relation of yours or the other. And wait, the main instigators of such a trend is the media. They obviously make maximum profits from those people who are caught in the web of love or from those who are just looking for an excuse to celebrate friendship (it should be celebrated, but not only on some particular day). Yes some of these days are seem important, such as the 'Van Mohatsav' day (save-the-environment day), so that there is sudden number of increase in the number of trees in the world? Some might say that it is required by the society to raise awareness, or express love. Yes it seems all reasonable, yes there should be days such as these! But...

But why should we choose one particular day (let’s say today) to declare our love for someone? Why can't we just express our feelings for whomever whenever required?

Why should we select one particular day to plant trees? Why can't we make it a regular slot in our timetables?

Why should we choose the 19th of June to show our fathers that we really care? Why do we have to wait, and give him a 'thank you' card only on that day? Hasn't he supported us for all our lives?

Why do we have to choose 'World AIDS Day’ to remember the victims of this fatal disease? Why can't we pray for its cure everyday? Why can’t we raise awareness in the world regarding matters such as poverty, population and so on, on a more regular basis, and not rely on some particular day?

People may argue that such 'special' days are required to keep the spirit going. I agree, but what I personally don't like is that there are so many of these unnecessary days of 'celebration' and 'remembrance' and the fact that it has almost become a farce. It has become almost an excuse to throw a party and enjoy the supposed 'meaningful' day. My point is why do we need an excuse? It has almost become like, what, we don't have 'Great Grandfather's Brothers' day? Do we actually need these concocted dates to express ourselves and actually care?

Again, it is debatable - so your opinions are welcome, but I hope no one jumps on me like they normally do!

Just for your information - here are a few 'days' that our world apparently celebrates:

Australia Day
ANZAC Day
April Fools Day
Arbor Day
Bank Holiday
Chinese New Year
D-Day
Day of the Dead
Earth Day
Easter
German Unity Day
Groundhog Day
Hallie Parker Day -
Hangul Day
Holi
Imbolc
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
International Lighthouse Day
Inventor's Day
Kwanzaa
Lantern Festival
Lunar New Year
Mardi Gras
Martin Luther King Day
May Day
Mole Day
New Year's Day - January 1st
Pi Day
Purim
Presidents' Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Shrove Tuesday
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Valentine's Day
Veterans Day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory over Japan Day
Women's Day
World AIDS Day
World Ocean Day
World Water Day
(Fathers, Mothers, Childrens, Teachers, Grandparents) x Day - (imagine a maths equation)

Do we need so many?

Melodramatic Idol!

Yes, we all watch American Idol. We all love watching American Idol. Some of us watch it to spot new rock talent ( :D - for everyone who knows me or Ali Yar Khan), some to compare ourselves with the American talent, some just for laughs and some, because everyone else is watching it.

But let me get to my point. The American society is supposed to be one of the most developed and educated societies of the world. Everyone knows their rights, and their rights to sue. But it is almost farcical to see many, if not most, of the participants of American Idol announcing to the world that they are going to be America's next idol, when they can't even sing one bloody note in tune. It is unbelievable! And what's even more bizarre is that when the judges try to punch some sense into these 'American idiots' (no pun intended), they brush it away and say, 'Simon is a *******!' Hello, you self centered freaks, you can't sing! Hear yourself! I laugh when I see them behave so arrogantly, but then again every time, I also feel a sense of irritation. There are a few decent, logical participants and they are the ones who usually win, or come close to winning.

Also, the producers of American Idols are the smartest television broadcasters ever. They show footage that we want to see, and what we want to see is all the emotion and the drama, and the crying and the abusing. Hell, this reality show is more like a soap opera. And I bet that these producers pay loads of money to Mr. Simon Cowell, just to continue increasing their viewer ship. How we love watching him bring people back down to earth - most of the times unsuccessfully though. Oh, and in the show there are also a group of people who overdo it just to be on TV. Would you do that? Well honestly, if I felt really jobless, it does sound like fun.

This show has been so successful that it has inspired almost all the nations of the world to start a similar show. So as a result, SONY started Indian Idol (which is supposed to be good, but I hate the fact that they copied every element of the American version, even the layout of the opening credits), Pop Idol began in the Middle East, and for that matter even 'The Best of the Best' started in the UAE, on a much lower scale though.

So in affect, what I am trying to say is that we(as in the non-west people) tend to imitate the west even when we consider them to be over-doers. A lot of the times, I feel, we lack originality, especially in the Indian cinema, Indian television industry and lots of other ideals. Well lets not get too much into that, I know what happened last time.

Ok, I am straying now. Well a lot of people are going to find points I have mentioned quite debatable and I want your views on this - so please do drop a comment.