I read this interesting post about how a strong willed man overcome his disability and regular, able-bodied athletes are using every dirty trick in the book to ensure that this man without any legs is ineligible for participation in the Beijing Olympics.
Well they should be scared, Oscar Pistorius, the 21-year-old South African paralympic, can run 400m in just 46.34 seconds (against the 8 year old world record by Michael Johnson of 43.18 seconds).
I was tagged by Nita and now by Amit. Hence this post.
I usually don’t write a lot about myself on this blog, but about an year ago I had written some 8 random facts about me and this would be the second such post.
1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
I saw Denzel Washington’s Out of time on DVD.
Its a nice movie about a police officer who is being investigated for murder of his mistress and is investigated by his Ex-Wife.
2. What book are you reading?
The Man
This is an interesting fictional book about a Black US President who came to Power in the 60’s and is about to be impeached.
3. Favorite board game?
Jenga
Although each game lasts for no more than 10-15 minutes, but every second spend there is nail biting.
4. Favorite magazine?
Economist. I also often quote its article on ENagar 
5. Favorite smells?
First rain of monsoons falling on dry earth.
And the smell of a girl’s hair.
6. Favorite sounds?
The sound of Payel.
7. Worst feeling in the world?
Waiting for the final verdict on an unfavorable outcome.
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Where is that damm Alarm.
9. Favorite fast food place?
I am a kind of person who can spend 4 hours over a nice lunch. A great meal is always served in multiple courses, and is accompanied by beverages and an interesting conversation.
10. Future child’s name?
I don’t think after marriage a guy retains a right to take any decision.
11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?
Go on a world tour.
12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
No, nothing other than a pillow and a bed sheet.
13. Storms - cool or scary?
Its scary only when I am flying, else its time to race to the roof and enjoy the whether.
14. Favorite drinks?
Wine
15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
Take a vacation and travel.
16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
No idea what that is.
17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
I like my natural color - black.
18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
Don’t ask me.
New Delhi, Mumbai, Jhasi, Itarsi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Vadodara, Kota, Raipur, Calcutta, Patna, Gwalior, Kharagpur, Jabalpur and Bangalore.
Add to that, I would be amongst the rarest of the Indians who can claim to have travelled to each and every state of the country (Lakshadweep and Andaman Islands are the only 2 major places where I have not gone)
19. Favorite sports to watch?
Water-Polo, and Video Games
20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Nita is a great Journalist and I love Amit’s comments and his posts.
21. What’s under your bed?
I believe in spartan lifestyle and sleep on the floor.
22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Sure, I love my life
23. Morning person, or night owl?
I am most productive in the morning, but I like to reserve it for personal work.
24. Over easy, or sunny side up?
Sunny side up
25. Favorite places to relax?
In the lap of my mom
26. Favorite pie?
I prefer cakes.
27. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla, but only if it is made from real Vanilla beans.
For the past 3-4 months, I have been working almost 16 hours a day. Since today I did not even have the time to walk to the restaurant for a dinner, I thought of ordering Pizza.
Here is my experience:
1) I went to the website to try to locate the phone number of the nearest outlet. But after the home page, any other access results in the following output:
2) So I thought I would call up their Hungry Kya Helpline 1800-111-123.
3) It was promptly picked up and the order was taken.
4) After 5 minutes, when I provided the address, immediate reply came: “Sorry our branch does not cover your area. I will give you the number of the nearest outlet, you can place your order there.”
5) I told them this is my order, why don’t they call up the other store/do an online transfer of order. But they don’t have this provision.
6) I finally called up the second store, they said there is an outlet in the basement of my building and this is its address. Hence wasting another 5 minutes of my time.
7) When I called up their 3rd store, they said: “Thank you for calling Dominoes…. blah blah blah…. sorry due to too much order volume we won’t be able to service your order for the next 50 minutes” (BTW it was a normal weekday, no special occasion or weekend rush)
How can a store whose marketing is centered around home delivery and Hungry Kya concept except that their customer would starve itself for 50 + 15 = 1hour 5 minutes?
Why do they so proudly advertise their phone number when it does not work?
Do they really think a customer would be patient enough to repeat the order 3 times?
What is the use of advertising the 30 minutes guarantee when every time they have some excuse or the other to not commit to it?
Why don’t they fix their website?
Why can’t they put a simple call center. You order there and the order would be routed to the nearest store?
Am I asking too much… It took me less time to go all the way to the restaurant, have a nice meal and come back.
I was making a speech on the Senate floor and I said, “Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me tax your memories,” And Kennedy jumped up and said, “Why haven’t we thought of that before?” (Bob Dole)
Medical research has now confirmed that marijuana use has definite medicinal properties for treatment of glaucoma and other illnesses. The IRS has now ruled that expenses of medicinal marijuana can be deducted as a medical expense, but only if you file a joint return.
If the Lord had meant us to pay income taxes, he’d have made us smart enough to prepare the return. Last year I had difficulty with my income tax. I tried to take my analyst off as a business deduction. The Government said it was entertainment. We compromised finally and made it a religious contribution. (Woody Allen)
The best things in life are free, but sooner or later the government will find a way to tax them.
Isn’t it appropriate that the month of the tax begins with April Fool’s Day and ends with cries of ‘May Day!’ (Robert Knauerhase)
I believe we should all pay our tax bill with a smile. I tried but they wanted cash.
This is the season of the year when we discover that we owe most of our success to Uncle Sam. (The Wall Street Journal)
What do women and tax forms have in common? Men love to cheat on them.
It’s income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, and stab yourself in the aorta. (Dave Barry)
There’s nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming taxpayers won’t cure. (Dan Bennett)
Ever wonder why the IRS calls it Form 1040? Because for every $50 that you earn, you get 10 and they get 40.
Our forefathers made one mistake. What they should have fought for was representation without taxation. (Fletcher Knebel)
The politician’s promises of yesterday are the taxes of today. (W. L. Mackenzie King)
Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today. (Herman Wouk)
In the end, when you’re dealing with tax laws, the pigs get fatter and the hogs get slaughtered. (Gene Gavin)
Death and taxes are both certain . .. But death isn’t annual.
People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women.
The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government. (Barry
M. Goldwater)
My uncle claims that if he files his income tax wrong he’ll go to jail, and if he files it right he’ll go to the poor house. (Nonnee Coan)
I have trouble reconciling my net income with my gross habits. (Errol Flynn)
When it comes to finances, remember that there are no withholding taxes on the wages of sin. (Mae West)
You’re acting like a thing from another tax bracket! (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
It used to be that death and taxes alone were inevitable. Now there’s shipping and handling. (Bert Murray)
Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut saves you 30 cents? (Peg Bracken)
There is a difference between a tax collector and a taxidermist — the taxidermist leaves the hide. (Mortimer Caplan)
I owe the government $3400 in taxes. So I sent them two hammers and a toilet seat. (Sue Murphy)
Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others. (Oscar Wilde)
Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors, and miss. (Robert Heinlein)
Where there’s a will, there’s an Inheritance Tax.
A fine is a tax for doing something wrong. A tax is a fine for doing something right.
On my income tax 1040 it says ‘Check this box if you are blind.’ I wanted to put a check mark about three inches away. (Tom Lehrer)
There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer space program: your tax dollars will go farther. (Wernher Von Braun)
Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. (Herbert Hoover)
A dollar saved is bound to be taxed.
The tax collector must love poor people–he’s creating so many of them. (Bill Vaughan)
The thing generally raised on city land is taxes. (Charles Dudley Warner)
- Source
Ever wondered how even though everybody wanted to be involved in decision making, nobody actually want to take the responsibility of making a decision?
As You Slide Down the Banister of Life, Remember ……
1. Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert have written an impressive new book. It’s called “Ministers Do More Than Lay People.”
2. Transvestite: A guy who likes to eat, drink and be Mary.
3. The difference between the Pope and your boss…the Pope only expects you to kiss his ring.
4. My mind works like lightning. One brilliant flash and it is gone.
5. The only time the world beats a path to your door is if you’re in the bathroom.
6. I hate sex in the movies. Tried it once. The seat folded up, the drink spilled and that ice, well, it really chilled the mood.
7. It used to be only death and taxes were inevitable. Now, of course, there’s shipping and handling, too.
8. A husband is someone who, after taking the trash out, gives the impression that he just cleaned the whole house.
9. My next house will have no kitchen - just vending machines and a large trash can.
10. A blonde said, “I was worried that my mechanic might try to rip me off. I was relieved when he told me all I needed was turn signal fluid.”
11. I’m so depressed. My doctor refused to write me a prescription for Viagra. He said it would be like putting a new flagpole on a condemned building.
12. My neighbor was bit by a stray rabid dog. I went to see how he was and found him writing frantically on a piece of paper. I told him rabies could be treated, and he didn’t have to worry about a Will. He said, “Will? What Will? I’m making a list of the people I want to bite.”
13. Definition of a teenager? God’s punishment for enjoying sex.
14. As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.
Boss: I am going to Holland for Holidays.
Co-worker: Holland of all the places in the world? There is nothing in Holland other than Prostitutes and Football.
Boss: Watch your words. My Wife is from Holland.
Co-worker: Oh! Which Team does she play for?
This war movie tells the Japanese side of the WWII story. A must watch for war/history freaks. And luckily unlike Jodha Akbar, it does not distort history.
—-
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young teenager (Juno) makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child. She plans to bear the child for adoption and the entire movie starts from pregnancy and ends with delivery of the child.
This has got to be one of the most cleverE-mails I’ve received in awhile. Someone out there either has too muchspare time or is deadly at Scrabble.(Wait till you see the last one)!
DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters:DIRTY ROOM
PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters:BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER: When you rearrange the letters:MOON STARER
DESPERATION: When you rearrange the letters:A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES: When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH: When you rearrange the letters:HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE :When you rearrange the letters:HERE COME DOTS
SLOT MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters:CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY: When you rearrange the letters:IS NO AMITY
ELECTION RESULTS: When you rearrange the letters:LIES - LET’S RECOUNT
SNOOZE ALARMS: When you rearrange the letters:ALAS! NO MORE Z ‘S
A DECIMAL POINT: When you rearrange the letters:IM A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES: When you rearrange the letters:THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters:TWELVE PLUS ONE
AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE: MOTHER-IN-LAW:When you rearrange the letters: WOMAN HITLER
It is a must watch blank and white movie. (if you are in Bangalore, then you can pick the CD from my place)
Its a extremely simple, low budget movie as the entire movie is shot in a small single roam and there were no costumes or expensive sets. The movie revolves around 12 strangers who as members of the Jury need to arrive as a unanimous verdict on the fate of a Teenager accused of murdering his father.
——-
Another good movie to watch is Presitige
This is a movie about the dark side of obsession. 2 rival magicians (showmen, not real abstract stuff) are desperately trying to unravel the secret behind the other guy’s tricks. In this quest, they use treachery, deception, lies and ultimately bring destruction to themselves and the people around them.
My response after watching this movie. I need to watch it again!
