Media matters...or does it anymore?

No, its not a tween bitching about her hotter classmate on Myspace - its Maureen Dowd writing for the New York times. And is there any difference between said tween and Pulitzer prize winning Maureen? Not really, if the barometer for judging is Maureen's columns over the past few months.

Check out the titles of some of her recent columns - "Watch Out, Meryl Streep! She’s a Master Thespian', "All about Eve", "Is she a Trojan rabbit", "Surrender already Dorothy". Oh yea, the terms Trojan rabbit, Master Thespian etc etc applies to a woman who is a former first lady, currently powerful senator, and almost won the democratic primaries (till the establishment chose to bury her)

If this is the kind of trash talk from a female journalist, you can imagine the nature of the commentary from male journalists. Seldom have I seen any character assasination to the scale of what has happened in the recent past. Mike Huckabee did exactly the same thing as Hillary - he chose to stay in the race, till McCain reached the requisite majority of delegates. Was there even a whimper of protest? Not really.

And if you still do not buy into my rant against misogyny, do check out this youtube montage that Judith Warner mentioned in her blog in NY times (she is my new favorite now).

If the tables were turned - if it had been Barack who had won all the major states like California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and a claim to the popular vote majority, and if he had been asked by Hillary's supporters to get out of the race, can you imagine the backlash and accusations of racism?

After obsessively following the primaries (I have been a rabid Obama supporter from 2004), I completely stopped following any of the races after March 18. My reason was simple - the only response the mainstream media could come up with for Obama's historical speech on race was this - "Did he throw his grandma under the bus?".

I gave up then, and did I miss a thing? Absolutely not. And by not listening to the news or reading political blogs, I got back two whole hours back every day; I could easily stay informed by skimming the headlines for a few minutes and listening to NPR radio on my way in to work.

The pathetic primary season ends...no wait...the media will still extract as much viewership as possible from speculation about the vice presidential candidates. Does anyone have any inside information or the ability to accurately predict who the Veep candidate from either party will be? Absolutely not - but do expect to see endless speculation and tripe from "panelists" who speak with more certainty about Barack's intentions than he himself would.

Will we see any real debate by the media on the pros and cons of the candidates' views on economic reform, education, national defense, and the environment? I am not going to hold my breath. But at least, I can delete Maureen's feed from my google reader page. Thank God for Paul Krugman, and NPR!

Spending .....is it all destiny?

After many years of careful financial planning and frugal living, K and I have painfully realized that no matter what, we always end up with a certain credit card balance every month. Trust me, we are not partying every weekend, or shopping at Calvin Klein. We rarely eat out, have no kids, and watch a movie in the theatre maybe once a month or so. We still run up a balance, larger than what we like. It could be due to an unplanned medical emergency, or a car related repair, or some other unanticipated home repair expense.

I am now leaning towards a very unscientific explanation - maybe, it is my karma to have a certain "varavu" (income) and a certain "selavu" (expense) every month? I feel powerless before it. I could just pay my rent and not climb out of bed for the next month all weekends, but somehow, the check engine light in my car will start flashing and before I know it, the auto mechanic gets richer by a few hundred bucks.

So, when spending is your karma, is it just better to go shoe shopping? Am I crazy for thinking this?

Hey critics - you owe me $30

Yes - For the movie tickets, popcorn, and the emergency coffee that we desperately needed after watching "There will be blood".

On sunday, K announced for the millionth time that we HAD to watch "There will be blood". Daniel Day Lewis is K's favorite actor. Selfless wife(??) that I am, I kept my premonitions to myself (my general rule of thumb - the higher the tomatometer rating for a movie, the more boring the movie gets, with only a few worthy exceptions). 30 wasted bucks and a lot of stifled yawns later, I realized to my dismay that my gut feel was right. The movie was B-O-R-I-N-G. Even K (who has really good movie taste) agreed.

The only intriguing and interesting thing about There will be blood is its title. I thought it would be a Godfather like saga, especially after the trailers offered tantalizing glimpses into Daniel's character - an oilman who is also a homicidal megalomaniac. However, there was very little happening after the brilliantly shot first twenty minutes of the movie. Daniel Day Lewis plays a cranky middle aged/old man who wants to drill for oil and has a complicated relationship with a little boy (I couldnt tell if he was really Daniel's son). There is also a supposed power tussle with an evangelist. Thats about it.

Daniel's Oscar winning performance is the biggest headscratcher of all. It was not bad - but just mind-numbingly monochromatic. There was one emotion that he portrayed; And sure, he portrayed that emotion well, but I cannot understand why a performance which was so low on nuance, made worse by monotonous dialoge delivery should be blessed with an Oscar. Ironically, the truly brilliant thing about the movie - the sound recording and background musical score - did not receive a single nod from the Academy.

The critics applauded the violent ending of the movie, calling it blood-chilling psycho-drama. All I saw was an old drunk clubbing an incredibly annoying character with a bowling pin. Its almost like all the critics who reviewed the movie had heard some buzz about it's supposed greatness, and then were too embarassed to admit that they simply didnt get it; and then they overcompensated by heaping way more praise than the movie really deserved.

Well, I'll say it for them - The emperor has no clothes. The movie sucked. And yes, we have seen far better performances from Daniel Day Lewis than this. And yes; George Clooney's Michael Clayton was way more brilliant and award worthy.

Some more quick notes on the Oscar -

* Jon Stewart was not too bad, but you would appreciate him only if you are a rabid fan of his daily show

* Americans now join Indians in complaining that the Oscars never go to them (all four acting awards went to Europeans)

* Loved Marion Cotillard's speech ("Thank you life, thank you love")

* Helen Mirren is fabulous - if i looked even a little like her at that age, i would consider it a life well lived

* Move over Cartier diamonds and Prada accessories - Baby bumps have become the must-have fashion accessory of the season. Yea great, so now actresses in addition to being incredibly beautiful and making millions, ALSO HAVE PERFECT PERSONAL LIVES. And yea, George Clooney showed up with his new girlfriend. I guess I should just throw myself off a cliff.

Ahh.....Clooney....

"Why are you mooning over Clooney?" asked Mom in a very disapproving tone. You see, she obviously did not like me wandering into what she firmly considers her turf. Well, what can I say? George Clooney's appeal transcends generations!

I would rate even a 30 minute video of Clooney sitting and reading a newspaper as award winning cinema. So, when I finally got around to watching Michael Clayton today, I think the movie buff in me died and went straight to heaven. The storyline was thought provoking, the screenplay was intense, the dialogues were cutting, the performances (especially that of Clooney) were awesome, and hey, did I mention Georgy Clooney is hot?

Tomorrow is the big Oscar night. Even though Clooney faces really tough competition from Daniel Day Lewis (who is such a spectacular actor that he can win an Oscar even if he, well, just sat in front of the camera and read a newspaper), I will be rooting for him. And Mom, we'll have to fight baby J someday over Clooney. Sigh......

I finally said goodbye to Food network

I used to be a major addict of the Food Network (FN) channel. With FN, I could visit houses and restaurants all across the country. I could celebrate each month of the year, with something special from FN - sweets for Valentines day, Tailgating party ideas, summer barbeques and ofcourse, Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas cookies. But two things did it for me, and I had to say goodbye - Olive oil and scary people.

You know that the Olive oil cartel (if something like that even exists) has a fishy (or should we say oily) deal going on with the FN. Olive oil seems to have replaced water in most recipes. They no longer drizzle it over dishes. Each recipe calls for CUPS of oil. And ofcourse, it has to be Extra virgin. Sure, it may be good for you, but it does have calories (more than canola oils), is very expensive, and has a very strong flavor and heating temperatures totally unsuitable for different kinds of cooking.

And then the scary people. You could watch FN just for the kicks and giggles from watching these "chefs".

There is Rachael Ray. Anything I type here is purely redundant, as there are many Anti-Ray websites. My grouse? She knows exactly three recipes - a basic tomato+onion+garlic gravy, a burger/meatball, a grilled cheese sandwich that she endlessly recycles, and also totally insults the wonderful world of food, and earnest cooks who try to make healthy meals, and hard working chefs who really know how to cook.

And then there is scary Giada. She is reed thin, but every recipe of hers calls for 2 sticks of butter and 5 cups of cheese (and ofcourse, endless bottles of olive oil). And the low-cut-blouses on every single show? So much for women's liberation!

And then the scariest of them all - Sandra Lee. Someone, PLEASE take her to AA. Every episode has a cocktail recipe, with her tasting the drink the second she pours it into the glass (the food that she makes is mostly untouched). She looks at alcohol with great desire and longing, advocates a "tablescape" which would set you back atleast a 100 bucks each meal, and finally, wears clothes to match the dish she cooks!!!!

So its bye to FN, and a great big hi to Fine living TV

Women and the niceness factor

Much has changed in this world. Women have made great strides in the workplace, in virtually every field. They are no longer considered an unnecessary addition to the workplace, and people no longer accuse women of having somehow denied a man somewhere his job. But does this mean its all roses for women? Definitely not.

Women had to fight the domesticity factor in the last century - they had to prove that their homes would not completely fall apart if they stepped outside for 8 hours a day. And so they did. And they did incredibly well. However, today, there is a bigger obstacle that women have to fight. This struggle will be harder than the battles our mothers faced. It is against the most invisible, insidious thing - PERCEPTION; the socially acceptable norm that women are supposed to conform to, they are expected to be nice, no matter what the situation.

In the corporate jungle, guess how far "niceness" takes you? I most certainly am not implying that people react positively only to authoritative behavior. However, in certain situations, women aspiring to be in leadership positions have to display strength. And guess what happens when a woman does that, stepping out of the nice box just a little? She is called a bitch. I truly do not get it . What is the equivalent such word for men in the dictionary? A-hole maybe? I have never met a single man that genuinely got upset when called that!

Research now consistently shows that women earn far less than men in the same job roles. Why? Because, we just cannot strike a hard bargain (and i am totally guilty of this). We think a million times before demanding things that rightfully belong to us. We try not to seem too ambitious. Obviously, there are exceptions to this - Indira Nooyi, Meg Whitman, Nancy Pelosi etc etc. But when you look away from these success stories, there are so many untold tales of brilliant, courageous women, who end up not reaching the pinnacles they deserved to.

Trust me, this problem is not due to chauvinistic men. This problem is also not due to domestic commitments. People do not openly preach niceness to women. And in many cases, women do not even realize something like this is going on. The compulsion to be "nice" has somehow been programmed into the female DNA. By "niceness", i am not referring to true goodness of the heart. I am talking about the way women hold back from saying certain things (usually critical), and from asking for certain things (usually monetary), because they somehow are afraid of not looking, what else, nice!

I'm not sure how, but society somehow ends up ingraining this attitude in women, right from the beginning. I saw a classic demonstration of this on TV. A researcher took 2 jugs of lemonade, and dumped a cup of salt into each jug. He served the lemonade first to a group of little boys (maybe between the ages of 6 and 8) in a room, and then to a group of little girls in a nearby room. The videotaped reactions were incredible. The boys, after one sip of the salty lemonade, refused to drink anymore. "Ewww", "gross" etc etc were the reactions. The girls? Many of them (while making faces behind the researchers back), ended up finishing their entire glasses, and also complimented the researcher. Later, he asked them if they found the lemonade salty. They hesitatingly replied "uh..a little!". When pressed further, they revealed that they did not want to hurt his feelings, and hence suffered through the salty drink.

Here are a few more examples -

1) A friend of mine got a job offer, and accepted it. One week into the new job, she got another incredible job that she had interviewed for earlier. Did she take the new offer (which would have suited her family better in many ways)? No. The reason? She did not think it would have been a nice thing to do. At least 3 men I know have jumped jobs right after joining a new one. Is it the nicest thing to do? Most certainly not. It is also very inconvenient for the employers you just dissed. But what if the new job involves no traveling and a better pay which then works out a lot better for your family? Why should you not choose that?

2) Two first ladies - one current, and one, a former first lady. Their approval ratings? The current first lady is highly regarded, and the former first lady has likability ratings of only 34% despite a high profile presidential campaign. The reason? The current first lady is considered "very nice", and the former? Not so much, because she dared piss a few people off, fighting for health care reforms that she believed in, and oh, she does not have a sugar sweet persona.

3) A bunch of presidential candidates - Each more ambitious than the other. The most vitriol is directed at the lone woman candidate. Why? Oh, because she is daring enough to show some personal ambition. And the reaction of the pundits? She is failing as she is not "likeable" enough.

4) Men in the workplace show passion ? They are considered ambitious go-getters. A woman in the workplace shows a little passion and ambition? Oh, shes a bitch

5) A cooking show host on the food network comes across as a little friendly and approachable. She then builds an entire career solely on her "niceness", which conveniently eclipses the fact that she cannot cook at all. "Hey i'm nice, so give me a medal!" seems to be her motto.

Gosh, we have such a long way to go. And we are not going to get anywhere simply with affirmative action or pro-women quotas and reservations. The change has to come from within us. I'm gonna start with me. Sure, I will keep being nice, but, I will also take care of myself, and push for the rewards I truly deserve. And the next time I see a woman kicking butt? Instead of thinking "what a bitch", I will most certainly think, "go for it sister!!!"

Acts of faith

I am not an atheist. Really (though for some reason, my friends and family seem to think I am)

I grew up listening to my family preach the principles of Advaitha - it all made perfect sense -

* You get good or bad things based on your karma
* Your next life time is determined by your good deeds in this life time
* So really, just be good, and suck it up and pay for your past misdeeds
* And sometime in the distant future, you will start pulling out of your good deeds-bad deeds rut and truly start seeking God
* And you will find his divinity in every living thing on this planet
* And you will start loving everyone selflessly and not even hurt a fly
* And you will be released from the bondage of life and death and become one with the One
* And all through this journey, your Bhakthi will help you stay focused on the right path

I always took pride in what I thought was truly absolute devotion, which in my words was complete love and acceptance of God's will. If he wanted me to suffer, I would. I refused to bargain. I chose instead to accept.

However, my friends and family (while acknowledging that i get all basic concepts right), want me to sneak God some favors, and escape from doing time for my bad karma. I truly don't get it. Would my beloved Anjaneya hurt me if I accidentally sang a hymn in praise of Janani instead of his Chalisa on Saturday? Would Dhakshinamurthi refuse to bless me because I didn't have the time to make sundal, as I was busy making money that i am saving up so that my husband and I don't have to work till we are sixty, so that we can retire early and volunteer all our time for good causes?

Don't get me wrong. I am all for prayers. They soothe the heart and help lead you along the right path. But why pray only for 10 minutes a day and why think only those 10 minutes count? Why cant the life that I lead become my prayer? And why cant Love be my God?

Of Thamizh actresses and fabulousness

Take a look at Rajni's heroines.....Shriya already looks a little tired and paavum during the Sivaji premiere. Meena is as pretty as ever but ...er...looks kinda...healthy?!

And then...I saw someone's photo, i thought she looked fabulous, and then i had to rub my eyes and pinch myself before looking at the photo again..Its SRIDEVI!!! i've always been a big fan of her, she still ranks number 1 in my list of best heroines with Thalaivar and Kamal. She doesnt look a day over 35. I dont remember her looking this good even when she was acting. She was also present at the Chandramukhi 800 days celebration. So, i wonder what her ulterior motives are..Is she planning a grand comeback? Hopefully the heroine of thalaivar's next movie?


By the way, I didnt mean to be a bitch about Meena, i just dont understand why incredibly pretty indian girls end up looking so different when they cross the big 30. Its like the Thamizh movie industry slaps a "best by..." date on them, and they fall off the bandwagon. If the industry is guilty of age discrimination, then the Meenas and the Nagmas are guilty of not fighting back. i hope Sridevi breaks this stereotype. You go girl!

Images source: www.indiaglitz.com

Totally fabulous

Alison Stewart sometimes hosts Countdown when Keith Olberman has the day off. During last night's show, i totally fell in love with her outfit - a beautiful burnt orange kurti with threadwork and bold gold accents. It was such a refreshing change from the stuffy suits and ties. Women in the news media always seem to fall under one of two categories - dumbed down, staid and botoxed or dumbed down, blond and almost provocatively dressed. So it was a pleasure to see a confident, sassy 30 something old Alison, making a fashion statement and keeping the show watchable.

Why am i going on and on about a relatively obscure anchor? I guess the image she projected resonates with something in me....Its yet another birthday for me. As the years race by, i am sometimes scared, thinking about the rapidly approaching big 30 and looking at my long unfinished to-do list. However, sometimes I feel really good. As i get older, i am gradually shedding my insecurities by the way side...i am a little more comfortable with who i am. I was a rabidly patriotic indian a few years ago, then spent another few years desperately trying to fit into the american life in every way possible. I think a happy medium is achievable....like a kurti during a prime time news broadcast....

The cutest thing(s) in the world

* Orangutans clapping hands

* Little 2 year olds in the airport walking real fast behind their moms

* A friendly dog jumping and running endless circles around you

* Sleeping babies

* Babies who smile at you at the grocery store checkout line

* Babies. Period.

7 more days to Babyland!!!!! Yaaayyyyyy!!!!

What is happening to the airline industry?

Everytime i fly, i tell myself that domestic air travel cannot hit any new lows, and every single time i am proved wrong. The latest? United has stopped serving even the two measly cookies that they used to with beverages. And just 25 minutes before boarding, they changed gates, and not just within a terminal, but to an entirely different concourse. So, i had to make a mad dash to my new gate, with my baggage in tow, so that i could go in time to beg for a seat assignment (thats right, i had a full proper reservation, but no seat assignment till the last possible minute).

On my return trip, the American Airlines kiosk tried to extort $25 from me.

Reader alert -

This article may be really boring if you have not been in the situation that I have, but, for the sake of consumer rights, please humor me by reading on!
I wanted to travel standby on an earlier flight. The kiosk gave me two options - standby for free, or get a guaranteed seat for $25. I thought "what a rip-off" and chose the standby for free option. A boarding pass printed, with a seat allotted to me. Earlier in the day, I had already checked and made sure that this flight had many empty seats. Why did the airline even give me the $25 option? If I had agreed to that, what benefit would I have had as a customer? A passenger can be allotted a standby seat in one of two ways -

1) The flight has empty seats, so the airline will have no issues with allotting a seat to you. Once the boarding pass is printed, you are already guaranteed a seat. So why trick you into a moment of self doubt? (like uh oh..what if i dont get a guaranteed seat??)

2) The flight has no empty seats, and could accommodate you as a standby passenger only in the event that passengers with a confirmed reservation do not show up or cancel. In that case, when you are at the kiosk, the airline does not as yet know the number of passengers who may not show up. So, how can they give you a guaranteed seat even if you pay the $25? Or, if someone has already cancelled their reservation and if there is an empty seat, that automatically leads you to the above scenario 1, which means that there is no reason to charge you the $25.

I am no airline expert, i am trying to look at this logically. If you know why airlines do what they do, and if you think they are justified, please let me know. I would love to change my opinion on this.

Whats hot and whats not

YAY :-) :-) :-)

* Panera Bread's veggie friendly menu - You can actually have breakfast, lunch and dinner and there. The rotating soup menu gives you a reason for repeat visits

* AMC cantera charging 5 bucks a ticket for all shows before 12:00 noon - its a great way to kill a boring afternoon and you can actually feel good about having fun at the movies without burning the bank

* Beyonce's deja vu - I dont really get the tune of this song, but she sings her lungs out, and plus sister looks and sounds totally fabulous

NAY :-( :-( :-(

* Cell phone users who do not use the "silent" or "meeting" feature in their workplace; And they are the same boors that download flamboyant ring tones..so all day, you are forced to listen to these pesky little things sing non stop (and the proud owner is not even in the office)

* There is a time for everything- however, people start talking about or promoting things too early, waayy to early. Case in point, thanksgiving is not even over yet, i have barely had one cup of pumpkin spice latte, and suddenly, Starbucks is displaying christmas colors in their stores and even on their cups and serving eggnog lattes and ginger bread. The midterm elections are just over, Nancy Pelosi has not even installed her new drapes yet, and people are already talking about the 2008 presidential elections. So, in essence, washington is ALWAYS in an election mode. The people trying to get their names on the primary ballots are mostly senators. So, when are they ever going to get time to say, pass laws?

Hot and happenin...

Whats HOT !!!

* Podcasts rock!!!! More on this in my next blog. Its like a whole new world that i have discovered

* Justin Timberlake sure brings SEXY BACK!!!

* The first woman speaker of the US congress - Despite every effort to demonize the stylish 66 year old grandmother (ooooo she looked scary on 60 minutes?!!!! gimme a break!). She won, and won big!!! and her drapes shopping did not go waste!

Whats NOT!!!!

* The terrible regressive storyline in the Godfather (now titled Varalaaru). When will Thamizh cinema directors wake up and get out of their stone age mentality????

Windows live writer rocks!

Thanks to Miss. Paranoid's post, I downloaded Windows live writer. This is my first blogpost (or rather my test blogpost) with it. Its awesome! I did not have to refer to any help file, its as easy as just opening a notepad file and typing. Inserting hyperlinks, spell check, changing fonts etc.. are just a breeze. I usually dislike downloading toolbars to internet explorer, but window's live toolbar seems good. Ofcourse, it very heavily pushes MSNBC and other microsoft related sites, but the novel feature is, you can browse multiple websites within a single explorer window using the tab feature . I tried to insert an image here, but i got an error message (it probably has something to do with Blogger's settings). Anyway, with this new tool, I really have no excuses to not blog frequently anymore, so do watch this space for more!

This elephant can dance too...

Source. - www.time.com

During my first month in the USA, sometime in August 2000, I called my dad, and I was giving him a detailed account of my new world. Comparing it to India, I remember telling him this ..... "People criticize India all the time. NRIs visit India and constantly crib about the pollution, and the bad roads. Foreigners still look at India as the land of Maharajas and snake charmers. Indians while patriotic, often have little pride in their motherland, hankering after approval by anyone not Indian. What all these people forget is, it took countries like the USA many centuries to get to where they are today. Despite its centuries old history, India is a relatively young country. Its been just 53 years since we got our independence. Its only a matter of time before India realizes its true potential"

Looking back, I guess i was echoing the sentiments felt by almost every Indian who moved to a foreign country and realized that if there was heaven on earth, it was in India, right in the crowded streets and cramped apartments that we grew up in.

Time magazine's cover story for the week is about "India Inc", touting India as the next great economic super power. I read the article with mixed feelings...intense pride, cautious optimism, and a good deal of fear. Why fear? Whatever India does, India does incredibly and exceedingly well. Any phenomenon in India does not grow - it exploded. I refer both to the good and the bad.

The good? The incredible brilliance and ingenuity of Indians. Our tenacious, and single minded ambition have built an unshakeable reputation for us in every major company across the world. "Hes a typical desi guy, pretty good" - is a common refrain in the corporate world. The 80s and the 90s saw a phenomenon - hordes of bright young Indians migrating to the USA and Europe. While people in India lamented about the terrible waste of talent and brain drain, these expatriates slowly but steadily built a solid reputation for Indian brain power. Indians in mainland India also slowly but steadily chugged along, building a solid India, despite the government in many occasions.

The bad? We all knew that India would one day break out of its ugly shell...I dont think anyone ever imagined that in this decade, we would actually be recognized as a superpower, in an incredibly positive article, published by America's leading magazine. However, India's explosive growth and success is unprecedented..even Indians shake their heads with disbelief. The rich are richer, the middle class better of than ever, but what about the poorest of the poor? The caste distinctions in India are stronger than ever, rearing their ugly head in reservations. Excessive wealth is leading to many social ills. I do not wish to sound like a wet blanket, but are we growing too soon, too fast? With tremendous power comes great responsibility (as a certain comic movie said, alluding to the USA in fact). Are we ready?

Check out the article at the link below...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/current
You need to try and read this article this week. When the article is archived next week, only subscribers can have access.

My work week...

I realized the following -

* forget the Sarbanes Oxely act - bullshit needs to be regulated (as complete elimination is practically impossible)
* WTF (what the f***) needs to be legitimized as an appropriate response for deserving emails
* The act of asking for updates from someone should be placed in the same category as other harassment acts
* Every question need not be considered a good one. Some questions are pretty stupid
* Laptops and cellphones should be banned from meeting rooms. Noone is THAT important
* Blackberrys should be banned. Period.

The Godfather

I saw Godfather again last night, for the 30th time. People think only guys dig the Godfather. There is something so incredibly powerful about this movie, and Brando and Pacino give the best performances that Hollywood has ever seen.

In You've got mail, Tom Hanks tells this to Meg Ryan ... "The Godfather is the i-ching; the Godfather is the sum of all wisdom". That is so true! Everything you need to learn from life, you can learn from the Godfather!

So, here are my favorite quotes; They are profound!

"...and if I ever need any guidance, who's a better consiglieri than my father?"

"Never tell anybody outside the family what you're thinking again."

"Leave the gun...take the Canoli"

"Its not personal..its business"

Ajith rocks

Whew! Just saw the trailor for Paramasivam and I'm still shaking my head with disbelief. Ajith has lost atleast 30 pounds, and looks like he is 26 again (i typed in 21 to begin with, and then realized thats a million years younger than me, so typed in a number thats closer to ahem..my age!!).

Dont let the bed bugs bite!

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS ARTICLE MAY SEEM BORING, BUT PLEASE READ IT FULLY. IF YOU HAVE EVER USED A SUITCASE EVEN ONCE IN THE PAST YEAR, THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS ABSOLUTELY RELEVANT FOR YOU

Snug as a bug in a rug. This phrase has lost all its cuteness for me. I read an article today in the New York Times about the rampant spread of bed bug infestation.

I was a victim too, in April this year. Here is the story.

For a period of over three weeks, I kept waking up in the morning with a swollen eye, swollen cheek, reddish bumps on my hands, neck etc. I spent days cleaning my apartment, and laundering my bed clothes, and still, there was no use. I even saw a dermatologist who promised me that I did not have any mysterious skin ailment.

Then finally, I had a breakthrough. I woke up in the middle of one night, as I could feel this intense irritating pain on my elbow. I immediately turned on the light, and there it was!!!! This big horrendously fat bed bug happily sucking the life out of my hand! Bed bugs are tiny little creatures, almost invisible normally. But when they feed, they bloat up to many times their original size, and are like these little balloons. I squashed the little son of a %^&$!!@ and from then on, it was an all out war.

I am a vegetarian, and I try not to kill insects, but the bed bugs were a different story altogether. I checked out a number of articles online and even called a few pest extermination specialists. They scared the living daylights out of me, by making it sound as though the only way I could be bed bug free was to move out of my apartment and BURN all my worldly belongings (really, no exaggeration. Apparently you cannot get away with just using baygon spray)

Well, to cut a long story short, I decided to take matters in my own hands and did the following:
1) Threw out my mattress, box springs, and all the bed clothes
2) Sprayed a bug repellant spray (specially for bed bugs on the mattress frame)
3) Sprayed the replacement mattress and box springs thoroughly with the repellant spray, and then covered the entire mattress and box springs with plastic mattress bags (so that if the replacement mattress had any bugs, they could not crawl out of the plastic bag)
4) Bought brand new pillows, sheets, comforters etc
5) Wiped the surface of all the furniture in my bed room with the bug spray (WARNING: i dont have children or pets, if you do, do not do this)
6) Vaccum cleaned the floor EVERY DAY (to get rid of eggs)
7) PRAYED
8) PRAYED
...100) PRAYED

Thankfully, the above steps eliminated the problem for me. I was really shocked to have had this problem, as I am very good with cleaning my apartment, and I launder the bed clothes almost every other week. Apparently, the bed bugs have nothing to do with cleanliness. Even the most spotless bedrooms could be infested. Bed bugs were eradicated a few decades back in the USA. However, over the past few years, most of the insecticide sprays have become pretty mild, and DDT has been banned in the USA. International travellers brought the bed bugs with them (via suitcases etc) and the bugs immediately made their way back into American homes, with no threat from the weak insecticides.

So, how do you protect yourself?
1) When you travel, keep your suitcase away from your bed in the hotel. When you return home and unpack your suitcase, DO NOT keep the suitcase on the bed. Better still, try not to bring your suitcases into the bedroom

2) Do not buy used mattresses or box springs.

3) When you buy new mattresses, there is the danger of them being placed along with old mattresses (that the delivery guy picked up) in the delivery vehicle. Make sure you vacuum all the surfaces of your new mattress and box springs before you make your bed

4) Check your mattress and box springs for tears, holes etc. If you see any, immediately cover them very tightly with tape

5) PRAY

Immortal comics

Reading Chinmayi's post on Amar chitra katha comics, I immediately checked out their website - www.amarchitrakatha.com. The site is extremely well designed. Also, every comic's catalog listing is accompanied by a detailed introduction, which is very informational. Their Festival Focus section is a must-read too.

If you grew up in India, you do not need an introduction to Amar Chitra Katha comics. Their beautifully illustrated series cover a wide variety of subjects, right from Hindu mythology, Puranas and Jataka tales to stories about India's freedom struggle and great personalities (I even saw an issue on Kalpana Chawla's life)!

Every month, my parents would take me and my sister to Eshwari lending library in Gopalapuram. An elderly gentleman that works there is one of the greatest librarians in the world for sure (if you know his name, could you post it in the comment please). You can ask for any title, and he will know exactly where the book can be found! The library had bound copies, with 5 or 10 comics. I would borrow 4 of these bound comics and three Enid Blyton books. I read and re-read the 4 comics, till I could recite the entire stories perfectly (and ofcourse, my proud mom would then make me recite all these stories to my bored(!) but polite relatives). The comics even gave me an edge over my classmates in history class.

Here are some of the memorable Amar Chitra Kathas:

1) The one about how European discoverers tried to find India; It starts from Columbus sailing west, to Vascodagama finally landing in the shores of Kerala, and the events that leads to the birth of the East India trading company

2) Dasa avathar - We used this as reference, when we arranged our Dasa avathar dolls for golu!

3) The full mahabaratha series


I cannot remember the others for now, please do post your favorite titles!

When I think about the future, and where I would like to bring up my children, one of the big things in favor of Madras is the fact that I can take my kids to Eshwari lending library and they can spend their summer holidays reading all the Amar Chitra Kathas in print!