Theme n’ Header

So whatz new? The Theme…thatz what is new and so is the Custom Header! I played around with almost all the themes before zeroing in on this one. And though there are quite a few to choose from, none had that ‘Oh-so-perfect’ feel to it! With the exception of, maybe, Regulus and Andreas. But I already had’em sometime ago. So settled for Contempt

Also hunted about within my wllpaper collection (almost 3000+ images) for a nice-enough header for the blog but couldn’t zero-in on a ‘Wierd’ one…one that would accurately reflect moi nature and character. So I had to make do with a mediocre one, which I think was sourced from DeviantArt long long ago! And so, thatz what iz new

Don – Music Review

Against all odds, I listened to the songs of Don today. Why I am saying ‘against all odds’ is coz I ain’t no SRK fan and do not really dig into his movies or music. But two (rather four!) names made me think otherwise. Farhan Akhtar, whose last two movies had fantastic music and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, who were behind that fantastic music. And added to it, the curiosity factor of it being a remake of a classic and also to checkout how three cult numbers – Main Hoon Don, Yeh Meraa Dil and Khaike Pan Banaraswaala - have been treated. Do they still retain that charisma? Have they been raised to an altogether new level? Or have they been reduced to zilch? With these persistent Questions, i set about listening to DON!

First up is the title track Main Hoon Don sung by Shaan and whose starting beats remind us of the Mission Impossible soundtrack so much so that my colleagues were clamouring for sharing that song Apart from the MI resemblance, there is the ‘also-heard’ feel for an inexplicable reason! Lyrics are different from the original but do not differ much. Ah yeah! It reminded me of the title song from Baadhshah! The second ‘evergreen’ number Yeh Mera Dil is kept intact s per the Lyrics point of view but beats have been changed..so that it now resembles a Remix of the older classic. I’m kinda unable to pin-point the singer of this one but she does an OK job. One can never xpect any singer to beat Ashaji do we?? For some godforsaken reason, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy get Udit Naran to sing the rumbustious Khaike Paan Banaraswaala and he totally desecrates the track!!! Not to mention that his voice does’nt match SRK at all The lyrics are the same though. The rest of the album is plainly mediocre. There’s a Ganapati Utsav number – Moriya Re which is a relatively melodious religious song. There are two Remix versions of the Main Hood Don number. One by Medevial Punditz that is more catchy and beaty than the original! But it incorporates sounds that resemble the ‘Bhow Bhow’ beat from the Who let the Dogz out’ number of Baha Men!!! Though irritating, it does lend a catchy feel to the song and is definitely the pick of the lot for me! The second version is the FnCInternational Mix (?) which is also a beat-filled and pacy remix of the title track. There is also a Don Theme that is a full-fledged instrumental with SRK’s vocals trown in for that ‘eerie’ feel! Reminded me of the Sholay Remix that came out a few years ago

All in all, a pretty mediocre album, considering Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Farhan Akhtar’s pedigree and all the history attached to this movie. But it still may be a hot-seller just because of SRK’s popularity etc etc. I somehow feel that it lacks that “One-Song-Chartbuster” that is needed for giving the movie a fillip!

Ganesh Chaturthi

Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi, the day when people pray to Lord Ganesha who is treated as the first amongst the gods.

Ganesh Chaturthi is an occasion or a day on which Lord Ganesha makes his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. It is not the birthday of Lord Ganesha. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). While held all over India, it is at its most elaborate in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. This typically comes sometime between 20^th of August and 15^th of September. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.

More…

Free Vista CD’s – From Microsoft!

Yes! It is True! Microsoft is Giving away its new OS- Microsoft Vista’s CD/DVD’s for Free to people who answer a simple Quiz on their site. I was alerted to this fact by an alert colleague Mr.G. I headed over to ther site pronto and found that it is indeed true!

Take the Future Assured Quiz and get your copy of Beta 2 Windows Vista.

Note: This Offer is valid in India only.

And though it seems too good to be true, one can never shy away from the fact that MS has always tried to woo the consumers with such marketing tactics. Remember they gave the XP SP1 and SP2 CD’s and the ‘Security Updates’ CD’s for free! And yeah, anyone who wants the answers in advance before they take the quiz, can contact me

The God of Small Games!

Itz been a manic kinda week till now! Why because, each day of the week I end up playing a Small Game on the PC and whatz weirder, end up being the High-Scorer amongst all of them players And by ‘Small Game’ I mean the Flash Games that one keeps getting off the Internet or getting as Email forwards. They may be small in size but are definitely Big on entertainment value they provide

First up, it was the Pingu Throw that was posted on FreeHyderabad Discussion Boards and which I promptly downloaded and started playing in my leisure time. I achieved 323.5 first…though a few friends managed to equal it but no one surpassed it . Then came the Gold-Miner which also was a nifty game in which we’re supposed to pick up Gold and Diamonds from the field. A Flash-enabled game, it is small yet enjoyable!

There’s also the age-old Copter which is a Flash-based game that tests one’s skills in concentration and Hand-eye coordination. In fact, all the four games that I played were immense tests of hand-eye co-ordination and stealth of hand! The fourth game here was Tennis Push in which we’re supposed to keep a Tennis Ball floating in the air by keeping on clicking on it. Fun but very difficult. Initially though. Once you get the hang of it, it is easy-as-pie

The Image above shows the Screen-shots of the Four Games.

Clockwise from Top Left: Gold-Miner;Copter;Tennis and Pingu Throw!

Blogs, Blogging and The Blogosphere

Thatz the name of the Presentation that I had given at moi workplace. There’s an event here that goes by the name of ‘PitStop’. As in Formula1, where the PitStop is a period of intense concentration and a place for refuelling, rejuvenating and generally getting an all-new gear to equip the driver for a few more laps of the track; the PitStop programme is aimed at a small session to replenish the knowledge of the people with the latesht Gyaan and Information.

A few days ago, I was the chosen one for sharing my knowledge on the vast topic of Blogs and Blogging. Armed with a sleek n small Power Point presentation, I embarked upon delivering one of the most challenging presentation that I ever had given. Challenging, because I wasn’t sure as to whether the audience would connect with me or not. Because I did’nt think many people were into Blogging and took at as seriously as,ahemm…Myself . It was a well-attended session and I made an earnest effort in making the content as easy to understand as Pie! And the feedback (not loads of it though!) was encouraging. And that made me lose the ‘fear’ and ‘apprehension’ that I initially had! All in a Good day’s work, I must say….

Link for the PPT

A Somewhat better Sunday

After what was a Lacklustre Saturday, the Sunday that followed it was somewhat better! I didn’t ahve to go to Office, nor the laundry nor the market! In fact, I did not move out even 100 metres from moi abode . Fortunately, we’ve some nice but small eateries nearby which took care of the needs of the stomach whereas the Idiot Box that we have at da room took care of the boredom

I saw some movies…one which I had already seen – Rang De Basanti ; and another which I hadn’t seen – National Treasure ; was kinda OK but could’ave been a lot better! Another one was Mortal Kombat  which I felt was much better in the Video Game version itself! I also caught up on few sports events and was lucky enough to catch John Terry netting in Chelsea’s first goal of the season against Manchester City and then Lampard and Drogba making it 3-0 WTG Chelsea !!!

Lacklustre Weekend

No Formula One this weekend! Nor are there any nice movies in town! For some forsaken reason, Pirates of the Carribean – Dead Man’s Chest did not release here! Come to think of it, neither has X-Men III nor Garfield 2 has even released. The one english movie that’s running is Cars…which is too childish for my liking! And to top it all, I had to be at work on Saturday!!! Not for any ‘real’ work but a project which I had to catch up on and finish it and submit it next monday

And Sunday hasn’t been that wonderful  till now! Of course, I had a good breakfast and a nice one hour session on the boards and other stuff, the rest of the day seems too boringfor my taste! Let’s see what the evening has in store for me