Meals & their stories

What I'm going to do in this post is share pics of memorable meals I've had, and give them a little context. Here goes..

1. Shrek happy meal

Place: McDonalds at Sigma Mall, Bangalore

Occasion: Sunil's (colleague) farewell lunch

Comment: I was vegetarian back then, and had a veg happy meal. The Shrek action-figure in this pic was later stolen from me by a friend, which I found out only when visiting his home. 

2. Authentic Andhra meal

Place: Vellore, Tamil Nadu 

Occasion: Wedding of friend Murali

Comment: This wasn't the actual wedding meal, but the pre-wedding lunch at Murali's home. It was cooked by the family, and was just what I was craving after a 250km bike ride from Bangalore that day.

3. Rasam (or pepper-water as we Anglo-Indians call it), rice & fried sardine

Place: Home in Chennai

Occasion: My first non-veg meal at home in 1.5 yrs (I was vegan during that time, but finally chickened out ;)

Comment: This is my idea of a perfect meal, nothing compares to pepper-water rice & fried fish! It was my favourite when growing up, and will always be! 

4. Chicken biriyani made by moi!

Place: Home in Bangalore

Occasion: Invited friends over for a Sunday dinner

Comment: It's the first time I attempted biriyani! I consider this as the moment I graduated in cooking. The invite's open, let me know if you're in Bangalore or Chennai and want to come over. I'm starting to love cooking more than eating. Make your move fast though, this phase is still very nascent.

90's country-rock in the US

This post is a lazy compilation of a couple of my recent tweets. Alright, fine, I'll add a couple of videos in too.

#nowplaying golden smog. one of the many alternative-country-rock bands of the 90's i've been listening to recently 

others being wilco, the jayhawks, bright eyes, whiskeytown, uncle tupelo & monsters of folk

some things i love about these bands is the unpretentious lyrics, simple melodies & stories of everyday life

one example is the song 'hate it here' by wilco. a song about a break up, but talks of washing clothes, doing the dishes & checking mail

Here's 'hate it here' by wilco. I love the way the guy behind the camera is enjoys himself during the song:



Here's a song that's a good representation of the genre as a whole - 'Two angels' by The Jayhawks:

revisiting the yester years

we had a small college reunion today. some of the thoughts from it:

the birth of entrepreuneurs
quite a few of the guys are thinking of start ups. always a good sign. was great to see one pal in particular who was very carefree back in college, think business now.
makes me think that the education system (or my college - loyola) should be more realistic & encourage entrepreneurship rather than us having to figure it out only after studies.

the death of study
speaking to the class topper, who's still a student, i realized i've lost the joy of reading. i miss my times of contemplating & living out what i read. my usual weekday used to include a block of few hours for reading - anything from shakespeare, to c.s. lewis, to the encyclopedia, to mario puzo. for hours i'd be thinking of the death of desdemona, or the attempt to kill don corleone, or lewis' thots on marriage (though he himself was celibate). now my 'reading' consists of mashable, outofmygord.com, mad magazine, marvel's comics, rolling stone mag, etc. all these on my comp, lasting 50 pages at max. a lot more practical & useful, but with little focus on art and more on information. i find my reading has changed, diversified, but is less intense, and easily forgotten.

i refuse to accept this as a natural progression. will get back to reading good ol' books. a resurrection of sorts.

green eyes is such a relief after trying the fast (and fun) 'I'm yours' by Jason Mraz. it's simple and beautiful

From Jamendo: The Tengooz

back after a long time!

i had to share this album! it's a great listen!

the band The Tengooz is Japanese, and i love their bassy!
right now i'm tripping on the 3rd song on this album - Running!

Introducing Lost in Translation - The Band I'm Part of..

LiT as we call it has made its first appearance online this week. We've been around for little less than 2 years now, playing gigs at various places in India. We play progressive, blues, and classic rock - the lines between these genres are not clearly defined, but we like our sound nevertheless!

We put out our first 2 songs for free download here

If you have some more time to spare, check out our profile here

Ozzy's Facing Hell.. Or is it the Other Way Round?

From biting off a bat's head, to pouring a bucket of paint on himself, to a bucket of saliva on fans - this wizard has been there done that, and noone owns the stage like he does. What amazes me about Ozzy is that he may not have the best voice around, but the charisma that lights up any audience he performs for!

I have too many favorites of Ozzy for one post, but here are 2 of them:

1. Facing Hell - Ozzy (with Zakk Wylde)

2. Mr. Crowley - Ozzy (with Randy Rhoads)

Most say Randy was the greatest guitarist who played for Ozzy. Now, I think you can't always say who's greater in music cos each musician has their unique style, and it's the tastes, and influences of the listener that make a big difference. I'd rather substitute 'the greatest' with 'your favorite.' so go on and comment on who's your favorite lead guitarist...