Some Sizzling Scintillating Speculations

There's no pleasure like the fun of seeing a new movie in the hall. Neither a DVD(which releases after I've read at least a dozen reviews) or a pirated print(Arghh!Those colours) can replace the pure fun of seeing a fun (I usually don't see any other kind) movie in a good hall, Lamcy's halls being one of my favourites. I'd picked a side aisle this time, with only one seat next to it, hoping that no-one would take it. But, no such luck- a cap-wearing guy who insisted on putting his feet up on the seats in front(since they were empty) made me feel quite irritated. Why do people treat a cinema hall as if it's their property to spoil? (Come to think of it, they wouldn't spoil their own property like this). But, it was slightly better(there's always something to be thankful for, as I say) than last week's Dil Bole Hadippa experience of the 'wide' Uncle who should have taken two tickets to seat himself(That review coming up later), chomping away a...

Thought for the day: The four levels of comedy: Make your friends laugh, make strangers laugh. Get paid to make strangers laugh and make people talk like you because it’s so much fun…Jerry Seinfeld. (My comment: I wish I could be like that at all times, instead of just sometimes..haha) There’s lots to write about, but, since it’s our weekend coming up in 4 hours, let me write first about what made me smile/guffaw/laugh in the last few days: (As such, the mind’s a bit more light-hearted than usual, with Baroda on my mind. haha) The dialogue from a Hindi movie that went: - “We have to go for potty with Danish Pastry.” It turned out that he(Paresh Rawal or Anupam Kher, I’m not sure) was talking of having Pot Tea with Dinesh Mistry. 2. Anupam Kher’s jokes in ‘Perfect (Mis)match, a fun movie(review comes up later): one of them goes: Q: What does the Gujju call a Mercedes Benz? A: A Mari Sadi Bhens 3. One of the items on the menu of a restaurant here: - Soft drink(cane) Any guesses what that...

Thought for the day: A city is a large community where people are lonesome together. ‘They crawl out of the woodwork’- was my thought when I had spent hardly three months in the Purchasing Department. And, after 7.5 years, the thought still comes to mind every few days. I’m referring to a group of people that I find unique to Dubai, whom we in the construction field term as suppliers ( also referred to as vendors) of the various products we buy. And, the number of people I’ve met in 7.5 years is probably double(or more) the number I met in my whole life prior to coming to Dubai. The way this market works here, is very different from any other,including India. Each average/ good supplier keeps at least three nationalities of people in his kitty/payroll- a gora(As we lovingly call Brits/Aussies/Europeans,etc), a local/ Arabic speaking gent and an Indian (generally Keralite) or two(Second one could be Mangalorean) or three(could be any of the rest- Gujju, for example- kept as inhouse sal...

Front page snippet from the best-selling local newspaper here: The speed of finger and toe-nail growth has surged by nearly a quarter over the last 70 years, a new study has revealed. And, the modern diet-rich in protein from readily available fish,meat,eggs and poultry-may be behind the spurt. Researchers from the University of North Carolina(My comment-I'd love to do a Phd there-they have such interesting research topics) compared results to a study published by Oxford University in 1938.... The results revealed that: Big toenails now grow by more than 2 mm a month, compared with 1.65 mm in the Thirties. Thumbnail growth rate was 3 mm a month in 1938 and 2.06 mm in the Fifties study. The average thumbnail grows by 3.55 mm a month-an increase of more than half a millimetre over seven decades. Scientists monitored 195 fingernails and 188 toenails over three months. The results also showed that fingernails now grow by 3.47 mm every month-almost twice as fast as toenails. The nails o...

I hear so many interesting conversations,while having a mini-dinner(There's no other dinner after it,btw) at some of the restaurants here. And, not coz I want to-perish the thought!(hehe)But,coz people like to talk at such high frequencies that those around cannot help listening,unless they keep their fingers on,nee,in their ears or use earplugs! Anyway,so,there was this girl and a guy. The guy(as usual) was doing just the listening,besides throwing his two bits when the girl asked him for an opinion besides a 'grunt'. It seems she's been seeing a boy since the last five years. They had some argument a year back, and she did not talk to him since. So, some 'snippets': -I'm totally flexible. I can get married to any guy, and then break up and tell my parents if the marriage doesn't work out. - You know, I haven't talked to him for a year. And, when he finally called(See,He called,not her!LOL), he said' I'll take my revenge on you for not tal...

Day 1: 6 PM. ‘There are 23 people in the list. If you want to come, it’s your choice’. Day 2: 5 PM: ‘Token distribution begins at 430. Official time is 5’ Day 3: 430 PM: People crowding the counter, to get ahead of each other. Pushing, jostling. Feel sorry for the two people at the other side. Leave without waiting. Day 4: No show . Day 5: 8 AM. : Token no. 2. 9 AM : Starts. Any guesses what this is all about? Answers coming up later in the day. --- Answer: Posted: 16.09.09 That was me trying to get an appointment with the doctor at the clinic close to my house. I wanted to consult him for my recent frequent headaches. Day 4 was his day off,and, by that time, my headaches had disappeared. Well,maybe that's one way to cure an illness-see oodles of people at the doctor's and think-my illness is nothing compared to this!!haha!But,all's well that ends well,and, I finally saw him, he gave me a five day course, told me not to take stress and just 'be cool'. How cool is th...

The excitement is palpable. What began as a mega project on 04.04.04, is about to become reality . I refer, of course, to the Dubai Metro, which will begin operations on 09.09.09, with the first train, with an entourage of VIPs, being flagged off on 09.09.09 at 09 PM from Mall of the Emirates station to Rashidiya station(the last stop), with the in-between operational stations being checked out as well. Others will be able to travel on it from 06 AM, the next day. First began the construction of the elevated tracks on massive pillars, then the rakes, the railway stations, the underground part of the metro…and, the rest, as they say, is history. Suddenly, one day, we saw a blue train with five bogies, sitting idle on the tracks. Another day, the train could be seen moving slowly. And, as the days passed , the trains speed increased progressively, till the current moment, when the trial runs are probably going on at the actual speed of the train. There’ve been comments galore in the loca...

From: Cine Blitz, Sept'09.