Sometimes you realize that God has played a practical joke on you - a situation you come across in life. (don't call me negative) Yet. you smile, accept it and move on. Because God is still your friend!

Human beings are like computers. Their systems usually shut down at night and get switched on in the morning, but sometimes they operate in sleep mode.

Mouna VIradam

Guide to following Mouna Viradam - Go to Sandy's Chocolab. Order a chocolate truffle ball. Pop it into your mouth in pani puri style and let it melt away slowly. It's 5 minutes of blissful silence. ;)

The Gentleman's Game?

First, Afridi said that Muslims and Pakistanis were largehearted and that was their attitude towards Indians when they played cricket in Pakistan, but Indians didn't not welcome Pakistani players with the same attitude.

Yuvraj Singh retaliated, cheekily commenting that the largehearted attitude of Afridi's players reflected in the catches they dropped (Tendulkar - 4 times) in the Indo-Pak World Cup semifinal.

Harbhajan contributed his bit to the slanging match, saying that if Indians didn't have a great attitude, they wouldn't have progressed this far in cricket.

While I will ignore Afridi's comments about Pakistanis, he was right when he said spoke against the alleged warning to the players, to not indulge in match fixing, by the Interior Minister Malik and Gautam Gambhir's unnecessary comment that he'd dedicate World Cup victory to the victims of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. It was alleged that they were planned by Paki militants but Gambhir dumbly let loose his tongue in the midst of the hype over the India-Pakistan match..

None of this would've made the newspapers if cricketers hadn't come forth to put forth their opinions. Like the Centrefresh Viral WC ad said "The game is more important than the cup. Just shut up!" It's a Gentleman's game, folks. Be gentlemen.

Like Dhoni proved in his calm conduct and quiet tolerance of the hype preceding the India-Pakistan match.

Dear cricketers, we'll always love and support you, but please live up to the name of cricket.

...under the spell of lovely Loren

Yesterday I watched my first two Sophia Loren movies – back to back. This voluptuous siren still receives adulation with true reason. Her beauty and appeal radiate through even when she’s wearing a simple dress and is magnified in period costumes and impeccable make-up (with a beauty mark).

The movies I watched were in contrast with each other. The first one, “A Breath of Scandal” featured Loren as a feisty Austrian princess who falls in love with an American. It was a comedy that was not absolutely perfect, but quite a good watch – of course, most importantly because of Loren.

The other was “Houseboat” – where she stars opposite Cary Grant who plays a widower. He is forced to live in a dilapidated houseboat. She is a nanny to his three children, and that irrepressible beauty shines through elegant everyday clothes. But still, she is a down-to-earth, girl next door – another reason why I really liked her in that movie. Apparently, Grant succumbed to her charm – he fell in love with her during a movie they filmed the year before, but she was already in love with someone else (sources - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000026/bio and a Readers Digest interview with Loren, several years back). I liked Cary Grant too, and he was 54 when the movie was released, yet quite handsome and charming. It was only the second Grant film I watched.

Sophia Loren really was something else. She was a phenomenon. I’ll add her, along with Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis (just "All About Eve") and Marilyn Monroe (watched 5 movies of hers), to my list of favorite actresses. Thanks to these wonderful stars, I am becoming a complete 50s & 60s romantic comedy junkie. And I’m loving it!

Still I Rise

- by Maya Angelou

This poem made my evening....


You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

The Penny Pincher's Guide to Chocolate Shopping

Chocolaty treats can cost the world. A sundae at Sandy’s Chocolab sets you back by Rs. 200 (so enjoy it occasionally), the smallest available pack of Hershey’s Kisses costs Rs. 250 (noted during innumerable visits to Amma Naana), Pepperidge Farm chocolate cookies cost Rs. 195 – and they’re not even that great, as I discovered when I asked my cousin to get them from the US.

So, how can you scrimp on them and still satisfy your cravings? You can actually buy small treats ranging from ten to twenty five bucks and get more of them, adding variety to your chocolate diet. Here goes the list:

Treat-O Cookies: Britannia’s answer to Oreo, by the cookie’s appearance and name. But I found it way yummier than the Oreos I bought (I licked the cream and dumped the biscuits – but after trying to eat them). Chocolate flavour’s better than vanilla.
Price: Rs. 10

Mini Mars Bar: A low-guilt treat that’s worth every penny. Gooey, chewy, chocolaty and superior taste-wise to its competitors.
Price: Rs. 20

Choco-Hazelnut cream mini treats – I think these are imported from the Middle East or something. They’re available in bubble packs (like those single-use jam packs). There’s one that’s shaped like a heart and has exact half-half white and brown choco cream. Irresistible, and fun indulgence for the kid in you.
Price: Rs. 5

Kinder Wafer Bars – Chocolate coated wafer bars filled with milk & hazelnut paste.An anytime treat.
Price: Rs. 25

Lotus Chocolate Bar – Warning: I haven’t tasted it. But it costs only 10 bucks.

There is more stuff, that I’ll have to add to this list. You can get these at Brown Tree or Amma Naana. I wish you many happy chocolaty days ahead!