Monday, March 28, 2011

I'm in love!

If you're like me.... having just discovered the rosy tinted world of undiluted adulation, then give me a high five! I'm so in love!

And the person who's stollen my heart? Want to know who that is? *winkwink nudgenudge*


What say.... Isn't Hippo cute? This blessed soul believes people do bad things because they're hungry! I find that innocent idealism so... disarming and tragic... but cute! And the things he writes behind those delicious round-round munchies is beyond adorable! I wuv joo, Hippo-chan! And jesh! I join you to fight World Hunger! :D

Pyaaar baantthe chalooooooooo!!!!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Watch out people! A brand new toaster is well on it's way!!!

I think the title conveys it perfectly clear! And I'm also helping out a friend with her blog designing! Isn't that wonderful that someone actually thinks I'm good enough to do stuff on their blog? :D I feel like a lighthouse on high voltage right now!

Ooooh.... And just so I don't mess up stuff too much, I've opened another mini-blog (not that mini!) where I'm trying out all the stuff for my friend's and my blog. There are just so many designs running around in my head that I might go into an "inspiration overload" moment here!

Aaaanyway, it's good to be able to make pretty things for people around me. Makes me feel so invigorated!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Where has the virtue gone?

Today, I had a trial of sorts. And in the most unexpected of places. I was in a place of worship, mindful of my own business when someone intentionally was rude to me. True, I was in his way. But rather than wait for a while and let me finish my small prayer, he was more intent on having me out of the path as though I was something demeaning. I believe there was a time when people were segregated into different sects and standing a long time ago... a practice that's reviling and disgusting to say the least. Especially when it comes to a place of worship. Isn't everyone the same in front of the Supreme One? And where has the patience that the sages of yore advocated us to possess vanished off to? I was angered at first but then I realized. If I were to retaliate, I would pull myself to the same baseborn level as that unfortunate soul. And I for one, refuse to be tempted to do that.

I pray that man finds the inner peace he so frantically is searching for and in the process hurting many a person. And for once, I am proud of my own restrain.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Are you a font fanatic?

Are you one of those people who can't help but scratch your hands with anticipation every time you see a new font? Or do you regretfully sigh when you find a very pretty font and then find that it is ridiculously expensive and you'll need to sell your soul to the Devil if you hope to pay for it? Do you snigger inwardly when you find some magazine advert using a font you got off the net for free and wonder why they're being so stingy using the "freebies" instead of investing some of their cash to buy an original font? Or are you mostly tempted to march up to some random shop, smile at the person behind the counter and say, "I have the same font you used for your shop's banner"?

Well, if most of your answers are a resounding "YES!", join my club! :P

And just the other day, in the midst of revamping my blog, I came across a wealth of resources for Typography on the Interwebz! (Pardon the intentional typo!)

Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together of Kevin & Amanda!

Not only do they give you some excellent handwritten and Scrap-booking fonts for free, they actually even transform your handwriting to fonts for free as well. Now, all those who're ashamed of your pigeon tracks, buck up and use those illegible symbols you spit out of a writing device as a fashionable font and floor the criticizing hypocritical world! :D

I'm going to use some of their fonts in my blog as and when I find the urge to change fonts. And since they've provided with so much already, I'm adding a button as well! Any of you in need of some original handwritten fonts can head over to their place. And not to mention their amazing recipes and Blog Tutorials! have fun, y'all!

P.S. The Button is in a new page specifically dedicated to those people who've helped me build my blog. :) So, yes... that means we have another page now. :D

P.P.S. I might go for a complete Blog Overhaul soon. And that means cleaner interfaces and better links... Somehow, I'm not entirely happy with the current one... It looks too shabby. But it might take some time, ne? So, be patient! :)

Dame Elizabeth Taylor has joined the choir invisible.

I guess this must be late news to many out there. But what the heck! Elizabeth Taylor was one of those special celebrities for whom I had the greatest respect. Irrespective of the fact that her personal life was a roller coaster of sorts, the lady knew how to hold the attention garnered on her and elegantly so. What with those elegant and thick eyebrows that framed one of the most beautiful pair of blue eyes ever, it'll be a wonder if she didn't!


I remember the first time I saw her was on the cover of an archaic video cassette of the movie Cleopatra. I must've been five or six at the time. My uncle had borrowed the cassette from a friend of his and we were all excited. You see, home video at that time was a luxury and very few people actually had a VHS player in their houses. I was mesmerized by the actress who played Cleopatra and for a very long time, when I thought of Elizabeth Taylor, I immediately thought of the scene where Cleopatra is crowned the queen of Egypt and goes out in this grand procession to Rome.

Then, there was "The Taming of the Shrew". She was beyond excellent in that! I remember with much fondness how I gleefully giggled every time she fought with Richard Burton (on screen, ofcourse!) in that movie. She defined Katharina to me when I was only beginning to discover Shakespeare. Ah, such fond memories.

You know, I personally feel one shouldn't mourn someone's passing. Wouldn't it do the deceased much greater honor if we were to reminisce the good times we spent with them. And so, thank you Dame Elizabeth. Thank you for all the good memories you've blessed me with.

Heaven became a tad bit richer and Earth just as much poorer. We've lost a star.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Uzumaki.... a manga that's between the ooooooo and the eeeeeeewwwwwww!

I managed to read Uzumaki today. For the uninitiated, it's a Japanese horror manga by Junji Ito and tells the story of a town obsessed with spirals. Let me be honest with you..... it was good. It was so disgusting that it was good. There are times when the macabre becomes a tad bit hilarious.... like when you have people able to produce whirlwinds by just flapping their hands and so, have rival gangs that unleash twisters on each other. But all in all, it was a pretty good attempt.



The thing is... I'm not scared. I suspect if fear was what the author intended the reader to feel. I feel this strange eerie sense of creepiness crawling inside me. It's not fear but rather the sensation you have when you see a really long slimy wet fat gray worm crawling in the muddy ground right after a rain. Now, I seriously have nothing against worms, they can't help it if they look the way they do. But still.... you know what I mean.
I can recall this feeling especially when that slow school boy becomes a snail and starts crawling up the school wall. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww....... I mean, what else would you feel if you saw a six foot long snail coming at you? I just pulled up my toes here!

So, has the manga gotten me scared of spirals? Hmmm.... I've been looking up the polar equations of different spirals after reading it. So, I guess not. :) Ah well, atleast now I'll clear one part of any math exam involving questions about spirals! :P

Did they go to school to be that dumb?

Well, I've got some very interesting news to share. I don't know how many people actually remember that odd and awfully evil place I was working at a long time ago... the place where they ensnared innocent people to work and slog away to nothingness just because they need to get richer! Well, I'm ever so glad I left that place and do not look forward to rejoining there any time soon.

Now, apparantly, they're short on staff (no sane person would work there for more than three months tops!) and so, had one of their employees text me if I wanted to join back.

I'm beginning to wonder what makes them think I'll join back? Whatever did they take me for? Ah whatever! I'm ignoring their calls and if they're even half as intelligent as they claim to be, they'll get the message!

Oh, and someone is madly in love with me.... or so they declare! Please.... grow up! Humans don't love, they think of forming attachments with other humans for mutual gain. If you want love, get a puppy!

Monday, March 21, 2011

They're showing Bleach in Animax!

For all the Anime enthusiasts out there....the few and far between, there's some good news ahead. They're showing Bleach in original Japanese Dub on Animax. Well, they're still only on Season 2 and I've almost given up watching it after I found out I couldn't keep up with the online watching schedule. But anyway, I'll be watching it from time to time just to gawk at Byakuya Kuchiki.... it's not legal for one man to be that awesome!

So yeah... that's about all the excitement my life has for now. *sigh* sometimes you ride the world and most of the times the world rides you!

To keep your spirits up, here's a dancing raccoon.

The Internet is a very weird place!

P.S. This post has two dancing raccoon pics (videos... whatever!). And just to set the records straight, I'm going mad gradually! :D

Friday, March 18, 2011

Major "D'oh!" moment!



This is exactly what happened! Enough said! :(

Out goes a Toaster.... In comes a Toaster!

Sooooooooo..... it must be evident now that I've been very busy rehauling the blog! And voila! You likey?

I thought the whole toaster for a background thing is getting old... I mean sure! I liken myself to a Kitchen Toaster and sure, I am as crazy as one. But that doesn't make me on literally. Then I realized, my ability to pass off fifty different expressions and emotions in thirty seconds is what makes me....well.... me! And so, you have the faces in the background. Cute, aren't they? :P

For anyone interested in knowing how I did the revamp thingy... well, I don't remember half of it. I remember reading a lot of tutorials and going about it the "trial and error" way.

And I'm still not sure if I'll stop with this (most likely not!). But for now, all I'll be doing will be minor tweaking and adjustments here and there... nothing big! :) But do tell me if you're having problems with anything visually. If there are any bugs, I'd like to squish 'em right away! LOL

Who's in for some visual poetry?

I was just browsing through different random blogs that one gets with the Next Blog link and happened to chance upon "visu-Al-Chaer". It's a blog in Portuguese and contains what can be best described as Visual Haiku of sorts.

"visu-Al-Chaer"

Do check it out! It's surreally beautiful! :) And the accompanying verses are compelling.

Ah... finally I have a place to retreat to when I'm in need of inspiration! :D

*sigh* Life.... is weird at times!

Has it ever struck you that it is exactly when you're down and out that people all around seem to pick on you?
And this is also the time when you wish something awful happens and finish everything up! And then you realize, hey... so what if I didn't get the things I needed! I'm at least alive! Then again... you see your family glaring daggers down your back and pose a myriad "what-ifs" and "if-only's". And then you wonder where the freight train that was supposed to hit you, dematerialized to.

Ah well.... I guess I could be worse off! Or could I? AAAAARGHHHHH!!!! I feel the urge to kill something now! *takes deep breaths* I'm calm.... I must remember Zig Ziglar's quote... Failure is only an event; not a person.

P.S. I've customized the Post title.... see? See? Nice ne? :D I'll be doing a bit more customizations to make this actually look like something I wrote!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

I saw Red Cliff. And I am impressed!

Yesterday, I got to see the dubbed rendition of the Chinese Epic Chi Bi (Red Cliff). I had seen the original one (part II to be exact), quite some time ago and was extremely impressed. I can assure you, it's not everyday that you get movies of this caliber! Though the original movie was made into a two part film that spanned a collective 5 hours or so, the English version was cut short to nearly half that time just to fit it all in one movie. Now though it didn't affect the narrative much, I'm afraid it ended up making the characters a little difficult to follow up. And I daresay, my mother who's not as interested in East Asian History as I am, found it a little difficult understanding who was fighting who and who was related to whom.

But that said, I must commend on the marvelous editing and the way the story was told. Not to mention, my favorite character was also in it! How could anyone have seen things to the end had it not been for the genius of Zhuge Liang or otherwise known as Kongming? And Takeshi Kaneshiro played the part with panache. And opposite the calm and composed Kaneshiro, we have Tony Leung playing the viceroy Zhou Yu. Kongming's unsaid thoughts are so perfectly understood by Zhou Yu and needless to say, together, they make a kick-ass team(though Kongming's only a strategist of sorts and doesn't actually fight much!). I mean, Kongming's the kind of guy who's the walking talking Farmer's Almanac! And Zhou Yu is the one who can multi-task all too well!

And we have Cao Cao, the baddie. Though to tell you the truth, I actually liked him just as much as Zhou Yu and Kongming. And the likening of the battle at Red Cliff to the Battle of Troy (minus the wooden horse) is uncanny. Cao Cao waging a war just so he can get another glimpse of Xiao Qiao, the wife of Zhou Yu, is very much like how things in Troy started out. Too bad Xiao Qiao is madly in love with her husband She appears every bit, the perfect foil for her husband who is as level headed as he can get already!

Hmmmm..... What do you know! I've found the perfect guy who could play the part of Hotohori,
the fourth emperor of Khonan! It's either Tony Leung or Takeshi Kaneshiro. I've not problem whoever plays the part but I'm leaning a wee bit (microscopically) towards Kaneshiro. But that's just because he's half Japanese! :P


I'd advice you guys to see the original Chinese version with subtitles if you want to understand everything that's going on. But if you can catch the meaning between the lines out of thin air (or all you care about are the kick-ass battle scenes), the English version will not disappoint you.

After a loooooooong time....a theme change!

Yes! I know it's been unnaturally long since I'd changed anything in my blog with regards to its appearance. Well... somehow, it felt like I was holding onto the memories associated with the previous blog look to actually innovate. Well... not much of an innovation actually. I just changed it from Black to White.

Maybe I'll revamp the whole thing when I feel like it. But for now, this will do. And please do let me know if you find this easier to read or the previous version. I'm listening! :D

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Get thee gone.... hope, you deceiver!

There's darkness around. Hope is absent. Strange... the numbness that creeps up my fingertips and touches my heart only intensifies the pain when I see how I have failed... I have fallen and cannot seem to rise. Let alone, stand.

Fare thee well, harbored hopes of mine... painted harlots that I can least afford. I banish ye from my sight. The drunken eyes well painted.... let me not be swayed any more. I cannot afford to break again... for the next time, I shall surely die.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

When will we ever learn?!

Just when I thought Mankind was at the point of redemption, what with everybody pledging support for a disaster struck Japan, I've been forced to think that maybe we are selective about expressing sympathy.

Now, I know there will be so many of you out there who will think that comparing two causes involving humans in one and animals in the other would automatically mean that the causes directly related to humans should take precedence. I beg to defer! How can it be that we consider an animal's life not that valuable just because it is not human? How can an animal's pain and suffering be any less significant than a human's? Is it because they can't speak? or perhaps they don't wear white lab coats and inject lethal chemicals into other creatures just to see how fast they die? Seriously... When did we fall so low?

Thanks to the EU ban on all forms of Animal Testing which will come into effect from 2013, a lot of these "companies" that are unapologetic about animal testing are finally realizing that not many of their consumers are actually enthusiastic about this archaic and unscientific method.

And so, L'Oreal is finally joining the bandwagon of the cruelty free (or rather, they're forced to!). You can read more on that topic HERE and HERE.

But the thing that really bugs me is that the company is on a propaganda to portray itself to be some sort of pioneer in the field of alternative methods of testing. But in reality, they're just trying to save face! Hah! L'Oreal, did you really think I'll fall for that?

Not to mention their entirely racist actions regarding their sales associates and the other stupidities they've been responsible for! L'Oreal will need to do more than that to gain my acceptance. They'll need to accept the truth that they're stopping Animal testing because they don't see any other way. Now, doesn't that paint an entirely different picture of the company? One of a begrudging good-doer? And since it's the spirit in which one decides to do a good cause, I shall continue my boycott of L'Oreal products as long as they maintain this "Lone Ranger" kind of image. If I remember correctly, L'Oreal was actually lobbying for an extension on the outright Ban from the EU. So much for the "wanting to do good for the animals" image!

And in other news, L'Oreal had acquired The Body Shop and so, that means I have been boycotting TBS as well! TBS was a company I had a lot of respect for. But after this, I'm not so sure.

And then there's Unilever, another company that decided to test it's Lipton tea on animals and then had to stop when the rap on the knee was a little too hard. In their website, they claim to be spending €3 million a year for research on alternative methods of testing. It's a little minuscule compared to the amount they earn a year. Less than a percent actually. Corporate greed sure is hard to get rid of!

I cannot imagine why these huge companies that can actually afford the alternative methods don't do anything but the small companies actually give a damn! I'll probably be a very happy person the day Himalaya Herbals decides to try their hands at cosmetics! :)

P.S. I know not many of my friends and family share my ideals as far as ethics is concerned. But if this post actually made an impact on atleast one person out there, I'll consider my job done! :D

Hopes and prayers

I believe most of us would have heard and witnessed the disaster that struck Japan yesterday.

It's a little overwhelming knowing that irrespective of how advanced Man considers himself to be, Nature always proves him wrong.

I sincerely hope Japan as a nation and people endure the difficult times ahead. And even if I cannot be of much help directly, I shall send my prayers their way and hope that what little I can hope to do makes a difference.

Don't worry guys! We're all here for you. It's during trying times that people forget race and creed and all other silly man-made discriminations and come together as one for a good cause. And if this doesn't constitute as one, God knows what would!

And when I checked my blog's stat, I saw that there had been a person from Japan who'd viewed my page yesterday. I sincerely hope that person is safe and sound! :)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Hmmmmmmmmm.......I was just thinking........

I don't know how many of your dear people out there actually click on the "Next Blog" Link on the navigation bar on the top once your interest in the blog you're reading is exhausted. As a matter of fact, I find if rather humbling to know that almost all of the people who visit my blog and who've decided to follow it must've come across it using the tiny "Next Blog" link.

And it also occurs to me that my blog is most probably always preceded and followed by blogs of people who're very religious. Most of the blogs I find clicking the "next Blog" button from my blog are those speaking of communities where missionaries are helping build schools in Africa or something just as important. And I think how privileged I am... and in a way, protected. I don't think there's just one definitive religion in the world. We all travel towards the One Truth through different paths and sometimes, these paths cross. That's all. And seeing all this positive feelings emanating from the hopeful and happy messages from the authors of those blogs, it makes me wonder if it was God's doing to have my blog surrounded by those of the ones who work for a better tomorrow... perhaps his way of saying he's there for me... that he'll protect me no matter what!

Wow! If that's the case, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever told me or conveyed to me! :D 

Saturday, March 5, 2011

OMG! OMG! OMG! O-EM-GEEEEE!!!!!

Oh my GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! Alright.... deep breathing! Must remember to breathe deep! *calms down* If there are any folks out there in India who're big fans of ARASHI, you'll love what I'm going to say next!

Ohno-san is in India! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

They're in Jaipur right now shooting for an upcoming movie in the "Kaibutsu-kun" franchise. To read more about that juicy bit of news, go here!

To think that I am in the same country as Ohno-san! And when I told my mom about this (amidst a million squeals and giggles), guess what she says,

"Hey... your uncle and aunt are there in Jaipur for their vacations."

So, officially, I have a relative who's in the same city as Ohno-san. I have a family member in the same city as Ohno-san! Oh my god... if only they'd come down south... along with the other guys from Arashi.

Keh... like that'll happen! I get the "oh-my-god-she's-babbling-stuff-again-call-the-shrink" look everytime I sing japanese songs out loud.
And when I get all hyper whenever I'm at the
Manga section in Landmark (even if the ones they have aren't japanese manga and are almost always crappy), I get the "back-away-slowly-lest-she-bite-us-frothing-in-the-mouth" stare from relative strangers. Like hell, they'll come perform here live!

But I think in my perfect universe, ARASHI and Kalafina come down to my city to perform live.... *sigh* I sure am a dreamer, ne?

Friday, March 4, 2011

I'm going to Kerala.... after an eon!!!

Well, after a gap of a decade, I'll be heading to Kerala once more this year! It's been so long! They have a really famous festival of sorts happening during the first week of April and apparantly, the last time I went there for that was when I was a year old. So, rest assured, I can't remember a thing. But my entire family has been abrading me forever about how much I've been missing the action. The long line of decorated elephants, the splendid fireworks that could put New Year's celebrations at Times Square to shame, the music on the streets that would get a dying man dancing, the food!

But fey fate! Like in any fairytale, there's an evil warlord in this one as well. And as I turn to my table, I flinch a little at the sight of the offending abomination that had to manifest itself just about now!! How am I supposed to go to a festival of such seminal proportions with no means to capture the scenery around me?! *sigh* My poor camera is well on its way to the underworld, thanks to a broken lens arrangement. So, all of you will have to make do with the pictures I paint with words to know how it was. Yes, it's a sad sad world. But not that we can do anything about it now, ne?

I am so going to get a Nikon DSLR camera as soon as I have sufficient funds! *cough* whenever that is! 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Inuyasha....it's farewell, isn't it?

I saw the final episode of Inuyasha today... It was nice... Well... sort of... I guess I'm still recovering from the fact that it is actually over!
*sigh* What a weird world we live in and how much weirder are the ones who inhabit it! I'm actually depressed about a show being over! Sheesh! Right... Just so you know, I hope they make another movie out of it but then again, I guess it would be like spreading too little butter on too much bread. I should just let things be...

And speaking of letting things be, am I the only one who actually felt sorry for Naraku? Seriously... All the guy wanted was to be loved by Kikyo. Sure, any girl who's at the recieving end of his affection isn't exactly going to be in a "traditional" relationship of sorts! (Imagine your guy falling apart once a month and then pulling himself together... quite literally!) Poor dude... he just wanted something that simple and instead of just asking nicely, he decided "Kill Kill faster! Faster!" was the only way out!

Aaaaaaanyway, I'm really sad and in a funk that the show is finally over but hey! Maybe, I'll watch it again... The Internet is a wonderful place afterall! But still... It's not going to be the same knowing that it's all over. Rumiko Takahashi-sama! Please write some other story with the same characters! Maybe how Inu no Taisho met Izayoi... their love story... or.. or... Sesshomaru's love story... wait... that's not good! That would mean I can't fantasize! Ahem... Anyway, Please Takahashi-sama! Onegaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~i!!!

Alrighty, enough sadness and despair! As the wise often quoth,

So, onto further tales and good ones retold!