DesiPundit

Ever been a role model? Or atleast been forced by your parents to aspire to a certain someone in the family (or the extended family)?

Asal Tamizh Penn takes us on a journey through her entire clan (well, almost), discussing role models and the absolute duds, in a beautiful write-up that one could really relate to:

Every family needs a role model, especially the children in the family. One needs someone who can inspire you to achieve academic excellence. And they need to be real people. It wasn’t enough that we had people like Nose Digging Sundaram, the boy who used to live two blocks away and was the first (after I was born, that is) person to go to IIT and become a National Talent Scholar from Bazlullah Road. While, that was envy inducing, and his mathematics teacher became the most sought after person, we liked to have our own heroes. The types who were closer to home and preferably also connected to the Bharadwaja Gothram in some manner.

If you need survival gear while preparing for a safari, don’t underestimate the fight for survival in the middle of that jungle that more of us inhabit everyday - work! Cynic in Wonderland gives us some helpful tips.

Rule #1: CHANNEL the power of FUKITOL!!!

Are you living the lifestyle? Start your weekday with 1000 mg of Fukitol tablet. On Mondays, don’t stint – have two. The super powerful Fukitol tablet releases endorphins such as
“Illegitimi non Carbodium” (don’t let the b****** get you down),
“Every dog has his day and so will you”

And all other such delightful adages to help you stay fortified through the working day.

The Decayed Canine looks back on bus travel in Delhi/Noida and draws a parallel as the last days of his college life wind down.

There’s not an awful lot to do when traveling in a bus or a train. If you’re lucky enough to own a music player (i-pod, walkman, whatever), you’d find it a lot easier. I wasn’t that fortunate. So I picked up the habit of musing and quietly observing the scenes whizzing by. Sleep wasn’t an option thanks to pick-pockets, although occasionally I’d doze off and wake up with a start (and frisk my pockets while cursing myself).
There is something eerie about an empty bus. It is not that crowds make me happy, but it is just not the same as the school-bus full of wisecracking classmates and fellows or a family ride wondering when they (parents) are going to pick on you for some heinous crime. It makes the destination seem so far away…

If you got ‘em, smoke ‘em. Do what you will. If you have accumulated wealth by playing by the rules of the game, you decide what you want to do with it: give it away or build yourself a Taj Mahal.

Atanu Dey skewers the arguments of “the extravagant and vulgar display of the wealth in a very poor country, where millions go without food and shelter” against Mukesh Ambani for building a $2 billion home.

Anarchytect muses over the things that human beings leave behind and wonders where the distinction between trash and nostalgia lies.

..in the boxes by joseph cornell these fragments become signifiers for memories of travel. collected objects whose value lies in what they evoke. when collected together they whole represents a life lived- a lifetime evoked. i had spoken about showcases in the living rooms of migrants as these- shrines to the history of family and tribe. in a showcase these fragments seem to ring with melancholia.But these fragments were decidedly not trash. they were carefully chosen bits from various shops and stores.

still, a similar sense of nostalgia does tinge ‘trash’- especially the hospital ward with the beds made of slippers and the lone naked bulbs that hang over them. what do the fragments in ‘trash’ evoke?

Nostalgic about the 90s, a relatively new blog that focuses on events and trends that happened during the nineties. Their latest post reminds us of the late NTR’s second wife, Lakshmi Parvathy who vanished into obscurity after that crushing loss at the polls [hat tip: Abi].

Teenagers may be confused but those of us growing up during the pre-Internet 90s remember it fondly despite the craziness.

Vinod Ganesh, an avid quizzer talks about the schedule of this year’s program and other basic information on the event. All budding Quiz-Busters and Trivia-Tendulkars, pad up and get ready for the event in Chennai.

The QFI Opens of the last three years have been resounding successes, attracting more than 120 teams each time, including some from Hyderabad, Bangalore, and even Ahmedabad. This time, the quiz promises to be both bigger and better.

Shoe-shopping? Trainers, runners, tennis shoes, golf shoes, sneakers? When you make up your mind, also take a tip from noshtradamus who has been walking around a lot of shoe stores recently.

>> Adidas: A beautifully done up, large showroom with great stuff on display. The store was empty, and a smart sales guy in Adidas sweatshirt, track pants and shoes was by my side in an instant. Not having my size in that particular shoe, he suggested some others. But nothing caught my fancy, so out I went.

Adidas Range: Good | Adidas Service: Good

>> Planet Sports: They had the shoe, but not in my size. Didn’t bother to show me, or suggest anything else.

Plant Sports Range: Decent | Planet Sports Service: Bored

Deez likes the idea of Valentine’s Day but worries about the performance pressure it brings.

It maybe feel “cool” to be doing all those nicey mushy things - bust just imagine the pressure to perform on such days! And it ain’t any friend of your pocket either. I cant go wrong - it’s the Valentine’s day. Poor lovers - they have to make a statement more to the world, rather than have a cozy word for each other.
“So what are you doing on the V Day?” is another question they have to dodge all the time. And imagine the “Ohs” and “Ahs” if somebody falls a little short!

There’s a triolet competition over at ammani’s place. What’s a Triolet?

It’s a short 8-line poem in which the first two lines are repeated as the last two lines and the first line is also line 4. Lines 3 and 5 rhyme with line 1. Line 6 rhymes with line 2. It will all become much more clear with this…

Oh, and this isn’t free. Be prepared to fork out an entry fee with a difference!