Perfectly delicious blogs

Guess what I'm smiling about today? I found this perfectly delicious blog. Take a deep breath, sink back into a cushion and look at 1000 Awesome Things !

I particularly like #430 "Eating perfectly ridiculous things for breakfast" . Oh yeah! this is a blog after my own heart! mmmmhmm!
Now here's a very uncomfortable secret... I was almost named Sabrina by my father who was fresh from an 8-year stint in Edinburough! Now I have nothing against that name and I'm sure it sounds lovely on many girls, but it just isn't Me, if you know what I mean. I absolutely glory in my Indian-ness (though I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world!) and can't imagine not having an Indian name. So I identified oh so well with Awesome Thing #438 "Your Almost Name"!
So which Awesome Thing did you like best? It's perfectly okay (in fact, it's expected) to have more than one favourite.

And here's another blog which I just discovered. I think Broken Secrets is awesome! Professing to reveal the deepest, best-kept secrets on earth, each post is a revelation.

Where else can you find out how to get the most out of your printer ink cartridge just by twiddling around around with its memory?
Or that there is actually a prescribed etiquette for hot dogs ?
Or ... and this one I really needed to know ... how to increase mobile phone battery life when you're far from a charger?
But the one I loved the most was finding out a new keyboard shortcut. I spend hours surfing the Net and after some time I prefer to lean back on the cushions on my chair. Which is not the most comfortable way to surf as any Net addict can tell you. But here's the gem ... all you have to do is hit the Space Bar to scroll your browser down one page.
Old hat? Aaah, but I didn't know that. And I'm quite sure that there are at least a few of us surfers out there who didn't either.

Now here's the super-duper frosting on top and why I love the internet so much... I was tying myself into knots over how I could get a screenshot of the sites I mentioned above. I searched for instructions and found a whole lot of freeware and applications to download and since I'm a bit wary of downloading such stuff, I continued looking. Then, up popped Microsoft with the answer !

I'm feeling so extremely pleased with myself today. Truly AWESOME!

Sign of the times

The first sign that Summer is dancing a most violent tandav on Mumbai !
Every footpath sprouts mountainous heaps of watermelons promising cool relief from the ever-increasing heat.
But I love the movie poster providing the perfect background ... classic advertising!

Mothers' anthem

Hmmmm. .... now where have I heard this before? Take a look and listen close, maybe you can tell me why it sounds so familiar?

In a Moonshadow mood

I'm in a Cat Stevens mood right now. Okay, call him Yusuf Islam if you want but his music is still the same.
Soulful, soothing, beautiful and sheer poetry!
Bitter-sweet at times with a tinge of pain, but his songs all reach in and tug at the right heart-strings. Songs from decades ago, but I love the sound and the poetry of the lyrics!

The pure, fresh sounds of 'Morning has broken' makes me tingle right down to my toe-tips.

And I love the quirky logic of Moonshadow and the very mind-picture of someone "leaping and hopping on a Moonshadow" . I love the optimism ringing through the lyrics.

I found this very Dr. Seuss-y video of 'Where do the children play?' on YouTube but the childrens-book treatment doesn't take away the sensitivity of the song. It just adds to it.

I spent a good hour or 2 browsing through YouTube, listening to 'Peace Train', 'Wind', 'Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong' and more. (Thank you, YouTube!)
But right through my YouTube searches for Cat Stevens' music today, I was disturbed to find a lot of slash-and-burn comments on his videos, based not on his music but on his choice of religion.
Whaaat?!
It's such a wild world!

Must go! Must have!

Time to break those piggy banks and dig out the emergency cash, ladies! There's a lot happening in Mumbai these days.

First, there's Sanjay Garg's delectable, super-delicious collection of sarees, stoles and dupattas starring at Good Earth (March 15 - 24, '10).
I took one look at that fabric in the photo and fell in love! Just look at it ... light as a whisper, cool as a monsoon breeze, watermelon-fresh ... doesn't it make you yearn to slide it over your shoulder?

And, don't miss the BLISS flea market coming up next weekend (March 27 - 28, '10). If the regular stuff at BLISS is anything to go by, the bric à brac here has to be the most enticing ever!
And I'm intrigued by the organic products mentioned. I'm always on the lookout for those.
Oh! And did you notice that they have wine tasting planned too? Now what're the odds that the guys are not going to reach there before you?

Heaven while you wait

The street hawker of Mumbai is an absolute genius at getting you anything you want. So how about a slice of heaven? No problem, you don't even have to get out of your car .
If you've driven down the roads of Mumbai, chock-a-block with cheek-to-cheek traffic at peaktime, you'll know how it can be the stuff of nightmares.
Pesky autos cutting lanes, suicidal jaywalkers , irritable drivers, back-breaking roads that follow no known level, all-enveloping dust .... do I really need to go on?
Each signal inches you closer to your destination and to your hypertension pills.
And then just as you drum your fingers waiting for the signal to change colour, they magically appear ...

... the street florists of Mumbai!
Cradling armsful of mood-lifters to brighten the glummest soul, they weave through narrow gaps in the waiting traffic.

A flourish of the hands and they offer up bunches of sheer happiness.
Take a deep breath .
Drink in the beauty of soft petals and eye-widening colours that paint brilliant mind-pictures of unseen verdant gardens spilling over with colourful blooms that make you sigh with contentment ... paradise on the go.
Heaven while you wait.

I think these guys deserve an award for making the world a brighter place for so many commuters, don't you?

Tiger Words

With all the media frenzy over Tiger and all the pretties he had hiding in the woods, one of the most zany off-spins seems to be the new phrases it has putted on to the urban greens.
I just came across one of them : tiger's wife mad.
Which according to the Urban Dictionary means "the act of being so mad at someone that you find the item they cherish the most and beat them with it" .
Errrrmm .... so that's new?

So I can think of more ...
Tiger-burn : burn your advertising fingers on a seemingly great iconic brand ambassador who turns out to be a big embarassment.
I think Accenture knows what I'm talking about.

And how about 'tigorry'? That is, a very elaborate and public, apparently soul-baring, self-flagellating apology.
Who cares whether it is heart-felt? it's great PR. And, will possibly save more golf-clubs from being shaped around a car. And may ... just may... bring back some of those tiger-burnt dollars?

Quite frankly, I think the whole thing is a bit 'over-roared' (that's another one!). Way too much global attention and acres of newsprint have been devoted to something which has been going on probably since the time marriage was invented.
I mean, the man became a celebrity because he plays golf so devastatingly well. Not because of his squeaky-clean morals.
True, the man made a mess of his personal life. But, how about letting it remain personal?
Can we mute the roar now please?