Friday, July 31

Best of luck!

Wow! My 100th post :-) Thanks guys!
Oops, its an abstract one but!

Had been in a dilemma for the last few days on something and now more or less decided to go ahead and face the music! Maybe, this could turn out to be a wrong move and end up hurting others or myself. On the other hand, I'll be a relieved person that I shared my feelings and true to myself and others involved if I proceed.
I'm prepared enough not to expect a miracle. I'll be more than happy if things continue in the current way. But again, I'm risking it! Is it worth the risk?
No risk means no returns, uh?
Keeping fingers crossed...

Monday, July 27

Stay away from Modhi Vilayaadu

Was tempted by Vinay Rai and went for the recent Tamil movie 'Modhi Vilayaadu' last evening only to realize that not all temptations get converted into leads. Vinay, did you really have to dub for yourself, when u can't even speak a sentence in Tamil?
Inspite of being a director for more than a decade, Saran has lost in almost all quarters - screenplay, story and even the picturisation of songs! Simply wondering how e'thing can go wrong when there are so many talented people involved in the making of a movie!
It has been a long time since I got so pissed off with a movie. My friend watched it mainly because of me and was in no better shape after we came out of the theatre.
You will anyway get to see the very few comedy scenes of Mayilsami & Santhaanam in almost every single Tamil channel. So, Simply stay away from the theatre!

Friday, July 24

Will Volkswagen takeover Porsche?

It will be a historical move if the Europe's largest car manufacturer (also the third largest in the world) takes over the highest-margin car producer, both hailing from my favorite Germany.

Earlier, I had been to the Porsche museum in Stuttgart and was amazed by the models and the way they were arranged across .
Porsche is another victim of the long recession and would personally feel bad to see the brand wither away !

This also creates the usual questions in any M&A:
- Will it be a bigger 'VW' or 'VW-Porsche' post merger?
- How integrated the new unit will be?
- How independent will Porsche be in future (mid 2011)
- What happens during the progressive acquistion period of almost 2 years?
- What about the workforce?

Laughable quote:
"Like Audi today, Porsche can also continue its independent development under the aegis of Volkswagen and preserve its own identity," - Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the Volkswagen management board

From the history stable:
Professor Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1930,with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the center of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, a "Volkswagen" in German.This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time. The first Porsche, the Porsche 64, was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.

More on http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14101573

Wednesday, July 22

Kaminey is good

Yes, you read it right! Just finished hearing all the songs of the new flick 'Kaminey' starring young and energetic Shahid kapoor opposite Piggy Chops.
After a long time, we have an album with all good songs -Dhan te tein, Pehli baar mohabhat , raat ke daai bhaje topping the list!
Do pick it, if u like fast rap.
Am waiting for the movie release date :-)

Friday, July 17

Welcome Aadi

Today is the beginning of Tamil month Aadi or Kannada month Ashada Masa!
I find this month interesting because of the conflict associated with it. Lemme explain
Generally, all auspicious occasions and beginnings like weddings, house warming functions, even bride/groom hunting events are not planned in this month! This month is more or less treated like a curse. Even the newly married couples are forced to stay with their respective parents ;-)

This on one side and on the another, we have all Hindu deities treating this month very specially!
All fridays are extra-auspicious, esp. for goddesses and many temples have car-festivals so as to say!
There is also a third dimension that has been added by our entrepreneurs and that's the most interesting part, esp. for women! Almost every shop starting from trade giants to mom&pop store offers a huge discount on e'thing from a needle to jewelery! Reason for offering discount was to attract buyers in those ages where every buying had a compelling reason and the reasons were lacking in the inauspicious month. With today's compulsive buyers and experience-seeking consumers, we have come a long way. So also are the Aadi discounts!

Maybe, then this is a month where we have to focus on spiritual aspects with less focus on material bliss(except shopping, of course!).

Some excerpts on the astrological & religious significance of this month:
Aadi falls during the second half of the year known as Dakshinayanam when the Sun transits from the northern hemisphere to the Southern during July.The transition from the Southern to the Northern hemisphere in the month of January is known as Uthirayanam. "Both the periods are auspicious for the worship of the Gods and Goddesses". As the transit of stars takes place during the day Uthirayana, all auspicious functions including marriages are conducted at that period, while during the month of Aadi the transition take place during the night;
Aadi Krithigai and Thai Poosam are important festivals for Lord Subramaniya. For the goddess also the month of Aadi is very auspicious. Aadi pooram and Aadi peruku are very popular festivals in the rural areas of Tamilnadu.

Thursday, July 16

Cheesy bites from Pizza Hut

Weekend is around the corner. To welcome it, we had a lunch treat in my team.
Well, the menu was: Utterly delicious, yummy or spicy and absolutely sinful item called "pizza" from Pizza Hut. The highlight was the newly introduced 'Cheesy bites' Crust- Exactly, the same lucky thing to touch Lara Dutta's lips! And you gals, don't worry - the dashing Kunal Kapoor is also promoting this!

Well, though I took the job of finalising and making the order for delivery, I wasn't expecting much, as the much-hyped cheesy crust was not of my liking earlier.
Though the actual piece looked a bit different from the mouth-watering advt and pictures, it does taste yummy and extremely soft to eat- it just melts into your mouth. To address the 'sin' part, they weren't as cheesy as shown and anyway, the pizza is only pan type. Maybe, next time I should try the extreme-cheesy bites, if there is any!

With all the gud news, the sad part of the story was that I was the "bakra" today and had to sign the cheque!
Good day guys and great weekend !
For those, who are cautious about calorimeter, here are some feast for your eyes ;-)
http://www.feastguru.com/index.php/200907091284/discounts-in-mumbai/pizza-hut-cheesy-bites-pizza.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0UpNKniN5k

Thursday, July 9

Jackson, an icon

He was the undisputed king of Pop.
More than that, he was loved by everyone who loves music. His farewell at Staples is a testimony to this!
His life was full of controversies, like most celebrities :-(
May he rest in peace, atleast now!

Thursday, July 2

Waynad in rains - an awesome weekend getaway

Had an exciting weekend trip to Waynad with my colleagues and had great fun.
Do comeback within a day or two for a brief account of places not to be missed and some tips.