I Got Tagged..

10 yrs ago
Did my Xth board exams???? I think so, cant bloody remember.....

5 yrs ago
Officially became a certified Sailor.
Broke up with my 2nd girlfriend

Last year
Bought My Own House.
Became bankrupt for the nth time
Bought a Sony Vaio Notebook, PSP
Broke the heart of a dear one.

Yesterday
Watched King Kong
Finished School for Christmas
Went to the Doc to find out my Sinus was back(Yipppeeee)
Bought a Microwave

5 yummy things
'Ash' :)
Irn Bru
Chaat
Filter Coffee
Hip-Hop - R & B

5 things i know by heart
My Passport number
My home address
Birthdays of loved ones
College Address
Office Address

5 things i'd do if i had a lot more money
Buy a BMW Z4
Invest a lot of it
Start some Business
Have all the latest Gadgets on the planet
See the world on Land for once.

5 things i'd never wear
Jazzy Shirts/T-shirts
A tatooo (Cant actually :( )
Costly jewellery
A Rolex Watch (I'll wear a longine though)
Parfumes that give me a headache

5 favourite tv shows
X-Files (Was/ is one of my fav)
24
CSI
Simpsons
Smallville

5 things i enjoy doing
Listening to Music
Clubbing in Glasgow
Eating
being a tech-geek
watching movies

5 people I am gonna tag
Noone (Yawn!!!)

Hurricanes of the Year

AdrianKatrinaEmily

Rita
DennisWilma

Classic Satellite photos of the devastating Hurricanes to hit the US this year.

This Day ,That Year !!

December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 21 days remaining in the year.

Events

• 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V.
• 1520 - Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg's Elster Gate.
• 1508 - The League of Cambrai is formed by Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand II of Aragon as an alliance against Venice.
• 1684 - Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley.
• 1817 - Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state.
• 1836 - Emory College (now Emory University) is chartered in Oxford, Georgia.
• 1864 - American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea - Major General William T. Sherman's Union Army troops reach Savannah, Georgia.
• 1869 - Wyoming grants women the right to vote.
• 1898 - Spanish-American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict.
• 1901 - The first Nobel Prizes are awarded.
• 1904 - The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is founded in Charleston, South Carolina.
• 1906 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt wins the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first American to win a Nobel Prize of any kind.
• 1936 - Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII signs his Instrument of Abdication.
• 1941 - World War II: Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse - The Royal Navy ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers.
• 1941 - World War II: Battle of the Philippines - Imperial Japanese forces under the command of General Masaharu Homma land on the Philippine mainland.
• 1948 - The UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• 1949 - Chinese Civil War: The People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.
• 1953 - Dr. Albert Schweitzer is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work.
• 1957 - Sheila Campbell is born. Known to most as the "Plant Lady", she is the mother of college aged Corin. She also has a horse named Billy, and don't forget her beloved dogs, Comet and his wife Patches (know to some as Cometski and Patchki).
• 1963 - The United States Air Force's X-20 Dyna-Soar spaceplane program is cancelled by Robert McNamara.
• 1965 - The Grateful Dead play their first concert, at the Fillmore in San Francisco.
• 1970 - Agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug, "father of the Green Revolution", is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1975 - Activist Andrei Sakharov is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, accepted by his wife, Yelena Bonner.
• 1978 - Arab-Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1983 - Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, accepted by his wife, Danuta.
• 1984 - Apartheid: Cleric and activist Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1986 - The Holocaust: Elie Wiesel is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1996 - Rwandan Genocide: Military Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations Maurice Baril recommends that the UN multi-national forces in Zaire stand down.
• 2002 - The High Court of Australia hands down its judgement in the internet defamation case of Gutnick v Dow Jones.
• 2004 - A tombstone commemorating the 35th anniversary of the death of Brazilian guerilla Carlos Marighella is inaugurated in Salvador, Bahia.
• 2004 - Anil Kumble becomes India's highest wicket-taker, surpassing Kapil Dev's total of 435.

Births

• 1394 - King James I of Scotland (d. 1437)
• 1452 - Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1531)
• 1588 - Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and phhilosopher (d. 1637)
• 1750 - Tipu Sultan, ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore (d. 1799)
• 1787 - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, American educator (d. 1851)
• 1805 - Josef Skoda, Bohemian physician (d. 1881)
• 1815 - Ada Lovelace, British computer programmer (d. 1852)
• 1822 - César Franck, Belgian composer and organist (d. 1890)
• 1824 - George MacDonald, British writer and preacher (d. 1905)
• 1830 - Emily Dickinson, American poet (d. 1886)
• 1851 - Melvil Dewey, American librarian (d. 1931)
• 1870 - Pierre Louÿs, French author
• 1870 - Adolf Loos, Austrian architect (d. 1933)
• 1872 - Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (d. 1956)
• 1882 - Otto Neurath, Austrian philosopher (d. 1945)
• 1884 - Zinaida Serebryakova, Russian-born painter (d. 1967)
• 1886 - Marco Minghetti, Italian statesman (b. 1813)
• 1891 - Nelly Sachs, German-born writer and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
• 1903 - Una Merkel, American actress (d. 1986)
• 1907 - Rumer Godden (Margaret Rumer Godden), British writer (d. 1998)
• 1907 - Lucien Laurent, French international footballer (d. 2005)
• 1908 - Olivier Messiaen, French composer and ornithologist (d. 1992)
• 1909 - Hermes Pan, American choreographer and dancer (d. 1990)
• 1911 - Chet Huntley, American journalist (d. 1974)
• 1912 - Philip A. Hart, U.S. Senator (d. 1976)
• 1913 - Morton Gould, American composer (d. 1996)
• 1914 - Dorothy Lamour, American actress (d. 1996)
• 1917 - Sultan Yahya Petra, King of Malaysia (d. 1979)
• 1920 - Reginald Rose, American writer (d. 2002)
• 1928 - Dan Blocker, American actor (d. 1972)
• 1934 - Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
• 1947 - Douglas Kenney, American humorist (d. 1980)
• 1947 - Rasul Guliyev, Azerbaijani politician and chairman of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party.
• 1948 - Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (d. 2004)
• 1951 - Ellen Nikolaysen, Norwegian singer
• 1952 - Clive Anderson, British television host
• 1952 - Susan Dey, American actress
• 1957 - Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor
• 1957 - Sheila Campbell, Plant Lady, see above
• 1960 - Kenneth Branagh, Northern Irish actor and director
• 1972 - Brian Molko, Belgian-born singer and songwriter (Placebo)
• 1974 - Meg White, American drummer (The White Stripes)
• 1980 - Alexa Rae, American actress
• 1980 - Sarah Chang, American violinist
• 1980 - Ledley King, English international footballer
• 1981 - Taufik Batisah, Singaporean singer
• 1985 - Raven-Symoné, American actress and singer

Deaths

• 1041 - Michael IV, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1010)
• 1198 - Averroes, Arab physician and philosopher (b. 1126)
• 1508 - René II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1451)
• 1603 - William Gilbert, English scientist (plague) (b. 1544)
• 1618 - Giulio Caccini, Italian composer
• 1626 - Edmund Gunter, English mathematician (b. 1581)
• 1665 - Tarquinio Merula, Italian composer
• 1736 - António Manoel de Vilhena, Portuguese ruler of Malta (b. 1663)
• 1831 - Thomas Seebeck, Baltic German physicist (b. 1770)
• 1865 - King Léopold I of Belgium (b. 1790)
• 1896 - Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and founder of the Nobel Prize (b. 1833)
• 1911 - Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, British botanist (b. 1817)
• 1917 - Sir Mackenzie Bowell, fifth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1823)
• 1928 - Charles Rennie Mackintosh, British architect, designer, and illustrator (b. 1868)
• 1936 - Bobby Abel, English test cricketer (b. 1857)
• 1936 - Luigi Pirandello, Italian writer and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
• 1941 - Colin Kelly, American pilot
• 1946 - Walter Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1887)
• 1946 - Damon Runyon, American writer (b. 1884)
• 1951 - Algernon Blackwood, British writer (b. 1869)
• 1953 - Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-born scholar and translator (b. 1872)
• 1967 - Otis Redding, American soul singer (b. 1941)
• 1968 - Thomas Merton, American monk and author (b. 1915)
• 1968 - Karl Barth, Swiss theologian (b. 1886)
• 1969 - Carlos Marighella, Brazilian politician
• 1978 - Ed Wood, Jr., American filmmaker (b. 1924)
• 1979 - Ann Dvorak, American film actress (b. 1912)
• 1982 - Freeman F. Gosden, American actor (b. 1899)
• 1987 - Jascha Heifetz, Russian-born violinist (b. 1901)
• 1991 - Greta Kempton, American artist (b. 1901)
• 1996 - Faron Young, American singer (b. 1932)
• 1999 - Franjo Tuđman, President of Croatia (b. 1922)
• 1999 - Rick Danko, Canadian bassist and singer (The Band) (b. 1942)
• 2000 - Marie Windsor, American film actress (b. 1919)
• 2001 - Ashok Kumar, Indian actor (b. 1911)

Holidays and observances

• Sweden - Nobel Prize Ceremony, an official flag day
• Thailand - Constitution Day
• United Nations - Human Rights Day

For More info on the above date, check out the BBC's take on the same date @
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/10/default.stm

Mumbai Monsoon vs Hurricane Katrina !!!

I got this as a forward when I was on ship and being battered by another Tropical Storm near Taiwan. Felt even more sick after reading it. Here goes :


We couldn't stop making this comparison..


inches of rain in new orleans due to hurricane katrina... 18
inches of rain in mumbai (July 27th).... 37.1


population of new orleans... 484,674
population of mumbai.... 12,622,500


deaths in new orleans within 48 hours of katrina...100
deaths in mumbai within 48hours of rain.. 37.


number of people to be evacuated in new orleans... entire city..wohh
number of people evacuated in mumbai...10,000


Cases of shooting and violence in new orleans...Countless
Cases of shooting and violence in mumbai.. NONE


Time taken for US army to reach new orleans... 48hours
Time taken for Indian army and navy to reach mumbai...12hours


status 48hours later...new orleans is still waiting for relief, army and electricty
status 48hours later..mumbai is back on its feet and is business is as usual


USA...world's most developed nation
India...third world country..

The Portable Play Station

Yeah !!!!, I'm a very very proud owner of the Sony PSP. It sure is the gadget to be seen with this year. I have the Japanese model (P-1000) and it rocks. The image quality is the best i have ever seen at that size. The battery lasts at least 6 hours, the controls very cool and the games are great. The PSP will soon eclipse the iPod if it can have a inbuilt hard drive. Watch new movies on the UMD's or download stuff onto the memory stick and then watch. Either way it's fun. I'm pretty sure the Princess will agree ;)

Temporary Anchorage !!!

It's great to be back home indeed. After a short 1.5 month stint where I almost starved to death, it sure is wonderful to dig into a typical South Indian meal and Diwali sweets. There is absolutely nothing like home made food. Even Saravana Bhavan, be it in Singapore or Dubai has a different taste to the local one that I've been to all my life.

This trip will alas be short, I'll be leaving for Glasgow on the 20th of Nov !!!!

It'll be back to cooking my own food which I can guarantee is worse than starvation. Phew !!!!

Sea Ahoy !!!!

The Sailor is going back to where he belongs. See Ya Folks !!!! So Long.... till November !!!

War of a Different Kind !!

The Xbox 360 & Sony Playstation 3 will soon be released. With truly astounding features they have taken gaming to the next level. For avid gamers like my own self, life will never be the same again.

The Rising Prince !!

Abhishek Bachchan on the cover of India Today's Aug 29th Edition made sure that I owned a copy. Ever since his debut with the Box Office Bomb 'Refugee' (Kareena Kapoor was given rave reviews), I'd always maintained that he was not made for 'running around trees' kinda roles. AB Jnr. proved me right with Yuva and then then stole the second half of 'Sarkar' from his Dad with a stellar performance. The Article in India Today(which I tried copying only to find out that the online version was strictly members only) meanders through his 17 straight flops to his 4 Hits - Dhoom, Bunty Aur Babbli, Sarkar & Dus. The Nextgen Superstar has arrived....finally, Bye Bye Hrithik !

Different Sport, Same Colour, Different Results !!

Manchester United


With just a few EPL games played, it's very very clear that Man U are on song and are surely on their way to the title. Chelsea and Arsenal have had to struggle. I know it's early days but being a Red Devil's Fan, I surely want My team to win this year. New entrant, Ji-Sung Park (pictured in Blue above), has really impressed me and has a bright future ahead. Ruud Van back at his best is another sure sign that the Premiership will be United's this season for sure.

Turkish Disaster

The Turkish GP just about sums up the racing calendar for Ferrari - Abysmal. Bridgestone tyres suck big time. Cant believe that they couldn't provide proper grip on the track. Will we ever see a 1-2 Ferrari finish again this year (race with 20 cars in it) or the years to come ?? Does Sport really become boring when 1 man dominates or is it really boring now when The God of racing is being forced to race like a mortal????

Album of The Year !!!!

Chemical Brothers - Push The Button

10 Years in the UK Dance Music Industry in a genre that requires a certain freshness, Push the Button is a spectacular jump back to the top of their game. First single and opening track, "Galvanize"is a little more downtempo than the brothers of late as they got wrapped up in a need to produce a dancefloor killer to match the heady days of "Hey Boy, Hey Girl"--it's not too different, not too clever, but has enough of the necessary "oomph" to make it an excellent start to the album. In terms of classic sounding tracks, there are "Come Inside" and "The Big Jump", the former a big-beat spectacular and the latter a definite tune to be heard "out". There are only two of the customary chillout tracks (think Beth Orton), there's "Hold tight London", an upbeat soca-styled song that's okay but not nearly as beautiful as sweeping epic "Close Your Eyes" featuring the Magic Numbers. A fantastic end to a consistent album that easily outshines its predecessor, Come with Us, and will hopefully herald a great year for electronic music.

Moooooooovvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeesssssss !!!!!

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls - Bergman, Ingmar
1918 Swedish Stage Film Writer Director


Total number of movies I have seen:
hahahahahahahahhahahaa !!!!!!


The Languages in which I have seen movies:
English, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, French & Scottish (It's not English you know !!) .

Total number of DVDs/VCDs/Cassettes:
VCD's & Cassettes - Are U Nuts ?? Movies were meant for DVD's & Cinema Halls !! DVD's - Last Count over 250 !!

Last movie I saw:
BatMan Begins

The max no of times I have seen a single movie:
25

Name of the movie in the above question:
Sound Of Music ……Matrix 1

The movie that I would equate to Capital Punishment:
Matrix 3(Did they see Mahabharat on DD prior to filming edn 3???) , Alexander(How can you cast Angelina Jolie as a mother and getaway with it??)

Top 3 favourite movies:
God Father Part 1
Heat
Kill Bill

3 Movies that only I and no one else liked:
City of Angels
Radio
For the Love of the Game

The worst movie(s) to feature my favourite actor/actress:
Alexander - Angelina Jolie
Full Frontal - Julia Roberts

If I were a director, I would make a remake of:
Entrapment (Replace Sean Connery with somebody slightly younger and surely put in all those deleted scenes ;) )

Movies that I am eagerly waiting to watch:
The Grudge
Fantastic 4
The Next Superman Movie

And finally..the trillion dollar Q & A ....Who am I going to tag:
DO I have a Choice ???