Frasier stands out!

Let me start by saying that once I had reached my late teenage, my interest in watching TV had diminished. In fact, I would be found sitting in front of the TV only while having my meals. Otherwise, when the rest of the family was watching TV, I would be in my room in front of my computer. Over the years, I lost all interest in watching TV. I rarely found anything on TV that could pique my interest, or even remotely entertain me. In spite of being in the company of friends who were fans of shows like "Friends", I was hardly convinced to try and watch anything on TV.

Then, it was year 2009, and it had almost been a year since I moved to Chicago. Being a student, I was in the company of my laptop computer most of the time (and so were almost all my friends around). It had become a multi-purpose tool - used for studying, projects, communication and of course, entertainment. (No, it never became a cooking aid by assuming the role of a kitchen board!). Now, entertainment for me those days usually comprised of movies or YouTube music videos. I wasn't watching any TV shows as I never thought they would be entertaining. But then, one day I was so out of ideas on what to watch that I just went to YouTube and started watching an Indian sitcom, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai (SVS). It surprised me with its humor - satire, subtle wit, smart lines, and good acting. Although now I do feel that they could have made it better, I still consider it to be above anything I've ever seen on Indian television. (Incidentally, the same production house that created SVS also created Khichdi which I attempted to watch, hoping to see the same level of humor but was more than disappointed and never went back to it. But for some reason, Khichdi seems to have received more accolades, was made into a second season and even a damn movie!)

Anyway, since SVS had only one season, there were just about 60-70 episodes in total and I had very soon finished watching all of them. It had set the bar high for me and I couldn't find anything else that could even walk under the bar, leave alone jump over it. So, over the next 2 years, whenever I was bored and was in the mood for some comedy, I would just watch a random SVS episode and it would never fail me, even if it were the millionth time that I was watching it.

But, how much juice could I squeeze out of a single lemon? It was year 2011, I had moved to Dublin and was living alone (again with my computer as a source of entertainment). I had to find something new to watch, but since I didn't know what, I continued watching random SVS episodes. Then one fine day, while reading comments on the SVS episode I was watching, I saw a guy mention "Frasier". Apparently, the contrast between the high-class and middle-class, the hypocrisy of the high-class socialites and other elements depicted in SVS reminded him of similar depictions in a bygone NBC sitcom called "Frasier". This comment stayed in my head and very soon I tried an episode of Frasier and it was, for lack of a better word, brilliant! Now this was a random episode of a sitcom featuring characters I had no familiarity with and I also had no idea about any inter-character relationships. This meant I wouldn't have understood any running gags and my chances of liking the episode were bleak. Yet, I loved it and decided that I had to start watching from the pilot. And so I did, and in a couple of months, I had watched 11 seasons of the finest sitcom I have ever watched in my life. I say finest, because this was a show which prided itself on smart humor, without resorting to cheap gags.

After this, I also watched "How I Met Your Mother" (HIMYM) and "The Big Bang Theory" (TBBT). I liked TBBT, and although HIMYM had its moments in the earlier seasons I realized that the storywriters were trying to retain the audience by creating a suspense around the identity of the mother, instead of focusing on the humor. For crying out loud, it's a sitcom and not a drama. Sorry, kids, but I never wanna meet your mother! Of course, I did try "Friends" too but I don't think I managed to watch even two episodes - Pish! I then moved to "Seinfeld" and watched a few seasons. I have to admit that the stand-up parts of the show were hilarious, and are the only reason I have a soft corner for the show. But apart from that, at least for me, this show about nothing really had nothing in it.

Now, I knew that Frasier was a spin-off of "Cheers" and so I started watching Cheers hoping to find the same kind of humor. While Cheers was funny at times, it wasn't in the same class as Frasier. And to this day, I can't find another sitcom which comes even close to Frasier. I even introduced my wife to it after I got married, who (to my surprise) loved it and ended up watching all the seasons. We still watch random episodes every now and then and it makes us laugh every single time. Such is the quality of the humor - no lowbrow content and no dumbing-down of the audience. The wit, the sarcasm, the pop-culture references, the double entendres, all so brilliantly written that I simply wonder how one could even come up with those. And to make it all work was a perfect cast who nailed their respective roles.

I would recommend Frasier to everyone, and especially to those who are not easily amused!

Here's a scene from an episode of Frasier. This scene, according to me is the finest example of situation comedy. To provide a little context, the scene takes place in a radio station's studio from where a play called "Nightmare Inn" is being broadcast live, but just as it begins rolling it starts going downhill.

Why take food for granted?

This post is about food, particularly its wastage. Food wastage has always been at the top of my list of pet peeves. And now, being in the US for two odd years, staying with friends and cooking my own food, I find it appalling how many people take food (and other resources like electricity and water) for granted. I find it surprising (an understatement) that they are all "devout" when it comes to visiting temples and praying in front of lifeless statues, while having no regard for stuff which actually fuel our existence. I have seen refrigerators at most friends' place having some leftover which would be days old. These leftovers usually end up in the trash can. I have seen rice cookers containing rice cooked ages ago which apparently no one noticed. The stuff would be so old that should you - in all your innocence - take the lid off the cooker to see what's in it, you would unleash a reek which could raise the dead and kill a living soul.

Before you guys start showering me with insults for being barbed, let me remind you that I have been here long enough to know that it can become difficult to cook the perfect quantity of food. No, you can't avoid having leftovers but you can certainly avoid wastage. A little sense, a reasonably good memory and learning from experience will very easily avoid wastage.

1) A little sense - The quantity of food we cook should be so much that the latest it should all be consumed is the following day. If we think about it, this quantity would be neither too less for one meal nor too much to overwhelm us for days. Of course, when we have leftovers, we need to make sure they are refrigerated for the next day. We should also use our sense when we are cooking for a Friday dinner and we are thinking of an outing for the weekend, since an outing invariably means eating out, which means any leftover we have stays a leftover over the weekend.

2) A reasonably good memory - Okay, we have done a good job refrigerating the leftovers, but if we forget all about them, what's the point? Most of us have a bad memory, so we will need to develop the habit of checking for leftovers before we cook anything more. If the leftovers are enough for that meal, why cook fresh stuff? Unless it is a side-dish or can be eaten with the leftovers, I don't see the need to cook anything. If the quantity of leftovers is small and we have to cook fresh food, we need to remember to eat the leftovers too while we have our meals.

3) Learning from experience - I said in point (1) that we should only cook as much food as would be consumed latest by the next day. How exactly do we know how much? This is where we will have to use our experience. Enough said.

And then there is food wastage on "special" occasions. The other day it was "Shivarathri", and I joined my friends on an outing to a temple (Yes, it was merely an outing for me since I have no belief in idol worship). While there, I saw a table on which were about 50 jugs of milk, each jug containing a gallon (a gallon is almost 4 liters) and there were more such jugs being brought in by the "devotees". I was wondering what all that milk would be used for and ended up thinking, "Maybe it will be used in the temple canteen". I realized how wrong I was when I actually saw where all the milk was going. It was being used for the "Abhisheka" for the "Shivalingas" (not one or two, but there were about 10 or more of such Shivalingas on a single pedestal) and people were standing in a line waiting for their turn to do the Abhisheka. The way I saw it, people were just waiting for their turn to senselessly waste milk by pouring it on some lifeless rocks, and to my dismay I was in that very line without my knowledge. I couldn't see where all the poured milk from the pedestal was flowing to but I doubt it would have been used in the canteen after having gone through such a treatment (at least not in the US with its stringent kitchen hygiene regulations and stuff). Anyway, the point is that I didn't get the damn point! What kind of God would like to see people wasting so much milk? Even if they had to do it, only one person (the priest) doing it would suffice. People are fools if they think their mental malignancies or sins (or whatever it is) will be washed away by the act, when in fact they are merely wasting what could have filled a starving tummy.

No, I don't want to talk about that poor child in Africa who is starving. Each of us at some point of time has seen and shared pictures/videos of one or the other "dying African kid" and possibly stuff about other hungry people and food wastage. A few moments of emotional upheaval and maybe a tear or two are all such stuff can produce. No, we don't need to go all philanthropic and feed a starving person.

All we need to do, in this practical world, is to use our head and develop some respect for the food we eat. Why take it for granted just because we are well-to-do?

It's been rough...

Well...it's been more than a year now that I came to the US. Since then, life's been pretty rough, or rather I should say I've been pretty rough to myself. The past months have been among the worst ones in my life, in terms of my emotional and mental health.
Initially, I used to think it is because of the change of place and staying away from home and loved ones that caused me all the pain. But, with the passage of time, I discovered and realized that it is because of issues that were already inside me for long, but which I was always neglecting(I didn't, in the first place consider I had any problem). It's this past one year which has shown me how immature I am emotionally and how I had always been that way. I have also come to understand that everything is in the mind, it all depends on how you see it. Very simple to understand this, yet very hard to actually change the way we see things because of the way our egos have been conditioned. Alright, I am no one to actually write much on this because, I am myself striving to get some peace within. I would recommend people to read this beautiful article that I very much liked -

http://www.urbanmonk.net/59/what-your-ego-is-and-how-to-stop-it-from-obscuring-your-inner-peace-and-unconditional-love/

Also, do browse through the blog for many more great articles. Amazing insight the guy has!

I'm backkk...let's see for how long...;-)

Hi people, here I am, writing after a long long time. My last post was in October 2006. The hiatus was only because of my laziness in writing regularly; and not because I didn't have access to the internet or something, I was very much active when it came to chatting or mailing.

Well, a lot has happened in my life since my last post. I finished my Bachelor's, worked for 8 months in an IT firm in Bangalore and now I am in Chicago pursuing my Master's. It feels weird staying in a big city like Chicago as I was brought up in a small city - Dharwad in North Karnataka. But the only reason I am able to cope with it is that I lived in Bangalore before coming here (not that I am comparing Bangalore with Chicago, I just mean to say that I got a hang of what it is like to stay in a big city, though a US city is completely different from an Indian one) and the only reason I could stay comfortably in Bangalore is that I had someone really special who took care of me there (more about the special person in some future post). My condition here is such that I'm missing even the traffic jams of Bangalore, something I used to curse(every Bangalorean does, I believe) when I was there.

Alright, I guess I'll end this post here itself. It has done what I wanted it to - give a summary of what I was up to till now and what I am up to now. Cya, until my next post.

Me in rapping mode...

That's me in the green T-shirt. The hunk in cargos is Shounak. We were on stage singing the hit number by Linkin Park, In the end. It was the welcome function for the newbies to the E&C dept.(i.e.,the 3rd sem. people) organised by the 5th sem. E&C guys(me and Shounak being one of these...how proudly I say this, eh?) and the Shounak-Girish duet was the last event for the evening.

Well, we had a crude one-time practice session just about an hour before the function began. Shounak didn't know the lyrics, so someone hastily scribbled them for him on a piece of paper (see the pic, he's holding it). I played rapper and Shounak sang the lead, against a pre-recorded instrumental backing. This backing was the original song with the vocals suppressed, but we could still hear the vocals to some extent(result: the backing was a confused mixture of vocals and beats).

Anyways, Shounak and I jumped onto the stage at zero hour and the music started playing(my heart throbbing all through the prelude...dhak dhak!!). Then, the moment came when I had to open my mouth to rap and I did, without fumbling(thank God!!). I guess we were only a bit less than halfway through when something went wrong and the music suddenly died; I hurried backstage totally embarrassed(I uttered the F-word forgetting that I was still holding the mic close to my mouth, luckily nobody heard it 'cos my voice was low) while Shounak stepped down the stage and went to the console to check what was wrong. After a while, Shounak motioned me to come back. I didn't budge, still cursing the situation in my mind. It was the first time I was singing in front of a crowd in the college and it had bombed. My friends at the backstage tried coaxing me into going back, by giving various reasons(I remember only one now -' The last event is supposed to conclude the function in a graceful manner'). So, I was back on stage, constantly praying that this 'ordeal' ends as soon as possible. Thank God, it went on smoothly this time(although I had to sing parts of the lead Shounak wasn't thorough with...a totally impromptu act). After we finished, we came backstage and heaving a sigh of relief I wiped the sweat off my forehead and palms...and guess what? There were quite a few people who complimented us for our 'wonderful' performance. Now, what can I say?...All's well that ends well.

A date with the ouija board

Ok...Firstly, let me tell you that I don't really believe in ghosts 'cos I haven't seen one till now (as you know, seeing is believing; I might start believing if I ever see one...Who knows?). But, I really find stories of ghost-sightings interesting; I constantly search for articles relating ghosts to science.

Some years back, I read about the ouija board somewhere. Many people claimed to have communicated with spirits using that. I started searching for more info and came across the websites of many manufacturers of the ouija board (they really want to take communication a step further!). There were pictures of many boards which came in different colours and designs and of course, with different price tags. Then I chanced upon an article which said that one could prepare a board oneself and that the board need not be a board literally; it could be a mere sheet of paper with the necessary characters written on it(A to Z, 0 to 9). In addition, one also needed an object to be used as a pointer( technically called a 'planchette'). It also said that one would either invoke a good or an evil spirit depending on the spot chosen for this purpose( according to the article, the bed you sleep in is the dirtiest place to carry out the experiment in; it would result in the appearance of evil spirits).

As you guessed, I made my own ouija board...tearing off a sheet of paper from a notebook and writing A - Z and 0 - 9 on it. I chose an eraser to act as a planchette( I couldn't find anything else). It was a Sunday afternoon and my mom and dad were out of town. I wanted to meet a noble spirit( though I seriously doubted this experiment would come off), so the place I chose was...ahem...the puja-room of the house. I lit a candle, set my 'ouija board' neatly on the floor, and then placed my 'planchette' on it. I closed my eyes and started the 'invocation'. I was hoping that something would happen 'cos an occult encounter would give me a break from the boredom of my monotonous life. Well...I spent one hour doing this, but the planchette didn't move even an inch( or even a millionth of a millimetre for that matter; in short it didn't budge). My patience had died out; I was like...'tch'(I didn't know the F-word then, else that would have been the cuss word I guess...hehehe...). I tore the sheet of paper and threw it into the bin, went to my room and threw myself in bed (no, I wasn't crying) and fell asleep. Sigh...life was back to monotony...

Orkut...

"Are you on orkut??" is a common question these days. True, orkut has gained immense popularity over the past few months. It's only because of the ease with which you can find someone you know or make new friends.

Ok...making new friends online...this is something which could be potentially dangerous, as I've learnt over the past few years. You might have known someone 'personally' for years, but you still may not be knowing him/her. So, I wonder how well you can actually get to know someone you are involved in an online relationship with. All you can see are the words the person uses; very rarely do you get to see the person's actual facial expressions(those, as well, may be deceptive sometimes).

Well, I have been(and still am) a blatant orkutteer myself and have discovered that orkut is best used for finding long-lost pals as well as that orkut is THE best place to find them. It has also helped me build a better relationship with my existing friends. So friends, enjoy the phenomenon called orkut to the fullest...but remember...DISCRETION, is the key!!!

Reminiscence...

Well...With the increase in orkutting over the past few months, I've been getting back in touch with most of my childhood pals and with that, I'm going deeper and deeper into my past, recollecting the sweet moments spent thinking about my 'crush' and the times spent with friends discussing their crushes...lol...The way we used to tease gals, the way we used to pull each other's leg, the way we used to do mischief during class, the way we used to play petty games during recess...everything is held as a clear picture in my mind. Then, about the days we used to practise for cultural events, dance especially ; we used to have a helluva fun while practising...Those were the days, seriously!!! Whenever I recollect those days, without my knowledge, a smile spreads across my lips and I find myself longing to become a kid once again...Hmmm...Then, Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" starts playing in my head..."Those were the best days of my life."