Intellectually fool-filling

Sometimes, you just stumble upon a series of interesting articles that gets you thinking. That challenges your brain. And it is best if it happens on a lazy Friday when you least want to work. Here is something to get you started:

http://www.foundread.com/

http://blog.pmarca.com/

http://www.startupdunia.com/

http://www.venturehacks.com/

The world is such an interesting place. The sub-prime woes are haunting the market. A simple but dedicated quest leads to dozens of emerging websites offering all kinds of services online. People (at least the skeptical kinds) have begun to doubt if India is an ideal destination for PE investments. IT companies are getting the shivers with rising Rupee. If you are wondering how it affects you, wait till the khichdi effect of all this strikes you in a few years from now. That is my doomsday prophecy.

Meanwhile, my own life is far from dynamic. My incessant curiosity is beginning to pester people.

I mean, I was born with two legs, two hands and an insatiable curiosity. Right from the name of the nurse who did the ‘ghor paap’ of bringing me to this earth to the price of so many items I probably won’t be buying in the next 4-5 years, I want to know it all. In between these lie questions which poke at people in a way that discomforts them. Probably also seems to imply either a sense of insecurity or mistrust. Both of which are not true.

I agree I have my doubts. The egg I bought yesterday wasn’t fresh like the shopkeeper promised. Chak De may not be a movie worth watching after all. My ideas might fail me, or vice versa. But in the end, like everybody else, my people (and I take the liberty of calling them ‘my’) are my greatest asset. I treasure them more than anything else I can think of. While I hate liars (absolutely) and can become incorrigibly possessive at times, I now know the value of that one thing people call trust.

By the way, Axis bank has lost the trust element by renaming itself. I wonder who came up with this idea because so far I can’t fathom what logic drove this decision. However, the recent efforts of HUL to juxtapose itself with HLL seem better off.

Just like that, another weekend is here. I shall be meeting up with ADNM (ref: this blog post). As I type this, I realize that Microsoft Word Dictionary is yet to include the word ‘blog’. Quite a basic error, I say.

I also plan to comment on ‘Not Just Jazz By The Bay’. I went there with Strato and a few other friends last weekend. The place rocked and so did our ears as we ended up seated right in front of the blazing speakers. All in all, I do not regret having spent 200 bucks to listen to it, and some more big bucks to eat inside that place. The Margaritas was particularly good, Sangria only so-so. In fact, I tasted better Sangria during my exchange days in Germany, and that was prepared by amateurs. Hic. Before any of this makes you think I am a seasoned drinker, let me tell you I am not. Till such time as a BIG heartbreak leaves me whining in a corner all knocked down, I don’t foresee the probability of getting addicted either.

The foreigners seemed to be enjoying the music, and if that is your criteria of judging a band, you can say it rocked. But this is like saying everything videshi, from chaddi to chammach, is better than local stuff. I am not at a liberty of commenting in any greater detail because my knowledge of Jazz is about as high and deep as my knowledge of clandestine CIA missions.

But I liked the experience, and if I earned more, I would probably frequent that place, whenever I wanted a sound drumming of my ear drums. Right now, Strato is doing that thing to perfection!

He may look no better than the tea-vendor on a chowpatty beach, but he sings well. Sample this:

ishq junoon jab hadh se badh jaaye - 2

hanste hanste aashiq suli chadh jaaye

ishq ka jaadu sar chadhkar bole

khoob laga lo pehre raste rab khole...