Thank god you are a man

Got this from Rohit. Awesome funny stuff. Original source: here

2 x Booze

Whew!..wat a day..wat a night! We had our last working day yesterday and there was a small office party at one of the conference rooms (for which I paid 1000 Yen). Anyways so I was working at a frantic pace yesterday when my Business Development Manager - Samir san came to my seat to invite me to a party to be held at the JV's office. That was at 5:00 pm. There was a huge smile on my face (as per sumit). Two parties meant 2wice the booze and 2wice to eat :D . Also drunk japanese are really fun ppl to hang out wid. They laugh at your sickest jokes...and really hard too (and am full of sick jokes :D). Anyways so we reached there..opened up a few beers..some wine..came back to beer..sushi..and repeat. Samir san tried his hand at magic and failed miserably ..it was soo funny. Ppl actually walked off (maybe that was just me) from where he was showing his thing. He asked permission to practise and then come back! He finally did it .. and it was kinda cool. Phew! at 6:30 we rushed from that building to our own. I was feeling the excitement build up in me. The last time we had a party..I sang a song at a Karaoke!! .. u never know what you are getting into! Anyways we reached there to find things had already started . My client Wakabayashi san offered me some beer..I happily lapped it up..had champagne..sake .. back to beer..more sushi .. yah sushi is cool! There were some biscuits for sumit...ohh and juice! Japan is mean towards vegetarians! Anyways ppl started leaving but me, Wakabayashi san, Iguchi san and Sumit talked away till like 9 pm. Thats when the building guys told us to get out! :D .. we had to shut down our machines and all. I was sooo drunk by that time. We 3 were dangling with every step. Sumit was laughing right till we reached back home! I reached back at like 9:45..slept at 10:45 ..really early..but cudnt help it. Phew!..wat a night!..had the best time. It was not only the booze (tho I agree it played an important part) but the conversations with these guys which was sooo interesting. Wakabayashi san is like a world renowned person and an expert in High Level Synthesis. That guy is a visiting professor in Stanford and often the "general chair" of many IEEE conferences. So me and sumit were in awe of that guy and we really had a nice time chatting with him..about everything. Iguchi-san is like 28 and already a PhD in Physics! It was like 4 friends getting drunk (ok..3) and talking like crazy! I never laughed soo much! Whew!..big thumbs up to last night! a big f*ckin 10 fingered thumbs up!!

Let the good times roll

After finishing up making paranthas (yah I make paranthas now..and awesome ones too)...me and sumit started our dinner at 12:15 am...ohh merry christmas to all btw. Thats when sumit had an awesome idea. Ideas like these are kinda expected from him since he has more head than me and all (literally..he's balding away like theres no tomorrow :D) . Anyways so he goes like "lets watch tom and jerry". And I was like ..f*ck yah..why dint we think of that before. And damn..the next hour was spent laughing..laughing like there's no tomorrow...2 grown men literally squealing like li'l kids...tears in our eyes..tummies aching ..phew!..wat a nice time. We watched the old ones..the Fred Quimby ones..Trap Happy..The Flying Cat..Jerry's cousin! Whew!..needless to say it got me reminiscing about my childhood. The time when I used to get up at 5:30 in the morning to watch Tom and Jerry on Doordarshan every weekend. I remember the days when I used to miss it (due to some reason or other) my dad used to get a Tom and Jerry video cassette from the nearby shop. Those were the days man! Continuing with the madness I just put "The Jungle Book" on the download. I dont remember loving anything more than cartoons. I am just addicted to them. Due to this I am constantly "exampled" as a "bad example" (or as my bro puts it .. social embarassment) by my relatives :D . On being constantly ridiculed that my li'l cuzin (in 8th) is too big for video games..he takes my example as his counter-attack. But its all good..infact I look forward to spend some quality time with my li'l cuzins watching cartoons and playing video games all day. One of the reasons I am the coolest bro among all my bros :D . Anyways had a really cool time..nice way to start off christmas..however things are gonna get rough...have to go to the office in another 9 hours...gatta get some sleep.

My guitar lies bleeding in my arms

I was practicing a full tone string bend on the guitar..and suddenly it went "plukpp". I finally had bent it to a full tone but then it gave way. I guess I tried too hard and got sooo far..but in the end it doesnt even matter :D. Damn!..how true. I can soo relate to that song by LP right now.

Anyways thank god its a holiday today. I hope the stores are open..I might as well get a guitar cover cuz I am planning to take it back to India. Although the cover might cost more than the guitar itself but wat the heck..got no other choice..unless I buy the cover from a second hand shop..hmm..interesting.

Blitzkrieg

Kinda stuff which inspires you to get the guitar and start practising scales!!

My new old washing machine

Getting second hand stuff in Japan is pretty easy. Mainly this is because you cant dispose off things for free. You have to pay (yes...pay!!) the junk yard guy for whatever stuff you need to throw out. So people rather sell their stuff using the internet. There's a huge forum for foreigners to sell/buy stuff. Some get soo desperate that they sell their stuff for free! If there are no buyers for the amount they are selling..and they really need to dispose things, they sell it for free. Its any day better to throw away stuff for free rather than paying for it (doh). Anyways so if people are selling stuff for free..guys like me are always on the lookout. So, after spending 3 weeks washing our clothes at the laundary, we finally found a guy in Kawasaki living barely a kilometer away from our place selling his washing machine..and yep .. more importantly..for free! So we got in touch..used our people skills and hence me and sumit became proud owners of an old Hitachi Washing Machine..a Sharp Vacuum Cleaner and a Bookshelf..for as low as....as my friend Barney says..wait for it!!....2000 Yen. Thats like a 1000 bucks in India!! Damn! .. we had to pay a li'l more for the transportation and stuff but its all good. Our next lookout is a fridge. Since the weather is pretty cold here .. we are managing it pretty well..but we have to consume whatever we make instantly. Although I dont mind even that..but heck..we really need some ice for whisky!

Sunday Bloody Sunday

We went to Tokyo yesterday for sightseeing. We had booked a sky bus .. the open double decker bus. It was really cool..the tour lasted for 1 hour and covered quite a number of places. The best one was the Imperial Palace. It was awesome! .. we had planned to go there again today with Sumit (he couldn't join us yesterday courtesy queasy stomach). But we woke up to a rainy sunday morning which literally (and philosophically), dampened our spirits. I stayed in the bed till like 11:00 in the morning! Infact the first meal of the day was our lunch. The temperature is a cold 5 degrees outside. Infact we are still left to do our laundry...and we also gatta collect the mails that we had missed from the post office. But there's still some time left before monday..and I am really looking forward for dinner at Anwarul's and Syam's place.

The Breakup song

There's always a song after a breakup ryt? Its been 7 months since mine. I came across this song by Junkyard Groove and its awesome! Its all I can listen to these days..its been like 2 weeks since my heavy metal playlist went bust (cuz of this one song!). Anyways its a really cool song. Its called "Say Goodbye". Really cool lyrics and a nice solo .. and yah it does bring back all those cool memories.

Metal of Honor

Metallica just got nominated for 4 grammy awards. "Death Magnetic" has been nominated in the Best Rock Album and Best Recording Package categories. "Suicide and Redemption" gets the nod in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance and "My Apocalypse" goes up for Best Metal Performance. Rick Rubin, was also nominated for Producer of the Year. Phew!..I pray they win all 4! Apart from that, they released their video for my favourite track on the album - All Nightmare Long. Its a nice mix of sci-fi , war and human tendencies..it can be got from here

Breaking the barrier

Highly impressed with my friend Rohit (as always), I started jogging a few weeks back. I started off with doing 15 minutes everyday. Then I raised it to 30 minutes. I stayed there for a loong time. In fact I used to get totally wiped after running for 30 minutes. But today as I walked towards my gym..I felt like jogging. Maybe it was the cold. It was 7 degrees and I was in my T-Shirt and Shorts! Anyways when I reached the gym..I just didn't feel like stopping. So I dint go to the gym and went right by it. It was weird..I just kept running..my feet dint feel heavy or anything..in fact I wanted to run faster. Maybe it was the music cuz my player was on a roll today. Never have I heard such an awesome playlist on the "random" mode. When I looked down at my watch it had been 50 minutes. Although I was feeling short of breath but I could not stop now! I finally crossed the 1 hour barrier. I am soo proud of myself today..its another thing I cant feel my legs right now!

Lazy sundays

I remember how my Sundays used to be
so careless and so carefree
No waking up early
and the breakfast was always free
No worries about the laundry
or clearing out the mess from the night before
No dishes to wash,
the TV was oh-soo much fun to watch.
But the times have changed for the better or worse
I dont know.
But damn it I miss those lazy sunday mornings
Gatta get 'em back somehow!

Ohh how I miss those Sundays that used to be
so careless and so carefree!

These wounds go deep

I have been out from the web for almost a month. I had to get a new internet connection. Anyways my modem's here and loads of stuff happened in between but the most shocking news was but obvious the mumbai massacre .. the embarrassing story of how 10 guys came into our homes , took us hostage and literally brought us to our knees. Since I did not have the internet at home...I used to spend considerable amount of time at the office catching up on the news. I cudnt help feel helpless at the entire situation..the 3 long days of horror. I am glad its over now. Kudos to our commandos. But the feeling of embarassment still exists. I mean my japanese colleagues were all soo surprised as to how could some guys just take over a building and like start firing everyone in sight. I had a hard time explaining what a "siege" is and what a "hostage situation" meant. For them it was the stuff they saw in the movies. Anyways but I hope the entire thing brings a radical change..we should learn from our mistakes and do everything we can to avoid such things in the future. I just hope we dont get affected internally. Cuz if we do then that really means these motherfuckers have won...and we should not and I hope would not let them win!
During these difficult times, we often search for a source of strength and nothing makes me feel powerful than music. So I am listening to this song "Say Goodbye" by one of my favourite Indian Band - Junkyard Groove. There's a live version of it here.

Space trash to hit earth!

The wildest story I have ever read! A giant refrigerator sized tank of Ammonia was thrown from the International Space Station by an astronaut Clayton Anderson during his space-walk! The tank was unneeded..so he disposed it like most of us do..throw it out! ..the only difference being that he was in outer space!! Now NASA is using its complex surveillance systems to track the piece of trash! Although they say it is unlikely to hit anyone but they expect that up to 15 pieces of the tank to survive the searing hot temperatures of re-entry, ranging in size from about 1.4 ounces (40 grams) to nearly 40 pounds (17.5 kilograms). They would hit the earth at about 100mph. The best part is that they don't know as yet where it would fall. It can fall anywhere!! Upgrades to the station last year, made the tank obsolete, and engineers were concerned that its structural integrity would not withstand a ride back to Earth aboard a NASA space shuttle. So..they came up with the best solution possible.. they tossed it overboard, or "jettisoned" it in NASA parlance. I wonder who gave the idea?..I keep hearing from people that majority of the people at NASA are Indians..now it just got confirmed :D. Source: here

Death Magnetic

I finally found the time and fought my laziness to put in something about one of my favorite albums in my huge play list. It was about time Metallica delivered something brilliant..esp after getting it all wrong in St. Anger. Anyways here goes:

That was just your life
The first song of the album. It starts with a heartbeat kinda thing and follows it up with a slow dark intro which creates this atmosphere like something's gonna happen. It doesn't take time for the heavy guitars to come in...and then it explodes into a really nice fast riff which literally makes you sit up and listen. Hetfield doesn't waste much time to jump in with everything's he's got. Whew!..the lines "Almost like your life, Almost like your endless fight, Curse, the day is long, Realize you don't belong, Disconnect somehow, Never stop the bleeding now, Almost like your fight, And there it went, Almost like your life. " just gives me goosebumps! Ulrich totally holds the song together and the entire structure of the song is sooo "liquid". It flows endlessly right till the end. Hammett does justice to the solos. An explosive start to the album.

End of the Line
This song was already on their live shows as the "New song". When I heard it, it was ..well..OK..I absolutely loved the beginning but the chorus and the verses were a bit weird. The version on the album is a killer. Its like my favorite song on the album. It has a really cool catchy riff and they changed the verses and the chorus for the better. Its really cool now. It doesn't sound like a work in progress. It did kinda sound like that when I heard it first. Anyways, this song is about drug addiction. That's what I could get from the lyrics. I think its about how drugs take you in and then ultimately they start controlling you till you reach like the end of the line. Since Death Magnetic is about people in the rock/music industry who have died and stuff..this song does spread that message to a great extent. The lines "The slave becomes the master. Need more and more. Right now and everafter. Need more and more" is like the gist of the entire song. Amazing song. Really cool lyrics and a catchy melody. It sticks at the back of your head for a long time after you hear it.

Broken Beat and Scarred
This is like one of those songs which gets you all pumped up. A perfect song to lift your spirits when you are down. I mean when you hear Hetfield roar Rise, fall down, rise again. What don't kill you make you more strong. you cant help the adrenaline rush take control of you. When I listened to the words "Breaking your teeth on the hard life coming, Show your scars. Cutting your feet on the hard earth running, Show your scars. Breaking your life, Broken, beat and scarred. But we die hard " .. I cudnt help make the devil horns \m/. A perfect song for gym or basketball! Phew!..the first three songs were soo awesome that I was instantly back to the Master of Puppets era!

The day that never comes
This is like a typical Metallica ballad. I wont compare it to Fade to Black or One but it comes very close to classics like those. Its a song about hope..waiting for the day when people bury their differences but that day never comes. But towards the end, the protagonist swears that things would change and the day would come!

All Nightmare Long
My favourite track of the album. In fact its one my all time favourite Metallica song too! All Nightmare Long is a ferocious song and the guitars on this one...man!..its exactly like the old Metallica we fell in love with! Its pure thrash! The intros is like one of the best intros there can be! The part when Hetfield grunts "Hunt you down all nightmare long. Feel us breathe upon your face. Feel us shift, every move we trace. Hunt you down without mercy. Hunt you down all nightmare long." makes you wanna headbang like crazy! I think the song is about fear and how we try to run away from it and the more we try to run away..the more scared we are and the more it haunts us. The overall pace of the track is mind blowing! and..it has 2 solos!!! and Ulrich goes crazy with the double bass at the end!

Cyanide
What a cool name for a song! Its a nice catchy song with a really cool chorus. This song is about suicide and its more with the theme of the entire album. I love the chorus of this song.

The Unforgiven 3
This is like the third part of the Unforgiven song series. I loved Unforgiven and Unforgiven 2 . Unforgiven 3 is really cool too but I wish it was more powerful! Metallica used the piano on this track..which was really new for me. It does blend in well with the music. The lyrics are awesome just like it was in the previous unforgivens.

Judas Kiss
A kickass song! After hearing Hetfield roar "Bow down, Sell your soul to me, I will set you free, Pacify your demons . Bow down, Surrender unto me, Submit infectiously, Sanctify your demon" you have no choice but to sell your soul and bow down to Hetfield baby!! The best chorus of the entire album!! I loved the lyrics on this album..really kickass!

Suicide and Redemption
The instrumental song on the album. Its a nice track..the ones which really pumps you up. Its not like the Call of Ktulu which had a more of a classical touch. The riff is a down-right dirty, heavy and perfect during daaru parties! :D

My Apocalypse
The last song of the album. Makes you want more! Its an insane track. Ulrich is awesome on this one. There's this portion at 1:52 when everyone goes insane! It sounds like the old classic metallica. I wish the solo was a bit longer..it was too short for me..maybe am listening to too much Dream Theater but thats what I felt. Anyways but hats off to Ulrich on this one. He does a fabulous job!

Phew!..its a classic album and 10 big thumbs up to Metallica for finally delivering what we wanted to hear for a loooooong time. I just realized I dint mention Trujjilo at all. Well, everyone was good at some point or the other...this guy was awesome in every song! He does make the songs more heavier. I sooo want to go on a metallica concert!

Basketball

I just came back from an awesome game of Basketball with my new found friends. Our office had a welcome party for Sumit and Jain on Thursday. So during the party, a japanese guy by the name of Nakajima sat next to me (mainly cuz there was no other seat left). We started talking and he asked me whether I liked Basketball. I was like..Oh hell yeah!! He invited me for a game on saturday (which was today). I was eagerly looking forward to it. Anyways, since Friday was the customary daaru party...I kinda slept late and woke up even later. I woke up at like 10:40!!..and Musashi Mizonokuchi is around half an hour away. I quickly made breakfast and had my shower. It was already 12:10 by that time. Japanese guys get really nervous when people dont arrive on time. I ran all the way to the station and just as the train was about to close its doors..I jumped inside. Weird stares welcomed me into the train. Anyways I reached the station at 12:45 with a very nervous and anxious looking Nakajima san waiting for me. I apologized and we went to Futako Tamagawa station. That was the place where the court was. We reached there and waited for a german guy. His name's Alex and he's like 190 cms tall! He works for Siemens and had visited India before. He made safety equipments for the Delhi Metro!! Anyways we reached the gym and to the court. Now, nobody can just go and play here. You have to book the place and you should have 10 ppl. Else they wont allow you. Plus you need to be dressed accordingly. Anyways, we warmed up..made some shots...some layups..the usual and started with the game. We played like 4 games. It was an OK day for me. I made some shots..but I was rusty. There were 2 japanese guys Tanaka-san and one more whose name I dont remember. These guys were like 35 years old and were monsters on the court. Infact I was the youngest in the team. I lied about my age too!!..I told them I was 26!..and they still were like..damn!..you are soo young! And it was embarrasing since these guys were soo fit and I was panting during the final minutes of the game. Phew! anyways I had loads of fun today. They are planning for a Basketball camp next weekend. Its a 1 day camp..they would play..eat and drink and play again. Although I really want to go..but I dont know for sure. I might go someplace with Jain and Sumit. Anyways I had a super time today..and made new friends too!

Hail Tommy Emmanuel \mm/ ... faster than ever and any other!!! Check out "The hunt" and the fastest version of "Tall Fiddler" I could find!

Mt. Takao

Well I have been out of blogosphere for a while now. I was busy having loads of fun! It was a three day weekend...again! There are soo many holidays in japan! (and I am not complaining one bit). Anyways we wanted to do something different this time. It was fun riding on all those rides at the amusement parks but we were kinda tired of it. Thus, we decided to go outdoors this weekend. We went to Mt. Takao. Its a li'l mountain near Tokyo..where you can spend the day trekking. We started at about 10:00 from Kawasaki. Its a 1.5 hour journey. It would have been better if we had started at like 7:00 in the morning. Anyways we reached Takaosanguchi station at about 11:30. There was a bit of rush being the weekend and all. Thats why I felt we should have started earlier. But we really cudnt help it..I was busy drinking the night away on Saturday and could not have gotten up earlier. Anyways, there were 6 trails to choose from. Each one promised a lovely setting for a trek. We decided to choose Trail number 1 which was the longest and the rockiest (from the descriptions). We started and half-way through it, we were tired! We stopped for some rest before "climbing" further. Its a nice steep trek. Along the way you see springs, big trees and really cool statues. After every few kilometers you have restaurants which offer picturesque views . But we dint stop at any of those. You can see entire Tokyo from up there. There are loads of japanese temples which have the meanest looking statues of gods. It was real fun. The top has an awesome view of Mt. Fuji (if the weather is really clear). We were a bit unlucky since it was a bit cloudy at the top. Nevertheless, we were pretty satisfied with the view that was being offered to us. We chose a li'l corner and opened up our picnic basket. We had a really nice lunch and just sat there admiring nature and soaking up the moment. We started our descent at about 4:30. in the evening when it started getting dark. We decided to choose a different trail for our descent. We switched trails at every turn to experience every one of them. I think Trail no. 2 and 6 were the most awesome ones. Descent was a li'l dangerous. The terrain was nice and slopy. I had a tough time balancing myself..the momentum dragged me along and it was tough to stop. It was dark by the time we reached the foot of the hill. I was kinda sad when we reached at the bottom. It was soo much fun! We dragged our tired bodies and aching limbs back to Kawasaki and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. I reached home at around 10..dragged my ass to bed and fell asleep after reminiscing about the day..reliving every moment of an awesome day.

Status Updates

Phew!..what a hectic week and its only tuesday! Anyways things would change from tomorrow..I had a major release today. I was just back ..cold..wet and hungry! The weather is changing really quickly. Its 16 degrees outside and its been raining for 2 days now. But the rains here are soo different. Its kinda like a very fast drizzle...like gentle sprays of water droplets..like when one is near a fountain or when one is getting a haircut. Apart from all the weather news..Sumit and Jain are finally here! Damn..I was sooo looking forward for them. The three of us are gonna rip Tokyo apart. Loads of plans are on the cards..hopefully things would work out that way.
I was roaming around in Kawasaki when I saw a music shop. I entered and bumped into a HUGE metallica poster..and that was it..I came out with a Death Magnetic CD. I soo wanted to buy the T-Shirt but I was short of cash! F*ck just the day to forget reloading my wallet! Anyways hopefully I would go there again this weekend. I am hooked to the album. Its all I listen. I cud go on and on about this one!
Hmm..wat else? ..back at home..my bro and mom are going to Kerala day after tomorrow. My dad would be alone at home. I wonder how he would spend the day? They would be gone for 10 days or so. Anyways thats it for now..gatta get some sleep.

Randomizing

Its been raining the entire day! I had to spend the entire day indoors. With nothing much to do, I slept for almost 3 hours in the afternoon. Damn I would be up the entire night! And tomorrow's Monday! :( . Anyways but Tuesday is a holiday.. yaaay! (*dancing like a little girl!*).
I opened up my Lone Wolf and Cub series and read the entire 2nd volume. Its so damn cool! But the sad part is that there's not a single Manga here which is in English. And in the trains you find everyone reading one! Its like you are being mocked. Maybe they would have some in Tokyo..like in the main city or something. Anyways I have the entire Lone wolf series to finish before I need anything else.
I plan to join a gym soon. Its pretty near to my place and its really cool. Its open till like 11pm in the night so I can go there after my office. Hopefully by the time I am back in India, I would be muscular (again). The only sad part is that I would have a difficult time maintaining it..but I guess I should worry more about losing all the fat for the time being!
Hmm..what else..I've got Death Magnetic blaring on my headphones. My laptop speakers aint good enough to cover its "awesomeness". Its such a kick-ass album. I've been listening to it for a long time now. I can hear the riffs at the back of my head all the time. Anyways I can go on and on about it..but its almost time for me to make dinner..so towards the kitchen I shall walk.

DisneySea!

My childhood dream of going to Disneyland was finally fulfilled yesterday when I went to....DisneySea! :D. Actually there are two Disney resorts in Tokyo..the DisneyLand and the DisneySea (just next to it). DisneySea was opened around 7 years back and everyone who had gone to both of these places suggested to go to DisneySea. I intend to visit both because I dont really care what they say! Anyways so first up was DisneySea. I woke up at 6:30 am after sleeping at 3:30 am (a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do..to meet Mickey Mouse!). I woke up Pranay at 7 and screamed at him for not getting up early. Anyways we reached the station to find the other guys missing. Vikram showed up at 8:10 and there was no bloddy sign of Tilak. We waited for 10 minutes before deciding to go to his apartment. I was in a mood to leave him and go. But we went to his house instead to find him brushing his teeth and wearing his shoes simultaneously. I screamed at him a bit more and threatened him that if I missed out on a single ride..he's gonna pay (literally...for dinner...and I would eat!!). We reached a station called Maihama from where we had to take the Disney train. It was a cute li'l train with the windows shaped like Mickey Ears. We reached DisneySea at around 9:50. We entered to find this H-U-G-E globe with fountains. It was awesome. The fountains around it sprayed water on it and created small ripples on the globe which were like the tides of the oceans. Well the entire resort is a collection of such kind of creative ideas, artistic excellence and supreme eye for detail. I could spend months describing about all of them.
Anyways the entire resort is divided into 7 li'l theme parks. Each one different from the other. To go to each one of them in a single day is very difficult task. I missed out going to "Mermaid Lagoon"..based on the Li'l Mermaid. Although I wasn't too keen going there too cuz it was for li'l kids..but I would have surely loved to take a look at the theme. If you want to go only for the rides..then its actually of no use. I am saying this because there is a lotta rush and a lot of wait (100 minutes minimum) and the rides get over really quick. They are not that scary too (tho some of them are)..but the experience on these rides is something you would never get anywhere else. Every ride (the major ones) has a theme associated with it. There's a story of which you are a part off. I loved the experience.
We reached the first park after clicking the globe at the entrance a gazillion times! It was called the Mediterranean Harbour.

Mediterraneon Harbour:
It has this huge lake kinda thingie where there are boat rides and streamers. There are performers performing on the side. There are huge buildings which are absolutely lovely to look at. The exterior is painted to give the old school look. Absolutely stunning. However, the focus is stolen by a huge artificial volcanic mountain called Mount Prometheus. Damn!..that was a mean mountain. Smoke keeps coming through it from time to time. Its not a part of the Harbour tho. Its actually a part of another theme park "Mysterious Island". However, it gives a monstrous appeal to the park. Mediterranean Harbour doesn't have much rides. It is more of an exploration kinda theme park. There are huge ships with canons. You can pull the trigger to hear a blast and see the smoke coming out of the barrels. Apart from these there was an exploration attraction in this park. There were clues given to people to search for treasures and stuff..and I dont know for sure..but I think the clues were in Japanese..atleast the explanation was!..and hence we backed off. There was this entrance to "Leonardo's Challenge" which was a depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's design and other scientific stuff. But f*ck science..we saw a huge cave nearby which immediately caught our fancy. Who cares about science if we have caves! We went inside to find it was an entrance of the next park "Mysterious Island".

Mysterious Island
It was here we saw our first ride. "Journey to the centre of the Earth" is a ride inside to the earth's core with amazing animatronix, ultra cool lighting and high speed steep curves through rocky terrain. There is this AWESOME drop which gets the adrenaline splurging up your f*ckin brains! It lasts for about a second. Its a curved drop. Its not a conventional steep drop. It curves and then follows it up with a steep fall. Because of the curve, we feel we are thrown up into the air. The location of the drop is really cool and makes it real fun. We are inside this mountain going down, when suddenly, we jump out of the mountain (and see the entire island for a li'l more than a fraction of a second) and fall right into the mountain again. When we are about to enter the mountain, the curved shape of the drop throws us upwards, so we feel that we are gonna crash on the mountain's entrance. Phew!..it was phenomenal! I get goose-bumps even thinking about it. This drop is the only scary part of the ride, the rest is the visual part of the ride. We see animatronix at its best. Creatures inside the mountain and the entire ambiance is really cool. There's this monster "bug" which shakes its head wildly and roars at us. It was H-U-G-E! That was awesome.
Anyways the other major attraction "20,000 leagues under the sea" was closed. It goes inside the ocean and stuff. Sadly we missed it. Next up was "The lost river delta".

Lost river delta
As the name suggests its a jungle theme. There are some really huge statues, temples and waterfalls. It reminded me of a video game I used to play when I was a kid - Pitfall 2 - The Mayan Adventure.
There are two major attractions here. The first one was "Indiana Jones - The Secret of the Gray Skull". This was a very popular one among the crowd. The waiting was like 3 hours! We took a fast pass ticket for this one. It is like an advance booking. We get a time slot and do not have to wait in the line. We reach the place at the designated time and head for the ride. The waiting time is hence cut to a few minutes. Anyways we got the 9pm slot! So we went to a roller coaster called the "Raging Spirit". It was a conventional roller coaster with a 360 degree loop. It was a bit disappointing..cuz it was too short! And the only exciting part was the loop itself. I think the disappointment was largely due to the waiting time. We waited for nearly 2 hours to get into the ride and it barely lasted for a minute! Anyways it was then we learned another "term" which was very useful in parks like these - Single Riders. In case you are a couple and want to ride together, there's a separate line. In case you want to ride Single i.e. it doesn't matter whom you sit with, it cuts the waiting time to more than a half. We dint know that..and hence sufferred. I think if we had gone as single riders, the opinion would have differed. But the ride is not that scary. I think "The Bandit" at Yomiuri Land was much more fun. It was longer had a huge drop and reached speeds upto 90 km-hr.
Anyways it was almost time for lunch and we headed towards "Arabian Coast"..the home of Aladdin.

Arabian Coast
Arabian Coast is modelled on the lines of Agrabah. As per me, this was the best looking theme in the entire park. Whenever I used to see Aladdin on TV, I wanted to live in Agrabah. (Same with Mowgli). This theme park was stunningly similar to the cartoon. The bazaars..the music..the stony pavements..the buildings..you were immediately transformed to that era of mystery and magic.
We first went to this tour of Sindbad's Storybook voyage. Its a li'l boatride which takes you around an awesome set with Animatronic figures narrating the tale of Sindbad. It was visually spectacular. The robot figures were soo real. You look at them and you felt they are looking back. The movements were soo smooth..it hardly felt it was a puppet. Hell..there were robots belly-dancing and the transitions were soo smooth. The artwork on the robots were awesome too. They were really cute..with their big eyes and smiles. The story begins when you set sail with Sindbad and you reach a mountain with a huge bird which lays huge eggs. Some bandits steal the eggs and Sindbad and the crew saves them. Moving along..there' s a cave in which these bandits trap a giant and steal his treasures. Sindbad helps rescue the giant and we reach back to the palace with some of the gold - a gift from the giant.
After the ride..we realized we are really hungry and hence we went to the restaurant to have some lunch. It was an expensive one with Chicken curry, a Naan and some Rice. The quantity wasn't much..but japanese rice is heavy on the stomach..thus, you feel full after eating a little..but then you are hungry soon (atleast I am). After strolling along and clicking loads of pix, we went to Port Discovery.

Port Discovery
Port Discovery has a theme based on science. It has one interesting attraction called the Storm Rider. Its a simulation based attraction in which you are placed in a ship called the "Storm Rider". The story is like there's a huge storm and you gotta ride into the storm and fire a "Storm diffuser"..which would stop the storm (fighting the turbulence on the way ofcourse). After a long wait in the line..it was finally our turn. We were briefed about the mission (in Japanese ofcourse) and we were led to this theater. The engine begins to roar and we soon take off..the windscreen show us the view on the outside. Immediately we enter the turbulent storms...and are thrown around. We fire the diffuser but it turns around and hits our ship. Thats when things get interesting...the roof of the theater gives way and half a rocket enters the roof with sparks flying all around. So you actually feel as if the rocket has hit your ship. Then there are rains..both inside and outside the ship..you get drenched a bit and I dont know what they say .. but the storm kinda clears up! :D .. we land soon and thats about it. Its not a scary ride but a fun-filled one. We dint see any other interesting attraction here and thus, we head for American Waterfront.

American Waterfront
American Waterfront..well..its a waterfront..with huge ships and stuff. The only thing which attracted me was the pubs..they were really cool..they had the old look..like the 70s or something. The other thing which completely blew my mind was the "Tower of Terror". It was a H-U-G-E building..spectacular to look at and it was a free-fall ride!! Just the presence of the tower made us want to go inside. After an hour of waiting in the line we reached inside. It was dark by then and the building lit up to look even more sinister than it did during the daylight. While in the line all we could hear was a lightning crash and a deafening scream. We thought it might be a recorded one but to our horror..it was not. It was actual screams of the people in the rides. They took them to the top of the tower and for a second opened the window. Then they let u them fall!!!..and we saw them fall for just a sec. before they dissapeared. f*ck we were scared shit! Anyways I was overflowing with adrenaline as soon as it was our turn. We went inside a room..where there was this mean looking statue. A window had a picture of a collector named Harrison Hightower standing proud with his stick in his hands. Anyways soon our escort says "All the best" and leaves the room. The door closes and the entire room is filled with darkness. The picture of the guy (who was smiling initially) turns into a guy who's scared sh*t with the statue in his hands instead of the stick! The statue then overpowers him and sends him flying towards an elevator. It waves its wand and the entire elevator crashes down..free fall baby!!!! And the next thing we see is the mean statue in front of us dissapear!!! At this point I was like what the hell!!..how did that happen??..I have never seen anything dissapear in front of my eyes before!! It was the coolest thing!! At this time I literally lost it..I was actually clapping and laughing my head off!!! Phew!..we were then accompanied to an elevator. The lady (who was really cute btw) made sure we were fastened safely on our seats. So the ride begins..we move upwards in absolute darkness at a very cool speed. We stop midway..the door opens!!! We see a holographic movie..which was soo damn real!! There was this guy again fighting with the statue. The statue waves his wand and sends this guy flying. Then he turns at us and waves his wand on us. The entire elevator shakes and the door closes. The door opens and there's this mirror with all of us. We wave our hands and stuff..and suddenly the reflection turns green!!! Hell!!!..the doors close and we are pushed upwards. The doors open again..and this time we can see the entire resort!!..it was soooo damn high!! Then the familiar green lightning crashes..and the door closes. The next thing I know is the girl sitting right in front of me...her hair stands up straight!!! and its like we are tumbling down!...no ground beneath our seats F*ck..the most exhilirating feeling ever! We stop midway and then go down again! The ride ended with me buying the photo of all of us scared shit as a souvenier for a 1000 Yen. Phew!..they took it jst as we were about to fall. I have to upload it but I need a scanner. Anyways..it was the best ride of the park. The entire experience was something that I would remember forever. Anyways tired as hell and an hour still left for the "Indiana Jones" ride we sat down on a bench. Thats when there were spotlights in the sky inviting us to the Mediterranean Harbour once again. I remember myself running soo fast that I left Pranay (who is 1/4th of my weight) waaaaaay behind.

25th Anniversary Celebrations
We reached the lake that was just near the entrance to find a mystical ship...full of colour and fountains, roaming around. Suddenly four huge fountains shoot up and start dancing with music! What an awesome display of colour..it was actually magical. I tried really hard to capture it on my camera..but in vain..the pix that I clicked aren't even half as cool! Anyways after a few formations..they stop. Just when we thought it was over..a huge dragon rises over the water. Man..what a sight! And the next thing we see is fire!..on water!! The volcano I was talking about comes alive and starts shooting fireworks! Phew! The dragon lights up with fire. There are fireballs going away like crazy and in perfect synchronization with the music. Thats when I decided to shoot the entire thing. It lasted about 20 minutes..both fire and water coming together in carefully choreographed symphony. It completely left me speechless..the video has me screaming "awesome" like a hundred times! And after all the fire and water show is over...there's an announcement that since its the 25th Anniversary of the Disney resort..there's gonna be fireworks!! We dint waste a moment and ran to the front. Many ppl had moved from their positions ..so it was easy for us to grab really cool seats. Anyways..the fireworks began with the Disney Theme in the background. It was magical! ..it lasted around 10 minutes. I captured the entire thing on the camera. Whew!.what a night I must say. With the fireworks out of the way..we had a few minutes more till the park was open. We still had one ride left..the "Indiana Jones" adventure. It consisted of a high speed drive across caves and jungles. It ended with a huge boulder coming straight for us. The car reverses into a nice li'l drop. That was it..the last bit of excitement I would experience for the day. We struggled to walk... all of us.. tired as hell..legs aching..body stiff as ever. We made our way to the station and reached Kawasaki at around midnight. We grabbed a couple of beers..some burgers and went to a bridge near to our apartments and spent the night eating and reminiscing about the day over and over again. Phew!..what a day!

Happy Onam

Well..its actually belated Happy Onam..but nevertheless..its a happy onam! (or belated..watever!..I could go on forever). Anyways. It was my first onam without my family and I dint miss them a bit (:D) .. well I did miss the lunch..and the booze with dad and bro. Thats why we (me and Syam) decided to make sambar and cabbage. I reached back at my apartment at around 8. We went to the local grocery shop to buy cabbage (and the mandatory beer). But we thought, its onam right..we should really get high! So we went to the daaru section. While we were at the daaru section..trying to solve the most difficult question on this universe - What to drink? ; a lady came by and in a flash selected a whisky by the name of Nikka Whisky. Its a japanese whisky..expensive and with a really cool bottle. She just came by and took it right off the shelf without even thinking for a second. We put the Suntory VSOP brandy back..and thinking that this might better, took the Nikka Whisky. Back at home before making dinner..we opened it up and damn!..it was a hard one! And we dint get high at all after a few pegs! But gradually things started to change..by the time we finished making dinner..I was sufficiently "happy". Its gotta be one of those which gets to you after a while! Anyways we had our rice with the sambar and the cabbage..really tasty..but nothing like home. I called up back home to tell my mom that I made sambar. And she made plans to make me do all the cooking once I get back! Anyways with the dinner out of the way..I just dropped off to sleep. I woke up today at 9:30..Syam still is snoring away like hell! Nikka Whisky - not bad eh? Hmm..now I got to figure out what to do for breakfast.

Sungha Jung

Sungha Jung is from South Korea and he is 11 years old. He wants to become a professional finger guitarist when he grows up! I think he has already become one!!

Sucky Day

I opened the door of my apartment to find the best weather ever..blue skies..sunny..and a nice cool breeze. I happily walked to the station.boarded the train and reached my office..well before time. Thats when the dark clouds started to loom over my head. My client reported 8 bugs in a single day in a span of a few minutes!!! It was mayhem!..As soon as I logged a bug on our bug-server, there it was.. another one. Well I have to say..it was kinda expected..they have an enormous test suite. Its soo huge..they cant run them on a single machine. The scripts fire a test randomly over a series of machines. Anyways I have to freeze the code by Monday..a near-impossible task. Lets see what happens. And if things weren't going for me at work..I had more bad news on the enjoyment front. I was planning to go to Osaka over this weekend. Its a long weekend..we have monday off! But that aint gonna happen cuz there are no tickets available! Damn..I soo wanted to go to Osaka and meet up Viral and Shruti. We had planned to go to Universal Studios and visit Kyoto or Kobe or any other place :C .. a really bad day!...I hope things get lively during dinner.

I had gone to Odaiba last to last weekend. Odaiba is an artificial Island near to Tokyo. Anyways there was this really cool demo of this robot which can play musical instruments. The toyota guys have made it. We went to this Toyota Design Studio in Odaiba and saw this absolutely fantastic piece of technology. Its hands can model the subtleties of an actual human and hence can play music. Pretty cool eh? I hope they make one which can play the guitar.

Happy Anniversary

It was Syam's anniversary today. Even he dint knew it. There was a mail from the office wishing him a happy anniversary. Anyways on the way home I was in a mood to give a surprise. I got a cake for him and a pack of cigarettes!! I was doubtful whether he would eat the cake but I was sure of the cigarettes! Anyways he was happy..the poor guy is all the way in Japan and his wife and kid are back in India. Not that he's not enjoying my company or anything. I mean cmon..all ppl who love to drink love my company..and he's not an exception. Anyways we cut the cake..called the guys from downstairs and had a li'l daaru party. It was cool..I took some pix and I guess that was it. Nuthing much left to do other than sleep..so here I am finishing up my blog..and going to sleep..zzzz.

Death Magnetic

There are only a few days left before the release of the album..but the songs are already available on the internet. I just cudnt resist listening to all the songs. And damn ..they are awesome!!! I just love their sound on this album!! It blew me away just like they did the first time I heard them. The album opens with a very "dark" slow intro and simply takes off after that. The first song is titled "That was just your life"..and whew!..what a f*cking amazing song! The intro builds up slowly setting the mood and it suddenly rips everything apart! One of the best track openers I must say! The next song is called "The end of the line". It was temporarily called "The new song" during their live shows. It sounds much cooler and very different from what they performed live (for the better). Awesome track..one of the best tracks off the album. The riffs just keep ringing at the back of my head!! Its the perfect 2nd song of an album. The first one just has to be good..but the second one has to take it up a notch! This song does exactly that. "Broken, Beat and Scarred" .. I feel it has the most catchiest riffs ever! and its like a continuation of the previous track. Next up is "The day that never comes". It takes things a bit slower. I have to say its one of those ultra-cool ballads like Fade to Black. I love the lyrics on this one. The video does justice to the song! I totally get the video. "All Nightmare Long" is the best track on the album as per me! Its really heavy and really faast!! Brilliant is all I can say. The next song is "Cyanide". I had heard Cyanide loads of time. Its a really cool track..well I am getting repetitive saying that! but I cannot help it..I just loved every song on this album..and as it turned out..I have ended up citing every song to be "amazing". So I dont really think I should blabber on about every song on this album. All in all a must-have! I just cant wait for the release..I just HAVE to buy it! In short if you guys have money to spare..stop spending it on your girlfriends/boyfriends...get this album! I wish I had 10 thumbs so that I could give it like a 10 thumbs up!! \mm/

The day that never comes

The new music video of Metallica from their album Death Magnetic.

Haleem

Ok..so..as I mentioned a few blogs ago that I am currently involved in loads of homely activities..and cooking is my favourite among all of them. My roomie Syam is a really cool cook..and he made "chhole" on sunday. However, we forgot to put it in the fridge yesterday and after coming back from Odaiba..we simply fell onto to our beds and went straight to sleep. Syam reminded me to put the thing in the fridge when I go to the office as he was getting late. And being the kind of person I am...I forgot! When I came back I saw the thing all spoiled and fungy!/mouldy With a heavy heart I had to throw the entire thing out. However, I was feeling soo guilty about the entire thing..I wanted to make up for my carelessness. So I started making egg curry (the only thing I know). Midway through the thing...just when I had put the onions on the grill..Syam came back with chicken. As if we had a grudge against the chicken...we decided to eat the egg and the chicken (and thus killing both the mother and the baby - philosophically speaking. Yeah we were high on a few beers). Anyways I kinda put some extra water in the entire thing, since I was afraid the chicken wont cook...and viola the result was Haleem! (thats what when my other friend Anwarul called it when he saw it). Anyways it was fantastic...and it was not just me who felt this way (for a change). Syam was happy the chhole went bad! The best part of the entire thing is that...we have got some leftover for tomorrow..yaay!

Weekend

I had the demo on friday..it was pretty cool. I had a nice time presenting it. Anyways we had a small daaru party at my apartment. There was Red label and a really cool beer by the name of Kirin. I had a nice time..we slept at about 2 in the morning. I got up at 11:00 am!! The day was spent making some calls and washing my clothes. I talked to Shruti..who's currently in Kobe. It was fun to catch up. I went to Yodobashi to buy a camera for myself. I bought a Canon Ixy Digital 25IS. Its a nice 10 megapixel camera..quite popular here. Anyways tomorrow I would be going to an artificial island in Odaiba. Its a 30 minute train ride from Kawasaki. I would put my new camera to test and take some pix. Anyways gatta stop now..almost time for dinner.

Demo

Well..the time has finally come. I have to give a demo of my product in front of the entire NEC Research Labs tomorow evening at 6pm. I wonder what the hell came over these guys to schedule the presentation at such an odd time. I hate staying late on Friday nights!! Anyways I finished up the presentation and the live demo preparations. I hope things go well tomorrow. All the best to me!!

Kawasaki

I live in Kawasaki..its a lively li'l place just outside Tokyo..and its famous for its nightlife (also for its "red light areas"). Anyways its really cool...really lively..loads of lights and sounds. Anyways I joined office yesterday..set up everything..had a meeting with my Japanese managers and stuff. Tomorrow's gonna be like the first day when I start my work. There's a welcome party for me next friday..so..looking forward to that too. Hmm..what else..I am doing loads of house-work these days..which I am not used to. I get up early..cook myself a breakfast..and stuff. Thankfully I got a really cool room mate. His name is Syam (pronounced as Shyam). He loves to cook and I love to eat..what more can I ask for!! Anyways I went to this amusement park called Yomiuri Land. Its really cool..it had one of those standing roller coasters which does a full loop....that was awesome!! It also had this another huge one which reached speeds upto 90 km/hr!!! and the best drop I had ever seen...awesome stuff. Its only during the weekends that I can have fun. Most of the weekdays would be spent at the office. Anyways I do booze at home to keep things nice and light-headed! :D . The internet speeds are awesome..so I have got loads of stuff to download. Hmm..got nuthing else to write...guess I'll drop off to sleep..my turn to make the breakfast.

Tokyo

I touched down Tokyo today morning at about 7:00 in the morning. I am living at an apartment in Kawasaki with a room-mate who is a Malayalee..loves to booze...and is a fan of metallica!!! Phew!..talk about coincidences!!! Anyways updates coming soon. I gatta get some sleep!!!

Get Set .. Go!

Am leaving tomorrow for Japan..my first trip outside India. I would be there for about 3 months. Although I am really excited..but am nervous as hell at the same time!! I really dont know what to expect. I also have to present a demo of my project to some very senior ppl at NEC. All of them are f*ckin PhDs. I really pray to god that I dont screw up. Anyways..cant write in much..I am too tired after packing. I guess the next post would be in Tokyo. Sayonara...and all the best to me!

Shopping mis-adventure.

I am leaving for Tokyo next Friday i.e. on the 22nd. I am really excited for it. However, one thing am not too excited about it is the preparation. I hate shopping!..even if its for myself...I detest it if I have to do it for someone else. I just dont have the patience for it. Anyways I went to the nearby mall with mom and dad...cuz they were pretty sure I would mess it up (which even I myself believe). There was a huge sale going .. and the place was jam packed. I quickly selected a pair of jeans, some T-shirts and formal shirts, a belt, a bag and the works. The entire ordeal took close to 3 hours. When it was finally over, we rambled on for the exit. Thats when the buzzers went off. I was like what the hell! The security guards took our stuff and started checking it. We showed them the bill..but they were cool..they knew the guy who packed all the stuff, forgot to remove the tags. And thus began a series of activities which involved opening each bag..checking each item for the tag..removing it and re-checking it with the sensors. That was when me and dad totally lost it and asked why the hell did it happen in the first place. I got a reply saying that they had hired loads of new guys since they expect a huge turnout for the sale..and since they were new..they forgot to get the thing out. Anyways after spending around half an hour at the exit gate..the guys finally finished all the checking. After we came out of the mall, we realized we had parked the car all the way to the other side of the building. I sighed as dad got the car around and we all jumped in. Phew!..what a day!..I was tired as hell and the humidity dint help either..hmm..on second thoughts..it did help a little..we stopped for some beer at the local shop and had a nice time drinking the entire afternoon away. Hmm..anyways I am so glad all the shopping is over. I also have one more big boring job on my list. I gotta transfer loads of stuff from my Desktop to my Laptop. But I guess that could wait for tomorrow. I can handle only one boring job at a time.

Independence Day

Well..today's independence day! However, it has changed a lot over the years.I would always remember it as a day when the sky was full of kites. It used to be magnificient! And leading up to the D-day was soo exciting. All the kids and many of the grown ups too..hogging their terraces..practising their skills for the big day. Kids running around collecting kites which were defeated in epic battles. I never could fly the kite..no matter how hard I tried. I remember my friends Harman and Rohit pitying on me and "allowing" me to hold the strings :D . But it was fun..especially the battle cries when one used to win. I just loved it when the kite was at the farthest position possible..when there was no more twine left on the spool. Harman was amazing at that. Sadly, I just saw like 3 kites flying today. Its really sad..where the hell are the kids?..there's no excitement at all. Its just another "holiday". Its just a day when they show patriotic movies on the TV all day long..the shops are closed and there's traffic jams everywhere. Times have changed a lot and for the worse. Damn.. I miss my childhood...and I kinda sympathize with the kids of today..they are missing on all that fun.

OpenSuse11.0

Linux has definitely come a long long way. I remember myself struggling to install a Red Hat Linux Distro waay back in my 10th standard in school. I always messed it up somehow..and many times I ended up blowing up my windows partition and loosing all my data. At one time I was scared to look at a Linux distro. It was hell to get the X running..searching for details like the Display Card manufacturer, the resolution my monitor supported and stuff. But gone are those days..its time for the new Linux..a very slick..and a user friendly Linux. I had FC 9 just before installing Open Suse 11.0. I got it along with the Linux For You magazine and the when I looked at the chameleon on the cover page..I just HAD to install it (even though I had installed FC9 just a few weeks back). Anyways..the installation is simple and fast. Newbies who are scared of partitioning their systems need not worry..all they need to do is have some free space on their hard drives..the installation would automatically detect it and ask your permission to use it (like all the other distros that you get these days). Anyways the installation is pretty fast..and you get started right away. There is no need for any driver CD. This is why all the Linux distros are simply really cool to work with. Once the installation is complete..everything is set. You just log in and thats it..you have the internet..the sound..the office suite..its all set to go. Anyways you have the option of a new version of KDE..the 4.0. However, I did face some difficulties while in that environment. I had to switch back to GNOME and its flawless..my desktop effects are working nicely and I shamelessly played on it like a li'l kid..and showed it to mom. She however asked me to grow up!! Its really tough to find like-minded ppl for me. Anyways I just had to enable the wireless connection to get my WLAN working. I havent checked out the package manager..as yet..guess I'll go play with it now.

I-Rock

Good friends..good music and plenty of chicks to look around..what more can one ask for. It was exactly all of the above for me yesterday. Me, Sam, Adya and Jain went for the I-rock Delhi finals at Hamsadhwani. Its my favourite venue. I have been going there since I was in school..and I never miss a chance to catch a gig there. The atmosphere is simply awesome. Anyways so, we reached the venue pretty early. We were all comfy on the concrete seats ..waiting for the action to begin..when this Airtel guy comes up trying very hard to get the crowd going. He screams in his mic "Who are the real fans of rock here"....3 hands promptly went up ( :D ). So he goes to one of them..I guess his name was Ankit or something. So he goes up and asks him to sing a song!!!. I couldn't actually believe he would actually ask that!!! Anyways the guy who is wearing this Evanescence T-Shirt starts shaking really badly (I dont blame him tho..everyone gets nervous). So mustering all the courage he grabs the mic and in the gayest voice ever..sings.." I am gooiiiinnnng under" .. damn I couldn't help laughing my ass off!!!. Ok..I cant really make much fun of him..cuz it takes guts to stand in front of a crowd and sing!..especially "Going Under"... and I admit I dont have the balls to do that..but it never stopped me from making fun of others...so haha. Back to the topic..some more guys are asked to sing and one more noob..sings "I want it that way" by the Backstreet Boys!!!!!! But I think it was intentional...that was fun!! Anyways the show began with

Rampazze
I couldnt get the name at first..but then I got it..its "Rampage". They are a really cool band!!..its just that they were the first ones to perform..and no one was warmed up. I found them to be excellent. They play Classic Rock. They are heavily influenced by AC/DC, Kiss , Aerosmith and the likes. I just loved them..they started with a really catchy song Son of a gun. Their setlist was an all OC one..and I had a really nice time listening to them.

AVR
AVR (short for Another Vertigo Rush) has a very unique sound. Its sounds like Metal..but they have loads of things going on. I was amazed with the sounds they produced with their guitars. The songs were nice and powerful. I could use a heavier vocal..but they did gel up very well. I liked them mostly cuz of their unique sound. Some of their comps are awesome..like Anger Management...I just love the drums on that one.

Frequency
I dint like them much when I saw them at Launchpad..and it was the same yesterday too. Its not that they dont play that well and stuff..ppl go crazy when they listen to them. Its just that its not my kind of music. Plus I hate them even more cuz they really butchered "Highway to Hell". Thats like one of my favourite song..and they messed it up real bad.

Tearcube
They are a metalcore band. 2 years back I would have dismissed the genre and any band which were a part of that genre. But then....I met Bhayanak Maut..who literally spun my head around. Thy are just awesome..anyways its not about them ..so I'd better move on. I had heard Tearcube on TV during the Launchpad prelimnaries. They are fun to listen to..heavy as hell. But I think the sound system yesterday didn't help them much. I wished the speakers were a lot cooler...they would have rocked much harder then. Anyways they were nice enough to make me head bang the entire time they were on stage.

Superfuzz
Superfuzz were up next. They were the headlining acts..and were as usual..right on the money. They were awesome..they played some of their new stuff which is absolutely great. They also had a new guitarist..I dunno if he's a permanent member or not..he's from Joint Family. anyways an extra guitar did make them louder..and allowed Sanchal to perform his solos better in a sense. Anyways they played their hits Four Times and Once After, Queen of my Heart, What I really think, School and an awesome cover of Communication Breakdown by Led Zepp. They really got the crowd grooving. I enjoyed the most..right then!

After superfuzz..it was time for the results. First up was "God of the Strings". It was decided by an SMS poll and was awarded to AVR's guitarist. I wanted the Rampazze guys to win..I felt they were much better..guitar wise. Anyways the best band also went to AVR..cuz of their unique sound and how well they use it and stuff. I couldn't agree more..but deep down I really wanted Rampazze to win...maybe cuz its the old school..and its the old school my friends..where all the action began in the first place!

Fun Food

I am a great fan of food. People who know me and who have seen me eat would fully agree that I can never skip a meal..hell..even thinking about it makes me hungry. Anyways, last Friday, while coming back from the office, we stopped to have "corn on the cob". It was only the second time in my entire life that I had it. Although, taste-wise, its OK..but its the experience of eating it that I absolutely loved. I just loved the dig-bite-pull-chew mechansim. There's something animalistic about it which is soo much fun. Its simple fun..to just dig in to the cob..get a big bite of the corn and pull it off. Once I start; I just cannot stop digging at it again and again..even for a second. It was weird..I dont usually eat corn..esp the one they serve in the cups and all. But I just couldn't help not eating the entire thing in record time. I dint even open my mouth to talk during the entire time!! Other such fun foods for me are Pizza and Nachos. I get bored of the taste after having my third slice of a pizza..but its the fun factor, which I can't get enough of. I love it when the thin strands of cheese just refuse to leave the pizza while taking a bite..well I guess any food which successfully make a mess on the face, plate or the table is a fun food for me.

TGI Friday!

Phew! after a heavy week..its friday..the official day to booze the night away. Me and Partha promised to ourselves that we'd spend the evening away in alcohol (and cigarettes). It was a pretty useless day at the office..the first half I was in a meeting with my project manager and in the second half we had a demo about Coverity - a static tool checker. After the meeting it was almost 5 and almost time to leave. I just had time to write a mail to my clients and fix a teeny bug. Although we missed the usual company of jain, amaresh and subhash but I did enjoy bitching about everyone in the office with Partha :D . Anyways am back..am not that sleepy so was loitering about on the internet with Pantera blaring away on the speakers. Tomorrow would not be wasted and would be spent with my precious Xbox 360. I would be travelling to Tokyo on the 20th of this month and I was thinking to do some shopping. But its better to wait a little and be perfectly sure that the plan is on. Hmm..got nuthing else going on..guess I would sleep now.

The Dark Knight

Wow!..never have I been soo engrossed for 2.5 hours in a movie! I wanted to see The Dark Knight, ever since I saw Batman Begins. The end scene in Batman Begins, when Lieutenant Gordon shows a "Joker" card to Batman, got me all excited to look forward for the second part of my favourite superhero! Anyways, so..me and Rajesh were headed to Wave cinemas yesterday for the 7:50 show. I had already booked the tickets online..so all we had to do was collect them from the Concierge desk. While waiting in the small line..a guy asks me "When is the show for the Dark Knight". I told him the time. He goes on to say the stupidest thing I had ever heard in my life.....ever...and I have heard many ppl say the most idiotic things. He goes like.. "Its surprising that "The Dark Knight" got 4 stars and "Money hai toh Honey hai" got only 1". I had to stop myself from laughing out real hard and had to content myself with a silent chuckle and that too inside my head. Anyways..once inside the theater, it was nice and comfortable and the show began right on time. Its a rollercoaster ride throughout..excellent story..great chase sequences and there are soo many edgy moments in the movie that truly provides a nail biting experience. The Joker is awesome! He is soo different from the old movie "Batman". This joker is a complete psycho..and a terrifying villain who kills for the heck of it! Its awesome! Its modelled on the lines of the "The Killing Joke"..the famous comic which show the origins of the Joker. Heath Ledger totally owns the character. However I would have liked if they showed how the Joker became the Joker. They do give subtle hints though. The cinematography is excellent. The way batman glides over the sky scrapers gets your adrenaline going! The chase sequences are excellent..hell..they flipped a full truck!!..what more can you ask for!!! The movie had me thinking about it all night long..the last movie which had such a cool impact on me was 300...another Frank Miller classic. Well, I really can't wait for the next part. It would be very difficult to top this one!

Lokesh Bakshi leaves Prestorika

Damn..two bad news in one day..the first one..my favourite guitarist Lokesh Bakshi is leaving Prestorika. I still can't believe this is happening. They are soo good together. The reason as to why he is leaving the band is the second bad news. Apparently, Prestorika are changing their sound!! from kick ass Heavy Metal to lame "Nu Metal/New Age" sh*t. Damn..but there is a silver lining..Lokesh has promised his fans to be back with a new band and a kickass sound..metal ofcourse! Lets just keep our fingers crossed..I'd rather keep my fingers like this - \m/ .

Charlie Chaplin

The funniest video in the world..by the legend himself..i cant help laughing the entire length of the clip..awesome!

Maiden Heaven - Its here!

Ohh man!!..am listening to Maiden Heaven right now and its sooo damn awesome!!..I am into the second track "Remember Tomorrow" by Metallica and phew!..what a kick ass track! I cant say much right now cuz I am just onto the second song. I will update something after I finish hearing them all.

Update:
Hmm..after listening to the entire album..I got mixed reactions. In this compilation I really feel that some bands which were featured just can't cover iron maiden. At the end of it, its an OK album..you might even like it if you dont take iron maiden seriously. Anyways, so now I proceed to dissect the album.

1. Prowler: Black Tide
Prowler is the first song of the album. Black Tide did a fairly good job covering it. Most of the track sounds like the original. But they did change the solo and made the guitars and drums more heavier. Its a nice track to start off.

2. Remember Tomorrow: Metallica
This track really takes the album to the next level. Its this track which raises the expectations of the listener. My best track of the album. The vocals are strong..drums are tight..the guitars are heavy and the solo is nice too!

3. Flash of the blade: Avenged Sevenfold
I like this track..but the chorus really turns me off..the vocals are "sissy". I dont know...it doesn't sound like metal at all during the chorus. Apart from that..the track is cool..but I would give Iron Maiden the credit for it..Avenged Sevenfold dint have the power to cover this song. But thats me..thats my opinion.

4. 2 minutes to midnight: Glamour of the kill
Again, the vocals dint cut for me. It just goes to prove how good a singer Bruce Dickinson is. The vocals are not powerful at all. The track doesnt sound like heavy metal at all!

5. The Trooper: Coheed and Cambria
The trooper is like one of the best songs of Iron Maiden. It takes gut to cover a classic like The Trooper and Coheed and Cambria totally lost it vocally. It lacks the power! The guitars and drums although dont sound bad. However, this track again dissapoints.

6. Wasted Years: Devildriver
This is when things get metalcore/hardcore. The one thing which really goes wrong with the songs in this compilation are the vocals. The drums and the guitars are cool in every track but the vocals gets messed up..in this track too. Going metalcore for a maiden song kills it. However the overall track does sound nice..if you can ignore the vocals for a bit. The vocals kinda ruins the overall melody of the track. By this time you find new respect for Bruce Dickinson and truly realize what an amazing singer he is!

7. Run to the Hills: Sign
They totally changed the song...for the worse. It sounds like a f*ckin nu metal/alternate sh*t like Linkin Park or something. The worst song on this album for me. They really killed a classic.

8. To tame a land: Dream Theater
They did a fairly good job covering it. However, I expected more from Dream Theater. The track more or less sounds the same. I wished they had done it the "Dream Theater" way. But saying that...the track does sound amazing...the second best song for me!

9. Madina Lake: Caught somewhere in time
For god sake ...stop turning Iron Maiden songs to shit! This track sux totally. The vocals suck..and the riffs sound like nothing like Heavy metal. The original is like 7 minutes long and this one is a 4 minute long track. It dint even have a solo. Imagine a maiden song minus a solo!!! Its exactly how not to cover a maiden song.

10. Gallows: Wrathchild
Hardcore/Metalcore enthusiasts just might enjoy this song. I dint enjoy it much. The vocals turn me off. I strongly feel going metalcore kills the melody of an iron maiden song! Although that said, Cradle of Filth cover (even if they aren't metalcore) totally pulled off Hallowed be thy name. I hate such vocals but somehow..that cover rocks!

11. Fightstar: Fear of the dark
Hmm..fear of the dark starts in a really kickass manner. But the singer cant pull it off. He cant get the high notes at all. He sings at a different scale altogether. The chorus again doesn't sound like metal..however.. the guitars rock in this track. They are the saviour of this track. Its nice and heavy.

12. Machine Head: Hallowed be thy name
Hallowed be thy name is my favourite Iron Maiden track. I love it when bands cover it. I loved the Cradle of Filth cover..even if the vocals are very different from the original. I thought they pulled it off totally. Even Iced Earth did a good job in the "Tribute to the gods" album. Machine Head also does a good job. They chose it safe and played the song as it is on the original.

13. Iron Maiden: Trivium
The song rocks..and the cover rocks too. Although the growls do sound weird in the song..but overall it maintains the power of the original..I esp liked the drums on this track and the overall pace of the song. My third favourite in the album.

14. Running Free: Year Long Disaster
The vocals sound like Marilyn Manson. But it sounds good. Got nuthing more to say for this other than that.

15. Brave New World: Ghostlines
They turned the track upside down. They made it acoustic and changed the melody on the vocals. The guitar plays the original melody in the background. Its a slow track..nice to listen and all.. but I have to say..does not sound like a heavy metal cover. I wished they did it heavy and faster than the original.

All in all its an "ok" album. You wont be dissapointed with it but once you start comparing it with the original songs, you would find they dont come even close to the sheer power of Iron Maiden. Its after you listen to all the songs..you realize the greatness that is Iron Maiden \m/.

Maiden Heaven

Kerrang! is producing a new Iron Maiden Tribute album titled "Maiden Heaven". The title includes all the biggest names in metal each covering a track by Iron Maiden. The big names include Metallica, Machine Head, Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium and many others!! Its gonna be out only with the magazine :( . That kinda sucks..where the hell am I gonna get a copy. Anyways its gonna be awesome! Metallica's covering "Remember Tomorrow". I wanted see them cover Hallowed be thy name or Fear of the Dark. DT is covering "To Tame a Land" and Trivium is covering "Iron Maiden". Anyways I hope the album lives up to its name. Read more about it here.

Saturday Night's Alright!

Saturday is the best day of the week. Friday evenings are the best evenings of the week and Sunday is the day when I sulk my heart out. I hate mondays! Anyways my day started with me getting up at 5:45 and meeting up with Harman after a long time for a game of basketball. We went to the Noida stadium along with his li'l brother Vinny and his friend Arpit. We had a nice 2-on-2 going on..but we never managed to complete a single game! Harman got tired half-way through the game. And as usual he had his reason..this time anti-biotics! Usually its his "dislocated" fingers. Anyways we played till like 8 am and headed back. Once back, I had a much needed breakfast and spent the morning practising my guitar skills. I also finished the Attila the Hun campaign on Age of Empires. Its an old game I know, but it still fascinates me !! The sheer pleasure of building an empire and reducing your enemies to rubble (literally) certainly gets me going! The afternoon was spent on a small 2-peg vodka session with dad and mom. It was nicely done. The weather was a bit cool today, which was the reason/excuse for celebration. The evenings would be spent on the guitar and the 360. I had to replay Highway 17 (Half Life 2) since I was stuck with a bug! Lets see if replaying solves the problem.
Anyways I guess thats it then..let the games begin!