I can has cheeseburger!!!!!!

My new favorite website!!!!!

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Here's a sample pic

In anticipation of the weekend...

For the internet junkies...

And the award for the happiest band goes to...

As you've probably guessed by now, I love concerts. There's something about a band or DJ hanging it all out there for the audience. By baring their souls to the listener, the band gives the concert goer the rare opportunity to share a deeply personal connection, a 'moment' so to speak, with them, inspite of being surrounded by a sea of humanity. Concerts also allow bands to present a version of the song not constrained by radio edit requirements, so in effect listening to songs you know and love in a concert is like being reacquainted with a long lost friend who has changed just a little - sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

I've been to quite a few memorable concerts this year, which got me thinking - which ones did I enjoy the most and why? If I love all these bands shouldn't enjoy their concerts equally? So here's my list of great live bands that I have seen, and why you should see should the opportunity ever present itself.

The most intense concert - Soulfly. Hands down, no questions asked. They played a one hour set with no breaks at all. The audience was in a frenzy by the end of the hour. Moosh is not a heavy metal fan, yet she rates the Soulfly concert to be the best one she's ever been to.

The loudest concert - Slayer. I have never seen that many Marshall amps stacked together in my whole life. They music hit so hard, it physically drained you by the time the 90 minute set was over. Add to the fact that Slayer is just a great live band, and you have all the ingredients to be overwhelmed.

The most gifted band - Dream Theater. Dream Theater are musicians beyond compare. Every time I see them, I am simply blown away by their technical ability. Most technical bands aren't usually great concert bands, but Dream Theater takes technical ability to a whole new level and reels in the audience because of their sheer skill.

The happiest band - Tesla. This is an odd category. I've been listening to Tesla for a long time but only recently got a chance to see them live on their reunion tour. Tesla has to be the happiest band on the planet - genuine smiles and warmth just radiated out of these guys. Imagine going to a concert and coming back feeling elated!

Low car + 25mph + freak bump on the road = Ouch!

I hurt my downpipe really badly last Sunday. I drove over a freakishly high bump and the car took off with a gusto that would have bought me instant cred with the rally boys. Unfortunately, the dampers on my lowered car aren't valved for jumps and promptly bottomed the front of the car out on landing. The result is a damaged downpipe that'll cost $500 to replace. Put the car on a lift to check for any other damage. Finally decided to leave the downpipe as is - given the state of roads on the east coast the chances of the new one getting damaged too are pretty high.



A pic of the hooptie:

Some concert pictures

I took a couple of pictures with my camera at the Queensryche and Tesla concerts. Nothing much to really write home about, but thought I'd post them all the same.

Queensryche flag:



Shots from the Tesla gig:

If business meetings were like the internet

I found these courtesy Jerry on TPC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzgEi_u9-88

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1776175/

If you don't understand what's going on, you don't waste enough time at work surfing the intarwebz!!!

One of the funniest emails I've ever read

I got this email yesterday from Sunil, and its definitely one of the funniest emails I've read in recent years. It's really long but I'm sure you'll enjoy it:

*****************

I apologize to people whom I have not written in a while....but then again if we have not communicated it is as much your fault as mine, right? ;)

Anywayz, to get to the point:

- I just passed my orals on Monday as some of you may be aware....YES I ACTUALLY PASSED!!

- I have only one more exam that I am trying to schedule before I head back to India for my dissertation research.

- That means I have just a little over a month left in America.

That also means that I only have a month left to convince all of you that India is the greatest country in the world and Madras (currently known as Chennai) is the greatest city in the world (sorry Baltimore). And I decided that there is no better way to convince you of the same than to expose you to Tamil pop culture. Therefore, I have decided to screen "SIVAJI-THE BOSS" starring SUPERSTAR RAJNI on Thursday September 20th, 2007. I currently have only one screening planned for about 730pm but could potentially do a later show starting at 830 if required. But then again the movie itself is like 3 hours long and so I believe there is enough of SIVAJI to go around.

Facts about SIVAJI-THE BOSS:

- SIVAJI-THE BOSS is incidentally the most expensive Indian movie ever made.

- SUPERSTAR RAJNI is the most highest paid Indian film star ever. You may know him from famous youtube clips such as "little superstar". He is not the little guy but the guy lying on the bed and smoking the butt.

- It was the first Tamil movie to make the UK Top 10.

- Tickets for this movie were sold for as much as USD 25 in Maryland (somewhere near Gaithersburg) and people travelled from as far as West VA to watch it. This is just based on anecdotal evidence. I do understand that it is weak but it has its merits as well.

- It is still running to full houses in Chennai.

Movie Protocol: As I am planning on mimicking the Indian scenario as closely as possible, the following will take place:

- No A/C. I may make it extra hot if it is really pleasant but definitely no A/C.

- If you think you can avoid wearing deodorant, I would greatly appreciate (I am also going to try to arrange a sweaty and smelly guy to walk around and say "SAAR!").

- If you are not Indian, try and look it. If you are, don't try to look like you are not.

- No smoking unless beedis. If you do not know what a "beedi" is, you need to WIKI it and then buy it. And if you do not know what WIKI is, GOD HELP YOU!

- Guys if there are any in the list...you are welcome to wear lungis. I will not be wearing one, but you can for sure.

- Ladies - sarees are much appreciated.

Food and Beverages:

- We will have some food items! Chicken Kurma, Prawn Masala, Lime Rice, Potatoes, and Thayyir sadam and urga for sure! I am cooking and so if you do not trust me bring in your own food (and even if you trust me, you can still bring your own food..I never complain when it comes to food). If you have no idea what Thayyir ssadam and urga is, ask someone who is Tamil. You are going to watch a Tamil movie, you know.

- There will be some wine, vodka, beer and rum. How much I do not know. But feel free to bring your preferential drink if you have one. I know some Indians such as Srinivas might prefer malt! I personally believe that countries such as South Africa and the IRAQ have maps.....

That is I guess pretty much it exact for some hard but solid truth facts!
(1) There are no subtitles. People who speak Tamil on the list have a special offer - food of their choice except for Maggi noodles (Capsicum). Masala is definitely an option. Caitlin, a caucasian on this mailing list, watched it in Madras without subtitles by herself and she was not even drunk but knew exactly what happened. So have no fear!
(2) The movie will be aired via youtube via apple TV to your optic nerves...biological plausibility!!!!

The theatre is really not that big. So please let me know if you are planning on coming and if you plan on bringing something. I may have to spread out some mats on the floor and serve food on banana leaves.


I think that is pretty much it.

Take care and I guess I will see you or at least I hope to hear back?


Sunil

Pyaare's wedding

Another one bites the dust. Pyaare finally called it quits and is now married. I suxors at public speaking, but ended up giving a joint speech with Jaan-e-man at Pyaare's wedding. Here it is one more time:

"This speech was Jaan-e-man’s idea – those of you who know her have probably guessed that she had the idea and then delegated the writing to someone who is “so dumb” (her words not mine). In this case me.

A wise man once told me that a wedding speech should last as long as the groom makes love. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.

To make the process of writing this speech easier, I decided to search the intarwebz - as we all know that is the source of all knowledge and truth. I searched and searched and found some really great stuff after a couple of hours. Then I realized that I was supposed to be searching for wedding speeches and not porn.

My internet searches did yield a poem that I thought would be appropriate for this occasion. Kruti its for you and its called “The Perfect Groom”:

The perfect groom is gentle, never harsh, nor cruel nor mean.
He has a beautiful smile and keeps his face clean.

The perfect groom likes children and will raise them by your side.
He will be a good father and a good husband to his bride.

The perfect groom likes cooking and cleaning and laundry too.
He’ll do anything in his power to show is love for you.

The perfect groom is sweet, writing poetry from your name.
He’s your best friend and kisses away the pain.

The perfect groom will never make you cry or hurt in any way.
And if this poem stands to be true, Vipin you really are gay.

That’s it from us – Here’s wishing the bride and groom lots of happiness and laughter in the years to come!!!"

Golf is for f******!

I really can't stand golf. Its even more boring than cricket! What irritates me the most about golf is the irritating desire golfers have to talk about golf, their handicap, where they've played, when they played last, and when and where they will play next. You like golf, good for you! Don't waste my time with your drivel about it!

And for people who like pics, this one is worth a thousand words:

More on Miss Teen South Carolina...

Following up on my August 26 post about how stupid Miss Teen South Carolina is, I came across the transcript of what she said:



I also found this hilarious attempt to navigate her logic:



This girl has a great future in the adult film industry. Hopefully she doesn't have a gag reflex!

An interesting debate between an Israelite and two Mormons

Given the recent renewed interest in Mormons on account of Big Love on HBO, Mitt Romney etc., I thought I would post this video. An interesting debate!

http://thecomforter.info/main/index.php?option=com_xevgfx&Itemid=83&func=detail&id=2

Matisyahu

I guess I found him a bit late, but this Hasidic reggae singer blew me away. Here's Matisyahu at Stubbs (Austin, TX):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EBiei21-C8

Here's an interview with him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPcu810X0uU

My grill is bigger than yours!

We bought a new grill this year. A monstrous contraption from Weber that will cook just about everything you can throw at it. I love it. We've cooked steaks, burgers, sausages, fish, vegetables, corn-on-the-cobbs, and they've all turned out great. Best part is that this is a gas grill, so we never have to worry about changing propane cylinders. As to why we bought something this big, well I'm clearly compensating for something aren't I?

I give you the Weber S-650 aka the Big Kahuna:

The state of education today...Miss Teen USA 2007 represent

These girls are seriously stupid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMU192Kp02o

From NYC Hardcore to the Indigo Girls

I've been listening to a lot of NYC hardcore ever since Scott sent me some VOD songs after our trip to SoCal - mostly Biohazard, Cro-Mags, MOD + SOD, and VOD. So guess where I'm going this Sunday? Yup, to an Indigo Girls concert! They're one of Moosh's favorite bands and since I've been dragging her to all of my heavy metal concerts, its time for me to return the favor. I'm sure I'm going to hear about this from Scott for a long time, especially since I gave him such a hard time back in LA.

On a different note, Pyaare's wedding is just two weeks away. I took my first shot at writing the speech, but its already been shot down for being inappropriate for the audience. Now what do I do?

I miss my turbo

When we moved to northern VA, I had to re-register my car and came across a new type of vehicle emissions check that only checked for existence of an OEM ECU rather than the actual emissions from the vehicle. This is what happens when nut case ecomentalists try their hand at science - just because it says OEM on it doesn't mean its actually better than aftermarket. Infact aftermarket products are typically better than OEM as they aren't made with the cost constraints that OEM products are made with - people who buy aftermarket gear are prepared to pay to play. Needless to say VA inspections couldn't sync with my aftermarket Hondata engine management system that was needed for turbo charging my car. The final verdict? Bye bye turbo, hello high compression. Driving a high strung, naturally aspirated car is fun, but man do I miss the acceleration of a turbo charged car.

Power readings for my old set up:



Power readings for my current high compression set up:



I'm at half the power level from where I was before. Damn you VDOT!

Frugal vs. Cheap

I have been often accused of being a cheap bastard and being excessively money minded. This weekend, Kafi and Damon were over and they asked me whether I was cheap or frugal. My initial reaction was that I was probably cheap, but further thought leads me to believe that I'm probably a bit of both:

I hate spending money on things I don't value - frugal
When spending money on things I value, there is no spending limit - baller!
I will delay spending to get a good deal - cheap
I worry about money - cheap
I am fiscally conservative - frugal

Now ask yourself the question: Are you cheap or frugal or do you spend money like its going out of style?

Bob Saget, Louis C.K., and Carlos Mencia

Saw Bob Saget, Louis C.K., and Carlos Mencia and a bunch of other stand up comedians as part of Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus tour last night. Saget was the bomb! He did a guitar/song routine that had the crowd in splits. Louis C.K. was pretty good too, though he didn't have much material on his family which I think is his funniest stuff. Jim Norton was hilarious though this probably wasn't his crowd - his viciousness is not for everyone. Carlos headlined, but got off to a rocky start as the crowd heckled him for selling out (i.e., his Mind of Mencia show on Comedy Central). He became old school Carlos and really turned the heat on. At the end, he had the entire crowd with him. All in all, a great evening of laughs.

12 hours and counting with a kid in the crib...

I like kids as long as they are someone elses - I'm not saying that I'm kid unfriendly or anything like that, just that after a while I tire of them and need to pass them on to some other care giver. That's why the kid belonging to someone else is crucial to my interaction with the kid - if I don't have an exit strategy (i.e. someone I can palm the kid off to), I won't go near the kid. You see I have this theory about men and their kids. Its sort of like my theory on marriage: men with kids will tell men without kids to have one, and when the hitherto-kid-less-guy has the kid, the first dad points to the new dad and says - Gotcha! I'm not a conspiracy nut, but all the evidence I've seen seems to point to this hypothesis.

Moosh's cousin is visiting us this weekend. They have a really cute son. I've spent 12 hours under the same roof with a kid so far and still haven't lost my mind yet. Maybe its because I know the kid will leave at the end of the weekend. Definitive end dates really do wonders for your patience I guess...

Raining Blood

The definitive Raining Blood video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-DTrMG4vs

Slayer pwns joo!

A Summer of Concerts

I've been to quite a few shows this summer. It started off with seeing George Carlin and Russell Peters perform in DC. The musical experience so far has been:
1. Rush at the Nissan Pavillion, Bristow
2. Poison and Ratt also at the Nissan Pavillion, Bristow
3. Slayer and Marilyn Manson at Merriweather Post Pavillion, Columbia
4. Dream Theater at Pier 6 Pavillion, Baltimore

Upcoming shows:
1. Queensryche at the Ram's Head, Baltimore
2. Tesla also at the Ram's Head, Baltimore
3. Megadeth at the 930 Club, DC
I'm also seeing Opie & Anthony's Traveling Virus (Bob Saget, Louis CK, Carlos Mencia) this weekend.

So far, the Slayer gig was the most intense (are you surprised?) while the Dream Theater show was probably the best overall show (Dream Theater remains my #2 favorite live band after Soulfly). Now if only Rage Against The Machine did an east coast tour...

SoCal

Spent a delightful weekend with my family in SoCal - the weather there just blew me away after the unbearable heat and mugginess of the DC area. I'm seriously thinking of moving there if I can find someone to buy my albatross a.k.a my house. The one downside to SoCal is that people drive really slow - I guess they follow the speed limits unlike us East Coast dwellers.

Bapida was in LA too, so Moosh got to meet him for the first time. I hadn't seen him in 9 years too, so it was great catching up. Igor was in LA too checking out the old Queen Mary 1. Kids from 3 of the 4 Kushari siblings were present, which is a pretty thing given that we are sprawled all over the globe. Hopefully we can do this again soon!

Patagonia

It's been a while since I updated my blog, so here goes. We went to Patagonia (Argentina and Chile) over Christmas. I definitely recommend a trip there - breathtaking views, amazing food (definitely try the fuegian lamb), and great hiking. Natural beauty on the scale that you find in Patagonia is quite humbling - you realize how small and insignificant you are when you're standing next to the Torres del Paine or in front of the Moreno glacier. We also managed to come up close and personal with a variety of animals like right whales, orcas, penguins, and sea lions. If we can save up the money, we're thinking of returning to Ushuaia and doing Antarctica in a couple of years. Some pics, enjoy!

Cerro Torres


Fitzroy


Moreno Glacier


Upsala Glacier


Very tired feet after a 9 hour hike, the boots are Asolos - quite possiblly the best hiking boots in the world


Torres del Paine


Cuernos


The Strait of Magellan - ever since I read about the Strait as a kid, I wanted to go


Fin del Mundo, Ushuaia