I Fell!

My haircut was discussed in class yesterday. Axel thought it was gross, he was like, "Where do you go for your haircut ??". Angela thought it was nice.

Angela tells Axel, " Hey! Venkat got a haircut". This guy goes - No, he fell. Lol!!

Disappointed

Ubisoft has disappointed me - big time. After finishing Splinter Cell Essentials in 3 days, I started wondering about the possible reasons why this game's length was so short. First of all, most of the levels in this game were taken from previous Splinter Cell episodes. So it was more like replaying "Splinter Cell: Stealth Action Redefined", "Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow" and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory". Since the story line of Essentials involves Sam being framed for killing Lambert, there were new levels too in order to justify Lambert's murder.

But as I said before, I am complaining about the length of the game. Maybe the game was indeed short, or I have mastered the art of manoeuvring Sam with ease. Well, I don't know.

Now Playing - Need For Speed: Carbon

Fisher's Keeping Me Busy

And so it finally arrived!

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from my PSP, but when I got it and switched it on for the first time, I was spellbound! The graphics, the sound quality, the features - simply superb! Since the last few days, I check my email the moment I get up, but there's a slight difference. Instead of doing it on my laptop, I now do it on my PSP, and that too still lying in my bed! It is a MP3 player, picture viewer, video player, "Internet machine", and of course a portable viedo game console built into one. But you have to see it to believe what all it can do. I am amazed. Simply amazed!

:)

PS: Every word of Jimi's comment on my previous post is true. I made her go to the mall with me to get some games for my PSP. I did leave a few minutes (read 20) before I was scheduled to, and I was (and still am) definitely excited! Thanks for the company, Jpp :).

I succumbed to temptation.

I have always been an anti - Sony guy. I strongly feel that their products are super inferior, not really great, and overrated to the power of n. When it comes to audio equipment, I have always relied on Philips simply because of the amazing quality and crispness offered by its products. In case of video games, I never considered the PS2 as an option, and I bought the XBox instead. Portable gaming systems - same thing. I bought the GameBoy advance long time back. But..

The GBA is extinct now. I wanted to buy the NintendoDS, but the only thing that always stopped me was the variety of games offered by Nintendo. I have grown up now, and Mario and Zelda do not fascinate me anymore. I don't even look at games like Pokemon and Cars. Nintendo's catalogue is more suitable for children 10 and below. Of course, they have some good games like NFS and Splinter Cell, but unfortunately, the graphics are not that good (NFS Underground2 looks so silly on a GBA).

A secret - I have always been fascinated by the Sony PSP. I really like the super huge screen, and its ability to display amazing "console like" graphics takes my breath away. I recently got to know that you can access the Internet on it too. Plus its ability to play music and movies is a big big bonus. UMDs are expensive, but honestly, used ones are not. However, my policy of not buying anything Sony made me ignore it for so long.

I could not take it any longer, though. I kept on thinking about the PSP. I realized what a wonderful piece of machine it is, and how it can help me fulfill my dream of playing "realistic" viedo games 24 X 7. I finally said fuck it, and bought the PSP yesterday. Now I am desperately waiting for it to arrive.

Just so you know, I am still against other Sony equipment.

Prince of Persia

It's Over!

The spring semester is finally over! But not without causing a lot of pain. I feel that this was the toughest semester I have dealt with so far. All three courses I had taken were pretty damn tough, and I slogged day in day out to get rid of it. However, I knew that I had not done my finals too well, and was very very nervous.

The grades were due today at 1PM. I opened iCampus at around 12 and started refreshing the "my grades" section, thinking that they might have posted the grades much before the scheduled time. The thought of getting really bad grades kind of killed me. I was preparing myself to buy a one way ticket to India (lol!), only to finally find out at 1PM that I survived!!!

So many down, two more to go! Thank you God for helping me :).

French CanCan

I first saw the French CanCan when I was 8, and immediately fell in love with the tune to which all the women dance! If you remember, Doordarshan had a collaboration with Transtel (German TV) and every afternoon, they used to show a musical program, and in every episode, they used to show the French CanCan. After a few months, they stopped showing it, and I was disappointed because I used to enjoy it so much. I kept on thinking about the tune for years, and how much I used to enjoy it.

A few days ago I just thought of googling it, and guess what - I found an mp3 of that tune!

Fender...Guitar??

I have been spending some money on music. Went to a music store in downtown Normal yesterday and bought two CDs - "Stunt" by Barenaked Ladies and "The Silver Lining" by Soul Asylum. Even in this digital age where people download songs and entire albums to save physical space in their rooms, I prefer to buy CDs and collect them. More so because I "bought" a song from Yahoo! Music once, and for some reason unknown to me, it plays only on my computer, not even on my damn cool Philips "Windows Media Ready" MP3 player.

Well that is what this post is NOT about. Today I decided to listen to the Soul Asylum album on my discman, and I also decided to replace the headset that I got with it with the one that I got with my electric guitar. I was a little apprehensive because the reviews that I had read online about the "Fender" headset were not really good. Of course, it is meant to be used with the guitar, but still it has the same pin that any standard headset would have. Anyway, I plugged it into the jack of my CD player and started listening - and boy, was I impressed! Man, the audio quality is so damn good, so amazingly crisp. The bass that it offers is very very impressive. Also, you can seriously listen to all the instruments used on the song. And considering the fact that it was a part of an electric guitar package which was $200 ( the guitar, a 15 watt amp, extra strings, 3 picks, an electric tuner, tremelo bar, and this fantastic headset), it is a steal! I wonder how much it would cost if you go to get just the headset.

If you have any plans of getting headgear for your audio player, try Fender. Some AAA shit this is.

Year Zero

Heard the Nine Inch Nails's new album recently. Too good. It will give you the "The Downward Spiral" feeling as soon as you start listening to it. Just like TDS, this one has a lot of electronica too, but I felt that the last few songs in this album are kind of soft (maybe like TDS, whose grand finale was a nice rendition of Johnny Cash's Hurt).

Listen to Year Zero here.

Dr. Robert Ballard

Got a chance to meet Dr. Robert Ballard a few days ago. In case you are wondering who he is - he is the guy who discovered RMS Titanic's wreck. He is an oceanographer, and has discovered more than a 100 wrecks in his lifetime. He said that the Titanic has been his most interesting discovery, but not his biggest one. During the question answer session he said that he would want 51% of the questions to be non titanic based.Funny.

Read more about him here. Audiocast.

Today's class got over at 7 instead of the usual 9, and like always, Axel was ready to give me a ride back home. I was surprised when he asked where the closest pub was the moment we sat in his car. We ended up going to Foul Shots, a typical frat bar where kids watch football and basketball games and drink till their souls are satisfied. Apparently, while chatting we discovered that we both share a common interest, something that is very very dear to us.

Gaming.

It was kind of funny when Axel was trying to explain a concept and could not recall the exact word for it. He said to me,"there is a word for it", and I go,"respawn", and he says," you really play games"..lol!!

Barenaked Ladies

Watched a few Barenaked ladies videos on youtube today while working - felt that the band is grossly underrated. Their music is different, and all their songs give you a unique feeling - a kind of "this song's making me happy" feeling. I have always liked "call and answer", and the video looks like a mix of R.E.M.'s Everybody hurts and The Truman Show. Wind It Up is an amazing song, kind of mid 80's popish rock and rollish.

Check out some of the bathroom sessions they have on youtube.

Now that I have heard a couple of their songs, I want to watch them live. Apparently, they are performing in Cleveland, OH on 06/17/2007.

Radioman

Got a little spare time after many days, so decided to really experiment with my new electric guitar - a Fender Squire Strat. Surprisingly, I tried many things that I never wanted to try on an accoustic and realized that it's not really difficult - I just need time, a lot of patience, and a whole lot of practice to do crazy stuff.

Thanks Geoff for lending me your pedal.

Monster Monster Monster Monster Pawn..Pawn..Pawn..

Paid a visit to Monster Pawn a couple of days back (the one in Normal, not Bloomington), and found out that it is a small store full of priceless items. Found a couple of CDs that I could never find when I was in India.

If your eyes are dying on you, and you cannot read the titles of the CDs that I bought, then read on (do you have a screen magnifier installed on your computer?):

Stone Temple Pilots - Core

Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music..Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop

R.E.M. - What's The Frequency, Kenneth? Single

Presidents of the United States of America - Self titled album

Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe...Eddie!!

R.E.M. was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame on March 12 this year. As Stipe's grandma says - R.E.M. is about remembering every moment, and this is what I have been doing, and would continue to do. I have been listening to R.E.M. since I was 14. I have always been motivated by these guys, and don't exactly know how or why. But they deserved it, and they got it.

R.E.M. performed during the induction ceremony on March 12, and guess who joined them...Eddie Vedder!! Yes - and he was the one who inducted them, thanks to the "strange" power invested in him for a few minutes. Watching two of my childhood (and adulthood) heroes perform live was a dream come true. I only wish I could see them perform right in front of me. Life is a bitch, however, youtube would not let you die!

Bill Berry also joined Buck/Mills/Stipe to perform four songs.

iWish iBought aBot

Have been planning to buy the Lego MindstormsNXT for quite some time now. You can make so many things out of the basic building blocks, and with little more intellect and money, you can actually make a pretty useful robot. But the only thing that stops me from buying it, the ONLY thing, is the amount of money involved.

"Why is it that everything today has to do with things either going in or coming out of my ass? "

Take this quiz guys...it's fucking insane!!

Sigh!

I wish I could do something about finance. When I read the chapters of my textbook everything seems like a fairy tale - so easy and beautiful. But when I start doing the problems my right arm movement doesn't coordinate with my brain because the "thought process" is absolutely zero! Nil. Void. Static. Painful. Arggghhhhh!!

Watch this!

Damn stupid and funny..lol!!!!

Shit! Shit! Shit!

I am drunk, and you know what last.fm radio did just now?? It played R.E.M.'s orange crush. And boy, is this song orgasmic! And the icing on the cake...it was one of their performances. I suddenly feel the urge to listen to all the R.E.M. albums again...give up everything in life..listen to R.E.M....locked in a room..all by myself...

Had Your Way?

It's interesting. Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, says that diversification is for wimps. According to him, people diversify because they are risk averse and are uncertain about how their stocks would perform in the future. He says that people diversify when they don't know their stocks inside out and that they should first learn what their stocks have to offer. If that is done, uncertainty would go away and their would be no risk involved. That's what he does too, it seems. But then he is a board member of all his companies, and might be using insider information to 'predict' how the stocks would behave in the future.

But wait a second. What about Berkshire Hathaway? What about it's subsdiary companies? If you take a look, you will notice that he has invested in just about any kind of company, be it candies or furniture or insurance or newspaper. Is that not diversification? Is that not being risk averse? Or is it that he has too much cash and doesn't know what to do with it, thus, ends up buying random companies.

This is just a thought ( and a discussion during our finance class tonight). Who am I to comment on his investing philosophies? I am just a mere mortal who is trying his level best to learn the 101s of finance :).

Stewie Does The Robot!

"Hello, mother. I come bearing a gift. I'll give you a hint. It's in my diaper and it's not a toaster."

Man...I have been watching the 5th season of Family Guy these days and I'll tell you what - It's fucking hilarious! This series gets better and better with each season! I got hooked on to South Park a few months back but I have to admit that Family guy wins hands down. South Park is not really funny, it's just cheap, and that's what makes it fun to watch. Otherwise, nothin really special ( not that I don't like South Park anymore - Cartman is a hero!!!!). And yes, that little kid with a British accent - he's a fucking riot in the fifth season.

"So, is there any tread left on the tires? Or at this point would it be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?"

- Stewie (to one of the prostitutes at Cleveland's house)

I-Fair

It was a rough day today, with all the running around I did with Abhilasha to get a few things for the I-Fair. The weather was as usual bad, and to make it more fun, you know, the icing on the cake, it snowed. And of course, the #1 rule of my life had to come to existence, thanks to the 'stands' that we could find nowhere ( so where all did we go Abhi?? Wal-mart, Meijer, Bed Bath & Beyond, Menards) to eventually find out that we already had them and there was really no need to buy 'em. All's well that ends well :).

I-Fair was good fun as usual. I didn't want to go against the statistics and trends - so I again volunteered to prepare mango lassi. The stall this time around is very very small. There can be not more than four people behind the counter.

The 'all charged up', always ready to go guys from ISA performed too - they sang a song and played the mandolin.

By the end of the day I got tired. Came back home and crashed out. I am up like an owl now.

Btw, last night's drinking session was fun too. I am hoping that we would drink again tonight :).

The Snow

The Desk

The Chief

Finally..Something for me that's not typically 90s

Have been listening to the following songs since morning..I kind of don't get impressed very easily, but I instantly liked these songs when I heard them for the first time..

Pilot Light by Colours Run (Album: Cynical Wonderful)

How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths

The guy from Colours Run sounds like Thom Yorke/Chris Martin.

Also try listening to Perpetual Motion by Colours Run..kind of gives you a "Fake Plastic Trees" feeling with a hint of "Just" in the middle somewhere...

Well, well, on an ending note, Colours Run sang "Beautiful Waste Of Time"..I am pretty sure you've heard this song...try these songs on last.fm or launchcast.

Can't believe it

Shucks... just realized that I have already done the assignment due on the 12th. This has never happened to me! I am a procrastinator - habitually lazy and careless, and I have a tendency of finishing my assignments minutes before they are due. I wonder if 2007 is trying to bring some shocking changes in my life. Although the feeling of having completed the assignment early is delightful, it is still shocking. It's hard to believe. It's magic.

:) .

These assignments are killing me. I have doing them since thursday night. Finished this morning at 4.

Go Bears!

"No Comments"

Do I write sentimental posts to make people post comments on my blog? No sir, i don't...

"Commercial" Songs

Off late I have realized that I have a tendency of downloading the songs that I really really like. generally, these songs are on commercials. The very first song that I downloaded was Mad World (Gary Jules version) which featured on the Gears of War commercial. The second song was Something to talk about by Badly drawn Boy. Both these songs were downloaded within an hour of me seeing the commercials.

R.E.M. is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here.

Have been watching a lot of South Park lately. I don't find it funny, but the idea of four kids abusing the entire world in a very obscene and gross way really fascinates me :).

Beer

Bon, I agree with what you have to say about beer - that while drinking beer you reach a saturation point, and once you are there, you keep on pissing, you don't even get high, you just piss. Last night at Geoff's was good fun, and I had to drink beer to give him company ( I don't hate beer, but I don't like it either). After having some (8?), I started pissing, and I kept on pissing. Boy, was I mad. It's so irritating - you are standing and talking and suddenly you just pull the zipper down, yank out your ding dong mcdork and start pissing (you are standing outside Geoff's apartment, right? So you can piss wherever you want). Once or twice is alright, but every 15 minutes? Oh God, kill me now.

Whenever I see Geoff play the guitar, I kind of remind myself that even I have to buy an electric guitar soon. But I don't know how soon is soon going to be. I am tired of paying big bucks to my credit card company every month.

Ring of Fire

I am reallllllyyy getting carried away now...

If I Were A Carpenter

Here's another "I am really bored" video..

Man, I am so bored!!!!! I got nothing to do..'ve been reading a book, but still... Well, got so bored today that I decided to make a video of myself!!!!...lol!!!



Damn! this control doesn't work.. Click here to see the video.

Amarela Manga

Just watched Amarela Manga..apparently won the best movie award in some film festival in South America..but I didn't find anything extraordinary. It was just another South American movie..showing people performing their daily activities, horny evil men trying to bang young women, animals being slaughtered, adultery, and the movie ends.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0333074/

Walk Walk Walk!!!

The last week of December involved a lot of walking around, so much that my legs are still hurting. But I realized that seeing places all by yourself ( no one with you) is really fun. You don't really answer questions like " where are we going?", "why are we going there?", "it's too far, can we go somewhere else?". You don't really have to take rest unnecesarily ( just because somebody else is tired and is resting their legs), and the best part - you are not in any of the pictures you click! That's fun!

No confusion over where to eat, which train to catch to go back home..

The one below is an exception, because Miss J joined me on the 31st. Roaming around with her was good fun too. Well, in the evening she realized how much I walked everyday ( she almost had tears in her eyes after having walked so much...nah, kidding), but I hope she enjoyed it! Did you, JD?

Walk All Alone

The last two days have been good fun. I walked a lot, and by a lot, I really mean a lot. I am at my sister's place in Mundelein these days, and since she goes to work every morning, I sit at home - practically doing nothing. So every morning I take the 8:30 train to Chicago and roam around on the streets. Walking around all alone is an amazing feeling. It's deja vu more or less, because I have done this a lot in Delhi too. Shedd was good fun (thanks Abhilasha and gang), and so was Navy Pier. Now this is worth mentioning - for the first time in my life I walked around on the streets with a you know what?? A map.

A guy doing a show for kids at Navy Pier :

Stained glass (Navy Pier):

Mandelbrot

Watched a video on google videos thatshowed the Mandelbrot set being zoomed at 100 billion X. A few snapshots from wikipedia of what really Mandelbrot set looks like:

Here's the video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1619313842463920970

Watched a story on TV today..about Koyel and Bijoy..can you imagine? On American TV?? Diversity is indeed a big thing here :)...

Got to do what I am really good at doing :)

Ah! It's time to hit the gamepad again..if this semester ends on a really good note. Have been playing 3 PC games since the beginning of this semester, without absolute focus on any, though.

Started preparing for the fall break today. Went to the library and brought some DVDs and comics. Time to appreciate whatever Batman did to Gotham City, or rather "for"...lol!

Coming back to games - got to finish the games I am playing before my 3D card becomes obsolete.

My Friend

I want you to be brave, my friend.
I want you not to worry, my friend.
I want you to fuck everyone who comes your way, my friend.
I want you to show them all the middle finger, my friend.
I want you to not give a flying fuck about people, my friend.

Mad World

All around me are familiar faces

Worn out places Worn out faces

Bright and early for the daily races

Going no where Going no where

Their tears are filling up their glasses

No expression No expression

Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow

No tomorrow No tomorrow

And I find It kind of funny I find it kind of sad

The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had

I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take

When people run in circles its a very very

Mad world

Mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good

Happy birthday Happy birthday

And I feel the way that every child should

Sit and listen Sit and listen

Went to school and I was very nervous

No one knew me No one knew me

Hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson

Look right through me Look right through me

And I find It kind of funny I find it kind of sad

The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had

I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take

When people run in circles its a very very

Mad world

Mad world

Enlarging your world

Mad world

Why?

Why can't people mind their own fucking businesses? Why do they irritate me for no fault of mine? Why do they bitch about me even when I have done them no harm? Why can't I live peacefully? Why am I answerable to you? Why do I have to tell you what I did today, yesterday and 20,000 years ago? Why do people think that they know everything? Why do they think that they are perfect? Why don't mentally ill people go see a shrink? Why can't people stop bothering me? Why can't I kick someone I don't like in the teeth? Why don't people accept failure? Why don't ugly people admit that they are not beautiful? Why do people expect so much from me? Why do people expect me to watch a movie with them when I really don't want to? Why don't sick people just vanish one day? Why do people talk shit about Microsoft and still use Windows XP and Office on their computers? Why are people more interested in your life than their own? Why can't God give them something constructive to do? Why do people make faces and abuse me when I tell them that they are very irritating? Why do people envy good hearted human beings? Why can't people just understand that even I have a life?

Why can't some people just fuck off?

Top of the World..!!!

Such a feelin's comin' over me
There is wonder in most everything I see
Not a cloud in the sky
Got the sun in my eyes
And I won't be surprised if it's a dream

Everything I want the world to be
Is now coming true especially for me
And the reason is clear
It's because you are here
You're the nearest thing to heaven that I've seen

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

Something in the wind has learned my name
And it's tellin' me that things are not the same
In the leaves on the trees and the touch of the breeze
There's a pleasin' sense of happiness for me

There is only one wish on my mind
When this day is through I hope that I will find
That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me
All I need will be mine if you are here

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

Got a good fire going...

There's a storm rollin' over the hill
And the willow trees are blowin'
I'm standin' here starin' out the window
Safe and warm
I feel her put her arms around me
And its a good feelin' I'm knowin'
Oh, I've got a good woman and we've got a good fire goin'
We've got a feast on the supper table
Bread for breakin'
A blessing from the Lord for makin' me such a fortunate man
The light of my life in the candle
Her face a glowin'
Oh, I've got a good woman and we've got a good fire goin'

So let it rain
(let the rain fall down)
Let it rain
It won't do nothin' but kindle a never ending flame
Let it rain
(let the rain fall down)
Let it rain til mornin'
Oh, I've got a good woman and we've got a good fire goin'
Now there's a hard rain fallin' on the roof
Coffee comin' from the kitchen
I'm lyin' here listenin' to the ceiling on the living room floor
I feel her lay down beside me
My love is overflowin'
Oh, I've got a good woman and we've got a good fire goin'

Oh, I've got a good woman and we've got a good fire goin'