I have to admit. I love Bacon.
It all started two years back, when I had an opportunity to sample some smoked bacon. I don't think I've quite recovered from the taste yet. Bacon and Egg makes the most deadly combination I can imagine and delight my taste buds immensely.
It was my lucky day when I found out that a small city like mine also kept a good stock of fresh bacon. My husband is an excellent cook - and he enjoys cooking lip-smacking Sandwiches.
On one of our get-togethers with friends, he made the entire dinner encompassing a wide variety of Pizzas, Sandwiches and Footlongs. Not a meeting goes by, thereafter, where he doesn't hear the hearty praise of his extravagant service.
Not long after did he master bacon and egg even better than the likes of Subway. It is only to my delight that I am served breakfast in bed many times with this mouth watering treat.
A friend felt like having his special sandwiches today and asked for us to bring it over for him. After 20 minutes in the kitchen, hubby dear finally emerged with Sandwiches packed carefully in foil. When our friend inquired about the contents, he told him about the careful combinations of veggies, Chicken Salami and Bacon that went into this ordeal.
Another friend commented on how we could even eat Bacon in India as the Pig is suspected to have some worm that gets to your brain and kills you.
Our friend refused to have the sandwich and hubby dear was disheartened. He confessed he was scared to have Bacon anymore.

I think he threw the Sandwiches away. Breakfast is never going to be the same again...

I am surprised at the level of consciousness amongst Women, nowadays. They're conscious about their weight, their skin, their health, their money - everything thats theirs, its theirs to keep and cherish forever.
Its the shock of a life to gain an inch. Women are now spending truckloads of money to lose weight and become 'beautiful' - whatever the interpretation may be. I don't even recall how they did it in the old days to lose the extra burden. Did they walk it off, or just diet themselves to skinnydom? Or was it really not a concern back then?
Now, its all about eating less, exercising more, and flaunting the results even more. Its a collective screech of 'NO!' when someone offers a small dose of Chocolate or a scoop of Ice cream. "I'm not on a diet", she'd explain, "I'm merely avoiding sweets". Of course, putting yourself on a diet would mean you're fat, and no one can come to terms with that fact.
"I've gained over 10 kgs in the past year!", one exclaimed, "Its ridiculous!"
The Skinny Bunnies all gathered around with jaws dropping. "You need to...", suddenly their voices turning to mere whispers, "leave sweets... it works!"

"And exercise", I piped in, to which everyone looked at me with amazement. "Who has time to exercise nowadays? You can just compromise on food, and its quite okay. We have kids, and families, and work to do. Can't afford to 'exercise'!".
I only smiled to myself.
Everyone went back home, half-famished that day, hoping the growling tummy will perform some sort of suction action and all the fats would vanish miraculously.

Its a popular saying, isn't it - The World runs on Hope...

Stumbled on this today.
This little guy from Amritsar (I'm assuming from the birth certificate that has been posted) has made it as the youngest M.C.S.E. (with proofs!!).
He makes a mention - "The previous one was a of a girl of 12 named Gursimran"
He is the new record-holder. Hats off to you little one.
We're just about 8 years apart, I had the record for that long - unbelievable! Now that I look back on it, it rarely even contributed to what I do today. So much has happened since then.
I fell in love, went through the monotony of formal education, breezed through half a year of college, got married - and fell back at my first love - Designing.
I fed well on that achievement for quite sometime, but in the end you are who you are, and no matter what you achieve, true talent lies in what you make of it. I'm trying to make it do wonders - will let you know when I achieve as much!

Click is one of the most incredible movies I've chanced upon. Imparting a very essential message, very relevant to people across the globe caught in their pursuit of ultimate happiness - this movie has much to learn from.

The Plot:

The Plot is quite interesting and is highly successful in grabbing your attention, and keeping it all through. The story is about Michael Newman (Adam Sandler), who is in a hurry to climb the ladder to his career success, and has little time to give to his family. His daily grind with work just makes him more irritable and more distant from his loved ones. Confused and frustrated with the number of remote controls in the house, he decides to gets one of the fancy 'Universal Remote Controls'.
Chancing upon 'Bed, Bath & Beyond', he meets a strange man (Christopher Walken) in the 'Beyond' section who gives the Universal Remote Control to him for free, keeping the condition that Micheal won't return it.
Micheal agrees immediately and the deal is struck. Not long after does Micheal realize that the URC is not just to control the electronics, but can also work on everything else as well. He can make the dog bark mute, or fast forward through arguements with his wife, Donna (Kate Beckinsale). Not only as much, he can also go through the 'chapters' of his life and chose the moment he wants to relive.
While it just gets exciting with every new possibility Micheal finds, and it does make him climb the ladder up fast, it takes toll over his life, and not long after does he realize that the remote controls him as well.
Its a wonderful take on love, life and true happiness.

The Performances:

Adam Sandler shines through with a wonderful performance. Though one would've expected a lot of hilarious moments, the movie doesn't have many. But Sandler does an incredible job at the heart-wrenching moments as well inspiring a sad gulp down your throat. Kate Beckinsale looks extremely beautiful and Christopher Walken is a natural in each of his scenes. The kids are incredibly cute - probably the cutest you'd come across in movies.
Nothing worth a standing ovation, but good enough to make the movie what it is.

The Verdict:

Its a sweet movie with an interesting Moral. The idea is to awaken the realization of true happiness amongst people. Its not money, or success - its just being happy. And happiness comes by being with those you love. You really have to see the movie to get it.

More Info:

Official Website
Rated PG-13
Genre Comedy
Runtime 1 hr 47 mins

The morning was quite an adventurous one. The key to the lock in a door wouldn't budge, causing many a different experiments to take place.
It all started with a single twist of the key, which wouldn't go beyond a certain point - no matter how much pressure had been applied. After numerous attempts - it was certain, this is not going to be an easy ordeal.
The next possible move was to break in, of course. During the next few hours, we realized the sheer excitement that burglars can only feel, the thrill of achieving the impossible - in every creative way one can imagine. Many a tools of different shapes and sizes worked in perfect harmony with sweaty palms and constant attempts at pushing the door open.
Still, it was not meant to be. Tired of the door, we moved on to a small window which was locked twice - once at the woodden frame and then at the wiremesh.
It took somewhere around half an hour to break through, and the slimmest guy in the house had to squirm in to unlock it from inside. It was later, that the lock was replaced and everything was put back to its place.
Sum's cousin who had taken the most active part in the whole fiasco is leaving for Australia soon to get his degree in Commercial Cookery. I've suggested an alternate career after seeing his obvious talents on this one.
I think he might consider it...

So whats the big thing about The Vegetarian Diet anyway? Sure, you can choose what you like to eat, its a free world - you're entitled to as much. But can you even backup your choice with a logical reason?
Besides, religious beliefs of course. Of course, even thats not backed up well enough. Your certain God told you its unholy to have non-vegetarian, but if a few of your religion do indulge in the non-vegetarian once in a while, are they not worthy of their religion. Then how come they're entitled to call themselves by their respective religious names?
Certain people believe its cruelty to kill animals for food. Sure, its cruelty to kill them for anything. I recall an interesting debate on the tube one day concerning the same arguement. The environmentalist in question explained that we're killing animals anyway. When we have milk, that means, its the share of milk of the animal's infact. We're taking away milk from that infant, making sure that it eventually dies. So is milk not non-vegetarian in its true sense?
And if we're having vegetables, we're taking away a share of the animal's diet - so isn't that non-vegetarian? We use lipsticks, bubblegums, ice-creams - what nots - each containing traces of animals in some form. Isn't all that non-vegetarian?
So why such a big issue over the non-vegetarian and the vegetarian when there really isn't a fine line between them. And even worse, why enforce your options on others - or call them names for having indulged in 'unholy' food.

I have a non-believer in you, don't I?

When one choses to watch a movie on the bigscreen, it is likely she's expecting to get her money's worth. Dhoom 2 for me, was not worth - and then some more. Infact, at the end of it - I had a strange need for someone to give me some money, just to waste three good hours of my time sitting through it.
Of course, I didn't make any money out of it - but I repented letting the hype convince me into making the effort.
What lacked - you ask - of a movie with a big starcast, a superhit prequel and a lot of publicity to back it all up? Well, you're asking for it...

The Plot:

Following its prequel, Dhoom 2 is again (surprise, suprise) about chicks and guns. The Plot is really not much to talk about. What starts as a promising thriller fails badly as a cheesy cat and mouse story. Personally, Tom & Jerry reruns are more entertaining, if you just want to see a good chase. But well, back to where we were - the plot is about an ambitious and smart (?) cop - Jay Dikshit (Abhishek Bachhan) who is out to hunt the Internationally acclaimed thief who only steals 'perfect things' - 'A' (Hrithik Roshan) with the help of co-worker Shonali (Bipasha Basu), cheesy Ali (Uday Chopra) and the suave crook - Sunehri (Aishwarya Rai).
The whole movie is about the chase alone, how 'A' continues to make his mark on the world (literally, with an 'A'), and Jay follows close behind.
While it might even sound interesting to you, believe me, it only gets worse from here.

The Cast:

Aishwarya Rai is loaded with chewing gum attitude and her expressions irk the hell out of you. Infamous dialogue - "Main, Sunehri. Like Soo-neh-ree.. you know!" Thats her introduction line to impress Hrithik Roshan.
I hope you get the idea. She's also made to diet real hard, and she's all bones in the movie. You might be in for the anorexic look, but in places she seriously reminded me of the Olsen Twins. I think she needs to put some weight on to at least look decent enough to pass for a 'khaate peete ghar ki bahu' - lest Jaya Bachchan should get embarassed.

Abhishek Bachchan looks quite terrible, if you ask me (you'd rather not). He's made to look anything but a sophisticated cop in the movie, courtesy his very bad attire throughout the movie. Infact overall the costume designing is very dismissable. You won't even notice a certain outfit as even above average. Of course, it doesn't fail to disappoint you consistantly. He's dressed in the most radically unbelievable clothes - white shirt with big blue flowers, anyone?
Hrithik does a great job - he's the only relief in the otherwise awkward movie. Not only does he look good, he acts well and his role places him in the prime position in the movie.

I am so disappointed with Bipasha for doing this movie. Her beauty and brains are wasted on a worthless piece of crap like Dhoom 2. Her introduction led to quite a sensation in the theatre, but they soon broke her leg, put her in bed - and brought along the role of a twin sister - who is apparently a giggling bimbette with absolutely no role in the movie.
Is it my imagination or is Uday Chopra working solely with his family. I have a strong feeling, its because no one else wants him. And Dhoom 2 proves the fact. His role is way too cheesy - infact one wonders why would a smart cop want to bring along an apprentice who only dreams of making babies with every chick he checks out.
But thats another story, isn't it?

The Soundtrack:

The songs are too many to be liked, but a few do justice to at least justify the reason for listening. I'm good with the Sukhbir number - 'Dil Laga Na'. All the others come and go, while I stare intently at the coke in my hand wondering how many people check for expiry before drinking one of these.

The Verdict:

The action is not even half as good as the previous, the girls are not given enough weightage (in its literal sense as well), the plot falls flat on its face towards the end, the movie is predictable in many places (you know Hrithik's not going to be caught, because there are still 2 hours left for the movie to end!) and lastly, its not a good film to remember even if you're a big fan of any of the cast members.
To sum it up, Dhoom 2 is like the coke bottle which promises much on a hot day, but falls flat without fizz when you open it.
I won't drink it.. would you?

Its that time of the year again. Am leaving for Vaishnodevi tomorrow - and its promising to be another exciting trip ahead.
I'm looking forward to the bone-crunching walk that makes taking each step a project on its own with its grim satisfaction closing behind. I'm looking forward to the frequent stops to catch a breath or two and wonder whether I would actually make it. But most of all, I'm looking forward to reaching that place with its serenity enveloping me in its promises - of feeling peaceful just knowing you're where you aimed to be - and to the agony that would be well worth it.

So its off to the holy land, where December chills await to engulf me and excited pilgrims only cheer me ahead... Jai Mata Di!