this is living

it's two years to the day that the gf and i met and she moved in. forget the cliches of 'time flying by' and 'two hearts beating as one' yada yada yada. if only it were that remotely easy, or simple.

two people living together as a couple is different. different from what? it's just different. as an only kid, the concepts of time and space were very well defined for me. it was very easy to just phase out and be in my own world for long parts of the day and night. it's no wonder growing up i talked to myself all the time. i still have long, relevant and pertinent discussions with my mind - very refreshing i find them.

still, having enjoyed this phase for the last two years of cohabitation/living-in-sin/whatever you wanna call it, i wouldn't have it any other way..

it's like living with your best buds, but better. all the fun of great conversation and crazy partying, with the added bonus of a quick romp or three in any room of the apartment, and no one's the wiser.. heh!

it's like living at home with your folks, but better. you actually eat square meals on proper plates, wear clothes that get more than annually laundered and live in a house that doesn't require you turning it upside down every time you can't find your favorite Metallica tshirt.

it's like living alone at your own place, but better. romantic dinners for two; cosying up on the couch for a funny movie; getting blazed and making out; sharing a great bottle of wine; smart conversation not involving politics, Playmates and getting plastered; going to concerts together; cooking new stuff out of a recipe book; going shopping for potted plants for the living room windowsill; putting away yet another shitload of groceries; not having to watch Sabres' games alone; actually discovering new music by listening to what she listens to; laughing together hysterically at 'Family Guy' reruns..

this is a long incomplete list, but an awesome one nevertheless.. happy anniversary babe!!

rear-ended

now those of you who know me well know about my profound, deep-rooted and probably quite irrational preoccupation for the hind quarters of the female of the species. there are various words that can be used to describe the derrière, not half of which begin to convey the beauty and emotion that cause a stirring within me when my eyes come to rest on a curvilicious rear end..

right. that was probably too much info.

the other day, and i don't know how exactly, i read the word 'asphyxiation' somewhere and for some reason i made the connection with the word 'ass-fixation', like millions of men must have before me. upon further contemplation i realised that there could be more middle ground between the two words, especially if you are into face-sitting, smothering, femdom and other related genres of porn.. hehe!

thanks to the wonderful world of google, i will not need to post any links for any of the things i described here.. feel free to go online and find whatever turns you on!

hockey's back!

The NHL season skates off tonight for the Buffalo Sabres..
my evenings are accounted for from now through April!

what women want

finally someone tells it as it is, the Ten Commandments, what men really want to hear from their women! and written by a guy no less.. from the horse's mouth et al (from Yahoo Health, by David Zinczenko)

1. "Your arms are definitely looking bigger."


Men can be just as paranoid about the way their bodies look as women can be. In fact, nearly 90 percent of men say there's at least one body part they'd like to change.


2. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."


Guys spend all of high school, most of college, the better part of the work day, and at least 12 times a day via e-mail trying to make people laugh. A hearty, genuine laugh is as flattering as it gets.


3. "Wow."


Doesn't matter whether it comes as he's getting undressed or after you've finished having sex, this short, sweet word (best done in a whisper) may just be the ultimate ego-stroke.


4. "You the man."


Guys hear this all the time. From other guys. But if it comes from a woman -- no matter the context -- the message is that, hey, we're buddies, too. Which is actually pretty darn sexy.


5. "The kids just adore you."


More than 50 percent of men say that their families -- more so than work and salary -- are what defines them most as men. So when a woman affirms that he's a familial hero, it's a compliment that stretches way beyond anything you could ever say about his haircut.


6. "What do you think?"


When neither can concede on anything - whether it's the best way to move a piece of furniture or the fastest way to reach the interstate - then this is a good impasse-breaker.


7. "Cute feet."


Typically, guys care for the word "cute" about as much as Paris Hilton cares for the penal system. One exception: The part of the body that is classified as being especially gross. Tell a guy he has good feet, and somehow he takes it as a double-bagger compliment -- that you not only like his genetics, but also that you appreciate he can keep himself better groomed than the rest of the gnarly-nailed heathens out there.


8. "Meow."


The stats show that 61 percent of men think their partners aren't sexually adventurous enough. While a feline one-liner doesn't automatically qualify as adventurous, it does show a bit of inhibition, and the message is one he likes to hear: That perhaps he's brought a little bit of the animal out of you.


9. "Impressive."


Guys love feats and they love being acknowledged for their strength, power, and their masculinity. So a well-timed observation like this one - whether it comes after he carries a TV to the family room or figures out a way to fix the pipes without having to call the plumber - feeds into his need to feel like the family protector.


10. "I want you."


Women don't need to go on about a guy's eyes or hair or clothes. What a guy really wants to hear is that he's the total package, and this acknowledgement of that - whether it's referring to bedroom behavior or relationship stability - is the ultimate compliment of them all.

o canada!

i like canadians.. in general. not just cos of how they speak, but because of their casual and easygoing outlook on life, and also because of their love for hockey.. of course!

and then there are the women.. ahh, canadian girls, what can i say.. the combination of the brisk winds blowing down from the arctic, the good clean-tasting beers, and i don't know what magical factor makes canadian hotties a sight for sore eyes.. all these hot canadian bloggers - sassy, gus greeper, binsk, heather, hella.. these are the ones i know.. you might know of more!

witness this litany of actresses, both mainstream and x-rated, heh! Pamela Anderson, Neve Campbell, Jennifer Tilly, Natasha Henstridge, Rachel Blanchard, Fay Wray, Cobie Smulders, Lisa Ray, Sunny Leone, Jesse Capelli, Nikki Benz..

and then you have to credit the canadians for bringing the cameltosis phenomenon to the Miss Universe stage.. hehe!

what was that.. don't know what a cameltoe is? well, here's some help for you.. and some visual aids too!

chill, aka how dirty boys get clean

after a really hard thirteen hour day's work, with the summer sun heating the fuckin' plant to a mild floor temperature of 108F (42°C).. there's no better way to relax and slow down than a slow soak in the tub and a bottle (or three) of Molson's finest Canadian beer..

triple threat

yes, this blog is three years old today. and no, i won't give you a long spiel about how good it's been and how faithful all ye readers are for still dropping by even though i write more rarely than a monk swears

but i will let you know that while lots of old time bloggers are falling by the wayside and others are taking sabbaticals.. i'll still be here, plodding along with a post or so whenever it tickles my fancy or guilt wracks my mind, but more so when i have something to write about.. so hang around, i ain't done yet.

just to celebrate the third birthday.. a picture of three tits.



ok ok, i kid.. three perfect breasts coming up..



fine, those were only chicken breasts.. so here's third time lucky!



you see, i always come through! now raise your glasses and here's a toast to good times..

blue n' gold

in case i didn't make it abundantly clear in the previous post, this blog's new look is exclusively for the Buffalo Sabres' playoff run. the colors blue and gold have always been the traditional kit of the Sabres, and this year we're aiming for the Stanley Cup.. let's go Buffalo!

The Big Easy, Part Troi

the overdue final instalment of pictures..

not the kind of nympho or mermaid you expected!!

let's do some shots shall we!

oh yeah.. girls girls girls

balcony parties are where it's at.. throw us some beads!

one of the many bars on the Bourbon strip

The Big Easy, Part Deux

and now for the second instalment of pics

this is one of the classic jazz preserves, right in the heart of the madness that reigns on Bourbon Street


still on Bourbon Street, among the numerous live bands that play every night, there's Big Al & The Blues Masters playing at The Funky Pirate (and yes, Big Al is really big!)


here's a plate of spicy Cajun crawfish, the local speciality.. shell and eat the tail, suck the heads!


and you can't leave before you eat another staple.. seafood gumbo! the one at Coop's Place is jazzed up some with rabbit and sausage too


here we're feeding an alligator, but they made some good eating too.. diced up and stir-fried with Creole seasoning. even better tasting than crocodile i felt!

The Big Easy, Part Une

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!"

yes, let the good times roll, as i bring you pics of New Orleans..

here's sunrise over the Mississippi, as it winds its way down to the deltas and the Gulf of Mexico


this is the India House hostel, where we stayed


the tram.. a novelty, slow yet fun to ride


going down to the swamps, serene by day, nightmarish by night.. what demons, ghouls and beasts haunt these seemingly placid waters?


the sun sets over this busy bustling port city

spring break baby!

yes, i'm off for spring break! i'm using my one week of vacation from work to go down to The Big Easy, aka New Orleans! we're gonna eat, drink and make merry in Nawlins, hang out with all the nekkid boobies on Bourbon Street, haunt with the ghosts in the French Quarter.. see you when i get back!

interim

that's the key word nowadays.. cos i'm interim Plant Maintenance Manager.. working for the interim from 2.30 am to 4 pm.. getting stuff done in the interim.. youngest manager in company history, for the interim.. no raises either, in the interim..

i'd like the permanent promotion, i think i'm showing i can deal with it pretty well.

great idea #129

think about this, a sleek shiny pole right in the middle of the living room in your bachelor pad. you know that no girl who ever comes to your place can resist giving it a shot! i mean, is that a brilliant idea or what?! unfortunately i cannot claim copyright on this idea..

i know Bud Light made an ad for it, but this has been every man's cream-dream for eons and eons.. ok, at least since cavemen invented the rod after they invented the wheel, looked at the rod, looked amongst themselves, then looked at their womenfolk, then looked at each other again, grinned and went "urgh urgh hehehe!"

someone even went a step further and designed a coffee table with a stripper pole built in! now isn't a useful idea! and just to show you that people have indeed utilized brain cells in the pursuit of this noble endeavor, you can actually buy a portable one!

i got one too!

seems like everyone's doing it.. so here's me playing copy-cat..

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

great idea #79

it's a well-known fact that guys like nothing more than to see chicks get naked, preferably real life girls as opposed to in porn - agreed?

so here is a surefire method of making sure that happens.
put a weighing scale in your living room.
preferably the kind you have to bend over to read the numbers.

i hear you asking me how the two statements above are related? well, no self-respecting gal who cares about her weight will ever get on a scale with her clothes on.

funny, this idea sounded much better yesterday after five beers.. hmm

so, i got a little story for you

yes i'm back.. unfortunately. actually i was back on sunday afternoon, and even went into work on sunday night. work has been so hectic this week that i haven't really been able to revel in the memories of the now-distant florida trip, let alone type out a few lines of the blog..

i'd like to give you all the details of the trip but what happens in vegas florida stays in vegas florida.. heh! i will admit a few things though - yes, i had lots of fun, a bit too much fun if you ask me! the meetings were great too, lots got dicussed and the positive contribution of the junior members of staff was duly noted.

heartfelt thanks and sincerest apologies to two particular establishments that we haunted.. Flanigan's and the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, both in Deerfield Beach. we would love to be back next year, as long as you promise to make the same awesome wings and ribs, and let us commandeer your bar and ballroom again!

to AirTran.. your cheap fares and on-time flights are negated by your refusing-to-recline tiny seats and poor baggage handling staff. the only reason you are still in business is the free XM Satellite Radio and the fact the other airlines can be equally horrendous!

the 7-Eleven franchise, especially in florida - kudos for being open to sell beer until 2am, just when all the bars are closing. and for having my favorite Hall's cough drops too. and also for acknowledging that by no figment of the imagination do i look under 21 and therefore not bothering to card me.

mom-n-pop diners, non-chain rib shacks and other small eateries - you guys are the best.. for honest to goodness food at ridiculous prices, even in tourist-dense markets like florida.

casinos in florida suck. they only have slot machines and poker tables. what happened to the craps, and the blackjack, and all the other traditional casino attractions like cabarets? the Seminole Hard Rock Casino was especially bad! i'm glad i didn't throw away too much of my money on you!

airboat tour operators in the sawgrass area - your loud boats are still an environmental pestilence, despite all your bragging about ecotourism. what is described in this article here has to be the biggest crap ever, as the boats are so loud that they frighten all living beings in the vicinity deep into the 3 foot tall sawgrass or the 2 foot deep swamp.

riding down the intercoastal at night on the GM's 48 ft yacht, looking at the huge houses and boats of the rich and famous has to be one of the most inspiring and awesome things i have ever done. when you're done slowly rolling up your tongue and lifting your lower jaw from the deck, you have to wonder how people make so much money as to be able to afford such lifestyles!! kudos to anyone who did it, even if it took selling drugs to get there!

boy i'm glad i don't tan/burn easy.. cos hanging out at the beach was a lot of fun. the jury is still hung whether watching beach volleyball is better than playing beach volleyball, but the verdict is definitely all in that bikinis were made with brazilian women in mind. yum.

getting drunk might be overrated, but there is a particularly morbid entertainment in getting drunk with your colleagues and superiors. that is taken to the next level when you end up taking full advantage of the open-bar, to the tune of 20+ drinks. the pretty bartender sure made a lot of tips, i felt i owed her after emptying two bottles of her finest rum, and all the shots she's making here. oh yes, that's my boss on the bar, trying to upstage me at my not-so-finest hour! i was told the next day that i had sat his boss down too and explained very loudly what my master plan was to knock the place shipshape again. i'm only glad he holds grudges as often as i hold hangovers! i am still amazed at how it took only two Tylenol and a bottle of Gatorade to get me bouncing back to form at 5 the next morning!

finally, one thing that you cannot ever get over is how beautiful the sunrise can be. this shot below is worth slogging your butt off now so that you make enough money to be able to wake up to this every morning..

whale tail?!

there is no shortage of websites dedicated to the female form, but some sites never cease to amuse, titillate and otherwise coax you quite unwillingly out of boredom.. unfortunately most of these sites also carry a Not Safe For Work label, so they remain a guilty pleasure you indulge in at home. now, you must be slightly confused now as to what the picture on the right and name of the post have to do with the female of the species, but bear with me, all shall be clear in the next few lines..


now i had mentioned muffin-tops a while back.. this apparently accidental fad that was all over the place, where slightly portly girls start spilling out of their lo-rider jeans while insisting on wearing low-cut tops. here is an article from the NY Daily News that spoke of the phenomenon.. Wiki also had a piece on it. now one of the reasons why i really like wiki is that it always has this section at the bottom (pun unintended, heh!) for 'See Also', which links related items and the like. for articles on music this section is very informative because you can learn some history about the band, the genre and find other bands of the same genre too, and other miscellaneous trivia that you never knew.

so going back to this wiki page, i found links to various terms we all know.. cleavage, lower back tattoo, bellyshirt.. and then i saw two other terms - one was camel toe, which we've all seen and enjoyed (yes, you might as well admit it!) in its various forms. that brought me to this site, which reminded me that i hadn't been there in dog's years! warning, this last link is NOT work-safe.. trust me, i'm at home now!

the second term that really caught my attention was whale tail.. now here was a term that i had not heard before, and that i think takes some doing considering i've been a highly-touted bird-watcher and surveyor of the female form over the years! so apparently a well-placed wedgie is also known as a whale-tail, thanks to the similarity between the hips' curves and the flukes on a diving whale. further research (o boy i love that word 'research'.. it could mean doing anything!!) led me to this hallowed site, which again is not work-safe in the least.. i scoured through the pages in the pursuit of the perfectly-shaped yet candidly-taken pics of the whale-tail, tell me honestly if these do not tell you why this vision shouldn't be called a 'whale-tail'?!

he scoooooores!!

ahh, finally something that should help the cold bleak winter pass by more easily.. i got Digital Cable with all it's 300 channels to go with the kick-ass, self-built and hopefully-working home theater you see here..

and of course, the one package i had to get was the NHL Center Ice, so that i can watch yet another league-dominating and ice-sweeping season for my beloved Buffalo Sabres..

there are still sixty-odd games left, and then the inevitable playoffs too.. there's a certain joy in laying back blazed on the comfy couch, floating in my cloud and watching the Sabres whiz up and down the ice kickin' ass.

oh yeah, this is how i chill out on weekends :-)

go long, go long!

yes, it's that time of the year again when Fall starts to tinge the leaves, and there's a nip in the air.. and the sounds of crowds roaring fill living rooms throughout the nation on sunday afternoons. yes, the NFL is back, and football season is upon us yet again. for the next seventeen weeks, i shall not be available from noon onwards on sundays, as the gridiron and the grill fires up, the beer and icecream cools down..all in the pursuit of the ultimate goal - the SuperBowl!

so it's time to brush up on your lingo - 'no-huddle offense', 'shotgun', 'blitz' and the like, and also check out who went where and is playing for whom now.. drop a few bucks into your office pool, you never know when you could get lucky as well!

from the heart of New England, the home of the old enemy, as always yours truly will be right behind his boys from Buffalo, even though we aren't expected to be contenders this year either.. the blue and red will always run in my veins

am figuring to make some dough on the side too this time, lets see if all those hours poring over football trivia and watching games pays off.. the office pool should be pretty huge, nearly 80 guys are going to be in every week, a hefty payout if i pick the games correctly every week. if things go well, i'll drop some cash with a couple of bookies as well.. who said passion can't bring home the bacon! so switch on the tv, sit back in your favorite armchair, pop open a cold beer, roll out the wings and pizza, and say with me.. let's go Buffalo!

however it comes

Shakira made a surprise visit for the closing ceremony, and her 'honest hips' didn't lie.. the fact was that the Final was going to be won by the team that played smartest, and not necessarily best. once again, the Italians played the 'catenaccio' to perfection, withdrawing and letting the French do all the running and expend their energy, and hitting back on the counter-attack.

it wasn't a great Final, one of the worse ones over the years actually. that was no surprise, especially with the way the game started! normalcy was restored after 20 minutes with the score 1-1, and the tactical battle ensued. a moment of madness by French star Zidane led to his forever staining the legacy of his great career. a penalty shootout was the only logical solution to the stalemate, where the Italians exorcised their penalty kick demons by scoring five out of five, and hey.. "we are the champions, we are the champions, of the world!"

and so a World Cup tainted by cheating, diving and other untoward actions came to a close. for one month, the soccer world had come to a standstill for this, as had the lives of millions of people. back to real life now i guess, with the consolation that Italy won at least - forza Italia!

feast your eyes

football is not called the beautiful game for nothing, and the World Cup is held in summer just for that reason! enjoy this selection of pics from the football fest

forza italia!

'realization of a dream'

that one line sums up the Italian march to the World Cup Final. if you watched the semi-final against Germany then you can have valid claims to have been part of one of the greatest displays of 'catenaccio' soccer, a term patented by the Italians, meaning 'door-bolt'.. signifying the system where you score once and then 'shut up shop' using hard-working defense. all offensive attempts after that are concentrated on the counter-attack.

Italy beat Germany 2-0 mere minutes ago.. striking twice late late in extra time after keeping the home team at bay for 118 minutes until then! as you can expect, i was sitting glued to the tv, in my #7 Italian blue jersey, biting off my fingernails until the last few frenetic minutes sent me and Italia supporters all over the world into raptures.

now a little more about the blue jersey.. #7 is the number worn by a certain player known as Alessandro Del Piero, who is my God and Almighty as far as all things soccer go. i even wrote this farewell tribute to him two years ago, little did i know that he would come back to the greatest stage of soccer for one last time

arrivederci

my friends, it is with a very heavy heart i sit here to write this.. only the cruellest juxtaposition of the stars would serve to eliminate Italy, yet the trajectories did cross, and the azzurri are out of Euro 2004.. with it bringing to a certain end the international careers of three great Italian forwards.. Christian Vieri, Pippo Inzaghi and, and.. and Alessandro Del Piero.. who at 29 has had his legs fail him yet again on the international stage.. 24 goals and 66 caps say nothing about his amazing talent, leadership and gift of reading the game.

i have followed Alex since '93.. when he first stepped into Roberto Baggio's shoes.. and immediately became Juventus' wonderkid.. and testament to his faith and belief in the bianconeri, the man dubbed as 'il pinturicchio' has never played for any other club at the highest level. i have been with him through all his highs and lows.. five Serie A titles, four Champions League finals (3 consecutive), 1 Inter - Continental club cup win, 3 Copa Italia finals.. and the big championships.. Euro '96 when he was in the squad that got eliminated by Czech Rep. drawing 3-3 with Russia, World Cup '98 when Cesare Maldini's indecision over Del Piero and Baggio led to France shutting them out on penalties, Euro 2000 when Del Piero was heavily blamed for not scoring in the final and France pulling back to beat them on golden goal, World Cup 2002 when trap could not decide whether to play with Totti and/or Del Piero, and now Euro 2004 where Trap is playing him on the left tip of his arrowhead formation.. it has been a very frustrating international career for Alex.. plus the numerous niggling injuries he has picked up in the Serie A, truly the toughest defensive league in the world. one hopes he still has it in him to play World Cup 2006, but he remains one of the greatest players to have never won an international crown.. grazie Alessandro, buona fortuna for the future, and arrivederci for now. maybe it's time for me to hang up my Italia no. 7 jersey..

i am so glad he made me pull out my jersey from the depths of the closet once again, and show it off with pride as he ran onto a clever backheel and curled the ball exquisitely around the German goalie to score yet one more goal, and seal the deal 2-0 with the last kick of the game. so i leave you with some images from that goal, Alex curving the ball in, and takes off in celebration..

yeah baby!!

anticipation

some people are willing to sit back and let the good things come to them

and then there are others who will step forward to grab the chance with both hands

like the Wizard of Odd, i didn't sit back and wait

the beautiful game

hostilities shall cease, weapons shall be laid down
armistices have been signed, the games are in town
for the next one month, we will only talk football
the energy the passion, a time to stand up tall

the beautiful game is on its biggest stage
goals, tactics, saves will be all the rage
minnows will rise and heroes will be slain
yeah baby the World Cup is here again!


so you read that right.. four years of waiting are over and the World Cup has rolled around again. for americans, imagine super bowl meeting independence day for a whole month! for the rest of the world, i need not say any more about how huge this is! needless to say i am absolutely over the moon with my night shift work schedule, as it allows me to watch all 64 games.. a streak i have been carrying since the '94 championships. the first game starts in about 19 hours from now,

forza italia and viva brasil!!

NB:
if you see the hit counter on the right sidebar, it's creeping
steadily towards a huge milestone for this blog.. 100,000 hits!!

even flow..

fulfilled another one of my lifelong dreams this last weekend, watched Pearl Jam live.. and they were everything that i though them to be, and then some. eddie and the boys rocked, jammed and played their hearts out for three whole hours, uninterrupted.. which band does that in these days and time?

i experienced a whole rollercoaster of emotions throughout the concert, this coming at the time it has.. "Even Flow" had me moshing big time, while "Black" had me down on my knees and sobbing.. raising my fists to "Hail Hail" and lighter aglow for "Life Wasted".. every song they played a different mood, and a different experience to be savored.. definitely one of the best concerts i have ever been to!

they played most of my fave songs, but omitted a few, something that i thought was nearly unforgiveable.. "Jeremy", "Better Man", "Last Kiss" and "Soldier Of Love".. alas. they played a few songs from the new album, and a healthy mix of stuff from all their previous albums, 'Vitalogy' getting the most attention.

so yet another band that can be checked off from the master list of bands to see.. the list of bands left finally looks smaller than the one of bands watched!

perhaps, perhaps

my new favorite tv show is this Brit comedy called 'Coupling'.. it's not that new actually, but i only started downloading them a few weeks back, and i tell you it's hilarious! it's similar to 'Friends' in that it has three guys and three gals.. but all semblances of similarity stop right there! there is no moral to every episode, like in 'Scrubs'.. like the name suggests, the only thing pretty much preoccupying the minds of our six here is.. well, is 'coupling'!! ergo, we come back to this loony bunch with their eccentricities. a perfect mix of sex and humor, sang-froid and stiff wit, joie de vivre and embarrassment. check out the website for some clips as well as quotes..

talking of quotes, here are some from the character named Jeff, who is the completely antithesis of Joey (from Friends), henceforth to be known as The Wisdom Of Jeff.. [Jeff has just been complimented on his fine ass by a female colleague at work who he has the hots for, here is his passionate ode to the human rear end]..

"does she dislike me facially, or like me bottomly? it's a big deal! you know what asses are? asses are the human race's favorite thing. we like them on each other, we like them on magazine covers, we even like them on babies! when we're alone we like to scratch them, and when there is a fire we like to warm them.. and who among us in a lonely moment hasn't reached back for a discreet fondle?!

we love our asses! when God gave us our asses he had to stick them around the back just so we wouldn't sit and stare at them all day! that is cos when God made the ass, he didn't just say 'hey, it's just your basic hinge, now let's knock off early', he said 'behold ye angels, i have created.. the ass.. throughout the ages now men and women shall grab hold of these and shout my name!'.."

in another memomarable moment, sitting at the bar where they usually hang out (as opposed to the coffee shop in Friends, again).. [here the boys are discussing undressing etiquette]..

"I mean, where exactly do you take your socks off? My advice is to take them off right after your shoes, and before your trousers. That’s the sock gap. Miss it, and suddenly you’re a naked man in socks. No self-respecting woman will ever let a naked man in socks do the squelchy with her."

one more, where the boys are discussing the merits and demerits of certain items of the female wardrobe..

"You know what’s great about skirts? When a woman’s wearing a skirt, you know, you know, that somewhere in that room, shifting all the time, there is the VAA: the Visual Access Angle. A clear line of sight back to base camp."

now get out there and go look for the DVDs.. they have 4 seasons of it!
(NB: the title to this post is actually the theme song for the show)

sold out!

From William Shakespeare's 'Richard III..

KING RICHARD III: A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!

----------------

how i sympathise with thee o King Richard.. three of my favorite bands of all time are all on tour in this month, playing near me in a period of four days, and i shall be able to see none of them! such cruel mistresses time and Ticketmaster can be!

Pearl Jam play in Boston on the 24th.. being a weekday i can't make it for that show, even if i manage to scalp tickets cos it's sold out! Alice in Chains play two days earlier on 22nd, again in Boston, for a measly price of $25.. but it's a monday, and again i will not be able to go. i would have taken time off from work, but it will be poor form considering i have just joined. and then finally Tool are in town the day before that, on 21st, which is a sunday, so i can make it too.. but the tickets sold out in the first minute they were online. i didn't even get a sniff. alas.

those of you who know me, and know how much i love my music and these bands, will understand the depths of my misery.

April 5th

a black day for the world of rock.. one that shall be commemorated every year, as long as music lives

the day grunge died

yes, 5th April is gonna go down as the day grunge died.. kurt cobain (Nirvana) supposedly pointed a shotgun to his forehead on this day in 1994.. and some eight years later in 2002, on the same day, layne staley (Alice In Chains) asphyxiated on a speedball and his body was only found days later. was it something in the season.. when the seattle winter refused to be sprung by Daylight Saving Time.. and two people who defined grunge as we know it offed themselves?? R.I.P.

kurt was the quintessential trailer trash kid.. strumming away his guitar to abstract rhymes.. and living under a bridge when the shit hit the fan.. he played a hundred and one bars before finally laying down some tracks on tape. this was the birth of Nevermind, the album that went on to blow all the pop-wannabes off MTV.. with the one single 'smells like teen spirit'. later on he stumbled from one gig to the next, then on to the recording studio.. with a deathwish drug-habit, and a desperate desire to prove (to himself??) that he had finally made it.

layne was the ying to jerry cantrell's yang. together, they created the melodic riffs and driving metal sounds that define most rock bands spawning after that uber-generation, grunge! layne and gang once actually got evicted cos they didn't have enough cash to pay rent! then the album Dirt happened.. and the energetic layne never looked back.. even touring with a broken leg in plaster! layne died still looking for himself, his lyrics showing the desperate scrawls of a man torn inside.

grunge represented all the angst, the desire, the rebelling, the ambition, the whatever-you-want-it-to-be, and the pitfalls too, of teenage.. and which is very surprising to find you don't ever outgrow. maybe it's just me, but i still listen to grunge, and get a totally different lesson each time. music rocks! :-)

kurt had disagreements with axl rose (Guns N' Roses) regarding their genres of music, and when asked all he had to say was this: "They fuck things up and then they sit back and look at what they fucked up and then try to figure out how they can fix it, whereas we fuck things up and just dwell on it and make it even worse." i couldn't have described grunge any better.

break the ice

the NHL ice hockey season is reaching a crucial stage, with the playoffs looming fast, and the top teams jostling for position. this time around the Buffalo Sabres find themselves in a very lofty standing, and well-placed to make a run for the Stanley Cup, the holy grail for all things hockey. today, they come up against perennial division rival Toronto Maple Leafs. over the last few years the blokes from up north have been lording it over us, but this year change seems imminent.

apart from the fact that Toronto is just over the border from Buffalo, we share a lot of common traits with our brothers and sisters from across the (Niagara) Falls.. primarily an easygoing nature and a love for pretty women, beer, hockey and a good time, not necessarily in that order either. Toronto has long had the reputation for one of the most welcoming cities, and is said to have a cultural diversity that well matches New York City.. can't wait to get my papers in order so that i can go visit! oh yeah, the Canadians make two good beers (Labatt's & Molson) which easily kick the asses of anything Budweiser or Miller can come up with.

to that end, a very good friend of mine, the Sassy One, and her significant other will make the trip down south to hang out with us and watch the game. friendly wagers have been placed on the game, but i will leave it to her to tell you what these are! so here's looking forward to a great game, and a great night out partying!

March Madness is here!

in case you didn't know what March Madness is, it's the month when all the college basketball games get to the playoff levels.. and it's time again to wear your team colours with pride! the UB Bulls made the playoffs again this year..

i am gonna be off today to Cleveland with the Mighty Maniacs, decked in blue and white.. chanting "Let's Go Buffalo"!! and yeah, meet our friend Victor!

the Blank Noise Project

now here is an admirable cause worth supporting.. the Blank Noise Project seeks to raise awareness about street sexual harassment in india. it's given an informal enough name - eve teasing - which makes it sound like some sort of practical joke, but there is absolutely nothing funny about this.

the saddest part is that almost every girl, lady and woman in india has faced this at some point in her life, from lewd comments, to being groped, and in some cases rape. often these cases are not even reported, because almost always the victim is ostracised, and made to feel that it was her fault! though the connotations are sexual, it is often an issue of power that underlies all this.. indian women have been downtrodden for way too long, objectified and itemized, and often it seems these abusers and criminals just do it because they can do it!

it appears that the archaic tenets of indian society need to be changed, but like all characteristics of this nature, can only happen over generations. it's like corruption, how do you fix it? sexual harassment is like racism, you pre-judge and abuse a certain section of society because of something they are. molestation of women can be stopped by instilling an inherent sense of respect in every man, but this will never be achieved as long as women's rights are not acknowledged. this is going to be a long battle.

read the other entries for the Blogathon

Fat Tuesday!

yeah, it's Mardi Gras baby.. so let the drinking and associated activities begin!! for those who want to know the history of Mardi Gras, click here, and if you wanna see what the folks in New Orleans get up to, click here.

so in case you didn't know, today's the day as well when street parties happen, pub crawls take place, girls bare the boobies in exchange for beads (oh yes, they do!), shouts of "throw me something mister!!" fill the air, and a lot of alcohol is consumed! here's the recipe for the Mardi Gras special drink..

The Hurricane
- 2 oz light rum
- 2 oz dark rum
- 2 oz passion fruit juice
- 1 oz orange juice
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp simple sugar syrup
- Garnish: orange slice and cherry

i'm gonna be out partying all evening and night long too, so i leave you with a few more pics, and a happy Mardi Gras to all!

cars cars cars!!

it's with good reason that Detroit is called the Motor City.. the 2006 North American International Auto Show was on this weekend, and it was a chance for guys to be kids all over again, and drool over cars!

From top to bottom, left to right:
- Ford GT & Lamborghini Sport
- Scion tC & BMW Concept Z4
- Ferrari F430 & Shelby Cobra 500GT
- Porsche Carrera S & Dodge Challenger
- Subaru Impreza WRC & McLaren Mercedes SLR

NB: for the record, the Merc shown above costs $465,000/=.. anyone wanna buy me one?!

everything she wants, nothing she needs

if you didn't watch the 10th annual Victoria's Secret Show last night, then you have no idea what you missed, but this should give you an idea..

when the first show aired ten years ago, the US Secretary of the Treasury calculated the loss in work-hours in billions of dollars! last night the effect must have been just as huge.. the show has grown in size over the years, and is now one of the most-watched annual tv and internet events!

it was Tyra Banks' farewell show, while Heidi Klum, Giselle Bundchen, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima and all the other pretty girls did what they do best, look pretty, wearing pretty lingerie.. hehe!

so get in the holiday spirit, and give your gal everything she wants, nothing she needs!!

things that make me smile

some things can always make me smile.. girls being one of the main ones! hehe! here are some of my personal favorites.. (clockwise from top left)

- a girl sleeping peacefully.. nothing can be more romantic, and more calming than that sight.
- a girl eating.. and actually enjoying her food! preferably eating ice cream (but of course!!)
- a girl in a little black number.. black is always elegant, & smart, & classy.. basically hot!
- a girl running.. there's poetry in the motion, and such grace in the fluidity of her limbs.
- a girl cheerleading.. pretty girl = good; little outfit = good; football = good.. just perfect!
- a girl smiling.. last, and most important, a great sense of humor, and an honest smile :-)

pulp fiction, anyone

now here's an idea that deserves some kudos! two (failed, i must add) veteran writers get together over drinks and come up with an idea involving girls, guns and money! how can that go wrong?!

Hard Case Crime is a series of books by some acclaimed authors, and some not so big, in the original pulp fiction genre, with custom made noir covers too. check out the list of books and writers here.. pretty impressive actually!

if you read this kind of stuff growing up, or got your kicks reading Sidney Sheldon and Danielle Steel instead.. then this is for you! i've always had a thing for noir writing (eg. Sin City), and have a feeling i'm gonna enjoy these, cheesy though they might seem..

look out for them, they could just be the next retro thing to make it big.. God knows everything else from the past has come back again with a bang!