Golden Jubilee!!!

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
- In the Shadow of the Moon

The dreams of yesterday are the hopes of today and the reality of tomorrow.
-Robert Goddard

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the the universe.
— Albert Einstein

Happy 50th Birthday!!!

Cool ...A small FISH has "JUST" been Served!

Seeing Google challenged is NOT everyday affair. So this Monday (28th July 2008) becomes really COOL to see that happen, when cuil got launched few hours back and claiming that it searches 3 times more web page than Google does.

I tried, looks OK, but NOT "compulsive" enough that I will start "cuiling" rather than "googling" with immediate effect. But then who knows...It took a while from shifting to Yahooing to Googling 8 years back. I am also happy that it will let the Google to retain and keep working on its competitive edge..which probably it was not finding anymore from Microsoft or Yahoo!

What I liked about Cuil (pronounced cool) is the way it categorizes the results. What I did not like is my name search gives ZERO results. Also doing a quick search using terms "Ahmedabad blast" gave disappointing result for Cuile. So for me ..it still has a long way to go! But once they fix these small issues it will be interesting to see which big fish tries to eat this "small fish" first.

Salaam Bombay!!!

Little did I have an idea that an offbeat conversation I took part in last weekend at a friend's party..is going to keep me busy for an entire week. It was about Radios/Transistors..how vital role it played when we were growing up..be it elections/sports or even sheer entertainment. And just then somebody mentioned Radio Ceylon....and yes you guessed it right. How can we not talk about Amin Sayani the greatest voice ever heard in Indian radio and Binaca Geetmala the numero uno Radio Programme of the country till TV replaced that wonderful medium in mid 80s!

So though the conversation soon was taken over by more demanding office gossips/controversies while sipping Mohitos, but I was still stuck on those moments of Wednesday 8-9PM and continuous fiddling with those short wave knobs. FM was still unheard..and Chitrahaar was still only for privileged ones. Maybe it was the effect of Mohito, by the time I was coming of out of the party I had already decided how to spend my next free hours. I was little surprised to see that there is only one website (bollango.com) which is maintaining a playlist of Binaca tops, Wiki is not complete and only one website (bollywoodsoundtracks.com) which posted an html page.. and yes NONE in YouTube. Surprising isnt it!

So now you know what I was busy for past few days.....AND..Good things ought to be shared !!!

So here I am presenting the First Ever PlayList in Youtube "The Official Binaca (later Cibaca) Geetmala" (1953-1994). Then as GOOD THINGS shall never come to an end, from 1995 to 2007 another playlist (what Binaca would have chosen had it been still ON) and Finally My own PICK for 2008!.

So enjoy over 6 hrs of the best of the best, 4 generations of Hindi Film music, enjoyed equally by our GrandParents and now by their great grandkids and while doing so...also lets experience and appreciate the wonderful transition Bollywood goes thru over this 55 years...be it from B/W to color, or the actors/actresses, the singers, the style, the dress, the looks, the ambiance, the mood, the technology, the direction, editing and last but not the least The Lyrics...Wao! What An Incredible Journey..And Still as Addictive and Alluring as it was then...UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Enjoy! (I had a better player, but this youtube bug is causing issue, this is a workaround for time being)

Binaca GeetMala (1953-1994)





...And If Binaca Would Have Continued (1995-2007)



..... And the My Pick for "Sartaz" Song (2008!)

Celebrating 39th Anniversary

I plan to celebrate this day by watching "In the shadow of the Moon" presented by Ron Howard (appolo-13 fame). This one is a documentary released last year and since then won so many acclaims and rewards. Going by Internet Buzz....it seems this is the best film ever made on Apollo Moon Landings. The best part it seems there is no commentary to it in the background (like usual documentaries) rather it is narrated by in a chronological order by those eight men..who had actually put their foot on Moon!

I am looking forward to it. The only "disappointing" thing is Conspiracy Theorists are still as active as always. It is hard for them to understand that Faking a Moon Landing will be Much More Difficult task than actually going there. There is NO DEARTH of McClellans afterall (which is good) !

The WORD Game...

The N word...
Will Rev. Jesse Jackson be still called "reverend" after using the N word....and moreover where N is no more a Color stuff this time, but an Anatomical stuff....and most importantly if that belongs to the would be most powerful man in the world! Well I fully sympathize with Rev., for he is mere Mortal human being like us..and can surely use the N, S or F word for that matter..but uttering that at a place with live Microphones? Mr Jackson...You must "look before you speak".

The S word...
A R Rahman is great. He is indeed Versatile. He is always experimenting...But to experiment with four letter S words in the most catchy songs he composes...Well it is little bit harder for the parents especially if you have a kid who has an extra "affection" for bollywood songs. So though we could manage Rubaroo well..by skipping the S word right at the beginning..but in his latest chartbuster (Pappu Cant Dance..) no chance of skipping it! By the way this movie (jane tu jane na) is full of regular S words too...and it becomes difficult to exlpain a three year old how come they are escaping scot free even after speaking those dreaded words.

Cake Time!

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!!

Lets Celebrate with this lovely Song and Paintings

T H A N K S for your Visit(s)

Da Vinci Code...Revisits!

Since past few days was coming across the reviews/interviews etc regarding this new book called "The Last Patriot" which is hitting stores today. Author is Brad Thor who has already a NY Times Bestseller ("The First Amendment") under his belt. I have not read him so far .. but looking at the review and hearing the buzz...it seems his new book is going to cause a stir (and few Fatwas) for sure!

The theme seems very much like Da Vinci Code...just change Christianity with Islam. Though an work of fiction but the author claims that it is based on true facts. So just as in Da Vinci, here prophet Mohamed on his last days "said" something...which if revealed today will be catastrophic for Islam and the highest authorities will go to any extreme to stop this American Navy Seal hero from trying to go to the root and making it public. And in this backdrop Brad says he gives many of startling true facts about Islam and Quran and its history so far unknown to majority of us! Based on the author's interview, I came across this "interesting link" which if true, makes us believe that what the 3rd president of this country Thomas Jefferson dealt with 200 years back..is no way different than what the current US presidents are dealing with!

I am eager to see what more true facts it is going to give us...and finally if it can be as gripping, revealing and shocking as Da Vinci Code or just a mere copycat version of one of the most thriiling novel world has seen so far.

It certainly seems worth $13...and is going to be my next purchase from B&N.