Shikhar Nigam's Blog, page 5

The Racketeer by John Grisham

The Racketeer by John Grisham

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Meh. That's what I thought of this book. It's your standard crime-thriller fiction infused with a sprinkling of murder mystery but thoroughly uninspiring. There was the minimal amount of empathy I felt with the protagonist and the minimal amount of curiousity in the denouement but that was it. It's not as good a book as Da Vinci Code etc. which should give you a good idea of its quality. There were no lines, no quotes, no situations that stuck with me or inspired the inner writer in me. There were pages and pages of useless description that I completely ignored. My personal verdict is that you are better off avoiding this book.



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Dogs Eating Cats

Up until two weeks ago, I thought it would be an extremely common thing that dogs would eat cats. I used to think if a dog saw a cat, they immediately saw food and ate them after giving them a good chase.

The inception of this notion was probably from cartoons. In Tom & Jerry, the cat is after the mouse in and eats it in real life. And so if the dog is after the cat in the cartoon, it must eat it too. Or in Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries. Sylverter is always hatching plots to eat Tweety and the dog, Hector is always stopping Sylvester. I figured the only reason he is not eating Sylvester is because dogs are more loyal to their masters (in this case, Granny) and so wouldn't eat Sylvester.

This very fixed notion however came to a close about two weeks ago when I saw the kittens in my hostel not being afraid of the dog. I had figured that they would have been eaten pretty soon. They hadn't. I asked my friends. They almost shamed me for believing that dogs eat cats. Apparently, they fight cats, but don't eat them. Suddenly, Catdog makes a lot more sense.

Love at first sight

My uncle only revealed to my aunt that it was love at first sight for him 11 years into their marriage. He wasn't intentionally keeping it a secret, he just assumed love at first sight automatically works both ways.

Trial Tl;dr

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36 Bollywood Songs That You Wouldn't Think Were "Inspired"

They even had to copy the name. Sheesh.Bollywood has a penchant for flattery and imitation. The following compilation will prove it beyond doubt. It is not an exhaustive list. Many, many not-very-popular songs have been omitted.





In this playlist,


Los del Rio - Macarena  : Dil Le Lena (Auzaar)Kevin Lyttle - Turn Me On : Chakle Chakle (Deewane Huye Paagal)My Darling Clementime : Ye Hai Mumbai Meri JaanPeter Paul and Mary - 500 Miles : Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaaye (Jurm)Demis Roussos - Say You Love Me : Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay)Zigeunerjunge - Alexandra (1967) : Dilbar Mere Kab Tak Mujhe (Satte Pe Satte)The Yellow Rose of Texas - Johnny Zero : Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle (Aa Gale Lag Jaa) The Godfather Theme Song : Raja Ko Rani Se Pyaar Ho GayaLinear - Sending All My Love : Neend Churaayi Meri (Ishq)Amr Diab - Tamally Maak : Kaho Na Kaho (Murder)Ceddin Deden - Mehter Marsi (Most Famous Turkish March) : Dil Na Diya (Krishh) Bojoura - If It's Tuesday It Must Be Belgium : Chura Liya Hai Tumne (Yaadon Ki Baraat)Sarang Hae Yo : Pehli Nazar Mein (Race)Tak Bisakah - Peterpan: Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai (Woh Lamhe)Oh Carol - Paul Anka : Kya Kehna (Kya Kehna)The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star : Koi Yahan Nache Nache (Disco Dancer)Ya Ghali - Guitara : Ya Ali (Gangster)Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music : Hookah Bar (Khiladi 786)La Betleem Colo-N Jos - Cleopatra Stratan : Teri Meri (BodyDil Le Lena from Auzaarguard)Toto Cutugno - L'italiano (Sanremo 1983) : Nasha Yeh Pyaar Ka Nasha Hai (Mann)Mazel Tov - Fernando Cornejo : Dil Ko Hazaar Baar Roka (Murder)Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime (1970 ) : Haseena Gori Gori (Tarazu)Viento De Los Andes - Sueños (Bolivia) : Idhar Chala Main Udhar Chala (Koi Mil Gaya)Şıkıdım - Tarkan : Shikdum (Dhoom 2)Theme For A Dream - Cliff Richard : Pal Pal Har Pal (Lage Raho Munnabhai)Oliver Shanti - Sacral Nirvana : Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai (Gangster)Jesse Cook - Mario Takes a Walk : Dhoom Machale (Dhoom)Sarah Brightman - Take That Look Off Your Face : Koi Mil Gaya (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)Leehom Wang - Zhu Lin Shen Chu : Zara Zara Touch Me (Race)A World Of Our Own - The Seekers : Chal Chale (Woh Lamhe)Rasputin - Boney M : I'll Do The Talking Tonight (Agent Vinod)Eruption - One Way Ticket :Hari Om Hari (Pyara Dushman)Barbie Girl - Aqua : Tumne Jo Kaha (Laawaris)Vangelis - Voices : Chaand Sitaare (Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai)When Johnny Comes Marching Home : Na Bole Tum Na Maine (Baaton Baaton Mein)My Lecon - JTL : Hare Krishna Hare Raam (Bhool Bhullaiya)

Drawing Cartoons (10 Steps, 1 Skill)

Mickey MouseSnoopy from PeanutsAngry Birds (Red)PikachuSimple DragonCartoon SeahorseTweety BirdBatmanDonald DuckAang (Avatar)
 
This post forms a part of the series 10 Steps, 1 Skill which aims at teaching a skill, technique or ability upto a sufficient level of expertise so as to be able to seem smart, not inept or better than a beginner - with the least amount of effort possible, or in the simplest steps - always limited to 10.

You may find other posts in this series, here.

Drawing Cartoons (10 Steps, 1 Skill)

Mickey MouseSnoopy from PeanutsAngry Birds (Red)PikachuSimple DragonCartoon SeahorseTweety BirdBatmanDonald DuckAang (Avatar) 
This post forms a part of the series 10 Steps, 1 Skill which aims at teaching a skill, technique or ability upto a sufficient level of expertise so as to be able to seem smart, not inept or better than a beginner - with the least amount of effort possible, or in the simplest steps - always limited to 10.

You may find other posts in this series, here.

Without Beauty, Beauty Within

Twelve years ago, when I was young,
The times when ABC and rhymes were sung,
I was told some people are normal,
Others look very pretty or pretty horrible,
That a good cover does not mean a good book,
So, never judge someone by just their looks.
About all this, I didn’t really care,
For frankly, it was neither here nor there,
Cus’ it didn’t matter how pretty one was,
I was too busy playing – no time to be lost!
And now, twelve years past that day,
When fun has ceased and so has play,
When I understand what being pretty means,
What I was told is not what is seen.
The guy in my class who looks good,
Much, much more than I ever could,
It is him all the girls adore,
Even though, he’s as smart as a pea – no more.
Every girl says by him they’re floored,
And all this while my inner beauty is ignored.
The guys are no different, including me,
All of us judge a girl by what we see,
And even though she may be rude,
Guys like her – cus’ she looks so good.
So, basically, the whole world really is shallow,
They just don’t want the kids to know,
And I have long since realized, 
No matter how much it is denied,
Without beauty, beauty within hardly matters.

Without Beauty, Beauty Within

Twelve years ago, when I was young,
The times when ABC and rhymes were sung,
I was told some people are normal,
Others look very pretty or pretty horrible,
That a good cover does not mean a good book,
So, never judge someone by just their looks.
About all this, I didn’t really care,
For frankly, it was neither here nor there,
Cus’ it didn’t matter how pretty one was,
I was too busy playing – no time to be lost!
And now, twelve years past that day,
When fun has ceased and so has play,
When I understand what being pretty means,
What I was told is not what is seen.
The guy in my class who looks good,
Much, much more than I ever could,
It is him all the girls adore,
Even though, he’s as smart as a pea – no more.
Every girl says by him they’re floored,
And all this while my inner beauty is ignored.
The guys are no different, including me,
All of us judge a girl by what we see,
And even though she may be rude,
Guys like her – cus’ she looks so good.
So, basically, the whole world really is shallow,
They just don’t want the kids to know,
And I have long since realized, 
No matter how much it is denied,
Without beauty, beauty within hardly matters.

9 Most Memorable Fictional Foods

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster from
Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy

"[The Guide] says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. It says that the effect of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick."







Bertie Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans
from Harry Potter




"You want to be careful with these. When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour - you know you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once." 



Senzu Beans from DragonBallZ


Senzu Beans (仙豆) are mystical beans with immense rejuvenation properties in the Dragon Ball franchise. When eaten, the consumer's energy and physical health are restored to their fullest; the effects are typically almost instantaneous for the recipient, making these beans a great asset both in and out of battle. 



[image error]Book Chewing-Gum from Jimmy Neutron




"The book gum allows you knowledge of an entire book just by chewing a piece of gum."






[image error]Lembas Bread from
Lord Of The Rings

"Eat little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall men of Minas Tirith." 
—The Fellowship of the Ring, "Farewell to Lorien"


[image error]Big Kahuna Burger from Pulp Fiction



"Big Kahuna Burgers! That's that Hawaiian burger joint. I hear they've got some tasty burgers. I ain't never had one myself, how are they?" 

[image error]Popeye's Spinach





I remember this from my childhood. Needless to say, I spent many dinners pretending to have superhuman strength just as I had taken my first-bite of some spinach.






Orange Soda from Kenan & Kel





"Who loves Orange Soda? 
K-K-Kel loves Orange Soda.

Is it true?
I do. I do. I dooooooooo." 





Krabby Patty
from Spongebob Squarepants



After all the hype, I really want to know what it tastes like.