Gentleman

Brazil: Football! Music! and Soap Operas?

An excerpt from what I read just now about Brazil:
--

What is the demographic outlook?

Brazil's population is projected to grow to 216 million people by 2030 — but then fall slightly to 215 million people by 2050.

(Population Reference Bureau)

Why is that?

Brazil has a fertility rate of 1.9 children per woman (as of 2007) — below the rate of 2.1 children per woman needed to sustain the current population.

(Population Reference Bureau)

Was that always the case?

Back in 1960, Brazil’s fertility rate stood at 6.3 children per woman.

(New York Times)

Is there an explanation?

Brazil’s most popular prime-time soap operas revolve around small and stable middle-class families that are much smaller than traditional Brazilian families — and wherever the soaps air, the fertility rate for women drops significantly.

(Bureau of Economic Analysis for Development)

--

The last bit is really interesting. Read more about Brazil if you are keen.

His Dad

He walked in. The obnoxious walk, the arrogant stance, and the derogatory posture at the table just proved it all.

There she was, elegantly sipping her coffee in a flowing black dress, a beige colored soft textured jacket. Sitting all by herself, and looking a million bucks and brains.

He stuffed himself till the brim, and made sure his friends were stuffed too. She caught his eye, and he couldn't let go of her sight. He was sure that his aura of power and riches would reach her and she would be flattered. It seemed that only he thought so.

She glanced at him and heard his loud conversations with his friends, though momentarily. It seemed that she was showing some interest. It was turning out to be a let down. How could she be interested in him?

The poor waiter did his job well while managing to stay shut and hoping that it would be over soon. Bringing the bill was just the preliminary task, securing the money was another.

He opened his mouth while keeping his eyes on her. And then it happened.
'Do you know who my dad is? He could buy this place out!'

She walked up to him. He was sure she wanted a piece of him. His power and riches could yield anything. He knew she was flattered and this would eventually lead to courtship.

She spoke.
'Could you arrange for me to meet your dad?'

A glass shattered in the background.

Google talk

= Go! Ogle! Talk!

Curiosity

killed the cat.
And then came rat poison.

900+

is the number of nods and handshakes that a chief guest will be involved in, at the convocation of an institute like mine. That's some exercise.

I don't know why I thought of it. All I can say is, it probably isn't a very pleasant experience.

I

have progressed from stonage for good...
...unless another world war forces me back to it.

I

passed out.

I am

a GEEK.

The reasons for this announcement shall not be disclosed.

S

:-)

I was told...

... that I am an exceptional electron.

and then spoke GRV...

Writing on a compound wall at a signal: Love ever, hurt never.

I deliberately ask GRV, what he thinks is the summary of the statement?

Reply: 'Never have too many virgins'.

Mumbai Balconies & Bengaluru Beer

Coming soon. Every alternate weekend.

PS : Everyone who can afford the to and fro travel is free to join. Requests to sponsor the trips as well might be considered on a case to case basis, the prime factor being how trippy can the applicant get.

PPS : A blog shall be up soon and all those who participate in the proceedings of MBBB may contribute to the blog. Please leave a comment if you would like to join some time.

Credits : Vatsap for the design

Towel story

How much will a towel cost ? Rs. 100 ? Rs. 200 ?
I am sure that a decent one will come in the above range.

How much does it cost when you forget to take your towel to the bathroom in a hostel ?
A treat to all the opportunist leeches who are also known as room neighbours aka wing mates.

In this case it would be a trip to Abiruchi. My negotiation skills helped me get off with a veg meal for all. Phew! I know that is not much. But still, it is more than twice the amount I would spend in buying a new towel. Damn it. So much for izzat!

CAM PAN

I wasn't aware that 'Nagin' by Decibel started making its rounds almost a year ago. I saw it a while back and wanted to share it with another friend so I buzzed him on gtalk and what happened next was this:

Vinay: woh suna hai kya

nagin by decibel

ASN: ob.. bahut purana hai

Vinay: oh! i didnt know that..

ASN: aur tu duniya ka sabse bada m***rc**d hai

Vinay: whenever you get shit like that pass it on

kyun be hara*i ?

kya kiya maine ?

ASN: it used to come on channel v.. pichle december me, channel v some rock contest etc

Vinay: oh!

ASN: kya kiya tune? saala m***rc**d

(By now I was getting all worked up, now what have I done ? What is it that I haven't told him ? Have I not informed him about the job offer I have got? I was confident that I had, then what was it ?)

Vinay: bol bhaai kya kiya

Silence..

ASN: i lost a life in pacman

Vinay: heeee he eh eheee

trippp

ASN: teri wajah se.. abhi message karna tha kya

Vinay: wogays!

sorry boss

carry on

Rasam

Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Rasam is a drink best served haawt!

Ponder!

I found this interesting exchange article on the price of sperm.

Interesting.

[ ]

There are moments which leave you clueless. Totally, utterly clueless. The title to the blog very well defines what my state of mind was during such a moment that I had today - blank. I am sure, I will never ever get another moment like that again.

My father calls me quite often. It is rare that he talks for long, and he compensates for it by calling me often. Today was different. After fifteen minutes of conversation came the shocker. And then he continued to speak for another fifteen odd minutes like nothing was said between us.

Highlights of the conversation:

My Father(F) : Gunda! I decided something today.
Czar(C) : What is it?
F : Nothing! I was generally watching this serial and you know this character who wants to get married to this girl who his father doesnt want him to get married to right.
C : Ok. So?

Trust me, at this point I was not able to fathom that my father had begun talking to me about such stuff.

F : Nothing! I wont trouble you about all this. You are my only son. Marry anyone you want.

Fuffff! Puff!! Wooosh!! Whatever else one can think of! Bang!

I will sleep a happy man tonight. Thank you dad.

Guess_What

The gardener should be awarded for such a marvelous piece of art.


Or is it only me who thinks that it is what it is? Is it the ability to see beyond the regular? Is it the free thinking spirit?

Wah wahs and brickbats welcome. :D

Enough said! Enjoy the pic.

PS: Something to lookback upon.

Window Shopper

Initially I was just planning to show off the nice pair of glasses that I was trying out and how I look in it, by posting only the snap. But then I thought I should highlight a few things that I did as I had gone recently with a couple of friends to a reputed mall in the city.

I tried out a couple of tee shirts, a pair of shades, and a cap. I actually wore the cap at the beginning of the spree that we were on, and kept it on till we got out of the mall. So that is the kind of window shopping I do. I was also keen on wearing the shades through the remaining time that we intended to spend inside the mall, but then, my friends' advice got the better of me and I had to leave these shades back where they were.

The shades I am sporting in the snap are from Polaroid. I was keen on buying some aviator shades, and the salesman rightly pointed out that they are generally made for faces that are much bigger than mine and wont really suit me. He took the trouble to actually dig for a pair which were very much similar to aviator shades in their structure and did suit me quite well, or at least that's what I think. I really appreciate the efforts that the sales person put into finding this particular piece and I was actually serious about buying them.

Then came the surprise which always ruins the fun: the price tag!

Czar: How much for these?
Friendly sales person: Sir, these shades cost Rs 7200/- only.

I had genuinely asked him if they could be made to suit my eye-sight at the beginning of the conversation. Co-incidentally, he answered only after I had seen the price tag. Unfortunately or fortunately (the former represents the state before the awareness of the price and the latter, the state after the awareness of the price) they did not take up the work of fitting shades with glasses which were built to rectify the eye sight. He asked me to get it done in some authentic Polaroid showroom. At the same time, he insisted that I buy the piece in the mall itself as there was a discount on offer (which was small enough to be of any significant help to my wallet) and get the glasses changed in some other showroom as it would be done free of cost.

It was reason enough for me to safely say ''No! Thanks''. And I was gone.

Oh by the way, for those who think that all I do is window shopping, I did buy a pair of floaters from Caterpillar for myself, which did enough damage to my wallet anyway. And I intend to buy those shades at the earliest, and be assured, I will announce it when I do so. :)

Cheers to window shopping.

Credits: Vatsap for editing the snap.