I don’t get taping your sex sessions. I can’t imagine people being shutterbugs during a romp in the hay. I’ve never been a fan of recording moments with any of my boyfriends. For one, it’s dicey. What if I don’t remember that I took the pictures/videos, and by chance my parents get a hold of it? What if the camera gets stolen and the precise magnitude of my boyfriend’s pecker gets passed around? What if I get hit by a bus and don’t have an ID on me and the police check my bag to identify me - in the camera - that’s the picture they use for their HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN placard?

Oh, the horror.

For two, I’m of the belief that there are other folks who do it better, like porn stars and transitional obnoxious celeb couples.

On October 4th I'll be here:

Carrier pigeon or messenger dolphin will be the best way to get a hold of me.

I am very much looking forward to a relaxing getaway. My twin and I are joining my older sister and her husband’s family and it's just what the doctor ordered.
My trip to Nagaland last year was a huge adjustment but one that was understood and accepted as part of growing up and becoming part of a new family, which welcomed me with wide-open arms as if I was always one of their own. As the year passed and my life went through some chaotic changes there was loss and there was growth. But there was always a reminder that was still a family to go to if and when the opportunity presented itself.
Once again, it’s the north-east for me next month. It will be another holiday of long distance phone calls and long- awaited rendezvous. I will once again be joining my friend Z on some exciting adventures and meeting a lot of new friends. I’ll be going for two weeks, just when I shall be needing a cure from the coldness in B’lore. I’ve yet to finalize plans to Shillong, and I’m not entirely sure where my journey will take me. All I know is that we're going to Dimapur to stay a few days with my relatives. I’ll eventually wind my way through Kohima, and possibly few other places, before spending the last few days in Shillong and then flying home from Dimapur. I’m very excited and a big screamer that I am, I keep bouncing around the house yelling. "I’m gonna be on vacation!"

And I'll be sure to get lots of photos.

And now, dear readers, I must bid you goodnight. Despite a spike in energy from a certain drink, my eyelids are getting heavy and that I have the tenth season of Law & Order SVU. But before I do that, I shall leave you with a track.

Since a buddy of mine turned me on to Heart a few years ago, I've been hooked. Their early stuff was unique, free- sounding and rootsy. Their album - Jupiter's Darling - took a mainstream, more polished turn. The indie fan inside me hates to admit this but the 80’s fan in me loves it. I think it's a combination of the music and the memories. It was transformational to me. Ann Wilson’s vocals are perfect and who knew she had recorded so many solid backing vocal tracks? Nothing flashy, pretty straightforward but enthusiastic. Their single – ‘No other love’ takes a step or two back into the land of indie goodness while not losing the accessibility and old rock flavor that made them so brilliant and ‘The First Sisters of Rock & Roll’.

Until next time, here’s wishing you a wonderful weekend.

I spent my determining years following the way people lived in the 80s. I was, as a result, one of the few who wore like baggy or really tight leather pants, bright colored shirts, army boots and used plenty of hair wax for punk looking hairstyles. In my time, I've seen a couple of trends come and go. Lately, though, it seems like something a little more meaningful has taken off almost everywhere and become quite a trend - going green. How else can you explain the booming sales of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs), environmentally friendly cars, shirts, bags, books, and even green music concerts?
All this publicity and coverage required me to look at how I work together with my surroundings and what sort of effect I have. So I did a little scrutinizing. Turns out that, according to my calculations over at ‘Calculate Your Impact’, I emit somewhere around 8.65 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Well, not me, physically (that would be horrid), but my family, trips we make and cars. We get macrobiotic when it's convenient. We don't own enormous, fuel-gulping vehicles and take them on frequent road trips. We hardly fly. We don't stand around glaciers with heat ovens, or hunt penguins for lunch or unload toxic waste into the few lakes we have in our city. I'd say we're just about average - we're not going to be responsible for saving the environment but we're not going to be liable for the defilement of it either.

But what else can we do?

I'm all for taking on the big solutions. I urged my dad to put up solar panels so we wouldn’t have to keep using the geyser, plant our own vegetables (since mum loves gardening), carpool, use paper bags, rain water harvesting, make my own clothes, books and lipsticks, buy stuff only from nature friendly businesses, and mount a wind turbine in the back porch. But those things are also a) costly or b) a bona fide splinter in the ass. And I think that - being a splinter in the ass - is what prevents most people from acting. Most of us (me included) are acquisitive to some degree and inclined by the idea of instant indulgence. There's nothing awful about that. But until we get over ourselves a little, there's a point at which we can't become much greener.

So, I am trying! Not perfect but making the effort at least.
Last week I'd given the ‘Anarbor’ track a spin which is a breezy trip through modern American pop-rock. I know that sounds like a mouthful of adjectives, but that is really what this song is. So yes, to respond to your question, they are the ideal band to listen to when you want to shake your shoulders a bit. 'The Brightest Green' is a very upbeat and catchy track and, as a result, more of a pay-off to the listener. Not to forget, there's something about it that stays with you. Something good.
From the intro to the way that the song builds, there’s just not much else you could add to make it into a better song. To be sure, this song is best listened to at a very loud volume.
Until next time. I’ll keep posting as long as you all continue to listen to good music. Peace out. Tell your friends and check back often.

The shortest affair I’ve ever had!

This weekend sported party night and normally I'd be totally cool with anything that involved alcohol and shaking my booty, you know me. But I don't think I could handle it every weekend. I'm exhausted.

My friends and I went to this sorta popular club in the city. They, who had partied last when MC Hammer was all the rage, complained and grumbled, while the bass line crushed pancakes of my already-frail serenity levels. So I was happy when my ex, surprisingly, took me up on the offer of joining us at the club (which by this point, meeting up with him were fairly rare events).

I slipped back into the warm place I had left on the couch and watched as he danced on the floor.
Filled with unsure well-being, I was up to the usual: drinking a long island iced tea, boring the fingers off a friend on my mobile, and checking out the local talent. Glancing up from my cell phone I caught someone staring at me. That someone was a young woman of 5’4, who wore a long shirt over leggings kinda reminding of the young Joan Jett. Her happy pretty face opened into the biggest smile I think I've ever seen. I told Runa then that I was in love with a girl, and I meant it for like five minutes. Busy chatting with my companions instead of keeping tabs on what was happening, I missed her leaving the lounge and for fifteen minutes I literally prayed to God for her return. My ex wouldn’t speak to me properly and I realized this night was going all wrong. So I took his hand and went onto the middle of the dance floor. His eyes said that he had missed me. Everything that every girl wants to hear. Except for this girl. I moped a bit until I downed my drink, danced with my back to him and blacked out everything. Seconds later he startled me out of my trance by holding me. His breath sounded very loud and heavy next to my ear. For once, this was not a turn-on. I tried to say something, but my own voice, by contrast, sounded heavy and slurred. I might be drunk, I realized.

While dancing with him, I felt someone coming really close to me so I turned to face the enemy who had invaded my dance space and then saw her. She was holding out her hand towards me, I took it and smiled so big that I needed chapstick after. We danced together for ten minutes until my ex grabbed me back. I kept looking at her, dancing close and going away. The music stopped and when I turned around she was leaving. My distress was needlessly profound for how little I had done to hold her attention. I made my best frownie face and waved goodbye. She waved back and was gone. I broke away from his arms and packed up to leave the lounge. Outside we stand and it’s awkward.

"So you’re leaving?" he asked.

"Yeah,” I replied. There was no admission of guilt or rationalization. Just open-eyed honesty, which was tough to be, at that moment.
I let myself be hugged, and perhaps hugged him back a little, taking pleasure in the feeling of being wanted without being had. I wondered what kept me from doing something that I wouldn't be at error in doing. In short what stops me from consuming forbidden fruit when the fruit is essentially hopping out of its skin, pleading to be had?

I could have been another kind of woman. But the woman I am, moved his hand away and walked towards my ride. Went to her room alone. And fell back in hate with her city.

So on that note this post is for the girl who stole the night away and who reminds of a very bollywood-ish version of Joan Jett. And thinking about Joan Jett, got me watching all her videos this morning, when I had this sudden realization: I will never love another musician quite the same way I loved Joan Jett. And that made me kinda sad. I have quite a few favourite bands right now, but I couldn't tell you what all their names are, nor could I name five songs off their current album by title. But with Joan Jett, I knew every song and video, I knew so much about her and...I knew (and, frighteningly, still do) every frame of every video by heart. The videos instantly transported me back the days when my best friend was a Sherrie and a Shane and I would sit there watching 'Crimson & Clover' over, and over, and over again, all of us drooling over Miss Jett. And I miss that. I definitely don't miss being a teenager and fighting with my parents or hating high school, but I miss being that dutiful to a band and feeling like I knew them.

Oh, doesn’t Katherine Moennig look painfully similar to Miss Jett?

Hoo! I'm out of breath! ‘How come, eve?’ you ask. That’s cos I've been doing the Friday dance! The Friday dance is so enjoyable but it ain't pretty.

First, an apology - if I haven't visited your blog lately and posted a comment, I'm sorry. Employment has kept me very busy. That's Busy with a capital B. Please don't think I'm paying no attention to you.

I began the morning at 6-something-o'clock with a dazzling idea - I'd document my Friday! Sure, it would make most of you snooze, but it’s something, right? I did really well until I actually made it into my workplace. Then HELL? He created havoc and I forgot I had a crazy head. Hell, I forgot I had a name. So I give you the beginnings of the Friday Noir photo essay I like to call ‘Another Day…’

It was a dark morning in the city. The cold was enveloping. Cold’s sister, Fog was in on it too, like some friends I hadn't seen since Saturday. But I wouldn't get the day started by reminiscing.

A cup of tea was the only thing that would get me moving. A steaming cup of tea from mommy dearest who I was sure was working for the ghosts (I had no idea when she went to bed or when she woke up. She's always around when I'm up).

In my office, secure from curious eyes, I looked at the bright relics on my desk and gazed, startled. 'What is this bright box?' I speculated. And then it came upon me- I'm no hush-hush PI from the seventies. No, I'm an editor and I've got a tough day in front me.


And I did.


Planet Funk quickly became one of my favorite music ensembles in 2001 (like most kids who frequented the clubs in the city that year) when they released the fantastic electro-dance number "Chase the Sun", and then they quickly disappeared into obscurity afterwards. Until in 2003 they came out with an alarmingly appealing song, one that definitely bodes well for me. Like ‘Chase the Sun’, ‘Paraffin’ continues in that direction with a bit of a darker edge. The chorus is one of the most poppy and explosive that the band has made and the song, in general, seems more upbeat while still retaining that dreamy, moody vibe. This track certainly raises my interest level for their album which drops in 2009 and marks the return of Planet Funk.

Phew, that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned, kids.

Tuesday again, huh? I can't say I'm too pleased about that. And my brain isn’t operating too well. I've got all kinds of things I shouldn't talk about but nothing I should.
I won't talk about sleep. Or, more precisely, the lack of sleep. No matter how appropriate it might be in light of some terrible sleeping this weekend. It's a familiar, old refrain and I'd hate to bore you. But..... before you know it, the damn alarm goes off over and over again and despite being screamed at by my mom because I’ll be feeling about as motivated to go to work as I am about drinking coffee. When I do head to work, it’ll be cold and windy and the traffic will suck. I’ll stroll into my office, booted up and take a sip of tea. Instead of it being the standard measure of milk, water and sugar, with my sleepy head, eyes and hands I would’ve dumped gallons of milk or sugar into it. I’ll feel betrayed. And I’d wonder if my brain knew me. “I thought we were tight, Brain?” Soulless bitch.

3 more days standing between me and the weekend. I think it’s time to get more tea.

Over the weekend I attended a fabulous event at the Opus to watch a live performance by funny man, Vir Das. We had a terrific time--we almost choked on our food as we cackled the night away. I did have a fabulous time and the event left me all stirred up and in such a good mood.
Vir Das, a very charming actor/comedian who used to do a face-kicking funny job on two high-rated comedies, one airing on CNBC called 'News on the Loose' and the other on Zoom TV on the show 'Ek Rahen Bir'. That night, I have to admit that he looked quite sexier than ever might I add and very well toned. He succeeded in making himself sound like an absolute asshole and made me realize why I liked his show so much. Alas, it was all good, clean (well, except for the flowing booze) fun. I'm thrilled and just surprised beyond belief that he actually was nice enough to make conversation and click some pictures with us after the show. And what it all boils down to, ladies and gentlemen, is that I’m a sucker for some good humour especially when it’s been presented by a very hot looking package.

If you've spent any time here, you know that I listen to and own a lot of music. From time to time, I geek-out on your asses with a long rundown of all the stuff I've listened to in a particular week or day I've been digging. I don't plan to bring that to an end anytime soon. Hey, I've created an entire site for it.
Swing by every once in a while - I'll post new reviews of albums and songs as I encounter them. You'll probably see some familiar entries too. So, what are you waiting for? A brand-spankin' new review is up and it's a band you won't want to miss.

There's some discreet supposition that Indie bands are lo-fi, technically weak, shoe-gazers. From the sound of some bands, you'd think the members created their songs out of a hat, practiced for a fine 15 minutes, and then recorded their album in a single take. It's not an awful thing (while occasionally, it really, really is) but every so often that's not what I want to hear. Sometimes I want some of my devotion in musicianship, in uniqueness, reinforced. Enter Mazzy Star and their album ‘So Tonight That I Might See’.
I’m going with the track ‘Fade into you’ because it has something of interest, some little slice of creativity that you’ll find you enjoy. I honestly can’t believe it took me a long time to finally hear this song. It was released/ recorded in 1994 and I’m just now, finally, hearing it. Where have all my music loving friends gone? Why was I not force fed this track, years ago? This track is but a taste of how great this album is. Trust me though, this is a single that needs to be added to your collection.

Sure, I am a comment whore but I also plan on using this for good. I know my current blogroll is a little, well, dated. I'd like you to comment so I can round it out and rebuild it a bit. So, get over here if you haven't already. In the mean time, thanks. Thanks for taking time out of your day to read. I'm not always sure why you do, but I really appreciate it. I'm puzzled, but touched.