Over the weekend I watched the movie ‘Eat Pray Love’, created by Ryan Murphy's cinematic adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's allegedly beloved memoir which keeps me aloft, because I imagine what it must have been like for ‘Liz’ to struggle with locked-in syndrome, and takes heart that she one day, breaks away from it all, and has the ability to move and express myself. It leaves the same effect on pretty much everyone who watches it or reads it - a huge smile and no small wonder (and envy) at the places she's been to. How many of us get to cut loose and take off like that? How many of us dare to? Watching the movie made me happy. It made me want to travel again. It made me want to step out of my cloak of inhibition.

(Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to read any spoilers.)

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Although, there are some parts of the movie I find hard to comprehend; that a successful, good-looking writer journeys the world for a year and still can't find happiness until she meets a similarly attractive and successful partner in the final part of the movie.
This sort of "voyage to finding oneself" was because she was rolling in the dough. In fact, this entire movie reminded me of all these foreign yuppies, I constantly run into in the city that would try to sound cool about their meeting with a yogi blah blah blah blah. I'm going to say that most of her readers could not (even if they wanted to) leave their careers and families to go on a year-long vacation to alien lands. Her experience is not based on reality for a large amount people. Nevertheless, the writer eggs on audiences to live richly through her, feeling the charge of self-empowerment and individual transformation, without getting off their couches and truly doing something exciting or significant with their own lives.
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Yeah, much as I dislike coming off as a hater of this movie, I can say that this genre, mainly the food variety, speaks to me, if it's any comfort to fans of food-porn self-discovery travelogues. This brings us to what I did after the movie.

I’m at this new burger joint called ‘Peppa Zzing’. I clear my throat and smile. “Yes, I’d like a cheese-burst beef burger and a cold coffee, please.”

It only takes a few minutes before I’m handed my basket of yum-yums. I dig into the chips, but that’s just a distraction. I get started with the burger and within seconds make a sticky sweet disaster of the burger and myself. I devour the burger but have problems finishing it.
I don’t give a damn about calories but I can’t seem to continue eating the deliciously wonderful, fattening, bad-for-you, so-tasty-it’s-gross burger. I think that wonderful patty is doing amazing things for my face (or so I believe). I highly recommend having lunch/dinner there soon. You deserve a break today. I know I did last night.

Until next time I wish you all the best with the eating and the praying and the loving.

Before

Sure, he kind of looked like a Backstreet Boy then. But can you believe that this is the kid who’s played with people like Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Santana, Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Aerosmith, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, and Sting?

After

Now 29, he may have traded in the haircut, but he's no doubt ready to show you the money. As talented as he is handsome, Jonny Lang has got it down. Here’s now-grown blues wunderkind Jonny Lang with the song that started it all thirteen years ago.

“Lie to Me”

To Long-Distance Guy

Well.... It's Monday already, Fuuggg!!

Monday again, huh? I can't say I'm too thrilled about that. And my brain, it's not functioning too well. I've got all kinds of things I shouldn't talk about but nothing I should.

I can't even begin to go into telling you about the weekend I had. Part of it was cool - I hung out with some of my best buds. But mostly it was disturbing. For some reason I seemed to have gained the weight I lost over the week in two days.

Finally, I can't tell you how many pints of beer, glasses of champagne, midori and whiskey I had. I don't have that many fingers and, since it’s Monday, my ability to count is based solely on the number of fingers I have. If you see me walking around with my shoes off, just know I was called on to do higher math.

I took it this past weekend, during our drinking session. Sadly, it appears as though the view teased us with a glancing blow. Oh well. Can't last forever.

Due to an awesome friend, Ajay, who left a video of this song on my FB wall on my birthday I have had the pleasure of spinning Mutemath’s ‘Peculiar People’ quite a bit lately and have landed on this as the stand-out track this week. It comes out of the gate with a frantic drum line that’s heavy and angular at times and melodic at others. The brisk vocals add to the song’s energy and the fact that it’s all so hooky and catchy and upbeat just makes it irresistible. It’s a whirlwind of a track and an example of Electro-Alternative-Rock at its most vital. Downright explosive guitar riffs, the song hits climax after breathtaking climax as the band’s impossibly loud, vehemently fuzzy power chords make your head spin. And special thanks to the soul who introduced me to them. You should thank him too.

WELL IT'S TIME TO TELL YOU THAT MY BIRTHDAY DID ROCK

I want to thank you for all the nice birthday wishes. I had a really great day. Thanks to having slowed my roll to a near-standstill, I managed to have a lovely dinner on Friday with some of my closest and coolest friends from work and woke up the next morning hangover-free, so I’d have to say that I’d really recommend 27 so far.

Runa decorated me up and I had my favorite dinner (smoked pork at the Naga Kitchen, in case you're curious).

It rained! It has rained on two out of my last two birthdays. I'm originally from the south and the rain hasn't lost its novelty. Although it took us awhile to get to the restaurant and back but because it rained, I got to have more cups of that enjoyable hot black tea.

Behold the new Oxelo Scooter. Thanks to this guy.

Saturday. My best friend came down to our fair city. It’s been three long years since I last saw him. It was hilarious and moderately frustrating to smile at the fun we were having together and the fact that we had missed so much of each other’s lives which erased said smile. Fun was had by all, especially by me who got to terrorize everyone without having to worry about the consequences.

Sunday. Throngs of people dressed in beach wear populated Palace Grounds. Yeah. We went to the Flea Market called ‘The Sunday Soul Sante Bazaar’. It was a perfect day for it - sunny, warm, slight drizzle and insanely gorgeous. Pity a lot of B’lore decided to visit the Bazaar at the same time. I mean, seriously people, there are other places to see bazaars, like your television. Aside from the invasion of an asshat who felt the models at the fashion show rehearsal were strutting all wrong, the market was fun. After that we went to Ice & Spice and had these –

Then we went home. And I collapsed.

I know lots of people who have a tradition on their birthdays. You know - people who take the day off, people who go clubbing, people who go out for a fancy dinner. I don't really have a tradition. Do you?

On this Tuesday evening I bring to you the AWESOME Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, a trombone and trumpet player from New Orleans, with ‘Hurricane Season’.

I love this track as it just never seems to quit. The music is spit fire and it drives along in a jangly bouncy mess of fun from start to finish. I seem to gravitate towards music that sounds as if they’re having a ton of fun making it, and this is just such a track.
It serves as a great kickoff to the winter. This is what Jazz-Funk has always been for me, and in this track you’ll find more of the same. The bottom line is that it’s a great tune from this musical kid genius.

Me Me Me Me Meeeeeeee

Today is my 19th 22nd 27th birthday, and I will be actually completing my 27th year anytime now (comes from being born awesomely early). What I really want for my birthday is to have my wonderful friends next to me, get up really late and have my breakfast in bed, or hold onto the arms of a really handsome hunk when I wake up first thing (not gonna happen); to sit on the couch and watch a movie of my choice with my entire - 6 member family (not gonna happen); and thirteen uninterrupted hours of sleep (not gonna happen). But, I am typing this after talking to so many friends who constantly make me feel loved.

If you would like to give me a gift, and you know you would, you can leave me a comment. This is a lovely present because I am obsessed with getting comments from y’all and it will score me a little easy entertainment today.

I have a friend who always gets himself a present on his birthday. I mean a really nice present. One year it was a camera, the next year it was a new Engine system for his car. (Or something like that, I generally stop listening whenever anyone uses the words "carburetion" and "four-stroke internal combustion.") I decided to take up that tradition myself this year and got myself a little something. Tickets to Bagdogra… from where I shall go up to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and finally to Sikkim.

Now, hurry and give me an internet-Hug.

Also a fabulous 4 pack of Chap Stick and a new purse. I’m not too old to pretend that I’m 22, right?

Here’s a song that I love and I hope you love it to. It always brings back the best of all memories, however I’m currently remembering it, and I hope it hits a warm spot in your life too. This is a song from one of my favourite artists that ever lived – Jeff Buckley. If you’ve never heard of him you better either live across the pond, be under the age of 13 {in which case it’s obvious your parents don’t care about you, I mean you are reading this blog, so go ahead hit play, it can’t hurt}, or be on your way to the closest retailer to fix this mistake in your life. I recommend the albums - Grace and Sketches for my Sweetheart. They’re both classic.

"AND I'LL RISE JUST LIKE AN EMBER IN YOUR NAME"

Man that would make any girl feel like a goddess...

Another One Down

As with most weekends, this one was just way too short. I could have used an extra day and, perhaps, a little more sleep. I did, however, get some stuff done this weekend, including a little day in the life photo set on Saturday.

Aside from the collected photographic substantiation, the weekend played out the way most do. Even though this one had some extra-added bonus live music. On Saturday night, I attended this concert:

It featured a friend on vocals as well as the soon-to-be newlyweds - my best friend, Runa on the paino and her fiancé Tony on the guitars. There was a great deal of screaming going on at around the same time.

So that's it. Another weekend down. These weeks, and months, seem to be passing a little too quickly for my comfort. Anyone know how to slow the world down a bit?

I'm not sure if it's a sign of basic delight or lunacy, but I characteristically wake up with a song running through my head. It moves around my brain until it finds a way through my lips in a hum or whistle and it generally fastens itself to me most of the day. As you can imagine, this can be a good thing or a nuisance. Here's the track list for the past week or so.

Favourite Things (Pomplamoose)
La Vien Rose (Pomplamoose)
Mister Sandman (Pomplamoose)
Nature Boy (Pomplamoose)
September (Pomplamoose)
Single Ladies (Pomplamoose)
Always In the Season (Pomplamoose)
Be Still (Pomplamoose)
Centrifuge (Pomplamoose)
Mrs. Robinson (Pomplamoose)
Twice As Nice (Pomplamoose)
If You Think Need Some Lovin’ (Pomplamoose)
You’re So Gay (Katy Perry)

A few questions. First, do you sense a theme? Second, when my brain finally decided to break the cycle of Pomplamoose, why the fuck did it go with lame pop girl Katy Perry? That ain't right.

As much as I'd love to hate Pomplamoose- Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn - I really can't. Seriously, I'd love an excuse. But they're pretty awesome. The tunes are quite clever, the songs are infectious and I love them with a fiery passion that burns with the strength of a thousand suns. But I am positive - absolutely convinced beyond any doubt whatsoever - that the geniuses behind this band have somehow injected it with the mental, audio equivalent of crack. How else could you explain the unconscious force that wakes me up with their songs in my head? Were I to be kept away from the music of Pomplamoose, I know I would first experience the shakes, enter a violently convulsive state and end up chopping up my music devices, snorting it and praising the gods of rock. And I'm fine with that. But god forbid I wake up singing Katy Perry again.

What kind of crap is stuck in your head?

Oh, and I turn 27 in 3 days, and I don’t know what to expect.

Pomplamoose – If You Think Need Some Lovin’