Miss Canada is Miss Universe 2005

Natalie Glebova of Toronto was crowned Miss Universe 2005 just some time ago in Thailand. I first heard the news from Behbood, who jovially gave me a running commentary on her win - "it was tough but she hung in there man!".

This morning, while taking a break at the Office, I was looking over the Miss Universe website with a colleague. I don't know why we looked at the site, I think I was making fun of the national costume that Miss Canada wore. It was a really outlandish something, with a really big headwear full of feathers. My colleague remarked that was nothing like a national dress, a Leafs jersey would be more like it!

Anyways, even then I remarked that I expected her to make the top ten. She is really pretty. The other girl I thought was pretty was the Miss India. And then Miss Canada wins it.

As of this moment the Miss Universe site seems to have crashed.

Is Love A Mental Illness?

I was driving to work this morning and one of the news items was that a new love is like a mental illness. Unfortunately I caught the very end of it, so could only think of all the mad Hindi movies I get to see now and then.

Later, the NBC reported that scientists now say the brain activity of those in a whirlwind romance is nearly identical to those with mental illness. This could explain why Tom Cruise is reportedly acting crazy.

In fact now I think of it, it makes sense. A girl I know from work recently hooked up with someone, and her boyfriend is obsessed about her. Without giving any more details, let's say he recently marked the 23rd week of the anniversary of the day they met. Now having known her for 3 years I don't see what the fuss is about [names and numbers may have been changed to protect the identity of the mentally ill]. She finds it cute. I am reminded of Dil Chahta Hai, of Saif's future wife's ex-fiance.

Actually the old Indian movie Mann (with Aamir-1-movie-per-decade-Khan) has a very good skit on mad lovers. Romeo And Juliet, Laila-Majnu, Shireen-Farhad, Heer-Ranjha, Sohni-Mahiwal are all about the power of love that has crossed the boundaries of rationality.

Hungama-fied

Attended Hungama, Toronto's celebration of its South Asian (read Indian) culture. The event was Dundas Square, near Eaton's Center. I joined late (around 6.30 pm). We were there till 11 pm.

The items ranged from the very good (the punjabi sukhbir songs like 'Gul Naro Ishq') to the extremely bad (the rendering of 'Laila Mai Laila' by someone who looked neither like Zeenat Aman nor sang like Nazia Hassan) to the average (the human boombox) to the mildly hot (the bellydancing routine that had the crowd baying for more).

Ofcourse there were the usual characters amongst the attendees. There was a Chinese lady who kept trying to do a bhangra. Except she kept raising her legs rather than hands (a combination of Falun Gong bhangra maybe). There was the desi fob behind us in a 3-piece suit who kept murmuring "thish ish not reeel orrissha dansh". Except he was saying that during the belly dancing. No one paid any attention, understandably. There were the occasional white guys who happened to be in the area and short of cover needed to attend the night clubs nearby.

After the show the Gang of Three (you know who you are) split for La Marche. On the way we stopped at Ontario place, parked and entered to roam the place. We saw this crowd of guys in black tuxes and girls in white, and figured we were at a wedding. Then a security guard came and asked us why we were there, and we replied (lied) we were there to pick up our friend from the wedding. He said ok and left. Later we learnt this was prom night for the graduates of the local high school. The security must not have been very tight.

Over some rosti and mackarel and smoked salmon, the night ended with a discussion of the downfalls of Bengalis. And the Gang of Three retired for the night.

PS. So far I found only one reference to the event on Google news. I am pretty sure the ethnic channels and newspapers have covered it galore.


With some friends at Hungama.

Bunty Aur Babli is fun

Saw Bunty Aur Babli last night at Albion. It's a good movie that you can watch one time in the theatres and then later rent it out to watch again. It's fun, good, wholesome timepass, that the family can enjoy (except one scene between Abhishek and Rani that caught everyone by surprise).

The capers - original, the masti - spontaneous, the melodrama - not too much, the songs - good, the acting - too good, Aishwarya - hot in the item song (and I mean sizzling, Angelina Jolie hot, and to those readers who live on Planet Mars and did not know Ash was in the movie, too bad). The couple looked really good, and had great chemistry and comic timing.

In short, go watch Bunty Aur Babli, and if you have your own Babli - take her!

PS. Compare the reviews of India-FM (warning: spoilers) and Rediff. Something to note: Indiafm does not write good reviews, they literally give the whole story away (with spoilers), while Rediff does a brief synopsis and then reviews it. Moreoever, lately I have found after watching any movie I tend to agree more with the Rediff review than the India-FM one.

Indianapolis

Was over at Indianapolis for the long weekend. I wanted to take the car out on a long drive and see how it handles. The rest of the family wanted to visit Rumi's. We were also supposed to go to Chicago, but in the end decided not to. There would not be enough time to do the two cities, and we(I) would end up too tired from driving.

The journey was mainly uneventful. The altima (Alhamdulillah) handled wonderfully. I discovered the joys of cruise control. On the way there, since it was daylight all the way, I had no problems driving. I surprised myself, that I could drive 11 hours on the go. We took only about 3 breaks, mostly to fill up. Mom had a stash of food ready, which we partook regularly.

Indianapolis was ofcourse a very big, and boring city. There's really nothing to sightsee there. It was one week before Indy 500, so we saw lots of bikers, bikes, NASCAR type people, and a couple of practice and timing laps. Also, the lack of brown people was startling compared to Toronto. Even the Dollar Store there employed white people. My cousin, Rumi bhaia, has a lakefront property there, with a big backyard, so we had lot of outdoors fun there. Didn't get time to do any fishing, unfortunately.

The drive back was mostly fine. We hit a big traffic jam near Detroit. Apparently the construction south of the border is as mindless as here. For one hour we crept at 30 kph. Then from London to Toronto it was dark (past sunset) and it was a tough, tiring drive.


Mapping The Route


The End Of The 401


Sunset At Rumi B's

Wonderland With BSA

Just returned from a Wonderland day, spent there courtesy BSA. Like last year, this time I, too, was in charge of organization. The procedure was a little different. Last year we collected money before hand, and Wonderland gave us the tickets on the day, so I had to wait in line at Guest services before 10 am and everyone had to wait for me. This year Wonderland had emailed me the tickets beforehand, so we were able to get in early, and I paid Wonderland later (around evening when we were all taking a break).

The weather was very cold (last year we had 25 and sunny, this year was 4 and there were hails at one time, though it was mostly clear). However we still had fun. I had dressed for the weather, as did Rakeeb (who judiciously sent me weather updates the night before). The lines were non-existent (a very distinct advantage in coming on a weekday before schools open), and we went on all rides that we wanted to.

Right now very tired. Tomorrow will probably wake up with a headache, bruises and other 'hangover' symptoms.


The grand "Before" picture


At Tomb Raider Ride


St Abeer & The Dragon


All on the Psychlone

Oliver Twist at Abeer's school

Abeer had a performance at his school tonight. He played the role of Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist. It was a musical (sort-of) play. And really good. I mean really good. The kids were from grade 4 to 8. The teachers' names were Mrs Krumholz (that's a real name), and Ms Owens. The kids acted very well, especially the guy who played Bill Sikes (and I am not saying because he was Abeer).

Bill Sikes is the main villain who controls Fagin's gang, gets rich off them, has a pretty girlfriend (who has a change of heart at the end), and then tries to use Oliver to be part of his plan to rob Mr Brownlow (who also happens to be related to Oliver in the end).

I thought, besides Oliver, Bill Sikes was the next best character to play. He was in many scenes, and had a whole range of emotions and histrionics he could do.

I have always felt this was Charles Dickens' best novel (it's so like an 80s Hindi movie).


The background for one of the scenes


Abeer at Fagin's lair


Bill Sikes (Abeer) leading Oliver to rob a house

Kaal is a dumb movie

Saw Kaal last night. It was such a so-so movie. On the whole, I would grudgingly give it a 2 star. It was a such a 'could-have-been-better' movie. And that says a lot.


At Timmy's After Kaal

Kaal is about a group of people (which include a supposedly wildlife expert couple) who get stuck in the forest with a killer tiger. The conclusion has a supernatural bent.

This movie with tighter editing, a better script, could have been a good thriller. Instead you are never really involved with the story, the plot has too many flaws (why the experts are not following the rules of the forest, why would they not advise the ranger they are coming, and what happens to Vivek's new vehicle), the climax you can predict, and the only good part of the movie are the 5 minutes in the beginning (the 'item' song by SRK-Malaika).

All-in-all, a very disappointing movie.

Indoor BBQ

The BBQ that Rumana organized, which was supposed to be at Whitby park, ended up being inside Rumpa Apu's house, as it was pouring cats and dogs. Everyone had a good time, with some highlights including

• Tauhud vs. Saima Apu - She is now the official head of "I Hate Tauhid" club, membership: 1.
• A decision was taken to never let Ether make tea again. Salt instead of sugar just does not cut it.
• I will never forget my camera again. And if I do, I will never inform Tauhid again.
• Rifat's imitation of Ether, with the mention of the significant other (hint: it's not a guy).
• Nafis's DJ-ing. The guy worked hard with the same cd for six hours.
• Driving the kids (except one) from the basement.
• The 'coming out' of Raj.
• The "fine tuning of the Passat" tips.

BBQ on Foil

Learned some now tricks for BBQ. I am getting quite good at this. If you wrap chicken in foil and put it on grill, you get a different flavor (the chicken cooks in its own juice). However I prefer the normal method. It doesn't work for steaks though.

Canadian Politics Similar To Bangladesh

Almost a couple of years ago, during the Toronto municipal elections, I told this joke to my co-workers:

A US senator is visited by an MP from Bangladesh. Showing him around the ranch, the visitor from Bangladesh is impressed by his more than one car, horses and a summer and winter house. He asked the senator, "I know the US Senate does not pay that much to you so you can mantain this place, how do you do it?" The senator takes him to the window, and points to a hydro dam. "You see that dam?" He asks. The Bangladeshi replies, "Yes." The senator winks, thumps his chest and announces "10%." The Bangladeshi nods in understanding.

A couple of months later the US senator is in Bangladesh, and visits this MP. The senator is completely stunned by what he sees. The MP has three houses in Uttara, two flats in Dhaka, 15 servants, three cars. His wife wears tonnes of jewellery. The senator asks the MP, "I cannot believe a third world country can pay you this much as salary, how do you do it?"

The MP takes him to the window, and points, "See that bridge?"

The senator tries and looks, but does not see a bridge. He turns to the MP, "What bridge?"

The MP smiles, and replies, "100%."

When I said this joke, everyone was laughing, before Pat said, "You know, that's just like Toronto!"

With David Miller (now mayor) running on a promise to not build the airport bridge, I was surprised at how right Pat was. Toronto spent millions in consultation fees on where and how to build this bridge, then they awarded a contractor, then the GTAA spent money on improving the island airport, and now we will spend millions in penalty money not to build this bridge. At the end of all that money wasted, we are back to where we started - no bridge.

Currently the Liberal party is in deep trouble over the sponsorship scandal, with allegations of kickbacks and taxpayers' money changing hands. Since it's a minority government, it may fall any time. Pundits are pointing to a June election. This will just be one year after the last one.

So the party in power for a long time is plagued by corruption, and Opposition is agitated and is taking steps to bring down the government and force themselves into power. The Prime Minister is angry and threatens to punish the guilty. A special committee has been set up to investigate the crimes and report to the government on how to prosecute the criminals. It will submit its report in a year.

Sounds a lot like another country I know.

The Corolla Has Been Sold

I did it. The Corolla has now been sold for $400. Mr Khan of Moon Autos is now the new owner of my first car. After returning from work, early, Dad and I drove to the garage to sign some papers for the ownership.


Dad with the Corolla before the sale.

It was poignant moment for me. This was my first car. This was the car on which I had unleashed my then 'raw' driving skills (at that time, skills may be too strong a word). I remember the first time I had passengers on it. Usman and his brothers, returning from Jummah. I failed to judge the stopping distance properly, and ended up with squealing hard brakes. The car managed to stop millimeters from the car in front.

I also recall the first time I was on the 401. We were returning from Etobicoke and Dad was supposed to drive us back. Instead he told me to get on the 401. Express. Middle lane. I drove all the way back at 90 km/hr. Never have I held one pose for so long. It was one of the longest 20 minutes of my life.

The first time I took a road trip with my friends. It was just Sakheb, Andy and Tahmeed, and only to Niagara Falls, but that marked the point where I became confident of driving on the highway, and confident over all.

This car held a lot of memories for me. The first time this, the first time that.... as they say, this was my first car (and I may add you never forget your first).

So, even though I did not expect you to end like this, engineless and powerless, my 1992 Toyota Corolla GLX, this one is for you.

B'desh has won!

Wow. B'desh has won a cricket match. Finally! Yes, it was against Hong Kong, yes, they are amateurs, and yes, we could only score around 220 for 9. But what the hell, we ... BLOODY... WON!!!
 
Ofcourse the commentators were all praising Hong Kong's pluck, but me thinks sometimes B'desh is underestimated. They are good, just not good enough to knock off the bigger powers, but definitely there ahead of the non-test, and definitely now Zim and Windies are on the same rung. Here's hoping they do tonite to Pak what they way back did in 1999. Ah, one can always dream.

Cricket Has Started

Asia cup of cricket, 2004, has started, and ofcourse Bangladesh are upto their usual tricks. The players look like they haven't eaten in a while, while the Hong Kong (Hong Kong?) opposition is as chubby as J-Lo's bottom. B'desh ofcourse are making the opposition look anything other than a team making their debut. Another bloody wicket down! It's too painful to watch. I am going to shut off the TV and go to bed.
 
On another note, finished helping Gazi with his assignment. I should enjoy Bourne Supremacy. Hell, any movie, free, is definitely enjoyable.

The Supreme Offer

Woke up on Sunday morning with unusually nothing to do. Actually I have stuff to do but too lazy to do it ... yet. Then came the supreme offer.

Neighbour wants help on some computer assignment (he's still a student). In return, he would take me out to the Bourne Supremacy. Hmm, relax my bum on my chair in my room, or in his chair in his room, busting my Java skills early in the morning?

On second thoughts, better get started on waxing my car.