Why am I shutting down this blog?
Because I have to find answers for life's larger questions.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Quick Poser # 1
Isaak & O Saathi Re were considered. But finally X was chosen as the title of the film after an audience poll. Identify X.
Omkara
Omkara
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Quick Trivia # 1
Boman Irani used to run a chips company that owned a brand by the name, 'Golden Wafers'.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Thematic Quiz : Offensive Trivia
1. In ancient times, the Romans called it the Digitus Infamis. How do we know it better now?
The Middle Finger.
2. Only two X-rated films have ever been nominated for an Oscar (Best Picture Category). One won the Oscar. One didn’t. Name both.
Midnight Cowboy & A Clockwork Orange. Clockwork lost out to French Connection in 1973.
3. Calista Flockhardt, Alanis Morissette, Brooke Shields and Glenn Close have all performed in this Eve Ensler Cult Play. Gimme the name of the play.
Vagina Monologues.
4. Some years back there was an Indian portal called gaandmasti.com. If you sign up for their portal, they used to confer you with a cool title. What was the title?
Gaandu!
5. These are the first lines from a popular chuck berry number:
When I was a little biddy boy
My grandma bought me a cute little toy
Two Silver bells on a string
She told me it was my ________
Just fill in the blanks.
Ding-a-Ling
6. What’s common to - Anthropophagus, Slubberdelugians, Guanogatherers, Certified Diplodocuses and Dunderheaded Coconuts?
These are some original insults from Captain Haddock.
7. “No _______ ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb ________ by die for his country.” What’s the dash in this unforgettable Gen. Patton quote?
Bastard.
8. “…my indifference is boundless,”
“…it makes my gorge rise,”
“…I don’t give a hoot,”
“…nothing could interest me less,”
“…I just don’t care.”
These were the options before David Selznick. Instead he chose to pay a fine of
$5000 and use the original line. What was the original line?
“Frankly my dear…I don’t give a Damn,” the immortal last line of the film ‘Gone with the Wind’.
9. In Chennai slang, if someone calls you a BJP what do they mean?
Bhayangara Jollu Party. (Bhayangara = incorrigble, Jollu = lech)
10. The movie 'Scarface' created a record in the 1980s by using the F-word 206 times. Today, it’s a pale no.3. Which movies are No.1 & No.2?
'Casino' used the 4-letter word 362 times. 'Pulp Fiction' used it 271 times. 'Good Fellas' came a close third by using it 246 times. Though 'South Park – Bigger, Longer, Uncut' has a reputation for being a movie filled with expletives…Guardian puts the f-word count as 140 odd.
The Middle Finger.
2. Only two X-rated films have ever been nominated for an Oscar (Best Picture Category). One won the Oscar. One didn’t. Name both.
Midnight Cowboy & A Clockwork Orange. Clockwork lost out to French Connection in 1973.
3. Calista Flockhardt, Alanis Morissette, Brooke Shields and Glenn Close have all performed in this Eve Ensler Cult Play. Gimme the name of the play.
Vagina Monologues.
4. Some years back there was an Indian portal called gaandmasti.com. If you sign up for their portal, they used to confer you with a cool title. What was the title?
Gaandu!
5. These are the first lines from a popular chuck berry number:
When I was a little biddy boy
My grandma bought me a cute little toy
Two Silver bells on a string
She told me it was my ________
Just fill in the blanks.
Ding-a-Ling
6. What’s common to - Anthropophagus, Slubberdelugians, Guanogatherers, Certified Diplodocuses and Dunderheaded Coconuts?
These are some original insults from Captain Haddock.
7. “No _______ ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb ________ by die for his country.” What’s the dash in this unforgettable Gen. Patton quote?
Bastard.
8. “…my indifference is boundless,”
“…it makes my gorge rise,”
“…I don’t give a hoot,”
“…nothing could interest me less,”
“…I just don’t care.”
These were the options before David Selznick. Instead he chose to pay a fine of
$5000 and use the original line. What was the original line?
“Frankly my dear…I don’t give a Damn,” the immortal last line of the film ‘Gone with the Wind’.
9. In Chennai slang, if someone calls you a BJP what do they mean?
Bhayangara Jollu Party. (Bhayangara = incorrigble, Jollu = lech)
10. The movie 'Scarface' created a record in the 1980s by using the F-word 206 times. Today, it’s a pale no.3. Which movies are No.1 & No.2?
'Casino' used the 4-letter word 362 times. 'Pulp Fiction' used it 271 times. 'Good Fellas' came a close third by using it 246 times. Though 'South Park – Bigger, Longer, Uncut' has a reputation for being a movie filled with expletives…Guardian puts the f-word count as 140 odd.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Wiki Treasures # 3
Janus, Oceanus & Leverrier were three names considered for planet number 8. Finally on December 29, 1846, the scientific world chose Neptune.
Quick Trivia # 0
Chixalub is the name of the asteroid that's believed to have killed the dinosaurs some 60 million years ago.
Wiki Treasures # 2
The sentence, 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' was developed by Western Union to test its telex machines.
Monday, May 08, 2006
I Missed His Book, But I Read His Name
Though authors are a dreadful clan
To be avoided if you can,
I'd like to meet the Indian,
M. Anantanarayanan.
I picture him as short and tan.
We'd meet, perhaps, in Hindustan.
I'd say, with admirable elan ,
"Ah, Anantanarayanan --
I've heard of you. The Times once ran
A notice on your novel, an
Unusual tale of God and Man."
And Anantanarayanan
Would seat me on a lush divan
And read his name -- that sumptuous span
Of 'a's and 'n's more lovely than
"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan" --
Aloud to me all day. I plan
Henceforth to be an ardent fan
of Anantanarayanan --
M. Anantanarayanan.
Wrote John Updike after seeing a review of a book by Mr. Ananthanaryanan. Can you tell me the name of the book? To know the answer click the comment link.
To be avoided if you can,
I'd like to meet the Indian,
M. Anantanarayanan.
I picture him as short and tan.
We'd meet, perhaps, in Hindustan.
I'd say, with admirable elan ,
"Ah, Anantanarayanan --
I've heard of you. The Times once ran
A notice on your novel, an
Unusual tale of God and Man."
And Anantanarayanan
Would seat me on a lush divan
And read his name -- that sumptuous span
Of 'a's and 'n's more lovely than
"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan" --
Aloud to me all day. I plan
Henceforth to be an ardent fan
of Anantanarayanan --
M. Anantanarayanan.
Wrote John Updike after seeing a review of a book by Mr. Ananthanaryanan. Can you tell me the name of the book? To know the answer click the comment link.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
How skilled are you?
In the ancient times, a well rounded person was expected to be skilled in 64 arts. The Valmiki Ramayan lists the Chausat Kalas as follows:
1.Histrionic talents, drama, story telling techniques and mnemonics.
2.Making musical instruments and simple mechanical devices.
3.Playing musical instruments that is instrumental music including jalatarangam- creating music with water, percussion and string instruments.
4.Decorating, dressmaking, costume making, artful dressing and personal grooming.
5.Ornaments and head adornments.
6.Singing, dancing and practicing fine arts.
7.Making beds and bedroom decorations.
8.Garland making, flower arrangement, designs with grains on the floor like rangoli.
9.Playing games like dice.
10.Mastering eroticism as per Vatsyayana, erotic devices and sexual arts.
11.Making honey, liquor, beverages and desserts.
12.Plucking out arrows and healing.
13.Cooking, eating and drinking skills.
14.Horticulture & forestry.
15.Breaking and pulverizing hardrock, mining.
16.Making medicines from herbs.
17.Sorting, mixing, isolating ingredients.
18.Making and using astras and sutras.
19.Wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, physical culture & body building.
20.Making missiles.
21.Parades, army bands and dharmic warfare.
22.Ratha, gaja & turaga wars (chariot, elephantry and cavalry).
23.Asanas, postures & mudras.
24.Training elephants, horses & birds.
25.Making vessels of clay, wood, bronze.
26.Drawing.
27.Making paints & painting.
28.Architecture, sculpture, house and temple construction, mosaic tiling.
29.Mixing air, water (air products and water products).
30.Making boats, ships, chariots.
31.Making threads, ropes.
32.Weaving and spinning.
33.Diamond, precious stones and gems - distinguishing them from ordinary ones.
34.Alchemy, chemistry, preparing ointments, unguents for charm and virility.
35.Jewellery making including artificial jewelry.
36.Gold plating, metallurgy.
37.Skinning and preserving bodies.
38.Leather technology.
39.Dairy farming.
40.Tailoring, sartorial skills and embroidery.
41.Swimming and water sports.
42.Cleaning houses and vessels.
43.Laundering and washing.
44.Hair dressing and shaving.
45.Managing oil resources.
46.Having control over others' minds, spells, charms & omens.
47.Tilling and agriculture.
48.Handicrafts including carpentry, furniture making and furnishing.
49.Making vessels of glass, ceramic and pottery.
50.Drawing water & resources.
51.Gardening and fencing.
52.Caprisoning elephants etc.
53.Child rearing & pediatrics including doll making and toy making for kids.
54.Punishing guilty appropriately by law and order.
55.Learning languages (native & foreign dialects), literary excellence, semantics.
56.Preparing `Tambool' etc.
57.Composing impromptu poetry.
58. Preparing perfumes, cosmetics, playing poetry games, oratory, elocution, prosody, rhetoric.
59.Sorcery, conjuring, sleight of hand, magic, illusions, impersonation.
60.Composing riddles, rhymes, verses, puzzles, tongue twisters and involved recitations.
61.Making swords, staffs & archery.
62.Training fighting partridges and rams, cock fight, bull fight etc.
63.Teaching parrots, mynas to talk and training animals, veterinary science.
64.Writing in cipher codes and languages, secret mantras, coding and decoding.
I think I'll get a score of 1.5/64. What about you?
1.Histrionic talents, drama, story telling techniques and mnemonics.
2.Making musical instruments and simple mechanical devices.
3.Playing musical instruments that is instrumental music including jalatarangam- creating music with water, percussion and string instruments.
4.Decorating, dressmaking, costume making, artful dressing and personal grooming.
5.Ornaments and head adornments.
6.Singing, dancing and practicing fine arts.
7.Making beds and bedroom decorations.
8.Garland making, flower arrangement, designs with grains on the floor like rangoli.
9.Playing games like dice.
10.Mastering eroticism as per Vatsyayana, erotic devices and sexual arts.
11.Making honey, liquor, beverages and desserts.
12.Plucking out arrows and healing.
13.Cooking, eating and drinking skills.
14.Horticulture & forestry.
15.Breaking and pulverizing hardrock, mining.
16.Making medicines from herbs.
17.Sorting, mixing, isolating ingredients.
18.Making and using astras and sutras.
19.Wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, physical culture & body building.
20.Making missiles.
21.Parades, army bands and dharmic warfare.
22.Ratha, gaja & turaga wars (chariot, elephantry and cavalry).
23.Asanas, postures & mudras.
24.Training elephants, horses & birds.
25.Making vessels of clay, wood, bronze.
26.Drawing.
27.Making paints & painting.
28.Architecture, sculpture, house and temple construction, mosaic tiling.
29.Mixing air, water (air products and water products).
30.Making boats, ships, chariots.
31.Making threads, ropes.
32.Weaving and spinning.
33.Diamond, precious stones and gems - distinguishing them from ordinary ones.
34.Alchemy, chemistry, preparing ointments, unguents for charm and virility.
35.Jewellery making including artificial jewelry.
36.Gold plating, metallurgy.
37.Skinning and preserving bodies.
38.Leather technology.
39.Dairy farming.
40.Tailoring, sartorial skills and embroidery.
41.Swimming and water sports.
42.Cleaning houses and vessels.
43.Laundering and washing.
44.Hair dressing and shaving.
45.Managing oil resources.
46.Having control over others' minds, spells, charms & omens.
47.Tilling and agriculture.
48.Handicrafts including carpentry, furniture making and furnishing.
49.Making vessels of glass, ceramic and pottery.
50.Drawing water & resources.
51.Gardening and fencing.
52.Caprisoning elephants etc.
53.Child rearing & pediatrics including doll making and toy making for kids.
54.Punishing guilty appropriately by law and order.
55.Learning languages (native & foreign dialects), literary excellence, semantics.
56.Preparing `Tambool' etc.
57.Composing impromptu poetry.
58. Preparing perfumes, cosmetics, playing poetry games, oratory, elocution, prosody, rhetoric.
59.Sorcery, conjuring, sleight of hand, magic, illusions, impersonation.
60.Composing riddles, rhymes, verses, puzzles, tongue twisters and involved recitations.
61.Making swords, staffs & archery.
62.Training fighting partridges and rams, cock fight, bull fight etc.
63.Teaching parrots, mynas to talk and training animals, veterinary science.
64.Writing in cipher codes and languages, secret mantras, coding and decoding.
I think I'll get a score of 1.5/64. What about you?
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