GuitarBot

Now they have a robot that is a musical instrument. Designed by Lemur (League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots), GuitarBot is all set to star in a concert called "Robo Recital". USP - No Human Performers.

Hail Mary

The half-eaten Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich seems to be a big hit. And e-Bay did a smart thing putting it back on its site after de-listing it initially, says Rick Munarriz at Motley Fool. Can we look forward to Siddi Vinayak Vada Pav or Velmurugan Rava Idli on Bazee anytime soon?

Movie Magic

Finally managed to get tickets to Veer Zaara yesterday. Verdict: ***. The film is a throwback to good old days of boy-meet-girl Hindi cinema. It would have helped if it had been shorter by an hour. If you thought that Preity Zinta couldn't look earthy and demure, think again! Shah Rukh has stopped being anything but himself for a long time now. Nothing new there. (Doesn't mean that I don't like the guy, he's still King Khan, remember?).Madan Mohan's music is wonderful, and I hope that Udit Narayan wins a lot of awards for this one. Takeaway moment - Kirron Kher tells her daughter, who talks about love so deep that one would die for it - " Such a thing could happen only in movies"- Bingo! Probably why movies like Veer Zaara are made,... and probably why they shouldn't be.

The competition is getting hot

Microsoft has released the beta version of its MSN search service. Google has recently doubled the number of pages it indexes. Interesting race. Lets see who wins.

An update: Yasser Arafat finally passed away in France. And he will not be buried in Al-Quds, but in the Muqataa, his headquarters. RIP.

Fight for the chair

Arafat's lieutenants have been busy squabbling over who will take over from him. With speculation rife about how his death could cause talks to fall apart, his condition continues to be critical. We've already had reports of him being brain dead. Now his aides are planning his funeral. For God's sake, let the man die first!

Au revoir, mon cher

"If I could add one thing, it would be this - don't ever turn down pleasure because you were afraid of what other people might say." - An apt end to what is probably the most interesting personal journal I've ever read. Visted Belle de Jour's blog after a long time and found that she's decided to end it. Well, she'll be missed. Maybe I'll buy the book when it hits the stands.

Preparing for an alternate profession

A couple of friends and I attended the Smirnoff Amateur Bartending session this Sunday at Sidewok, NCPA. And boy, did we have fun! We spent an entire day making (and tasting!)martinis, cosmopolitans, B-52s, Caipirojkas, Bloody Marys and a lot other cocktails. Now I am a Smirnoff certified Tastemaker, and can whip up a really wicked martini. Stirred, not shaken.

Bobby Jindal makes it to the Senate

Now we have a Republican Indian American in the House of Representatives. And he's trying hard to stay American - "It is not about being White, or Black, or Brown, it is about being Red, White and Blue, it’s all about being American". Point taken. This guy is an American at heart. He's not going to deny his roots; he's a politician after all. But when his constituents lose jobs to Indians, he's going to have to take offence. It's all very well to be proud of our boys out there, but we seem to forget that they are playing for the other team.