charukesi December 19th, 2003
Says Melvin Durai…. About how news-starved media is lapping up Saddam(?)’s capture…..
———————-
Saddam’s capture triggered a wave of euphoria throughout America, with almost every media outlet finding an angle
into the story.
On ESPN, it was a sports story: “Tiger Woods shot a big hole-in-one during a practice round today, while thousands
of miles away in Iraq, our troops scored a big one-in-hole. Congratulations to them!”
On the Discovery Channel, it was a nature story: “In other science news, experts learned today that it isn’t just
rodents and earthworms that burrow into the ground, certain forms of slime do, too.”
On the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN), it was a miraculous story:
Pat Robertson: “Folks, you’re not going to believe this. We’ve just received news that the newly captured Saddam
Hussein has been saved. Hallelujah! What a miracle!”
Reporter: “Reverend, I hate to tell you this, but there was
a slight mistake in that news report. Saddam hasn’t been
saved — he’s been shaved.”
Robertson: “Oh … well … never mind then.”
———————
For more, read Durai.
charukesi October 10th, 2003
Did you read about Barbara Luetzeler, a psychologist for chicken ? No, I don’t mean the weak-hearted…. I mean the ones which go into Britain’s famous tikka masala…
The Week says, this Bonn based shrink deals with problems ranging from gender issues to neurosis in chicken….
Gender issues ? Do you think female chicken in Germany are under-privileged ? Or are they a traumatized lot because in popular lingo, they are called chicks ? or do the male chicken pinch their bottoms as they scurry along their cages ?
I could go on and on….. On the neurosis bit also….
Listen to this : she has treated about 2000 chickens with autobahn neurosis. All of them would move their heads from side to side for no apparent reason. She accurately diagnosed that they were disturbed by loud noises from the nearby motorway. The chickens overcame the stress and the problem disappeared when their owner moved their enclosure to a quieter spot.
I know what she means… I have seen similar behaviour with people I know in Bombay. Otherwise polite, mild-mannered people, at the stroke of 8.27 a.m. would suddenly start jumping around and shouting in hoarse Marathi and shoving and elbowing their spouses and children….. this strange behaviour would be repeated every 15 minutes or so… this remained a mystery to all concerned till the prominent psychologist in their area discovered what she called local neurosis. Local as in, not specific to an area, but local trains….
These docile creatures live next to Dadar station and this trauma has so deeply affected their psyche that they have started imagining themselves as commuters even within the safe confines of their own homes….
She is called a train therapist and I am told she has a roaring business in Bombay these days….
charukesi October 1st, 2003
Traditionally, in Indian cinema, heroines who :
a. wear a bikini
b. kiss the hero
c. wear ‘revealing’ colthes (revealing by Indian film standards, read Katrina Kaif)
develop cold feet later and say, I did it because the script demanded it. Yeah, right.
Check this one out. The film demanded exposure and I did it
When I read about yet another minister reneging on his resignation bowing either to ‘party high command’ or to ‘the will of the people’, that is what it reminds me of.
By the way, I know the title is awwwwwful, but I liked the sound of it so much, couldn’t resist it…… sorry !