Say ‘Hi’ to Singapore!

http://singapore.metblogs.com/

The first *real* wintry fog of the season….everything’s all misty and faraway today, and its FREEZING. But fog…yum.

There aren’t many men blogging original stuff but Green Head is definitely one. Tongue-in-cheek humour right out of the streets. Check this:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Sharfoo was wondering: Keeps the doctor away from what??

His self-created(?) character reminds of me of Ashraf Amazing Stories of VJ. Take more:

Sharfoo heard from somewhere: Alexander the great — was born in a plate!
The other day he was telling me: some born in a plate, some born with a spoon

Just caught the picture browsing a newly-discovered-photo-gallery. The motion in the photo and the composure of the rider is unmatchable. I don’t remember what the sport is called, but it’s a very old one in Punjab. Click the picture for the larger view and more details.

Credit: Saleem Khawar

So its always fun riding a rickshaw when your mom thinks her little angel is taking her long lectures at school, but its even more fun when the rickshaw is a oh sorry i should use THE NEW CNG FITTED, SPACIOUS AND ADMITTEDLY PRETTY one!
(more…)

You can read it from the webpage or add it to your RSS reader now. The entries in french can be translated by Google or Bable Fish. Fortunately, the later does not involve putting a fish in your ear. Welcome Paris!

Not so long ago, a lot of unassuming people made cart-loads of money, thanks to the unprecedented real-estate boom. So much money and not many knew what to do with it. So they bought a whole lotta cars. Then what? Some houses – trading their farms-in-acres to houses-in-kanals perhaps! Then what? Buy branded stuff? Heck, they put up a whole plaza just with branded items! Then what? Have enough money to be fashion conscious? How about, not one, but TWO fashions channels meaning there is actual fashion stuff going around to cover it in the media! Then what? I know, buy 1300 ruppee cakes!

Shezan and Gourmet bakeries just seem so old fashioned now, thanks mainly to the different cuisines served at bake/coffee shops such as Jammin Java (in Defence), Masoom’s, KAPS and Desserts (all three on M M Alam rd). And poor ol’ me, I went to KAPS to buy a cake. I only had a 500 ruppee note in my hand and some plans! Would buy the damn cake to fulfil this tradition of sorts that you take somethin sweet when visiting someone’s new house which I was doing, and then with the remaining money would buy my cigarettes – for the next three days! But ahaa, I was in the wrong place. The cake’s worth 1300. The cheapest one is 1030. I am sure the prices only get friendlier with the roof! They add the 30 to make is look oh-so-calculated! Knowing some excellent bakers, I know a cake couldn’t possibly have that much ingredients… yes, Lahore is already on its way to house the newly rich and yet-to-be famous.

I am just hoping that at least ‘some’ people understand the cliche ‘money corrupts’ and take the fashionable ‘pre-emptive’ action… manage it instead of flaunt it, use it instead of abuse it.

For now, I plan to mostly observe. Spend people, in the name of thy Lord or you can just go get yourself a porsche and a smile…

“Oye, toon apna kora jama kar liya? Mein shutr mohallay wich aan.”
["Did you collect your share of garbage? I'm at Camel Street."]

A Garbage Collector to another over his Nokia 3310 mobile phone in Saddar.

Supreme Court’s one month ban over kite making, buying, selling and flying has been extended for three more months. [The news is all over print media, so I won't put more links here.] More than 3 lac people associated with kite manufacturing industry have been severly affected. [more details here]

If you remember, Basant falls normally in the second week of February. I’m not sure if kite flying is banned only in Lahore, but it sure as hell hurts most in Lahore. I miss staring those little demons in the sky, for hours and hours. I think I’m also gonna miss those few unsuccessful attempts at kite-flying I make myself, with my pro cousins, every year. If you still don’t feel compelled, shirazi did a fine piece on Basant on his blog here.

Okay, so the Government (at last!) has withdrawn the poem The Leader from the curriculum this week. Andrew Miller, who write England’s tour diary for CricInfo, has something to say about this:

There are ways to communicate your message to an alien culture, and then there are ways. If, as the conspiracy theorists have been speculating in the nation’s newspapers all week, “The Leader” was planted in the curriculum by the CIA, then the ploy has backfired spectacularly.

The Americans would be better served picking up a bat and ball, and engaging in a bit of cricket diplomacy instead – for that method is proving a sure-fire winner in the subcontinent at the moment. England came in peace to Karachi this week, and left everyone – from the fans in the stadium to the six-year-olds in the hallway – absolutely ecstatic with their efforts.

On a much lighter note, England team’s effort is described as nothing more than a diplomatic move:

Well done our boys. It’s almost as though they were under Foreign Office orders to surrender the match for the greater good.