Strange thing, memory. (Here I go again!).

I was thinking of the good old days when I used to watch Cartoon Network in English, and not in Hindi.

I have nothing against Hindi as a language, but I just can’t stand Bugs Bunny mouthing “ehhh .. kya baat hai, dost?” – which is the rotten Hindi translation of the classic “Eh.. (munch munch munch) What’s up, Doc”, complete with carrot munching noises in Hindi as well. I watch CN / Pogo with the sound turned off, these days – there’s no saying what I might do when I listen to Bugs talk in Hindi. I just might do to the cable guy what Bugs often does to Elmer and Daffy. Wishful thinking, actually.

I digress.

I was thinking of the good old days when I used to watch Cartoon Network in English, and not in Hindi. Time was when Dexter’s Lab came out as a beta release on the What a Cartoon Show. It was an instant hit, and a few weeks later, became a CN regular. This was a worthy example which was soon followed by the Powerpuff Girls. Another “popular” show in those days was the 70’s (I think) Japanese cartoon, Speed Racer. This show was famous for its funny English. The Dexter’s Lab guys (I think it was mostly Genndy Tartakovsky), never the ones to miss an opportunity to stick an elbow into someone’s ribs, did a spoof on Speed Racer. I forget the name of the episode, but one line from it is stuck in my mind permanently:

Mysteriously unknown to Dexter, a Mysterious stranger is Mysteriously watching.

Speed Racer was full of gems like this one. I never missed it – just so that I could listen to more stuff like this. Crazily enough, I don’t remember a damn thing from the original – it’s the spoof that’s stuck in my mind.

Oh, those were the days.

Yes! Yes! It’s a BSD :)

Ah well… I don’t really like articles of this kind too much; but I couldn’t help plumping for this one, for obvious reasons. Stuff and Nonsense, as the Red Queen (was it her?) would say. What the heck, I’m entitled to spout a little nonsense too ;)

What am I?

Hmmm. This question came to me as questions always do when I sit at my computer past midnight listening to great music. I wish I did this more often (listen to great music, that is).Some answers:

- I’m a lazy bum and a natural slacker.
- I’m an atheist.
- I’m NOT a vegetarian. Neither am I a teetotaller.
- I’m NOT a hindu. [1]
- I’m a hacker wannabe.
- I’m a foodie.
- I’m a music lover. In more ways than one.

(more answers coming soon).

Post Scriptum:
A reader who wishes to remain anonymous asked me: Shouldn’t you be saying “I’m also not a Christian/Muslim/Buddhist etc. etc. in addition to not being a Hindu”. Sigh. Okay, here’s the deal: At one point of time, I subscribed to Hinduism as a religion. Now I don’t. Since I never did subscribe to the views of other religions, why should I disown them? The fact that I’m an atheist implies that I disown *all* religions.

–
[1] Also see this.

Another (Boring) Haiku

Clouds collide in anger;
Tears of Rain fall -
Drenched grass smiles.

A Wanderer’s Lament

I took the road not taken,
through woods dark, deep and unlovely;
Many miles I travelled thus,
and often did I fall asleep;
I met defeat and victory,
but did not treat these two impostors the same;
I strove, I sought, but I did not find much -
and what I found, I soon had to yield;
My head was bloody and unbowed under the
bludgeonings of chance – for stiff was my neck;
“Home Next Year”, I tell my soul,
as a good captain should;
But master of my fate I am not,
who knows what the coming year brings

House Hunt

When I came to Pune, I was given two weeks at a decent hotel by my new employer. The two weeks went by and I moved in to a friend’s bachelor pad. And then I received several friendly reminders from my better half that I had to look for a house, we had to cart all our household items to Pune, and hand over the keys of our rented house in Bangalore to the friendly landlord. <p align=”>Thus began what will probably go down as one of the most frustrating times (fifteen days, to be exact) in my life, hunting for a house in Aundh.