Things That Bang

The media would have us believe that the world is having wild exciting sex. In my last post I had talked about the Durex Survey which concluded that Indians are happy with their sex lives. The survey was met with much skepticism- how can any one be satisfied with their sex lives? There is always room for more passion, multiple orgasms, more positions to be discovered- more....more ...more.

But the 'more' is merely an illusion most of us with normal sex drives are unable to attain. Today's article on Times Online discussed the feelings of sexual inadequacy that hound people:

To be sexually active is to be normal. To explore one’s fantasies (within the boundaries of good taste) is healthy. To admit to anything less is an admission of failure and a sign of inadequacy. As a man, I must maintain a voracious sexual appetite and perform mutually satisfying routines with the precision of a porn star. My partner must be willing to transform herself into a burlesque madam, carefully negotiating the boundaries between adventurous lover and all-out slut, packaged throughout in expensive designer underwear. All of which makes the traditional half-hour missionary bonk, followed by a kiss and a cuddle, rather mundane. The bar has been raised and we must stretch ourselves accordingly; to aspire to anything less is to let down both yourself and your other half.

The author talked about the good old 80s pre-photoshop days when skin magazines showed women as they were- big breasted, butts with cellulite, hairy vaginas and voluptuous. Sex was naughty and earthy unlike present times which cater more to fantasy of fucking a modal on a million dollar yatch instead of doing the gardener or the French maid.

The act of sex has become stressful. Between finding the G-spot, spanking, whipping, giving blow jobs, finding new positions, toys or maintaining a marathon movement to beat the previous record what is lost is the comfort of just slipping out of night clothes and enjoying the tested out positions that would make the couple have orgasms at the end of a tiring day.

Sex, then no longer de-stresses it just adds to the stress we feel in our lives where we are expected to live up to media's society's expectation of leading happening lives with pots of money.

We are continuously bombarded with fictional hot sex lives, even blogs are dedicated to salacious kinky sex lives. How much truth exists in the blogged lines when the blogger says she liked being spanked till welts appeared on her smarting butt or being rammed by a man's 12 inch boner till she squirted a bucket full of liquid?

Out of common courtesy I will not name the blogs though I have laughed myself silly reading such outlandish claims and here is where we need to draw the line. Its more than enough being told we aren't skinny enough, not presentable enough, not rich enough but to be told that we aren't sexy enough is plain asinine.

Posted by Deepti Lamba at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

OMG!! The Albino Bubble Bee has married his kids nanny...NOT!! Michael Jackson's spokesperson denied the media reports that he married the Ramba queen...cough ...cough.. I meant.. Grace Rwaramba. On M.J's Fan Website Raymone Bain issued a statement that MJ continues to have wet dreams about tots and not tits still single and the marriage documents were hoax!

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Men live in a fantasy world. I know this because I am one, and I actually receive my mail there.
Scott Adams

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According to a recent survey urban Indians are quite happy with their sex lives as compared to other countries around the world. We desis apparently don’t shy away from telling our partners what we like, we pour over porn material together, love role playing and enjoy massaging each other to get into the mood.

Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of Indians surveyed are comfortable with telling their partners what they like in bed way above the global average of 58 per cent and the UK with just 49 per cent, says the Durex ‘Sexual Wellbeing Global Survey’.

The survey further points out that two-third of Indians (68 per cent) think their love lives are exciting, a sharp contrast with 38 per cent for English lovers and 36 per cent for famed lovers in France. Moreover, 63 per cent of Indians say they have enough variety, compared with 47 per cent in the UK and just 9 per cent in Japan.

Fidelity is still something that Indians are proud of, shows the survey which said that Indians have had fewer sexual partners than most other countries. Indian men have averaged six lovers and women have averaged two, while in the UK the figures are 16 and 10 respectively. Globally men, on average, have 13 partners and women have seven.

"Almost six in ten (57 per cent) Indians think it is acceptable for products aimed at improving sex lives to be available in mainstream stores. Currently just 9 per cent of Indians use vibrators compared to 21 per cent globally although 13 per cent of Indians are interested to have a try," the survey said.

The survey said Indians are using more of lubricants to make sex more enjoyable with 33 per cent of Indians using them more as a part of their sex lives which is similar to the global figure of 34 per cent.

Apart from imported Vibrators, Indian vibrators are also available though they are sold under the guise of being educational materials. While condoms and contraceptive pills are easily available yet for things like vibrators and lubricants one has to go hunting around the town which is surprising for urban centers.

We are not only one of the happiest people but also adaptable. Ads about HIV and AIDS are being telecast and ads for above the counter contraceptives have also been allowed by the government. Recent public service advertisements have encouraged the open discussion of sex, AIDS, etc., which is a positive step.

While issues such as pre-marital sex and unwanted pregnancies are not openly discussed, yet avenues are there to help people who find themselves in a quandary. The low cost of the i-Pill can only help in this regard.

The urban Indians seem to be grounded in Indian values and yet seem to have embraced the Western concept or rather rediscovered the ancient Indian art of being comfortable with their sexuality and with their partners.

When asked what would improve sex lives, Indians said that more romance (47 per cent), more fun (46 per cent) and being able to spend more time with their partners (44 per cent) would be among the top priorities, with 45 per cent of surveyed Indians wanting to increase their knowledge so as to make things better for their partner.

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Mistakes happen but making the same mistake twice or thrice can be irksome. But what can help is the i-pill to stop unwanted pregnancies. Its a good over the counter emergency contraceptive but it seems Indians are using it as a regular contraceptive.

Here is my conversation with the chemist:

There were a whole lot of people at the chemist's shop. I felt a little dismayed but then decided to act bold and carefree.

I sashayed up to the counter, said excuse me to a forty something pot bellied uncle-ji and made eye contact with the chemist.

Me: Hi! Do you have i-pill?

Time stopped and all eyes turned to look at me and looked away. I nearly died of embrassement- they knew I had unprotected sex. Christ!

Chemist (returned with a whole bunch of slender i-pill packets): How many do you want, madam?

Me (I stared at the packets): One?!

Seriously, how many times did he expect me to goof up or is it that women are using the i-pill as contraceptives?

Here is some of the important stuff the little booklet that came along with the little pink butterfly pill:

1. i-pill is not recommended for regular birth control, though it can be used for more than once
2. i-pill should be taken preferably within 12 hours and not later than 72 hours of unprotected sex
4. i-pill is different from abortion pills since it contains normal female hormones that prevent pregnancy and does cause abortion
6. It does not prevent any of the sexually transmitted diseases

More information is provided on the site :www.ipillcipla.com/

And btw it costs only 72 Rupees so yeah, now you know why Desi babes are stocking them up!!

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When catastrophe hits the household the tots have fun. A few minutes ago the tap in our driveway popped out and water rushed out by the tons. While the maid and I tried to give the tap pipe an enema with a candle stick the kids played in the water and squealed with delight as they watched us get drenched and cuss

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The Iranian President says Homosexuals don't exist in Iran! According to him its a Western phenomena!! As it happens in India too homosexuality is considered to be illegal and the underground movements are often raided.

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The New York Times is doing Live Blogging of Ahmadinejad's Speech: Columbia’s President Confronts Iranian Leader; Ahmadinejad Calls Remarks Insulting

Easy read without any ad breaks!

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The article on AlterNet: Ahmadinejad's Speech at Columbia University Is as American as Apple Pie begins on a fair note demanding that the Iranian President be allowed to exercise the Right of Freedom of Speech which he along with the Khamenei deny their own people.

But then it becomes a rant peppered with obtuse ignorance:

They will question his absurd ideological views that the Holocaust never occurred and that Israel should be wiped off the planet.

And here most of us do know that Ahmadinejad's words had deliberately been twisted by the western media:

When properly translated the Iranian president actually calls for the removal of the regimes that are in power in Israel and in the USA as a goal for the future. Nowhere does he demand the elimination or annihilation of Israel. He called for greater governance for Palestine. The word map does not even feature. And the president makes plain that the Holocaust happened, but, he argues western powers have exploited the memory of the Holocaust for their own imperialistic purposes. What the mainstream ran with is complete deception.

Then further on they validate their argument by invoking the Godwin's Law:

Old film clips of Hitler depict him ranting from a podium about the supremacy of the Aryan race and the sinister nature of the Jews. Because the Nazis had taken control of the media and imprisoned dissenters in concentration camps, no one in Germany had the opportunity to challenge his racism or impugn his persecutions. The result was that he managed to indoctrinate millions and galvanize them to support his mass murder.

Lets forget that Hitler was democratically elected. And what if the Iranian people said the same thing about the current America where laws like the Patriot Act exist, where spying and eavesdropping on non white folks is encouraged, where their own country has invaded another, where they have places like Guantanamo Bay where people disappear all the time.

Feeble arguments such as these will not win the Western powers sympathy nor support to invade Iran.

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Large scale protest is going on over the upcoming speech by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at NY's Columbian University. CNN even happened to interview a clueless babe who was bugged that the university had invited the President to give a speech at her university and despite knowing that there would be tough questions asked she whined that the world would think that America/ her campus are honoring the leader of a terrorist state.

What she along with those who are protesting fail to realize is that by censoring or denying the Iranian President they would be going against their much touted tradition of Freedom of Speech.

It wasn't Ahmadinejad who flew the plane into the towers just like it wasn't Bush Senior who went around suppressing Afghanie people. So lets drop the hypocrisy. In 2000 the main countries opposing the Taliban were India and Iran.

Which is why for the world it is surprising when the Americans continue to fall for what the Bush Administration had to say.

"This is somebody who is the president of a country that is probably the greatest sponsor - state sponsor - of terrorism," Ms Rice told CNBC television.

Probably? Come now Ms Rice one would expect you to put your money where your mouth is. If you ain't sure should you not be practicing innocent till proven guilty or would you once again scream WMD and invade Iran this time? Show your iron balls missy!!

I wonder how long will the American people continue to fall for the Bush's cry of Wolf till they regain their senses and realize that all they have done is fattened the pigs sitting in the White House, made Halliburtan that much richer and got Dick Cheney a mansion in Dubai.

Give the devil his day at your university and bid him adieu.

Scott Adams incidentally has faced a whole lot of ire for what he has to say about the Iranian President's visit.

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The presence of Michael Jackson Shah Rukh Khan at the match proved to be lucky for the Indian team during the Twenty20Finals. For a second I thought SRK would grab his crotch and break into a Billy Jean while flicking his locks and sipping his Pepsi.

Maybe it would be nice to see SRK do the Om Shanti Om Dance for the Indian team especially with the 2 million dollars that has come the Indian team's way.

PS: Ravi Shastri said : The Young men will embrace each other all night. They will drink champagne and then wouldn't know what to do with themselves

KY anyone?

YouTube video:

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What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.
-Samuel Johnson

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What are the chances of a lightening striking penis?

A Croatian motorbiker's penis was zapped by lightning as he stopped beside the road to take a leak.

Ante Djindjic, 29, from Zagreb, said: "I don't remember what happened. One minute I was taking a leak and the next thing I knew I was in hospital.

"Doctors said the lightning went through my body and because I was wearing rubber boots it earthed itself through my penis."

I'm sure he will think twice before taking a leak in open spaces.

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Salma Hayek finally popped the baby out of her sexy vagina after being pregnant for what seemed like forever. Congratulations to the new mommie and baby. May those boobies be put to good use and may the healthy cries of the little baby girl keep Salma up for endless nights. And may daddy darling not do the maid or the nanny That was uncalled for and therefore self- edited.

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Could Britney Spears be suffering from a mental ailment? I'm not much of a fan of Britney and think she is a horror of a mom but a commentator(ebayer) on Glosslip made me wonder whether Britney is slipping down a mental slope so dark that it could be featured in a Stephan King novel?

Things are not looking up for that lady at all. Last week she nearly lost custody of her children and recently she has been charged with driving without a valid license and with hitting a parked car and leaving the scene without as much a note on the damaged car. She could spend as much as six months behind bars.

It seems as if the forces of the Universe are pitting against her or could it be a sign that she needs to give her babies up to her mother and go in for rigorous therapy?

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Update people! The Mandela Foundation reassured the South African people that their peace icon Mandela is still live and kicking despite the mad ravings of President Bush.

"It's out there. All we can do is reassure people, especially South Africans, that President Mandela is alive," Achmat Dangor, chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said as Bush's comments received worldwide coverage.

I wonder who Bush will kill next? Not Britney for sure, how about Margaret Thatcher? That beady old hag is still around right? and the same age as Mandela.

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Mandela is dead!! So said President Bush:

I thought an interesting comment was made — somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, “Now, where’s Mandela?” Well, Mandela’s dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.

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“You know my mother in law is like this little fish bone. She seems perfectly innocuous but she is hard to swallow.”

Maya stared at the thin one inch fish bone her friend was holding between her thumb and index finger.

“What do you mean?”

Sonali pointed at her neatly divided fish stake “My sex life is like this stake. Just when the going gets good she barges in!”

Maya grinned at her vivacious friend, “Are you telling me that her ears are peeled to the door and doesn’t let you get some action.”

"I’m saying that we cannot have sex before twelve in the night, it is either – beta come see this movie or it is – beta come out ballu bhaiya is on long distance call. I’m sick of the old woman.”

Ignoring her dish Maya joked “Maybe you guys could put the – Do Not Disturb sign on your door.”

Sonali raised a sardonic eyebrow “We could put a – Having Sex sign but that would be like raising a red flag in front of the old hag to stop us from copulating. And then that hag has the guts to demand we give her a grandson. Arreee kaha sai baacha de jugaar he nahi hone dete?”

Maya spluttered over her food “Yaar, Dil per mat lei. Why don’t you guys move out?”

Biting into her food Sonali muttered “Rajeev works with his dad. Family business and all.”

“And your purse strings are controlled by them.”Maya completed Sonali’s sentence.

“One more beer waiter!” Sonali told a passing by waiter.

“Kya? ghar me nahi melte peene ko?”

“Alcohol? Sweetheart, I have to get up at bloody six in the morning and give my saas and sasur chai morning tea and then sit in the puja room for an hour with sasu ma and the pundit.”

Maya bit her tongue – she so wanted to say – I told you so. Back in college days when Sonali was in love Maya had warned her about Rajeev business class background. For all his flashiness, Punjabi good looks and midnight blue BMW he was a traditional boy and his wife would be expected to live a traditional life. But Bollywood dreams made Sonali elope. The parents on either side pooled in for a reception but five years down the line there was still no happily ever after on sight.

“What about you Maya? How is Pradeep?”

Taking a sip of her beer Maya replied “Pradeep is fine. He is in the US right now. He should be back by next weekend.”

“Aren’t you guys planning to get married?”

“Why should we? We are happy with the way things are.”

“Aren’t you scared that he may leave you?”

Maya laughed “No Sonali, marriage is just a social contract ours is-“

“Meeting of the souls?” Sonali winked

Maya looked serious “I won’t go that far Sonali . Seriously, if we manage to be together for over ten years it will be a big thing.”

“See, this is why you need to be married.”

“Ahhh, is it a marriage or bondage?”

Sonali belched and grinned “Say what you will Maya but my relationship is on a more solid ground than yours.”

Maya merely shook her head and kept silent. Pradeep and she loved each other but the compromises did not extend to each other’s respective families. Life was easier.

“See, you two can’t even have children.”

Maya stared at her friend who just a while ago was bitching against her traditional marriage “Sonali, we don’t want to have kids.”

Finishing her rice and fish Sonali shook her head “You don’t want to get married, you don’t want children. Maya, you have no stability in your life.”

“What I have is freedom.” Maya replied as she caught the waiter’s eye and signaled for the check.

“Freedom won’t be of any importance when you get all old and wrinkled.” Sonali replied and took a puff of a mouth freshener and put it back in her tiny purse.

Maya smiled as she paid the bill with her card “I don’t think that far. Who knows what life has in store for us.”

The two friends hugged outside the restaurant.

As Sonali’s car pulled over she said “Listen, when you are in town next you must come and stay with us. Rajeev was asking about you.”

“Sure I will.” Maya replied knowing the chances of that ever happening were dim.

“Chal, see you.”

“Yeah, don’t fret over your MIL”

“Sure yaar and give my love to Prashant”

“And, you to Rajeev.”

“Call ok?” Sonali said the final words as she got into her car.

“Ya, will bye Sonali.”

Sonali’s Astra drove out of the restaurant’s drive way and Maya caught a three wheeler to go back to her hotel.

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Verbal Bully: You have to do it

Passive Aggressive: Sure, I'll do it

Verbal Bully: Have you done it?

Passive Aggressive: I'm in the process of doing it.

Verbal Bully: You mean you haven't done it?

Passive Aggressive: I'm a little busy but I'm looking into it.

Verbal Bully : Is it done yet?!

Passive Aggressive: Getting there.

Verbal Bully: You are not doing it!

Passive Aggressive: Did I say I'm not doing it?

Verbal Bully But you haven't done a thing about it!

Passive Aggressive: (Silence)

Verbal Bully: Why aren't you talking?

Passive Aggressive: What do you want me to say?

Verbal Bully: IS IT DONE YET??

Passive Aggressive: Sorry, there wasn't that much time left.

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It's a bummer to be sick and bigger bummer to be sick for over two months. It gets boring telling people how bad the back is, how high the fever is or the number shots given. Its sounds whiney after a while and in the back of my mind I remember the lines- misery loves company but the company doesn't. Initially the sympathy is there but why would anyone want to know how many times I puked into the pot, removed bits of splattered regurgitated food from my hair or clutched the bathroom tiles when the dizziness made me feel drunk without tasting alcohol for days?

Seems I have already told you how lousy I've been feeling. But this isn't me; I'm not the type to demand attention as some women do especially when they are chumming. They use their monthlies to excuse themselves from work, sex and their nasty behavior. The household comes to a standstill, the kids are banished from the bedroom and food is eaten in bed. Now that's cunning luxury but in my case its body ache, headaches, pillows bunched up against my back and moaning and groaning in the silence of my bedroom all the while hearing the squirrel making non-stop mating calls on the mango tree.

In my filthy feverish mind I've imagined shooting the squirrel, the cuckoo, the crows and the parrots that visit our trees and are terribly noisy. But imagining such as feast itself seemed tiresome. Thinking seemed tiresome. I just wanted to burrow deep into my pillows and try to make peace with my body with elusive sleep.

It is weird how we are able to face just about anything thrown at us by the world but then are easily broken when our bodies betray us.

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Britney failed to impress the paparazzi and her fans yet again. Her performance at the MTV awards was given a rather lukewarm reception. So much for expecting to WOW the crowd with her singing abilities, even her tight ass and mommy sized breasts failed to remind us that this was the hot, snazzy, hip, young Britney we had drolled over before she fucked up her life with K-Fed.

Even strippers prance around better on stage, hell! even Britney wannabes tots on kiddie pageants imitate Britney better than she does herself.

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Maybe Lord Jesus Christ could work better if complemented by a second opinion from another doctor? I mean looking to God for a facial allergy is like going to the CEO to demand more stationery for your office desk.

- Aditi Nadkarni Comment #49

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I’ve always had a soft corner for Shah Rukh Khan, not because of his passionate role in Fauji or as the stalker of Kiran but because he was a student of the all-boys school St Columbus in New Delhi and I happened to be a student of Convent Of Jesus And Mary, an all-girls school and the parting between our schools was just a hedge and a small gate with the Church in-between. The schools had a love-hate relationship – collectively the boys hated us and we hated them but if we happened to visit each others’ premises there used to be a mutual stampede.

Though like most CJM-ites I didn’t know Shah Rukh Khan but I was tickled pink when he sat just a couple of seats away from me as judge for the St Columbus Drama competition called Curtains. Later on, I was told that the drama CJM had put up was considered to be the worst by Shah Rukh Khan and I had played the part of the waiter in it.

I didn’t hold that against him – he was right - the play sucked, the script was bad and the attempt at comedy puke worthy. CJM went on to win the Curtains competition the following year but that’s another story.

Thing is, I continued to be a Shah Rukh fan as he scaled the heights of his career. He was a typical Columban in my mind - suave, arrogant, well spoken, a thorough gentleman and snotty as hell. He continued to reflect the breeding that the Irish priests and nuns had inculcated in us – strong sense of values, love for home and family, being candid and outspoken and most of being ferociously career-minded.

But today, while watching him gyrate in a song from the soon-to-be-released movie Om Shanti Om, his glam seemed to slip from my eyes. He didn’t seem to be the Shah Rukh I was familiar with. The well-sculpted abs made me choke over my apple soda and the long hair made me want to clip his crow’s nest and rap his knuckles as one of his school priests would have done.

Where was the sturdy, aging with grace Shah Rukh that I had known for over two decades? This new Shah Rukh Khan all of a sudden seemed like a swan that had reverted back to being an ugly duckling in his middling years. Could Shah Rukh be suffering from mid life crisis?

Could this new get up be his last attempts at trying to out-shine the contemporary macho young actors like John Abraham, Ajay Devgan and Vivek Oberoi?

My heart went out to the poor fellow. Could it be that Shah Rukh knows deep within his heart that his time as one of the reigning Pashas of Bollywood will soon be up? Why else would he try to regain his youth?

Remember the time Aamir Khan also decided to bulk up his body to impress the Bollywood directors? Saif Ali Khan too took that route but that was more than five years back.

Why this desperate need to look like Salman Khan all of a sudden? It isn’t as if the Indian women drool over tight pecs and perfect abdomens especially when the guy has hit his 40s. We expect actors to take it easy by then, to take up more mature roles like Naseeruddin Shah or Sanjeev Kumar did; not hit the gym and hang out with young un’s trying to be part of the new iPod generation.

Shah Rukh Khan was never a good actor. Apart from his role in Dil Wale Dulhaniya Lejayenge, I never identified with the characters he played, better still, over-played.

My love for Shah Rukh was nostalgic. He was a good Delhi boy who had come up the hard way, married his young love, had a beautiful family, loved to play on his XBox and didn’t give a rat’s ass about the Bachchan and Rai families.

But today I could no longer identify with this new stranger. I still have to watch Chak De India and Om Shanti Om but I don’t know whether my broken heart can bear another stake.

Posted by Deepti Lamba at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Sunday mornings deserve news on the lighter side- here are a few links worth checking out along with your morning coffee-

Temple Stark talks about Britney's latest fiasco release

Zuza fun has some amazing animal pictures that would naturally bring a smile on the faces of even the crankiest of all

For cat lovers a little bit of cat haiku

Final Meal Requests by those on Death Row

What do you see?

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Here is what was posted by Tyler Cowen on Marginal Revolution:

OK, people, it's no more Mr. Nice Guy. I'm fed up! No more moderation, no more namby-pamby conciliations to those I disagree with, at least not today. I am plain, hopping mad. And who has pushed me over the edge?

Yeah, its about the iPhone and about those who are feeling royally screwed by the price drop. Why do I wanna say - I told you so? Do the na...na ...na ...na dance? - you got royally fucked, they took your money, made you feel like rich bastards, only a few of you could afford those nifty little Phones and then got butt fucked when it was made available to the Wal-mart workers.

According to Robert Cringely:

This week’s iPhone pricing story, in which Apple punished its most loyal users by dropping the price of an 8-gig iPhone from $599 to $399 less than three months after the product’s introduction, is classic Steve Jobs. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a thoughtless mistake. It was a calculated and tightly scripted exercise in marketing and ego gratification. In the mind of Steve Jobs the entire incident had no downside, none at all, which is yet another reason why he is not like you or me......

So why did he do it? Why did he cut the price? I have no inside information here, but it seems pretty obvious to me: Apple introduced the iPhone at $599 to milk the early adopters and somewhat limit demand then dropped the price to $399 (the REAL price) to stimulate demand now that the product is a critical success and relatively bug-free. At least 500,000 iPhones went out at the old price, which means Apple made $100 million in extra profit.

Had nobody complained, Apple would have left it at that. But Jobs expected complaints and had an answer waiting — the $100 Apple store credit. This was no knee-jerk reaction, either. It was already there just waiting if needed. Apple keeps an undeserved $50 million and customers get $50 million back. Or do they? Some customers will never use their store credit.

Ahem, wave 100 bucks at the faces of Apple's high end customers? Nah, like Cringely I don't believe the devil ever feels remorse or regret.

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Teens will be teens but not when they are caught having underage sex in the stables of the teen celebrity. Rupert Grint said he was appalled that at his 18th birthday party Joe Lodge was caught doing far more than snoggling with an underage girl.

Lodge, 19, was caught with the girl, whose age was not disclosed in court, in the stables of a property in Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, where the party took place last year. Lodge, a former carpenter, was due to stand trial yesterday at St Albans Crown Court on a charge of sexual activity with a child, which he denied. Grint had been expected to be called in to give evidence.

Instead, Lodge was let off with a caution and taken to the local police station, where he signed the sex offenders register.

The prosecution decided not to prosecute believing that it had all to do with partying, drinking too much and feeling the teen hormones a bit too much.

Posted by Deepti Lamba at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We all know that Presidents get attached to their aids (courtesy The West Wing and 24) but the 'bond' between Bush and his 'lady in command' Ms Condoleezza Rice is a bit hard to swallow.

Four years as Bush's national security adviser -- through Sept. 11 and two wars -- had taken a toll. "I think you may need a new national security team," she said.

"I do the hiring here," the president countered.

As Rice considered the offer, one question loomed large: Would she and Bush retain their unique closeness if they no longer worked daily together in the White House?

"We've been very close, down the hall," Rice reminded Bush. "I see you eight times a day, and I don't want to lose that connection."

Rice and Bush discussed the job for two hours over the next three days, and by Monday she agreed to become the nation's top diplomat.

Ah, true love between Ebony and White in the Oval Office and some extra perks thrown in on the side. Now why didn't Monica Lewinsky play her cards right?

Posted by Deepti Lamba at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

There are songs I love to hate. They are songs I love so much that I cannot bear them for the memories they bring back hurt too much. Most of the seventies songs and early eighties songs remind me of the times when we girls took road trips with my dad and mom. We kids would be sitting at the back of the mammoth white Ambassador with my dad behind the wheels singing the songs loudly and my mom smilingly and wincing alternatively as he'd speed and overtake from the left.

Songs such as Illusion, Get Down On It, those by Abba, Boney M, Carpenters, BeeGees and by the Jackson Brothers and then by Michael Jackson's Thriller and Billy Jean continue to hurt to this day.

The Ghazals and songs from Hindi movies continue to have the same effect on me. Why? Its been over nine years and yet I cannot face so many songs. I get transported back to those times when we were the most happy as a family, a complete unit.

They remind me of the times when I saw my dad dancing and being ever so slightly tipsy, kissing my mom , kissing us. His eyes would be twinkling, his lips smiling and his feet tapping and body swaying to the music. He loved life, he loved music and he loved pain and laughter in equal measure.

So many songs are shunned by me. I love them and I hate them. They are the memories I rather not face.

Posted by Deepti Lamba at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up."
-Tom Lehrer

Posted by Deepti Lamba at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Fathers with their babies are the cutest people ever and when they start discussing Fatherhood we tend to find them even hotter. Maybe not all fathers but men like Brad Pitt make us, women, weak in the knees when we hear them talk about their tots.

While at the Venice festival, where he had come to promote his movie-The Assassination of Jesse James ,he spoke about parenthood:

"I love it and can't recommend it any more highly - although sleep is non-existent," he said. "It's the most fun I've ever had and also the biggest pain in the ass I've ever experienced,"

However, his pain couldn't be all that bad considering the fact that they have a battery of nannies and mammies taking care of their babies where as the rest of us mortals have to deal with the 'little people' on our own 24/7, seven days a week with no help at sight and deterring most of us from baby buying sprees.

Posted by Deepti Lamba at 07:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)