Something that I was sent on an sms forward. Cracked me up bigtime.

2002 - Terrorism

2003 - Floods

2004 - Tsunami

2005 - Earthquake

2006 - Rain

2007 - ‘Aap Ka Suroor’

Still has me chuckling!!!

This guy’s name is Brian. He looks like a regular guy with a regular job. Turns out he does have a day job. He is a wrestling coach in a local high school. On a Friday evening at Inner Harbor, he shouted at passers by to stop and wait to see what he can show them. So they did.

Then he talked through his act like a Buddhist. A zen practitioner with attitude. And a sense of humor. When he made jokes that were not suitable for kids, he added a caveat that was even more inconvenient to his spectators. He said that if the kids understood what he was talking about, it was their parents’ fault. The he asked people if they wanted to see something terribly dangerous and when they hesitated, he laughed at them and asked them why they had stopped. He smirked, and said, “You think you would have stopped if you didn’t want to see me do something stupid?”

I couldn’t walk away. Before I knew it, I was watching him light his tongue on fire. Then he had this 14 year old light a couple of torches from that flame. Then he juggled lit torches. Then he lit a jumping rope on fire. Then he stood on a 2-foot ball and jumped rope. While he balanced himself on the ball. And the rope was still on fire.

In a bit, he had a couple of people lock him in 2 straight jackets. Then he stood on that ball. He had someone time him. And he got out of both straight jackets in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. He had claimed that he could do it in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. He was still on that bloody 2-foot ball.

Brian. At the Harbor. He was on fire.

Every once in awhile I come across things that simply blow me away. A colleague told me about the Potts phenomenon and I quickly got myself aquainted with it. Like American Idol there is a show in the UK called ‘Britains Got Talent’ which starred a certain gentleman called Paul Potts. Having watched him on Youtube and swallowed down many lumps that arose in my throat, I can understand now why England went Paul Potts potty!

His First Audtion

The Next Round

The Final Show - which he won!

Watching things like this makes me wonder. Why did a voice like that exist in a personality like that? He’s obviously had a sad life thus far, was it some test he had to pass, which he did with flying colors because life for him now, will have changed forever.

Amazing!

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….is what a lot of people felt after they exited Palace Grounds in Bangalore last night.

For one, it was nasty hot. For two, it was terribly crowded. For three, they (other event managers who don’t always remember everything) forgot to sprinkle water on the ground and it was dusty as the Sahara in the throes of a dust-storm. For four, all mobile networks were jammed and one could not touch base with all of one’s friends who had converged ‘pon the very same venue.

All that however, didn’t matter once Steven Tyler strut his stuff on stage.

That old cat can rock the joint like no one else. Having watched Aerosmith videos for years, watching him prance about in his tight pants and do his deverish dance with the mike was unreal! When he sang Love in an elevator, Dream On and Living on the edge, I would have danced like a madman if only there had been space to do so.

No Smoking Inside The Venue said the big bold sign, I must have missed the fine print that said ‘Smoking Up Allowed’ because the smell of weed was strong enough to bottle. Heh heh.

The trip was also made worthwhile because I caught up with some old friends, some whom I hadn’t seen in years, spent long hours at Opus pre and post the show and drove back home in a car with two other Rediff amigos! Fun Fun.

Still can’t get over the fact I watched Aerosmith perform live from twenty feet away last night. WhooHooo!

It opened its doors when most Indians had no idea that you could use the internet for things other than porn and email.

It started way back in 1997 but I discovered it only in 1998. (I was discovering email and porn for a year, see)

Like breakfast and biryani, it became a part of my life.

Through it I discovered many wonderful things like Private Messages, Private rooms and words like Feck, BRB and ROTFLSHTCCOMNEWIWDA*.

Through it I made many wonderful friends. I looked at making female friends but some of them turned out to be male heh heh …. that besides, I made friends all over the world. In the US, the UK, Oz and The United States of Hyderabad! While most of my ‘offline’ pals went ahead and moved out of town and out of touch, most of my online pals still remain and I guess will continue to do so. And we have only one thing to thank for that.

Rediff chat finally comes to an end.

After 9 years of making us laugh, cry, tear our hair out and showing us how to make rooms like ‘Unhook my tight bra’ we are told that we must move on. There are some who still know how to get in and still do. Me included. I know in the last couple of years I haven’t been on Rediff in the manner I used to but knowing now that its going, I know I shall miss it like anyone would miss their favourite pub or hangout when it goes away.

I go now, thinking about people. In no particular order. By their handles or Yahoo IDs or their given names. Hippogriff, Hosannah, AcuteRapier, SantaNudeAss, Ghost Rider (heavens, so close together heh heh), Bleu, Pitbull, LilMermaid, Champagne, CrazyCoco, Charu, TheIdiot, SinSmittenCyberKitten, NecroAsh, HestaDaMolesta, Danielle, Kaybabe, Suparn, Kanurite, Hexa, Nehausa, Zoonyspaz, Martian, The Sorceress, GhostWhoSpoke, Ego, Dapps, Smilin Angel, Mesmeriser, UglyDuckly, Anjelica, Chikks, Cereal Killa, Moonie, Tianna, TiaKitty, CountryGurl, ADitty, CapnNemo, Hydeous, Poiuy, Rebelle, InsaneJane, Fang, Cactus, TheDiva@Num, Cube3, Weedie, Sapphire Lady, J Guv, LambChops, NS, Nescafe, HRH, Tia Maria, Blondesca, Dinkoo, Fax, CatWoman, VampireSlayer, Natalie, Eyros, WHY, GirlInBlue, SirCaustic, Azzman, Kunal, Oriflame, Pesty, Suave, SimplyBlack, Belledonna, Alfie, Kaluha, Shaz, WudHut, Swanky, Moksha, Hacking, Promises & Lies, Bella, Percival, Cherie, MannatG, Mocha Chocolatta , Gorgish, Indian, Knobby, Cleo, Ex Ex, Le Quack, NorthernLights, PChica, Phaedrus, Sadhs, PravinVermin, RKR, Ace, Ahnooie, AlPac, Ballz, Heath, Zomb, Reindrop, Rico, NangaSadhu, SheFlu….. etc… etc… and if you’re name isn’t here you can be sure it’s because old age has caught up with me.

Thank you all for the laughs and all the memories.

Riggy … Rigger Mortisse…. The Nizam /-

* - Rolling on the floor laughing so hard that Coke came out of my nose even when I wasn’t drinking any

PS - you can still get on @ http://www.rediff.com/chat/chathom.htm

This is such a fantastic video on what Web 2.0 means. For businesses, for nations, for societies, for us.

Watch.

The ITC Sheraton in Hyderabad has two Polish singers that perform at the hotel bar. Good stuff. And the ad is even better.

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Young Malakar comes out with another winner, this time singing Besame’ Mucho. American Idol wakes up to the fact that it’s down to the last 8 and the little brown boy who can’t sing is getting better as each week goes by.

Go Sanjaya!

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