A trip to Las Vegas

Since I set my foot on America, I knew where i had to go once i arrived apart from the usuals New York City, Los Angeles, and Grand Canyon, Las Vegas was top of the list. And when i got a chance to go, courtesy a generous friend, I was all saddled up to visit this modern day sin city gomorrah.
When the plane is about to reach Las vegas, You get to see aerial view of Grand canyon which is the most breathtaking view you ll ever see in your life.

Las Vegas soon arises in the midst of the sand dunes just like a oasis with its tall buldings, Soon you ll be spellbound by the tall casions and all the worlds best architecture buildings depicted here. Las vegas is a place to suspend your beliefs
and let this place show you it wonders. Apart from its huge casinos, You ll get to see the best nightclubs here and hobnobbing with the celebrities. But most importantly you need to be in formal shoes, Jeans or shirt, In this sense no casual wear is allowed in any of the top notch clubs.
The best nightclubs here are TAO in Venetian with its entry cover of 20 $ is one of the best in town which is always bustling with crowd, Here is the place I got to meet Paris Hilton who was apparently celebrating her birthday probably she has 12 birthdays in a year just like any other normal celebrity.
Party goes on till 4 AM and there are many after parties as well, So you ll have a good time here.
Apart from Tao, You have The Bank in the Bellagio which is for more older mature crowd and its entry is 30 $, It was pretty good but nothing to write home about.
Also the nightclubs at Wynn are awesome.
The other upscale one was Pure in Caesars Palace, This one of the best casions i liked with its palatial looking art deco and its many statutue, Pure is pricey at 50 $. But the best thing about all these clubs is you can go early and collect reduced admission flyers and tickets for the evening parties. Now the most annoying thing about Vegas is being overrated, that is it is the best place to be for partying or gambling, Of course if you are a hardcore gambler this is the place for you. If you are looking to party there are other places as well, Las Vegas is not the last place on earth. If you are in Las vegas then you can go to Hoover Dam which is hardly 15 miles from the strip. Apart from this you can go to Grand Canyon at three different locations : South rim which is nearly 255 miles, North rim which is 75 miles and where is skywalk located, which i had the privilege to go is awesome.
At the end it was a good trip got to see a lot of places in 4 days.
Go to Vegas atleast once :).

New Years Eve Dilemma in USA

You ll be tempted to ask why you are in a fix in a US of A as what to do on this damn important today. Everyone has a place to go and do something on the ultimate day of the year before ushering in the New year 2010, All will regurgitate their elaborate plans and explain how meticolously it was planned. Well, Even I had a rocking plan ie to see the Balls drop in New york city at Times Square and then party off at some local club like Webster Hall,Guastavino's or Pacha etc. But to my dismay the weather gods seems not so kind as rain and snow are forecasted for 31 Decemeber as if this was least of my problems imagine the maddening and cutting across it to get to the elusive Times Square at that fixed time 11:59 when the waterford crystal makes it descent. Now other option I have is to go to Philadelphia downtown which is of course pretty good but pales in comparison to New York City.
Also during this time as you have experienced Nightclubs tickets get overpriced and funny thing is people are willing to shell out. Well who can blame them it comes once in a while with new hopes and aspirations sprining from the arrival of New year

Kaminey, District 9 etc

This week showcased one of the most awaited movie of the year in bollywood called
'Kaminey', a gansta flick and Hollywood had to offer 'District 9', an oft repeated Alien saga.

Kaminey managed to get favorable reviews even from the harshest and hard nosed critics. Nothing can be further from the truth as this reviews indicate.
This movies fails on multiple counts and fails to keep audiences interest intact
I myself felt jittery and wanted to walk out even before the movie came to close.
Though movie has commendable performances by the lead actors and a pulsating music
to boot with, But the storyline left much to be desired. There is no suspense and sluggishness reigns supreme in the movie. OF all the reviews I have gathered, minimum 4 Stars out of 5 were awarded to the movie by each critc. 1 1/2 stars were given by 4 of us, 1/2 amounting to each to one of us, Who were a sorry lot after seeing the movie. One chap refrained from labelling this piece of junk with even half a star.

District 9 had the same old surmise, Aliens and Science Fiction, But although the genre is oft beaten to death but with the help of new ideas and story this movie captures your mind and you end up asking for more, There might be a District 10.
This movie a brainchild of Neil, a debutant director is a must see because of his
storyline and visual effects, where you dont end up screaming Stop this CGI, These are used to the optimal effect.

Slumdog Madness

Slumdog millionaire has created ripples across the globe for portraying a rags to riches story set in India's slum in Mumbai which has the dubious distinction of the Asia's largest slum. This movie also has its share of detractors which say India is depicted in a poor light as India is a archetype for growth among the so called developing nations, its a IT capital of the world and so forth!
Lets get the facts right, the movie is based on the novel by indian diplomat Vikas
Swarup's Q & A,in which the write calls a spade by spade, it doesnt try to sugarcoat or conceal the abysmal living conditions in the slums of our financial capital. It is presented as it is, if we cant digest or have a firsthand experience of this plight it doesnt mean that it is non existing, infact it exist right infront of our eyes,Sadly, We just choose to turn away and when a movie dares to depict this, we decry it by saying it is a imperialistic and vicious view of our country. I do agree that the movie is not a masterpiece and suffers from some incoheret performances,albeit the movie is salvaged by the brilliant acting by the child artists. So why does movie is busy garnering awards one after another and knocking Brad pitt's The curious case of Benjanim button out, It is cause the movie has a better storyline, its dicknesian storytelling and is more closer to the reality than others. Usually the American critics over the past years have been awarding smaller movies more exposure than the big ones, What could explain the horrific overlooking of Batman Dark knight, the years biggest grosser. Movie like The Reader, which stars Kate winslet as a Nazi and has received tepid response at the Box office, gets a running at oscars cause it is based on holocaust silly, the Academy's favorite subject. Just make any movie on World War 2 suffering of the victims in short holocaust, you are bound to get a nomination irrespective of the movies performance.
So why doesnt the Germans cry foul each time they are shown as merciless and vicious in the movies,cause it exists and they cant change it unfortunately
So lets cease being a bigot and accept the reality as it is, and also definately try to change this picture. This is what we can do, instead of crying foul on how the movie depicts India, Are we so insecure about our country that showing a slum in india makes West a sadistic society? How many times West has shown dark underbelly of their country and we quickly laud it for its reality on display and what research the director or the screenwriter must have done, What a crap!
Lets get over it, the movie could have been based anywhere and not necessarily in india. The movie is nominated for a whopping 10 oscars which in
itself is a big feat considering the movie is gettig more mileage than it deserves but what the heck we should celebrate, if the movie manages to win atleast in its half of the nominations category after all the movie is set in India

See the movie to have your own review and let not others like birdbrain Aridham chaudhari say it otherwise.

IPL T20

This is considered the Baap of Manoranjan, ie Father of entertainment and truly so,
Inaugural IPL, Indian Premier League, has captivated the minds of youngistan and others with its TRP ratings hitting way above the roof, these are happier times for BCCI, atlast something the governing body got it right.

The close finishes of every single match, with so many twists and turns have given a run for money to all the sundry melodramatic tele serials read Saas bahu which in order to pull up the plunging viewership, makes a jump in the series by 20 years, Time travel we thought was only realm of the science fiction series, No idea what next these tele series will do after the IPL matches onslaught, another jump is on the cards? Another streaking of hair? Time will tell..
Also best thing for the cric buff is the availablity of these matches online, Which can be seen at the site
http://www.iplcricket.co.in/live_ipl.html
http://iplt20.com/
http://www.cricketfreaks.com/ipl-live-cricket-match/
http://www.cricmad.com/score.php
You can catch the match at any time..

Currently Delhi Daredevils are looking in good nick, with both Sehwag and Gambhir, toying with the oppositions bowling, But it would be too early to pick a favorite right on, cause there is lot of cricket to be played and as they say it aint over till its over! A 40 day choc a bloc of matches played around different parts of the country offers a good chance for the fans to catch it live, you can fairly secure the tickets at the click of button on http://ticketpro.in/ipl/.
I was one of the fortunate one to see the inaugural IPL match in Bangalore in all its pomp and splendor, with various artists flown in to showcase their acrobatics, It was worth the trip.

Iphone unlock

Iphone the must have gadget for the technogeeks,if you dont have one, then
probably you are missing out on something. The prohibitive factor for most techsavy is not the price per se, but the Locking of the iphone by exclusive partner of Apple ie AT & T.
But the hackers have found a way, wherever there is a lock there is a key and you can find millions of software for unlocking the Iphone and use it in your country with any service providers Like Vodafone, Airtel, Idea, Hutch, but not with CDMA or WLL like TATA and Reliance.

For unlocking here are the best sites which works and are absolutely free.

http://wisetechie.com/blog/2007/09/19/
proof-of-unlocked-iphone-running-on-airtel-and-steps-to-unlock-iphone/

http://www.iphonesimfree.com/cgi-bin/iphonesimfree/engine.pl?page=home

http://www.freeiphoneunlock.com/

http://digg.com/gadgets/First_free_open_GUI_iPhone_unlock_
software_tested_it_works

so happy unlocking the Iphone :)

Diwali In OFFICE

Diwali, What a momentous occasion, the grandest festival of India brings immense joy, millions emotions stirring up in our mind, with just a mere thought of it.
The feelings of well being and benevolence for everyone are stirred up in the people without any provocation.

Deepavali, the literal meaning of which in Sanskrit is 'a row of lamps.'

Diwali came well in earnest this year to our office, The SAP Management team
Dedicated three days exclusively for the Diwali celebrations, in the process
Hoping to inculcate the sense of team spirit among the employees in length
And breadth of the company with various groups coming together, interacting, competing
For the coveted trophies.

The AGS team began their groundwork for the celebration and
Competition right in time, The competition began with the
Antakshari, where we came Second and then we had the next day
One minute Games, Where AGS managed to pick up two prizes for eating maximum
Chilies and To Blow Most Balloon in One minute, yes it did leave half the team breathless
And participants scurrying for water, it was one commendable effort,.

Now then the next big event was Rangoli where the Girls shown their true colors
Ie in rangoli, The design was elegant and vibrant, which immediately won the
Hearts of the judges, needless to add AGS were crowned champions.


While doing this as a team, so many hidden talents came to fore, we made
Good interaction with other teams, collaborated, exchanged good and not so good ideas and learnt more about others. Surely Team spirit was trickling in, people came to know
Each other much better, Many young guns who are starting their career in a such
Big organization started to feel at home and infact mentoring their own
Mentors in more than one occasion.

Next in line was the decoration of our Bay Area where we spent most of
Our times in office, excluding cafeteria. Each team Chose their Themes and
Accordingly decked up their workplaces, Since we had huge group
We had more than one theme, First of all explaining the importance
Of Diwali, its associated festivals, how it is celebrated by the young
elderly and the sundry, all beautifully represented pictorially and depicted
With the help of statues wherever necessary, Along with this one
We wanted to drive home the point of Pollution free Diwali,
A pristine Diwali without the usual maddening and deafening sound of crackers.
This lay as another theme as we wanted to show Festival
Of lights in its true colors. Well so many themes in so little time, well
We have our men working around the clock for this very reason. This is
AGS for you, Morning guys gave their ideas , Afternoon and Night shift colleagues
Executed this to a perfection.


The final day of celebration almost everyone came in their ethnic
Dresses and described how Diwali is celebrated in their part of
The country, Also We were addressed by the MD where he assured the
Diwali events are only going to get better and better with each passing
Year. Now then Our Bay area stood out and won the first prize. And
The management could finally had a sigh of contention as truly its not the
Team, but the team spirit and cooperation which won all over.


Have a Safe and Sound Diwali :)

Diwali information and Quotations can be found here
www.diwalimela.com
http://www.diwalifestival.org/
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061017235555AAGkAPS