Life's like this

I am currently taking a break from all the travel related talk. Current events dictate that I spend some time mulling over them. Well, the cloud may be cumulonimbus, but the lining is a big fat chunk of authentic silver!

Jug Suraiya says that all of our food grain problems will be solved if the politicos could turn our national inclination towards fasting into an obsession. I have spoken before about the way we Indians fast, and his article hit home. We fast for any and every reason – religious, political, personal, et al. Hunger strikes have been popular since the time of Mr Gandhi and fasting is often the most favored instrument of bribery as far as all things divine go. On a slightly more serious note, I agree with him that various factions – the RBI, the government etc are trying to curb inflation by flattening demand. What about increasing supply?

I chuckled a bit at the latest Absolut Vodka advertisement and the ruckus it has created in the US of A. Apparently, in an ‘Absolut’ world, half of the southern states of America would fall on the other side of the Mexican border, as was the case in the 1800s. This has not gone down well with the Yankees; most of them do not know that such a time ever existed when the map of the USA looked a little different from what it does now. ‘Absolut’ly American.

Dear readers, let me disgust you a little. Apparently, the most expensive coffee in the world is one that is an amalgamation of two kinds of beans – the premium Jamaican Blue Mountain (JBM) and another exotic-sounding one (have forgotten the name). So what, you say. All clear - so far. Well, as Barney-wait for it-Stintson would say, the second bean is not just added to the first, oh no Sir – we may be strange, but mundane we are not! It is, in fact, fed to certain even more exotic-sounding cats (yes, cats), then picked from their excreta, added to the JBM and lo and behold! The most expensive and mouth-watering coffee blend in the world. Say cheers.

We Asians like to differentiate. Whether is it cheap Chinese furniture - delivered to your door-step, or Tourist-guides outside the Taj Mahal with their Toothy smiles, we like to go the extra mile. Like this South Korean astronaut – Ki, who will not only celebrate South Korea’s first mission to space by breaking into a song when that final frontier is crossed, but will also spice it up a couple of notches by taking authentic Korean fare (customized for space travel, of course) along with her. Both these are first-time initiatives; and I will say again – joie - my friends, is the essence of life.

To end this series of the insane and the absurd – here’s the cream that gave the cat a cholesterol problem. A photographer (whose name I forget) specializes in clicking naked people and he wants to shoot 2008 (yes, that’s two thousand and eight) naked people in a stadium in Vienna, as a promotion for Euro 2008! He has made an announcement which says that 2008 naked men and women, strictly on a first-come-first-serve basis, will be given the chance to get their posteriors recorded for posterity. Isn’t that fant-ASS-tic?