The Wonder Years Nostalgia!

'Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you are in diapers, next day you are gone'. One of those dialogues that I can never forget. This one is from the finale of my all-time favorite TV shows - The Wonder Years.

Most of us who've grown up in the 90's in India would remember this amazing series running on Star World (I think).

And in India, cable TV was brand new for us. I remember that in '89 or '90, for the first time we had the Star channels beaming down, and one of the first shows that I saw on TV was this. The other one is 'Small Wonder' but I guess age had a lot to do with why we were all so addicted to the Wonder years.

In school, we had recess break discussions about the day's happenings between Kevin and Winnie, and the girls actually used to get emotional whenever these two had a fight! Especially during summer vacation, Star used to run daily episodes of the show in the mornings - around 10am  if I'm right. It was like a generation thing - getting packets of Uncle Chips, a Pepsi, and sitting in front of the TV just before the starting credits rolled. From 10 to 1030 nothing else could be planned, and if dad did, he had to go it alone! Though in India things are not that fast in the school years, it made a lot of sense because the show was dated back to about 20 years. So Kevin was a schoolboy in the 70's according to the show, and quite a few things made sense :)

One of the key regrets I've got is that most of the early episodes and quite a few of the ones in between got lost out in between. By the time Star TV came to Visakhapatnam into our locality, the show was already running - and I finished school before the show ended. But thanks to the Internet, I can catch up on all those episodes now!! Will get the chips and Pepsi out once more!

Till then, here's the final episode from YouTube. If you were a fan of this all-time-hit series, you will enjoy the nostalgia too!

The best place to compare laptops!

Almost everyone in my circle of friends is either looking to buy a laptop or to upgrade the one they currently have! Like the Americans always talk about the weather when they meet, in India nowadays we talk about Laptop computers and high end mobile phones.

But the opinion that everyone gives is totally in contrast.  When one guy says Toshiba laptops are good, one more says that HP are better. While one wants us to go with the new Acer Aspire, one more swears by the service back up of HP.

I have also been in this rut for quite a while now. I've been wanting to know if shifting to a Mac would be suitable for my kind of a requirement.

That is when I came across Consumer Mate. Consumer Mate is a new offering from the 9.9 media group, the same company which manages top magazines like Digit, Skoar, and many more. I remember buying early versions of Digit just so I could know about the different new gadgets coming into the market. So, when I want to compare laptop prices and other features, this seemed to be the best place to do that.

When you visit the site, you will see some great features like hot deals from leading sellers, a comparision between all laptop computer brands and many more. But what I loved the best was a certification from one of the country's leading testing centers - Digit Test Center. It's free to use and I'm sure that anyone who's interested in Laptops will love this site. 

Check it out!

Weather - always the weather!! (and Khai Muk!)

There are a few things that absolutely don't make sense. And one of them is the American obsession with the weather.

Now, I live in India, and have never been to the USA, but since there are dozens and dozens of people who each of us know, who have gone there and been back, you can't avoid the weather.

I spoke to a friend recently for about 30 mins in all, and over 15 mins of that call was dedicated to the weather. Each time I tried bringing him around to something else, he would get back there! And the funny thing is that it is not about the weather in America (typically someone who comes back after a while would begin every other sentence with 'In the USA....'). We were discussing about the weather in Bangalore and in Visakhapatnam!! Now, one question would have been enough - is it too hot there? or did it rain recently? But no!

Every other sentence the weather had to be brought in.

The famous writer Samuel Johnson remarked - 'It is commonly observed that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm'! It seems that is not just true for Englishmen now.

It is true! When we meet someone, we say - 'too hot today' or something like that, and that serves as a conversation starter.

Is it because there is so little in common that all of us have? Why can't we speak about our own lives or something worthwhile? Already the time that we spend communicating with friends and family is depleted. Once in a while when we get connected, half that time goes blaming the sun god or the rain god, and we end up disconnecting the call all too soon!

Going back to my friend, the final question he asked me was 'Did Khai Muk affect Vizag?'

I pride myself on keeping abreast of all the happenings around the country and the world; and where did this terrorist organization spring up from in my backyard and I did not even know about it!!

Now, Khai Muk is no terrorist organization! It apparently is the name of the latest cyclone to hit the Bay of Bengal, and my friend was astonished to know that I did not know it - in spite of living next to the coast! In our country, we just say 'Did the cyclone hit your city'. We don't call cyclones with names, do we?

Trust the weather to dampen your spirits!!

The Associate - My Review

Like millions of people out there, I am an avid fan of Grisham, and have devoured every single novel he's penned. The Rainmaker introduced me to the legal world, and thanks to him, I now pick up most of the courtroom dramas I see on the bookshelves - irrespective of the author.

When Grisham shifted into non-courtroom sagas, I went over too, and books like Skipping Christmas went much-loved (you can read my review of that book here).

Anyway, when our bookstore announced the arrival of a new Grisham legal thriller, I literally ran over, and picked up a copy. As usual, I won't divulge the plot, but there are some things which should be mentioned.

The break that Grisham took from writing legal stuff clearly shows in this book, and you can't actually call this a pure courtroom saga. Though the protagonist is a lawyer (freshly out of college, which is a Grisham standard), and he works in a firm that bills mega $$$ every hour, The Associate can't actually be called a pure legal thriller.

It is a borderline thriller alright, but one of blackmail. This story could have been written by anyone, and the hero also could have been in any profession. So, if you are looking to get this one for Grisham's specialty in writing legal, you are in for a disappointment. The actual plot is seemingly flimsy, but holds together purely on the merit of Grisham's expertise.

Now for a couple of positives - this is the first novel in which Grisham almost openly condemns the practice of unethical billing that are commonplace in most of the mega firms of today. There are quite a few occasions in which he takes them on in the form of Kyle Mc.Avoy - The Associate. Another good thing is the tacit story telling - which is Grisham's strength really - and where he does not introduce unnecessary characters just for the sake of it.

Over everything else, the ending disappoints big time! As I read the book, I thought of a dozen different endings as i went on, but the ending is a real let down! If there ever were a squibber, this is the one. 

All true Grisham fans will anyway read this book. If you are borderline fan, pick something else. Though the book is ok, it is certainly not Grisham standard.