Posts from — January 2003

Dobby spells trouble for himself. Dobby, the computer-animated elf in the new Harry Potter film, could be at the centre of a court battle over his resemblance to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Isn’t the resemblance too uncanny?!!! :)

A Russian law firm is reportedly drawing up legal action against the special effects people who dreamt up Dobby, arguing that the ugly but caring elf has been modelled on Mr Putin. The Kremlin and Warner Bros, producer of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, have declined to comment but the controversy has stirred emotions in Russia.

Potter websites and chatrooms have been inundated with angry Russian messages attacking anyone suggesting a likeness between the elf and Mr Putin.

Read more about this here
[via Metafilter]

Ashwini and Shanti have come up with RealWomenOnline.Com.

This is the reason for the existence of this new site…

There are a lot of bloggers around and many of them write really good stuff.But we find that many women, especially Indian women, are not opening up and talking the way they would like to about non-personal issues such as Politics, Sports, etc. We feel that many of the ladies are either intimidated by others or don’t want to expend too much energy into maintaining a full time blog.

This blog is designed to help out in situations like that. We want women (and men) to use our space to post their thoughts, opinions any issue that is of interest to them, as long as it is not the recipe for the day’s breakfast or details of their love life (not that there is anything wrong with that).

We want women to speak out here, like there is no one listening. We know they have a lot to say when they are between friends and we want this to be a place like that - where people speak freely, and there is a free exchange of ideas.

I think this is a great idea. It is good to see Blogs being used for something positive and worthwhile. Let us have more efforts like this!! :-)

Ok… the results for the Supersam’s Challenge are out… ;-)

First, we’ll take a look at the answers and then take a look at the scores.

1. Lets start with a swig of alcohol to warm you up. Which alcoholic beverage is derived from Scottish Gaelic ‘Uisge beatha’ which incidentally means ‘the water of life’?
Ans: Whisky

2. With which athletic sport would you associate the “Fosbury Flop” or the “straddle”?
Ans: The High Jump

3. Where would you find ‘the lovers’, ‘the chariot’, ‘justice’, ‘the wheel of fortune’, ‘the hanged man’, ‘death’, ‘temperance’, ‘the devil’ and ‘the tower’?
Ans: Tarot Cards

4. If a ballerina is a female ballet dancer, then what do you call a male ballet dancer?
Ans: A Danseur

5. According to the Bible (The Old Testament), what was the first command of God?
Ans: Let there be light!

6. In the story, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, what caused the Beast to turn back into a prince?
Ans: Beauty’s love for the Beast

7. Spaceman Spiff and Stupendous Man are the alter egoes of which comic strip character?
Ans: Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes

8. There are forty-three trillion wrong ways to arrange what?
Ans: The Rubik’s Cube

9. In which film did Marilyn Monroe’s dress billow up over the subway vent?
Ans: The Seven Year Itch

10. Made from the dried stamens of the cultivated crocus flower, what is the most expensive cooking spice?
Ans: Saffron

Now for the scores…

Bungler : 7/10
Maltesh : 4/10
Ashwini : 7/10
Shuchita : 5/10

So, there you have it… Bungler and Ashwini are the winners!! Congratulations!! :-)

What should you do when you are being robbed? Well… make the robbers laugh!

At least thats what famous Albanian comedian, Sejfulla Myftari, did when armed robbers aimed Kalashnikov rifles at him with intentions of robbing him on the highway, last week.

Stepping out of the car, Myftari reached out and patted the gun and said, “Oh thanks, I haven’t seen a Kalash (Kalashnikov) in ages — will you let me hold it please“.

This amused the gangsters, who recognized the bald head and bulging eyes of the comedian, and asked him to leave quickly in his car, so that they could rob another car.

So, there you go! … Laughter is, indeed, the best medicine!!! ;-)

This isn’t my original stuff. But its too good all the same!! :)

Calvin For President

An interview with presidential candidate Calvin with running mate Hobbes the tiger.

Interviewer:”I’m sitting here with the latest entry into the presidential race Calvin and his running mate Hobbes. This is the first time a grade schooler and a stuffed tiger have declared themselves eligible for the Oval Office.

Gentlemen, er, um make that Mr. Calvin and uh, well… Got it! Fellow mammals, there is no denying your success in the world of comics. And unlike the other candidates you will not have to achieve name recognition. But what people want to know is will you be able to make the transition from the funnies to the Presidency?”

Calvin:”Considering the last two presidents would have been more successful on the Sunday comics than in office, I don’t see why not.”

Interviewer:”But what about you, Hobbes? Since you only exist in the mind of a grade schooler there’s no way you can serve any useful function as VP, except as entertainment for the press. Don’t you think that will hurt your election chances?”

Calvin:”Look at Dan Quayle.”

Interviewer:”Good point. But the constitution requires candidates to be 35.”

Calvin:”I’m old enough as long as I have this!” (produces a small card and hands it to the interviewer)

Interviewer:”But this is your father’s driver licence with your picture pasted over his and his name crossed out and “Calvin” written in crayon!”

Calvin:”Shhh, not so loud. I only have to show it once and after it’s been through the wash a few times no one will be able to tell.”

Interviewer:”Well, best of luck. Let’s move onto the issues. As I understand it if elected you will pay off the deficit by slashing the defense budget to nothing. What will you do if someone like Saddam Hussein decides to annex the U.S.?”

Calvin:”No problem, Hobbes will eat ‘em.”

Interviewer:”What?”

Calvin:”Hobbes will eat ‘em. Tigers are good for that. Show him Hobbes.”

Hobbes:”Grrrrr.”

Interviewer:”But he’s just a stuffed tiger!”

Hobbes:”Grrrooowwlll!”

Calvin:”Boy, it’s a good thing I fed him before we got here. He doesn’t like to be called a stuffed tiger.”

Interviewer:”But, but, but… never mind. What about gun control?”

Calvin:”Guns don’t kill people, people don’t kill people, bullets kill people! I figure if people want guns, that’s fine. We just outlaw bullets.”

Interviewer:”Don’t you think that criminals will be able to get bullets anyway? What about the police, will they have bullets?”

Calvin:”The police won’t need bullets because I’ll tranmorgify them into dinosaurs. I’m partial to Tyrannosaurs Rexes but anything big will work.”

Interviewer:”Transmogrify?”

Calvin:”Sure, with my transmogrifier over there.” (Points to overturned cardboard box with TRANSMOGRIFIER written on it)

Interviewer:”Amazing what they can do with corrugated cardboard and a crayon, isn’t it?”

Calvin:”Sure. I built it myself! You just turn the dial to what ever you want and crawl inside and it changes you. Right now it can only change you into a Tyrannosaurs Rex and a Tiger, but I left some room to write more things down.”

Interviewer:”But it’s not big enough to hold a big dinosaur!”

Calvin:”Well there are still a few bugs that I’m working on, like changing back to a human afterwards, but I figure after I become Grand Poobah of the Universe I’ll be able to get as big a box as I need.”

Interviewer:”Grand Poobah of the Universe?”

Calvin:”That’s going to be my first action. President Calvin sounds so bland compared to Calvin, Grand Poobah of the Universe.”

Interviewer:”Let’s talk about your election chances. Are you runnin as a Democrat, Republican or Independent?”

Calvin:”All of them.”

Interviewer:”But, but, you can’t *do* that!”

Calvin:”There’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t run as all three, besides I figure I’ll get more votes that way.”

Interviewer:”Can’t argue with logic like that. But, realistically, what do yo think your chances are entering this late in the race with no
campaign manager, funds or even a coherent advertising strategy?”

Calvin:”Pretty good considering I’ll be running unopposed.”

Interviewer:”What about Bush, Clinton and Perot?”

Calvin:”No problem, Hobbes will eat ‘em.”

Hobbes:”Growl!”

Interviewer:”What?! You just can’t eat your opposition!”

Calvin:”There’s nothing in the rules that says, “No tigers eating opposing candidates.” Just keep it under your hat because Hobbes will
have an easier time if they don’t expect him to pounce them. I figure it’s not my fault that none of the other candidates choose tigers as VP.

Interviewer:”I can guarantee that you’ll have a monopoly on tigers as running mates. What is your stand on education?”

Calvin:”I hate it. We should outlaw it. Who needs to add anyway? That’s what we have calculators for. I figure if you can’t learn it by
watching TV isn’t worth knowing.”

Interviewer:”What kind of country are we going to become if we have no education system.?”

Calvin:”I didn’t say we should all be ignorant. I’ll just modify my transmogrifier to include genius and anyone who wants to be smarter can be.”

Interviewer:”Have you ever smoked a marijuana cigarette?”

Calvin:”I don’t even know what that is. Once I bought a pack of candy cigarettes and put one in my mouth in front of my mom. When she told me not to smoke I ate it. It was great!”

Interviewer:”You don’t know what marijuana is? How are you going to effectively enforce drug laws?”

Calvin:”I don’t think enforcement will be a problem if the entire police force consists of Tyrannosaurs Rexes!”

Interviewer:”Sorry, I forgot about that. By the way what exactly is your platform?”

Calvin:”A cookie jar in every kitchen and a transmogrifier in every garage.”

Interviewer:”Interesting. We’re almost out time, so just one more question. What will you do if no one votes for you?”

Calvin:”They’d better, or else.”

Interviewer:”Or else what? Wait don’t tell me, let me guess. Hobbes will eat them, right?

Calvin:(smiles)

Hobbes:”Growf?”

Calvin:”Don’t worry Hobbes. If you can’t eat that many people will transmogrify some people into tigers to give you a hand.”

Hobbes:”An eminently wise decision, my friend.”

Interviewer:”Well I guess that concludes this interview. Normally I would say these two jokers have a snowball’s chance in hell of making it but something tells me they might just have something. If, come November, we are swearing in a Grand Poobah of the Universe and are wondering if the VP has fleas, just point me towards the nearest transmogrifier, I’m going to join the police force!”

LOL ;-)