Vodka - The all Purpose Drink

Vodka is surely an all Purpose Drink. When I used to be bachelor, I used to stock my mini bar with varieties of Vodka, Grey Goose (with Red Bull) always most reachable.

After marriage, I could not consume all of them, but still keep getting them from my friends visiting us, they know me well, don't they? :)

When I was researching to see how to make use of these Vodka, I found so many interesting ways to use them, I was so surprised to see how a vodka can be Panacea.
Since I always had a Vodka in my home since I moved to USA, it could be handy aside from being a fantastic drink, it has many uses which you may not have known about.

Here are a few uses:

1. To remove a bandage painlessly, saturate the bandage with vodka. The solvent dissolves adhesive (If the wound is still not dried, I would not try this)

2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.

3. Clean jewelry. Soak the jewelry in vodka for five minutes, then rinse, and dry.

4. Clean lipstick from clothing. Rub the stain with vodka, then throw into your regular wash.

5. Remove the glue left behind by a bumper sticker. Rub the glue with a soft, clean cloth soaked with vodka

6. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.

7. Spray vodka on vomit stains, scrub with a brush, then blot dry.

8. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.

9. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.
(Disclaimer: Alcohol can cause skin/scalp irritation for some people, Thanks Madhu )

10. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle and spray bees or wasps to kill them.

11. Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water in a Ziplock freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshable ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.

12. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.

13. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.

14. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.

15. vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.

16. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.

17. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.

18. Soothe a sore throat. Add a tablespoon of vodka to glass of warm water and gargle. The alcohol helps numb the sore throat.

19. When you have a bad stomach, drink a shot of Vodka with a tablespoon of salt
it helps and feels WOW ( A recommended treatment from a good friend of mine, she tried it and tested, also its a very common practice among Russians)

20. Mix 2/4 with chilled pani puri water. Also Try out a spoonful on pasta or baked fish on a cold evening.

But whenever possible drink Vodka, ALWAYS!

PS After getting few threats, I am adding this disclamier :)
Disclaimer: Other than Drinking Vodka, everything else do it at drinkers discretion. But once you drink vodka, I am not responsible for your discretion senses.

AR Rahman won Two Oscar, Catchy Lines from Fans

I am so glad I saw him live performing 3 years back :)

I am so excited and want to share few lines and interesting facts from Fans world wide
Let me know if you come across some

[Deepak]From Leo Coffee to Slum Dog....!
Kodambakkam to Kodak
WARNING #3: Anil Kapoor on STAGE! Possibility of talking: 73.7%.

[prads] O'09. Rahman & Resul Pookutty (Sound Mix) have joined Bhanu Athaiya & Satyajit Ray in the list of Oscar-winning Indians. Count Ben Kingsley?
Slumdog Millionaire, undoubtedly has brought the best out of Kerala-born sound engineer Resul Pookutty besides helping him win an Oscar.

Hailing from a small village of Vilakkupara in Kerala’s Kollam district which didn’t have electricity, he studied under a kerosene lamp.

He then went to the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune from where he graduated in 1995.

[prad]Smile Pinki (2008) is a 39 minute Academy Award winning documentary directed by Megan Mylan. The film shows the captivating story of a desperately poor girl in rural India whose life is transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip. The documentary was made in Hindi and Bhojpuri, and won the 81st Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).

[Kartik]Yay ARR! ... And spare a thought for Anil Kapoor, who jumped on to stage first to get prime publicity :D

[Sud]I grew up listening to AR Rahman and is floating on Cloud 9.

[Smrithi] She is proud Slumdog Millionaire won 8/9 nominations, and is happy that Rahman won both his, performed live, AND ended his acceptance in Tamizh, my mother

[nashirfan]You know what guyz... A R Rahman didn't get the oscars... The Oscars got A R Rahman... Jai Hoooo Rahman Sir... U make me proud to be an indian ... tongue!!!

[2729959] {After AR Rahman spoke a line in tamil}I hate to break it to you guys but AR Rahman is actually a malayalee. so yea i say to you im proud to be indian and a malayalee. sorry just had to point that out :)

[tantreec]the best part is that he won it for one of his mediocre compositions!! (considering what he's created in the last 20 years)

[Wiki] Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy wrote Slumdog Millionaire based on the Boeke Prize winning and Commonwealth Writers' Prize nominated novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup

Super Brain Yoga or Thoppukarnam

Recently my good friend Madhuri pointed me to Interesting video of Brian Yoga and she laughed out lot, I was thinking a funny yoga again? But any Indian kid would have gone through this, no wonder we Indian kids are smarter.




Wow, Super Brain Yoga. http://www.superbrainyoga.org/


We Indian kids were trained Brain yoga from school days. Schools, where children spend most of their developmental stage of life, have been identified by children in the region as a place where they are subjected to various forms of physical and degrading/humiliating punishments. Children have stated that these punishments affect their school performance, as their minds are dominated by the fear of punishment rather than learning.
The most popular kind of punishment during my childhood was Sit-Ups holding the ears, in Tamil we call it “Thoppukarnam” and “Gunjeellu” in Telugu

Thoppukarnam is not only a form of punishment, but its also ritual rite, a way to pray to the god.


At one moment of time playfully Shri Ganesha grabbed the Sudarshan Chakra from Shri Vishnu’s finger and hid it in his mouth. In spite of repeated requests and appeals of Shri Vishnu to return the same to him Shri Ganesha never relented to his pleas. The more He requested to return the disc, Shri Ganesha would become more playful with His eternal childhood qualities and run away from Him. Embarrassed Shri Vishnu tried all tricks to please Shri Ganesha but all were in vain.
At last an idea struck Shri Vishnu and he went after Shri Ganesha following him up to Kailasha-lok (abode of Shri Shiva-Parvati). There as He faced Shri Ganesha He initiated a very funny gesture of seeking forgiveness by holding His ears with criss-cross twisting of His hands around his neck. This did the trick and Shri Ganesha giggled like a child and laughed aloud. This eventually released the seized sudarshan from His mouth. Shri Vishnu instantly recovered His favorite disc and departed for his Vishnulok with victory.
So Thoppukarnam is act of forgiveness for your sins and wrongs and Super Brain yoga is proving to be rehabilitation for your brain and makes you think smart. All my Grandmas stories are making sense to me now

Pink Chaddi Campaign

I really am speechless at the sheer brilliance of the concept if not for the proposed execution. The creator, whoever it is, I salute you.. Jai chaddi!!




To counter a disturbing trend of right-wing Hindu thugs beating up women going to pubs or wearing clothes they don't approve of, Bangalore-based Alternative Law Forum (ALF) has launched a satirical campaign to support India's "Pubgoing Loose and Forward Women".

The Pink Chaddi Campaign asks women to send pink chaddis (underwear) to the ALF to forward to one of the bullying organisations, the Shri Ram Sene, which has threatened to attack couples found celebrating Valentine's Day.

I badly want to contribute to this effort, the best thing I could do is sending out the word rather....


For more Info about the Pink Chaddi -->http://thepinkchaddicampaign.blogspot.com/

Pitch in your Chaddi!

IPL Bidding Updates

IPL auction 2009

List of players sold

February 6, 2009

Seventeen slots were filled in over two hours of the 2009 IPL auction in Goa. Here is a list of the players who have been bought at the auction (base price in brackets; all numbers in US$):

Pool A
Shaun Tait to Rajasthan Royals 375,000 (250,000)
JP Duminy to Mumbai Indians 950,000 (300,000)
Andrew Flintoff to Chennai Super Kings 1.55 million (950,000)
Kevin Pietersen to Bangalore Royal Challengers 1.55 million (1.35 million)

Pool B
Fidel Edwards to Deccan Chargers 150,000 (150,000)
Owais Shah to Delhi Daredevils 275,000 (150,000)
Paul Collingwood to Delhi 275,000 (250,000)

Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin and Chamara Kapugedara were unsold.

Pool C
Tyron Henderson to Rajasthan 650,000 (100,000)
Ravi Bopara to Kings XI Punjab 450,000 (150,000)
Thilan Thushara to Chennai 140,000 (125,000)
Jesse Ryder to Bangalore 160,000 (100,000)
Kyle Mills to Mumbai 150,000 (150,000).

Pool D
Dwayne Smith to Deccan Chargers 100,000 (100,000)
Jerome Taylor to Punjab 150,000 (150,000)
Mohammad Ashraful to Mumbai 75,000 (75,000)

Samit Patel, Shakib-al-Hassan, Morne Van Wyk, Stephen Smith, Ashley Noffke, Gulam Bodi and Daren Powell were unsold.

Ashwell Prince, Phil Jaques, Andre Nel, Luke Wright and Nuwan Kulasekara were unsold.

Pool E
Tamim Iqbal, Jon Moss, Bryce McGain, James Franklin, Aiden Blizzard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Michael Klinger, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Prasanna Jayawardene and Dominic Thornley were unsold.

Pool F
Mashrafe Mortaza to Kolkata Knight Riders 600,000 (50,000)
George Bailey to Chennai 50,000 (50,000)

Yusuf Abdulla, Daniel Harris, Kemar Roach, Aaron Bird, Michael Dighton, Michael Hill and Brett Geeves were unsold.

Updates on IPL Auction, It's been intense and manic.

Jerome Taylor
owning team: Mumbai , bid amount in $: 150000

George Bailey
owning team: Chennai , bid amount in $: 50000

Mashrafe Mortaza
owning team: Kolkata , bid amount in $: 600000

Duminy
owning team: Mumbai, bid amount in $: 950000

Flintoff
owning team: Chennai, bid amount in $: 1550000

Pietersen
owning team: Bangalore, bid amountin $: 1550000

Owais Shah
owning team: Delhi, bid amount in $: 275000

Collingwood
owning team: Delhi, bid amount in $: 275000

Tyron Henderson
owning team: Rajasthan, bid amount in $: 650000

Bopara
owning team: Punjab, bid amount in $: 450000

Thushara
owning team: Chennai, bid amount in $: 140000

Fidel Edwards
owning team: Hyderabad, bid amount in $: 150000

Jesse Ryder
owning team: Bangalore, bid amount in $: 160000

Mills
owning team: Mumbai, bid amount in $: 150000

Notable Unsold Players : Kulasekara, Kapugedera, Haddin, Shakib Al Hasan, Morne van Wyk, Jerome Taylor, Ashley Noffke, Shakib, Ashraful, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Prasanna Jayawardene
* Unsold Players will re-enter the auction later.

Sports Weekend

It was the best weekend of sports, great show of Performance, Stamina, Endurance, Mental Composure and Achievement

Australian Open, lots of feats!
Rafael Nadal has become the first Spaniard to win the Australian Tennis Open, after a gripping final against Roger Federer. During presentation, my heart cried for Federer, you will come back strong and break the Slam record for sure, we are with you!

First Indian pair to win a Grand Slam mixed doubles title. Congrats Sania and Mahesh!
First Indian to win Aussie Open Junior title. Way to go Yuki! We are expecting lot from you.

Super Bowl was really super
Congratulation to the Pittsburgh who won an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl title with a late touchdown in a thrilling 27-23 win over Arizona. Well Played Cardinals, you guys rocked. Go Cardinals!
My Congratulation to Santonio Holmes for being Super bowl 43 – XLIII MVP
Great performance during the break by Bruce Springsteen, but where is "Born in USA" song? BTW, very disappointing Super Bowl commercials.

Cricket
India won thriller against Sri Lanka
Kiwis crushed kangaroos i.e NZ beat Aussies, great game, last ball victory is always special.
Low note: Haddin's controversy