"Don't Dad Me" - Martin Crane is No More! RIP Friend

This was when Star World was just getting serious about serving the Indian audience content that had some degree of intellectualness - Kelsey Grammer addressed this with Frasier. The character was someone who would speak with a real accent, and never let you feel that he was merely reciting the lines. The props were very real, the studio production aura wasn’t there and the personas who fueled Frasier’s interactions had one very special person – his dad, played by actor John Mahoney. Now into his retirement years, with a hyperactive dog who always needed attention, Mahoney’s on-screen avatar was rather matured, living with his son and trying to soak-up some good moments in his grey years.

Gravity Blanket For Folks Who Are Not Sleepy Enough

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Sleeping issues and insomnia are common and so are sleep remedies. There is an increasing rush towards off-the-counter medications that promise to put you to sleep…to the extent that you wake-up the next day! However, the Gravity Blanket is comprehensively a non-medicated sleeping aid. It has been something special, unlike insomnia solutions that come with plugged-in devices. However, the promise is a bit of an overkill. For starters, it does not seem like that compression or the hug-like treatment can help everyone sleep. It seems rather expensive too. The closest I can get to is the massaging action that helps folks realize. From anxiety to stress and physical exertion, any therapy that involves rubbing and pressing the body can be a bit therapeutic. Is the gravity blanket destined to fail? NO. There are so many desperate souls out there searching for a good nap that they won’t be satisfied unless they have tried it. This is not supposedly addictive and hence, will be tried by folks coming-off anti-anxiety and sleep-inducing prescription drugs. Not much science here unless the makers can explain…

Still Stuck on Shahid Being Too Lean in Padmavati? Relax, HE owned it!

Not sure if this can be an unbiased discussion. The reason lies in everyone thinking about body-types rather differently, especially when they are spread on a canvas as huge as Padmavati. Recently, a couple of guys shared their opinion about the movie, saying that while everyone in Padmavati looked rather aptly fitted into the role, Shahid had missed a trick by not bulking-up. I say NO to this observation. There is no historical documentation that the Rajput dynasty kings and princes were about six-packs abs and massive shoulders. Padmavati remains a movie, a celluloid version of a story that takes cues from history but weaves a plot based on creative direction, not sticking to every aspect of the heritage that forms its backgrounds. The characters are rightfully glorified.

Graduating from Shaking Hands to Elbow-Shake!

CLICK to the Discussion that Inspired this Post

Some people are calling it a life hack idea but it seems outright outrageous. There is talk about how the hyper-hyper-hypochondriacs, those with a life-term record of catching infections from the most innocuous causes might be shaking elbows rather than rubbing cheeks or shaking hands. Yes, the world could elbow you towards new social skills that insist that the viral-overwhelmed, contamination-heavy hands are kept at a distance and the more clothed, the lesser infected elbows are now transformed into a means of socially greeting each other. This Emily Price discussion might make people think that some germophobic could conjure something so extreme but the fact remains that we are living in an era where hand sanitizers are as important as sanitary pads,

Belly Over Mind? Yes, this is a FOOD Website and does amazing stuff!

Click Here to Get the Original Recipe

I have a habit of scouting the web for interesting food stories [this link has some of NY's best from 2017]. Lately, I have been following baking a lot, ever since me and Moha started cooking together. However, we are at a nascent stage and nothing comes close to the type of classic baked recipes at this website. The ingredients are always so pure and there is no commercialization of the cause. If you have a genuine love for food, you will spend time in reading through the meticulous preparations. Not gone through their entire set of classic recipes but it seems the crusts are always red-baked, there is always some honey and butter & you might come across some easy hacks like using digestive biscuits to get the required texture without laboring much! This recipe is about a cream pie. I have always said that baked, contrasting combinations that use a bit of salt are always the best. You have salted caramel here and though I will never get to taste this heavenly creation, I can sense the awesomeness of it…

Updated on February 20, 2018

Some more interesting food-related, read-worthy updates that I wanted to share with you guys:

Around the time that Valentine’s Day blogs were getting viral, there was this cute little entry about Chyawanprash Pecan Butter Bites - for the uninitiated, this is rather strange, almost shocking for folks who know something about ancient Indian medicine stream called Ayurveda. Chyawanprash is essentially a mind and body tonic, an immunity booster that can be consumed by people of all ages. However, using it for something as good as pecan bites is beyond our imagination. The blog talks about how a crisp chocolate coating is used to blend the goodness of Chyawanprash with traditional European recipes. Not sure many people who have tasted Chyawanprash would turn-up to taste these goodies but the idea sounds very healthy-licious-ly doable.
[You can catch the original discussion here...]


This is for folks who love the richness of peanut butter and want to have it with chocolate, in a form that is bake-able and comes with easy DIY factor. The most difficult bit seems when you have to make the dough and fill it. This is where some kitchen expertise matters. The baking though is without any extra load of greasing - something I appreciate. However, I would add some more bitterness to the mix, like more cocoa content dark chocolate and some walnuts too - the pungency of aged walnuts creates more lovable contrasts...again, I always advocate food ingredients that are more of the opposites-attract state rather than those that complement each other.
[You can catch the original discussion here...]

For the Love of Impact Mints, Actually the Box…OK!! It Is Just A Short Review!

Flavor? Strawberry but Not Bothered About It!

I am a bit of spontaneous spender, picking-up things for their aesthetics first and function later. This has contributed to a ton of stuff that has little practical use but once seemed irresistible. This lethal habit surfaced again when visiting the Pinnacle Mall, Dwarka. The weed after the Republic Day weekend was slow, somewhat lazy.

We decided to test new shopping locales and across the rather well-designed mall that has 12 levels along with Daily Delite outlet on the ground floor. This is where, at the cash counter, I spotted this gem of a package – Impact Mints, sitting pretty at the cashier’s desk with other confectionery items that are often used when easy change is not available. I have had this childhood crush on tiny, smallish cases and boxes, even packaging, that looks playful, borderline cute.

Kaliopi Nikitas Shares How We Are Unable to Accept the Graveness of Life's Events

Click Here to Reach the Original Story

Kaliopi has been a regular sharer in the niche of real-life accounts of how people ought to but usually don't react to adverse situations. The plot is never twisted like a Hollywood production and there is nothing too preach here that can irritate you. I have not been a regular at reading what she shares but this particular discussion got to me – most of us are hit by tough situations, not because we are not prepared for them but because we always assume something so drastic can only happen to others in this world. The reality is very different. Your health or finances can spiral out of control within a week. It is like being in an accident though there are no signs of a road mishap. Your mind-body ecosystem tries to fill you with feelings that this is not real, something so horrible could not have happened to someone who has led a largely sin-free life.

Making Consummable Art in the Kitchen: Black Lentil Aesthetics

Click Here to Reach the Original Story

When you open the link, it is a bit confusing – is the publishing team talking about composting or making this somewhat exotic preparation? Read a bit further and you realize the conversation is about both. Strangely, green living tips have been combined with cooking in a very organic way. Now that I understand the subject a lot more, seems like the idea is not that bad. Why? Reducing your carbon footprints is a lot more than merely using an electric car. While composting helps to recycle everything that was once green, this lentil and cauliflower combination has a similar appeal – keep it simple, maintain the original flavors. The images are beautiful. The narrative very simple and ideal to be read on your smartphone too. Just understand this – all lentils are not light on the stomach. Some folks, particularly Asians, tend to cook them a lot more. You might want to soften the black lentils to the extent that you digest them without getting gassy. Cauliflower has been artistically served, and the color contrasts on the plate are awesome!

Prep Pads - Remembering the 80s When Skincare Was Illusionary

Click for the Original Discussion on Reddit

Found this on the web, on Reddit, and it immediately reminded me of school days when we were round the 14-15 wonder years and skincare tips came from our sisters. This particular wipe was great when I started excreting sebum from the T zone and my sister used to say I had enough face oil to deep-fry chicken! The jokes apart, we didn’t have the luxury of online wisdom back then. Pimples were more about being a feminine thing while growing-up boys could afford horrible skin, scarred by new, upcoming, and ancestral acne. These wipes is the maximum I got as help, from my sister, who would provide them at a premium. Combined with her Stephen King like tone about how acne could turn my life upside down, this sounded pretty serious.

Do Desktop Background Images/Quotes Help You Get Through the Day?

My current desktop is foolishly childish!

This question came to my mind when I was reading through an article about maintaining positivity at the workplace. This was another lifestyle blog, whose name I cannot remember now, in the cesspool of daily online publications that provide tips and preach about how to live a healthier life. However, there was this bit about animated, optimism-inducing text and images that should be present in all locations where you fight your most challenging moments of the day. At that moment, I hit Windows D and realize that my desktop was rather banal.