Dude vs Babe? Can we use Babe as opposed to Dude?

Of late I've been observing that the word "Dude" is attaining CULT Status and has really caught on the imagination especially amongst the next gen, but I'm perplexed that the equivalent of Dude ie. Babe (for gals) is not being used so vividly as much as its illustrious counterpart. Ever wondered why? What can be the reasons attributed? Also curious to know whether we can use Babe for girl as opposed to Dude for Boy, so lets get on the Jungle Hunt and investigate.

Lets face it Dude is ruling the roost everywhere whether on Facebook, Twitter, Random conversations, Messenger, WhatsApp and what not.
The way it is being used you slowly begin to feel that people will start forgetting the names of one another. :)[Pardon me for the really poor joke :D]

I must also admit that though initially i thought Dude was "Peter" , I too have slowly but surely fallen prey to the Dude Culture and have started addressing many of my folks as Dude. Even some girls have addressed me as Dude but I've never called any girl as Babe over a normal conversation which I always wonder why ?

Lets check out the Dictionary Meaning
Dude = Fellow (come on lets face it, it's generally addressed to a boy)
Babe = Young Lady
Though the Dictionary doesn't give a true picture at least in the meaning of "slang", Dude/Babe is referred to a boy/girl.

Another thing is equating Dude and Babe with "Da" and "Di" respectively. To be frank Da sounds perfectly cool and normal whether its a guy or girl addressing a guy whereas at least in my opinion Di sounds little cheap and local and I personally do not like mentioning any girl as Di. Is it one of the reasons why we(I) refrain from using Babe? And let me tell you that the girls don't like it one bit when they are referred to as Di by a guy. :)

And is it that only the loved ones need to be referred to as Babe? As like Sugar, Honey, Sweetie Pie, Barbie Doll etc and we don't have the right to call any girl as Babe barring our girlfriend(s). [So what about the guys who don't have one?? No Freedom of Expression also..:)]

So in eventuality whats the reason?? I am still confused as ever.
I suppose the best way to find out is by experimenting with a girl and just hoping that u don't get --------(you can fill according to your own whims and fancies).:)

Cricket Debut Quiz!

This was a quiz which I posted in Facebook some time back on one of my favourite topics well what else but "CRICKET". Thought of just posting the same on the Blog. So all cricket enthusiasts start getting your brains cracking because this is a real toughie..:)
Facebook link:http://apps.facebook.com/flixster/quiz/results?q=846336

Well here goes..
Question 1
Who among these Wicket Keepers have scored a test century on Debut?
1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Romesh Kaluwitharana
3. Mark Boucher
4. Nayan Mongia

Question 2
Only 2 players from the same team making their debut in the same match have scored Test centuries on their debut.Which 2 players are being referred?
1. Saurav Ganguly&Rahul Dravid(Ind)
2. Bill Lawry&Bob Simpson(Aus)
3. Andrew Strauss&Ian Bell(Eng)
4. Ali Naqvi&Azhar Mahmood(Pak)

Question 3
Which cricketer scored a duck&a century on his test match debut?
1. Andrew Strauss(Eng)
2. Gundappa Vishwanath(Ind)
3. Michael Clarke(Aus)
4. Javed Miandad(Pak)

Question 4
The 1st ever test match in 1877 saw Australia defeating England by 45 runs.Which was the venue?
1. Oval
2. SCG
3. Lords
4. MCG

Question 5
Which of these famous cricketers scored a duck on their ODI Debut?
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Brian Lara
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Jacques Kallis

Question 6
Year:1988
Venue:Chepauk,Madras
A bowler made his debut and took 16 wkts in the match(still the best ever figures on debut).The same match also saw a first time captain.Name the bowler&captain?
1. Pat Patterson&Richie Richardson
2. Maninder Singh&Ravi Shastri
3. Narendra Hirwani&Ravi Shastri
4. Ian Bishop&Richie Richardson

Question 7
2 Cricketers made their debut in the match in which Sri Lanka amassed 952(the highest ever test score) in one innings against India in 1997.Which 2 cricketers made their debut in this match?
1. Abey Kuruvilla&Kumara Sangakkara
2. Abey Kuruvilla&Mahela Jayawardene
3. Nilesh Kulkarni&Mahela Jayawardene
4. Nilesh Kulkarni&Kumara Sangakkara

Question 8
Who faced the first ever delivery in ODI Cricket?
1. Sunil Gavaskar(Ind)
2. Dennis Amiss(Eng)
3. Geoffrey Boycott(Eng)
4. Bob Simpson(Aus)

Question 9
Among all these players who scored a ODI century on Debut,who scored the most?
1. Desmond Haynes(WI)
2. Saleem Elahi(Pak)
3. Andy Flower(Zim)
4. Dennis Amiss(Eng)

Question 10
Which among these players have scored a century in their 1st&last test?
1. Inzamam Ul Haq(Pak)
2. Mohammed Azharuddin(Ind)
3. Salim Malik(Pak)
4. Graham Thorpe(Eng)


Answers
Question 1
2. Romesh Kaluwitharana

Question 2
4. Ali Naqvi&Azhar Mahmood(Pak) (Correct Answer)

Question 3
2. Gundappa Vishwanath(Ind)

Question 4
4. MCG (Correct Answer)

Question 5
1. Sachin Tendulkar

Question 6
3. Narendra Hirwani&Ravi Shastri

Question 7
3. Nilesh Kulkarni&Mahela Jayawardene

Question 8
3. Geoffrey Boycott(Eng)

Question 9
1. Desmond Haynes(WI)

Question 10
2. Mohammed Azharuddin(Ind)

Is Roger Federer the greatest of them all?

Roger Federer finally realising his dream of winning the French Open

Federer finally scaled the everest by winning the coveted French title to win all 4 Grand slams and also equal Pete Sampras tally of 14 Grand slams.Though the victory didn't come against his old foe Nadal, he still must be over the moon for conquering his conquerors conqueror.

I seriously doubted him from winning the french riviera especially after the pummelling he received at the hands of the Raging Bull from Mallorca in last years most lop sided final of all time, but destiny has its own way of saying things and it said that Fedex will win it and he did :).

Just a small gist of achievements of this glittering man from Switzerland:
* This is his 14th Grand Slam Title thus emulating Pete Sampras tally.
* This is his 19th Grand Slam Final. It's believed only Ivan Lendl has more finals to his credit with 21.
* This is his (believe it or not) 20th Consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam Semi Final. An absolutely unbelievable achievement truly underlying his consistency.
*He becomes only the 6th Man to win all 4 Grand Slams. (Last was Agassi)

So is the Fed Express the greatest to have ever played the game?
His achievements certainly point to the affirmative.

Only 2 things go against him..
He has never achieved the Golden Slam (ie. winning all 4 slams in a year). Rod Laver has done it twice in 1962 and 1969.
He has never really got the better of his bitter arch rival Rafael Nadal coming second best on many occasions. (especially on the hallowed turf of clay)

I doubt he will ever achieve the golden slam but beating his biggest rival Nadal in the French Open Final will be the icing on the cake for this illustrious man full of wonderful achievements. Hypothetically speaking if only Nadal were not present in this generation, nothing would have stopped him from being the greatest of all time. He would have not only won the Golden Slam, he would have also had 20 Grand Slams in his kitty (4 continuous French Opens (2005-2008),Wimbledon 2008 and Australian Open 2009)

So till he fixes the missing parts of the jigsaw puzzle, debates will continue and questions will always be raised as to whether he is the greatest of all but to my eyes he is the simply the greatest. (especially after winning Roland Garros which I seriously doubted)
Just a simple point to substantiate my view - no one in the history of the game has been so consistent over a period of time and this alone is testimony to prove all his detractors!

A Year of Articleship - The Roughside!

More than a year has elapsed since I joined work. It's amazing to know how time flies. Its difficult to configure that so much has happened over the past 1 yr as life has undergone a major change.

Some of the things i miss:
Very little time spent with family..very often i come home when everyone has already gone to sleep..most of the time am not even aware of the usual happenings within the house..its hard to believe but true..

The Frequency of meeting friends on a regular basis has skyrocketed downwards..rarely do i meet them nowadays..it has become so bad that some of them have stopped asking me if i would come for a movie because they have been so used to hearing the paradox statement "No I Have Work"

Even some of my regular interests like hearing/playing Music etc has diminished radically..i feel very bad for this..Actually i should be more blamed for this..

Another important thing which i keep thinking about is how I'm going to manage with studies and classes considering the work pressure and the fact that most of the time I'm being sent outstation..

I don't even read the newspaper most of the days..cricket matches which i earlier used to watch Ball By Ball now i only just follow the score..

Procrastination is another factor affecting my life in a major way..I've been wanting to clean my computer(ie transferring the excess data in my Harddisk and External Hard Drive to DVD'S and i wanted to get it done by Dec-07),still i haven't been able to, this is just one reason, there are many many more. Books i haven't still read, movies I haven't still seen, haven't updated my cellphone for more than a year. My Ipod is lying all alone without its best friend and worse I've not been posting on my Blog!

But all these things can wait now as studies form the highest priority..With just about 5 months left I'm fighting against time..lets just hope that all goes well and i very soon write a positive article on the brighter side of doing articles in a Big4:).

Rain special songs of Ilaiyaraaja!

Whenever there is rain you feel a feeling of freshness and hearing Raja's songs raises your level of freshness, happiness and exuberance. In this series, I have handpicked 4 Raaja songs that are lilting with the rain drops dancing along adding to the excitement.

1) Song: Oh Oh Meham
Film: Mouna Ragam
Year:1986

This Maniratnam film sees a young girl (Revathi) and her college friends enjoying their youthful days and freaking out in the rain. Sung brilliantly by Janaki, this is an awesome composition. The prelude starts with a thrill of xylophone. Use of whistles and drums in the first interlude and the marriage of sorts between mouth organ and trumpet in the 2nd interlude makes for a fantastic composition.
Enjoy the rain! Enjoy the brilliance!

2) Song:Vaan Megam
Film:Punnagai Mannan
Year:1986

The same girl (Revathi) whose zest and energy hasn't diminished goes full throttle in this song. Incidentally this song follows closely on the heels of Oh Oh Megam having released just a couple of months later after Mouna Ragam. The film happens to be a historic one for many reasons. It was the last movie of the Ilayaraja-Vairamuthu combo and the first movie of the trio of K Balachander-Ilayaraja-Kamal Hassan. One of Chitra's finest songs. Wonderful preludes and interludes. Hear the melody which goes side by side with the singing. Outstanding is not the right word to describe this composition. What is it? I'm still searching for an answer

3) Song:Aathadi Ammadi
Film:Idhayathai Thirudathe
Year:1989

Raja goes one notch higher with this song. Managed to hear this song only recently and instantly got hooked onto it. This is the intro song of another heroine Girija who again is seen dancing in the rain. Chitra is in her elements. The use of Trumpet in the 1st interlude and Harmonium&Flute in parallel in the 2nd interlude is simply superb. This is actually a Maniratnam telugu film by the name Geethanjali that got dubbed into Tamil.

4)Song:Ponvanam Panneer
Film:Indru Nee Naalai Naan
Year:1983

This is a song in the rain between Lakshmi and Shivakumar. Janaki's voice especially the humming at the beginning and in the1st interlude is simply mesmerising. The bass guitar sounds like the raindrops and the flute in the 2nd Interlude is so soothing. A truly memorable song!

4)Song:Megam Kottattum
Film:Enakkul Oruvan
Year:1984

Talking about rain songs, it's very hard to ignore this pearler of a rain scorching number that dances along merrily through the bass infused rain drops. This one is as peppy as it gets and is an absolute riot. Perfect song to put on your dancing shoes and get soaked in the rain listening to the magnificent bass line that goes on a transcending channel on it's very own giving such a lilting effect.