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 am 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 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 and i always wonder why ?

Lets check out the Dictionary Meaning
Dude = Fellow (come on lets face it ,its generally addressed to a boy)
Babe = Young Lady
Though the Dictionary doesn't give a true picture atleast 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 atleast 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 i posted in Facebook some time back on one of my favourite topics..well what else but "CRICKET"..thought of just posting 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)

Federer-the greatest of all??

Roger Federer finally realising his dream of winning French Open

Federer finally scaled the everest by winning the coveted French title to win all 4grand slams and also equal Pete Sampras tally of 14 Grand slams.Though the victory didnt 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 pummeling 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.Its beleived only Ivan Lendl has more finals to his credit with 21.
* This is his (beleive it or not) 20th Consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam Semi Final.An absolutely unbeleivable 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 occassions.(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 continous French Opens(2004-2008),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.(esp.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.Its amazing to know how time flies.Its difficult to configure that so much has happened over the past 1 yr..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 beleive 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 im going to manage with studies and classes considering the work pressure and the fact that most of the time im being sent outstation..

I dont 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..ive 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 havent been able to,this is just one reason..,there are many many more..
Books i havent still read..movies i havent still seen..havent updated my cellphone for more than a year..My Ipod is lying all alone without its best friend..and worse ive not been posting on my Blog!!...

But all these things can wait now..studies form the highest priority..With just about 5 months left im 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 songs of Raja!!

Whenever there is rain u feel a feeling of freshness..&hearing Raja's songs raises ur level of freshness,happiness&exubberance..
I have handpicked 4 Raja Rain songs..

1) Song:Oh Oh Meham
Film:Mouna Ragam
Year:1985

This Maniratnam film sees a young girl(Revathi)and her college friends enjoying their youthful days&freaking out in the rain..
Sung brilliantly by Janaki,this is an awesome composition..the prelude starts with vibes or xylophone..Use of Whistle and drums in the 1st interlude&the marriage of sorts between Mouth organ&Trumpet in the 2nd interlude makes for a fantastic composition..
Enjoy the rain!!Enjoy the brilliance!(Song)

Song Link:http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=316147
Video Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3Q5hG3xf_o

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

The same girl(Revathi) whose zest&energy hasnt diminished..goes full throttle in this song..The film happens to be a historic one for many reasons..
it was the last movie of the Ilayaraja-Vairamuthu combo..& the 1st movie of the gr8 trio K Balachander-Ilayaraja-Kamal..
One of Chitra's finest songs..Wonderful preludes&interludes..Hear the melody which goes side by side with the singing..Outstanding is not the right word to describe this comoposition..
What is it??Im still searching..

Song Link:
http://www.onlinetamilmp3.com/Tamil/songs/index1.phppath=OLD+TAMIL+SONGS/P/Punnagai Mannan/&download=VaanMegampoopoo.mp3
Video Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpJFQyX4DmM

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

Raja goes one notch higher with this song..i heard this song only recently&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 parallelly in the 2nd interlude is simply superb..
This is actually a Maniratnam telugu film by the name Geethanjali which got dubbed into Tamil..

Song Link:http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=190322
Video Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrS1ejarmS8

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

This is a song in the rain between Lakshmi&Shivakumar..Janaki's voice(esp the humming at the beginning&in the 1st interlude) is mesmerising..
The bass guitar sounds like the raindrops..& the flute in the 2nd Interlude is so soothing..A truly memorable song!!

Song Link:http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=336409
Video Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd4NmMlhcvM