Well… Frank Zappa… what can I say? If you’ve heard any of his tracks, you’ll know what I’m talking about… that strange dry wit… that degree of weirdness… an entertainer extraordinaire…

Listen to songs like ‘Bobby Brown’, ‘Valley Girl’, ‘Titties and Beer’… and talk to Steve Vai… you’ll know the man up, close and personal.

Edgar Varese seemed to be his initial influence… with his collaboration of non-musical sounds to make, [sigh], music…

Frank Zappa played with a lot of bands… the mothers of invention… went solo… but every band he played in, people learnt something from him…

Personally, I liked him for one reason… he stood up for what he thought was wrong… especially when it came to the ‘depopularization of rock’ in the 80s by some very powerful wives of Senators in Washington also known to bring Warning: Parental Advisory labels on music tapes.

He was an intelligent man and just plain different…

Clever lyrics, weird tunes, but 110% original and funny, only if you an acquired taste for that kind of stuff… with a major fan-following in Europe…

He offended every major group during his time… in his lyrics and during concerts… and he made sure that they knew about it…

Not only that, his live shows were plain brilliant… a.k.a Steve Vai, Terry Bozio… with a scary ensemble of instruments that would impress the cold-hearted cynic and pessimist there was… and constantly drive home the point that he was a musical genius…

I really like his work during the late-seventies… where he transitioned into a jazz-rock format, if I can call it that…

But my all time favourite album would be ‘Zappa: Live in New York’… with a little something in it for everyone…

Too bad they inducted him into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame after he passed away… but all in all, he was an American icon… controversial, rude and outspoken all the same…

Well, what else could you expect from a musician who plays Rock?

What’s your take on “motherhood”?

Sleepless nights… The morning sickness…mood swings… a massive gain on the weight-o-meter… Labor pains… a haemo-phobic husband in the delivery room… perhaps, screams of “push, push…”

Events depicted on popular soaps, sitcoms and movies that seem to border on “progressive”…

In the pro-feminist world we live in, women have finally transitioned from the proverbial “nurturing” role to usurping the role of the hunter-gatherer.

Yes, women have arrived on the professional map and with the Amazon woman like fervor too.

So have women really changed from the times we have lived in caves… Has the concept of depending on a man to fulfill your needs turned obsolete?

Has inter-dependence and partnership has given way to self-sufficiency and independence?

Women at the forefront, being second to none and ushering in the era of the alpha-female…

With Hillary Clinton running for the 2008 presidency, it certainly seems so…

Our perceptions, opinions and habits change rapidly as we have crossed the threshold of the new millennium and charge at break-neck speed to our destiny breaking the boundaries of the theory of relativity.

What was taboo, twenty years ago, is practiced with such nonchalance today which goes to show that women have indeed moved up to the next level…

What we see today, are women who are driven to make changes in society by word and deed…

Women who are ready to take that change and spread it with a zeal that would make the missionaries of the past blush with pride.

Though our world experiences a radical change with every passing nanosecond, I believe that there are moments when time seems to stand still…

Because there are some things, however inconspicuous, that is here to stay; call it genetic coding, instinct or just traits designed by a “higher power”…

Most of you know that a baby is born every thirty seconds… bringing about subtle change to a nation’s demographic… but this isn’t about a statistic…

Think about it: the proud father… the doting mother… the hapless child lying in a pool of drool… and that “It’s a boy, it’s a boy” moment among kith and kin, the moment when a doctor “separates” a mother from her offspring when the mother goes from “Ow! Ow!” to “Wow!”…and the father who seems to be in a trance of inexplicable joy…

Motherhood… that’s your gift; women… that prestigious purpose that brings completion to Mother Nature’s cycles of procreation… an integral part in the cycle of life and death… the frontrunners of evolution… and the key to our future.

And all the frustration, pain and trauma as most mothers will say, was worth it…

Cause there is more than meets the eye… and the hand that rocks the cradle does truly rule the world…

For starters, ask your mother… but that’s your call…

The best things come in small packages
And just like wine, some women get better and better with age
The little urban dweller calls out to the thirsty traveller in you
And you’ve still many a mile to go, for the restlessness grows
Until you find your ‘home’…

A toothy smile, a girlie nod, a few words sprayed across the table
And you’re right back in your teens [who said you were in your 30s]
Brace yourself; the time capsule is in overdrive
So buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, cuz Kansas is goin’ bye-bye
And you’ve still many a mile to go, for the restlessness grows
Until you find your ‘home’…

Stonewaller on a solo trip, you can afford cruelty [even if it means deprivation]
Precise with your words yet painfully vague with your dreams & aspirations
The two little fish have set off in opposite directions
Conflicting & confusing,but it’s only the effervescent Piscean in you
And you’ve still many a mile to go, for the restlessness grows
Until you find your ‘home’…

A distinct Stoicism in your voice, alternating with the playful ‘epicurean’ touch
Tough as nails, soft as a feather
Aphrodite, where’s the antidote? [Who needs it anyways]
To all the thrills and frills that go about making you what you are
And you’ve still many a mile to go, for the restlessness grows
Until you find your ‘home’…

Moments of solitude, you desire
Caught in your little personal space warp, beside the fire
The hands of time stay still, yet drifting away aimlessly as if into nowhere
But why do you need to be somewhere
When right here, right now is just fine, somehow!
And you’ve still many a mile to go, for the restlessness grows
Until you find your ‘home’…

Don’t bury your wit, but do dry your tears
Keep smiling for the day, and face your greatest fears
Spread titters of laughter, distract yourself from ire and unwelcome desire
Never hesitate to quench the unforgettable fire (within you)
And you’ve still many a mile to go, for the restlessness grows
Until you find your ‘home’…

Well, I enjoyed the movie ‘The Devil wears Prada’ for two reasons. I got to see Anne Hathaway [I think she's just smashing] and Meryl Streep [she's an amazing actor] and a well-balanced view of the ‘fashion world’…

The world has its fair share of bigotry, racism, sexism, you name it… and we all indulge in it, in varying degrees. We love to cynically invalidate the shallow behavior of the fashion industry, yet we secretly wish we were in the thick of the ‘action’ in a mental or physical capacity.

Hell, they seem to be the kinds who are having the most fun! Or atleast it seems that way on the exterior… but do we really take the time to see what ‘lies beneath’.

Why? I think not.

First off, I’ll admit I’ve been there myself. Anne Hathaway, too, as in the character that she depicts in the movie.

So, are the ‘beautiful people’ really shallow? Vain, maybe?

You have three options: Yes, No & Maybe!

My opinion is that you can learn a lot about presentability from these folks in ‘Gladrags’, which can make up for a whole lot of ‘natural stupidity’, I’ll give you that!

And trust me, when you look at it a little closely, these are the ’smart’ folk… they’re raking in the ‘moolah’ and having fun while they’re at it.

So, since I can’t wear Prada… A.R Mani perhaps [pun intended] - a popular designer in the suburbs Chennai…

George Carlin, belonging to the ‘Holy Trinity’ of standup comedy comprising Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor, passed away on June 22, 2008. In my opinion, this was a national tragedy but just like them all the greats, misunderstood, feared and misinterpreted as well.

Why George Carlin was absolutely awesome is because his standup routine would achieve two objectives, it would make you laugh yet make you think. It was clever. He was a ‘peddler of words’. Something which is missing in today’s standup scene with the exception of Jerry Seinfeld.

A career spanning almost four and a half decades, George Carlin set out to do what he wanted to do, make a living in comedy in the 1960s. By the dawn of the 70s, George Carlin had gone solo, and was the first ever host of the Saturday Night Live on NBC.

He released about 14 HBO specials, and you have my word that every last one of them will have you holding your stomach laughing and leave you wanting more.

He was a rebel for his forthright views on sexuality, stupidity, race, religion and most topics that people consider as social taboos.

I like the guy for one reason that he detested bullshit and was never scared of exposing those people who were full of shit too!

He performed till his dying breath. An American icon. A genius.

And we are going to miss you, albeit, that you will be remembered for your work.