My mid life crisis

[Warning]
I wrote this post in a hurry. The sentences might seem rather long and my thought process rather choppy. Be warned. Proceed with low expectations on clarity of thought and expression.
[/Warning]

I have, for some time now, been disillusioned with the road map of a normal life. You grow up doing the things most normal children do - you go to college with dreams of a successful career and comfortable life, you want to fulfill all your parental obligations and keep them happy. You try and reach higher for better colleges, better jobs, higher pay, better comforts etc. In my opinion, the ultimate worth of being a lead rat in this rat race is really nothing. Nada. Zip. You still, despite your best efforts, go through life much along the same lines as a lesser accomplished individual except that the degree of refinement in your life is higher.

Don't read this the wrong way - this is not to say that ambition is bad. In fact, I think it is the very essence of what makes us better individuals. People without any ambition are the worst offenders from the perspective of this post.

My point is that despite all the fruits of your ambition, your life is fundamentally no different and hence, no richer, texturally speaking, than a life confined and stifled by normalcy. Let me lay it out for y'all - this grand plan that governs just about everyone's life (including mine)

go to school-> (harder/faster/better routine) -> good college -> (continue to follow harder/faster/better routine) -> good high paying job -> higher studies (abroad) -> (you know the words - harder/faster/better) -> get into a job -> start worrying about immigration.

Meanwhile, your personal life follows this routine -
you hit 25 or something nearby -> you've already been dating or been in a few relationships -> look to get married -> get into this "save, save, save for your future" mentality -> get married (either because it's the right time or you've to fulfill parental obligations or your girlfriend/boyfriend is yanking your chain or maybe you really want to(!)) -> move into plush apartment -> furnish apartment with the latest and greatest that your combined salary can afford -> have elaborate parties, hob nob with sheeple and discuss politics and economics.

Aren't you already disgusted with the pointlessness of a life awash with the gray of boredom and accepted norms?

Depending on the green card situation, your job stability and the pressure from back home you (along with your spouse) decide to start a family. -> buy a house (this can take a long time and significant investment) -> deck up your house in the usual way - game room (with attendant giant screen TV), living room also with large flat screen TV, plush leather furniture etc etc -> pop babies -> green card approved (it could very well be that your green card is approved before you decide on a baby).

I hope you see where this is going - other individuals, whom you left on the wayside of accomplishment as you sped past them on wings of ambition, have, I'm sorry to say, a life that is darned similar to yours. In some cases, way better than yours.

Coming full circle, the ultimate worth of running this rat race? NOTHING. A life time of effort and sacrifice and yet, no sense of fulfillment, no real improvement in your sense of self worth.

Have you really thought of what makes you content in life? I am not talking about the happiness you get from taking that adventurous vacation or going sky diving or hand gliding or whatever is the current rage amongst sheeple trying to be different from the rest of the sheep and hence, exclusive. I am talking about happiness that can only come from being contented in and with life.

Most people over compensate for the abundance of boredom/discontentment/disillusionment that is a direct consequence of the stifling grip that a plain ol' vanilla life has on your life and future. I do too.

The following thoughts run quite tangentially to the point I was trying to make all this while.

Have you ever stopped and wondered what really separates you from a kid, any kid, growing up in a slum somewhere in the world? just pure chance. I'll repeat, just pure chance. I do not subscribe to the argument that one should be grateful for what one has and all that jazz. My point is more along the lines of what are you doing with it? Just living it as is? Just going through it with a mindlessness of a drone that wakes up periodically to the reality of its meaningless existence but by the sheer inertia of a lifetime of laziness, just sinks back to the torpor that has been the hallmark of its life?

The sheeple that most people are, end up pissing away their infinitely more valuable lives, one day at a time just by pursuing their fascination with self gratification through living life in the trenches of accepted norms. A normal life that guarantees them a secure, safe life peppered with episodes (often lengthy ones at that) of escapism when each tries to mold himself/herself into something exclusive in a vain attempt at being different from the herd. From what I've been told, being a normal sheep is highly over rated.

Some people are actually somewhat satisfied with their lives(!!!) and ever so often indulge themselves in some form of escapism to compensate for the boredom in their life. They feel renewed anew after an episode of escapism and feel like they can go through the drudgery they think is life for a little longer before they need another break. I think I am in this stage now. And if you are anything like me, this feels like exactly a drug habit - you need fixes faster than before and each with a bigger/better high than the last. You know where that story is going to end don't you?

Sigh! I sometimes find my cynicism too cynical.

But, my question is just this - What is the point of it all? Is there any? Is there meant to be any? Is terminal boredom a fact of life, a way of life even?

What does one have to do to BE alive? to FEEL alive?

The final bell....

Did you imagine the final sound as a gun?
Or the smashing windscreen of a car?
Did you ever imagine the last thing you'd hear as you're fading out...
Was a song? A lament?

All my designs, simplified
All my plans, compromised
All my dreams, sacrificed

Collapse the light......

I'll probably shiver in the cold
I'll probably let the shadows take their toll
I'll probably cover my head in the dark
But I won't forget you when we part

Collapse the Light Into Earth

I won't heal given time
I won't try to change your mind
I won't feel better in the cold light of day
but I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to leave

Collapse the Light Into Earth.......

Miss Ida B

Hello world
Have you seen Miss Ida B?
Hello world, yeah
Have you seen Miss Ida B?

She's a coffee colored brown
And she looked something like an Indienne

I love you, Miss Ida B, yeah
And I just can't, I just can't hardly keep it in

I'm in love with you, Miss Ida B, baby
Ever since, ever since time stood still on the iron hill.

Baby, when I'm gone
Watcha goin to do?
When you're gone, baby yeah
Watcha man to do?

I hate to even think about it, yeah

Deliverance........

is alone well worth the price of admission.

Tonight I was in attendance in yet another Opeth concert - never has another band, apart from Iron Maiden, evoked such a string emotional response from me. I've seen them every year starting in Philadelphia from when I scrounged around for a few months to be able to afford the ticket. Their live shows are just pure destruction - they do not use any stage gimmicks, no eye candy, no lasers, no video shows on LCD screens etc but just on the strenght of their mighty music, they draw in the legions. Opeth is the fucking best!!!

Tonight's set was blistering!!! From the opening heavy (and I mean fucking heavy!) brooding "Heir Apparent" to the slower, softer "Hope Leaves" to the hypnotic, psychedelic "Closure" concluding in the staple "Deliverance", Opeth was absolutely the greatest! They played some old songs that I haven't heard them play before - "Godhead's Lament", "The Night and the Silent Water".

The mosh pits were insane - there were two roiling pits of hair, flesh and blood. I managed to survive 30 minutes in one of them but not without some collateral damage - a sore, swollen knee from when a behemoth tackled me, bringing me to the ground and a massive red purple bruise in the small of my back where someone headbutted me. I did some damage of my own too, as they always say at the end of a fight, "You should have seen the other guy!". As far as I could tell, 15 people succumbed to the insanity and intensity of the mosh pit. They were escorted away with bleeding noses and other injuries.

Opeth was absolute dynamite tonight and I was honored to have been part of this ritual.

Ek Lau.....

I can't get this song out of my head. It's been a really long time since a hindi song has made itself home in my head and refuses to leave. Find it and download it!!

As far as I can gather, this is a song from the movie "Aamir" and Amit Trivedi is the music director.

Lyrics:

Gardishon Mein Rehthi,
Rehthi Guzar Thi
Zindagi Aahein Kithni
In Mein Se Ek Hai,
Teri Meri Aakhari
Koi Ek Jaisi Apni..

Par Khuda Kheir Kar Aisaa Anjaam Kisi Rooh Ko Na De Kabi Yahaan..
Gujha Muskuratha Hai Kyun Waqth Se Pehle Kyun Chodd Chala Tera Ye Jahaan

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula

[ Ek Lau Is Tarah Kyun Song Lyrics @http://www.hindilyrix.com ]

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula

Dhoop Ke Ujaale Si, Puns Ki Pyaale Si, Khushiyan Mile Humko..
Zyada Manga Hai Kahaan, Sarhadein Na Ho Jahaan, Duniya Mile Humko..
Par Khudha Kheir Kar, Uske Armaan Mein Kyun Bewaja Ho Koi Kurbaan..
Gujha Muskuratha Hai Kyun Waqth Se Pehle Kyun Chodd Chala Tera Ye Jahaan

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula

[ Ek Lau Is Tarah Kyun Song Lyrics @http://www.hindilyrix.com ]

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula..

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula

Ek Lau Is Tharah Kyun Bhuji Mere Maula
Ek Lau Zindagi Ki Maula

What do you do?

I still haven't figured out an answer to this question. The answer to life seems so much simpler.

Random thoughts for a snowy Sunday

• No one is really free of the ideological inheritance which he carries within himself as a child of a given generation. This, in essence, is his conformal "world view". What are yours?

• Do not equate unawareness with non-existence. Everyone is, at some point, guilty of this depending on the degree of their hubris on how well read they think they are on any given subject.

• If all/most of your personal heroes are iconoclasts of this or past generations, does that make you one? Isn't this self-contradictory - that you have personal icons but still consider yourself an iconoclast?
  

• When does 'belief' turn into 'faith'?

Feel free to answer any of these questions or post more of your own.

Headbanger's Paradise

I haven't gone to a concert in such a long time and have been longing, no, yearning for it off late. Each concert, for me, is a ritual - it cleanses me off all my earthly attachments for a few hours and gives me a fresh start at life's burdens for when I return. The energy of the pit can be rejuvenating, it is an out of body and mind experience for me. For a while now, the concert landscape has been a veritable desert. But, an oasis of shows have lined up for the year and have put a spring in my step.

January 16th: Cradle of Filth, Satyricon @ The Palladium, Worcester, MA
I haven't been excited about a Cradle of Filth album in a while (the last two were a little too Gothic/electronic for me) but the latest one "Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder" had me jumping on my feet all excited. It's an aural orgy of razor sharp melodies over a bed of blistering drums bound together with crunching rhythms. Harmonious guitar solos are an exciting addition to the Filth song structure. And what are Filth songs without the atmosphere and keyboards? Not to be worried, the atmosphere of haunting keys sets the tone for every song in this album. This album is not as hard edged as earlier opuses such as Dusk and Her Embrace, Midian, Cruelty and the Beast but is more than compensated for with melody.

I am a huge fan of Nordic black metal of which Satyricon are pioneers. I confess I haven't had time to listen to their latest album, The Age of Nero but their earlier albums have really struck a chord with my inner insanity. I intend to spin The Age of Nero a few times in my mp3 player before January 16th.

January 30th: AC/DC @ The FedEx Forum, Memphis
Second row floor tickets! For those about to rock, we salute you! I am so excited about this gig that words fail me.

February 22nd: B.B. King and Buddy Guy @ The House of Blues, Boston, MA
The giants of the blues together! What else can I say but "The thrill is.." ON.

March 6th: Destruction, Krisiun @ The Palladium, Worcester, MA
Thrash metal titans Destruction and fast, furious, blistering death metal maniacs Krisiun (is there something in the water down in Brazil?) are going to amp up the intensity till the insanity blows away the building rafter by rafter. I am re-considering being anywhere near the pit at this concert.

April 10th: Kreator, Exodus, Belphegor @ The Palladium, Worcester, MA
THRASH till death! That is the theme for this orgy of bone crunching riffs and supersonic solos destined to snap your neck. Whiplash is on the menu and is being force fed to everyone. You won't see me complaining!

Home.......

"When you go home it always looks the same, smells the same and feels the same. You realize that what's changed is you." -- I came across this poignant thought in the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". There are many wonderful situations, circumstances and people that I am sure you'll connect with on an emotional level in this movie.

About home, I always feel exactly like this when I go back home - everything is exactly where it was when I left. Sure, a few things have been moved around, some things have been added and some are missing but there all mostly there and where they've always been. Yet, I feel different - an eerie feeling of being a stranger in your own home. When I used to live there, my immediate habitat had an air of my individuality. Ever since I flew the coup, even though most of the things I left behind are still there I find the essence of my past habitation and the warmth of the comfort I had in my immediate surroundings missing. Every corner of the house, every thing in the house down to the towels and sheets evoke memories of my past. But even though I sleep in the same bed that I slept in for 22 years and use sheets and pillows that I recognize from 6 years ago, I essentially live out of a suitcase (symbolic of a guy just passing through) and don't spend enough time in the house (and in the country) to make it all my own again. And this, in my opinion, makes me feel strangely unfamiliar in my own home and why my past visits have not left me with memories that evoke the same emotional response as pillows and sheets from 6 years ago - I just don't have the time to make it all my own again, to stamp my individuality on the ways of the house.

And yes, I will always call it home. It is, as they say, where the heart is.

2009....

is here. I've a feeling that 2009 is going to be a big year for me. Top on the list of priorities that I just have to accomplish if I am to avoid spending time on a certain couch and paying exorbitantly, I might add, for it is for me to get peace - peace of mind and being, within and without, make peace with myself, my life (past and present) and with all the people in it.

The only other thing that is on this list concerns something I am guilty of and I must admit, quite ashamed of - not keeping in touch with people that matter to me. I pledge to them and to myself that I will do a better job this year.

May your God go with you and 2009 bring you what you desire.

Add tired and cynical to Confused, Dazed,.....

I'm

*) tired and an order of magnitude more cynical than usual.

*) waiting to talk to a couple of friends who attempted to contact me this past weekend.

*) waiting to hear back from a friend who I attempted to contact this past weekend.

*) reading cynical "business as usual" articles from just about everyone on the response to the Mumbai attacks.

I shook the hand of.....

A 93 yr old blues legend, David "Honeyboy" Edwards. It was a once in a lifetime experience!

The Venue: Regatta Jazz Bar
Thoughts : A very intimate setting - a smallish stage designed to accommodate a trio (most jazz bands are a trio). Ironically, the audience which was mostly corporate, rich, white American paid good money to see a wizened old black man who at many points in his life lived outside "normal" society as either a slave or in dire poverty in the infamous projects of Chicago. This wizened old black man sang songs about being poor, about cotton picking, about having the "white man" blues and rich corporate white Americans and one brown, relatively poor man paid good money to be there. Figure that one out!


Disclaimer: I do have a romanticized view of the delta blues. So, read the rest taking into account this bias. Also, account for the positive bias coming from witnessing something from another era, something that I probably will not see again anyway.

The Music:
What can I say that hasn't already been said before in better prose that I can ever muster? Delta blues speaks in rustic, earthy tones about a hard life, about the problems of the African American (as they are known now) in a by gone era. Lyrics aside, the simplistic (only to the ear) rhythms and leads of the guitar, the pace and style of vocals are to say the least, endearing. The rhythm, to my ear, sounds identical in all the songs but what rides on it - the vocals and finger picking style guitar - is absolutely fantastic. Closing your eyes and listening to the simple chugging rhythm, heart soaring with woeful vocals or the wails of the harmonica (did I mention that Honeyboy's manager was blowing the horn with absolute mastery?) took me to an altogether different place.

This was a refreshing change from contemporary blues/rock where production (over) emphasizes the music producing a wall of sound. Though this in itself is an absolute art producing "layers" of music that have been the forte of many bands, one of my favorites being Porcupine Tree, Honeyboy's "return to the roots" acoustic music was a very mellowing and peaceful experience.

The wine of life.....and I'm drinking deep

Concert updates:

Iced Earth, 15th Oct 2008, The Palladium, Worcester MA

Blackest of the Black Tour - Danzig, Dummu Borgir, Moonspell, 17th Oct 2008, The Palladium, Worcester MA

Twilight of the Thunder God Tour - Amon Amarth, Belphegor, Ensiferum, 18th Oct 2008, The Palladium, Worcester MA


Bang that head that doesn't bang!!

Life?

"A 21st century cocktail of MTV, sex, prescription drugs, video games, the internet, terminal boredom, and subsequent escape."

I think I am past the MTV stage, somehow missed the sex and prescription drugs and am currently somewhere in a combination of stages involving video games, the internet and terminal boredom.

Escape? Its a long drawn out process of life and is present every minute of it.

A fresh start destined to go wrong.

People are prejudiced and opinionated. That's the plain truth of it. They have their set views of the world, a world view, a colored looking glass through which they view the world, interpret it and most importantly, make peace with it. This world view is a strong anchor and helps people maintain order in their otherwise meaningless lives. It is a means for people to band together and to belong, to love and be loved. It is a cocoon, a shelter that people will pay the highest price to defend.

with this preamble, let us examine how new born babies - a chance at something completely new, fresh, with absolutely no allegiances to anything but pure innocence - are molded to have the same prejudices (or worse), the same world view (or worse) as their parents. These parents, drunk with the arrogance of their hubris, their infallibility, willfully choose to paint on this canvas with their palette of vile colors. Presuming that they are the absolute best role models for something that can be enticed, cajoled, taught, schooled into learning anything, they butcher this innocence with their own insecurities, their opinions, their likes and dislikes, narrowing forever the possibilities of hope for something fresh and new. These forced indoctrinations sometimes go awry and lead children to develop their own personality with their own tortured world view which they in turn pass onto their children perpetuating a cycle that only mutates.

For the reader who must already be indignant, I must make haste to add that I do not include what has become basic civil behavior (please, thank you etc) and a whole host of other generalities in this mutable parent-child world view transfers.

Please observe the children around you and how they absorb their parents' behavior, their insecurities, their attitudes and turn out to be a chip of the old block, if you will. Its largely a necessary evil.

Pithy thought for the day

When everything in your life - your job, your daily routine, your so called hobbies - is seemingly dead and does not enhance your sense of fulfillment then no price is too small to pay for that particular cause, idea or thing that makes you feel alive.

You will cling on to it even at great personal cost just because it makes you feel alive.

When and how you pick your battle is a great test of character and judgment. More often than not, great potential is frittered away just because deadened people make wrong choices and decisions of the battles that they decide to fight to the end.

Goodbye Hingis and good......

And now to resume programming, an insidious commentary on Martina Hingis' departure from professional tennis following allegations of cocaine drug (ab)use. [link]

Now, lets dissect this denial of sorts and try to detect a pattern in all denials of this nature -

"Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former Wimbledon winner, denied using cocaine."
Of course, who wouldn't? I don't get it, do I have to pretend to be surprised or what? Tom, Dick, Harry and his left ball wouldn't be surprised, why should I be?


"I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous that I've decided to confront it head on by talking to the press," she said.
Yes, a very logical strategy - after being accused meet the allegations head on by talking to the press. Not that talking to the press doesn't help,, but how does that count as confronting the allegations head on? Maybe my brains aren't fried enough to get it.

Her voice broke as she fought back tears in reading the statement. At the end, she took no questions and left the news conference. Oh! you poor poor girl!! my heart goes out for her, doesn't yours?

Hingis said the positive test, which could lead to a doping suspension of up to two years, led to her retirement because she doesn't want to spend years fighting the case.
Wow! this kind of logic could rid the world of poverty and disease!! After burdening the cogs of her addled brain she came up with this? hmmmm...... how does one confront allegations head on? apparently, its to meet the press and quit not only trying to fight the allegations but also your profession!! Flawless eh?

"They say that cocaine increases self-confidence and creates a type of euphoria," she said in a statement. "I don't know. I only know that if I were to try to hit the ball while in any state of euphoria, it simply wouldn't work. I would think that it would be impossible for anyone to maintain the coordination required to play top class tennis while under the influence of drugs. And I know one other thing — I would personally be terrified of taking drugs."
This is the clincher! List the effects of drug abuse and speculate on it in a manner indicating that you don't have the first clue as to what that they mean - as though it lived in a realm well outside your sphere of comprehension. And then, get on firm ground (good psychological ploy mind you) on what you can talk as - a tennis player. Start to discredit some (most people will not notice that some aspects are left unaddressed) of these ill effects and say with authority that any tennis player will not be able to cope with tennis if playing under the influence. She says that while feeling euphoric one cannot be that coordinated and perform at peak efficieny to play professional tennis - now, while this sounds definitely plausible she has left out the 'self confidence' effect of drug use. Even if our rationality tells us that this feeling of self confidence is only faux, for the sake of argument can I not argue that while feeling euphoric might not be the best for your ATP rankings, doesn't self confidence count for anything while playing? Aren't self confident players better at the game than doubting thomases who might be a shade better in terms of playing ability?

The swiss miss, keeping up the image of an innocent school girl, seems to be talking of recreational drugs (the ones that don't help athletes but are the forte of party animals). Come on Martina, don't pretend you've never heard of performance enhancing drugs - the ones that do a lot more for your performance and ranking than just giving you an ego boost.

Hingis said she later underwent a privately arranged hair test which came back negative for cocaine. The official backup "B" sample test on her Wimbledon urine sample, however, tested positive for the drug.
Again, like the first paragraph who would be surprised at this "independent" verification. Definitely not Tom, Dick, Harry and his left ball!! To aid in constructing a pattern - this constitutes an attempt to create 'reasonable doubt' against the official position, a sort of scientific vindication to her (as yet) moral arguments.

Hingis said she hired an attorney who found "various inconsistencies" with the urine sample taken during Wimbledon.
Now, the pattern is getting so banal that even Harry's right ball wouldn't be surprised! Of course, the attorney found something. Its his job to find 'inconsistencies' isn't it? Why would you pay him money if he looked at it and said "Sorry, you are doomed. The case is air tight in their favor".

"He is also convinced that the doping officials mishandled the process and would not be able to prove that the urine that was tested for cocaine actually came from me," she said.
I don't know what else to say about self serving lawyers who are 'convinced' about 'various inconsistencies' in the process. From a viewpoint of gleaning a pattern, an attempt to further strengthen the 'reasonable doubt' argument.

Hingis said it could take years to fight her case. "I have no desire to spend the next several years of my life reduced to fighting against the doping officials," she said. "The fact is that it is more and more difficult for me, physically, to keep playing at the top of the game.And frankly, accusations such as these don't exactly provide me with motivation to even make another attempt to do so."
Perhaps a kernel of truth there?

WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott said the tour had not received any official information about a positive test and "as a result we are not in a position to comment on the matter. However, it is important to remember that in the area of anti-doping, all players are presumed innocent until proven otherwise," Scott said.
This is bizarre!! WTA hasn't received any confirmation of a failed dope test and our precious school girl quits in a huff and tries to discredit Wimbledon and the redressal process? Her approach to this allegation puzzles me a great deal especially when the WTA hasn't received anything official yet. All I see is her guilt (relatively speaking) plastered all over her loosely pieced together arguments and moral rhetoric.

Now, if you've been following the pattern of her arguments -
Firstly, moral shock and outrage at the allegations. Next, remind everyone of her moral credibility and then speculate about the 'what if' aspect. Get some 'independent' voice to cast aspersions on the other side and create grounds for reasonable doubt in the minds of the readers/fans/general members of the audience. Quit well in advance citing flaws in the system that make it look like she has already been handicapped even without anything taking flight. A quit while you are ahead strategy except make it look like the decision to quit was forced on you because of the faulty system. Its not me, its the system!

This pattern reminds me of oft adopted approaches to allegations by disgraced public figures. Et tu Brutus?

I miss you..........

and really wish I could talk to you more often.

When it rains it pours

My protracted absence on this blog, an oft repeated occurrence, this time was a consequence of a refreshing information diet - a blog/internet free diet to be exact. At the expense of my new found ignorance and stupidity, I suddenly found so much time to invest in delightful activities - concerts, drama, dance performances and yoga. In no particular order, let me introduce you to each one of them -

Concerts: Dream Theater, Ozzy Osbourne, Nile, Cthonic, Daath, Slayer, Marilyn Manson and Immortal.
Drama: Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
Dance: Riverdance
Yoga: Yogamala

I'll share my thoughts on each one of them.

Though Dream Theater have sort of been pushed to the edge of my current likes, I always jump at a chance to see the live as they are such great musicians. As always, they did not disappoint - they churned out 2 hours of perfectly executed music. In the four times I've seen them, I've always been a little put off with the vocalist but this I was totally surprised by his tight performance. They mostly played songs off their latest album but it was a great concert on the whole.

Coming to the prince of darkness, Ozzy Osbourne - I realized that I've never seen Ozzy perform his solo career songs (I think the first Ozzfest I attended back in 2002, he performed from his catalog as a solo artist but I have no real recollection of the performance). I've always seen him perform with Black Sabbath. That coupled with Ozzfest being free this year, I decided to go in the last minute. I was totally blown away with the tour de force that was his performance that night - yes his voice is mostly off key, it cracks every now and then but his incredible exuberance and the crowd pleaser that he is, he blew away everyone in the audience. Of course having such a splendid band - Zakk Wylde and Bob Blasko - makes not having your heart leap in joy a very hard thing to do. It took me back to my engineering days when Ozzy was a major part of my music collection. All the lyrics that I used to marvel at while singing along with Ozzy came back to me in a rush and singing it aloud with the rest of the crowd was a real treat!

Nile - what can I say about one of my favorite death metal bands. They absolutely blew me away. Of course, joined by totally crazy headbangers and standing in the first row made it a no brainer. I've seen Nile about 4 times and each and every time, I am so impressed by the intensity of their performances. Though they have added more orchestration in their music, the quality and intensity have stayed right up at the top. The venue was a small rock club and I was able to meet everyone in the band. Its the umpteenth time that I wished I had a camera. A last thought - if you want to watch just one death metal band in your life, make it Nile.

Cthonic is a band that reminds me early Cradle of Filth and they hail from Taiwan, an atypical country of origin for a black metal band. Their music has elements of Taiwanese culture and it makes it so appealing. I highly recommend listening to the two LPs they have out. The lead vocalist is an asian version of Danni Filth, I kid you not. I really enjoyed their performance. Top shelf black metal - there is something appealing about buzz saw guitars over a base blastbeat drum pattern tempered with searing vocals and embellished with folk instruments such as the violin.

Daath - supported Nile on their outing - they are a death thrash metal band from Atlanta. Though they have some elements of melodic death metal - some synths and industrial rhythms, it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Slayer - thrash metal at its absolute best! razor riffs blasting away at break neck pace, headbanging and mayhem everywhere you look - this was an awesome concert, Slayer slays!

Marilyn Manson - though I am not totally into his music, I like quite a few songs and not to mention his style and his showmanship! I quite liked his performance.

Immortal - what can I say that hasn't already been said by more capable individuals - this concert ranks very high in my list of all time favorites. Blistering black metal tempered with very rhythmic heavy metal patterns brought the entire crowd to a frenzy! We even met with the band later, took some photographs and had them sign a poster.

Moving on the Shakespeare's play - A midsummer's night dream - this was part of a series called "Shakespeare in the park" where a professional theater company stages a production of Shakespeare's plays in the park. This event was the quintessential picnic - sitting the shade of lovely broad trees drinking wine with cheese and crackers. The production was a contemporary adaptation and was staged with a lot of pomp. My only grouse was that it was a long to hold everyone's attention in an outdoor setting.

Riverdance - I attended a performance that I've been wanting to attend ever since I saw a telecast of the show 6 years ago on Star World in India. Riverdance - <--begin clichéd adjectives--> an awe inspiring, mellifluously refreshing, foot tapping ensemble <--end clichéd adjectives--> that fuses elements from Celtic-Irish tap dancing, Russian ballet, flamenco and urban street dancing. Diverse as they might seem, their adaptations to a unifying musical score of Celtic music with instruments such as the violin and other traditional instruments. Check out youtube to get an idea of what a show this is. I highly recommend this as a tonic for a soul that is weighed down by the banality of life.

One of the best things I've done is to join yoga in the iyengar tradition. For the last two months, I've been religiously at it and the benefits on my sense of physical and mental well being have been phenomenal. I feel wonderfully light and supple - my back and spine do not seem like they are a gnarled tree trunk, my body itself does not feel like that of a whale (on land mind you). The instructor is part of a lineage of disciples of the original iyengar tradition that spends decades in the tutelage of BKS Iyengar himself along with his son. My mind always goes back to school days where yoga was forced on us and I can't recall anyone who gave a damn about it and here I am harping about how great it makes me feel.

Well, enough about me now. I trust you had a great time as well. Do tell me about it.