Seen Any Good Salt Caverns Lately?

I may not be *anywhere* near Katrina's path of terror, but when I drove past a Mobil gas station today, I felt like I had been picked off the ground, spun around and most lovingly slammed against a sharp spire or at least an extremely thorny tree-top. The red, white and blue price sign read "$2.79/gal". Only yesterday, it read "$2.62/gal". Is it possible to be nostalgic for just the day before?

So when I heard the Feds had decided to release oil from the Federal Reserves, the first question that popped in my head was: "is that like a secret storage facility where they keep barrels and barrels of gasoline?"

Turns out that is exactly what it is. A huge storage facility containing barrels and barrels of gasoline. Just how big is this reserve? Enough for all SUV owners to say "fill 'er up" simultaneously? Oh, much more. It holds 727 Million barrels of oil, representing a total investment of $21 Billion. This is the largest emergency petroleum reserve in the world.

Please, Mr. Fed, open up your caverns and take us back to the days when a gallon of gas was cheaper than, well, today's gallon of gas.

Of Crooks And Critics

According to G.K. Chesterton, "The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic".

You like? Read his other stories from the "Innocence Of Father Brown" collection linked above.

If you have never even heard of the great Gilbert K., this is the page for you.

Read and relish.

Panch Blogiya Yojana

I got 5 for Blog Day. Read 'em and profit. There will NOT be a test at the end of this post.

Mind Hacks. Sure, it is occasionally arcane and they love to discuss subjects that have the word "neuro" as the modifier, but a fascinating blog. Doen't take a brain surgeon to read this one.

Guitar Principles. Don't let the name fool you. Mr. Andreas' deeply reflective essays on the correct approach to learning an instrument or on the right attitude towards practice are not simply in the realm of guitar-learning, but they are really little pieces on meditation and Bhagwad Gita and mindfulness. Here's an excerpt from one of his essays: "to discover your purpose is to be all alone. Paradoxically, it is also to be one with everything else". Dig it?

The man who is fighting the fight: Lawrence Lessig. Copyright, IP rights, creativity, ownership - these are issues that deserve a rigorous debate. Read the man's blog, his books and defend Bappi-da's right to create original music.

There are radio stations and then there is WFMU. Beware of the Blog is a great glimpse into this indie radio station's character. For example, read this post. Nothing can touch WFMU. NOTHING!!!!

Fark (caution: NSFW ads, occasional NSFW stories) is always funny. See the readers' comments for some inspired photoshoppery and their very unique brand of humor.

Thanks to the lover of cities for dragging me into this blog day busimess.

Bengali Bombshell's Box Bombed By BIPoids

So I clicked on that link in Desi Pundit to Bipasha Basu's blog, expecting bullshit PR humdrumality. What do I get? Bullshit PR humdrumality, of course. But the comment box there is eye-popping.

The fans, or BIPoids, as I now call them, appear to be a highly diverse but dedicated lot. Look at the confidence with which some of them include their cellphone numbers in their comments. Or the unabashed sharing of their unlawful carnal knowledge. That should impress the actress, right? Here are some of the best comments. Read it now and thank me later.

(Note: These are all actual quotes or excerpts taken from the comment-box.)

King of the Bipoids (also the funniest man alive): "I love you Ajay Devgun" (please, Rediff Blogs webmaster, please preserve that comment for posterity)

The Most Pious Bipoid: "god is great becoz he has created such a sexyiest body n sent it to the film world" (Yes He is, man. That is exactly why He is Great)

The Bongs Rule! Bipoid: "Yes, there are a lot of bengalee females, who are not proud of your accomplishment...Don't be shy of the root and the culture you inherited...love the language (bengali) too. "

The Fitness-Freak Bipoid: "well bipasa u only tell the one theing to the indian world that body fitness is the current mantra to get excel in the most havoc creating bollywood industry..."(does Times of India need a writer?)

The Depressed Bipoid: "made a mistake blogging" (heart-breaking, terse, pithy - could this be Hemingway's ghost?)

The Mr. Film Critic Bipoid: "You r a sexy slut but a very pathetic actor" (Roger Ebert, ever said anything half as true?)

The Cautious Bipoid: "Test"

The Morse-Code Bipoid: " i am really wondering......................................... ... ................ .................... ................... ......... ....... ................ & keep on wondering ................. .........." (and so are we, Bipoid)

The Creepy-Stalker Bipoid: "I wish I could share ur thoughths and feelings." (she would much prefer you start a pop-up filled Geocities site in black background and pink text about her, Bipoid.)

"Anyone Can Go Anywhere"

(found on Mirzapur district's official website):

"Tahsil Chunar is the center of district Mirzapur. Anyone can go anywhere"

There is something very liberating and disturbing about that sentence. Is it the sad nihilism in the governmental voice asking the citizen - not a particular citizen, but any citizen - to go somewhere, anywhere, anywhere but here, that is? Or is it that the inmates have been given the keys to the prison...?

Check out anytime you like but you can never leave.

Farewell, Angeline

The doctor to Mysore's Wodeyars, the royal family, died at the age of 94.

What an amazing life it must have been - to get an MBBS degree in 1947, to deliver a prince and 5 princesses but still provide free medical services for poor patients after her retirement. An excellent profile of the doctor appears in Star of Mysore.

But let me come clean. The real reason why this news is important to me is this: Dr. Stephen delivered my elder sister :)

So, in a strange, cosmic, all-things-are-connected way, I wouldn't be who I am if it were not for Dr. Alice Angeline Stephen. May her soul rest in peace.

Podcasting for Raju From Jhumri Talaiya

Thanks to Punditji and this blogger called Jo from Kerala for this cool idea to do song requests via podcast. (Jo has a pic of Che-bhai on his profile, so, all right, Jo, rock and roll, man.)

Now, this may or may not send cease-and-desist letters to your garibkhana (you lucky dogs outside Europe and N.America), but what a fantastic way to get to know fellow-bloggers and readers? So, let's get this party started, shall we? Er..I am making requests, not playing them.

Anyone here that can hook me up with the following songs, please?

Kraftwerk (anything from Man-Machine)
Blind Faith ("Can't Find My Way Home")
Metallica ("Battery")

Ok, that will do for now, thank you, tata ok, horn please.

P.S.: Don't own an iPod - never have, never will. And my Victrola isn't networked either. Too bad, because Pankaj Mallick sounds AWESOME on the 78s.