Meaningless Ramblings at 1 30 in the morning

Merry christmas yawl! It's 1 30 am and I am awake with fkal to do so here I am posting at this blog o mine which noboby reads.

I slept the evening away and woke up at night hungry to eat sour strawberries with a bit of vanilla ice and a cup of instant coffee for dinnal. Must rememba to get kaaapiii powder from ddr! anyhoo i really wanted to go to OF to see what goodies they've got lined up for christmas but sleep and laziness won. tomorrow maybe?

I am reading this "supposed to be excruciatingly funny" book but gotten only a couple laughs out of it till now. "A smell of petroleum prevails throughout". lol.

Someone's finally extremely keen on publishing my story AND paying me for it! well i guess 1000 bux is better than nothing, and they seem to be pretty up there atleast. that reminds me of an email i have to send and a long forgotten story i have to get back to. anyhoo i love shape shifters and writing about them! hmmm should i try gettin adventures of pintoo published? it's much less professional but funny as hell. maybe later. in  future times of lethargy. rite now need to get back into the frenetic state of mind maan. dont let the holiday season push u back into complacent mode dyaam yu

i have finally reached di base of di mountain (inna di carribean accent) - mo about dis next year ;) sorry a pessimistic attitude is what works for me so there may not be mo about dis next year!

ima try to get back in di frenzied frame o mind so gnite now

I got to sdt to sp LIVE woohoo!!

My first concert....and guess who's the artiste? My favorite - Sean Paul! I've always maintained that the only artistes I'd go to see live were SP (coz he's my fave; I used to be OBSESSED with him and his music at one time), Adam Lambert (coz he's so friggin entertainin) and maybe Snoop Dogg (I've heard he's good at his live shows).

True, I haven't bought his latest two albums. I've listened to most of the songs on his website and youtube though. He's changed his style in his latest, it sounds more pop and trance than dancehall. I obviously love his  dancehall beats. He also has a mohawk now tho I don't like it much. I like his bald look even less. I think he looks hot in cornrows.

Anyhoo I'm so lucky (maybe the hill has somethin to do with it?) coz he came to Bombay on Nov 3 2012. I got the cheapest ticket (silver - 2000 bucks) but guess what? I slipped through under the barricade into the gold area a lil before any of the action and bwoy am I glad I did when I did! I immediately got stopped by a security guard but I managed to convince him quite easily (! my powers of convincing suprise me these days!) and he agreed. I ran ahead at once to get lost in the gold crowd and almost as soon as I did, they told  the gold crowd to move into the vip area! I guess if i'd delayed a minute more in getting into the gold from the silver, I wouldn't have been able to get into the vip at all!

So basically there I was in the third row, standing among people that had paid Rs 5000+ for such a spot!
I soon moved to the second row but later moved back a bit and more to the center coz I wasn't getting an unobstructed view of SP and enough space to dance at the former.

So let me tell it from the start. The show was officially supposed to start at 5 pm. The opening act was some bollywood shite so I figured I'd reach by 6 pm so as to not spoil my mood. But they started letting us in only at 6 and then we had to wait till 7 for anything, anything at all to happen. I spent this time way at the back in the silver area. The venue (open air ground at andheri sports complex) was huge so there was a big gap with no ppl between the gold and silver areas. Some organizer ppl said they'd let the silver crowd into the gold after a while. But as you know i got tired of waiting, and when the show finally started, with a dance by shiamak davar's troop, I infiltrated the gold area haha! And then the vip.

Then came a guy called DJ Girish who went on and on for almost an hour. He did try, and his energy level was really high, but the crowd was gettin real impatient for sean a paul. After this, came the bollywood shite and they tortured us with a song. They were like " anyone for seconds" and were literally booed off stage! There was this irritating annoyin bich who was the host. Even her clothes were pathetic. Anyhoo finally SP's DJs came on and played some reggae and then FINALLY at around 8 30 pm, came SP!

He looked the same in real life and even his voice was the same. He was in black and had on shades. The first one he sang was So Fine and  then Get Busy, but he really started to get in the groove only after this. Even the crowd's vibe got strong only after the 2nd song. It was pretty continuous, one song after another; and he sang stuff from all his five albums. I even got to sdt to one of my favorite ones - Baby Boy! Some other songs included Deport them, Gimme de light, Im Still in Love, Hot Sexy Punkie, Make it clap, Ever Blazin, Temperature, We be Burnin' (the politically correct version of course!), Give it up to me, Got to Luv u, Watch dem roll, Hold on and How deep is your Love. I was pretty darn surprised at his energy! I mean at one point he was literally jumping for five minutes straight and singin at the same time! And he can SING really well live too! Awesome! I could literally see the sweat dripping off him! twice he threw his white towels into the crowd! A guy directly behind me caught the 2nd one lol. A couple of times he dirty danced with one of his two dancers (who were btw not in bikinis and mostly did all the dance steps exactly from his vids) and the crowd literally went wild! And the crowd's vibe was also great, even after being made to wait a tiring 3 hours for SP! People singin along gettin all the lyrics rite and soundin good and LOUD! wow! the crowd was the biggest surprise for me i tell ya.

He said something about one of his dreams being to reduce pollution. And yeah he's crazy about sexy ladies lol! He did the dance from that korean song and was laughin his ass off as everyone was screamin their heads off! Anyhoo, at sharp 10 he literally disappeared off the stage i mean I dint even see him go! Damn!

Well it was a fun experience and I got to dance my ass off to SP live! That was amazing! I would have liked it a hell lot more if it wasn't so crowded tho. My next concert with SP is only gonna be in an intimate concert setting! Foshiz!

But it was just like I expected a concert to be - standing and sweating and screaming and dancing the whole time among a big crowd! In this case, the crowd itself was pretty good (i mean a crowd which loves sp can't be all bad now can it?), and I even hung out with some other like minded ppl for a while. But i was pretty shocked at the turn out! It was quite a crowd, and there were all sorts of ppl - hi fi, avg, old, young, indians, foreigners.

The bad points of the concert was the organization and professionalism. They started very late and SP was on only for 1.5 hours. Some would say it was a rip off. It felt like the DJ before him was on for an awful long time (tho it was 1 hr) and wen SP was on the time just flew. Plus, when after the concert I asked if I could meet him, they were like absolutely not ( well darlin I'm afraid he's already left the building - were the exact words) ! But yeah, what was I expectin with a big star like SP!

Let's see what the future holds ;)

A pic from my shitty fone cam!

The Jaguar

General Information

Scientific name - Panthera onca

Distribution - Central & South America

Lifespan - 11-16 years

Physical appearance - Yellowish-brown coat with spotted black rosettes

Litter - 2-4 cubs

Behavior – Solitary

Diet - a wide range of arboreal, terrestrial & aquatic animals

Habit - Crepuscular

Size - Body length (including tail) 1.6m - 2.6m
        Shoulder height 0.6m - 0.8m

Weight - 35 -130kg. Females usually one third smaller than males

Interesting Facts

• n  The jaguar is the third largest big cat in the world. It is the largest in the Americas.
• n  The jaguar is one of the four big cats that roars the others being the tiger, lion, & the leopard.
• n  The name jaguar is derived from the Native American word yaguar, which means "he who kills with one leap."
• n  The jaguar loves water. It attracts fish by swinging its tail underwater.
• n  It is also an adept climber & so it is at home in trees, water as well as on ground.
• n  The lifespan of a jaguar in the wild is 11 to 16 years while that of a jaguar in captivity is about 22 years.
• n  The jaguar is worshipped as a god by cultures including the Aztecs and the Maya.
• n  Jaguars are usually yellow-brown with spotted black rosettes. The side & back shows a circle of spots surrounding a central spot. The head, legs & underside show solid black spots.
• n   Leopards & jaguars are often confused. The jaguar can be distinguished          by black spots within the larger rosette markings. The jaguar has a shorter tail & is stronger, more muscular, more stockily built with stocky forelimbs & a smaller, bulkier & more rounded head.
• n   Melanistic/black jaguars are also found. They are sometimes confused with black panthers. Black panthers are actually black leopards.

Distribution

n  The jaguar is found mainly in Central & South America.                              

n   Range includes Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and south western United States.

n  Highest population density is on lowland rainforests of the Amazon basin.

n  The jaguar population is especially abundant in the Pantanal region of Brazil & Chaco region of northern Paraguay.

n  Current Wild population – approx. 15000

Habitat

n  The jaguar’s habitat is tropical areas.

n  It includes tropical forests, Savanna, scrub, desert, swamps; but near water. Jaguars rarely venture more than 0.5 km from water.For example, the Amazon River Basin and the wetland area of Pantanal in Brazil are home to important populations of jaguars.

n  Other important jaguar habitats include Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala and Mexico’s Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.

 

Taxonomy

 

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum - Chordata

Class – Mammalia

Subclass – Theria

Order – Carnivora

Family – Felidae

Genus – Panthera

Species – onca

Varieties/Subspecies

There are nine subspecies of Jaguar:

Panthera onca onca - Amazon Rainforest
Panthera onca arizonensis - Mexico
Panthera onca centralis - Central America
Panthera onca goldmani - Mexico, Belize
Panthera onca hemandesii - Mexico
Panthera onca palustris - Southern Brazil
Panthera onca paraguensis – Paraguay

Panthera onca peruvianus - Peru, Ecuador
Panthera onca veracrucis – Texas

Behavior

Hunting Behavior

n  The jaguar is solitary. Jaguars come together only for breeding.

n  The jaguar is mainly crepuscular (active at dawn & dusk). But its activity may vary according to local prey habits. For example, it is primarily nocturnal in Belize and diurnal in Pantanal.

n  The jaguar is a stalk-and-ambush rather than a chase predator.

n  The jaguar is very strong. Prey is killed with a powerful bite to the head, neck or throat. Jaguars are the only big cats to regularly kill by piercing the skull. They may drag the carcass to a secluded area to feed.

n  Jaguars are more active during the dry season.

n  They have home territories that can be as small as 10 or as large as 180 sq km.

n  The jaguars mark their territory by leaving their scrape marks and scat behind. And this gives them a “remarkable ability to know where their neighbours are” and helps them avoid encroaching on each other’s territory.

 

Feeding behavior & Diet

n  The jaguar can choose to feed from about 85 species of arboreal, terrestrial & aquatic animals.

n  Like all cats, the jaguar is an obligate carnivore, feeding only on meat. It is an opportunistic hunter.

n  The jaguar prefers large prey and will take deer, capybara, tapirs, peccaries, armadillos, paca, tamandua, dogs, foxes and sometimes even anacondas and cayman. However, the cat will eat any small species that can be caught, including frogs, birds, mice, fish, sloths, monkeys and turtles.

                                     

Reproductive Behavior

n  Females sexually mature at 2-3 years & males at 3-4 years.

n  Estrus lasts from 6-17 days.

n  Copulation frequency may be as much as 100 times a day.

n  Induced ovulators.

n  Gestation averages 100 days.

n  Cubs are more likely to be born in wet seasons, corresponding to increase in prey.

n  Cubs begin to learn hunting at 6 months.They remain with the mother till 2 years of age.

 

Deficiencies & Diseases

Recent declines in free-ranging wildlife populations have highlighted the potentially devastating effect of infectious disease. Diseases are an increasing threat to wild felids due to habitat restriction and encroachment from domestic animals. Domestic animals can directly or indirectly enter in contact with natural felid populations, potentially disseminating pathogens and altering disease patterns.

Although habitat fragmentation and hunting are considered the main threats to wildlife, diseases are an increasing concern for many of the most endangered

carnivores.

The transmission of infectious diseases between domestic and free-ranging carnivores is becoming increasingly common. Jaguars and domestic animals occupying the same or adjacent environments can share much of the same pathogens. The most important factor probably is the contact between domestic and wild carnivore populations at the interface of their ranges, favoring

the dissemination of infectious agents. Livestock predation represents an  additional route of transmission of pathogens.

Wild animals dying of disease are rarely found; this is especially true for large carnivores like jaguars, which occur at low densities and have secretive behavior patterns. Thus, it is not just difficult to find appropriate biological material for epidemiological studies but also to justify to the authorities the importance of these studies or intervention in distressed wildlife populations.

Some of the nutritional deficiencies and diseases known to affect jaguars are as follows.

Metabolic Bone disorders: Metabolic bone disease is a general term for conditions that develop as a result of prolonged deficiencies of calcium, vitamin D, or an improper ratio of calcium to phosphorous in the diet. Many names are given to this syndrome, such as osteoporosis, rickets, cage paralysis, paper bone disease, nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism.

 

Intestinal Blockage due to foreign body ingestion

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV): A lentivirus causing immunodeficiency                     as well as nervous signs.

 

Rabies

Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV): Has been found in jaguars in Brazil.

Feline Corona virus (FcoV): This virus causes Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a fatal immune mediated systemic disease. Found in captive jaguars in Brazil. Most of the affected jaguars do not develop FIP but are sources of infection.

Feline Parvo Virus: May be asymptomatic or cause varying degrees of unspecific clinical signs, gastroenteritis, decreased blood cells.

Feline herpes Virus: Found in captive jaguars in Brazil

Canine Distemper Virus: Has been found in free ranging jaguars in Brazil. Thought to be transmitted by domestic dogs.

Feline Morbillivirus

Zoonotic bacteria : Leptospira, Brucella, Bartonella henselae, Bacillus anthracis

Fungi: Pythium insidiosum

Protozoa: Toxoplasma gondii

Ectoparasites: fleas, lice, ticks, mites

Worms: Spirocerca, Spirometra, Toxocara cati, Toxascaris leonina, Capilaria, Trichuris, Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, Strongyloides spp larvae, Platynosomum fastosum, Giardia, Cystoisospora felis, Eimeria, Toxoplasma-Hammondia oocyst, Sarcocystis sporocyst, Dicrofilaria immitis(heartworm). Most of these parasites cause symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, anemia or rough fur coat.

Non infectious diseases most commonly causing morbidity include those of the dental, gastrointestinal, integumentary and musculoskeletal systems.

• Gingivitis
• Periodontitis
• Dental fractures (especially canines) of free ranging jaguars due to trauma
• Claw disorders (due to excessive wear or failure to wear)
• Neoplasia
• Degenerative spinal disorders
• Alopecia (due to ectoparasites, excess licking or nutritional deficiency)

Conservation Status

    The IUCN Red List has the jaguar as Near Threatened. The main reasons for decline in the jaguar population are –

n  Habitat destruction & fragmentation

n  Rancher-jaguar conflict leading to revenge killing by livestock owners

n  Poaching for the fur trade

n  Loss of wild prey

n  Exposure to agrochemicals which may affect fertility of remaining wild populations

  Source : Internet

CWAP!

Man it's bin a while since i posted anyfin here! I could post this story (fkin amazin one) I wrote sometime back, but thought i'd get it published somewhere hi fi (it's that good lol), but til now only rejections. Sniffles. Anyhoo i feel like makin a neat lidl bullet list of all the random cwap i bin upto, i mean wateva cwap that i can scrounge up from my brain (aint too sharp these days i fear. it is after all my 23rd year) at the moment. Garble.

• Peeing in the woods (did this many times over haha!)
• Knowing what it feels like to be imprisoned in a madhouz (literally locked in in a girl's hostel full of retards in the middle of nowhere)
• Indirectly causing a road accident (ooops!)
• Turning into a lazy ass shopper (left behind the days of roaming the roads sniffing out bargains & cheap deals)
• Climbing a random hill in the dead of night (and reaching the top woohoo! always was a dream. fact that it was crazy & we had no equipment/food and hardly any water and just one good light that lasted whew made it all the more fun. i mean, i might as well have been barefoot, so good were the floaters i had on :)
• Buying floaters out of pity (hehe)
• Watching titanic 3d in the theater (aaaaaarghhhh!)
• Learning to never have regrets (coz in the end it's all good)
• Unmentionable abominable cwap (ermmm)
• Cycling to Sula (that was fun! i liked the sula riesling best- so refreshing!)
• Hunting for the perfect sunblock (gaaawd i am bored)

G'bye now

Smile

Smile though your heart is aching;
Smile even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by.
If you smile through your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow,
You'll see the sun come shining through for you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness.
Although a tear may be ever so near,
That's the time you must keep on trying,
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile,
If you just smile.

Lyrics by John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons
Music by Charlie Chaplin, 1936

Movie review - Avatar

I really wanted to see this movie coz i hadn't yet seen a 3D movie....and though i usually don't care about movies which everyone raves about coz of the visuals, i knew the theme of this one was nature.

In 3D, it basically feels like there's no screen & everything seems closer. Anyhoo, about the movie, the story itself is quite simple & the plot doesn't have twists/turns/such-like :P
But the planet Pandora really makes you drool....reminded me of South America! The place is so magical & creative. It's all in the details.

The story isn't extraordinary though the special effects are. You should watch it only if in 3D.

Isn't it ironic though - humans have destroyed the earth through technology & everything man made to such an extent that soon the only way to enjoy a scene of nature may be through hi-tech movies such as these (where it's all computerized & artificial, and nothing natural actually exists).

A List of My Favorite Disney animations

These movies are just unforgettable - pathbreaking, breathtaking, touching and unique! Classics all! These my favorite ones though i love Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King & Lady and the Tramp best.

My Faves

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Cinderella
• Lady and the Tramp
• Sleeping Beauty
• The Little Mermaid
• One Hundred and One Dalmatians
• Beauty and the Beast
• Aladdin
• The Lion King

And these are others which are good too though nothing close to the above......

• Winnie the Pooh
• Pinnochio
• Ratatouille
• Bambi
• A Bug's life
• The Hunchback of Notre dame
• Robin Hood
• Alice in Wonderland

No it aint the hutch puppy, it's MILO!!

Munsoooooooooon in Mumbai

Rains are here unfortunately.....vat to do?!

Rains in the countryside may be sweet, but in Mumbai, all the smells (all of 'em yucky) are just magnified and we have to suffer worse roads (how can it be any worse, you ask?) than during the rest of the year. Not only to travel on but also walk on....slush slush slush and i ent talkin bout the one u can sip on.

Moderate "showers" for a couple of hours and you better start a couple of hours early if u wanna reach your destination on time.

A break from work/school/college for a day here & there due to heavy rains & floods in the city is understandable. But remember a few years back when noboby could step out the house for a whole week? Haha!! We got so bored we ended up playing boardgames all the time!

And not to forget the day it rained cats n dogs (highest ever), 26/7 was it, i'm not too good with dates, when everyone was stranded! Actually there were two such days.....the first time, i stuck it out in an overcrowded bus (full of pervs), standing on one toe for hours on end as the bus crawled along. The other time i took a train halfway to my destination and walked the rest of the way in waist deep water. But some ppl had to wade in chest deep water & stuff, and all the leetle kids must have been so frightened ~but think of the children! sniff sniff~. Well i'll bet everyone came across atleast one dead rat & its feces & of course the good citizens' feces+urine+paan spits....i even saw a dead dog floating by.

I can't think of even one nice thing to say about the rains in Mumbai, forget the cliched cuppa & hot pakodas. You wanna go out somewhere, and the rains will literally rain on your parade. It's always happenin to me! So i've decided this season round that i'm not gonna let it affect me. A lil rain aint gonna ruin my plans....so fudge u!!

To Those Who Feed Stray Dogs

Here's a word of advice to ppl who feed stray dogs regularly....most of you give the dogs biscuits and the like to munch on. Instead you can feed boiled eggs! The egg white is number 1 in protein digestibility & has the perfect amino acid profile, and good quality protein is very important for dogs.....while biscuits don't provide much in the way of nutrition. Also, feeding the dog an egg (which costs around Rs.3) turns out cheaper in the long run than a packet of biscuits, say Parle G (which costs Rs.4). But feed only BOILED eggs with the SHELL REMOVED to avoid infections like salmonellosis.

You can follow the procedure below.........

1. You can check how fresh the egg is by immersing it in a bowl of water : if the egg sinks & lies on its side at the bottom of the bowl, it is completely fresh. If it stands up but stays at the bottom, it is partially fresh. If it bobs up & floats on the surface, it is rotten & it's time to chuck it.
2. If the egg was kept in the fridge, first bring it to room temperature before boiling, to avoid it from cracking.
3. Immerse it in a vessel filled with water. The height of water should be atleast a couple of inches above the egg.
4. Add a pinch of salt to the water and boil.
5. After it is fully boiling (big bubbles) switch off the gas.
6. Cover the vessel immediately and keep it covered for around 15 minutes.
7. Take out the egg, let it cool a bit if it's too hot to handle & remove the shell properly.
8. Feed it to the dog in question.
9. Watch it gobble it up!