DVR Dates & Unhealthy TV Obsessions

As most of my friends and sisters well know, I would watch X-Files or CSI over Grey's Anatomy Gossip Girl anyday. Unlike most my age, I refrain from the fun dramas or comedies that have everyone hooked. Instead, I opt for the thrills, mystery, and gore of all crime shows and science-fiction dramas. Some exceptions include The Hills (which I haven't been keeping up with) and America's Next Top Model - I know. Neither is very good - okay, they suck. Another one - Ugly Betty - is a real winner and always a breath of fresh TV air.

This season is particularly exciting, especially since I can now schedule DVR dates all week. We didn't have DVR at home and Zee TV and CNN were far more traumatizing than anyone can every imagine. For months I missed out on some of my favorite shows, all of which make you think the world and everything in it sucks and make you fear for your life everyday. Splendid unhealthy fun, if you ask me.

In addition to CSI (the original, Miami, & NY), Law & Order: SVU (okay, all the others, too), The Closer, Medium (which hasn't started yet), Without a Trace, and Numbers, I'm also now hooked to Fringe and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, both on FOX. They are fabulous, particularly Fringe - it's kind of The X-Files for this generation - not nearly as intricate or engaging (yet), but a fair enough replacement after all this time.

If you at all care, Fringe stars Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek fame (I never liked you, Pacey), while The Sarah Connor Chronicles has Brian Austin Green of the original 90210 series. These aren't lame comebacks - both are actually quite good in their roles, and the shows are straightforward and fast-paced.

I know I should get into Lost and 24 given this track record, but I've missed too much already. Heroes, too, but in case you didn't now, it has almost exactly the same premise as USA's summer series, The 4400, which I was addicted to a while ago. Not pleased with Heroes' take on it. I kind of view it as the sci-fi show for the common man. Not enough mythology there for me.

I have a hard time focusing on comedies. They make you feel so much better, but I develop ADD when I watch them - I end up multi-tasking and get distracted. Recently, I forced myself to record The Office so that I don't completely depress myself watching the fictional (and not so) woes of the world unfold before me every night. Plus, I love Mindy Kaling.

I miss the weird days of Buffy and Angel (Charmed, too, except that it was honestly horrible). Here's to figuring out how many different ways the world will/can come to an end.

I Forgot How To Write...And Study

It's been a long time since I took an exam that didn't require memorizing formulas and the shapes of molecules. Now, I face the daunting task of writing clear, complete thoughts in the form of clear, complete essays for an exam tomorrow. As my professor reminded the class last week - we're graduate students, and should know how to write. Yikes.

As you can tell from my two blogs, my writing skills have been reduced to composing cyber yap on some rather superficial/random thoughts that I prevent from spiraling into a 10-minute rant or rave with someone who doesn't want to listen on the phone. I also cannot write a sentence less than 50 words long.

Tomorrow, I will have to use these writing skills to discuss topics such as molecular epidemiology and organophosphate poisoning. It's not nearly as scary as it sounds, actually. I just don't trust myself to handle it all properly given the pre-med fog of the last couple of years.

I also feeling guilty when I'm doing something else instead of studying. Like blogging at work. Ok. I was good. I used my lunch hour to listen to an Ipod lecture and study - such a nerd. I don't know where all this paranoia is coming from. I guess I didn't blog enough last week to soothe my nerves. Must start doing so over the weekend.

Chicken Recipe

I love to cook, although I have a pretty old-fashioned way of doing it, a methodology I owe to my dear mother, who is a true Maestro in the kitchen. After spending many an hour in the kitchen "eyeballing" (to use Rachel Ray's term) ingredients, improvising cake recipes, and making lunch while growing up (not to mention eating a lot), I have developed I love of cooking and frankly, feeding myself and others.

So here's something I recently whipped up, which is really nothing, but tastes yummy after a day at work and class spent blogging and/or thinking about blogging.

What you need:
A package of 4 skinless chicken breasts
Thai peanut marinating/dipping sauce
Ketchup or canned tomato sauce
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
Salt
Garlic powder
Any hot sauce

Olive oil for cooking
A skillet
A spatula

What to do:
Cut up chicken into pieces slightly bigger than "bite-size" - about 1.5 in. Heat up a skillet/pan on medium-low and warm up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in it for a couple of minutes.

Toss in the cut chicken. It's particularly fun if it forms a big fat mound in your skillet. Then you get to un-mound it later. But be careful not to let it fall over the sides - this shouldn't happen unless you're using a dollhouse-sized skillet.

Add about (I say about because I "eyeball" it) - 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and salt to taste. Also add 2-3 tbsp ketchup or tomato sauce. Add in about 3 dashes of peanut sauce and hot sauce to taste. Yep - just throw it on top of the chicken. Stir.

The above are conservative numbers. If you eat prefer more flavor/spice, be my guest and sprinkle away. It also depends on how big/thick the chicken pieces are.

Time before you can dig in:
~15-20 mins. More if you like the chicken to be seared a bit in which case, raise the heat a little when adding ingredients and turn down before letting the chicken fully cook.

That's the first time I wrote a "recipe." Enjoy.

A History of Dance & Nostalgic Jams

There was a time when my partner-in-crime from age 0 onwards literally pumped and pumped the jam with me wherever we went. At first, I couldn't dance even though I had major rhythm. I just didn't know how to put it together, and I was shy. Then one fine day, Alpha Cousin & partner-in-crime says "It's simple Suman - just put one foot behind the other, and snap. Then move to your side, put the other foot behind the other, and snap! Step, snap, step snap..."

History in the making as the original Indian dance team was born. Their members resided on Long Island and Queens, and studios were located in our basements, backyards, wedding receptions, and graduation parties.

To top it off, we always had a ready audience in the Older Sis. Ok, so maybe she wasn't exactly "ready" to watch us pretend to be Bollywood stars. I think we traumatized her.

Listening to my IPod the other day, a song which I have not heard in ages came on. Before I knew it, I was 12 again, wearing a sparkly Indian outfit, and throwing my hands in the air like there was no tomorrow. A tidal wave of nostalgia ensued and since then, I've been recalling all the amazingly bad/awesome songs that we used to groove to. My own personal VH1 marathon in my head, which needs to be released immediately.

It was the early-mid 90s. Four little Indian girls began to come of age just as Indian remix masters burst onto the scene. Puffy sleeves and tights were just about on their way out, and everyone was wearing Revlon's Toast of New York Super Lustrous Lipstick. We went to weddings at huge banquet halls in New Jersey and carried back equally huge floral arrangements that positively STANK the next morning. No one used straightening irons and hair was perpetually bushy.

Two of us thought we were really cool. One was too young to notice we weren't and did everything we did. The other one, too smart for her own good, KNEW we weren't and incessantly made fun of us. It was okay because she was actually pretty funny, didn't dance, and we needed a DJ.

Against this backdrop developed the following soundtrack. I've highlighted the most memorable Hindi songs and 1-800-DIAL-MTV jams. Listen, watch, and imagine us bouncing around in our own interpretive choreography. Mind-blowing.

By Film/Artist:

ARROW: Hot Hot Hot
BALLY SAGOO: Jugni (w/ Malkit Singh), Mere Laung Gawacha
BETA: Dhak Dhak Karne Laga

BOMBAY: Kehna Hi Kya, Ek Ho Gaye Hum Aur Tum
CHANDNI: Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau
HEERA: Maar Chadapa

HERO: Ding Dong Oh Baby Sing A Song, Tu Mera Hero Hai
LAMHE: Megha Re Megha, Morni Baaga Ma
MADONNA: Material Girl, Like A Prayer
MALKIT SINGH: Hey Jamalo

NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN: Sajana Tere Bina
QURBANI: Aap Jaisa Koi, Qurbani Qurbani
REEL TO REAL: I Like To Move It
ROOP KI RANI CHORON KA RAJA: Chai Mein Chini
SADAK: Rehne Ko Ghar Nahin, Tak Dhin DhinTak
SANGAM: Mein Kya Karoon Ram Mujhe Budhha Mil Gaya
SNOW: Informer
WRECKX 'N' EFFECT: Rumpshaker
YARAANA: Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
2 IN A ROOM: Wiggle It

To PP In Honor of SP - Donate!

I didn't plan to express any political views here, but I just couldn't resist this:

Donate to Planned Parenthood in honor of Sarah Palin and send her a thank you!

Smoke Alarm - Etat Libre d'Orange's Jasmin et Cigarette

I'm flabbergasted. Another fragrance with tobacco notes. Worse yet, "cigarette" is a part of the name. This month, a new French line of perfumes, Etat Libre d'Orange, introduced Jasmin et Cigarette. The description of this perfume on the website reads:

"It is the era of Harcourt Studios when Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich magnetized men with a Hollywood look in the eye, smoking a cigarette in a smoky black and white ambience. Jasmin et Cigarette is also the slightly jasminy smell of a women's skin when she exposes her freshness to the dark seduction of night. A hazy atmosphere. The reminder of a fantasy, of an indelible trail she leaves on a dress at the break of day or in the intimate memory of the man who made love to her. It is elegance seen by Gainesbourg, the woman from the 80s who smokes Gitane cigarettes and wears jeans and who, with astounding naturalness, claims her sensuality as a right. Transparency in sophistication, just a trace of jasmine mingled to the so far neglected smell of a cigarette. Jasmin et Cigarette is the twilight zone, the banned, addiction. Nicotine woman or heroine, she is an icon, the woman one longs for."

If suffering from lung cancer wearing 80s jeans and a Gitane hanging out of the corner of your mouth seems like a bright idea, power to it. If nicotine also helps you claim your sensuality, all the more power. Clearly, the world of Jasmin et Cigarette IS the twilight zone, one where feminity is somehow tied to a frankly disgusting and dangerous habit.

I don't know if it's a coincidence that both this and Fresh's Tobacco Caramel were launched (or relaunced in Fresh's case) during the same month, but something doesn't smell right. I earlier addressed the Fresh issue as well - read here.

I'm pursuing graduate studies in Public Health and so this is the expected response from someone like me. But one need not be immersed in PH issues to feel this way. More people should be troubled by the power of marketing/advertising and their implications for tobacco control, smoking cessation, and prevention of diseases and conditions associated with tobacco use. The more eco-conscious are careful about selecting natural products and support companies that don't use animal-testing. This is as, if not more, important, and people should be concerned. Particularly young people targeted by this kind of nonsense. Do you long to be like Greta Garbo and snag a man with your coffee and cigarette breath? I didn't think so.

I think a letter to both companies is in order. If you agree, let me know. I'll feel less like - one of those letter-writing people. Maybe we can get them to rename the perfume - how do "Toxic Rose" or "Carcinogenic Bloom" sound?

Letters on Pages

Before I decided to blog non-stop, I used to spend much of my free time reading. I'm a real geek. I can stroll through the aisles of both Sephora and Barnes & Noble with equal glee. I love my books with a passion, but have no favorites. So while I won't exactly write book reviews, I would definitely love to share my most current reads as well as my book "playlist." Being a true geek, I am also on Shelfari.com where you can check out my bookshelf and other fun literary things as well.

Always on my bedside table: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)

Current read: In Defense of Food (Michael Pollan)

Last read: Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
The Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan)
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Gregory Maguire) The Impressionist (Hari Kunzru)
Shalimar the Clown (Salman Rushdie)
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (Milan Kundera)
Tender is the Night (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Wicked (Gregory Maguire)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)

To read: One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Started and didn't finish: Identity and Violence (Amartya Sen)
The Householder (V.S. Naipaul)