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Showing posts from January, 2015

Nasty Battles #9 - Last benchers Vs first benchers

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The classification - There are 2 kinds of students in a class- the outstanding ones and the others who are always standing out of the class. The former being the face of the class and the latter being the backbone. Idiosyncrasies - If a doubt is being asked in the class, the nerds frantically scan the textbooks for the answer while the other ‘chilled out’ kind is like “Just 5 minutes left for the lecture to climax ;)". The first benchers wish to get a degree to get a job (in hope of a ‘bright’ future) while the last benchers consider Facebook as their present and also their future (Who cares if it’s bright or not!?). The former crowd will always be on time, never call in a sick and would LOVE to work overtime (and basically salsa to the teachers’ rhythm). Last benchers, on the other hand, are those who OBVIOUSLY want to attend the class; but for the fun in their own sweet last bench-ly world (it does amaze me that how they manage to listen to the teachers). They’ve

Nasty Battle #8: iPhones Vs Android Phones

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It’s been quite a while since I wrote a post and what is a better way to come back than a post on Technology ! Laymen call them competitors, but I tend to think of them as warriors of this modern era. Both of them have touched heights in the field of technology and ushered in a generation of pro and anti supporters. Yes, I am talking about the epic battle between Apple and Google. Apple and google make various products and services and hence it’s going to be impossible to assess each and every one of their services in this small post and so I decided to compare their top two smartphones. Give it up for iPhones on the left and Android devices on the right ! iPhone, the name is enough. No seriously, iPhone ! Ok let’s not stretch the joke too far. iPhone is in more ways responsible for the ‘touch generation’. They may not have been the first ones to get a touch phone out but they were certainly the first ones to do it right. Since then the usual bitten-Apple has undergone

Nasty Battles #7 - Mumbai Vs Delhi

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A tale of two cities - One was an epitome of arrogance, the other an epitome of humility. One prided itself in its gol gappe, the other quietly devoured its pani puri. One flaunted its red beacon cars, the other paraded its haute couture. Both were worshippers of drama though - one of the parliamentary kinds, the other, of theatrical kinds. One was Dilli, the other, Bombay. Mumbai on Delhi - Delhi? Oh yes, the Capital.. Not that one's cared about it since the Commonwealth Games. Nevermind. Three things that define Delhi, though, would be - ARROGANCE, (ANNOYINGLY) HEAVY ACCENT and 'TU JAANTA NAHI MERA BAAP KAUN HAI'. No, seriously, after 'clubbing-shubbing' and driving drunk, all they manage to say on being busted is.. Tu Jaanta Nahi Mera Baap Kaun hai -_- (whatever gave them the impression that we care).  And dear ladies, what's that place where you shop? Oh! SAROJINI! Are we dressing up for Dandi March or what! And oh! Let me tell you a secret, all

Nasty Battle #6 - Gastronomy Vs Gastronomy

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In Mumbai it’s ‘Pav Bhaji’, in Delhi it’s ‘Kulcha-Chhole’. In New York it’s ‘Cheesecake’ and in Philadelphia it’s a ‘Cheesesteak’. Seemingly, every great city has it’s Food rivalries and every local has his/her favourite. How is anyone  supposed to decide where to eat Pizza in Chicago when a simple Google search yields more than 81,300 pizza places! Or the fact that every corner shop claims to be “The Original” yet you walk down two blocks and you find- yet again, another “The Original”. June 7 was celebrated  the ‘National Doughnut Day’ in the US with many bakeries offering free doughnuts to customers. This food holiday gave rise to a long standing debate: which is the better doughnut, yeasted or cake? The pros and cons are that the yeast doughnuts are light and airy with a pleasant squish. They are so delicate that you can eat about six or eight of them before your brain registers that you’re full (perhaps too full). Cake doughnuts on the other hand are crumbly and buttery an

Nasty Battle #5 - Eminen Vs Tupac

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Everyone who is into rap has definitely heard these 2 names, but the age old question has always been who is the better out of the two, sure people will say that Pac is dead and it’s not fair comparing him with Slim Shady but let’s just get on with it. Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up: Everyone who is a true fan of Eminem (or as some people prefer to call him, ‘Slim Shady’) knows that his first album was the Slim Shady LP, and that the way that this Angry White Blond Haired rapper made people notice his presence in the world of rap was with his hit single “My Name Is”. Since then this man has come to win 331 awards out of which 13 are Grammies and one is an Oscar for his award winning performance in his film 8Mile. All his albums have gone to platinum and been in the top 5 of the billboard, a truly phenomenal achievement in the field of music.  However as popular as Eminem is for his music he is equally well known for his notoriety. The fact is that Eminem has shot

Nasty Battles #4 - Tea vs Coffee

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Situation at hand - Those of us who had Economics in high school are very familiar with the concept of 'substitutes'. That is, if I cannot get A then I am happy to stick to B. The most widely used example when we explained 'substitutes' in our exam papers was the so-called alternative between tea and coffee. If the price of coffee beans goes up, we wrote, it's not a problem at all -- we just buy some more tea bags and get on with our lives! The Back-story -  After two years of college, which I can safely say were the most caffeine-intensive days of my short life, I can't help but question this concept, because when your assignment is due in eight hours and you've written exactly three words, will a cup of tea do the job? Or when you're having a laid-back hangout with friends after dinner, who wants to gulp down black coffee and stay up all night? So here was the clincher: are tea and coffee really substitutes? And which one do you prefer? N

Nasty Battles #3 - Cartoons Vs Animé

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Here in India we're stuck between the West and the Far East. Both the USA as well as Japan are masters at the art of telling amazing stories in pictorial and animated forms. Inevitably, a vicious conflict has emerged between supporters of American comics and cartoons VS Japan's otakus (anime and manga obsessed people) Cantankerous Cartoons : Let's face it. Cartoons are for kids. Think about it, no sane adult would find channel names such as "Baby TV" and "Cbeebies" even remotely attractive. As viewers grow older and are exposed to all the other shows TV has to offer, they abandon cartoons just the way Jerry abandoned Tom every time they got into trouble. Cartoons are such pathetic wannabes when it comes to attracting mature audiences, that they have to turn to their Kings - Marvel and DC. And what do they do? They make mature scripts, hire real-life actors and launch a Hollywood film. And the cartoon element ceases to exist here. A tiny percent of

Nasty Battles #2 - Chelsea Vs Liverpool Vs Manchester United Vs Arsenal

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Have you seen four hungry dogs fighting over a scrap of meat or a bone? If not, I can tell you it's no different from the nasty 4-way slugfest that has been on since 1992 -the English Premier League. Although there are bigger teams in the fray, the craziest fandom battles have always been fought  between Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. Gunning down Arsenal :  Arsenal fans are dying to quench their thirst. The can't do so - because they haven't won enough cups! Nor have they had enough chances to celebrate a victory with champagne. They're usually not too far from the top but they never actually win -now that's what I call being consistently inconsistent! The only place where you'll find them right at the top is when you arrange the club names in alphabetical order! But inspite of all this,  Arsenal's generosity is laudable: every Christmas they start donating 3 points to every club they play against. As if this wasn't enou

Nast Battle #1 - EDM vs Punk Rock

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Situation at hand : the dispute between fans of, arguably, two of the most conformist musical genres in the industry right now. Both sides complain about the other being unoriginal and sounding exactly the same. Meanwhile, we sit back and analyse the raging battle. I know what you’re thinking. ”Don’t these people have anything better to do?!” The answer to your question: NO. Idiosyncrasies of EDM : So you think your music is ‘trippy’? Maybe its because most of the worlds population would rather ‘trip’ over a banana peal than listen to another song by Avicii (assuming they still have their ear drums intact, unlike you EDM lovers). For the record, all your music DOES sound the same.  EDM Concert Now that we have that out of the way, lets get started. Bro, I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you but fist pumping is not as cool as you think. If I see one more dude in a neon muscle tank top pumping away to another scrillex song, I am going to take your beloved drop of

Nasty Battles : Dawn of the war-era

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Yeah we know! Allies won the 1st world war and defeated Germany. Japan attacked the US of A and got quite a bit of spanking for it during the 2nd. Then there's the Cold War and the Indo-Pak war and oh! hpw can we forget The Indo-China war. The list is quite long. It really is. The world has written eulogies about the war victims and has lashed out at the warring nations but, right now, in January 2015, we at the Rotaract Club of NM College, are least bothered about it. And isn't it justified?! There are battles emerging at every corner and the fighters are falling short of expletives to fire at each other! Believe us, it's a bloodbath out there. Out there, on our streets, Slytherins have vowed to flaunt their pure blood in the face of Gryffindors. George R. R. Martin and JRR Tolkein have pulled back their sleeves and are ready for the word 'go'! Paul McCartney and John Lennon are in a skirmish (again). And music lovers, world over, are rooting