Unraveling of a ‘What The Black’ Mystery

Ah, I wrote ‘black things I would still like to buy‘ and mentioned that it was part of #WhatTheBlack activity. Now that promo is over, it is time to unravel.

An aside: This reminded me of a dialog (though it is not quite the same thing) from the movie ‘Prestige’: Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.“

#WhatTheBlack was an interesting campaign around the theme of colour black which resonated with me, and few small things that indicate beginnings or begin our morning literally. It was an interesting campaign to build a mystery, pique your curiosity just enough to wait for next day’s clues. Frankly I couldn’t; I could have guessed the product. Here are all the ‘clue’ pics:

Day 1 – A black egg, you break it to find a rock, solid chocolate 🙂 Egg is symbol of beginnings.

Day 2 – Black newspaper, a thing you begin your mornings with

Day 3 – a black tissue paper, a black glass (presumably for coffee) and an empty

Final unravel – Tada!

This is what the #WHATTHEBLACK product is: COLGATE SlimSoft Charcoal toothbrush.

You can find more about this special toothbrush here.

5 Black Things I STILL Want to Own

Whenever I say with glee and smug satisfaction, Black is my colour. My Ma contends that black is no colour at all. Few weeks ago when my father was very unwell, my parents were scared of a relapse. You know how parents have some superstitions. My Ma stealthily takes me aside (so father doesn’t hear) and say, ”you know, dear, I am very scared. You were sitting in a black dress near your father’s bedside. Why would I see you wearing black? It is bad omen.” And I calmly reply, ”Mama, that’s because I wear black a lot. Haven’t you noticed last three days I’ve been wearing black dresses.” Ma couldn’t argue with that and I am very happy to let you know there was no bad omen. My father, thank God, is doing well.

So, with so much black clothing and black devices, are there any more black things I aspire? oh yes! 5 more black things I could do with:

1. Black ornate bathtub: I love bathtubs. When I go on vacation, before booking a hotel I check, Do you have a bathtub, sir? It maybe awkward, but let me tell you it is very important criteria especially on a vacation. 🙂 I found something like this on Pinterest, but I could with do more ornate one. 😉

2. Black three-sided bookshelf: Actually the bookshelf does have four sides, all I want is my bookshelf to surround me on three sides in a room. yes, heard it right. On three sides. My current bookshelves are proving to be very inadequate. I want something like this (again Pinterest image of a wardrobe actually), but of course, with a preference for a larger space in middle to put a bed, where I can lie and read in those very comfy postures.

3. Black Moissanite ring: I am not fond of jewellery, esp gold ones. Diamond is passè. 😉 I want a simple ring with black Moissanite. Something like this would do nicely. (It costs around $1500 last I checked.)

4. Black iPad: yes, you heard it right, I want a black wi-fi enabled iPad. Hopefully I will win it in #WhatTheBlack

5. Little black dress: I know, I know. 2 months ago, I bought 17 dresses, most of them black. In fact, my wardrobe is predominantly black. I remember posting this FB update few days ago, leading to a wry query in the comments  about ‘Morticia audition?’.

Yet, my search for that perfect little black dress is incomplete. There is still one out there that is waiting for me.

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com.

Jhatpat Tag

Vee tagged me, the  once-reigning meme queen:

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.

She laughs. A Dog? Why?

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & catch air?

My handsome tote bag that I carry to work

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

I haven’t watched TV since two months. Unless you count glimpses of Rakhi Sawant show caught at a friend’s place.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?

8.30 pm

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?

8.12 pm (Testing my time keep abilities, are you? I am bad at it since I live in timelessness and also I cheated)

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Bob Dylan playing in my room. Wait Ganesh Chaturthi loud speakers are also playing outside my balcony, somewhere in my society.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

An hour ago to catch a burger from Subway

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at?

Vee’s blog to copy this whole thing

9. What are you wearing?

Skirt and top, ready for bed.

10. When did you last laugh?

Little while ago, was pulling my favorite friend’s leg which has become my e-speciality. 8)

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?

At home, in my room, beautiful red and lime green walls were so good I didn’t put up anything other than a framed picture of my sister and me. By the way, I have uploaded this picture in my this post about my sister.

Poor English Peasant? :rolling my eyes:

12. Seen anything weird lately?

Yes, saw someone putting imbecile graphic visualizations in training program. For example, this is supposed to depict a poor English peasant:

13. What do you think of this quiz?

Inane and Simple; perfect for my tired frame of mind

14. What is the last film you saw?

Juno

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?

An Island and stuff my lone house there with all books and movies I can find.

16. Tell me something about you that I dunno!

…that I have made some girlie jokes about you (in good spirit of course) with other girls. Nope, don’t ask, for I won’t tell. 😉

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

I would remove all caste, region, religion barriers. We must be one.

18. Do you like to Dance?

Yes, but can’t really shake a leg for life.

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

Navya, though I am not sure. It’s tentative.

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call her?

Atiharn. Again, tentative.

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Yes, for a short period of time. Tuscany, Rome, Venice, and maybe even Paris. Pity they never send you onsite to these places.

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?

Take care of all my loved ones I left behind. Let them know how I miss them.

I tag Indyeah, Arpit, Withering Willow and HyperMom.

P.S: Vee, as a tribute to you, I have not used the ‘more tag’ to cut off my post. I know that lazy you doesn’t  like it. 🙂

7 Things You Need Not Know About Me

Rupa tagged me about 3 months ago to write abt 7 things you needn’t know about me.

1. I just write about the issues. But it is my sister, who works by choice, in a reputed NGO as a counsellor. She is the real do-gooder.
2. I am not a morning person. I hate to get up in mornings. I love to sleep late, but waking up whole night is taking my nocturnal body’s resilience too far.



3. I am a voracious reader. I carry a book everywhere I go. Last year I read 53 books. (I maintain a reading list because I forget.) This year, I am reading my 9th book: A Mighty Heart, The story of American Jew journalist Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping
4. I love to call and address people I like with dozen and more names. I have coined pochu, puchu, puchki for my sister and also edited her name Dolly to Dullu, Dulla, and what not. So much that now everyone says “Dullu ko bula do (Call, Dullu).”  Obviously, my sister hates me for this.  (Yeah, she returns the favour, I won’t tell you what she calls me.) 😀

The Alphabet Tag – R and G

I had been voluntarily tagged ages ago by museditions to write 10 things I love with letter ‘R’.

Racket/Racquet: This is significant, for it marks my brief sporting career in badminton. Who knows, I could have been named next after Prakash Padukone if I had continued. 😉

Raconteur: You bet, I would say this, I love stories, so I have to love story-tellers. I appreciate all the local, amateur talent as well.  Mark Twain and Ruskin Bond and are few of my favorite raconteurs.

The Year-End Review

I came across this meme across some blogs last year. I changed few questions to suit me. I tag my entire blogroll to do this, if they like. I would like to know in a nutshell what happened to them. 🙂

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Don’t laugh at this one. Drive a car. I finally took driving lessons this year. Guess, it will take me another year to become a seasoned driver in the frenzied Delhi traffic.

2. Did you keep your New Year resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

This I year I had new year resolutions for the first time. I kept only half of them, here was my half yearly update that has not changed much. 😦 I would not make any this year. At least, not now.

A to Z of My Few Favorite Movies

Lallopallo tagged me to write A-Z of my favorite movies. I could not come up with worthwhile movies for these letters: Q, X, Y and Z. I might update them later.

I had several favorites, but I have wrote what came to my mind first. That is determined by 2 things:

a) Irrespective of the time I watched the movie, it left an indelible impression on my mind due to story/character/actor

b) I have watched this wonder recently 🙂  So, forgive me, guys for being partial for I have many, many favorites 🙂

Light a Candle For Peace

Lifeofhues had long ago tagged me to light a candle as a silent protest against terror. I do.

Blasts have rocked almost every corner of the country: Delhi, Meerut, Ahmedabad, Imphal, Malegaon, Guwahati, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru. Here is choronolgy of recent blasts in India.

Love Tag :)

Vimal tagged me for this love tag ages ago.

RULE #1: People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.
RULE #2: Tag 6 people to do this quiz and they cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by. Continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
I will live, but I will close that valve in my heart that controls love in my system. I do not think I will be able to trust again.

2. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
Both of us living our old age with serenity and jest for life: Walking in woods hand-in-hand, reading, sipping coffee and chatting in the garden.

3. What would be your biggest pleasure in life? (Replaced question)
To see my man to fight the world for me, for us

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Save half the amount for my better half’s entrepreneurial pursuits, ¼th to my family who are loathe to have money from me, rest 1/4th to be share between me and my social pursuits.

Flickr Mosiac Tag

I came across this on Lemonade’s blog. I found it interesting and did it. So here are the rules:

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

Here is my handiwork: