Oooh! Celebrating the Queen's 90th birthday, by going golfing, are we? Have fun, CP!

I am not ashamed to admit it. I fell in love with the works of composers such as Franz Liszt, Jacques Offenbach, Gioachino Rossini, Franz von Suppé and Richard Wagner, all thanks to my immense love for vintage Looney Tunes theatrical shorts and even some vintage Popeye cartoons from the 1930's and 1940's! I was aware of all these composers, by the time I was a teenager. Now, if only some grown-ups will not be so quick to dismiss / turn their noses up at these theatrical shorts and call them 'silly drivel for pesky children', the world will definitely be a much better place! One can learn so much from these theatrical shorts, you know? And they weren't meant for children, in the first place! Anyway, without further ado, here are some of my favourite opera overtures and other types of compositions. I love classical music compositions that have their quiet and tender moments, sprinkled with some drama!

Well, since this is the Rolling Stones thread, I was referring to good old Mick, of course!

That's nice, CP! Hope you're enjoying the show! To be honest, I don't at all mind a few spoilers here and there, every once in a while, but to be fair, there might be other folks who still haven't seen the show, just yet! So, I better control myself!

Damn, Strider! How do you come up with this stuff?! So epic! Never in a million years would I pay to see that crusty old English hound, prance around on stage!

Mad Men - Season 5, Episode 1 - A Little Kiss Oh man! This episode is really killing me!

Listening to the song that changed my life, forever. Brings back some great childhood memories!

Well, it's a Sunday today and after a pretty busy week, aside from enjoying my recent Rush purchases, I am also binge watching episodes of Bewitched! Nothing more relaxing than watching the lovely Elizabeth Montgomery, this morning! Oh, happy times! *Sigh!

Thank you! The sheer brilliance of the music on both these albums sure made it worth the wait!

Without box set compilations such as (for instance) Led Zeppelin : Early Days and Latter Days, released in 2002 (which by the way, does resemble Mothership in some ways), I would never have gotten a whiff of what the music of Led Zeppelin was all about. True, that there are some glaring omissions on these comps such as Tea For One, In The Light and Carouselambra (to name a few!), but had I not got this rather gentle introduction to Led Zeppelin, I probably, would never have had that massive urge to rummage through my dad's CD collection, all those years ago (at the tender age of 16) and discover the astounding discography of one of the greatest bands of all time. Besides, my dad is not the kind of guy who would talk about his musical tastes freely, let alone recommend his favourite bands to someone! So, it was all up to me, to discover the magic of Led Zeppelin, on my own. I just picked out that box set one day from my dad's CD rack and since, the box set cover looked interesting (yes, I was fascinated by that cover where Page & Co. wore space suits ), I decided to give it a spin on my CD player and the rest (as they say), was history! I don't listen to the Latter Days and Early Days box set, at all these days, but I would like to reiterate that without this box set to give me that first gentle little push, in the right direction (especially since, sites such as Youtube did not exist yet, for me to seek out 'new' bands that might interest me), I honestly, would be pretty lost, today. To me, comps like Mothership and the Early Days and Latter Days box set are as important as (for example), Queen : Greatest Hits Volume I and Queen : Greatest Flix. As you may already know (as I mentioned in an email to you, a while ago), both the cassette version and VHS version of that Queen comp, certainly changed my life, as an innocent two and a half year old, way back in 1991 and hence, resulted in my lifelong Queen fandom!

Wow! Now I really believe in the phrase Third Time Lucky! I know that packages get lost in the mail. But losing two packages (one on each occasion), containing the same items, in a span of three weeks, is just plain freaky, creepy and ridiculous, IMO! After receiving news that my shipments from the U.S, had been lost in transit on two separate occasions by not one, but two sellers over the past three weeks, you can imagine how happy and relieved I was, to FINALLY receive these in the mail, after the third seller fulfilled my order with absolutely no glitches! I almost cried out with relief when I received the package, as I was so frustrated and exasperated with the way things had played out, these past 3 weeks! The only thing I didn't do, was to yell at the courier delivery guy : Get your grubby hands off my CD's! Give them to me, NOW! Patience really is a virtue, in situations like these!

Listening to the original version of Vapor Trails. It's neither making my head spin in absolute horror or disgust nor is it making my head hurt! Au contraire, it's rockin' my fuckin' socks off! Love the loud, intense, passionate and chaotic sound! This album sure has heart and spunk! Irrespective of what's been said about the sound mixing by many, including Geddy, I am just so fuckin' stoked to have this version in my collection! To my humble little ears, it sounds so good!! Will be buying Vapor Trails : Remixed eventually, as I am a completist, when it comes to Rush. But with that being said, I really am enjoying the original version! Though I was really busy today, this is my 3rd listen and it just keeps getting better with every listen! Such wonderful stuff!

You should definitely get one, CP! You won't struggle any longer, with nailing basmati rice. It will really come in handy! I will be lost without it, to be honest!

Being a female Rush fan, this actually made me smile!

Hi CP! According to my mom, nailing the cooking process of basmati rice, involves two factors: 1) The brand of basmati rice used 2) Critical proportions with regard to uncooked rice and cups of water required for the rice to cook in the pressure cooker. The brand of basmati rice used by my mom is India Gate basmati rice. I'm sure you've heard of it CP, but here's the link to buy a packet on Amazon.co.uk : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basmatireis-Indian-Gate-Pack-Sella/dp/B00NUC6I1U You might want to hunt around for a much smaller pack, as this one is huge (at 5 kilos!) To cook basmati rice and avoid the damn thing from turning into a blob, my mom recommends first getting the proportion of uncooked rice, right. She uses 1 cup of uncooked rice for 2 people and 1.5 cups of uncooked rice for 3 people (that is half a cup of uncooked rice per person). Once she has decided on how many cups of cooked rice are required, she soaks the rice in plain water (you will need 1 and a half cups of plain water at room temperature) for as long as 3 hours - she does this in order to reduce the cooking time. According to my mom, this reduction in cooking time, effectively prevents the rice grains from sticking together and gives the grains a better texture. Pre-soaking the uncooked rice, also reduces the amount of water required to pressure cook it. While cooking basmati rice for 3 people, my mom (after soaking the uncooked rice), uses half a cup of room temperature water to pressure cook it. I have noticed that my mom uses 1 and a half cups of water, while cooking basmati rice for 4 to 6 people. Hope this helps! Good luck! Edited to add: I was watching the Australian version of My Kitchen Rules the other day and two contestants (who were a team called the NSW Poms) were from the UK (they had moved to Sydney, awhile ago) and to me, those blokes are the best contestants this season, as they really know their stuff around the kitchen and never fail to impress with their dishes! So, I was thinking: how fantastic it would be if you, CP and Mrs. CP participated in the UK version of MKR! I bet my last dollar that you guys will definitely win!!

Rules Of The Blues 1. Most Blues begin, "Woke up this morning..." 2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town." 3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes... sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound." 4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch--ain't no way out. 5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and company motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die. 6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis. 7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain. 8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg cause you were skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg 'cause a alligator be chompin' on it is. 9. You can't have no Blues in a office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster. 10. Good places for the Blues: a. Highway b. Jailhouse c. An empty bed d. Bottom of a whiskey glass 11. Bad places for the Blues: a. Nordstrom's b. Gallery openings c. Ivy league institutions d. Golf courses 12. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be a old ethnic person, and you slept in it. 13. You have the right to sing the Blues if: a. You older than dirt b. You blind c. You shot a man in Memphis d. You can't be satisfied 14. You don't have the right to sing the Blues if: a. You have all your teeth b. You were once blind but now can see c. The man in Memphis lived d. You have a pension fund 15. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the blues. 16. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the Blues 17. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: a. Cheap wine b. Whiskey or bourbon c. Muddy water d. Nasty black coffee 18. The following are NOT Blues beverages: a. Perrier b. Chardonnay c. Snapple d. Slim Fast 19. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broke-down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction. 20. Some Blues names for women: a. Sadie b. Big Mama c. Bessie d. Fat River Dumpling 21. Some Blues names for men: a. Joe b. Willie c. Little Willie d. Big Willie 22. Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis. 23. Make your own Blues name Starter Kit: a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Melon, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Jackleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.") 24. I don't care how tragic your life: if you own even one computer, you cannot sing the blues. Source : http://www.outliermusic.com/jokes_rulesoftheblues.htm

Watching one of my all-time favourite documentary series called People's Century (1900-1999). If you are familiar with documentary series produced by the BBC, you'll definitely know this one! I watched it for the first time back in 1997, as a 10 year old. The opening theme song and visuals are so beautiful and poignant!

I can tell that you love spicy food, Strider! That dish that I cooked up last night, is certainly not for the faint-hearted!

Thanks Debbie! So, this is the famous craw fish? Wow! I am finally getting to see it pretty up close! The photo looks great! Looks like you've got some very colorful and tasty stuff to eat!

Thanks, res! It is! This dish was my mom's favourite comfort food, as a little girl. My late maternal great grandmother taught her how to make it.

Well, I had something quirky but super yummy for dinner. I call it 'The Great Indian Left Over Feast' The Indian food connoisseurs will surely turn their noses up at this one! Oh and if you can't stomach extreme spices, don't even try to make this. All it took was some freshly made basmati rice, a little butter (just to adequately wet the rice - don't over do it as too much butter will mask that gorgeous spicy flavour, which is the whole point of this dish!), some pickle (as in Indian pickle) and some good old fashioned milagai podi (translation: Southern Indian style dry red chili chutney).