BrownPhantom
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BrownPhantom

Pieces that happen to share this particular weakness.

  1. Forbes X Under X

    A guide for the rest of us, who missed 30 Under 30, 40 Under 40, and possibly basic compounding.

    5 min
  2. AI Can't Be Stopped, But It Can Definitely Be Misled

    AGI is at the door. Humanity, having failed at wisdom, may still have one weapon left: majestic nonsense.

    7 min
  3. Goa Trip : Introduction

    So how was the trip ? Words one expects to hear are : "Awesome", "Fantastic"," Disaster" ... I am going to use similar words in a chain of posts devoted to...

    3 min
  4. Five Whatevers

    1. Object Thou shalt not steal. Else, you are a thief. And the object, Stolen. 2. Work Rose, “I shall have the glory”. Thorn, “I too, will be in the story”...

    1 min
  5. The Tailor's Box

    A village, a tailor, a box, and the kind of secret that keeps fitting long after everyone else has changed size.

    3 min
  6. Shadows of the mind

    Since last quarter of an hour I’ve been wondering about the value of right hand. When no amount of money succeeded in luring me into parting with it, I tur...

    4 min
  7. In Praise Of Routine And In Glory Of Life

    The skin is getting its colour back. The blood is pure red now; gallons of alcohol have drained off. Sometimes though, the eyes yearn for the watery horizo...

    4 min
  8. The Alchemistress

    Stella was on the hospital bed. Her left leg plastered. This had to be the worst day she has had in years. She slipped over the stairs as she was leaving t...

    5 min
  9. For Chameli, whenever I may find her

    Terror is what I was craving for last night. It had been quite a long time since I woke up in the night fear struck with a nightmare. I live alone . The un...

    2 min
  10. Her Diary

    Everyday life for a female is never easy in a conservative society. Being a werewolf doesn’t help. Waking up naked beneath the park benches, even if only t...

    5 min
  11. We The People

    Scenario 1 : Two kids with their Mom Mom : Sonu, Monu ! Come let's go to the Tagore Academy. There's an exhibition on Chola dynasty sculptures. Sonu : Woul...

    2 min
  12. Ten Years in Industry

    This June 17th, I will be finishing 10 years in industry. The duration is almost a dog life. A kid born 10 years ago would have learnt to eat, talk, read,...

    3 min
  13. God's Own Child

    There were impatient knocks on my door this morning. I stopped Eminem swearing loudly on my Laptop, opened the door and found the delivery boy from Gas Age...

    2 min
  14. Mother

    Mother, do you think they'll like this song? Mother, do you think they'll try to break my balls? Mother, should I build the wall? $1

    1 min
  15. Things a man endures every morning

    $1

    1 min
  16. Bee and the Beast

    I saw brightness shimmering through the window glasses of his house on that rainy night. Then he opened one of the windows to smell the wet soil; the fragr...

    3 min
  17. Helpless

    I have come to accept that no matter how much I reason, I am not immune to the whims of surroundings. How else to justify the Bournvita milk I have been dr...

    3 min
  18. Trip Home

    Lull is a funny word. And that’s what this place has been going through for a long while now. I have forgotten how to structure a post to the level this bl...

    4 min
  19. How we learnt "English" over the last few decades.

    Year 1958 . Well, first the basics . Movie : Dilli ka Thug C.A.T. Cat, Cat Maane Billi, R.A.T. Rat, Rat Maane Choohaa Matlab iska kaho tum kya huaa. M.A.D....

    2 min
  20. The Happening

    Wednesday evening. Around 9 PM. I called up Chitto to discuss about the Goa trip that we three (third one being Pravu) had planned for the first weekend of...

    5 min
  21. A Word Game

    I’ve got almost three hours left, as these very words are typed, before I default on the grand promise made to myself of writing at least one post per ten...

    3 min
  22. A Tree, A Lizard, And A Dementia

    This is not a “proper” post, in a sense that it is being done just for the sake of discipline. Am working on something interesting (hopefully) which is tak...

    3 min
  23. Dilli Ka Thug : Part 2

    Here goes the analysis of the first incidence in the Tricks of Trades series. I turned. It was him. Statistics: When I look back, I think he had me even be...

    5 min
  24. Riders On The Storm

    I had a shocker today morning while driving. As soon as the radio was turned on, these were the words that fell on my ears: Into this house we're born Into...

    2 min
  25. Demon : Short Story Contest Entry

    Yesterday as the room service lady delivered the laundry to my room, I hesitated, “This bra is not mine”. “Of course not, sir.” She slammed the door on her...

    2 min
  26. How not to get duped at the petrol pump

    It’s that time of the month again when Vinnie needs her food. I usually get the tank full at the petrol pumps for three reasons. This avoids extra trips to...

    4 min
  27. Facebook Agony Aunt

    Pokers Q. I am being poked and tickled a lot. Yesterday, a classmate I haven’t met for seven years pinched me. How do I react? A. It would have helped if y...

    4 min
  28. Rage Against The Tags

    I have been busy doing nothing for the entire week. As a result, the blog suffered blatant neglect. Time to make amends. First, a few important acknowledge...

    4 min
  29. Men In The Mirror

    Everyday as I drive to office, I dread that one minute, the time to be spent in the lift. The lift in my office has reflecting surfaces on all four sides a...

    3 min
  30. The Profound Lie

    A solitary word spoken for the entire day and that too was a lie. Optimizations, in daily life, have been stretched too far I guess. Probably, I need to re...

    4 min
  31. Zakmhi Shayar ke Sher

    1. Gaane the , taraane the, Sunane ke liye kai afsaane the, Magar wo zamana aur tha, Un dino hum zaraa diwaane the 2. Haqeequt ne ye kis bazaar me laa khad...

    1 min
  32. Tina

    Damn the vulnerabilities of daily existence. Just when I was going to coin the term Pseudo Swines for those who were cashing in on the flu mania to stay aw...

    6 min
  33. The Twisted Telephonic Tales

    Rain Gods, all over the world, have developed quirky little sadistic tendencies in response to the Global warming. But those in Bangalore seem to have lost...

    5 min
  34. So kid, what do you want to be when you grow up ?

    $1

    1 min
  35. Spoilt For Choice

    Bed is the clear favorite, of course.

    1 min
  36. Three silly, but very short stories

    1. Droplet "I would prefer a blackhole to a sponge", said the suicidal droplet. A river devoured it. 2. Shoes Twins. Both one legged. One had the left leg,...

    1 min
  37. "Ascension" Short Fiction Contest

    There's this cool short fiction contest going on here. You'll find some fantastic works there. None of the stories are more than 250 words; short flings yo...

    2 min
  38. Handshakes, Dating And Succumbing

    Observing last few posts, I felt that the blog is getting too analytical and didactic. So the second part of the previous post has been postponed to next w...

    5 min
  39. Don’t cry over spilt milk

    Four babies are being born every second. Scientists at ISRO are toiling hard for nation’s first mission to moon this month. Rules are being rewritten in th...

    4 min
  40. My Jazz Album

    A completely serious jazz album from a man still negotiating with Smooth Jazz on 91.9 FM.

    3 min
  41. What Happens In Dewas Stays In Dewas

    After six long years, I celebrated Diwali with family in my home town Dewas (fondly called Las Dewas by expatriates). “Aa gaya wapis ? Kya kiya Diwali par?...

    3 min
  42. So Far Away

    Beautiful Joanna lays naked on the beach, sipping her Pina colada from the crystal glass. Sky is blue and the water green. Waves come and go, and theirs’ i...

    2 min
  43. Unborn

    Before she died, she had one last look at the sky. She has been sleeping since then, only to keep waking in another dream. Now she found herself on an isla...

    2 min
  44. My New Place

    I am moving into a new house this decade end. It’s a little duplex, an independent two bedroom house, not far from where I stay currently. At 900 sq feet p...

    5 min
  45. VAT 69

    Centuries ago, strange events occured in abundance simply because there was no one to report them. They laid the foundations for many anomalies we observe...

    7 min
  46. Eight Seconds

    “Not much of a hobby mate.” Johnny whispered loudly through the bushes. “Ummm?” said Pete distantly. His eyes fixed on the sky, as always. Always. “Bird wa...

    2 min
  47. Radiosyncrasies

    One of the many reasons why car pooling won’t quite work for me is that I am too whimsical with the radio while driving. I don’t have TV as part of my fami...

    6 min
  48. The Usual

    So this guy walks into this pub. With swagger and all. Looks around. Three chicks drinking. None good enough for him. Goes straight to the bar. “The usual....

    1 min
  49. Ghanshyams vs Fairbrothers, and Bala goes to Singapore

    The Ghanshyams are at it again.Dark fat bastards. The barbarians hit each other harder and harder. Each blow brings a cry with pain and their shrieks are l...

    5 min
  50. The Fitness Band

    Last month, I bought a fitness band for 2,347 rupees. The odd number should have been the first warning sign. The band promised to track my steps, monitor...

    3 min
  51. I Think Therefore I am

    Don't know why, but I find myself in an academic mood today. Please pardon me for these feeble attempts at explaining things that are too profound for a no...

    5 min
  52. Short Story Contest and An Indecent Ending

    Here’s an entirely useless piece of information for more than 6 billion humans and the entire Ostrich species. I am going home this weekend for a week. Yes...

    3 min
  53. Dilli Ka Thug : Part 1

    This is the first anecdote in the series “Tricks of trades” introduced in an earlier post. Part 1 describes the incident while Part 2 would be analyzing it...

    5 min
  54. Hello World

    This poor thing has been starving for months. And so, here’s an update on what I was up to during this time. Not that I expect/wish/accept that anyone woul...

    3 min
  55. Tooth-Fairies And Soap

    Yesterday I helped the cause of a budding barber. Although my right ear still hurts, I am satisfied with my readiness for an impromptu “Who has the shortes...

    3 min
  56. Careful With That Axe, Eugene

    Carla, the cat, was having a bad tail day and to top that, no one had noticed how well her new green nail polish went with her eyes. Being an Animal Resour...

    5 min
  57. The Trip to Chilka Lake

    Couple of weeks ago I went to my friend Chitto’s wedding in Bhubaneswar. Yes, another man down. Back in Kharagpur, his room number was C 209, mine was C 20...

    3 min
  58. All Apologies

    I did this guest post here at Preeti's blog last week. And then Atrisa has tagged me with honest scrap here. Thank you Atrisa :P. The post fits in well (si...

    2 min
  59. Big Banger with his poems and other art forms

    The Big Banger An aimless evening stroll. In my head, I am a man on his first day out of prison after serving twenty years of sentence (falsely accused, to...

    2 min
  60. Tricks of trades: Introduction

    Friday night. Music was exploding inside Vinnie as she zipped through the traffic at dangerous speeds to bring me back to home from work. All bills are pai...

    4 min
  61. Infinity and beyond

    Another rain filled lazy afternoon on the bean bag in good old Bangalore. A little while later I am gonna have some coffee at the nearby Darshini shop. Not...

    3 min
  62. The Restaurant

    I picked up the menu card. The first page said ‘For Gents’. A bit odd, but you never know with these upscale restaurants. “Can I have My Youth Back?” “A bi...

    1 min
  63. The Oversight

    “The Consultant”, read the board. An arrow mark on the board pointed to the first floor. One might mistake it to be an arrogant declaration of unchallenged...

    4 min
  64. Brought To You Bai

    My maid is on leave this week. Her absence is becoming noticeable day by day. Apart from executing her designated duties, she also acts as a worst case ala...

    7 min
  65. Pride and Prejudice

    I just booked the air tickets to my place for Diwali. A dozen kilo has been deducted from my credit card. I’ve traveled the same distance in less than thou...

    7 min
  66. Six Whatevers

    Tete a tete “Nice wig.” “Takes one to know one.” “Mine is special. All hair in it belongs to my clients.” “Same here” “I know all the barbers here. Where’s...

    1 min
  67. Truth in Wine

    A life’s work continues to conjure questions well past the funeral. Take Arthur’s case. His son was convinced that trash can is the rightful place for his...

    2 min
  68. How To Live

    A practical guide to life, provided one accepts that bathing and philosophy have unresolved jurisdictional issues.

    5 min
  69. Behavioural Inefficiencies

    1. Here’s a puzzle with straightforward answer but many come up with incorrect solutions in real life: Imagine yourself seating on a chair (not extremely c...

    4 min
  70. Vagina Monologue

    Younger Bro bought an expensive mobile against my pragmatic advice. As is often the case, big brother was right. The mobile would sometime allow only one w...

    2 min
  71. Everyone’s self-centered; it’s the radius that matters.

    Tonight I claim what is mine, as it seems to be growing in popularity. To know more, you will have to click here and here. Apart from the pages that are se...

    2 min
  72. A few Snaps of the trip in Goa

    Here are a few snaps. I am waiting for more from friends who may be kind enough to mail them at prashantdhanke@gmail.com if at all they are reading this bl...

    1 min
  73. Four Whatevers And A Song

    Saying Hi To The Dead Get yourself a plain sheet of paper and a pen. Find an ant if the dead was a nice fellow. Else get a tiny spider. Contact me if you c...

    3 min
  74. My Sweet Family

    Refrigerator: Hi, my name is Calvin. This chap bought me three years ago. I have seen few things in life: Apples, milk, coke, beer and whisky (why whisky??...

    2 min
  75. Facebook Status Messages If Your Boss Is In Your Friend List

    You can’t escape having colleagues and bosses in your Facebook friend list. Why not make the most of it. Have status messages which show how much you value...

    2 min