Friday, September 27, 2013

Would You Like Love Potion No 8/9 ?


Well, Are you one of those who does not have any luck with the opposite sex.?If so maybe there is this potion which would make you irresistible to all of the opposite sex.This is the theme for the film Love Potion No 9.I am a great fan of Sandra Bullock(of the Speed and Miss Congeniality fame) and that she is the heroine of Love Potion No 9 is just one of the added incentives for me.

Though this film came out as early as  1992, the music and the presentation in a dimmed crystal sets the tone which seems suitable for all times.You are introduced to Paul Matthews, who is having no luck whatsoever with any women.It goes to the extent that his friends place a bet on if he would be able to go and talk a beautiful woman into going out with him.He works as a biochemist and has feelings for his dorky co worker Diane Farrow, who is presumably in love with a hunk.Now whether her love is reciprocated by the said hunk is yet another story.

As luck would have it, Paul and his friends go to a gypsy Madame Ruth( just for spooky fun for the month), who foresees that he has  no chance with any woman in his life.She hopes to remedy this situation with a drop of Love Potion No 8.As is the case of cynical scientists, Paul firmly believes it is all hogwash and just disposes of the said potion in the dustbin.In the mean time, his friends set him up with a hooker named Marisa with whom he spends some time talking things out.It is only when his cat tastes it and has all the neighboring cats lined up, does he search for it and tries to find what are the components of the said potion and its effect.

With his coworker Diane, he studies the characteristics of the potion and for the greater good, they both decide to present themselves as test subjects to further study the effectiveness of the Love Potion.Diane captures the attention of a wealthy car moghul as well as the Prince of England and also transforms from the dorky duck to the simmering swan during this time period.Paul has a series of short lived affairs with various women he encounters in various places.Paul and Diane at some point realize their attraction for each other and give it a go.By the time Paul has come to a realization that she is his love, her ex Gary has won her affection by using the same Love Potion from the said gypsy and is all set to marry Diane.Paul, though finds out about it only later.

How Paul tries to unsuccessfully convince his friends, how Marisa enters the scene, uses the love potion 8 unwittingly make up for some real LOL scenes.Paul, again goes to the gypsy who gives him Love Potion No 9, which will purify and override the effects of Love Potion No 8.If there was ever any true love involved, Love Potion No 9 will prevent that from fading.Paul makes it to the wedding with the Love Potion No 9.But will he succeed in getting Diane to drink it ?Will it be happily ever after? All these are questions better answered watching the film.Further more, what happens when you down a whole bottle of Love Potion No 8, as Marisa does?

Of all the films out there, this is an out and out comedy, with a wonderful uplifting story line and the last 15 minutes of guaranteed laughter to give you those feel good moments.So, I ask you  - Would you like Love Potion No 9?

Monday, September 23, 2013

My Experiment With Gardening

Just recently, I was searching in my shelf for some mint leaves which I thought were in stock.These are life savers when you want to dish up some really tasty Biriyani.I am now privy to what goes on to make the perfect Anjappar Style Egg Biriyani - all thanks to the most perfect recipe from my neighbor Surya.Thanks a ton there Surya.Now back to my tale, unfortunately, I was out of stock and so had to cancel my Biriyani plans for that day.However one good thing which got started was that, I got searching on if I can grow my own Mint plant.And behold, there was this blog which had full information on how to proceed.The best thing was that anyone could do it and all you needed to start with were freshly purchased mint with stems.

Getting Started:So anyway, one thing led to another, and I put in  my first set of mint cuttings in a soil filled cardboard box,with a sprinkling of water, which was covered with a plastic bag to retain moisture.I waited patiently for two weeks, checking daily and continuing to keep it moist by adding water in drops.Out of the ten cuttings which I kept, almost 6-7 survived and grew roots. I transferred them from the cardboard egg tray to a proper pot.At first it looked like the leaves were all turning grey and falling away.However, fresh shoots started appearing and since then ,these plants have started flourishing.I am confident that in a while, I will have my own mint garden to depend on 24/7.
                  The mint cuttings after a week in the card board box


                   They are kept in shade and covered by a plastic bag


      My Mint Garden - Freshly growing since transferred to a pot

Opening New Doors:Now that I have my own mint garden, I have become very eager to try to grow other stuff as well.You may as well call me a seed maniac, because hardly a day goes by, without me keeping aside something to experiment and see if it grows, from the seeds we get from the usual vegetables and fruit.It is wonderful to be a part of the miracle, that is nature.Having also got seeds for tomatoes, brinjals, lady'sfinger, angled luffa(peerkangai), zinnia(flower) and green snake bean(pythangai), I am waiting for these to start germinating..The most trying thing that a new gardener experiences is the waiting.Gardening is teaching me a lot of patience, because you have to patiently wait for your seeds to germinate and care for them as tenderly as you would for your child.
Shoots of Angled Luffa - From Seeds Purchased From The Chinese Supermarket 


Why I Would Like To Continue:If you witness nature's miracle and are a part of it, it is very difficult to remain unaffected.There is abundant sunshine here in Sydney.We have our own big backward, which has a patch of land as well as big floor of grey tiles over which pots may be placed.My husband who also loves gardening, has made big plans for growing a lot of things in our backyard.If we are lucky and able to stay on here for a while, we would hopefully get to taste the fruits of our labor, literally.
Till then I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying that my seedling babies grow up to become strong and healthy plants.Gardening seems to be a great stress reliever as well as confidence booster.The sense of accomplishing something, when your seed grows -it just cannot be described in words.
As always, feels free to drop in your comments and/or questions if any.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Of Women and Wolves : Lydia Dare Book Review

When you get tired of the straight laced romance, checking out supposed romances  featuring non humans in the form of vampires, werewolves, witches and other supernatural presences seem to be a good way of  adding variety to the usual book reads.
Of all these other worldly creatures, there is something so very wild and exotic about romances between humans and werewolves.Maybe that's why there is a lot of  stuff written featuring maidens and werewolves.I have just read two books by the author Lydia Dare and must honestly admit that I have been hooked.I  have been searching high and low to get my hands on other books by the author.
Here, I add my book review of  Lydia Dare's Regency series The Wolf Next Door and Tall, Dark and Wolfish.I hope that you would enjoy Lydia Dare as I have.

Tall, Dark and Wolfish : This is the second of the Regency Westfield Trilogy.However, its the first book that I read.This book can be read by itself, though the previous book could have given a short insight into the Westfield Family.The characters introduced in this book, however can be related in Dare's other werewolf series as well.
Now to the exciting part, what I found rather surprising about the series is the novel way in which Ben's plight is presented.While I've seen some films and even some other books where accepting the werewolf side is part of the struggle.This is one series where Ben, the third of the Lycan Westfield brothers suffers because of his inability to turn into a werewolf  on full moon.Its a part of him, which he has fully embraced and the pain of losing it, even though its the wild side he needs to constantly rein in, is so beautifully portrayed by the author.
 Ben actually goes to a healer - Elspeth Campbell, who is actually part of a coven of witches to help him find his lost werewolf side.Now the various characters portrayed in the coven have different powers and some of them actually even feature in the future series as a main character themselves.There is a seer, who has visions of the future and the coven members operate to make sure that the coven is intact.

There is love of course - because a paranormal romance would hardly be complete without it.But its love set in times where love itself is not the first priority.Its something which slowly develops among  various other things, and in the midst of the characters finding themselves.One of the other brother Will is portrayed in this book and there is also mention of the neighbor Prisca - both of whom feature in the third of the series.
Overall, it was a good book, with equal footing given to events as well as emotions.It made me want to know what happened to the other characters and thats how I got to reading the other book.


The Wolf Next Door  
: When its a story featuring the friendly neighborhood wolf Will and Prisca Hawthorne pointing daggers at each others' throat, its sure to be loads of fun following all the bickering and yelling.There is so much love between these two that they can hardly be in a room without baiting each other and putting everyone else through hell.However, bring in scheming brothers who have supposedly hatched up a plan bent on sending their sister straight to the one man, she's always had a soft spot on, you have all the ingredients for a hilarious romance right under your nose.That it features a certain charming werewolf  who has tried everything within his reach  from women, wine and  game to forget the love of his life, certainly does not hurt in the least.

Now to the workings of the plot, though you get the urge to tell Prisca and Will  to " Get On With It, Guys", the way the workings of Prisca's family is portrayed, is sure to make you laugh out loud.Amidst all this, it is vital, that I also mention Dashiel Thorpe, who features for a short time as a house guest and plays an important role nevertheless.Its all because of this dangerous gentleman that the ball finally gets moving in the right direction.
The other two brothers Simon and Ben are featured here as well, with their lovely wives even.if you've not read any of the other books in the series, this book will surely turn out as a standalone, even on its on.

Since reading these two books, I've been searching high and low for other books of this author.I would surely love to know Dashiel's story as well.It's interesting because by the end of this story, Dashiel seems to be smitten by a certain witch who featured predominantly in Ben's story, as part of the coven.