Flying into the Night

I’ve always contemplated capturing the view from the heavens, but then, when I finally make an effort, Sachintha beats me to something similar – he wakes up to watch the sunrise, 35,000 feet above sea level.

Here’s my journey into the night, on board our national carrier:

Naked Madonna and the 15,000 dollars

I’ve admired Madonna always – her music, her attitude and of course her sultry looks. Not necessarily in that order though. The Queen of Pop has teased us since we were school kids in blue-shorts and still continues to do so with a shock every once in a while. There was the infamous “lesbian” kiss not so long ago and now there she is, hitting the news with the sale of her full-frontal nude photograph.

An original photograph of Madonna taken by Lee Friedlander in 1979 is going to be auctioned off at Christies on the 12th February, and is expected to fetch between US$ 10,000 to 15,000, according to reports. However, when the photograph was taken in 1979, Madonna was just a dancer who answered an ad for a nude model. The photographer has sold six more pictures of Madonna to Playboy in 1985 and this one, too, has her in the raw.

I’ve cropped the naughty bits here, please visit the Christies site, to discover the rest and zoom in on the details – you would be amazed at how much more hair you could get for 15 thousand bucks.

Believing in Second Chances...

So I have been quiet for two weeks. Missing from the blogsphere, away from the digital life. I was back in Paradise, sipping a few beers and tasting Arrack on the fabulous beaches of Koggala; I was busy shopping for my wedding ring in Singapore; and, yes, I was busy getting married.

As I promised myself in the latter part of last year, I got married – to the pretty neighbour who walked in to the next apartment – and in to my life. Getting married was the natural and obvious progression – and for some strange reason, it felt very right from the beginning, and still does. It feels like I have found my arcadia, finally.

The wedding wasn’t a grand do, since both of us are playing the second innings. Besides, inviting the extended family meant a mammoth task – gathering a good few hundreds under one roof isn’t that easy. Instead, we opted for a quiet gathering of the immediate family, with a treat of traditional Lankan sweet-meats and kiribath (milk-rice) at home. I wished I hadn’t gained the extra layer of fat around my waist, and, wished my trouser was still loose when I saw the katta-sambal (chilli paste) and kiribath; but then again, one has to be on his best behaviour at least on his wedding day, I suppose. Plus, there was another sumptuous lunch being prepared at my sister’s; so I had to keep that in mind too. Living abroad makes one appreciate the little things that we take for granted every day – a typical Lankan meal has never looked so yum in my entire life..!

After failing miserably in the first innings, we both decided to play it the ‘proper’ way this time around. We let our parents take over the affairs at the appropriate time, but of course didn’t forget to give things a little nudge in the desired direction! Matched the horoscopes (I knew that they were matching, so wasn’t worried about it much); got the auspicious times sorted; and followed the tradition with blessings from our parents and the families.

We lit the oil-lamp, said our prayers and signed on the dotted line. As we said our I do’s, the two mothers signed as witnesses to this historic event in our life. I could sense a certain relief in my mother’s face, she was happy her black-sheep was marrying a Sinhala Kella, finally!

Updated my status on FB, and my buddies were shocked and pleasantly surprised. Those who know me well know that this kid never learns. But I, on the other hand, believe in second chances, and things have never been this good in my life.