Archive for June, 2007

Police On Duty

In here, a policeman rides a bike on the wrong side of a one-way road with his helmet hung behind him, violating two laws at a time … wow !!

I’ve seen this typical show of out-lawish-ness a lot specially in Peshawar More, G-9/4 which is a one-way road but still even police loves coming from the wrong way … when will we start following simple laws like this made for our benefits, will our Pakistani Brethren will ever learn to follow law with due regard INSIDE Pakistan, Hope soo …!

BTW, can you guess which place is this??

Picture Courtesy: Daily Times!

Slightly Bearable

One can only thank the heavens for the break in a spell of this torturous heat. Although the weather now is slightly bearable, it still reached 41 degrees as the news on the TV said. Never believe the weather news on TV, they always mess it up. I am sure it touched 45 today, atleast. Islamabad and it’s neighboring regions did experience some wind and cloud fronts as the image shows. It is quite natural for high pressure regions to balance out by pushing clouds and moisture towards low pressure regions. The image was taken from the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s website.

But even with all that thunder, the tempest fizzled out yet again. It remains dry and hot, and there is no chance of a shower as it seems. A shower under the magnanimous skies is what I meant. All one can do is watch as death and decay takes over the country, and countless people perish under the unrelenting sun. Thank God there was no power outage!

Rinse off the HEAT Factor

Not exactly in Islamabad but I couldn’t resist sharing this rare sight with our readers. A snake drinks water from a tap in jammu, since parts of the Sub-continent are reeling under an extreme hot weather with temperatures touching 50ÂșC in many places.

Or maybe you’d prefer this approach ….

Islamabad is so humid too, these days … after yesterday’s lightening though relief came but still … we’re the thankless lot :-|

Pictures Courtesy: Reuters & Khabrain!

Zibakhana, anyone?

Zibakhana, touted to be Pakistan’s first gore film premiered in Islamabad on Sunday, 10th June (damn, I missed it!). I couldn’t make it as I was a little caught up with stuff. Has anyone seen the movie yet? What are the show timings, the movie website has nothing about them. One of the reviews had this to say about them…
“Billed affectionately as “Pakistan’s first gore film” and clocking in with a run time under 90 minutes, you can pretty much gather from the start that it’s going to be a wild ride indeed.” -Fearnet.com

and

“It’s actually quite common to overhear genre fans discussing how they are eagerly awaiting the next brutal European survival horror romp, creepy Asian ghost revenge tale, bizarre Japanese psychedelic head trip, or gory Pakistani zombie/slasher film. Okay, go ahead and take a second look, but yes, you did read that correctly. I did say Pakistani zombie/slasher film.” -Fearnet.com

Damn, its going to be good. I congratulate the film makers, the actors and the entire team at making this movie. Not only will it open up the local film industry to new ideas and techniques, the much need attention and sponsorships to private/small productions like these from investors in Pakistan would start generating. Can’t wait to see the movie! Thankfully, this was a first of it’s kind event in Islamabad, in a long long time.

Watch the trailer on YouTube.

El Mexico in El Isloo

Mexican food comes to tantalize and tempt the ever expanding and diverse palate of the young and restless in Islamabad. “Loco Amigos”, or Crazy Friends has opened its doors in F-10 Markaz in the basement of the plaza with the Pearl Continental Laundry and Standard Chartered Bank, next to K&N Value Chicken. Strange way to remember a location I suppose, but landmarks work better for me than the names of the plazas :)

Anyway, to return to the fast food itself, it is a take away place, where young ’senors’ wearing sombreros will take your order and bring it out to you. Mexican food staples are similar to ours with basic food groups of rice, flour and meat. The menu is limited but has the staple ware that you expect in Mexican menus, like Nachos, Burritos, Tacos and Enchiladas. The pictures in the menu along with detail of what the item actually includes helps you in placing your order. All the hot, spiced food is served with rice, sour cream and tomato salsa.

The good thing about the restaurant is the relatively filling food at a reasonable menu. Most of the items are priced between Rs. 150 and Rs. 180 and the serving is plentiful enough to fill the most demanding of stomachs such as mine.

So if you ride well spiced, flavorsome food and want a change from the relative mundanity of chicken tikka or pizza and the other fast foods in town, and are hungry between 12 and 12, give Loco Amigos a try.

Eat your fill or we would say in Spanish “comer hasta hartarse”

We’ve our shares of Load management too

Since last few years, somehow, Islamabad emerged as a city surviving without and load shedding to its credit. With all the country, literally boiling off in summers, Islooites can cool off the heat with fans and ACs. But that is a misconception at large. Still many areas in Islamabad face the heat severity with no electricity … as the case below depicts.Specially May and June is the worst season with exam season at its peak, load shedding is not only a major annoyance but a hurdle as well. Dams banayein khudaraa

As, I was going through archives of Lahore metroblog, I found this really interesting post on Load shedding by Darwaish stating the image below as prime reason for no bijli :-)

PS: Thanks to Brother Yahya (reader of IMB) for forwarding the Image, courtesy Jang.

Where To Get Hitched, Or Ditched

Hand_In_Hand.jpgThe one question that I receive almost everyday from my male circles here in Isloo is where they can find decent and interesting women to approach. Well first of all we should not forget that here we live in a society where social interaction with the opposite sex is very limited. That’s a reality. Apart from “weddings”, workplace, private get togethers and universities, there isn’t much left for men and women to interact socially. And obviously there you find nothing new to expand your circle.

However, here I would discuss some of the unconventional meet up spots where, especially young men, can have bigger prospects of interacting with the opposite ranks, and that to with the class that normally does not have any qualms about mixed gender interaction. Although I must confess that, usually, you cannot end up meeting a woman, without the aid of your “mummy, baji or aunti”, yet here is a different recepie to try stuff up.

This post is for the benefit of those, who think it makes sense. The rest can feel free to surf through the rest of Islamabad Metroblog right away. I am not doing this write up for the socially conservative, or the myopically recluse. I am doing it in good faith. This post can also be considered for the benefit of the expat community
(more…)

The Makings Of An Encroached Workshop Market

Make_Shift_Workshop.jpgMost people show their concern about encroachments but do not know how they are usually bred, born, and grown. They do not fall out of sky all of sudden on one fine sunny morning, but rather grow organically. And the perpetual lack luster attitude of CDA to do anything about it, also provides ample opportunities for these businesses on illegal land to thrive and prosper.

So here is how it normally goes : First a few people set up a small shack on a prime location, that is seemingly deserted. Then rest follow suit. Authorities, they never care in the beginning, but once the situation gets out of hand, they suddenly raid them. However till then the situation is way beyond point of recovery as the shopkeepers either coerce them through bribes, or simple are resilient enough not to leave the place.
(more…)

What we have…

What we have, over shadows what we don’t. Let’s accept the fact that Islamabad lacks a few basic facilities that other Pakistani cities do. Pakistanis sans Islamabadis would be eager to listen to what I have to say, if not, don’t care. So here goes.

(more…)

Budget Banao - Tax Looto - 2007

Budget announcement is now very near and so are the promises of a strong and tax free budget.

Just few days back our Acting Prime Minister was seen inspecting the utility stores and price of daily commodities. Don’t you think its routine ki karwaayi before Budget and Eid ul Fitr?

This time an interesting hoarding near Airport on Islamabad Highway was seen …stating AAP BUDGET MEIN KYA CHAHTAY HAIN ? Yes, AAP yaani HUM!

Buzzvines says:

An interesting It is probably the latest incidents happening in Pakistani political scene that has induced the government for the first time to have people’s opinion in the budget. The interesting thing is that the government thought of asking this question at a time when it is so obvious that it is not going to fetch anything. I mean how much do we have till the budget to be announced and suddenly Ministry of Finance thought of asking us, The Public of our inputs. Since when have we become so democratic - Anyways, for those of you who are interested in chipping in, the e-mail address is afsb@finance.gov.pk

And I couldn’t agree less :>

Happy new fiscal year, soon!

Terms of use | Privacy Policy | Content: Creative Commons | Site and Design © 2008 | Metroblogging ® and Metblogs ® are registered trademarks of Bode Media, Inc.