Welcome to the first issue of Happy Stuff – we’re so glad you're here â¤ī¸!
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Apart from the super-quick implementation of the plan to put out a (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter, we had the good fortune to watch one TV series in its entirety and two movies. We’re talking about Stranger Things 4, Top Gun Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion.
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We both enjoyed Jurassic World Dominion – what’s not to like about edge-of-the-seat dinosaur action đĻ! Of course, it was also quite brilliant that pretty much all the superstars from the original Jurassic Park were reprising their roles, and there were several the original movie.
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The other two, while still being entertaining and worth watching, felt stretched almost beyond the limits of our patience. Stranger Things 4’s seven episodes could have been completed in four, while Top Gun Maverick could have been 30 minutes shorter. Both devote time to unnecessary complications that neither contribute anything to the main plot nor are resolved satisfactorily. What really bothers us is that if this is an emerging filmmaking trend, we are in for some rough times.
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We also discovered that our neighbourhood multiplex is quite nice to visit on weeknights and that we both like eating sizzlers at the mall đ!
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What have you been watching, what’s been keeping you engaged and what’s been making you want to tear your hair out? Hit reply and tell us âŠī¸!
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Some housekeeping: To ensure you don't miss any of our newsletters, move this email to your inbox. We always send all our newsletters from happystuff@sigamany.in – add it to your contacts so that you always get it in your inbox.
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Here's a Photo
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...instead of a thousand words
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Red and yellow flowers welcoming the monsoon skies | Hyderabad, June 2022
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Interesting Stuff
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Fun things we'd turn around and share with you if we were in the same room as you
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Some exciting history news coming out of China. Cultural relics that are more than 3,000 years old and feature previously unknown shapes were recently found during an archaeological excavation in the Sanxingdui site in Sichuan province, and they appear to be a mysterious yet key part of ancient Chinese civilization. Read all about it here – and don’t forget to check out the bronze face with a gold mask!
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Vidya discovered a new way to relax at the height of the pandemic – essential oil diffusers. On certain days, this little device was a life-saver. We have a small treasure chest of different fragrant oils and love to choose one each evening / night according to the mood. Favourites include Bergamot, Eucalyptus, Neroli and Peppermint â¤ī¸. The latest addition is this heavenly French Lavender from The Beauty Co. In the aromatherapy category, I also loved this Rose Oil from Pahadi Local (dab a little on your wrists or behind the ears).
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We discovered a new recipe for Pommes Persillade – Potatoes with garlic and parsley – that does not require an oven. Yay! Hopefully, we’ll figure out a time to try it out in the next couple of weeks.
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In the meantime, we're making do with mushrooms sauteed in butter!
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Fun Poll!
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What's a newsletter without a survey!
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Are you an early bird or a night owl? Tap one of the choices below to let us know. Results in the next issue of Happy Stuff.
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Navin's Atrocious Translations
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Tamil movie song lyrics translated for comic effect
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Every morning when I go walking, I love listening to popular Tamil movie songs. These form the most visible part of modern Tamil poetry, and I have fun translating (I use this term very loosely!) them in my head. Here’s one for your reading pleasure.
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Here are selected lines from a very popular Tamil movie song – the non-sequiturs are breathtaking, as is the utter meaninglessness:
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When a plant flowers, there will be nectar
When a girl looks, there will be fire
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Will it rain inside a room?
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Launder the moon that has stains
Turn the captured hearts into birds
I haven't seen any flower shed tears
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Just in case you are wondering – no, these words do not have any special poetic meaning in Tamil – they are as silly and meaningless as they are in English.
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This song goes on to have a flourish with some meaningless Spanish lines sung with a thick Tamil accent.
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Once you stop guffawing, tell me if you can identify this masterpiece!
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Recycled Happiness!
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A fun post from one of our blogs
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Madhavan encounters a magical being who has an unquenchable thirst. Read on to find out what happens in this quirky little piece of magic realism set in a hot and sweltering Chennai summer night.
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That's for this issue folks! Feel free to write to us at happystuff@sigamany.in or just fill out the form here with your thoughts, ideas and good wishes :)
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See you in the next issue!
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Disclaimer: We have no affiliation, commercial or otherwise. with any products and services we mention in the newsletter.
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