Yum Yes to Hmm Yes. Review on General Thoughts About MouthShut

This isnt a review on MS. Just random musings of a Zig-Zag Wayfarer on his journey on MS.

Let me start with Reviews - MS Reviews are always useful, especially if you can find time to sift through useless ones. Having said this though, reviews on current products/services need to be taken with a bucketful of salt for obvious reasons that I need not elaborate on.

I like Friday mornings when usually Book Reviews are ROTD. The day I dread on MS is Saturday, especially when a lot of movies release on the preceding Friday. Then I feel as if I'm watching the Aaj Tak channel with Pappas & Mommas taking their laptops with highspeed internet to multiplexes and belting out Reviews even before the movie "the ends".

I do have issues with too many people reviewing the same product at the same time but I guess sometimes it cant be helped. I remember having sleepless nights when Kaminey was released. I used to dream of MS suspending me for not writing a Review on Kaminey. You know “MS ke haath Kanoon jitne lambe hote hain”. Sooner or later it catches up with you, even if it is after things have climaxed.

I have found thatMouthpading a review isnt a great idea exactly. It might get published at 2 in the night or 4 in the morning when nobody is around to read or comment.

DPs- There are times when we write an indifferent piece and expect a lukewarm response. But lo and behold, comments come in torrents, as does the appreciation. At other times we think we have written a wonderful piece but are surprised to see very few takers.

Well, the "relevant" pics/cartoons do add to the appeal. Sometimes they may be the highlight of an otherwise unpalatable DP. I guess if MS had the memory backup they would have offered video uploads for DPs too. I really miss a search function in DPs. A tag based search would have been even better. On a serious note, I understand a "Diary Post" is what you write in your Diary about your experiences. Forwards in a DP make it look like a Spam Folder.

Which brings me to the "Biltmore" syndrome, which I am a hapless victim of. On so many occasions I saw 6-7 DPs with Biltmore in their titles. I spent a lot of time trying to unravel the "Biltmore mystery” but soon realised that it would take a Holmes. I just couldnt make anything of the authors intent on pasting the Biltmore messages 7-8 times in succession. With MS admin in every mood to highlight Biltmore; I was left with no choice but to abandon my curiosity.

Bouquets - MS never fails to surprise. Be it featuring 4 year old DPs (keeps everybody hopeful of receiving awards, even if posthumously !) or awarding ROTD to excellent Reviews on Excellent Topics by Excellent People. So I am hopeful of receiving my "stars & stripes", even if it takes centuries.

Brickbats - I have had my share. Guess the law of "severages" catches up with everyone. :)) But on a serious note, I'm happy to see that the "Sporting Spirit" Quotient is high and people bounce back almost immediately.

Celebrities- When I first noticed a star symbol against the name of a few profiles my first reaction was to click on the "star". But sadly it led me nowhere. Then I started comparing them with Bollywood celebrities and found that they were far more interesting.

I for one would be more interested in knowing which Brand of Luggage does Umeshji endorse, or where does NJ get his haircut, or how many bones has Bobbybhai broken with his chops or what brand of Vodka does Harrybhai partake of and after how many pegs does he fullytake off (maujhe bachao :)), what Gym does Sajithbhai visit (or not visit..) to maintain Size Hero (bhago...;-), how does Nair Sir manage to twotime between Scotch & Poems than How many times did Asin jump in air & land on ground in the "Khanabadosh" takes.

Would suggest somebody to cover the MS stars and write columns on them for the benefit of commoners. MS could have a "Star Speak/Gossip" Section too.

The Junta - Initially the Quid Pro Quo worried me. And finally, it still worries me. On the flip side it means a lot good material goes unread/uncommented/unappreciated. On the positive side it means we have to visit each others reviews, rate, comment, etc which in turn increases the credibility of the post and also helps identify the prolific contributors.

Detractors - All sites have them. So does MS. Perhaps their presence signifies that good things are happening (hence the need for detraction).

Trusted Circle - After the Faisal Fiasco (refer my earlier DP “Story Of My Trusted Circle”), I stopped adding to my Trusted Circle and madly hoped that others would do the honours.

Comments - For most of us it takes some doing. One doesnt know what to comment, especially when the review/product is not worth even a word. Guess we have no option but to pick up the thesaurus and start looking for synonyms for superlatives like wonderful & excellent. After having exhausted the dictionaries, we take refuge in words like fantabulous. These days I'm seriously contemplating on using the word Ghazeeb (cross between Ghazab & Ajeeb) to make me comments unique and leave the Reviewer guessing as to whether it was a compliment or ....

MS recently - Recently ? But I hardly started 4 months ago. Yes, even in this short span of time, I have experienced quite a lot of change on MS. Its clear that "Ho the times, they are a changing...." And I'm worried. On what ? Search Me...In my initial days, it used to be “Yum Yes”. This has now turned to “Hmmm Yes”. God knows whats next….

Overall, its been more than 4 months since I started to keep my mouth shut. I pays. It really does. If you dont believe me, take a look at Pic2 (sorry no option of Pic upload). Even Uncle Sam Says so...!

(P.S – The writeup is just a personal take. No offence meant to anybody. Tanna Di, can this qualify as an entry for the MS festival...?)