Culture

What an episode! Ninety minutes of relentless gore, bloodshed, and action. My heart was still racing when it was all over! However, once the haze of the battle settled, and the sun was up, I couldn’t help feeling ‘WTF’? This is one of those episodes that you absolutely loved while watching, but afterward you are left wondering; what was it all for? < Major episode spoilers ahead…> The Battle For Winterfell As a cinematic spectacle,…

Titled ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ or as I am calling it ‘The Long Goodbye‘, Ep 2 of the final season of GOT is another slow paced, character-heavy episode where a lot of time is spent ruminating death. I was on the fence on this one up until the moment Podrick started singing ‘Jenny’s Song’ and this show went full LOTR on us.  Looking back this episode might just make it up there as…

‘Winterfell’ marks the beginning of the end of the journey that Games of Thrones has been for millions of viewers worldwide. The wait for the first episode for the last season has been long, painful and highly expected–it’s been over 2 years since Seven 7 aired and left everyone hanging for the fate of this imaginary world. At the end of Season 7, all the players are in Westeros with the Night King on the…

Enjoy lake view dining at The Boathouse at Forest Park The Boathouse – isn’t that a lovely name? Located at the edge of the lake in Forest Park, this restaurant is more than just a place to eat. It offers rental boats to paddle around the lake, a deck with rocking chairs where you can sip your beer and stare at the ducks flapping around the dock, and some live entertainment in the evenings. In…

I know what you are thinking, “Yet another mediocre fantasy-fiction trilogy? Do we really need more magical worlds?”! No, we don’t need more mediocre trilogies (this is anything but that). And yes, we always need more magical worlds! The City of Brass was one of my top reads in 2018. The 2019 sequel The Kingdom of Copper cemented my love for The Daevabad Trilogy. And I can’t wait for the third book – Empire of…

The Review The Awakening is the story of Edna Pontellier, a terribly bored housewife. She has unquestioningly followed the path defined for her sex. She married young, had two beautiful children and at the ripe young age of twenty-eight, she discovered she has nothing to live for. That is until she meets Robert LeBraun, the handsome and kind son of their lodge owner at Grand Isle. She begins to feel the hints of infatuation which…

Before I visit someplace I find reading something about it through travel guides, history books or simply novels really useful. You get a good sense of the historical and cultural context which deepens your travel experience. For a trip to Istanbul, my personal recommendations are- Fodor’s Istanbul’s 25 Best – A short travel guide that gives you the highlights on what to do Istanbul. Carry this along and you don’t really need your own itinerary.…

Winters are the perfect time to curl up in a stuffy chair and grab a glass of hot chocolate (or wine) and lose yourself in the pages of a good whodunnit. My personal favorite mystery novels are the ones with a closed room murder in a lavish country house somewhere, a fixed number of suspects and lots of motive! So basically, every other novel by Agatha Christie ? Since I am a big fan of…