Neil Armstrong never landed on the Moon!

Will someone revise the school syllabus now? And the Facebook statuses...

I would have loved to keep it to myself, but it’s funny how people think of Neil Armstrong as a legend. Well, as far as I understand, he didn’t do anything extraordinary.

Please don’t frown! Neil Armstrong NEVER landed on moon. Apollo moon landings were one of the biggest controversies of all times, and of course, the best ones (They have managed to gain public interest even after 4 decades). According to a survey, less than 10% of the people have an idea about it.

The photographs claiming Apollo six-manned landings were carefully observed and there are several simplistic and technical discrepancies that prove that this was all a hoax. Nonetheless, NASA gave very technical justifications for all these on news channels that time that were equally convincing, but too arduous for me to write here.

But I want you to think over the following points:

A space shuttle needs enormous, initial thrust to gain velocity for the upward movement (and I presume we all know that). There are support rockets attached, which get removed in the course after the space shuttle reaches a specific height (The astrophysicists would want to kill me after reading this convenient terminology). There’s a whole station, the LAUNCH PAD that monitors all this (You must have seen this in videos). In order to enter one celestial body from the other, the space shuttle is made to follow an orbit. This can’t happen directly. So, after leaving earth’s atmosphere, the space shuttle has to land along the moon’s orbit.

Did you ever think HOW the space shuttle landed on the moon safely without a station, track and any one to monitor etc. The shuttle should have had crashed. Or at least the the rocky surface of the moon would have disturbed the shuttle structure. Had this been the case, a slight disturbance would have violated laws of aerodynamics, making the next flight impossible. 

Even the present day technology lets the space shuttles to land only on water bodies (I am sorry if you didn’t know this) as there is NO MECHANISM that ensures safe landing of space shuttles on the land. There’s a high risk of explosion and hence mission failure when astronauts, who travel (just travel, not land on planets!) in the space shuttles, enter the Earth’s atmosphere back (remember Kalpana Chawla and Columbia?). How could NASA ensure safe, dual landing 40 years back?

Okay, they landed on moon safely! But when they decided to come back, who provided them with the enormous thrust, angle adjustments, etc. again? Please recollect the Newton’s third law of motion (yeah…the one that says something about the equal and opposite reactions). The shuttle can’t move upwards without exerting an equal force in the downward direction. (Just as you use your hands to stand up, while you are sitting).

So not only did the shuttle land safely, but somehow left the moon without a launch pad. This ain’t no funny! Don't laugh. (I guess the person controlling the space shuttle had been to moon before. He mastered the shuttle's behavior/dynamics in diametrical atmospheric conditions.)

Aha! Another one. We landed on moon in 1960’s. Never after that? Why NASA? You couldn't make the travel frequent and easier. Is there no one willing to land on the moon again? We still send dogs, robots on other planets like Mars. If we could do it on the moon, that to more than 4 decades back, why not Mars?

Well, I know, those who were unaware would question, why would USA and NASA do that? There are many theories that explain it, but I personally find the then competition against the Soviet Union as the most justified one. You can read about them in various books.

Those who are still reading (and understanding!) have to answer a simple question (yes, please mail me…). Who was the first person to land on the moon?

The ‘penner’ of this piece mourns Mr. Armstrong’s death, but that won’t stop her from writing the truth. She finds it crazy that she once won a quiz competition at school, giving the wrong answer. 

Jeggings @ Jabong

I’ll talk about a fashion trend, rather a revolutionary one that exactly caters to the needs of the 21^st century, the ‘Jeggings’. Introduced in the fall of 2010 and popularly known as the super-sexy combination of leggings and jeans, jeggings render many reasons for you to fall in love with them instantly. Jeggings can be leggings that are made to look like jeans by the funky introduction of fake pockets and seamless closures, or stretchy jeans that borrow the fitting and comfort of leggings. Either way, the result is unabashedly on-trend.

Even though they get a nod of the fashion police, many suspect the validity of ‘jegging-hype’ these days. No, they are not overrated! There are many a reasons for their popularity, but prominently it is the ultra-skinny fit that creates the magic. Even the traditional slim-fitted and skinny jeans accentuate the body contours but unlike them, jeggings are utterly comfy. While the former mainly is a sheer blend of denim and spandex, the latter might also use elastane and nylon.

Jeggings have a big fan following already. Flaunted by many international celebrities like Beyonce, Kim Kadarshian, Britney Spears, Shakira - jeggings have nearly replaced the straight-fit denims. If you are comfortable with your legs, it is needless to say that jeggings are a great idea.

Still wondering where to buy a pair just perfect for yourself? Check out a cool collection of low-rise, super-skinny jeggings at Jabong in awesomely, striking colours that you won’t easily find just anywhere. So you can go with the traditional blue or experiment with yellow, green and even red!

I wouldn't refrain myself from mentioning an inevitable caveat that this hip-hop fit is not meant for just any physique. Watch out if you are just a little more on the heavier side towards the bottom. The jeggings bring out the flaws in the figure more than the regular denims. When not worn with the right innerwear, jeggings can go terribly wrong. To play safe, you can always combine your jeggings with over-sized tops and tunics. Plus, you can go for a darker colour. And high heels, anyone? 

Truth or myth ?

This simple, narrative poem will seem quite arduous to understand. It’s not the language, though, which will confuse you; but the doctrine it preaches…

I came back after 20 years

with a mind without any fears

and knowledge, I believed, divine

But some stupid friends of mine

I had met just now

Hated logic somehow

So I laughed and then sighed

Ate the dinner, early that night

After loading me with lots of food

They told me a story, not so good…

Along the coast of a nearby river

There was a town named ‘Silver’

No one was allowed to visit that place

The explanation behind it was waste!

I told them they were fools

Now it was science that rules

         

Suddenly there were tides - high and low

And my poor wife begged me not to go

I said her in the eyes that I don’t care

Hell, she started saying an old prayer

 “tides in the river are a signal”   

Said that old and mad rascal                       

                                                               

But I packed up my essentials anyways

And geared up to go to the cursed place

When I reached 'Silver', it was midnight…

Things were spooky, the man was right!

While I was checking the place cautiously

Someone hit me on the head mercilessly

When I woke up, it was day

I was bleeding on dirty hay

Some ugly demons, I saw,

were planning to eat me raw

I questioned the science

And did some calculation

Couldn't find an answer,

Any damn explanation…

Stupid 'me' was caught in their hands

I cried, remembered family and friends

Their sacrificing rituals had begun

I was almost damned, it was no fun!

At night when they tied me tightly

I managed to open the rope quietly

For sure, it wasn't easy escaping

But luckily, they were all sleeping

Without a bicycle or a car

I reached home in one hour 

Everyone was so amazed and happy

Seeing me again, alive and peppy

I learnt some lessons meanwhile

My pals were rigid but so was I

It is no big deal sometimes

Going with old paradigms

For I wouldn’t have been alive 

embracing my wisdom and pride!

The 'penner' of this piece watched more than the recommended number of warewolf and vampire movies. The destruction of those, who appear most reluctant to accept the supernatural in such movies, has resulted in complete loss of her reasoning powers. And she was caught preaching Creationism that day.

Great online shops!

Now there are like a thousand great online shops. Jabong and Flipkart get two thumbs up from me!

With the advent of so many online-shopping portals that give a lot more benefits than the physical outlets, online shopping is growing very popular amongst both men and women these days. And in case you still do not know what online shopping is, (having not shopped online is still acceptable) you are living in a jungle!

Coming back to the point, the benefits include - easy pay (even cash on delivery), a lot of options to choose from, cool return policies, 24X7 customer support etc. 

Jabong is one step ahead in COD. You can use your credit/debit cards at the time of delivery (the delivery boy brings the magical machine and even insists you to use your card).

Though there are obvious caveats to online shopping like you can’t try the apparels and of course, what good looks on the super-pretty, zero-size models might not suit you at all (on the contrary you might feel prettier...in case you look like the writer). The exact color may vary from what you see on the website (errors could be from their side as well as due to the configurations of the monitor you use) and you might not be sure what, for example, semi-crepe feels like. Nonetheless it can’t take more than 30 days to figure out whether something suits you and has the right size, fit, color, material etc. You can avail the full benefits of the return policies, which can be free return within 7 days at some online shops to even 30 days  (as in case of Jabong, Flipkart, Myntra etc).

When you shop from popular and trusted portals like Jabong, Flipkart etc. you also get an assurance that you will get 100% authentic stuff. This is because before using a particular brand name and selling their products, it is necessary for them to take proper legal permissions. So, the chances of getting non-branded stuff in the name of branded ones get reduced a lot.

Besides at some stores you get an additional off that you will not get anywhere. For instance Jabong gives you a good introductory discount on every sign up. And you can misuse it by signing up several times! Some sites give special offers, gifts and discounts on particular brands. Fashion And You is one of them.

If you love luxury, online shopping is a great idea. You don’t have to visit a hundred outlets, and wait for your turn to enter the trial rooms or even when it comes to billing. So you skip all this and still get the best deal. All you need to do is go to the website and type the product name. You can also use filters of a particular brand, size, price etc. to ease out the process further. Now isn’t this truly luxurious? (I know the answer already!)

For sure this shopping process is quite simple. But if you think you still have confusion (like when your internet's not connecting and you don't know where's the "command" key), just dial the toll free number and irritate those sweet customer support executives. They are ready for help, always!

There is still a crazy reason to shop online. A lot of people feel that when they get the delivery of the order at their doorstep, they actually feel that they just received a gift. Now, this could be because they think they've put up a little effort in getting so much. Plus the order comes in cool packaging. That might sound crazy, but indeed what many people believe and say. 

The 'penner' of this piece feels you’ll have to start online shopping to find out the truth. Her advice comes from her own shopping experience.