r o v e r

No Country for Old Men

2008-11-02T08:48:00.004+05:30

It certainly is looking like that for John McCain. RCP is averaging a 6 point lead for Bambi for like the 6th week in a row. But polls are polls, not elections. We'll see the election on Tuesday.

On the look of it, everything is a dead heat. The GOP base is strong as ever (forget the pundits, I'm talking of those trailer families in the mid-west). The Dems too have rallied behind Bambi.

Morpheus and Neo even appeared together couple of days back. For every Hannity there is an Olbermann in the media.

But if there is one thing that Bambi has and McPalin doesn't, it's the Awakening. Yes, the white elephant in the room is starting to move. Race was always a big factor in 2008. And while everyone was concerned about the "hard-working working class white Amercians", no one wanted to talk about the disillusioned, not-working-because-unemployed Americans. Now, who'd expect a democratic infidel like the black man to even think of a taking a political revenge at the ballot box? Isn't that how the white guy is expected to respond?

Well, apparently not. On Tuesday one country will become "No Country for Old Men, Old Thoughts, Old Beliefs, Old Ways". And hopefully this will reverberate across the world.

PS: Ya'll know Posh Spice....guess what's Sarah Palin? .........................Bible Spice!

Sarkar doesn't Raj

2008-06-19T21:31:00.004+05:30

I saw this sometime back and I didn't even get pissed enough to vent out a scathing post. A one word description of this movie would be - S L O W.

I liked the first movie so I'm not sure if I went in with 'high expectations' (that's the weirdest part - people tell me 'you shouldn't go in with high expecations, then you'll love the movie' ---hmm.....lets hope for an absolute fuck-up so that we'll never be disappointed; and let't not limit this philoshitty to just the movies, let it drive everything in our lives)

Getting back to the point, this movie kinda had everything going for it. A great first movie, set storyline, big-ticket actors, etc. Unfortunately Varma has squandered these advantages. The story unfolds at a snails pace with some characters just being planted into the sets. The main (new) characters are not developed enough. And, apologies for the spoiler - but killing Abhishek's pregnant wife was totally unnecessary. What was it? Ode to Coppola?

And, like three frames later, Shankar (Abhishek) makes a move on Anita (Aishwarya). Geez. Romance right after your pregnant wife is blown to smithereens in front of you.

Then there's the actual story -- the purported reason for all the chaos. Politics or rajneeti as Subash(Big B) calls it. In what is unique to Hindi cinema, the protagonist somehow always lands up explaining the plot to the audience in the waning minutes of the movie. Haven't we seen this before? Damn!

Come to think of it, think Varma realized that the plot was too convoluted for the audience to even imagine so he brought it the Big B to do the honours.

So, there you are. Bad Bad story. Worse than no story. The background score is splashed all over, making it lose its intensity. Screenplay is average. Cinematography is ok. Some shots looked refreshing because of the angles in which they were taken. Acting is good. Dialogues are average.

Gangster flicks are my fav, but I'll pass this one. There's going to be another one by Varma. Hope that one will have more to offer.

A Tag too late

2008-05-10T14:04:00.004+05:30

...so I guess I AM the last one to respond to this tag... Much love to BVN for bringing me back to my own page on blogger.
Here we go:
1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER:
The Nanny Diaries. Self-inflicted injury. Had to watch Pulp Fiction to get the faith back in the movies.

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
I Woz, the narcissistic autobiography of Steve Wozniak. Reinforces my hatred of the gawky geekdom.

3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Any damn game after four large whiskies. Heck, I'll do a pole-dance if you want me to.

4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
NYT Magazine, Time and Business Today

5. FAVORITE SMELLS?
The misty smell of rain...... And the smell of my room (never realized this until I had a chance to move out.....walking back in, the smell brought back memories of yesteryears).....And aroma of mom cooking my fav dish :D

6. FAVORITE SOUND?
Ice cracking when it hits the scotch?......hehe... More like waves hitting the shore....

7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Doubting my own self.

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE?
Uh, what's the time like.....? Ok... five more minutes..

9. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
Any Darshini. Yeah BVN....Waffle House... Triple, Scattered, Smothered, Covered and Peppered with loads of Coffee.

10. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
Lemme get the girl first.

11. FINISH THIS STATEMENT. "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I'D...?
Buy a yacht and go sailing..

12. DO YOU DRIVE FAST?
Sometimes.

13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Gawd. Yeah I do. I am the fucking stuffed animal.

14. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY?
Cool! Not cool if I'm driving though...

15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
Here I shall agree with BVN. Corolla. Black. I loved zipping around in that machine.

16. FAVORITE DRINK?
Cold coffee. Scotch. Both on the rocks. BVN, next time you are in Blore, check out Couch on MGs, they serve Irish coffee blended with whiskey. Neat.

17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD .....
do something else on the weekends (apart from sleeping and gorging)

18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yeah dip them in chicken gravy first.

19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
I'll call George Clooney for hair-advice.

20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN.
Ah! Bangalore, Jamshedpur, Davangere, Kushalnagar, Weston......But home is Bangalore. Always.

21. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Formula 1. With KF strong and a buckful of french fries.

22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
He'll share a smoke...even if it is the last cig in the pack. (I know, I know, that's about the biggest compliment you've ever got)

23. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
Right now? Well I sleep on the floor so....

24. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?
Yes. A little less confused. A little more passionate (about anything!)

25. MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL?
Totally a night owl. Love the serenity.

26. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Sunny Side Up

27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
Beaches...... Balconies with BVNs decor....... The Sweet Chariot beside Cash Pharmacy.

28. FAVORITE PIE?
No favs here...Is there a thing like Pineapple Pie?

29. FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Chocolate no doubt....More like hot chocolate fudge junior at Corner House.

30. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU TAGGED THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
I'll try DJ

Amadeus

2008-03-30T21:31:00.004+05:30

This is an epic. You instantly know that this was made with an intent of being the magnum opus. Milos Forman's effort brought him 8 Oscars (of 11 nominations). It won him plenty of other awards as well.

It is easy to see why. From a cinematic perspective, this film has got most things right. A great subject, awesome narrative, impressive acting, extraordinary sets and costumes and a background score by, well the best in the business - Mozart. In some ways, this movie reminded me of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and K. Asif's Mughal-E-Azam. There is an overwhelming grandiosity about the film. You instantly know that this is not one of those frugal Clint Eastwood movies or earthy, street-smart Scorcese types. It's more Spielbergish, I'd say.

The narrative becomes especially poignant because its told by Antonio Salieri - Mozart rival so to speak. Salieri, no mug with the keyboard himself, tells the story of his bitter-sweet relationship with the wizard. In doing so, Forman brings in a deep philosophical undertone to the movie. The story operates at two levels - one, the obvious chicanery that Salieri uses to sabotage Mozart's career and life and two, the underlying theme of a mediocrity vs genius (reminds me of The Fountainhead).

And these two themes have been interwoven brilliantly. The main characters have been developed thoroughly with great attention to detail. There are plenty of relationships in the film. Mozart with his atypical music; his deep devotion toward his dad. Constanze (Mozart's wife) with him and their life together. Salieri and the boy-wizard. Salieri and his faith. The establishment with Mozart. etc..... Forman has done an excellent job of holding all this together until the end.

The set and costumes look authentic and classy. The Opera's and the lavish use of Mozart's music are charming and delightful. The acting is fantastic. Amadeus got two best actor nominations and Murray Abraham won deservedly. Tom Hulce is also good, but Abraham steals the show throughout. He is controlled yet passionate. Scheming yet humane. Imperfect, yet not evil. Amazing!

The only drawback I thought was the length. I saw the director's cut and at 2 hrs and 52 minutes, it's a touch too long. The final runtime was 160 minutes, I read, but even at that, it's a touch too much. This didn't win the Oscar for editing. Something in there I guess.

A good watch, if you really like the movies. Otherwise, get a bag of popcorn and watch the last season of Friends.

Pink Panther

2008-03-30T10:42:00.005+05:30

I haven't seen the original by Blake Edwards starring Peter Sellers as French Inspector Jacques Clouseau, but the 2006 version (call it a remix?) is good only in patches. PP is from the 'wacky comdey' stable. If Austin Powers were a 3 and Naked Gun were a 2, then PP is 1. Get the drift?

PPs positives are a good plot, great actors and some hot GQ (galmour quotient). Any story which has a murder interwined with a missing diamond is sure gonna kick in some audience interest. Add to that Steve Martin and Jean Reno. Then some Beyonce Knowles. Mix it up with a little funny French and you have something to work with.

Unfortunately Shawn Levy, the director, left it at just that. Unlike Naked Gun or Austin Powers, PP lacks great dialogues. Those witty, quirky one-liners; those double-entendres (Allota Fagina, Felicity Shagwell). . Not there :(

Screenplay doesn't evoke any laughter either (remember Mini-me?). Levy seems to have lost track of other characters in the movie. The short screen times for the other actors could have been forgiven if atleast their characters were properly developed and weaved into the plot. That doesn't happen here (the whole scene with 006 is a total wreck).

Amidst all this, Steve Martin shines. He antics are hilarious, accent funny and expressions awesome (one scene where he asks Reno "You Knew?" tells us what a phenomenol actor Steve is). PP survives because of Steve.

All in all, an average flick.

PS: I don't think there's been a comedy that ranks right up in IMDB. Except Dr. Strangelove. Weird, I thought. Isn't a comedy a serious movie? Pun intended.

Edward Norton

2008-03-23T16:21:00.004+05:30

is God.

Man I've seen this guy from Primal Fear through Larry Flint through Italian Job through Fight Club.

Today I watched him in American History X. There's some serious talent in this guy. There is this one scene in AHX where he surrenders to the cops while looking back at his kid brother, and boy Norton nails the whole scene with just the look in his eyes. Acting-wise, this guy ranks right up there with Nicholson and Hanks. Plus, for this role in AHX, he prepped up as well.

I'm just surprised that he didn't win an Oscar. Lemme check out who did......

.....ah! Lost out to Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful in 1999. Hmm, tough one that....

But I digress. This movie is as much about WAR as much it is about Edward Norton. The story involves Derek Vinyard(Norton)'s travails with a neo-nazi gang in LA. There isn't much to the story; its pretty plain vanilla. However, the screenplay, the acting and the background score infuse life into this piece of cinema.

Maybe I got too carried away with Norton's portrayal because I watched this movie right after seeing a Nat Geo feature on MS-13 followed by Obama's 'A More Perfect Union' (Tube here). But for the most part, Tony Kaye has shown it as it is. The only let down was the rather rapid or more like the sudden turn of events that lead Vinyard into a reformist life (pardon the spoiler). At 119 mins, I guess Kaye still had about 10-15 mins of screen time to devote Vinyard's transformation. I read somewhere that is was a true story, but heck it still took THREE years to unfold. 10 minutes of screentime does not capture the intricacies that the audience is expected to understand. It just comes off as a load of moral yada.

Other than that, this is a good movie. Avery Brooks (as Dr. Sweeney) is solid, but could have got more time. Edward Furlong as Derek's younger brother has done a good job (no matter what he does, he can't escape being John Connor). Technically the film is average, but the acting is first class.

Good watch.

Rockatouille!!

2008-03-16T21:16:00.003+05:30

Yes! Ratatouille rocks!! Even for a rat movie! A three on five.

Pixar has done an amazing job here. In all departments, not just the animation (which of course, brought home an Oscar). The story is good; so too is the screenplay.

Popcorn. Large Cinema Hall. Lazy Sunday Afternoon. Good movie.

Bruce not that Almighty

2008-03-15T21:11:00.004+05:30

Naah. Not talking about that one right now.

Just watched Die Hard 4.0....aka Live Free or Die Hard

Average man. Just average(like my life right now).

You know that Die Hard is Bruce's show all the way. I mean you watch it just to see what kind of a pain in the ass Bruce becomes to NYCs tormentor.

4.0 is pretty standard issue of the Die Hard series. The stage is set within minutes of the opening. Everything is DH style. Bruce enters early. The villan enters early. The plan is quite straightforward. Its NYC. There is Bruce's family too. Then you watch as Bruce chases down the villan until they meet in the final minutes. Typical DH. Throw in a couple of car chases, an F-35 and some cool stunts.

Only that this time the villan doesn't give out a bad-guy vibe. He's too sophisticated. And geeky. No Hans or Simon here. Plus, this guy is an American. Ex-FBI. Hangs out with computer geeks. No muscle. No good.

No Sam Jackson, NO partner. No fun. Its Bruce all the way. With a kid. Even the heist is about some financial data being stolen. Nothing like trucks loaded with gold. Too sophisticated for a DH heist. No good one-liners too.

The good parts are of course the action elements. Some cool fights; neat car chases(more like car crashes).

All in all an average flick. Just like Rambo 4, which I watched a couple of weeks back. Rambo 4 was all about two things: gore and Stallone's one dialogue, delivered in that coarse and husky voice of an aged fighter......'Live for Nothing or Die for Something'...... man, now that is a line!

Segal, Stallone and Willis are my action favs and I'll watch their movies anyday, just for the heck of it.

Just for the heck of it.

From now, its only Movies

2008-03-15T13:46:00.002+05:30

Just Now: Letters from Iwo Jima
Brilliant!

Full marks for direction and cinematography. Watanbe impresses with his act as a tenacious general, but Kazunari Ninomiya shines as Saigo, the survivor. In the end, its all about who is alive and goes back to the family and the final shot of Saigo watching the sun go down into the pacific in essence captures the point of it all - or the lack of the point of it all.

Eastwood is not preachy here, but manages to capture some endearing moments in what is otherwise a savage time. He develops multiple characters with subtlety and juxtaposes them to etch a common story.

This is a must watch.

Last Night: 10,000 BC

Total wreck. Ice Age, Deserts, Tropical forests, Big Ostriches(or some huge creatures), fcuking huge tiger, not to mention hairy mammoths, one Hero dude(who is not sure why he is the Hero dude throughout the movie), pyramids, Nile.......WTF!!!

On the other hand, big time paisa vasool!

Day Before: In the Valley of Elah

Good!
I've always like Tommy Lee Jones. He's always been the underdog performer. Has this gritty, no-nonsense thing about him. No surprise that he got nominated for best actor (Academy-In the Valley of Elah) and best supporting actor (BAFTA-No Country for Old Men).

In 'Elah TLJ delivers another powerful performance. Even in the last shot, where he looks up to the American Flag and sighs with his eyes closed. Made me wince.

Aside from the political message Paul Haggis tries to get across, the film itself is structured well. The story is tight and the casting perfect(alteast the main protagonists). Charlize Theron --- man, this chick is something! She's worth all the money and praise she's getting. Susan Sarandon - she gets you with that one scene where she stares back at a MP officer and says 'You don't have a child, do you.....do you?'

Mark Isham has done a good job with the background score. Editing and screenplay could have been slicker, but its solid package nevertheless.

A good watch - this one...Bad that TLJ missed out on the Oscar (but its to Danny Day Lewis, so maybe we can call it square, if there is something like that)

Saturday morning fever

2008-02-02T12:05:00.000+05:30

Career Inventory Test Results

Extroversion		53%
Emotional Stability		56%
Orderliness		40%
Altruism		56%
Inquisitiveness		56%

You are an Idealist, possible professions include - information-graphics designer, college professor, researcher, legal mediator, social worker, holistic health practitioner, occupational therapist, diversity manager, human resource development specialist, employment development specialist, minister/priest/rabbi, missionary, psychologist, writer

Take Free Career Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Expected. I am not doing what I'm supposed to be doing although I don't think I'll ever enjoy doing what I'm supposed to be doing because it sure wouldn't pay me as much as what I'm getting paid to do what I'm doing now (which is less that what I expect I must be paid)

Global Personality Test Results

Stability (63%) moderately high which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.
Orderliness (36%) moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment.
Extraversion (53%) medium which suggests you average somewhere in between being assertive and social and being withdrawn and solitary.

Take Free Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

In short, its called MPD. Fuck.

And I'm a Bitch also

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Who happens to come across as an Easy Rider boss at office...

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

But is actually a son-of-a-bitch types nut.

Finally... at 26 I get this.

I NEED DOPE. NOT DING.

Getting over it

2008-01-27T12:02:00.000+05:30

NCFOM hosed my sleep.

Lest my Sunday get BBQed, I had to do something to overcome the bone-chilling evil taste that Anton Chigurh left in my mouth. It's not just the cold, unflenching and psychotic image of Anton that the Coen brothers managed to create, but the whole philosophy of 'can't get away from the evil that is your past' that is deeply unnerving.

So I digged into my collection to pull out this one. Look at the sheer beauty and charm of this shot. Fantastic! If there is ever a reason to love cinema, this is it.

A three minute long tracking shot from the masterpiece Goodfellas. The scene has the protagonist Henry Hill escorting his date Karen Hill through the back doors of the happening place - the Copacanana. Of course, he is a wiseguy and she doesn't know it.

Can't believe that the whole scene is a single shot. Three looong minutes!

Just about the perfect scene. Even the background score is amazing.

Scorcese is God.

Do not mix.....it's never a good idea

2008-01-27T01:11:00.000+05:30

Boy have I not got that advice many a time?

Just that I never knew it applied to Cinema.

'Taare Zameen Par' and 'No Country for Old Men' do not go well. Matter of fact 'No Country for Old Men' does not go with anything.

I had heard plenty about both movies. Today I watched both. TZP is not going to win an Oscar. It is too long, takes a couple of wrong turns with the story and editing and yields to 'preachiness' (I'm not doing a Colbert here; it does exist) than to originality in some frames. The background score falls short. But Darsheel Safary and Mr. Khan stand out with their performances. No items or item numbers = +5. And kudos for the entire unit for

a. having the balls to make a movie about dyslexic kids
b. attempting to create awareness than sympathy
c. doing it in Bollywood...

NCFOM is going to win Oscars. Heck its been nominated for eight. It's dark, gritty and gets into you like one of those alien worms from Men in Black. It's gory, but not patronizing; agonizingly slow but gripping all the way. Best part is the ending. It snaps shut and there you are just putting the jigsaw together. The characters get etched out in your mind and trouble you long after you are done with the movie.

TZP leaves you with hope. NCFOM, if you can get away from it, leaves you with evil. It's like watching The Exorcist right after Patch Adams. Yuck.

Oh No!

2008-01-18T22:52:00.000+05:30

Was my reaction when Divs told me of this BVN tag.

First up, I ain't the prolific writer types like my dear BVN. Second, for the last two months I've been on narcissistic quest about my past,a kind of pseudo self-discovery - just like BVN. Sud-suddenly I have to get back to reality and feel my own pulse and hear my own voice to get this tag complete. It's a fucking challange to get real .....nowadays.

BVN, here's to your tag.

PS: Now you may find many things in common between what I'm going to say and what Divs and BVN have said in their tags. That's because our recent lives have been like Scorcese's movies - different stories, different actors but all set in NYC, with plenty of Italians in each movie and twice that number of WTFs. That song from the the latest Kukunoor movie is the right jingle ...

..................."We are same same but different"

BVN's tag: Ten things I'd like to do before I cross 35

10. Visit the Taj Mahal (lemme get the girly thing out of the way first)

9. Go Skiing in the Alps. Stand on top of Mount Blanc

8. Get beyond page 2 of my DSLR's user guide so that I can click pictures atleast half as good as the one above.

7. Wake up on a beach and see the sun-rise. Alone.

6. Be that garrulous tour guide, slick bartender at a beach-cafe or shock jock -- for one day

5. (Since Divs robbed my BMW) get a classic Lincoln Premiere to drive on an empty highway that winds through a mountain. Oh yeah, before that -Get my Drivers License

4. See places. Travel. Venice. Rome. Jim Corbett. The Aurora Lights at Bear Lake. Watch Leno do stand up.

3. Get out everything that is buried inside of me. Make a movie --BVN, you can write the story --- Deal?

2. Stop making plans. Stop getting dinged. Start Living life. Be at peace with myself.

1. Do more things for the first time than I have done in the last 25 years..

BVN's tag: Ten things I miss about my life right now.

10. Direction.

9. Weston.

8. Extracurriculars and Arithmetic (that would help me find my Direction ----hopefully)

7. An office 10 minutes from home. Or better yet, a home that is 10 minutes from -- the office, barber shop, liquor shop, park, lake, library, pizza joint, chinese place, the movies........shoot I'm going back to Weston --- (You were right BVN, "We had a good time in Weston, on Miami, the best of times perhaps.")

6. Direction (unfuckinghelpable man)

5. Geez, you guys are right - this IS tough.....

4. Unbridled laughter

3. Interviews and Admits...

2. That 'my life's credo' types book. Fountainhead is too commom. I guess I've gotto to write my
own.

1. The nonchalant happiness that I see on my face in my photographs from school and college.

JAWS - I

2007-11-22T10:53:00.000+05:30

So I've been killing time at work, trying my hand at BVN challenging new art form. Needless to say, the results are not impressive.

I'd love to upload my creation to be critiqueued by a full 3 people who do not read this blog, but alas this time its the network. Yes, atleast someone is doing his job in my company switching off the upload/download facility from office. Damn!

So I did the next best thing. To read my own blog and feel happy. And since it was not egotistically satisfying, I went a step ahead and did the unthinkable. I did a BVN.

I put my blog through the readability scalpel. Here's what happened...

Muhahahah! I - the LONE reader of this blog am now HAPPY :)

Ok....things are happening at work....let me get back..

PS: Oh yeah, JAWS stands for Jobless At Work Series.....

Happy Deepavali!

2007-11-08T20:10:00.000+05:30

The Festival of Lights is here.

May it brighten your life with the colours you want.

In case you are:

1. Away from home

2. With lousy room-mates who order pizza and puke in the balcony

3. At work

4. Keeping 'image' at relative's place

5. Acting all 'I don't celebrate coz people in Iraq are dying'

6. Or watching the cricket match

7. On the internet reading this blog

GET OUT. GET A LIFE. YOU STILL HAVE TWO DAYS.

And while you are at it check out the latest state-of-the-art ammo. Available at your local pandal:

The 8 MM Karan Johar desinged Sivakasi manufactured self-loading lethal PINK handgun. Comes with a standard issue magazine. Custom made for those GAY yet EVIL villains from those 70s Bond movies. Get one. Elevate yourself to Metrosexuality.

If you are the de-glam yet sinister types, you can consider the rather innocuous looking 'LETTER BOMB', addressed to Naragasuran of Hell! Perfect gift for your project manager.

PS: Read the fine-print. Patent Pending. So dontcha try to make a cheap fake

This year's commemorative issue is the Peacock Bomb. Brand ambassador is hold your breath - the Fuhrer!

A neo-Nazi creation this must have been smuggled all the way from Dusseldorf. The Fuhrer must be mighty pleased that Dravidians are finally giving him his due place!

Some day in my life.....

2007-11-04T19:55:00.000+05:30

I'm going to wake up to 'This is the End' and listen to it the whole day,
Stop being scared of uncertainity,

Some day in my life I'm going to wake up on a beach alone and see the sunrise,
Not have a job and yet be blase,
Some day...

I'm going to run away from my past,
Forever...

Some day I'll stop wishing for success in my plans,
Some day I'll have no plans...

I'll be free; of who I am
And what I want to be...

Some day I'll have no pain,
Will be content with the whiff of rain....

I'll stop searching for myself
And believing that there is a purpose to life.

Just another day in paradise

2007-11-02T19:45:00.000+05:30

Early start. Radio City. Funny email. Light breakfast. NY Times. Instant Messenger. Lunch hour. Short walk. Blog review. Long tea. Chit chat. Bus ride. Cut short. Car crash. Small one. Long walk. Down pour. Chat shop. Pani puri. Walk back. Sweet home. Broad band.

Office tomorrow.

:(

Cars!

2007-10-21T19:29:00.000+05:30

Bangalore Bucketful

2007-09-21T21:54:00.000+05:30

Swanky IT place in the background, slush in the foreground. First world dreams, Third world realities meet here...

Not everyone gets to dream the First world dream too. Here I am dreaming the dream, safely ensconced within the office bus with a 6 foot view(that's all I can afford). But these young men have to walk the walk - slush or not

The 'India Story' wouldn't be complete without the 'system', would it? A lone hapless cop stands vigil to the plight of the people suffering from the wrath unleashed by nature and exacerbated by 'system' (or the lack of it)

They say home is where heart is. Think I'll do with a by-pass.

This is not New Delhi...

2007-09-09T16:49:00.000+05:30

This is not Bangkok

This is not Milano

This is not New York

This is not Chicago

This is not Hong Kong

This is not Helsinki

This is not London

This is not Ibiza

This is not Collogne

This is not Osaka

This is not Lisbon

This is not San Paolo

This is not Den Haag

This is not Toronto

This is not Prague

This is not Jakarta

This is not LA

This is not Monaco

This is not Bombay

This is not Vienna

This is not Shanghai

This is not Las Vegas

This is not Dubai

This is not Athena

This is not Jombo

This is not Geneva

This is not Tokyo

This is not Kinshasa

This is not Paris

This is not Beirut

THIS IS MIAMI

Here is Sander Kleinenberg's ode to Miami.

PS: Dedicated to all those who were there with me when I first heard and saw this song. I know the profound effect it had on our collective desi souls.

Touching....

2007-09-03T19:46:00.000+05:30

Turn on the speakers. Watch.

Courtesy: The Peruvian Cancer Foundation.

Hope there is hope......someday.

What happens in Vegas....

2007-08-28T16:14:00.000+05:30

......can happen in Macau also?

Macau?

My first instinct was 'uh....er.....heard of it...somewhere'. My my inner voice said that such a place could exist, atleast it was phonetically possible. If a place called Alappuzha(no offense chetas, but in your defense, when people can have names like Jibin, Mobin, Cibin or Dijo then it's not weird to have places called Alappuzha) can exist, then a Macau most certainly can.

I was obviously surprised to read that this Macau place was going to give Las Vegas, yes Las Vegas, a run for its money. When did you hear something like that? Giving Las Vegas a run for its money?

Apparently that is the case.

As NYT reports, the Venetian Macao Resort, opening today is bigger and shinier than anything in Vegas.

Note the typical use of the American metric system, which provisons for every damn thing in the world to be measured in ESB or MSG - that's Empire State Building units or Madison Square Garden units(it can be fun. Like when you say India's nominal GDP is 1/200 th of the capacity of MSG, they guy behind the 3 inch thick glass will stamp your H1-B with a 'You Betcha!' smile).

And it's not the only one. Wynn is already there and MGM wants to set up shop in due time. But the biggest surprise was when, after reading only the first two paragraphs of the NYT report, I googled for Macau and got this:

Macau is in...ahem.......er, CHINA, uh-o.

So Red China and Imperial America are fighting over Vegas now. Isn't that funny? China seems to be etching closer to its new-age creed - 'Bourgeoisie of the world, unite- here in China'.

Anyways, I am not that optimistic about this Macau thing. See, Vegas, like most things that are uniquely American, for example, NY or Hollywood or Vietnam or Iraq, is something that cannot be duplicated elsewhere, sometimes even by Americans themselves. It's simply not about building a city. It's also about the people and the culture. Which is quite hard to create.

Take for instance, the dollar weilding American. Few in the world, except Vijay Mallya of course, can be as cavalier as the man from the free world. As the article says:

.......But Macao’s average gambler is still a day-tripper from Hong Kong or nearby Chinese cities in the Pearl River delta. These visitors are so frugal that they often bring their own food and do not rent hotel rooms. They spend an average of just 1.26 days in the territory — and even that average is inflated by the many Hong Kong residents who work in Macao Monday through Friday and go home on weekends.

By contrast, the average visitor to Las Vegas spends 3.4 days.

Bring their own food! Oriental gambling ishtyle! HOLY!

As for the culture, one may question what culture can Vegas claim to represent. Fair enough. It's called the Sin City. Gambling Town. But hey, that is what Vegas was built to offer. An escape. And it's amazing how the people who live in and around that town, with the same moral and ethical values as you and me, have come together to keep the city true to its spirit. Vegas is Vegas because it's in the middle of the United States of Freaking America. Anywhere else in the world, it would have been a ghost town in the middle of a desert.

Why? See below:

“........If you look at Macao, there are no or virtually no nongaming revenues,” whereas nongambling revenues exceed gambling revenues in Las Vegas, said William P. Weidner, the president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands.

Non-gaming revenues. Hmm. See the picture? Get the picture?

Macau. Do you copy that?

Seasons Greetings!

2007-08-27T22:21:00.000+05:30

Pictures from the Varmahalakshmi celebrations at home. For the unacquainted, the celebrations are to honour Goddess Lakshmi (Aunt Scrooge) and thank her for all her ble$$ing$, and to genlty point out that any FDI* in the household financial sector is most welcome.

This week also brings Rakshabandhan and Onam. Seasons greetings to both Aryans and Dravidians!

* Future Divine Intervention

Love and Peace

2007-08-25T23:46:00.000+05:30

Hope our brothers and sisters in Hyderabad will find the strength to overcome this tragedy. India stands firm behind them.

Media : Please show some respect to the departed by NOT beaming pictures of their bloodied mortal remains over and over. This is not a photo-op. Getting it on tape is not journalism. Sometimes a thousand words are better than a picture.

Politicians : Don't BS us. Innocent people have died. Show how you care. Shut up. Stand up. Be counted.

Cops : Get them. No matter what.

People : Bad things happen to good people. It is both wrong and sad when it happens. Let's NOT move on. Let's not forget. Let's embrace the grief. Let's look within. Remember, we are all on the same side.

Love and Peace

One reason I miss America..

2007-08-23T21:00:00.000+05:30

is

Jon Stewart.

Hope is a good thing

2007-08-22T22:42:00.000+05:30

There are no words to introduce this story. Ty Ziegel and Renee Kline personify the spirit of human endurance.

A Marine Wedding
Photo Courtesy: Nina Berman

The photograph can trigger may reactions. Sympathy, Compassion , Melancholy, Anger, Inceritude or even Pity.

Here's what struck me first...

Andy Dufresne: ... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours

Ellis Redding: What're you talking about?

Andy Dufresne: Hope.

Years later, Ellis Redding thought of his dear friend....

"I have to remind myself
that some birds aren't meant to be caged, that's all.

Their feathers are just too bright
and when they fly away,
the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice...

but still, the place you live
is that much more drab and empty that they're gone"

Imagine

2007-08-21T12:13:00.000+05:30

Yesterday, I was talking about not 'dividing' the Indian anymore. Previously, I have also talked about how vested interests have always pandered to religion and invoked history to justify the creation of laws and institutions whose sole purpose, visibly, was to emancipate the suppressed, but in reality was to divide people so can the vested interests would be able to maintain their strangledhold on power - power not just over our lives, but power over our dreams too.

Today I found this : Zeitgeist

Lennon's words are not just beautiful spraking with a mystic hope, but are more poignant than ever before.

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Keeping the promise..

2007-08-20T17:56:00.000+05:30

I came across this elaborate, informative and beautiful exposition of one of the foremost issues that is raling the world today - religion in politics.

Politics of God by Mark Lilla.

The article traces the origins of the philosophy of separation of the Church and State - one of the modern West's pillars of strength. Liberal Democracy, as it is revealed, did not pop out of Alladin's magic lamp, but evolved as a compromise architected by some clever philosophers a few hundred years ago. It it also interesting to note that although the idea of a liberal democracy was born in a pre-industrial revolution world, it only caught on and morphed into what it is today when the Bolsheviks, Nazis and Fascists began messing with the world in the early 20th century.

Lilla has got me to think of the religious and theological aspirations of the Indian independence movement. We have read plenty about who all were there and what all they did - but I never saw anything in my textbooks that talked about the theological moorings of Gandhi, Nehru or Bose.

Was it fait accompli that India would choose Democracy given that Britain was one? Or did our leaders of 1947 consciously avoid or discourage any discourse on what the theological aspirations of the Indian people would be, given that India was a geographical patchwork of 500 odd princely states which they planned to unite into a single nation-state?

We know for a fact that theology and not just politics was Jinnah's motivation to seek for a sister-state to India. The politics behind partition we know, but it would be doubly interesting to know why Gandhi, Jinnah and Nehru thought that all the Muslims of undivided India had similar theological leaning or bonding that sufficient reason to create an sister-state. And why they thought that the historical Aryan-Dravidian divide was not similar, on an epistemological scale, to the Hindu-Muslim divide.

These are questions worth pondering over. I think India is Democratic, for the lack of any other alternative. At the risk of sounding like a right-winger, I suspect that Sanatana Dharma inspired most of the Hindu leaders of 1947. Learning from history that the Hindus would acquiesce to a rule of law as long as it espoused, if not in letter, but alteast in spirit, the lofty principles of the Brahman and the Atman, and coupling it with their own belief in Sanatana Dharma, our leaders cleverly chose Democracy as the way of governing the Indian state. Any other system could fracture the fledgling nation, they would have thought.

60 years down the line, it is as important to look back on this thought - the one that created India - as it is to look ahead. For this thought aimed to keep the peoples together, bound them in a quest for life and freedom, tantalizingly describing it as a tryst with destiny. The India we bequeath to our children must keep this promise, and it's our job to ensure that we give unto them an India that is more united in this cause than it was when we arrived.

Let's not divide India and the Indian anymore.

Some things money can buy....

2007-08-18T20:41:00.000+05:30

I bumped into this interesting read on happiness.

Apparently you are happy if you are:

Relishing the day
Dodging traffic
Seeing friends
Buying memories
Limiting options

Isn't it great that finally we have a bullet-point road-map to happiness? Wish they made it a little more funky, you know, used Flash Player, that happy holidays ringtone and a bunny that would grab the attention of the women(with all due respect)

I yielded to the obvious tempatation of taking such things online seriously and scoring my software self on this little algorithm of happiness. Here goes:

1. Relishing the day: Naah. I get up at 6. 30 in the goddamn morning(if you think that is late the I'll assume that you work in a different timezone). And that's to reach the mile-away bus stop in time to catch my ride to office. My first glimpse of humanity is when I get into the bus - the people in the bus look like Navjot Singh Sidhu has been talking to them all night - tells me that 'Relishing the day' is out of the question. It's freaking out of syllabus.

I actually have the honour of switching on the lights when I reach office (I'm NOT making this up) unless that is snatched away by some unfortunate soul who has a Schumacher fan for a driver. Yes, I work at a place when we take turns, and occassionally pride(not forgetting the overworked night-shifter firing his morning salvo in front of our Project Manager) in turning on ..... the lights.

I think the project manager is loaded with 'relish sensors'; nothing else could explain his unexpected appearances at times when the comrades enjoy a chuckle over a shady office PJ or indulge in that rare loathsome anti-establishment outburst or share that Kodak moment - the one with the 'I have no work' wink. At all these time, the PM unleashes his signature relish killer - that excel sheet that needs some attention, that process powerpoint that needs more punch or that late evening call with firnags that needs attendance. All the 'relish' is flushed down and out and is followed by the PM's satisfactory burp.

2. Dodging Traffic: Not in Bangalore.

3. Seeing friends: Possible. Considering that 1of my last 7 weekends was spent with friends, I still have some hopes. Its not that I am not the social types. I make the effort, I really do. But it's the first half of the movie. Remember, the climax is always in the second half where there are many ways your plans can get torpedoed. Typically it is:

Traffic
Weather .......and if these two are on your side then
Friend's boyfriend.......or
Friend's girlfriend
Big Fat line in the movie hall/restaurant

And even when the meeting does happen, the conversation is not the much anticipated emotional escapade. In tune with the times, the talk begins typically with the news of someone getting engaged or married, of someone trying to go onsite, of someone getting the money just in time for that new apartment, of someone's new car and the mint fresh scratch on it after the incident with Rick Shaw. The evening is spent in avoiding the 'What about you? What are your plans?' question, and when that pops, the mind goes spiralling down the abyssmal depths of anxiety.

Given all this, 1 of 7 is not bad actually. You know what is actually bad? sitting at home for more than 72 hours straight....umm...make that 73.5

4. Buying Memories: Worth a shot. I will leave no outing unphotographed in future. I can also amuse myself by morphing my face on that bungee jumper on page 3.

5. Limiting Options: Ha!

So my happiness index looks more like Bush's approval ratings right now, but the silver lining is that it can go down any further - guess that's a reason to smile..... :)

Bartender or Ship Engineer?

2007-08-17T10:50:00.000+05:30

If you chose to be a Bartender, thinking of the charm, the fun and 'opportunities', of mixing that cocktail that would make you look like Brian Flanagan you hosed yourself big-time. You will earn a third Ship Engineer would.

Check this out:

Best Jobs
Worst Jobs

Of course, I am talking about America here. It much simpler in India. The best and the worst jobs are the same - Software Engineer.

And while you are at it, check out The Most Annoying Office Habits....I liked the pictures in there......may be will take a print or two and stick it in my Cubedom

Matrix Reloaded!!

2007-08-16T23:17:00.000+05:30

Being a regular at Scott Adams' site gives one access to plenty of interesting BS. Today I found what Scott had found at NYT.

Excerpt:
“My gut feeling, and it’s nothing more than that,” he says, “is that there’s a 20 percent chance we’re living in a computer simulation.”
- Philosopher Dude at Oxford

Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy’s Couch

What do you think? I think the Wachowski brothers can sue these guys :)

Geek Squad and the Half Blooded Leaders

2007-08-16T20:54:00.000+05:30

Its not that these guys are not likeable.

They are intelligent. Articulate. Well informed. Espouse a ideology, not a dynasty. Always work as a team, atleast visibly. Young, comparatively. Never been indicted.

On any day, they would be everyone's choice for political office.

Its sad to see what these guys are upto, though. All through Mr. Singh's tenure, the Left has behaved as the proverbial remote control. Power without Accountability - the heady mix that triggered the collapse of the beacon of communism almost two decades ago - is tormenting the Indian polity today.

Thrusted to the Lok Sabha in unexpectedly large numbers in 2004, the Left, instead of expending the 'political capital' by constructively contributing to the nation, is today belying the apparent maturity in its ranks by choosing to act as a barking dog and nothing more.

The brouhaha created by Karat and Co. over the nuclear deal is a case in point. I am not saying that they don't have a point. They do. The geek-squad(to borrow a term from capitalist America) always has a point. Taking the 123 bait may not be worth the risk. For 60 years, India has managed to speak its own voice. We did squeak non-alignment, but our actions were clearer than words. It was always From Russia With Love.

Keeping Vodka as the nation's first drink had its advantages(although, ideally, we should have stopped at vodka and not imported all that bureaucracy). We were safe from both Uncles Sam and Mao. It helped that the Soviet Union was communist. That way we couldn't be accused of creating a race or religion based brotherhood.

Not to digress, but yes, Russia, SAARC and the Commonwealth kept India fairly busy. Pakistan too helped, chipping in with a war here and there. And throughout, India had to ask NOBODY before making its own decision on stuff. And that kept our big-fat nation fairly safe. Either people didn't know whose side we were on or they just assumed that we we on their side.

Which brings me back to the point of this post. I mostly agree with the Left's concerns on the implications (read obligations) this 123 agreement will carry with it. Yes, America is freaking awesome. Its like us - democratic and likes software. Its got Harley Davidson, Halle Berry and Homer Simpson. It has Google and Lockheed Martin. It also has Pepsi and NASA. America is America. It also produced Bush and gave him two lives. There is no reason it couldn't do the same again.

So yes, Karat and Co. are right. It helps that the little red book they carry says 'Hate America for the heck of it'. The 123 deal may not be in India's best interests. Not in this time and age. Not with Dr. Huntington keeping the score in the ongoing clash of civilizations.

But alas, are they, Karat and Co, going to do anything about it? NO. Suave Sitaram has entered the field. Now, it'll turn into a fight over the English literature in the 123 agreement.

Unfortunately, the Left's behaviour cannot be characterized as anything but irresponsible and convoluted and spans sheer tokenism. They are looking like a bunch of morons, just like the MPs from Samajwadi Party who opposed the deal for the heck of it. I don't expect the SP to understand geopolitics, but surely the Left must.

Like every other protest, this is nothing more than a hogwash. They won't let Madam leave office, for the fear that there is a Modi lurking to get his hands on India that is (Akhand)Bharat.
But they will keep up the noise, making people wonder what its all about when it doesn't matter.

Karat must be a happy man. He knows that until Madam calls his bluff, he can pester Dr. Singh. And when she does, he'll call Sita. No one in India enjoys so much power behind the scenes as does Karat. Its a shame that he is using it to cry wolf than to fight it.

IBN does a retake!

2007-08-16T17:50:00.000+05:30

Surprise!

In what is being touted as a 'rejoinder' to Ms. Ghose's rather patronizing conclusions in her published article a couple of days back, IBN has published this write-up by one Mr. Omair Ahmad. It is an interesting read and in short Mr. Ahmad crunches a few numbers to conclude that after all India's prisons are NOT full of muslims.

I applaud IBNs decision to publish this because between playing the much romaticized pseudo-secular, inclusive observer or the quintessential devil's advocate, jounalists, especially in these times when political correctness seems to be the end of imagination, fail to do the basic thing - which is not to pander to sentimentality but to look at information objectively and provide the reader/viewer the data he/she needs to draw conclusions around what has been presented.

In our quest to apologise to history and to appear as be making things right we must not run overboard. The Hindu majority in India happens to be fact. Just as the christian majority of the west of the muslim majority of the middle-east. But somehow, Indians, for far too long, have chosen to be rather parochial - always looking 'down' to the muslims and chirstians and 'displaying' Mother India's benovelance by spreading the arms out to 'lift' them from the obscurity of a non-Hindu Indian life.

And this has not always worked. For every Shah Bano, there is a Godhra and for every Mandal there will be an Ayodhya. The government has always looked at building walls around the minority communities(not just religious minority, but even regional minorities) in India either by legislation or by charity(doling out crores of rupees in fancy 'packages'). The is no genuine effort to address the issues faced by minorites by the fact of their being under-represented in the social structure. Its always been symbolic. The Hindus are here. We will listen to you, not because you are an Indian, but because our ancestors spent their lives killing yours.

The media, with its reach and influence, has unfortunately succumbed to this craze. TV Channels and newspapers want to appear non-partisan than to epouse the truth.

While getting carried away by political correctness may seem fashionable, Indians must realize that our job is as much to pass on to our next generation an India that is united and strong as it is to fix problems of the past, if not more. And that will happen only if the votebanks of today - political, economic and social are dismantled and no new ones are erected.

PS: Wonder if IBN sneaked in some correctness by getting a Muslim to refute a Hindu's delusions....

2007-08-15T10:47:00.000+05:30

ROLL ON!

Goshed!

2007-08-14T20:07:00.000+05:30

More pesudo-intellectual BS from Ms. Ghose.

Some quotable quotes from her musings(Hindustan Times actually published it)

1. Soon India's jails will be choc-a-block with Muslims.

2. How can justice can be thoroughly done through the mountains of documentation, the sheer bulk of facts and contradictions, the long delayed trial and lapses in human memory that must have come faced poor Justice PD Kode

3. Indian civil society turned its back on haneef, instead vilifying the prime minister when he made the mistake of confessing he had had a sleepless night about Haneef's parents.

Now I am no right winger or a left winger. And no Rhodes Scholar like Ms. Ghose. But hey, I don't need to be one to call this what it actually is.

India's prisons choc-a-bloc with Muslims. Full marks for creativity. I think she should have gone ahead and thought of what the blood-sucking Hindu's, with the proverbial 'immune from prosecution' swagger would name the prisons(probably Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Karachi....)

And thank goodness we have Ms. Ghose to remind us of a the serious medical situation of Mr. Kode losing memory. What's next? Lets overturn Nanavati vs. Maharashtra

and bring in the jurors. That way it will be a collective memory loss, and that would sell well.

But I can't disagree about Mr. Singh's vilification. I thought Beard Blue blew it too. I mean, he's is the freaking Prime Minister of India, and he spoke like cry-baby. An Indian citizen is being held for some ridiculuos reason and all he's got to say is 'Oh I feel sorry for his parents'. Stand up and be counted. Use the damn phone. Call people. I think you have people in your office who do that for you. DO something. And talk about that. Not about your sleepless night. So, I do agree with you Ms. Ghose.

We have problems. I agree. Justice was delayed. And as long as there are lawyers, there will always be the cries of justice being denied. 14 years is a long time for anyone. For Shaikh. For Khairulla. For Qureshi. For Memon. And for everyone who knew someone who died that day.

But the intention was not to fill India's prisons with Muslims. Shaikh was treated innocent until proven guilty. So were most of them until Mr. Kode found reasons under law to call them criminals. And they can still get to the Supreme Court. And just as in the Parliament attack case, justice could rule in their favour this time.

I am with you on what has been done with the Srikrishna Commission Report. But its not because the Hindu's of India that the Report has not been actioned upon by the people in power. It is because the of the people in power who want to keep the Memon's coming. Give unto us a Memon and we will give you more Shah Bano's. Its the duplicity, not the conspiracy at play here.

The conspiracy of silence was when Awasi called himself a muslim first, a MLA next and attacked Taslima - and no one said a word.

Because, as long as there are Awasis and Memons, there will be people who will conspire to be silent in the hope that they can offer more Shah Bano's and forget about the Srikrishnas.

ZZZ

2007-08-07T12:59:00.000+05:30

I came across this Fake Steve Jobs news article today and checked it out. Its quite funny actually.

One write-up, in particular, was this interesting poke-job on Opensource.

Apart from these online escapades, I'm pretty much living the bored engineer life. Its back to the dreaded Bus-Office-Coffee-Cig-More coffee cig-Bus routine. I did manage to get through Friedman's soliloquy in The World Is Flat.

The more satisfying read was The Namesake. I must confess that Ms. Lahiri has inspired me to get back to reading fiction - something I stopped doing once I saw the brick-size LoTR back in college. I am now re-reading some O'Henry and plan to start off Scott Adams' God's Debris soon.

So Long Blog.

Quizzed!

2007-07-15T20:51:00.000+05:30

Gawd I am so utterly bored right now.

Correction. Have been bored the last 48 hours. The entire weekend was spent in the close confines of home.....or rather my room with an occasional step outside to umm....eat or poop.

Thank God for the internet. And broadband.

I just been hanging out in the web world. I can now conclude that a human being can survive for any length of time, all alone, by just looking at one website. Yes just one.

Craigslist.

You can find all kinds of things at Craigslist. All kinds. I mean it. For example:

Guy whose Turtle needs a booty call

Local TV News Bloopers

Rules of a break-up

I'm going nuts. Time for some TV.

PS: Oh yeah, by the way, I was so bored I took a 'News Quiz' at Reuters. Yeah, you read it right - a freaking news quiz. And as with any other test I've taken since kindergarten, I could not score over the magical 75th percentage.

Check it out.

1. The U.S. warned its citizens against travel to which region?

Darfur, Sudan

Vladivostok, Russia

Naples, Italy

Socotra, Yemen

2. A study from UCLA found that women are predisposed to prefer...

Brawny men

Slender men

Older men

Tall men

3. Undercover investigators who formed a dummy company with a P.O. box received what in 28 days?

A $650,000 loan from a leading subprime lender

A license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to buy enough material for a "dirty bomb"

Fifty-two credit card applications

"Fast-track" approval for multiple green cards

4. Which national leader has the lowest approval rating, in the latest poll in their country?

U.S. President Bush

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

President Nicolas Sarkozy

Russian President Vladimir Putin

5. Astronomers said they had discovered the best evidence yet of...

Active volcanos on Ganymede

A DNA spectral signature on Mars

Water outside our own solar system

Radio signals from Vega

6. In media industry lawsuit action this week...

A Chinese company is suing Google for copying its name

Google's CEO declared "Viacom is company built from lawsuits"

Microsoft is sued on claims its game console Xbox 360 scratches discs

Sun-Times Media is suing mogul Conrad Black for $542 million

Sony BMG is suing the company that developed its antipiracy software

A Muslim group lost a libel case over cartoon in Denmark

All of the above

The Knack

2007-07-12T19:32:00.000+05:30

I've always loved Dilbert and today I got a funny Dilbert clip via email. I thought I was smart when I managed to embed the video in my post; and then it hit me...

...Duh.....Blogger has the video reel...

So here you go....Welcome Dilbert!

And since tomorrow will sure be Another Day In Cubicle Paradise, where I will try to find more ways of Thriving on Vague Objectives thrust upon me by Random Acts of Management, I promise not to get involved in any Random Acts of Catness and instead will bring you some Dispatches from Cubicleland

Yours,
Fugitive From the Cubicle Police

PS: Everything that is italicized is a Dilbert compilation. It's Not Funny If I Have To Explain It

787

2007-07-09T21:10:00.000+05:30

Something tells me that 2007 will go down as the watershed year for technological innovation.

Just as I was getting over the goosebumps of looking at the iPhone, of raving on how 'cool' it was to have a feather-touch phone, Boeing, the airplane guys, have come out with a feather-touch plane. That's right. A feather-touch aircraft.

Although, I am awestruck everytime I see a aircraft fly (seriously, isn't it cool to see a mammoth metal contraption flying?), my experiences travelling in one have been less that pleasant (I ended up sleeping for two straight days after my travel back home last month. The flight was cramped, smelly and exhausting)

And therefore I am happy that atleast someone took notice and did something about it.

The Boeing 787 was launched on 7-8-7(hope those guys will not take the number game too seriously, else our desi astrologers will be motivated to ask Boeing to add an extra 'o' or 'i' to its name so that it can enlist the support of rahu and ketu in its battle for the skies with Airbus)

This aircraft is like the iPhone of commercial avaition. First up, its launch was eagerly awaited for months now. And even before Boeing built the damn thing, they sold 660 odd such planes for over $100 billion. Then comes yesterday's launch. Broad/Pod-casting to over 100 million people in over 45 countries, Boeing unveiled its baby on a misty morning in Seattle.

And its totally worth the hype. Some things that knocked me off:

1. The huge windows - that extend over the height of the seat

2. The teeny-tiny feather-touch button that can tint the window. Yes, no more window shutters to pull down :)

3. Roomy seats. Just like a pod in one of those space-ships

4. Seat operated climate and light control

4. Awesome lighting and entertainment options

5. Other cool stuff like a composite body, a cleaner and more efficient engine and stuff.

Its called the Dreamliner.

What the iPhone doesn't have

2007-06-28T16:07:00.000+05:30

The list is out and is growing.

Some of what is listed as missing must have been there, though.

No way to search phone book or song lists

Now, I thought the world had finally got the utility of 'search'. So many of the desi names begin with either 'r' or 's' - and it would be a nightmare to scroll through everyone you know on the face of the earth to get to the one you want talk to.

Can't turn iPod songs into ring tones

Ah! subtle!, but point taken. Just when you thought you could have your favourite Metallica song(from that pirated CD) as your ringtone........

No way to download contacts from old phones

So this data entry job is going to be outsourced to desis?

Can't cut and paste

Whatever happend to those computer engineers at Apple?

They are talking iPhone 2.0.

BangaloreLive!!

2007-06-28T15:05:00.000+05:30

Its now been exactly 26 days since I returned to Bangalore after a 20 odd month hiatus. The city is still the same - bustling with activity, noise, smoke, dust and plenty of people working IT jobs.

Turns out the office environment is more conducive to productive pursuits such as blogging etc than I had imagined. Still, given my predisposition to being lazy, the extra time, I am sure will not amount to much.

The much anticipated iPhone will hit the stores tomorrow. Of the 68 million odd reviews by as many number of 'experts', only some stand out as useful to the guy who doesn't know if a phone, even a cool phone, is worth $500.

Here is one

One thing you probably didn't know, and I quote:
"Apple says that the battery starts to lose capacity after 300 or 400 charges. Eventually, you’ll have to send the phone to Apple for battery replacement, much as you do now with an iPod, for a fee. "

......much as you do now with an iPod...??? Holy! I wouldn't have spent 235 bucks (and an additional 15 to get my name engraved in microscopic alphabets) if I knew that before. ...or......er......maybe not........maybe....

Top Jobs!

2007-05-04T22:58:00.001+05:30

Will come back to talk about these!

Top20 jobs

Virginia Tech Massacre

2007-04-18T06:43:00.000+05:30

"We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech ... "
-- Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor, poet, activist

One of the most touching and inspiring speeches I've ever heard.

May their soul rest in peace.

2007-04-15T01:09:00.000+05:30

Lazy Saturday noon. Had much to take care of, but as usual inaction is in action.

Last week, my beloved room-mate, pseudo-commie, cowboy and self-proclaimed father of asinine fundas, Brahma, left Weston for good(an IP trace on his recent blog indicates that theres a good chance he's back in TVM)

He left behind many things. But the biggest void is at his corner office at Apt. 208. This was Giddusheik's Shantiniketan. Laptop, pillow, chiar, cigarettes, chocolate milk and wi-fi. A heady mix.

My heart sinks everytime I walk past the corner office now...

His roomie, Abrupt, long-supperessed under eccentric and tyrannical presence of Brahma, has now gone bonkers with the new freedom. Finally free, he has been breathing victory and vengeance.

Here he is, clearing out the last remnants of Giddusheik......proudly announcing that only word would now 'resound' in his chambers..

And as if 'clearing' Giddu was not enough, The Counter, as we fondly invoke the spirit of Abrupt, came up with another ingenious display of his love for his ex-roomie.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE FOLLOWS. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.

(if you can't see, the gloves Abrupt is wearing reads 'BRAHMA')

And from my side, the best tribute I could pay to my ex-roomie, is this.

So long.