What a newsense!

X-page chargesheet

2009-08-13T21:24:00.003+08:00

It started with Ajmal Kasab, now it's Shiney Ahuja. Today's headline on IBN:

109-page chargesheet filed against Shiney Ahuja

What is this obsession of with the number of pages in a chargesheet? Does it really matter?!

This is like our Profs asking us to write a 10-page report on a topic. Is the number of pages or what's in it that matter?!

A Revolution

2009-08-09T17:33:00.002+08:00

What's the meaning of this word?

In a dictionary I can find.

What's the meaning of this film?

From the critics I can deduce.

What's the meaning of this poem?

In the poet's history I can learn.

What about life?

Where can I find the meaning of life?

In the scriptures some say.

No. It is not there I can attest.

In it, I saw an equally confused man

Posing question after question

Answer, he has none.

Does the creator have the answer?

None, I feel.

The thinker disagrees,

yet, creation was a mere flip of a dice

To me it seems.

Round and round it goes,

Various facets it reveals over time

Only to disappear and reappear later,

Again and again in random fashion.

Randomness and repetitiveness

We see in history.

Round and round we go.

From the most elementary part within us,

To the heavens at unfathomable distance.

'round the clock,

From east to west,

'round the Sun.

Left to right and back,

The One to None and back.

What's the meaning of life?

The answer, no doubt,

would be Revolutionary.

Who is Mark Twain?

2009-08-04T19:46:00.000+08:00

Who is Mark Twain? from Flash Rosenberg on Vimeo.

Labelled diagrams

2009-07-30T20:45:00.005+08:00

Opposition alleges rice scam and stages a walk out, reports PTI. CNN-IBN helps us understand the news further with this self explanatory picture:

What's the point of those red circles?! Reminds of my Biology teacher who used to be really strict about labelling each and every diagram on the answer paper. May be someone similar trained these smart guys at IBN.

By the way, walk outs have become too frequent that I'm starting to believe those are not protests rather just part of their healthy lifestyle.

On The Role of Opposition

2009-07-29T12:28:00.003+08:00

In today's Face The Nation (or as I call endearingly, F*ck The Nation) there was an interesting quote by Muzaffar Beig, the dude you levelled charged against Omar Abdullah

We should leave this behind us for peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir. As Opposition we will support the government on all issues

Really?!

Savita bhabhi and a bunch of loonies

2009-07-24T18:26:00.005+08:00

Surprised by the kind of media attention Savita Bhabhi, "India's first porn comic", is getting both within India and outside. Porn is not a rarity anymore, it's everywhere! Apparently, the ban on it by the government seems to worked out well for the creators of the site.
To start with, the ban by the government was utter silly and a clear violation of a citizen's rights. This kind of moral policing is no different that what the Sri Ram Sena and Shiv Sena undertakes every now and then.
But, almost all the columns written against this ban have stressed on an another issue: liberation of Indian women, emancipation of women in India and so on.
Pritish Nandy writes "Savita Bhabhi is a symbol of freedom, of empowerment, of the sexuality our women can wield if they are allowed to escape the sham world we Indian men trap them in because of our own fears of sexual inadequacy masquerading as machismo"
I found couple of other news and articles which concur with this view. Well I have nothing to say than these views are just a pile of B.S. and shame on the goverment for banning it.
For heaven sake it's porn!

Update

Here's a compilation of some of expert B.S. again in TOI

An article in Global Post

Interview of the creator of Savtia Bhabhi on Global Post. He is just a dude like any one of us, at least that it looks like in the interview.

Thousand words

2009-07-17T10:53:00.000+08:00

Frankly Speaking: Shashi Tharoor

2009-07-06T18:08:00.005+08:00

Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now interviews Dr Shashi Tharoor.

The interview is quite good and I must say that the interviewer was spot on with his questions. He didn't give much space for Tharoor to escape!

There is a second part too. Don't miss it.

Deepika's regret...

2009-07-01T16:58:00.003+08:00

Whoever is entering these news for IBN is doing a great job! This sort of entertainment is not rare on IBNLive yet I feel this one is worth mentioning!

Here's is another gem

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the gleaming new $325 million bridge, called the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), which was conceived over four decades ago.

and then in the same news...

The 5.6-km bridge on the Arabian Sea cost Rs 1,634-crore ($16.34 billion) and...

Few days ago there was another gem from IBN itself!

What the fish?!

The King is dead, Long Live the King!

2009-06-26T10:25:00.002+08:00

MJ is no more. One of the few singers I've been listening to since I was a kid.

Emotional Athyachaar

2009-06-24T14:37:00.007+08:00

I don't have a headphone with me right now, so I can't verify my guess at the moment.
Going by the news report about the delayed monsoon and Pawar being out of station, I believe the interviewer is Rajdeep Sardesai. I can sense a deep emotional touch (sobbing) to the questions asked to Sharad Pawar: "Sir, people are worried", "Do you feel your Ministry must be missing you?".
Rajdeep Sir, Why do you doing this to us? sob...sob...Why?! :'(
Ok, now I'm being silly...

Update: I was wrong. It was some other reporter and it seems Rajdeep is training her.

Fair and Lovely!

2009-06-24T11:08:00.003+08:00

Iran's Guardian Council says the number of votes exceeded the number of voters in 50 cities by 3 million votes but the overall votes are valid!

This comment is fucking awesome!

Sorry...I know "fuck" is profane but "fucking awesome" is good overall, ain't it?!

The Escape

2009-06-22T21:10:00.002+08:00

Here's an account of the escape of the NYT journalist David Rohde and his Afghan translator Tahir Ludin from the hands of Taliban.

Their mental strength and their presence of mind needs to be applauded!

I see scope for a movie here...hmm!

What the fish?!!

2009-06-20T16:12:00.005+08:00

Check out this redonkulous news report on IBN. Here are the highlights of it:

A Russian cargo aircraft AN-124, which was hired by the US military, triggered panic at the Mumbai airport on Friday night.

So a Russian cargo plane hired by US military...ok! The report continues...

The AN-124 aircraft is used by military to haul cargo and is owned by a Ukraine-based logistics and cargo company.

Ukraine company?! Russian..Ukraine?! This doesn't end here...

On landing, the Russian crew of the aircraft was immediately taken for questioning...

Russian crew?! So what about the "hired by US military" part?!

Does the reporter even have a clue what the heck happend?!

Contrasting fears

2009-06-13T12:43:00.002+08:00

I've been following the news about the health reform debate now raging in US. It is interesting to see the stark difference in how the Americans and we view the role of government.

In all their debates you can sense a deep fear of government run programs. They talk about government take overs, big government-small government and so on. At the same time, in India, we fear a private sector take over, we'd love the government provide everything for us, even mere disinvestment to 51% causes lot of furore in our country!

Jus an observation.

Boring

2009-06-12T23:13:00.002+08:00

It seems like nothing significant is happening in our country or is it that our media has no time to cover it and are obsessed with the T20 World Cup and other trivialities?!

Freakonomics Theme Song!

2009-06-12T12:24:00.001+08:00

from Freakonomics blog

Confucius says...

2009-06-04T13:42:00.001+08:00

Confucianism makes a comeback.

Raj...Wassup mate?!

2009-06-03T16:52:00.004+08:00

I'm curious to know what Raj Thackeray has got to say about the attack against Indian student in Australia. By what he has been saying all these years I assume he approves of these acts as both are basically doing the same thing- attacking people for taking away 'their jobs'!

By the way, Russian Consul General has likened these attacks to those on Russian tourists in Goa! Wonder what our media and 'Big B', who has been portraying a holier than thou attitude for a while now, got to say about this. Is Bachchan gonna reject all awards from India?!

It's not that these incidents were not happening, just that we got an opportunity to point finger at another country and conveniently forgot about our problems.

Awesome!

2009-05-28T21:11:00.003+08:00

Finally our President takes keen interest in something.

Rediff reports that the President took keen interest in the seating arrangement of the swearing ceremony!

Now we have hope of being a superpower this century!

Civility

2009-05-21T11:15:00.002+08:00

Finally I got the chance to listen to a civil discussion on CNN-IBN after a really long time! What else can you expect when the panel has Shashi Tharoor and Fareed Zakaria?...and also when Rajdeep Sardesai is not around?

Birthday syndrome

2009-05-20T14:40:00.003+08:00

Mulayam, Maya wants to be Congress' best friends.

"The Prime Minister called me his younger sister, so I have decided to offer outside support," said a subdued Mayawati.

"We have been asked by the Prime Minister to support the Congress, but don't make us bend over backwards," added Samajwadi Party General Secretary, Amar Singh.

Back in primary school days, everyone wanted to be best friends with the birthday boy!

'Inglourious Basterds'

2009-05-20T00:07:00.004+08:00

This is just another of my one-liner posts (or few-liner)...

I think one of the reasons UPA won the election quite convincingly is Dr Manmohan Singh. He didn't have to do anything, it was just his honesty & sincerity and Advani's cheap comments against him.

Hans Rosling TED Interview

2009-05-15T11:49:00.004+08:00

Hans Rosling, the global health professor, talks about a wide range of issues. Though a very small part, his comment on how media works was what I found most striking

The media misses a lot of things that change slowly. They have to use the annual report of the WHO on TB and explain those things. When I did my presentations at TED, no-one knew that Vietnam had become so healthy. Al Gore whispered to me, “I had no idea about what you said about Vietnam.” Steady change, they don’t report. The media is simply a bad source of knowledge and understanding.

The interview is worth reading. You might want to listen to Nandan Nilekani as well.

The Wikiback Effect

2009-05-14T14:55:00.004+08:00

Journalists use Wikipedia as the main source of information!

Till a while ago, I thought Advani's press statement was the funniest

According to Wikipedia, they totaled $ 2.6 trillions (Rs. 130 lakh crores in today’s exchange rate) in 2001. In 2007, they were believed to be about $5.7 trillions (Rs. 285 lakh crore), a staggering 80% increase in six years.

Save yourself

2009-05-10T20:49:00.000+08:00

Obesity and Fastness of Food

2009-05-07T12:07:00.003+08:00

Catherine Rampell finds an interesting correlation between the time spent on eating per day and obesity.

From Blogger Pictures

Anyway, as the article reminds us correlation is not causation.

Link via Marginal Revolution

I caught him red handed last night...

2009-05-03T02:47:00.000+08:00

From My Experiments With Light

"Didn't you get the memo?!"

2009-04-28T18:50:00.003+08:00

For the past few weeks, the American have been all riled up about the torture memos that their government made public. A hell lot of debate is going on about whether it was right to torture those suspected terrorists.

Will such a debate ever arise in India? In India, I think, it's like a given. You will be tortured if arrested for some suspected crime or may be even for nothing. No one makes a big deal about it.It's like a fact of life. We still have a huge baggage from the British colony days. We still fear the police.

Now that terrorism is on a high and more and more people are under the scanner, including innocent people, will this be an issue in the next election at least?

Like the American President says boldly "America does not torture", will our PM be able to say "India does not torture" in future?

I know it will take lot of time to unload the historical baggage but, an earnest effort should start now.

More like a tickle

2009-04-27T21:22:00.003+08:00

Finally I got to see how Dr Manmohan Singh "slammed" Advani! Just as I had suspected.

Now let me sleep...

History and Significance of Internet

2009-04-24T12:10:00.002+08:00

Interview with Lev Grossman and his recommended reading list.

"Michael Jordan of cricket"

2009-04-24T11:49:00.002+08:00

From Blogger Pictures

Found at iyerdeepak.wordpress.com

Elam Maya!

2009-04-21T18:58:00.003+08:00

Empress of Untouchables, ruler of India? - Aakar Patel

Mayawati: The Rise of India's Caste Warrior- Jeremy Kahn

It seems in this election Mayawati is attracting lot of international attention too. I have mixed feelings about her becoming the PM of India. On one side she represents the heights of corruption and divisive politics and on the other, a person from the lowest strata of our society becoming the PM through the democractic process will be a great event in our history, it will be empowering the Dalits, who have faced centuries of oppression.

And I feel the divisive politics that she plays i.e., appeasement of the Dalits, is a lesser evil compared to that played by the BJP which puts communities against each other. Another point is when most of the politicians are known to be corrupt, how is her corruption so different?

Compared to Dr. Manmohan Singh, I wouldn't want her to be PM but, IF the election results turn out in such a way that she will be PM, I think I will be ok with it and wish India can reach greater heights under her leadership. As the PM of India, I feel it is difficult to rule divisively especially when the government is supported by a coalition. And may be who knows may be she will turn out to be a surprise like Laloo Prasad Yadav!

An Apple a Day

2009-04-21T12:02:00.000+08:00

Seeds of Innovation.

Glimmers of Hope

2009-04-20T13:15:00.001+08:00

From My Experiments With Light

Even the darkest of time,

So black as ours,

Dark, it is not.

Silent the hours,

So quiet that I may be deaf,

Dead, it is not.

The glimmers, buzz,

From yonder.

Rural India

2009-04-17T19:42:00.005+08:00

I found this article in rediff about rural India. Interesting one till I saw this table

No of households (m)

Demographic classification Urban Rural Total
Rich ( income greater than Rs 1 m per annum) 4.8 1.3 6.1
Well off (income greater than Rs 0.5 m per annum) 29.5 27.4 56.9
Total 34.3 28.7 63.0
% of total 54.4% 45.6%
Source : Ministry of Communications & Information Technology , IndiaAs per the table 28.7 million households in rural india have income above Rs 5 lakhs per annum. Thats a lot of people and decent money! It makes me wonder what is 'rural' exactly? Is there any definition for it or just a relative term? I'm going to find out...

Then how would it have felt?!

2009-04-16T11:23:00.002+08:00

A spruce sapling was found growing in man's lung! He was operated upon complaints of severe chest pain and coughing blood. Strange!

But just as strange as the news was his reaction after the surgery

"It was very painful. But to be honest I did not feel any foreign object inside me"

Err...then how would it have felt if there was a foreign object inside you?!

Hand of God

2009-04-15T15:06:00.001+08:00

Courtesy NASA...I didn't take it!

These Journalists!

2009-04-07T19:07:00.005+08:00

What the hell is happening?! Can't these journalists even throw a shoe properly?!!

I was watching the video of Chidambaram's press conference. I expected it to be really dramatic as was in the case of George Bush Jr...I must say I was disappointed. That was the lousiest throw I've ever seen! By the way it went past the minister, I thought the shoe must have just slipped off his feet by mistake!

It must have been a pre-meditated throw...it didn't seem like he was in a fit of anger as it was in the Iraqi's case and hence the apprehensive/lousy throw. After he threw it, he must have been thinking "Oh shit! What did I dooo?!!"

On a serious note, I think this shoe throwing protest is almost become a cliche now. The shock and awe effect has waned off.

My previous posts about shoe throwing as an art!

Our lighter of Beedis!

2009-04-07T13:47:00.003+08:00

Guide to designing Indian Political Posters

From Blogger Pictures

Link via George

C for Chicken

2009-04-05T22:56:00.004+08:00

From My Experiments With Light

Swung my camera around at the Bird Park this weekend. It was great to see all the colour and vibe out there, though the rain played spoilsport.

Thoughout the park, there were boards warning us against illegal pets, conservation of forests to save the birds...even shows kept reminding us about saving the birds and their habitat.

Good!

But inside the park what I got for snacks was chicken sandwich! :-|

It's confirmed.

2009-04-03T23:05:00.005+08:00

I've always liked Raja Sen's (rediff.com cinema reviewer) style of writing. He has a very novel-like style and I feel he loves to flaunt it (a lot)! With this review, this feeling stands corroborated.

Great language, great style...but what's the point? I mean, for a movie review, is such 'colourful' writing at the cost of actual review worth it?! By looking at the rediff message board, I doubt whether such language will be even appreciated!

Some music lessons...

2009-04-02T10:39:00.002+08:00

This article is lesson for me at least, as I have no freaking idea about music theory or its science. I just listen, feel the emotion of the song and enjoy or throw it out!

The reason I liked this article is the fact that the author's reaction reaction(s) to the Delhi 6 songs and mine were the same. The only difference being he has an explanation for why the songs rock while I don't have a clue!

Social Emancipation in Tibet

2009-04-01T15:02:00.003+08:00

I have only heard sympathising views about Tibet and the efforts of Dalai Lama and the Tibet government in exile. Here's an article by N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu...somewhat like a pat on the back for the Chinese goverment for what they've done for the Tibetans.

N. Ram's view is opposite to the general view about the Chinese government that I have a feeling that what I understood from the article might be wrong! Anyway it's worth reading and let me know if I'm wrong.

I still feel Kerala hartal's better than WWF's Earth Hour!

2009-04-01T11:48:00.004+08:00

Here's Wiki data about 2009 Earth Hour:

The Capital city of India, Delhi's power demand fell by 1000MW. The “phenomenal” dip is attributed to the Earth Hour observed by Delhi on Saturday evening and the rain that brought the mercury down by a few notches.....

Pretty impressive! But one hour a year?..definitely not good enough! I had written(in my previous blog) in a lighter vein about hartals in Kerala and their positive impact on the environment. The impact of 168 hartals in the year 2006 makes energy saving during Earth Hour look like a joke!

Has anyone done a study on the carbondioxide reduction during hartal?!

If anyone corroborates my idea, please make sure you give a Nobel Peace Prize to the political parties in Kerala (esp. the Left) and the prize money to me.

Al Gore leaves his light on during Earth Hour!

2009-03-31T09:21:00.002+08:00

LOL!

Al responds.

Like someone commented on the news: "It's a crisis, when the person who told you it's a crisis acts like it's a crisis!"

Link found at instapundit.com

Anarchy!

2009-03-31T09:13:00.001+08:00

Anjali Waghmare withdraws from Kasab case due to attacks from Shiv Sena activists.

Few Good Men?

2009-03-30T14:58:00.004+08:00

Andrew Sullivan's article about Dick Cheney reminded me of the 1992 Hollywood flick 'A Few Good Men'. Here's an excerpt:

So Cheney is reduced to asserting that what he did saved countless lives and averted many plots. He is reduced to asserting the same Manichean view of the world that gave us Guantanamo, Bagram and the Iraq war: fighting terrorism is “a tough mean, dirty, nasty business”, he told Polit-ico, an American political website. “These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.”

and here's a dialogue of Col. Jessep (played by Jack Nicholson):

Son, we live in a world that has walls and those walls need to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and curse the Marines; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives...

Dick Cheney/Bush must be feeling just like Col. Jessep when people criticize them for torturing and wire tapping.

Gulal

2009-03-29T20:22:00.003+08:00

I loved the movie. Anurag Kashyap's style of story telling is fantastic and you don't get to see these in Indian cinema. The acting was great too. I didn't like the songs. They were very drama-like! May be lyrics are really good, I don't know about that as my Hindi isn't good enough but I could understand few things here and there. I'm watching a political film after a really long time!

It's a must-watch movie.

Newfound love.

2009-03-28T22:05:00.008+08:00

From My Experiments With Light

I've never liked these creatures. But suddenly I find myself awestruck by these huge, warty beasts. I find them really focused on what they're out to do and extremely stealth, just quietly slips into the water and...Look at those eyes!

Ok...i admit! I'm too lazy to write a proper blog post. Guilty as charged.

YouTube EDU

2009-03-28T08:48:00.002+08:00

Just like iTunes U, check out this link, you can listen to the course lectures (other events too) of some of the top universities in the world.

Enjoy!

Israeli view of Palestinian life in Gaza

2009-03-26T14:05:00.001+08:00

Found at thebrowser.com

Where are you from?

2009-03-26T11:46:00.003+08:00

What is Obama going to do as president? - Go to where he came from.

There have been loads of articles about Obama praising him, criticising him, predicting what he will be doing...this article is one more to the list. But the difference I find about this article is how they try to do it. Rather than analysing his campaign speeches, interviews and of course his books, here the author goes to the roots of his political career and finds out more about this formative years as politician. And I find that very interesting.

This article has come to me at a time when I've just finished reading the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. The theme of the book is just being a genius will not guarantee success. it depends the person's background, society, culture and times. May be more factors.

Worth reading- the book and the article.

What?!

2009-03-24T21:49:00.001+08:00

Tariq Aziz is christian.

I came to know this today and I'm blogging this because there might be many more people who will be flabbergasted by this trivia just like me. So there.

What is MMSji smoking?!

2009-03-24T18:17:00.005+08:00

One tight slap for Advani from Manmohan Singh

Good to see him give something back! I did not see the video of the PM saying those words but I can imagine MMS rebuking Advani in his typical saintly manner.

Hope I'm wrong.

Assorted links

2009-03-20T22:11:00.002+08:00

1) My Turkish Library Found link at indiauncut.com

2) Was Einstein Wrong?

3) 0.002 dollars is NEVER equal 0.002cents.

Definition of Success

2009-03-20T22:05:00.004+08:00

“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory is a benediction.” - Bessie A. Stanley

I found this quote at Freakonomics blog and just loved it. I thought I'd share it with you all.

Rafael sales pitch!

2009-03-12T15:03:00.007+08:00

Found this video- Israeli arms manufacturer, Rafael's ad (Dont miss it!)

Then I saw this article on rediff about the ad. The article ends with this line:

Watch and learn, young markerters. This is true out-of-the-box thinking!

Makes me wonder...Is the author serious?!! :-| It reminded me of this gem!

Found the video at indiauncut.com

The Fictitious One

2009-03-08T17:56:00.004+08:00

Clouded by conceit,

Tricked by his own deceit.

Like the one who refuse to toil

For, the illusion of intelligence would foil.

Deserves his respect, no work of art,

For, he too is capable as he is so smart.

Rigidity of thoughts, for flexibility is weakness,

Another of his illusion of greatness.

Believes in one, argues for another,

When being different comes by choice, not by nature.

Life lived as per how it's perceived,

Fakeness written all over it.

In Bruges- Review

2009-03-08T14:49:00.005+08:00

Funny as well as a dark movie about two hit men on a 'vacation' in Bruges, Beligum after an assignment. The movie is about clashing morals, guilt and the final judgement. The witty dialogues in the film saves it from getting mired in all the philosophical questions and an overdose of guilt. The movie also serves as a virtual tour for the city's prospective tourists. I'd love to be there and go on a photography spree! Colin Farrell's acting is another plus point of the movie.

The cinema is a good watch.

Goli mar mar mar...

2009-03-08T10:28:00.005+08:00

Chiru aims for CM post.

Michael Jackson announces his comeback...

and together we get this:

This video's made a comeback in my friends circle! Goli mar mar mar....

Dodging recession with grad school

2009-03-03T21:39:00.003+08:00

I think, this is the general thought process of every person- If there is a dearth of jobs in the market, go for higher studies. Even I concur with this line of thinking. So I found this article interesting because it says the opposite!

I don't agree completely with the article esp about the law school, med school and military comparison. I agree with the first point though, I don't agree with the word 'pointlessly' in the subtitle.

Found the link at Marginal Revolution.

Save yourself

2009-03-02T12:48:00.002+08:00

In the past decade, there is lot of ads and campaign about global warming, endangered species, water and other environmental problems. But no one seems to take it seriously. Why?

Environmentalist have been shouting slogans to save the planet. So all these years we have been obsessed with the notion that by conserving water, by minimizing pollution and so on we'll saving the planet. That's exactly why we don't give a shit to these activists! It's high time they focus on saving the human race rather than the planet as nothing is going to happen to Earth. As comedian George Carlin says this blue ball has been happily floating around the universe for billions of years and has seen things much worse than this!

We are just a bunch of selfish creatures...we won't do anything other than to save our ass!

What I'm saying isn't new but a news article in The Hindu triggered this post.

Trip to Bintan Island

2009-03-01T20:55:00.000+08:00

What Technology can do

2009-02-25T10:16:00.001+08:00

How Benjamin Button got his face: You just can't miss this video!

Joe the Plumber...Please stand up please stand up...

2009-02-24T10:57:00.002+08:00

Plumber shortage in America.

Joe the Plumber is a Republican Party celebrity now.

Plumbers are queuing in front of Obama meetings to ask him about socialism.

There is scope for a reality show here- Plumber idol?!

Mixed feelings about the Oscars

2009-02-23T13:37:00.002+08:00

Delighted that Rahman won two Oscars!

Sad that Milk didn't get the Best Picture award but happy that Sean Penn got the Best Actor. He truly deserved it.

My Eyes and the Movies

2009-02-23T10:04:00.004+08:00

I'm watching a LOT of movies off late. This weekend itself I watched five movies- three at the theatre and two online!

My eyes are totally screwed up!

The Oscar ceremony has started, My vote is on Milk for the Best Picture.

The Wrestler- Review

2009-02-23T09:33:00.003+08:00

It didn't make me cry as their ad says, but I loved the movie.

The movie is about an old and almost retired wrestler (of the WWF kind) coming to terms with his loneliness. This is the first time I seeing a movie about the life of a wrestler, his life in the ring and out of it. It was interesting to see what happens behind the scene, how they plan the fights and how they 'fake' all the injuries. It's fake because it's not caused because of the fight, they actually cut themselves up- self mutilation to be precise! Some of the scene were gory!

It's an intense movie. Some touching dialogues. Good acting. And a sad ending.

And dont miss the credit song: "The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen. It's a beautiful song just as the media says!

The Pink Panther 2- Review

2009-02-23T09:14:00.006+08:00

Steve Martin continues to crack me up! This movie is slap-stick to core and I just loved it! The plot is almost the same as the first one-Inspector Jacques Clouseau is again put on a high level mission, he gets kicked out, he eventually comes back to solve the case with some totally unrelated clues.

I was surprised to see that Aishwariya Rai got a pretty chunky role in the movie. I had this impression that she would be given very less screen time. Anyway I was wrong!

I feltl the intro animation of the movie wasn't as good as the first part.

If you enjoyed the first part, you'll enjoy this one too!

Delhi 6 - Review

2009-02-21T02:04:00.004+08:00

Let me start with the postives:

The movie is really good in conveying the whole sense of the locality. The people there and the events and dialogues going around are so real that I could immediately relate to them. The director succeeds in portraying the class/caste divisions, the superstitions as well as the unity in the society.

The movie puts across a quite convincingly a message of religious unity and the petty-mindedness of the politicians. As one of my friend said we should have more movies of such message to keep reminding the people about the futility of religious clashes.

The dialogues are quite good and at times even touching.

Now for the negatives:

The ending of the film sucks!....BIG TIME!

The director fails to use the songs well in the movie.

He uses Sonam Kapoor very little in the movie.

The first half of the movie is all bits and pieces and almost unrelated scenes with no continuity. May be thats the what the director wanted but I didn't like it.

and, Abhishek Bachchan can't do sentimental scenes!

I can't think of anything about the movie now...its 2:15am here, time to sleep!

Overall I would give a 50-50 for the movie. Just ok (thats a tired ok!)

Twittering

2009-02-19T22:20:00.005+08:00

I'm on twitter.

It is like a website for facebook status update alone (which I never update)! I kind of found it boring and I don't know how long this tweeting will continue. But then, on second thought, for a lazy guy like me, who doesn't want to take the effort to write even a full paragraph, this might be a good solution.

There are lot of issues that I care and feel like writing my opnion about, but I just don't write because I'm too lazy to do it. Now I just have to type in few words to express my thoughts. No reasoning, no facts and figures, no attempt to convince the reader!

This is exactly why I like writing poems!

Valkyrie - Review

2009-02-15T23:01:00.003+08:00

I enjoyed the movie. It's a historical thriller about a group of men plotting to kill Adolf Hitler which of course, failed. Though the result of their planning and execution are known to all, the movie was gripping enough to make me wish for their success!

The actors did a great job esp. Tom Cruise. These kind of roles really suit him. The movie was well-paced without even a moment of drag.

The movie is definitely worth a watch.

She's alive!

2009-02-11T01:01:00.001+08:00

It took a death scare to know that our President is alive!

Open letter: My dear critics of Slumdog Millionaire...

2009-02-08T16:24:00.007+08:00

...critics who slam the movie because it shows India in bad light, my question to you is-

Do you think India has slums and things shown in the movie (about slums) happen here?

If your answer is "No", you deserve a tight slap right across your face. If your answer is "Yes", yet again you deserve a tight slap!

Slap, in the former case, is for living in a state of denial. How can one not know that such things happen in India?! Or are you blinded by your pseudo-patriotism?

Slap, in the latter, is for criticising the filmmakers for portraying that part of India. Isn't it the creative liberty of any maker to focus on the issue he/she would like to? Who are you to tell them which story to shoot? Most of you who fall under this category are movie makers...this is what surprises me! This must be another case of envy in the industry.

If you want to criticise, you can do that about how the movie was made, not what the movie is about.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-Review

2009-02-08T15:34:00.004+08:00

The movie is not for those who are looking for entertainment of the Holly/Bollywood kind. This is an art movie with a beautiful story of a man born old and getting younger as time passes. I was really engrossed by the film. You might feel a bit of drag midway but the movie, every now and then, will jolt you from that with an interesting dialogue or scene. I found the narration very novel-like.

I found the acting quite mediocre and if there's anything to appreciate the movie that would be the script and the make up!

Definitely an Oscar worthy cinema. Sad that it has to compete with Slumdog Millionaire which is entertaining and feel-good movie but, in my opnion, not worthy of an Oscar/Golden Globe nomination (for Best Picture).

DevD-Review

2009-02-07T02:12:00.003+08:00

Awesome movie. Next to perfect. Must watch!

Tight script. Beautifully paced.

All the actors do justice to their roles from the helper boy Sunil to the lead character Dev.

Music, as I had mentioned in a previous post, is just fabulous! (Now I know why I felt "heavy at heart" after listening to the music) It sets the mood of the movie and the characters perfectly. Runs in the background without interrupting the flow of the movie. Well, isn't that how music should be used...rather than actors bursting into song out of the blue?!

Camerawork is good too. He hasn't used lot of Guy Ritchie style as I had suspected in my previous post.

I can't really think of any major negatives except that they could have improved the English dialogues in the movie.

Overall: a beautiful movie!

I'm loving it!

2009-02-04T23:44:00.005+08:00

The past few days I'm treating myself with A.R.Rahman's latest release, Delhi-6 music. He continues to amaze me with his experiments with sounds. The first time I heard this album I couldn't help but give out a chuckle with the thought, "Son of a bitch! He's just enjoying himself!"

I'm savouring every bit of it!

You can listen to the songs here.

Photographs

2009-02-01T23:58:00.004+08:00

After taking a complete break for 10 days from the news and blogs, I must admit, I don't feel like restarting it and being oblivious to whats happening in this world meant a great load was off my mind!

I've started reading the news again but very minimal. I don't plan to write any comments on them any time soon.

In the mean time I'm posting some pictures I took today.

City Hall - 01/02/09

Hasta la Vista, Baby!

2009-01-15T14:59:00.006+08:00

My blogging will be slow for the next 10 days. I'm going home baby!

In my absense in the blogosphere the world may seems senseless, news may not make any sense. All I can say is just "Hang on...I'll be back"!

In the mean time, I've asked Dave Chappelle to entertain you guys. He is one of the best comedians to take on the Black-White divide in US. Enjoy the playlist!

"How many schools do we have to blow up before we cease?"

2009-01-15T11:55:00.003+08:00

Hillarious, thought-provoking and extremely sad to see people(loonies) like these.

Seriously!

2009-01-14T14:22:00.004+08:00

I didn't know we had a office in India called the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. Why not have a department for Cold-blooded murder? Lets think of more adjectives and start more such offices.

How about Office of Awesome Technologies and Innovations?

Time out!

2009-01-14T13:50:00.003+08:00

This lady doesn't seem to let of the media any time soon. Or is it the other way around? These days we get a lot of frivolous news along with the 'real' news. Like Obama's puppy, his blackberry, then I came this blog post which drives home this point convincingly.

I wouldn't say remove all such news, as there are people who'd love to read these. At least make a separate section. It would make life easier for everyone. Why put the news about Obama's puppy in 'Politics' section? Just because he is a politician?!

Heaven On My Side

2009-01-13T20:44:00.001+08:00

Everyone observes the same world

But from different sides.

Yet, Isn't it beautiful,

That two can see the same?

As though the world is turned around,

So that we can see the other side.

Or is it we who move around the world?

Or is it just the power of our imagination?

Imagine a world

Where no two can see the same.

How difficult it would be,

is hard to imagine.

Immersed in one's own view,

not wanting to see another

is dangerous if not foolish.

Like the blind men feeling the elephant,

We, men, are groping in the dark

making claims with a certitude

only God can boast about.

There is no shame in looking at the world

from an other man's view.

There is nothing shameful to be mesmerised

by the beauty seen from a new view.

Nor is there any shame to be disgusted

by the filth perceived from an other side.

We see the same things,

We see it differently.

Take a peek on the other side,

It just might be heaven.

Previous Poems: 1, 2, 3

Dev D

2009-01-13T18:47:00.005+08:00

I love the trailer. I get the feel of a Guy Ritchie movie each time I see the trailer esp., the camera work. The songs are really good too but, why do I feel 'heavy at heart' after every time I listening to the entire album?! Does anyone else feel the same (or some weird feeling)?

Here's the trailer and If you haven't listened to the music yet, you can do that here.

If you haven't watched any Guy Ritchie movie then check out Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, RocknRolla...

Here's a short film by him:

He made this brilliant Nike commercial too.

Enjoy!

Jodhaa Akbar

2009-01-13T15:28:00.005+08:00

This is an outdated post for most of you, I know. But to me, it's very current. I finally watched Jodhaa Akbar last weekend. As Hindi is not my first language I watch only those Hindi movies which are recommended. I've been dragging it all these months as my friends said it wasn't a good movie.

Contrary to what my friends had suggested, I found the movie really good. The way Ashutosh Gowarikar depicted the love story struck a chord just like it had happened with Swades. The subtle romance that lingers around throughout the movie. Though the love story was not the main part of Swades, that is what comes to my mind when I think about Swades.

The only problem, If I can call it that, was that it was a lil bit long. I couldn't figure out which scenes should have been cut though. It seems for the director three hours is the optimum time!

After Lagaan, Swades and now Jodhaa Akbar, I'm a big fan of Ashutosh Gowarikar.

Love from the bottom of my Kidney

2009-01-13T12:47:00.003+08:00

"Richard Batista can live with his broken heart. He just can't bear his cheating wife living with his healthy kidney...."

How can one not blog about such a story?!

Update: More about it from Freakonomics Blog.

Merciless Killing

2009-01-12T17:39:00.004+08:00

Why does religious institution have to meddle with an individual or his family's choices? Same applies to the government. Kerala government is making a move to legalise euthanasia and all the dummies are up in arm.

There are millions who don't believe in the principles of the church. Why trouble them by scuttling this law? If the church is so concerned about it, educate its members about what Jesus would do (?!) and leave the choice to them.

Why let a terminally ill person suffer in this world? Have some mercy!

A R Rahman wins Golden Globe!

2009-01-12T14:58:00.005+08:00

Yipee!

This is a proud day for all Indians. He is a true genius and he deserves it. Hopefully this award is going to be a huge break for Rahman in the international circuit. Go for the Oscars man!

But I have to say another sad day for the Pandas: Kung Fu Panda loses to Wall-E.

I ask all the Pandas to go bite people working on robots.

Ouch!...Not me, everyone except me, MF!

Obama saddened by my blog post

2009-01-12T11:55:00.002+08:00

Obama was deeply saddened by my previous blog post in which I said "...I was a fan of Obama..." and by what I wrote in the comment section. He said

"...it's heartbreaking. And obviously what that does is it makes me much more determined to try to break a deadlock that has gone on for decades now."

I'd love to believe this is the reason why he said what he said.

Anything American

2009-01-10T23:38:00.004+08:00

What is this obsession of ours with doing everything exactly like America? During the whole US election season our media were going after every political pimp wondering is he going to be "our Obama"! They even went as to call Mayawati as the Indian equivalent of Obama!

On CNN-IBN there were panel discussions after discussions about this very point. Though I was a big fan of Obama, even I felt embarrassed by this kind of drooling(literally).

It seems this obsession didn't end there. Now our media are pondering whether the Satyam fiasco is India's Enron!

Honestly, can't we even have a scandal of our own?!

Ghajini becomes the biggest domestic earner

2009-01-10T16:27:00.003+08:00

Wow! I liked the movie but...this big?! The news says it grossed more than DDLJ.

Is it because of the inflation in ticket price? I would like to know how many tickets were sold.

Again Panda gets the bad rap

2009-01-10T15:52:00.003+08:00

Gu Gu bit another kid.

As the NTU spokesperson for the Pandas all I got to say is "Calm down fellas! I'll have a chat with the bugger"

But what the hell was the victim doing?! This is what he said:

"The panda is a national treasure, and I love and respect [him], so I didn't fight back," Zhang said. "The panda didn't let go until it chewed up my leg and its mouth was dripping with my blood."

May be he feared he would be charged for destruction of national treasure! Its China, you never know!

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fact to Fiction in 52 years

2009-01-10T15:29:00.002+08:00

I haven't read the book Atlas Shrugged but I thought my friend(s) who has read the book and is interested in the current financial turmoil might want to read this article.

Happy reading!

(Link found at Instapundit.)

How Yuvvraj screwed many more people's life

2009-01-10T11:09:00.005+08:00

Interesting video I found at indiauncut.com about how a couple tourists were called to be part of the extras in Yuvvraj and how their day went. But what surprised me was these dufs went along with this guy on the street!

Then that closing statement:

"I couldnt help wondering that it must have been strangely empowering for the guys at the 'Casting Planet' to be able to take advantage of the West for once"

Who in their right mind would go if some shady guy came up and said "You can be part of this amazing movie...."?!

They will!...Blame these nitwits for their own trouble, not the industry or Casting Planet!

"Special Envoy" to Israel

2009-01-08T11:48:00.005+08:00

Guess who that special envoy is....Joe The Plumber!!

Oh man! the whole of Israel is excited about his visit. Jews weren't this excited even when Jesus came. Is he The One they were waiting for?!

He was obviously the one McCain was waiting for:

Old video, but I love watching McCain's facial expression..."You're all Joe the Plumber!".

Priceless!

An Industry that Needs to be Bailed Out

2009-01-08T09:50:00.004+08:00

American Porn Industry asks for $5bn bail out.

I think they made a better case than the auto industry

"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It's time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly."

And here's some interesting facts:

Flynt and Francis concede the industry itself is in no financial danger — DVD sales have slipped over the past year, but Web traffic has continued to grow.

Increase in Web traffic? Natural fall out of the increase in lay offs I guess!

Thousand Words

2009-01-07T20:13:00.003+08:00

I loved this picture. Look at Omar's face...overflowing with love for his people!

Celebrating the Scientific Experiment

2009-01-07T19:27:00.003+08:00

Every science-loving person should watch this:

One of his childhood experience, reminded of one of mine.

Enjoy!

Panda

2009-01-07T17:27:00.005+08:00

This is for all my friends out here who call me 'Panda' just coz I loved the movie KungFu Panda (!)..Let me tell you something, if you didn't like the movie there's something wrong with you assholes! :D

Anyway I have to admit I found this picture cute!

Demographic classification	Urban	Rural	Total
Rich ( income greater than Rs 1 m per annum)	4.8	1.3	6.1
Well off (income greater than Rs 0.5 m per annum)	29.5	27.4	56.9
Total	34.3	28.7	63.0
% of total	54.4%	45.6%