I am tracking Fall in PA this year by taking photos of the same subject over the entire season. This is the first of the set taken last Sunday, the 28th of August, 2005.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Fall Tracker: 08-28-2005
I am tracking Fall in PA this year by taking photos of the same subject over the entire season. This is the first of the set taken last Sunday, the 28th of August, 2005.
Monday, August 08, 2005
No hassle or too much hassle
If you live in the US, you probably are groaning even thinking about it. If you work in India as a software engineer or as a professional in a big city, you pretty much know what I am talking about. Why do the credit card companies torture us with the unending mailers for pre-approved credit card offerings?. I have had days when I got 4 of them. On an average I get about 10 pre-approved card applications a month. And that doesnt include the ancillary credit card offerings like magazine subscriptions and credit protector schemes and what not. I have cursed them so many times, and still fallen short of how many preapproved applications I have received from them.
The bad news is that it never gets better. As your credit improves, the offers pour in more and more. The good news is that you can actually stop this mail bombardment. The credit bureaus offer you a choice of phone in (1-888-5-OPTOUT), mail in or an online mechanism of opting out of receiving the applications. All methods come with a big caveat- revealing your social security number. While there is no obvious threat to doing so, such a move needs to be done judiciously. Here are some websites to help in the decision making process.
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/3/1/13940/79585
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs24a-optout.htm
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs24-finpriv.htm
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t
Hope this helps. And as a friend told me, never trash your preapproved card offers as is. Shred them to avoid any possibility of privacy theft.
Update: As per a legal ruling, the preapproved ads I have been getting since August last week (after the time of this posting) give me the option of opting out from the ads. The notice bears the aforementioned number and website for the same.
To opt out of telemarketing calls, please use www.donotcall.gov. Its very effective.
The bad news is that it never gets better. As your credit improves, the offers pour in more and more. The good news is that you can actually stop this mail bombardment. The credit bureaus offer you a choice of phone in (1-888-5-OPTOUT), mail in or an online mechanism of opting out of receiving the applications. All methods come with a big caveat- revealing your social security number. While there is no obvious threat to doing so, such a move needs to be done judiciously. Here are some websites to help in the decision making process.
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/3/1/13940/79585
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs24a-optout.htm
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs24-finpriv.htm
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t
Hope this helps. And as a friend told me, never trash your preapproved card offers as is. Shred them to avoid any possibility of privacy theft.
Update: As per a legal ruling, the preapproved ads I have been getting since August last week (after the time of this posting) give me the option of opting out from the ads. The notice bears the aforementioned number and website for the same.
To opt out of telemarketing calls, please use www.donotcall.gov. Its very effective.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Kalimdor Diary
This is a collage of pictures taken while I(Bheema and Bheeshma - my game characters) visited Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdom in the World of Warcraft.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
No spoilers here. This past weekend, Shalini and my wait for the sixth Harry Potter book came to an end. We had preordered a copy at the local Borders and picked it up on Saturday. Here is a quick review with no spoilers whatsoever.
The book is great but could have been better. Bear in mind that J.K.Rowling is so good that even a less than fantastic effort from her is much better than most books out there. That said, the focus on apparently unimportant issues (could become important in the last book but does not appear so, to me) is more than the important ones. Romance is given lot more space than in the past and understandably so. The kids are 16 and romance is pretty high on the list of 16 year olds. I would have preferred a little less romance but thats just me. There is much more Dumbledore-Harry interactions in this book than ever before and that is a good thing. Sometimes a bit too disconnected but nevertheless pretty interesting, we see more of the human side of the great HeadMaster that we always wanted but never got until the sixth book.
Harry is not a pain in the a$% like in the "Order of the Phoenix". In fact he is the total opposite. He is mature, intelligent and getting to be the role model he is expected to be at the end of the series. The lovable Harry who got lost in Book 5 makes a triumphant return in book 6. Ron and Hermione undergo changes too and for the better. Ginny gets more space and so do a bunch of people.
The two main characters in Book 6 are Snape and Dumbledore, not to mention Harry and each one gets an excellent character exploration from Rowling. The Book is worth reading for just them if not anything else.
Finally, there is a death. Much more sadder than Sirius's death in Book 5 and far reaching too. For the faint hearted and emotional ones, there are tears here for certain. So be prepared with hankies and all.
The stage is all set for the final book in the Harry Potter series. It is expected in 2007 but could very well get to 2008. Nevertheless, the events have been set in motion and the reader can be assured of an explosive ending to the beloved series. I personally cant wait for the final book!
Enjoy.
Image Courtesy: Scholastic and Bloomsbury. Picture refers to the cover of the deluxe edition.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Three days in Chicago: A casual tourist guide
Its hard to imagine cities bigger and nicer, having lived in Philly, Boston and Dallas, not to mention being close to NYC, Baltimore and DC. While Chicago doesnt match NYC in size it does come very close if not match the big East coast cities in being a sheer tourist delight. My wife and I were lucky to get a room along the Chicago river and right opposite to the Wrigley Building. This meant that we could see all the downtown attractions without having to worry about travel.Downtown Chicago is magnificent, not just because of its high rises, but also its picturesque location by the Chicago river and the glorious Lake Michigan. The Magnificent Mile (N.Michigan Avenue) is a shoppers paradise. Lake Michigan is a true jewel in Chicago's crown. Spending time walking by Grant Park was an awesome experience embellished to no less extent by the annual Taste of Chicago food festival. This being the 4th of July weekend, fireworks were aplenty. We chose to see the one on the 3rd of July over Lake Michigan from Grant Park. This was one well attended event with
people everywhere. For more on that, check the previous post titled Resident Evil.For art and museum lovers, Chicago is an absolute delight. There are museums of all sorts peppered all over town. We chose to visit the excellent Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue. With nice sections on European Impressionists, it was a great trip. The best part though was to come outside the Museum and see the section of road named Swami Vivekananda way. For a moment, my chest swelled with pride. Rarely does one get to see such public recognition of an Indian in the US. The second museum we visited was the very unique and interesting Museum of Science and Industry. This is supposedly a kids place but has so much for adults that makes it a must visit for all ages.
A sight to behold is the view of Chicago and the Lake from atop the Hancock Observatory or the Sears Towers. We chose the former based on recommendations from friends and it was definitely a glorious sight atop the skyscraper.
Last but not the least a trip to Chicago is incomplete without a walk by the uniquely designed, excellently executed Millenium Park. An oasis amidst skyscrapers, its so unique, it needs to be seen to be experienced.
This was all we could squeeze in three days and there was so much leftto do. So we are already looking forward to a trip in the future where an evening Buddy Guy's Legends blues place, an evening in the Navy Pier and a ballgame at the venerable Wrigleys Field would take priority over everything else.
The Windy City sure is rockin'!
Friday, July 08, 2005
Resident Evil
This photo is a collage of photos taken after the fireworks shown in the previous photo near Grant Park in Chicago. It reminds me of zombies from any one of the tens of zombie horror movies.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Fireworks over Lake Michigan
This is a collage of pictures taken during an excellent fireworks display at Grant Park in Chicago on 3rd July. It was glorious to watch and crowded too, in the company of probably a 100000 people.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Take me out to the ballgame
A stopgap pic while I write my next post. This shot was taken during last week's trip to the Phillies-NY Mets baseball game at the Citizens Bank ballpark in Philly. And no, the red does not mean that I support the Phillies, it means I support the RedSox :)
Monday, June 20, 2005
A Tale of Two Movies
Last weekend, I had a chance to catch up with two of the biggest Hollywood and Kollywood offerings this summer. On Friday, I saw Batman Begins on IMAX and on Saturday I drove all the way to North Bergen, NJ to see Anniyan. I shall try to objectively review and compare the two in this post. Bear in mind that my tastes have changed significantly over the last five years I have been in the US and might even indicate a bias towards all things American. I can assure the reader that while its a possibility, its not always the case, since I loved Chandramukhi and a large part of Mumbai Express too.
Batman Begins in one word to me is all that can be done right with a movie. Good star cast, good cinematography, great sets and most of all, excellent writing and directing. Chris Nolan of Memento fame, gets everything right with Batman Begins. Hours after watching the movie, I was still trying to remember any perceptible flaw in it and the effort has continued to be futile. Its that good. Frame after frame, the effort shows and the result is a very enjoyable adult comic book movie that blows past all expectations.
Anniyan, on the flip side is really all that can go wrong with a highly touted movie. A good message of civic responsibility is lost in the cacaphony of over the top acting, glaring holes in the script and a loud movie if ever there was one. Vikram not only acts, but overacts too. In the enthusiasm of trying to delineate multiple characters in the movie, he goes completely overboard. The movie is supposedly U rated with no censor cuts. I am really not sure why we need a censor board if this is the job they are doing. The movie is bloody, gory and violent. Some of the scenes were really unwatchable for the gore content. The only things that work for the movie are the songs and their picturisation and vivek's comedy that sparkles after a long time. Even the songs could have been done better, what with almost no dancing of mention by the lead stars.
Batman Begins was an adult look at a comic book hero. It works well with both adults and kids, although it skews more towards the former with a PG-13 rating. Anniyan is an adult look at a very contemporary issue that really supposedly skews towards everyone but it fails badly in that. I didnt have hopes for a classy movie from Shankar. What I hoped for, was a sensible movie (Mudhalvan is a case to point, if you exclude all things Manisha Koirala from it) and what I got instead was a rehash of all old Shankar movies with more gore and Matrix like stunts thrown in for a good measure.
I very highly recommend Batman Begins and ask that people approach Anniyan at their own risk.
Batman Begins in one word to me is all that can be done right with a movie. Good star cast, good cinematography, great sets and most of all, excellent writing and directing. Chris Nolan of Memento fame, gets everything right with Batman Begins. Hours after watching the movie, I was still trying to remember any perceptible flaw in it and the effort has continued to be futile. Its that good. Frame after frame, the effort shows and the result is a very enjoyable adult comic book movie that blows past all expectations.
Anniyan, on the flip side is really all that can go wrong with a highly touted movie. A good message of civic responsibility is lost in the cacaphony of over the top acting, glaring holes in the script and a loud movie if ever there was one. Vikram not only acts, but overacts too. In the enthusiasm of trying to delineate multiple characters in the movie, he goes completely overboard. The movie is supposedly U rated with no censor cuts. I am really not sure why we need a censor board if this is the job they are doing. The movie is bloody, gory and violent. Some of the scenes were really unwatchable for the gore content. The only things that work for the movie are the songs and their picturisation and vivek's comedy that sparkles after a long time. Even the songs could have been done better, what with almost no dancing of mention by the lead stars.
Batman Begins was an adult look at a comic book hero. It works well with both adults and kids, although it skews more towards the former with a PG-13 rating. Anniyan is an adult look at a very contemporary issue that really supposedly skews towards everyone but it fails badly in that. I didnt have hopes for a classy movie from Shankar. What I hoped for, was a sensible movie (Mudhalvan is a case to point, if you exclude all things Manisha Koirala from it) and what I got instead was a rehash of all old Shankar movies with more gore and Matrix like stunts thrown in for a good measure.
I very highly recommend Batman Begins and ask that people approach Anniyan at their own risk.
Monday, June 13, 2005
At the Crossroads in Kalimdor
This a screenshot of my character Bheema at the Crossroads in Kalimdor. For the uninitiated, this is a place in the virtual world of the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) "World of Warcraft". I have been having an unbelievably fantastic experience taking my Tauren Warrior Bheema from L1 to L14 where he is currently and there are 46 more levels to go. The cooperative gameplay is just awesome. It has to be experienced to be believed.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Oru Manidhanin Kadhai
My good friend George Costanza describes a baldist thus:
"A person who does not associate with bald people".
In a recent email conversation amongst a bunch of friends, this whole idea of baldness and how people react to it, came up. Certainly in the US, baldness is not considered as bad as most other places throughout the world (read India). One friend, who went from hairy to no-hairy over a period of five years, had this to say about it. The email is produced here verbatim.
" Atleast for gaining weight we can blame ourselves, but what can we do about going bald ... it is never in our control, so no point in feeling bad. also, being bald and hair(or lack of) is an issue only in India. Here, I have known personally from 95% of girls, nobody gives a damn(thankfully!).
I did some self analysis and psychologically analysed male baldness. we go through 4 psychological stages ....
1. Shock ... when we see the initial receeding hairlines (this happened to me in 4th year)
2. Denial ... we pretend not to notice the reduced hairline and try to hide it by combing accordingly and not even think about it (for me end of 4th year and initial year here in US)
3. Anger ... this is when no matter how much we try to hide by combing hair over or not notice ever increasing baldness, the hair loss has become so much that it will be noticeable. The anger part is a bit compounded by friends/family asking .... "thalaikku ennai thekkaraya illaya? ... en ivlo mudi kotti pochu?" etc etc. Sometimes when guys(mostly Indian since hair is never an issue for guys here) continue to tease we have an angry retort like "amaam mudi kotti pochu, otha adhukku enna ippo?" (for me the next 2-3 years in US).
4. Rejected Acceptance ... It is just there and we cannot do a damn. We painfully realize that we have to live with it. We look at old pictures once in a while and sigh inside. But we also start looking at bright side ... that hair is not that much of a big deal and try to find alternative ways of accentuating our personalities to cover up for a "physical" loss. This is also when we start making sarcastic jokes at our own baldness. (since last year for me)."
Now to make this even more interesting, I am posting 5 photographs from that same friend, capturing the essence of his writing. We had so much fun reading the email with the photos, I am sure everyone here will too. Click on the thumbnail image to see a bigger version in Flickr.
Note: Big Thanks to my friend AP who was gracious and sporting enough to share this image and his own words on the evolution with all of us. An additional thanks to fellow blogger Pradeep for pasting together multiple images to one cohesive pic.
"A person who does not associate with bald people".
In a recent email conversation amongst a bunch of friends, this whole idea of baldness and how people react to it, came up. Certainly in the US, baldness is not considered as bad as most other places throughout the world (read India). One friend, who went from hairy to no-hairy over a period of five years, had this to say about it. The email is produced here verbatim.
" Atleast for gaining weight we can blame ourselves, but what can we do about going bald ... it is never in our control, so no point in feeling bad. also, being bald and hair(or lack of) is an issue only in India. Here, I have known personally from 95% of girls, nobody gives a damn(thankfully!).
I did some self analysis and psychologically analysed male baldness. we go through 4 psychological stages ....
1. Shock ... when we see the initial receeding hairlines (this happened to me in 4th year)
2. Denial ... we pretend not to notice the reduced hairline and try to hide it by combing accordingly and not even think about it (for me end of 4th year and initial year here in US)
3. Anger ... this is when no matter how much we try to hide by combing hair over or not notice ever increasing baldness, the hair loss has become so much that it will be noticeable. The anger part is a bit compounded by friends/family asking .... "thalaikku ennai thekkaraya illaya? ... en ivlo mudi kotti pochu?" etc etc. Sometimes when guys(mostly Indian since hair is never an issue for guys here) continue to tease we have an angry retort like "amaam mudi kotti pochu, otha adhukku enna ippo?" (for me the next 2-3 years in US).
4. Rejected Acceptance ... It is just there and we cannot do a damn. We painfully realize that we have to live with it. We look at old pictures once in a while and sigh inside. But we also start looking at bright side ... that hair is not that much of a big deal and try to find alternative ways of accentuating our personalities to cover up for a "physical" loss. This is also when we start making sarcastic jokes at our own baldness. (since last year for me)."
Now to make this even more interesting, I am posting 5 photographs from that same friend, capturing the essence of his writing. We had so much fun reading the email with the photos, I am sure everyone here will too. Click on the thumbnail image to see a bigger version in Flickr.
Note: Big Thanks to my friend AP who was gracious and sporting enough to share this image and his own words on the evolution with all of us. An additional thanks to fellow blogger Pradeep for pasting together multiple images to one cohesive pic.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
A picture is worth...
Well, this picture is worth 3 days, two 128 MB SD cards, multiple gas refills for the car, hundreds of dollars, and yep, 277 other pictures.
The joy of seeing it all in one single collage - priceless.
For all places shown here, visit Los Angeles, California.
The joy of seeing it all in one single collage - priceless.
For all places shown here, visit Los Angeles, California.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Climbing the social ladder
Vetri Nichayam. Taken in Rodeo Drive,CA during my Memorial Day weekend trip it reminds me of Thalaivars pose in Annamalai and then Baasha. And that thrills me to no end.
More on the trip soon.
More on the trip soon.
California and Wine
This photo was taken last Saturday in Solvang, CA. The color and contrast in this picture are excellent, coming from a 2 year old 3.1 MP camera. Nothing fancy, yet classy.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Rambaigal Heartil Ringtone Remo
For a change, I thought of posting something that amuses me rather than worry or ponder seriously. Pasted below, courtesy www.geetham.net, is the lyrics for the song "Kaadhal Yaanai" from the upcoming Shankar movie, " Anniyan" starring Vikram with music by Harris Jayaraj.
While this could easily become a serious discussion topic later, at this stage I want this to be enjoyed by all readers. I have listened to the song many times and everytime the lyrics crack me up. I admit to liking the song for its quirky lyrics. I don't approve of english words in tamil songs but I have to give it to whoever wrote this one for the sheer inventiveness he brings to his words. I expect this song to be picturised well by Shankar and is upbeat enough to become very popular. You can listen to the song here. Another version of the lyrics is available here.
oley oley oley yo leyo
aah.. oley oley oley yo leyo
rambo say yoke..
what to say yoke...
it's gonna rockin.noooo..nooooooooo.
yaanai sontham pearu sontham...
one mark two....
kaadhal yaanai varugira remo
mutha thanthathil muttuvom remo
appalam ithayangal bathiram remo
rambo remo...
thookathai turathem dragon remo
pookal vedikindra stengun remo
rambaigal heartil ringtone remo
rainbow remo..
algebra ivan thegam amoeba vai urumarum
king cobra ivan vegam queen ellam thadumarum..
aah aah R E M O remo remo ..romeo
aah aah R E M O remo remo ...romeo
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
algebra ivan...
aah aah...
ring masterin singam pol
suthi suthi varum pengal paar
verkaathey enakku visirigal kodii irukku
changu chakkaram vegam pol
pattam vitu varum aatam paar
baby doll nee enakku teddy bear naan unakku
aah aah...
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
oley oley oley yo leyo
aah.. oley oley oley yo leyo
cmon and take me away
won't you take me away
oley oley yaay hai
u wanna get it up i wanna check it up..
u wanna salsa take me to uuupa
u like to dance
open the raaazzz
unakku baila enakku oila
unakku salsa enakku jalsa
u like to dance
open the raam
hiroshima neethano nagasakiyum neethano
un meethu thaano en kaadhal bomb oh
harappa vum neethano mohanjadarro neethano
aayvaalan naano arayaa lamo
aah R E M O...
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
algebra ivan...
aah aah...
u wanna get it up i wanna check it up..
u wanna salsa take me to uuupa
u like to dance
open the raaazzz
unakku baila enakku oila
unakku salsa enakku jalsa
u like to dance
open the raam
Note: Repeated lines have the first couple of words mentioned followed by ...
While this could easily become a serious discussion topic later, at this stage I want this to be enjoyed by all readers. I have listened to the song many times and everytime the lyrics crack me up. I admit to liking the song for its quirky lyrics. I don't approve of english words in tamil songs but I have to give it to whoever wrote this one for the sheer inventiveness he brings to his words. I expect this song to be picturised well by Shankar and is upbeat enough to become very popular. You can listen to the song here. Another version of the lyrics is available here.
oley oley oley yo leyo
aah.. oley oley oley yo leyo
rambo say yoke..
what to say yoke...
it's gonna rockin.noooo..nooooooooo.
yaanai sontham pearu sontham...
one mark two....
kaadhal yaanai varugira remo
mutha thanthathil muttuvom remo
appalam ithayangal bathiram remo
rambo remo...
thookathai turathem dragon remo
pookal vedikindra stengun remo
rambaigal heartil ringtone remo
rainbow remo..
algebra ivan thegam amoeba vai urumarum
king cobra ivan vegam queen ellam thadumarum..
aah aah R E M O remo remo ..romeo
aah aah R E M O remo remo ...romeo
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
algebra ivan...
aah aah...
ring masterin singam pol
suthi suthi varum pengal paar
verkaathey enakku visirigal kodii irukku
changu chakkaram vegam pol
pattam vitu varum aatam paar
baby doll nee enakku teddy bear naan unakku
aah aah...
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
oley oley oley yo leyo
aah.. oley oley oley yo leyo
cmon and take me away
won't you take me away
oley oley yaay hai
u wanna get it up i wanna check it up..
u wanna salsa take me to uuupa
u like to dance
open the raaazzz
unakku baila enakku oila
unakku salsa enakku jalsa
u like to dance
open the raam
hiroshima neethano nagasakiyum neethano
un meethu thaano en kaadhal bomb oh
harappa vum neethano mohanjadarro neethano
aayvaalan naano arayaa lamo
aah R E M O...
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
algebra ivan...
aah aah...
u wanna get it up i wanna check it up..
u wanna salsa take me to uuupa
u like to dance
open the raaazzz
unakku baila enakku oila
unakku salsa enakku jalsa
u like to dance
open the raam
Note: Repeated lines have the first couple of words mentioned followed by ...
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
How much is a life worth?
This post should have appeared a month ago, but due to unforseen circumstances is being posted only today. Nevertheless, the impact of the topic of the post is going to be felt forever. On the 24th of March this year, the Government of India significantly amended the 1970 Patent Act that covered drugs and agricultural items, amongst others. While the impact of this on the Indian farmer is significant, the impact of the Law on the entire world community is huge. This Act, which until date permitted Indian drug manufacturers to make cheaper and more affordable variants of generic drugs for diseases like AIDS, was amended to ensure that the WTO guidelines were adhered to. As a part of the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Indian drug manufacturers would no more be able to bypass the royalties for drug patents owned by American and European countries. A huge victory for the Pfizers and Bayers and a big setback for AIDS patients worldwide.
India, for those in the dark, provides more than 50% of the drugs used to treat the few million known AIDs patients in Africa and Asia. These generic drugs reduced the cost of a year's treatment for AIDS from $15000 a decade ago to almost $200 today. But with the global markets opening up and the pharma lobbies baying for the billions of dollars worth of lost business, this had to happen. With the new law in force, all future generics are required to adhere to global patent policies which means simply that the drugs are going to cost much much more. Agencies ranging from the World Health Organisation to HIV Kenya, have protested against this "Act against humanity". If imposed immediately, upto 25% or more patients will now be deprived of their AIDS medicine, simply because they cannot afford it anymore.
This brings me to the focal point of this post. Is'nt the main aim of medicine and open markets to save lives and enrich it for "all" concerned?. Why then are the people in third-world countries treated like s^&% just to make sure the coffers of some global behemoths are a few billions richer?. Even with the world becoming as money driven as it is, isnt there some worth for the human life?
Digression: Last weekend I saw "The Interpreter" which talks about genocide in Africa, which while fictional, echoes the very real daily horrors in Darfur. Would it have gotten more attention if it possessed any natural resources that the world needed, like oil, maybe?
India, for those in the dark, provides more than 50% of the drugs used to treat the few million known AIDs patients in Africa and Asia. These generic drugs reduced the cost of a year's treatment for AIDS from $15000 a decade ago to almost $200 today. But with the global markets opening up and the pharma lobbies baying for the billions of dollars worth of lost business, this had to happen. With the new law in force, all future generics are required to adhere to global patent policies which means simply that the drugs are going to cost much much more. Agencies ranging from the World Health Organisation to HIV Kenya, have protested against this "Act against humanity". If imposed immediately, upto 25% or more patients will now be deprived of their AIDS medicine, simply because they cannot afford it anymore.
This brings me to the focal point of this post. Is'nt the main aim of medicine and open markets to save lives and enrich it for "all" concerned?. Why then are the people in third-world countries treated like s^&% just to make sure the coffers of some global behemoths are a few billions richer?. Even with the world becoming as money driven as it is, isnt there some worth for the human life?
Digression: Last weekend I saw "The Interpreter" which talks about genocide in Africa, which while fictional, echoes the very real daily horrors in Darfur. Would it have gotten more attention if it possessed any natural resources that the world needed, like oil, maybe?
Friday, April 22, 2005
A step backwards
Earlier this week the Papal conclave elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany as the next Pope. Cardinal Ratzinger who now goes by the name of Pope Benedict XVI is a known conservative amongst the candidates who were in consideration for the position. While its expected that the Roman Catholic Church would have mostly conservatives in its midst, this particular selection stands out among the rest for his steadfast beliefs in all the major issues facing the Church and refusing to take the step into the new millennium.
Quoting an article from NY Times, Q|In a document issued in 2000, "Dominus Jesus," the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that Cardinal Ratzinger headed said the Catholic Church was the only true path to salvation and called other faiths "gravely deficient."|Q. Now I am a moderate who believes that everyone is entitled to their religion and beliefs. I think each one of us has our own vision of God and path to Heaven. But for the new leader of 1.1 billion Catholics of the world to have such an opinion makes it a big problem. In an era of religious disputes and faith based problems, do we need one more ?. Shouldnt we be progressing towards a world where religion is what is in one's heart and nothing else?.
In addition, toeing a conservative line even by Church standards, the new Pope is against women in Church, for celibate priests in the Church, against abortion and birth control and definitely against homosexuality. Given all this, I am not sure how the Pope would succeed in mending fences that are tattered all over the globe. From a human perspective, don't we need a open minded healer of differences much more than a divider ?
Quoting an article from NY Times, Q|In a document issued in 2000, "Dominus Jesus," the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that Cardinal Ratzinger headed said the Catholic Church was the only true path to salvation and called other faiths "gravely deficient."|Q. Now I am a moderate who believes that everyone is entitled to their religion and beliefs. I think each one of us has our own vision of God and path to Heaven. But for the new leader of 1.1 billion Catholics of the world to have such an opinion makes it a big problem. In an era of religious disputes and faith based problems, do we need one more ?. Shouldnt we be progressing towards a world where religion is what is in one's heart and nothing else?.
In addition, toeing a conservative line even by Church standards, the new Pope is against women in Church, for celibate priests in the Church, against abortion and birth control and definitely against homosexuality. Given all this, I am not sure how the Pope would succeed in mending fences that are tattered all over the globe. From a human perspective, don't we need a open minded healer of differences much more than a divider ?
Monday, April 18, 2005
Lunch with Rajini and tea with Kamal
Well, it didnt exactly happen the way the title makes it out to be, but it got pretty close. After a long time, I got to see two movies back to back on the same day and that too featuring the last two superstars of tamil cinema. What was supposed to be an afternoon showing of Chandramukhi ended being a double bill with an evening show of Mumbai Express (in tamil, of course). I am not going to review the two movies in detail since fellow bloggers Saran and Jagan have done it already. I will try to compare the two and see how it all pans out.
Chandramukhi is the unlikeliest superstar movie I have seen in the last few years. I mean it has the least Rajini screen time and very few superstar'isms. Gone are the multiple fights, the mannerisms that only Rajini can get away with, the cigarette thigie and what not. In its place is a family friendly ambience with more people in every frame and a story to boot. I had not seen the Malayalam original. So the story was new to me. It was definitely interesting and while it could have been done better, it was definitely not boring and the masala was not excessive. Sans the occasional praising-over-the-top of Rajini and the abominable acting of Jyothika (whoever chose her for the role deserves a kick in the posterior), the movie was derfinitely worth my trip to North Bergen, NJ.
After a half hour trip to the Edison, NJ and a nice snack at Hot Breads, we settled down to watch Mumbai Express. The movie started off hilariously and the humor was excellent. The gags kept coming non-stop and I loved the first half of the movie a lot. It was physical comedy at its best and hats off to Kamal for the screenplay until that point. Once the movie reaches half time, the gags slow down to a trickle and while the movie is still funny and all, the jokes dont elicit that many laughs. The plot gets contorted and well, the story totally loses steam. By the time the climax arrives, you are almost thankful. What could have been a crisp and excellent 2 hour movie ends up being an almost-fantastic but part boring 3 hour experience. While the movie still is way ahead of what goes by the name of comedy in Indian cinema today, it could have been much better with some editing in the second half. Kamal, Pasupathy, Vyapuri and Ramesh Aravind are excellent and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the kid and Manisha Koirala are awful.
Between the two movies, as always, Chandramukhi is more mass friendly while Mumbai Express carries the Kamal stamp of intelligence. The former will unquestionably do much better than the latter. For me, the experience of seeing the two movies on the same day was phenomenal. I have'nt lapped up to any actor since the days of Rajini and Kamal and now I know why. What these stars bring to the table is much more than just histrionics. They bring a level of enjoyment to me and a sense of nostalgia of my youth that is unsurpassed by any other. They make watching Indian movies a sheer joy, as it was always supposed to be.
Chandramukhi is the unlikeliest superstar movie I have seen in the last few years. I mean it has the least Rajini screen time and very few superstar'isms. Gone are the multiple fights, the mannerisms that only Rajini can get away with, the cigarette thigie and what not. In its place is a family friendly ambience with more people in every frame and a story to boot. I had not seen the Malayalam original. So the story was new to me. It was definitely interesting and while it could have been done better, it was definitely not boring and the masala was not excessive. Sans the occasional praising-over-the-top of Rajini and the abominable acting of Jyothika (whoever chose her for the role deserves a kick in the posterior), the movie was derfinitely worth my trip to North Bergen, NJ.
After a half hour trip to the Edison, NJ and a nice snack at Hot Breads, we settled down to watch Mumbai Express. The movie started off hilariously and the humor was excellent. The gags kept coming non-stop and I loved the first half of the movie a lot. It was physical comedy at its best and hats off to Kamal for the screenplay until that point. Once the movie reaches half time, the gags slow down to a trickle and while the movie is still funny and all, the jokes dont elicit that many laughs. The plot gets contorted and well, the story totally loses steam. By the time the climax arrives, you are almost thankful. What could have been a crisp and excellent 2 hour movie ends up being an almost-fantastic but part boring 3 hour experience. While the movie still is way ahead of what goes by the name of comedy in Indian cinema today, it could have been much better with some editing in the second half. Kamal, Pasupathy, Vyapuri and Ramesh Aravind are excellent and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the kid and Manisha Koirala are awful.
Between the two movies, as always, Chandramukhi is more mass friendly while Mumbai Express carries the Kamal stamp of intelligence. The former will unquestionably do much better than the latter. For me, the experience of seeing the two movies on the same day was phenomenal. I have'nt lapped up to any actor since the days of Rajini and Kamal and now I know why. What these stars bring to the table is much more than just histrionics. They bring a level of enjoyment to me and a sense of nostalgia of my youth that is unsurpassed by any other. They make watching Indian movies a sheer joy, as it was always supposed to be.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Eppadi Padinaro
With the music season in full swing in the Philly area, I have been transported to the temples and auditoriums in Coimbatore where I had first listened to the masters of Carnatic music. The music season used to last all year long and all the top artists had Coimbatore in their itinerary. Be it Corporation Kalai Arangam where the ITC concerts took place or Ramar temple in Ramnagar where there were Aradhanas all year long, it was sheer pleasure listening to the stalwarts. The year end festival at Ayyappan Puja Sangam and the Pongal Music Festival at my alma mater, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, not only featured the maestros but also had slots for now and upcoming artists.
I remember my parents leaving early while my brother and I joined them later. Those days! Ragam Thanam Pallavis were not my cup of tea and the thukkadas were my primary reason to attend concerts. As I grew older and understood music and its nuances better, the significance of RTP sunk into me. I was hooked onto them, thereon. The quick breaks to the nearby bhelpuri stall or the Pazhamudir Nilayam during the Thaniyavardhanam are still fresh in my mind.
Besides getting a chance to interact with the artists, concerts were a place where one could forget all worries and just enjoy wonderful music all evening long. The amusing banter of the critics and the teary eyes of the ardent music fan were very much a part of the experience. Beyond all those wonderful concerts, the nightly listening sessions at home with family over hot Milo or Horlicks are some of my best memories of life in Coimbatore.
Today with concerts in the US being as frequent as they are, I miss my balmy evening trysts with Carnatic music in good old Coimbatore. Someday I hope to get back to that life with far fewer worries and far more music and peace.
I remember my parents leaving early while my brother and I joined them later. Those days! Ragam Thanam Pallavis were not my cup of tea and the thukkadas were my primary reason to attend concerts. As I grew older and understood music and its nuances better, the significance of RTP sunk into me. I was hooked onto them, thereon. The quick breaks to the nearby bhelpuri stall or the Pazhamudir Nilayam during the Thaniyavardhanam are still fresh in my mind.
Besides getting a chance to interact with the artists, concerts were a place where one could forget all worries and just enjoy wonderful music all evening long. The amusing banter of the critics and the teary eyes of the ardent music fan were very much a part of the experience. Beyond all those wonderful concerts, the nightly listening sessions at home with family over hot Milo or Horlicks are some of my best memories of life in Coimbatore.
Today with concerts in the US being as frequent as they are, I miss my balmy evening trysts with Carnatic music in good old Coimbatore. Someday I hope to get back to that life with far fewer worries and far more music and peace.
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