So it’s been 2 years since he’s been gone.
Gone too soon.
Time the greatest healer they say.
Sure I no longer obsess and have blow outs every couple of weeks.
Still hurts.
Time the greatest healer they say.
You just look to the future and move on they say.
Still hurts.
There are people in our lives who matter.
You know it.
And sometimes you realize too late how much they matter.
When you are young you think you are immortal.
I have realized your friends think you are immortal too.
There lies the frustration and the grief.
Miss you dear friend.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Discovered from obscurity
Was recently reading an article on songs that have had great commercial success the second time around. One of the numbers mentioned was by Scott Joplin. This is the link to the same (just copy and paste the link folks..works easier for all of us..namely lazy me. applies to all links in my posts).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDGibUnfGK8
Does it sound familiar? Scott Joplin, one of the great musical sensations of the start of the last century, enjoyed a revival post his musical numbers being used exclusively on the Paul Newman – Robert Redford caper film, The Sting. To the extent that he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer. Now that’s a revival.
Nowhere do I claim to be an authority on Scott Joplin, this is more or less just taken from a couple of articles I read up on the great man. But my delight was something else altogether. The first time I heard this particular piece, The Entertainer was as a background track for one of the old 8 bit Nintendo video games. And humming along with the track was a matter of habit. (Have discovered a love for Tchaikovsky too through Tetris)
I have stumbled upon the number many times over the last few years (I did see The Sting but was half asleep when I did see it, shame on me. I could have discovered The Entertainer earlier, and yeah appreciated the film also) and never quite figured it out. Even though I was aware of the concept of ragtime, never struck me to do an intensive search on that. The fact that I learnt to use the internet rather than born with it clearly comes through in these instances.
Anyways glad that I discovered Scott Joplin and well onto figuring out his other works. This got me thinking however on how I have stumbled on some tune that turned out to be something else altogether.
When I was a kid, 5-6 years old. We used to have one TV channel, Doordarshan. Would watch the most random stuff on TV, there used to be a half hour slot on whats coming up through the week. Another where a old bald guy would read the letters from viewers. One more that was “We are sorry for he interruption we shall be back soon”. And the classic 10 min public service commercials and cartoons of course. Anyways that’s another conversation altogether.
So in one of the random fillers on the channel there was a fairly haunting theme being played on a synthesizer. This tune used to fascinate and disgust. Fascinate because it was quite cool and disgust because of the tinny electronic sound. Every few years I would start replaying the theme in my head and would wonder. Till I heard it in an episode of The Simpsons (yes we had more TV channels by then), Bart Simpson holding court at the church where has replaced the church organ music with “In the Garden of Eden” (refer to earler note on links).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ9J1RfoYjQ&feature=PlayList&p=93FED8DF2643ADF2&index=89
An all time great Simpsons episode. I did a double take and of course tried to figure out what the song was all about. Turned out the song was In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, one of the all time great genre busting songs. 17 minutes long, lyrics heard only at the start and the end, psychedelic from end to end, one of the earliest heavy metal classics in fact many say was one of the fathers of heavy metal, the plaudits go on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfMLlIPvpak&feature=related
How did it end up on DD I wonder? Doesnt really matter I guess. Great music stands out even when used as background noise to rubbish content and even more rubbish execution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDGibUnfGK8
Does it sound familiar? Scott Joplin, one of the great musical sensations of the start of the last century, enjoyed a revival post his musical numbers being used exclusively on the Paul Newman – Robert Redford caper film, The Sting. To the extent that he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer. Now that’s a revival.
Nowhere do I claim to be an authority on Scott Joplin, this is more or less just taken from a couple of articles I read up on the great man. But my delight was something else altogether. The first time I heard this particular piece, The Entertainer was as a background track for one of the old 8 bit Nintendo video games. And humming along with the track was a matter of habit. (Have discovered a love for Tchaikovsky too through Tetris)
I have stumbled upon the number many times over the last few years (I did see The Sting but was half asleep when I did see it, shame on me. I could have discovered The Entertainer earlier, and yeah appreciated the film also) and never quite figured it out. Even though I was aware of the concept of ragtime, never struck me to do an intensive search on that. The fact that I learnt to use the internet rather than born with it clearly comes through in these instances.
Anyways glad that I discovered Scott Joplin and well onto figuring out his other works. This got me thinking however on how I have stumbled on some tune that turned out to be something else altogether.
When I was a kid, 5-6 years old. We used to have one TV channel, Doordarshan. Would watch the most random stuff on TV, there used to be a half hour slot on whats coming up through the week. Another where a old bald guy would read the letters from viewers. One more that was “We are sorry for he interruption we shall be back soon”. And the classic 10 min public service commercials and cartoons of course. Anyways that’s another conversation altogether.
So in one of the random fillers on the channel there was a fairly haunting theme being played on a synthesizer. This tune used to fascinate and disgust. Fascinate because it was quite cool and disgust because of the tinny electronic sound. Every few years I would start replaying the theme in my head and would wonder. Till I heard it in an episode of The Simpsons (yes we had more TV channels by then), Bart Simpson holding court at the church where has replaced the church organ music with “In the Garden of Eden” (refer to earler note on links).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ9J1RfoYjQ&feature=PlayList&p=93FED8DF2643ADF2&index=89
An all time great Simpsons episode. I did a double take and of course tried to figure out what the song was all about. Turned out the song was In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, one of the all time great genre busting songs. 17 minutes long, lyrics heard only at the start and the end, psychedelic from end to end, one of the earliest heavy metal classics in fact many say was one of the fathers of heavy metal, the plaudits go on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfMLlIPvpak&feature=related
How did it end up on DD I wonder? Doesnt really matter I guess. Great music stands out even when used as background noise to rubbish content and even more rubbish execution.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Simpler Times
Well yes I have been thinking and talking about my childhood a lot. No wonder anything I can write about with complete ease these days is about those times.
Every generation complains that times were better when they were young and they weren’t as mollycoddled as the kids of today. I rant too, from time to time. More out of sheer wonder than any perverse desrire to mock. Our parents/teachers/relatives never bothered too much about what we were doing. Even when we got into a mishap, it wasn’t the end of the end of the world. Every generation says this and I do too, especially looking at the stress parents of my age go through these days where their kids are concerned. Nothing wrong about it of course, times are tougher and every precaution needs to be taken (cue sheer wonder again).
But I look at the fairly bizarre things I did and the reaction of most folks around and I end up cracking up. Let me give you two examples.
Ended up drinking a whole bottle of Dettol antiseptic once. Don’t even remember whether it was a bottle or it was a few sips. By the reaction of my grand mom it could have been a whole case. Apparently she called my Dad for advice and he asked her not to worry, the worst that could happen was a bad stomach ache (yeah my dad had and still has a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, that made him the medical expert in our house)!
Running around in class one day, trying to high jump over a desk (I was under 5 ft and the desks around 200 ft and the fact that I thought I could vault a desk was bizarre in itself), tripped, hit my head and promptly passed out. What would happen now over something like this? Emergency room, panicked teachers, students screaming? I woke up 10 mins later; I had been unceremoniously dumped in the last row of the class room. My teacher asks me as to how I was? Whether I was ok? Being from a family that never let me bunk school, I seized the day and said I want to go home NOW. Had to wait 2 more hours so that my cousin could come and pick me up though!
What does this prove? Nothing!!!! Like I said these were probably simpler times when we were assumed to be hardier and it was expected that we would get into trouble and no amount of panicking is going to change that. Don't think it was because of lack of caring but in the pre internet/cable tv days there were no medical dramas, nor were there forwards on what happened to the friend of a neighbours 6th cousin thrice removed. Am guessing that probably they thought they had gone through worse in their day.
But my folks used to panic when I wasn’t around though. When I was late from school or stayed over at a friends place for too long the panic would start. In that way all generations are the same I guess, only the levels of panic and distress would differ. Of course counter argument is that kids these days are more into “organized activities” as opposed to being let to their own devices I guess, but that’s another rant.
Every generation complains that times were better when they were young and they weren’t as mollycoddled as the kids of today. I rant too, from time to time. More out of sheer wonder than any perverse desrire to mock. Our parents/teachers/relatives never bothered too much about what we were doing. Even when we got into a mishap, it wasn’t the end of the end of the world. Every generation says this and I do too, especially looking at the stress parents of my age go through these days where their kids are concerned. Nothing wrong about it of course, times are tougher and every precaution needs to be taken (cue sheer wonder again).
But I look at the fairly bizarre things I did and the reaction of most folks around and I end up cracking up. Let me give you two examples.
Ended up drinking a whole bottle of Dettol antiseptic once. Don’t even remember whether it was a bottle or it was a few sips. By the reaction of my grand mom it could have been a whole case. Apparently she called my Dad for advice and he asked her not to worry, the worst that could happen was a bad stomach ache (yeah my dad had and still has a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, that made him the medical expert in our house)!
Running around in class one day, trying to high jump over a desk (I was under 5 ft and the desks around 200 ft and the fact that I thought I could vault a desk was bizarre in itself), tripped, hit my head and promptly passed out. What would happen now over something like this? Emergency room, panicked teachers, students screaming? I woke up 10 mins later; I had been unceremoniously dumped in the last row of the class room. My teacher asks me as to how I was? Whether I was ok? Being from a family that never let me bunk school, I seized the day and said I want to go home NOW. Had to wait 2 more hours so that my cousin could come and pick me up though!
What does this prove? Nothing!!!! Like I said these were probably simpler times when we were assumed to be hardier and it was expected that we would get into trouble and no amount of panicking is going to change that. Don't think it was because of lack of caring but in the pre internet/cable tv days there were no medical dramas, nor were there forwards on what happened to the friend of a neighbours 6th cousin thrice removed. Am guessing that probably they thought they had gone through worse in their day.
But my folks used to panic when I wasn’t around though. When I was late from school or stayed over at a friends place for too long the panic would start. In that way all generations are the same I guess, only the levels of panic and distress would differ. Of course counter argument is that kids these days are more into “organized activities” as opposed to being let to their own devices I guess, but that’s another rant.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Childhood sounds
Walking out of the office the other day I heard a kitten mewling away. Normal occurrence I guess but it suddenly took me back 25 years. We lived in this rambling old house which happened rather than planned. This combined with a large garden meant that the house was always filled with various forms of wildlife. From ants to flies to the occasional crow and of course cats. We just couldn’t keep them away and my grand mom’s excessive fondness of all the cats meant that we had an army of them around all the time. They also established themselves in the various nooks this rambling house provided and the cats yowling away during mating season provided constant fodder to my nightmares, fun.
Got me thinking of course of other sounds I grew accustomed to.
Being from madras of course meant that the day started fairly early for us. The birds chirping away in the morning going at the mangoes was a constant.
For some reason all the houses used to have their radios on full blast, you could hear the synchronous intonation of “vande mataram” and keep track when you walked down the road. This was of course immediately followed by the venkatesa suprabhatham (yup lived in an area that was infested with tambrams). The hymns used to wake up the lord had the added effect of rudely getting me up many a day. Oddly enough in the odd chance that I come upon random strains of the same these days it has the immediate effect of calming me down.
The thud of mangoes falling from the tree.
Even earlier when I was fairly little we used to have a bunch of cows right next door. Never heard too much from them though strangely enough. But the guy who used to work there used to make quite a racket.
Milk cookers….the racket of hundreds of households going about getting their morning cuppa. Followed closely by the pressure cookers going off.
On my way to pick up milk in the morning (my one chore. Rub it in to the family even now) the little tea shops that used to open up really early in the morning, blaring tam music.
Oh the little temple in the street, used to have a festival every year. They made sure that everyone in the vicinity knew about it and more important dint forget it. The music and “devotional songs” used to be on pretty much from before you woke up and went on much after you turned in.
Fairly non standard sounds where I live right now. No wonder the mewling of that kitten took me right back. Am looking forward to encounter the other sounds too.
Got me thinking of course of other sounds I grew accustomed to.
Being from madras of course meant that the day started fairly early for us. The birds chirping away in the morning going at the mangoes was a constant.
For some reason all the houses used to have their radios on full blast, you could hear the synchronous intonation of “vande mataram” and keep track when you walked down the road. This was of course immediately followed by the venkatesa suprabhatham (yup lived in an area that was infested with tambrams). The hymns used to wake up the lord had the added effect of rudely getting me up many a day. Oddly enough in the odd chance that I come upon random strains of the same these days it has the immediate effect of calming me down.
The thud of mangoes falling from the tree.
Even earlier when I was fairly little we used to have a bunch of cows right next door. Never heard too much from them though strangely enough. But the guy who used to work there used to make quite a racket.
Milk cookers….the racket of hundreds of households going about getting their morning cuppa. Followed closely by the pressure cookers going off.
On my way to pick up milk in the morning (my one chore. Rub it in to the family even now) the little tea shops that used to open up really early in the morning, blaring tam music.
Oh the little temple in the street, used to have a festival every year. They made sure that everyone in the vicinity knew about it and more important dint forget it. The music and “devotional songs” used to be on pretty much from before you woke up and went on much after you turned in.
Fairly non standard sounds where I live right now. No wonder the mewling of that kitten took me right back. Am looking forward to encounter the other sounds too.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Memories....Mylapore thatha..
It was my Grandfathers 100th birthday a few days back. He passed away when I was 7 years old. And over the last few weeks I have really been trying to figure out what I remember of him. It’s been tough and also surprising figuring out what I do remember.
Let’s see, I was fairly afraid of the man. My sister used to be thatha’s darling and since I used to mercilessly hound her she would run to him. Actually my patti would tell her to go and stand near thatha and his arm chair cos if I went near range I would be caught by the long arm of the law (in his case a walking stick).
Early morning, somehow I associate early morning with him. I used to wake up fairly early as a kid and so would he. Don’t really remember how long he used to sleep. But yeah clearly remember walking to mani kadai, the vegetable chappie along with him early morning. Also remember walking to the kesava perumal kovil a couple of times. He would of course walk real slow and I would be running all around (the walking stick would make an appearance here).
Remember having very interesting discussions on bowel movement, this was early morning too.
Glucose powder and a weird tasting biscuit. Patti would smuggle these to me.
Steamed apples, he couldn’t digest normal ones.
Roti for dinner, very strange I used to think. Why is he having this weird stuff?
The armchair of course! Solidly built like a tank, could never push it around. One handle used to be broken. So would swing wildly all over the place. It was badly fixed once and the outcropping nail would always mess my arm up.
Remember the day he came back from hospital. The whole family was home waiting for him.
Visiting him in the hospital once with Dad. Think he had had a procedure whereby his navel was taken out.
He used to dote on my sister. I remember that very clearly. Ran like hell once, when something I threw injured her below the eye. I was petrified.
When my perippa used to come visiting, it was double trouble. I would never walk through the living room. Would always sneak in through the back door.
Whole family gathering for his birthday in Ambasamudram. Missed that one, had exams I think. That family photo is knocked around still.
3 pictures, always 3 pictures. The big one in the hall, at his desk looking very young, very dashing I always thought. The small one over the door leading to the dining room, looking slightly older, very dignified. The one in the alcove in the bedroom with patti. Which for some strange reason she used to insist was a painting. She got portrait and painting mixed up was my theory. The turban that he wore was always there in full glory. Never seen him wearing it though.
Small picture with a poem. Above one of the other doors. Was it about him?
Walking stick. 2 of them. One was smaller. I could escape that easier.
And of course patti calling me and amma down from the backyard, early morning, he had passed away.
Din’t really know him that well I guess. Can't say I miss him. But a lot of stories heard from patti always made me think I knew him better than I did. And most of these memories could also be what patti told me.
Glad that I remembered them though.
Let’s see, I was fairly afraid of the man. My sister used to be thatha’s darling and since I used to mercilessly hound her she would run to him. Actually my patti would tell her to go and stand near thatha and his arm chair cos if I went near range I would be caught by the long arm of the law (in his case a walking stick).
Early morning, somehow I associate early morning with him. I used to wake up fairly early as a kid and so would he. Don’t really remember how long he used to sleep. But yeah clearly remember walking to mani kadai, the vegetable chappie along with him early morning. Also remember walking to the kesava perumal kovil a couple of times. He would of course walk real slow and I would be running all around (the walking stick would make an appearance here).
Remember having very interesting discussions on bowel movement, this was early morning too.
Glucose powder and a weird tasting biscuit. Patti would smuggle these to me.
Steamed apples, he couldn’t digest normal ones.
Roti for dinner, very strange I used to think. Why is he having this weird stuff?
The armchair of course! Solidly built like a tank, could never push it around. One handle used to be broken. So would swing wildly all over the place. It was badly fixed once and the outcropping nail would always mess my arm up.
Remember the day he came back from hospital. The whole family was home waiting for him.
Visiting him in the hospital once with Dad. Think he had had a procedure whereby his navel was taken out.
He used to dote on my sister. I remember that very clearly. Ran like hell once, when something I threw injured her below the eye. I was petrified.
When my perippa used to come visiting, it was double trouble. I would never walk through the living room. Would always sneak in through the back door.
Whole family gathering for his birthday in Ambasamudram. Missed that one, had exams I think. That family photo is knocked around still.
3 pictures, always 3 pictures. The big one in the hall, at his desk looking very young, very dashing I always thought. The small one over the door leading to the dining room, looking slightly older, very dignified. The one in the alcove in the bedroom with patti. Which for some strange reason she used to insist was a painting. She got portrait and painting mixed up was my theory. The turban that he wore was always there in full glory. Never seen him wearing it though.
Small picture with a poem. Above one of the other doors. Was it about him?
Walking stick. 2 of them. One was smaller. I could escape that easier.
And of course patti calling me and amma down from the backyard, early morning, he had passed away.
Din’t really know him that well I guess. Can't say I miss him. But a lot of stories heard from patti always made me think I knew him better than I did. And most of these memories could also be what patti told me.
Glad that I remembered them though.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Sport Movie
Imagine a genre all by itself!
With enough of the sport movie coming out in all languages, it certainly is getting more crowded, don’t know about better though.
Right from Marty to Rocky to Any Given Sunday. We have seen enough of these back in India also. Remember Awwal number 1? Technical advances have certainly been made with slick product like Lagaan, Chak De and Iqbal. Or even a story on gully cricket, very close to the heart of everyone who’s ever played in a soma or mrc: Chennai – 28.
Well am not trying to chronicle the rise of the sport movie nor make a commentary on the same. This is about what I think is my perfect sport movie.
My perfect sport movie is one when there’s no sporting action. Yup you read that right, absolutely no sporting action.
Yes in most sport movies this is the highlight but in my book it’s no big deal. Any sport set piece in a movie however great is never going to match up to the real thing. AND YOU KNOW WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE END.
The real cool part is if any movie manages to capture anything about what goes on behind the scenes. The Wrestler I thought managed to do this beautifully. (Hey don’t take my word for it Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says he quickly moved into acting to escape this fate which befalls many professional wrestlers and agrees with the film). As his daughter so eloquently puts it Randy the Ram is a fuck up. And he knows it and accepts it. Even in his extremely small and futile attempt to clean up and live a normal life he’s not really clear as to what he’s doing. And of course like all sport movies he comes back…..but with an ending which I thought was perfect.
The movie manages to capture the motivations that drive the athlete rather than relegating it to a montage. That was the real victory.
With enough of the sport movie coming out in all languages, it certainly is getting more crowded, don’t know about better though.
Right from Marty to Rocky to Any Given Sunday. We have seen enough of these back in India also. Remember Awwal number 1? Technical advances have certainly been made with slick product like Lagaan, Chak De and Iqbal. Or even a story on gully cricket, very close to the heart of everyone who’s ever played in a soma or mrc: Chennai – 28.
Well am not trying to chronicle the rise of the sport movie nor make a commentary on the same. This is about what I think is my perfect sport movie.
My perfect sport movie is one when there’s no sporting action. Yup you read that right, absolutely no sporting action.
Yes in most sport movies this is the highlight but in my book it’s no big deal. Any sport set piece in a movie however great is never going to match up to the real thing. AND YOU KNOW WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE END.
The real cool part is if any movie manages to capture anything about what goes on behind the scenes. The Wrestler I thought managed to do this beautifully. (Hey don’t take my word for it Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says he quickly moved into acting to escape this fate which befalls many professional wrestlers and agrees with the film). As his daughter so eloquently puts it Randy the Ram is a fuck up. And he knows it and accepts it. Even in his extremely small and futile attempt to clean up and live a normal life he’s not really clear as to what he’s doing. And of course like all sport movies he comes back…..but with an ending which I thought was perfect.
The movie manages to capture the motivations that drive the athlete rather than relegating it to a montage. That was the real victory.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Watchmen
This is not a movie review. Am too prejudiced in too many ways to give you a decent review of any movie. Even if I could, it will be more like whooooaaaaaa wtf, woooooow, woooooaaaahhhh if I like the movie or whooooaaaaaa wtf, woooooow, woooooaaaahhhh if I don’t!
So I have been reading a lot of the reviews for Watchmen. Some flattering, some scathing, some walk the line. I did see the movie couple of days back. Am not a graphic novel connoisseur by any stretch of imagination. In fact read Watchmen only a few years back. And I haven’t really read the apparently defining works like Maus or Persepolis. But there have been many critics who have been savaging the movie for looking just like the book and not doing enough with the story. I hear fan boys slobbering that the movie looked exactly like the book and angry that it went too off the book in terms of the story. And am wondering where do I fit in?
I was astonished by what Zack Snyder has done with the film. It was a blessing indeed that the movie wasn’t made before this. With his amazing eye for detail the director has been able to replicate the smallest details from the book onto the screen. And I was even more astonished by the screenplay; a complex book with many layers has been rendered comprehensible to everyone. I strongly felt that this was the real victory of the movie.
There have been critics from publications like The New Yorker who have heaped derision on the movie for being too slavishly devoted to the book and pandering to the fan boys. I would be surprised if the reviewer was anywhere below the age of 80 mentally if not physically. To not like the Watchmen is understandable but to look down upon a phenomenon like Alan Moore is just not cricket.(He finishes the review by saying wheres the comedy in comics these days? Hell if that isnt a 50 year old complaint)
It’s fairly simple actually. Any great book like The Godfather, LOTR etc the screenwriter and the director at least have the freedom to visualize the way the setting would look, the way the actors would be cast etc. Makers of legendary graphic novels don’t have this choice. The fan boys and girls not only want the same story without any liberties but they want it replicated on screen frame by frame. This is something which Zack Snyder has been very successful with, his love for the material comes through in every scene. If the creator takes any liberties at all with the source material the core audience that will create the big opening and the buzz and the word of mouth will be turned away. And if you don’t have a great opening, the normal film fan who might not know the work at all might not be intrigued. There are other factors of course in the marketing of a film but am looking at only the word of mouth creation.
In other comic books there are so many story lines and mythology that the creators can still get away. To be fair most movie adaptations of the stand alone GNs are fairly bad (am looking at you LXG/V for Vendetta). But then we want them up on screen also, and not through only animation but preferably live action. Directors like Robert Rodriguez and Zack Snyder are showing us how it can be done. Ironically Frank Miller one of the greats had royally screwed up the beloved character The Spirit in its film adaptation.
Hell you might just want to see the movie and see what the fuss is all about anyways. But if you really want to know what the fuss is all about pick up the book.
So I have been reading a lot of the reviews for Watchmen. Some flattering, some scathing, some walk the line. I did see the movie couple of days back. Am not a graphic novel connoisseur by any stretch of imagination. In fact read Watchmen only a few years back. And I haven’t really read the apparently defining works like Maus or Persepolis. But there have been many critics who have been savaging the movie for looking just like the book and not doing enough with the story. I hear fan boys slobbering that the movie looked exactly like the book and angry that it went too off the book in terms of the story. And am wondering where do I fit in?
I was astonished by what Zack Snyder has done with the film. It was a blessing indeed that the movie wasn’t made before this. With his amazing eye for detail the director has been able to replicate the smallest details from the book onto the screen. And I was even more astonished by the screenplay; a complex book with many layers has been rendered comprehensible to everyone. I strongly felt that this was the real victory of the movie.
There have been critics from publications like The New Yorker who have heaped derision on the movie for being too slavishly devoted to the book and pandering to the fan boys. I would be surprised if the reviewer was anywhere below the age of 80 mentally if not physically. To not like the Watchmen is understandable but to look down upon a phenomenon like Alan Moore is just not cricket.(He finishes the review by saying wheres the comedy in comics these days? Hell if that isnt a 50 year old complaint)
It’s fairly simple actually. Any great book like The Godfather, LOTR etc the screenwriter and the director at least have the freedom to visualize the way the setting would look, the way the actors would be cast etc. Makers of legendary graphic novels don’t have this choice. The fan boys and girls not only want the same story without any liberties but they want it replicated on screen frame by frame. This is something which Zack Snyder has been very successful with, his love for the material comes through in every scene. If the creator takes any liberties at all with the source material the core audience that will create the big opening and the buzz and the word of mouth will be turned away. And if you don’t have a great opening, the normal film fan who might not know the work at all might not be intrigued. There are other factors of course in the marketing of a film but am looking at only the word of mouth creation.
In other comic books there are so many story lines and mythology that the creators can still get away. To be fair most movie adaptations of the stand alone GNs are fairly bad (am looking at you LXG/V for Vendetta). But then we want them up on screen also, and not through only animation but preferably live action. Directors like Robert Rodriguez and Zack Snyder are showing us how it can be done. Ironically Frank Miller one of the greats had royally screwed up the beloved character The Spirit in its film adaptation.
Hell you might just want to see the movie and see what the fuss is all about anyways. But if you really want to know what the fuss is all about pick up the book.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Who’s better?
“So don’t you think Green Day is the best American band out there right now?” Question thrown my way innocently enough!
Big mouth…..”Hell Yeah”.
“Better than Red Hot Chili Peppers?”
Sucker punched, well played sir.
I have an irrational obsession with everything I like. Food and drink, music, movies etc…..this coupled with a pseudo intellectual streak and an almost psychotic immersion in the moment plays havoc with concepts like preferences, best, greatest, coolest and the like.
So I think Green Day is probably the band from my time that best epitomizes or comes closest to the bands of the past that were topical, made music keeping the external environment in mind, great showmen and amazing performers.
At the same time when I listen to a band like Red Hot Chili Peppers. They have come a long way in the last 10 years. From their hard core and punk rock origins to making music that appeals to a broader cross section it’s been a wild ride. And like I said am obsessed with RHCP.
Rationally logically Green Day stands for everything I believe in while RHCP certainly have gotten into a certain mushy, personal territory which I shouldn’t be playing up at all.
But I love RHCP and think they rock and they are the coolest band out there. Getting caught up in the moment is not so bad after all.
Big mouth…..”Hell Yeah”.
“Better than Red Hot Chili Peppers?”
Sucker punched, well played sir.
I have an irrational obsession with everything I like. Food and drink, music, movies etc…..this coupled with a pseudo intellectual streak and an almost psychotic immersion in the moment plays havoc with concepts like preferences, best, greatest, coolest and the like.
So I think Green Day is probably the band from my time that best epitomizes or comes closest to the bands of the past that were topical, made music keeping the external environment in mind, great showmen and amazing performers.
At the same time when I listen to a band like Red Hot Chili Peppers. They have come a long way in the last 10 years. From their hard core and punk rock origins to making music that appeals to a broader cross section it’s been a wild ride. And like I said am obsessed with RHCP.
Rationally logically Green Day stands for everything I believe in while RHCP certainly have gotten into a certain mushy, personal territory which I shouldn’t be playing up at all.
But I love RHCP and think they rock and they are the coolest band out there. Getting caught up in the moment is not so bad after all.
Monday, March 2, 2009
School picnics
I studied in the same school for 12 years. From the first grade to the twelfth.
And we used to have this mandatory manic student picnic/trip every year. Mandatory because the enthusiasm levels mustered by the organizers was in reverse proportion to the mayhem we were capable of generating. So the more moronic the trip the more ruckus we could create.
And for the first 4 years the venue was always “Guindy Park”. Ask any kid who was born in the late 70s in Madras about Guindy Park and you would see this very distinctive look which bridges a whole lot of emotions and expletives. This was a place so mind numbing that the mayhem potential was quickly culled out.
Guindy Park had a lot of advantages. It was bang in the middle of the city, meant that we could do a day trip and be back in school second half. It dint really have too many exhibits, meant that we dint have to spend too much time there and be back in school second half. We usually went on a weekday which meant that there wasn’t too much of a crowd and be back in school second half. (My school really dint think too much of activities done outside school premises)
The biggest advantage was of course that most of the kids had already been there with family on some weekends or had already been part of an earlier school trip to the same venue. So we could pretty much be left to our devices as we would know the tour path and the accompanying teachers dint have to do too much policing.
For many years when the zoo would get a new animal, anything from as innocuous as a field rat or as dangerous as a bandicoot, there would be immense coverage in The Hindu. (Note: I said The Hindu and not the newspaper, we dint acknowledge the existence of other newspapers, but that of course is a topic for another day) I would like to think that the attendance swelled with hoards of bored looking kids being dragged towards the GP.
Oh I forgot another big advantage of GP was that there was this Mahatma Gandhi memorial right next to it. A fairly bleak empty place with pics of the grand old man and some sad looking portraits with some of his quotes. Not really telling us about who he really was nor what he said nor what he had done. Definitely must have been part of some centenary celebrations and the dude heading the govt then wanted his name on a plaque next to one of the most important people in the history of the world.
Still cant figure out the point of these half day school outings. Educational? Hmmm not really. The kids have fun? Hmmm not really, we always had someone screaming at us for daring to break away from the line. The place itself wasn’t of any landmark importance that it would make us want to revisit it when we were older.
Just another one of those have to do this once a year, lets get it over with so that the kids can get back to school and continue their quest towards becoming better engineers and accountants.
Funny this post started off a fairly happy one.
And we used to have this mandatory manic student picnic/trip every year. Mandatory because the enthusiasm levels mustered by the organizers was in reverse proportion to the mayhem we were capable of generating. So the more moronic the trip the more ruckus we could create.
And for the first 4 years the venue was always “Guindy Park”. Ask any kid who was born in the late 70s in Madras about Guindy Park and you would see this very distinctive look which bridges a whole lot of emotions and expletives. This was a place so mind numbing that the mayhem potential was quickly culled out.
Guindy Park had a lot of advantages. It was bang in the middle of the city, meant that we could do a day trip and be back in school second half. It dint really have too many exhibits, meant that we dint have to spend too much time there and be back in school second half. We usually went on a weekday which meant that there wasn’t too much of a crowd and be back in school second half. (My school really dint think too much of activities done outside school premises)
The biggest advantage was of course that most of the kids had already been there with family on some weekends or had already been part of an earlier school trip to the same venue. So we could pretty much be left to our devices as we would know the tour path and the accompanying teachers dint have to do too much policing.
For many years when the zoo would get a new animal, anything from as innocuous as a field rat or as dangerous as a bandicoot, there would be immense coverage in The Hindu. (Note: I said The Hindu and not the newspaper, we dint acknowledge the existence of other newspapers, but that of course is a topic for another day) I would like to think that the attendance swelled with hoards of bored looking kids being dragged towards the GP.
Oh I forgot another big advantage of GP was that there was this Mahatma Gandhi memorial right next to it. A fairly bleak empty place with pics of the grand old man and some sad looking portraits with some of his quotes. Not really telling us about who he really was nor what he said nor what he had done. Definitely must have been part of some centenary celebrations and the dude heading the govt then wanted his name on a plaque next to one of the most important people in the history of the world.
Still cant figure out the point of these half day school outings. Educational? Hmmm not really. The kids have fun? Hmmm not really, we always had someone screaming at us for daring to break away from the line. The place itself wasn’t of any landmark importance that it would make us want to revisit it when we were older.
Just another one of those have to do this once a year, lets get it over with so that the kids can get back to school and continue their quest towards becoming better engineers and accountants.
Funny this post started off a fairly happy one.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women
Interesting title right?
Who wouldnt want to be a part of "A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women". Let me rephrase that which guy wouldnt want to be part of " A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women".
So when i get this update on my FB......"5 of your friends joined the group A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women", immediately I smell a rat. Click on the link but of course 4 out of the 5 are guys.
I go to the link and there are 48,118 members. There are 8 display pics out of which 6 are guys. In true ex-advertising style that sample is enough for me.
Why the hell would i want to join this? The whole fun of being surrounded by loose forward pub going women and all i find is guys...what the fuck?
Now I understand that i might be trivialising this whole issue, and many of the people who have signed up are there for moral support blah blah blah.....
Honest confession I still havent come across a cause i havent been able to trivialise, or so learned psychopathic friends of mine say (they of course have been driven to psychosis cos of my indifference and trivialisation of issues or so they say....but fuck them. Who the fuck trusts these psychos anyways).
But hear me out. I know a few of the women who have signed up, most of them are married with kids and not loose as far as i know. Most of them are teetotallers or at best "Shiraz please" variety. And they seem to be seriously outnumbered by the drunk ass guys.
This group is full of married women who are non loose teetollers and drunk guys. Am I the only person seeing this or what? Or am i the wierd one to expect a group called "A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women" to be full of pubgoing loose and forward women? This is of course the expectation with which all the guys signed up, but there must have been some Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women to start off with? Where did they go?
Or are they all having fun at a nice dark pub laughing themselves silly at all the drunk guys and nice women join a group called "A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women"?
Who wouldnt want to be a part of "A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women". Let me rephrase that which guy wouldnt want to be part of " A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women".
So when i get this update on my FB......"5 of your friends joined the group A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women", immediately I smell a rat. Click on the link but of course 4 out of the 5 are guys.
I go to the link and there are 48,118 members. There are 8 display pics out of which 6 are guys. In true ex-advertising style that sample is enough for me.
Why the hell would i want to join this? The whole fun of being surrounded by loose forward pub going women and all i find is guys...what the fuck?
Now I understand that i might be trivialising this whole issue, and many of the people who have signed up are there for moral support blah blah blah.....
Honest confession I still havent come across a cause i havent been able to trivialise, or so learned psychopathic friends of mine say (they of course have been driven to psychosis cos of my indifference and trivialisation of issues or so they say....but fuck them. Who the fuck trusts these psychos anyways).
But hear me out. I know a few of the women who have signed up, most of them are married with kids and not loose as far as i know. Most of them are teetotallers or at best "Shiraz please" variety. And they seem to be seriously outnumbered by the drunk ass guys.
This group is full of married women who are non loose teetollers and drunk guys. Am I the only person seeing this or what? Or am i the wierd one to expect a group called "A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women" to be full of pubgoing loose and forward women? This is of course the expectation with which all the guys signed up, but there must have been some Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women to start off with? Where did they go?
Or are they all having fun at a nice dark pub laughing themselves silly at all the drunk guys and nice women join a group called "A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women"?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Movie Titles
"Faster Pussycat Kill Kill"
Couple of months back i stumbled upon this most delicious title for a movie ever. And of course, I was reading about Tarantino trying to remake another one of his beloved exploitation 60s trash and i mean that at a compliment.
Isnt there instant comprehension, intrigue, surprise and revulsion? What more do you want from a movie title?
For anyone interested in figuring out more about FPKK check out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059170/
Similar ones from the exploitation, blaxploitation era "Foxy Brown", "I spit on your grave". Highly evocovative and frankly pushing the borders of decency, but cheesy and harmless enough in hindsight.
Couple of months back i stumbled upon this most delicious title for a movie ever. And of course, I was reading about Tarantino trying to remake another one of his beloved exploitation 60s trash and i mean that at a compliment.
Isnt there instant comprehension, intrigue, surprise and revulsion? What more do you want from a movie title?
For anyone interested in figuring out more about FPKK check out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059170/
Similar ones from the exploitation, blaxploitation era "Foxy Brown", "I spit on your grave". Highly evocovative and frankly pushing the borders of decency, but cheesy and harmless enough in hindsight.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Friday the 13th - Iron Maiden Live
Of course the concert was awesome...dont need to get into details of how good they were. Am not good enough a writer to translate into words, the chemical rush inside my head when i hear the opening strains of any of the numbers. And it happened for each and every song...so....
But few things i noticed in the concert...
a. Bunch of 15-16 year olds next to me knew all the songs. Right from Iron Maiden from Iron Maiden to of course "Fear of the dark". These kids have been brought up well with the right values in life.
b. The crowd was very happy to see even Lauren Harris (Founder Steve Harris's progeny) after a couple of hours of lounging around. Enthusiastic reception even, definitely the beer talking. She got the bird every time she asked the crowd to put their hands up last time i saw her.
c. Maiden 80's and 90's output is incredibly tight, with not a note out of place. Unlike the 2000's output which tends to meander in the middle of most songs. The operatic theme driven numbers from this era tend to fall into this. But a similar themed song like "Rime of the Ancient mariner" doesnt even hint at being anything except extraordinary.
d. I love the Maiden cover of UFO's Doctor Doctor.
e. This is what i do in a maiden concert, "tan tana tan tana tan tana tantanana....tan tana tan tana tan tana tantanana...tananananana.....". Most people sing along with the lyrics, i do wierd sounds along with the guitars and drums. I dare any of you to guess the song.
f. They dint end up singing Moonchild.
g. My third maiden concert and up for many more.
IRON MAIDEN COMING TO GET YA. hey hey hey hey UP THE IRONS.
But few things i noticed in the concert...
a. Bunch of 15-16 year olds next to me knew all the songs. Right from Iron Maiden from Iron Maiden to of course "Fear of the dark". These kids have been brought up well with the right values in life.
b. The crowd was very happy to see even Lauren Harris (Founder Steve Harris's progeny) after a couple of hours of lounging around. Enthusiastic reception even, definitely the beer talking. She got the bird every time she asked the crowd to put their hands up last time i saw her.
c. Maiden 80's and 90's output is incredibly tight, with not a note out of place. Unlike the 2000's output which tends to meander in the middle of most songs. The operatic theme driven numbers from this era tend to fall into this. But a similar themed song like "Rime of the Ancient mariner" doesnt even hint at being anything except extraordinary.
d. I love the Maiden cover of UFO's Doctor Doctor.
e. This is what i do in a maiden concert, "tan tana tan tana tan tana tantanana....tan tana tan tana tan tana tantanana...tananananana.....". Most people sing along with the lyrics, i do wierd sounds along with the guitars and drums. I dare any of you to guess the song.
f. They dint end up singing Moonchild.
g. My third maiden concert and up for many more.
IRON MAIDEN COMING TO GET YA. hey hey hey hey UP THE IRONS.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Iron Maiden
When i was young i heard this song called moonchild...and from the first bars it was obsession (like most things in my life)
Hope to hear Bruce sing "Seven Deadly Sins, Seven ways to win........."
Iron Maiden....wooohooooo....UP THE IRONS....
More on the show tomorrow...
Hope to hear Bruce sing "Seven Deadly Sins, Seven ways to win........."
Iron Maiden....wooohooooo....UP THE IRONS....
More on the show tomorrow...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Trade Fair.....
Bill Bryson has inspired me indeed....one of the standing themes in the thunderbolt kid is the visiting state fair which comes in once a year....and much to his disgust the minimum age of entering the strip show tent is raised every year.....
Reminds me very much of the annual trade fair which used to happen on island grounds (the fair not the stripping, my god a couple of those in the island grounds...there would have been riots...damn...)in madras around pongal time (January), and would continue on until April. Used to be chaotic but man was it an occasion!
So couple of days back, I call my "former pain in the back now beloved" sister and shes like "dey (Yo) am at this fair grounds kind of place". So i go "quick try and find the panju mittai" (cotton candy), and shes like "dont think its going to be available here". I tell her that shes crazy...can she at least find the big vadam (huge rice fried papad), last attempt: look for the milaga bajji (chilli bajji). Nothing except the cotton candy was found. I was really disappointed about the big vadam though.
The reason for the frantic questioning was this, panju mittai and milaga bajji were staples which could be found on the marina beach. But this big vadam could be found only in this trade fair. It used to be this huge thingie, around the size of a bike tyre, sprinkled with chilli powder and bits of heaven.
The first thing which I used to do in this trade fair was search for the vadam guy, scout the place out (Bryson used to scout out the strippers tent, what priorities man) and guide whoever i was with in that direction. I have had various disapproving uncles tell me that it looked suspicious, whats the oil its made of etc etc. But we never did care did we.
To make sure you balanced the thingie on the newspaper in which it was wrapped, make sure it doesnt fly away in the wind, make sure you dont get sand on it, make sure the dogs dint pounce on it, make sure that other greedy kids dint finish off theirs and pounce on yours, make sure you eat fast enough so that you could pounce on the kid eating slower than you.....little vadam eating tam kids bringing in their knowledge of physics, biology, maths and part jedi/part sith skills into play .
After doing this over and over again over quite a few years the quest for the big vadam never ceased.
Wonder how the trade fair is doing these days....
Reminds me very much of the annual trade fair which used to happen on island grounds (the fair not the stripping, my god a couple of those in the island grounds...there would have been riots...damn...)in madras around pongal time (January), and would continue on until April. Used to be chaotic but man was it an occasion!
So couple of days back, I call my "former pain in the back now beloved" sister and shes like "dey (Yo) am at this fair grounds kind of place". So i go "quick try and find the panju mittai" (cotton candy), and shes like "dont think its going to be available here". I tell her that shes crazy...can she at least find the big vadam (huge rice fried papad), last attempt: look for the milaga bajji (chilli bajji). Nothing except the cotton candy was found. I was really disappointed about the big vadam though.
The reason for the frantic questioning was this, panju mittai and milaga bajji were staples which could be found on the marina beach. But this big vadam could be found only in this trade fair. It used to be this huge thingie, around the size of a bike tyre, sprinkled with chilli powder and bits of heaven.
The first thing which I used to do in this trade fair was search for the vadam guy, scout the place out (Bryson used to scout out the strippers tent, what priorities man) and guide whoever i was with in that direction. I have had various disapproving uncles tell me that it looked suspicious, whats the oil its made of etc etc. But we never did care did we.
To make sure you balanced the thingie on the newspaper in which it was wrapped, make sure it doesnt fly away in the wind, make sure you dont get sand on it, make sure the dogs dint pounce on it, make sure that other greedy kids dint finish off theirs and pounce on yours, make sure you eat fast enough so that you could pounce on the kid eating slower than you.....little vadam eating tam kids bringing in their knowledge of physics, biology, maths and part jedi/part sith skills into play .
After doing this over and over again over quite a few years the quest for the big vadam never ceased.
Wonder how the trade fair is doing these days....
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Thunderbolt Kid and Paneer Soda
So i picked up The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson yesterday. As always brilliantly written, unputdownable, bringing a brilliant perspective on growing up in the rampant consumeristic market that was the post WW2 USA. A constant refrain is that he might have been one of the last generation to actually see diversity, independence rather than the uniformity which is found in this day.
"Happily," Bryson writes, "we were indestructible. We didn't need seat belts, air bags, smoke detectors, bottled water, or the Heimlich maneuver. We didn't require child-safety caps on our medicines. We didn't need helmets when we rode our bikes or pads for our knees and elbows when we went skating. We knew without a written reminder that bleach was not a refreshing drink and that gasoline when exposed to a match had a tendency to combust. We didn't have to worry about what we ate because nearly all foods were good for us: sugar gave us energy, red meat made us strong, ice cream gave us healthy bones, coffee kept us alert and purring productively."
Growing up in Madras in the 1980s, I was amazed at how many of my childhood experiences closely mirror Brysons observations. Hot muggy afternoons with not much to do. Parents who really were not overprotective. Tv with very few channels. Loads of comics. Eyes being opened to books. The occasional visit out to watch a movie. and on and on.
One of the observations which really hit home was the lack of standardisation in the products and brands out there. A telling example was Nehi soda, a sort of liquid bubbling acidic concoction the way he puts it, the bubbles whizzing up your nose. And you know what i could taste it, I know exactly what he was talking about. 30 years and a lot of miles separates us but i still got what he meant.
Any kid who would have grown up in Madras(Chennai), India in the 1980s would know exactly what i was talking about. The drink was called paneer soda (not the cottage cheese from up north but literally meant soda flavoured with rose essence.Premium commodity this or so we were told). A heavy chunky green bottle (in a fight with a Coke/Pepsi bottle a paneer soda bottle would pulverize a ton of them for a midnight snack) with a kink in the throat. Also called goli soda (there can be huge arguments on whether paneer soda is indeed goli soda, but they were the same for me...so there). Goli stood for marbles the kind you played with, this was what was used to seal the bottle. Breaking it open was a delicious ritual itself. Put a finger or a thumb on the goli and hit the finger hard, wrong angle could break your finger but the right angle produced a delightful sounding "phat" a fizz and a plop (the goli settling in the kink).
And the drink itself would pretty much burn its way down your throat, find ways of escaping while doing so. All possible escape routes were explored, from up the nose, to going up to the brain, freezing it in the process, and make its way out through the ears. You would gasp for breath, make sure the goli wasnt blocking the way and do it all over again. Fairly masochistic. And there were millions of kids around me doing the same.
Was trying to remember whether i glimpsed the paneer soda bottle which would line the shelves of any potti kadai (literally a shop the size of a small box) the last time I was home. Dont really think so, was all pretty much bottles of kinley/Coke etc etc. Madras is one of those cities which doesnt give up so easy, am sure there are paneer soda bottles out there and on my next visit am going to get some!!!!
Happily enough i googled paneer soda while writing this and i believe the paneer soda is a registered trademark, how bout that?
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?ref=search&init=q&q=paneer+soda&sid=9f8146bc0ad80cf8f90473f5272a22e6#/pages/Paneer-Soda/41374158804?sid=9f8146bc0ad80cf8f90473f5272a22e6&ref=s is the link to the facebook fan page for paneer soda
There must be hundreds of similar rituals in my boyhood and am determined to put down as many as possible before i lose all my grey cells.
Coming Soon: Early morning milk runs :)
"Happily," Bryson writes, "we were indestructible. We didn't need seat belts, air bags, smoke detectors, bottled water, or the Heimlich maneuver. We didn't require child-safety caps on our medicines. We didn't need helmets when we rode our bikes or pads for our knees and elbows when we went skating. We knew without a written reminder that bleach was not a refreshing drink and that gasoline when exposed to a match had a tendency to combust. We didn't have to worry about what we ate because nearly all foods were good for us: sugar gave us energy, red meat made us strong, ice cream gave us healthy bones, coffee kept us alert and purring productively."
Growing up in Madras in the 1980s, I was amazed at how many of my childhood experiences closely mirror Brysons observations. Hot muggy afternoons with not much to do. Parents who really were not overprotective. Tv with very few channels. Loads of comics. Eyes being opened to books. The occasional visit out to watch a movie. and on and on.
One of the observations which really hit home was the lack of standardisation in the products and brands out there. A telling example was Nehi soda, a sort of liquid bubbling acidic concoction the way he puts it, the bubbles whizzing up your nose. And you know what i could taste it, I know exactly what he was talking about. 30 years and a lot of miles separates us but i still got what he meant.
Any kid who would have grown up in Madras(Chennai), India in the 1980s would know exactly what i was talking about. The drink was called paneer soda (not the cottage cheese from up north but literally meant soda flavoured with rose essence.Premium commodity this or so we were told). A heavy chunky green bottle (in a fight with a Coke/Pepsi bottle a paneer soda bottle would pulverize a ton of them for a midnight snack) with a kink in the throat. Also called goli soda (there can be huge arguments on whether paneer soda is indeed goli soda, but they were the same for me...so there). Goli stood for marbles the kind you played with, this was what was used to seal the bottle. Breaking it open was a delicious ritual itself. Put a finger or a thumb on the goli and hit the finger hard, wrong angle could break your finger but the right angle produced a delightful sounding "phat" a fizz and a plop (the goli settling in the kink).
And the drink itself would pretty much burn its way down your throat, find ways of escaping while doing so. All possible escape routes were explored, from up the nose, to going up to the brain, freezing it in the process, and make its way out through the ears. You would gasp for breath, make sure the goli wasnt blocking the way and do it all over again. Fairly masochistic. And there were millions of kids around me doing the same.
Was trying to remember whether i glimpsed the paneer soda bottle which would line the shelves of any potti kadai (literally a shop the size of a small box) the last time I was home. Dont really think so, was all pretty much bottles of kinley/Coke etc etc. Madras is one of those cities which doesnt give up so easy, am sure there are paneer soda bottles out there and on my next visit am going to get some!!!!
Happily enough i googled paneer soda while writing this and i believe the paneer soda is a registered trademark, how bout that?
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?ref=search&init=q&q=paneer+soda&sid=9f8146bc0ad80cf8f90473f5272a22e6#/pages/Paneer-Soda/41374158804?sid=9f8146bc0ad80cf8f90473f5272a22e6&ref=s is the link to the facebook fan page for paneer soda
There must be hundreds of similar rituals in my boyhood and am determined to put down as many as possible before i lose all my grey cells.
Coming Soon: Early morning milk runs :)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Ponting and the Zimbabwe rag, The Herald: Delusional!!!!!
Astonishing is the word....
Haddin "got an apology via text message from Daniel". This is the latest from Australia Captain, Ricky "Punter" Ponting. The said apology is of course over the "alleged" (right) disturbing of the stumps in the first ODI between Australia and New Zealand a couple of days back. Forget the fact that no self respecting Black Cap is ever going to apologise to the Aussies, but an apology over something this big!! An incident which is rivalling the Trevor Chappell underam incident for space in NZ right now. Ponting is clearly delusional, and needs help. Forget sending Symonds for treatment, get Ponting some Brain juice.
He backs Symonds over every disaster over the last couple of years, incidents which happen faster everytime Ponting stands up for Symonds. Wake up dude, Symonds is a drunk nut case easily riled and willing to shoot his mouth off.
Remember the infamous outburst against the journalist who dared question whether Ponting had taken a catch cleanly in Sydney!!! Everytime a case is made against this man he gets into a defensive funk faster than symonds can leap towards a beer.
Forget the rest, send him to a shrink!!!!
The next masterpiece is from The Herald....after Zimbabwe defeated the mighty Kenyans (gasp, the surprise is real. how did they beat Kenya, match fixing officials please take note. i suspect kenya was bribed with 300 billion zim dollars, just enough to buy a beer in Zim, unless Andrew Symonds got there first), they have been busy showering accolades on the board. Incredible. What kind of delusional maniac claims that Chingoka has been concentrating on building Zimbabwe cricket?
But the most damning line from the editorial was this....
With the full support of all local stakeholders — and progressive bodies such as Board of Cricket Control in India — Zimbabwe will rise again.
If theres a murky puddle somewhere you can be sure that the BCCI will be nearby busy mixing more of the said murky substance in case it starts clearing up......
for the full text of this http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=1786&cat=8
Haddin "got an apology via text message from Daniel". This is the latest from Australia Captain, Ricky "Punter" Ponting. The said apology is of course over the "alleged" (right) disturbing of the stumps in the first ODI between Australia and New Zealand a couple of days back. Forget the fact that no self respecting Black Cap is ever going to apologise to the Aussies, but an apology over something this big!! An incident which is rivalling the Trevor Chappell underam incident for space in NZ right now. Ponting is clearly delusional, and needs help. Forget sending Symonds for treatment, get Ponting some Brain juice.
He backs Symonds over every disaster over the last couple of years, incidents which happen faster everytime Ponting stands up for Symonds. Wake up dude, Symonds is a drunk nut case easily riled and willing to shoot his mouth off.
Remember the infamous outburst against the journalist who dared question whether Ponting had taken a catch cleanly in Sydney!!! Everytime a case is made against this man he gets into a defensive funk faster than symonds can leap towards a beer.
Forget the rest, send him to a shrink!!!!
The next masterpiece is from The Herald....after Zimbabwe defeated the mighty Kenyans (gasp, the surprise is real. how did they beat Kenya, match fixing officials please take note. i suspect kenya was bribed with 300 billion zim dollars, just enough to buy a beer in Zim, unless Andrew Symonds got there first), they have been busy showering accolades on the board. Incredible. What kind of delusional maniac claims that Chingoka has been concentrating on building Zimbabwe cricket?
But the most damning line from the editorial was this....
With the full support of all local stakeholders — and progressive bodies such as Board of Cricket Control in India — Zimbabwe will rise again.
If theres a murky puddle somewhere you can be sure that the BCCI will be nearby busy mixing more of the said murky substance in case it starts clearing up......
for the full text of this http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=1786&cat=8
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Interesting times
We live in interesting times…..
I have a lot of talented friends writing really insightful blogs using a variety of narrative devices. Know a 8 year old who writes the most amazing stuff in his blog….cracks me up everytime I go through it.
All of us are on the social networking sites, posting a lot of stuff, shouting loudly about a lot of things, signing up for causes we dont even know about. Exploring and putting up a lot of personal stuff because the option is there. Compulsively exploring as many of the nifty commands as possible.
I still keep reminding myself that am part of a generation that started learning to use computers. Not the pioneers or the engineers etc who started in the 70s or the 80s. Nor the generation which came next where playing with a computer or a mobile phone was the equivalent of me playing with a squeaky toy. But full blown usage at home when i was around 15. Learning the tedious MS DOS commands and marveling at people who could pull up the same stuff you did in 7 lesser characters. Was lucky that I had a computer at home, wasn’t really a common thing back then.
From there to full blown Graphic users interfaces in the mid 90s to the then wondrous Windows 95 (no had never even seen a MAC until then). Then to post graduation where we got to work in a “computer lab”. Where a bunch of 110 people fought for 15 computers. Bizarre I know. Many of the people with me hadn’t worked on a computer before then and had to go through an introduction course.
Then onto work where again luckily I worked in a place where everyone had a desktop, this wasn’t really common practice 8 years back. In my internship a year before that I saw the bizarre dance of having to type out an email and give it to a receptionist who had access to the prized password and she would send it out. We of course received print outs of the emails we received.
And so on and on and on….until now where I stare into the screen of my laptop almost 14 hours a day. Just makes me wonder whether I am part of the (un) lucky generation that grew up with the gradual increase in the usage of this machine.
I am one of the billions of normal people who use the computer as part of a routine, nothing in terms of cutting edge usage or anything of that sort. In my younger days I would know enough to keep it running, or start it up if something went wrong. But these days if something goes wrong with this machine, then apart from doing what every self respecting sys admin would do, i.e restart it, cant do much more.
And how does this tie in with my opening sentence?
Well was just wondering that where would this go on until.
So now we use the net to publish our thoughts and like I said there are a lot of talented people I know who are doing this beautifully. For the real savvy ones amongst us, to work within a boundary in their social networking sites or blogs etc is second nature. Like I said earlier it just leaves me bewildered. One of the fall outs is that potential employees, girl friends, boy friends, business associates, random people have unfettered access to murky pasts. Think this is already part of a wider debate or will be soon.
All the above has been explore by much smarter people and there are lot of literature available on the same.
The more interesting part is this…..where would this all end up with as far as the next generation is concerned? I think it could have potentially hilarious fall outs.
“DAD you did what during the summer of ’04. And you are telling me not to do this? Where is the justice? What am doing is not even 6.8% as potentially lethal. I have gone thro all the images, all 4539 blurred ones. What do you mean, that was a different time?”
“What the hell have you been writing about me since I was a child, and those images? And how come you never took my permission to put my images?”
“You know am never going to go thro all that you have been writing to me over the last 20 years…video blogging would have been so much easier!!!!”
“What bands have you been writing about anyways? And why are you forcing me to read about them? Give it up the Beatles are like so 100 years back.”
I never wanted to know what my dad did in his college years or what my mom and dad did on vacation! Perhaps thats a personal choice and avenues for learning about the same was offered by the parents and it was your choice to take it or run. But what if it was all around? In a hyper networked world where all and sundry details of what happened 40 years back was there at the click of a button. Oh i know about the checks and blocking and all that stuff, but what if it was just a dunderhead like me doing the rudimentary things and not knowing or not caring enought to put more checks?
And so on…..contemplating how this generations blundering about on the net will be looked at by the next one to come. People in our personal realm of contact.
Should be interesting.
I have a lot of talented friends writing really insightful blogs using a variety of narrative devices. Know a 8 year old who writes the most amazing stuff in his blog….cracks me up everytime I go through it.
All of us are on the social networking sites, posting a lot of stuff, shouting loudly about a lot of things, signing up for causes we dont even know about. Exploring and putting up a lot of personal stuff because the option is there. Compulsively exploring as many of the nifty commands as possible.
I still keep reminding myself that am part of a generation that started learning to use computers. Not the pioneers or the engineers etc who started in the 70s or the 80s. Nor the generation which came next where playing with a computer or a mobile phone was the equivalent of me playing with a squeaky toy. But full blown usage at home when i was around 15. Learning the tedious MS DOS commands and marveling at people who could pull up the same stuff you did in 7 lesser characters. Was lucky that I had a computer at home, wasn’t really a common thing back then.
From there to full blown Graphic users interfaces in the mid 90s to the then wondrous Windows 95 (no had never even seen a MAC until then). Then to post graduation where we got to work in a “computer lab”. Where a bunch of 110 people fought for 15 computers. Bizarre I know. Many of the people with me hadn’t worked on a computer before then and had to go through an introduction course.
Then onto work where again luckily I worked in a place where everyone had a desktop, this wasn’t really common practice 8 years back. In my internship a year before that I saw the bizarre dance of having to type out an email and give it to a receptionist who had access to the prized password and she would send it out. We of course received print outs of the emails we received.
And so on and on and on….until now where I stare into the screen of my laptop almost 14 hours a day. Just makes me wonder whether I am part of the (un) lucky generation that grew up with the gradual increase in the usage of this machine.
I am one of the billions of normal people who use the computer as part of a routine, nothing in terms of cutting edge usage or anything of that sort. In my younger days I would know enough to keep it running, or start it up if something went wrong. But these days if something goes wrong with this machine, then apart from doing what every self respecting sys admin would do, i.e restart it, cant do much more.
And how does this tie in with my opening sentence?
Well was just wondering that where would this go on until.
So now we use the net to publish our thoughts and like I said there are a lot of talented people I know who are doing this beautifully. For the real savvy ones amongst us, to work within a boundary in their social networking sites or blogs etc is second nature. Like I said earlier it just leaves me bewildered. One of the fall outs is that potential employees, girl friends, boy friends, business associates, random people have unfettered access to murky pasts. Think this is already part of a wider debate or will be soon.
All the above has been explore by much smarter people and there are lot of literature available on the same.
The more interesting part is this…..where would this all end up with as far as the next generation is concerned? I think it could have potentially hilarious fall outs.
“DAD you did what during the summer of ’04. And you are telling me not to do this? Where is the justice? What am doing is not even 6.8% as potentially lethal. I have gone thro all the images, all 4539 blurred ones. What do you mean, that was a different time?”
“What the hell have you been writing about me since I was a child, and those images? And how come you never took my permission to put my images?”
“You know am never going to go thro all that you have been writing to me over the last 20 years…video blogging would have been so much easier!!!!”
“What bands have you been writing about anyways? And why are you forcing me to read about them? Give it up the Beatles are like so 100 years back.”
I never wanted to know what my dad did in his college years or what my mom and dad did on vacation! Perhaps thats a personal choice and avenues for learning about the same was offered by the parents and it was your choice to take it or run. But what if it was all around? In a hyper networked world where all and sundry details of what happened 40 years back was there at the click of a button. Oh i know about the checks and blocking and all that stuff, but what if it was just a dunderhead like me doing the rudimentary things and not knowing or not caring enought to put more checks?
And so on…..contemplating how this generations blundering about on the net will be looked at by the next one to come. People in our personal realm of contact.
Should be interesting.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Character Actors
Tell me if am wrong but i would think that we are living in the golden age of character actors as far as Hollywood is concerned. Not that there weren't great ones through all eras of film making. But that they are getting some of their due in terms of starring roles...the recent resurgence of great content on TV also might have added something to it.
Over the next few weeks hope to add to this thread of thought not in terms of character sketches and bios but in terms of favourite moments. We all know the big breakthrough hollywood movements right from Jack Nicholson "Here's Johnny" or Clint Eastwood "Do you feel lucky punk". Am trying to look for some not so conventional moments from some not so conventional actors. Heres one for starters......
Alan Cumming in X2 as Night Crawler. When he's asked who he is. A slight straightening of the back, head tilted upwards "My name is Kurt Wagner, but in the Munich Circus... " and is rudely cut off.........this happens more than a few times in the movies and everytime you can see the hopeful gleam in his eye that he will finally establish his street cred with the rest of mutants....but always gets cut off and you can see the same slightly hurt/bewildered expression on his face every time....small moment carried off beautifully among the over the top performances all around....
Over the next few weeks hope to add to this thread of thought not in terms of character sketches and bios but in terms of favourite moments. We all know the big breakthrough hollywood movements right from Jack Nicholson "Here's Johnny" or Clint Eastwood "Do you feel lucky punk". Am trying to look for some not so conventional moments from some not so conventional actors. Heres one for starters......
Alan Cumming in X2 as Night Crawler. When he's asked who he is. A slight straightening of the back, head tilted upwards "My name is Kurt Wagner, but in the Munich Circus... " and is rudely cut off.........this happens more than a few times in the movies and everytime you can see the hopeful gleam in his eye that he will finally establish his street cred with the rest of mutants....but always gets cut off and you can see the same slightly hurt/bewildered expression on his face every time....small moment carried off beautifully among the over the top performances all around....
Sunday, February 1, 2009
AXL Rose – Chinese Democracy
(my comp crashed 3 times while writing this...how appropriate)
I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore
In terms of mind boggling statistics there has been enough written about Guns N Roses, Chinese Democracy. 14 years, 15 studios give and take a few years. Am not even going into the fact whether it was worth it. For that matter can anything in the pop culture be worth that much? How does one put a tag or a rating on a work which has obviously consumed not just time but the artist himself.
No, I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore No I...I
Forgive them that tear down my soul
And bless them that they might grow old
And free them so that they may know That it's never too late
What would it take for this man to just give up and get the damn thing out? To move on? How many changes of his team, studios, labels, hairstyles would it take to just say fuck it am done? What bullheadedness was needed to ignore the kind of changes which have taken in the music scene, whole sub genres of music have risen and fallen in that time. What was the quest for perfection or imperfection that he was looking for? What mythical Holy Grail drove him?
Oh the many times What seem like a memory I've searched and found the ways you use to lure me in
I've found the ways, oh why it had to be Mired in denial, and so afraid
If we ever find it true That we had the strength to choose I'm free of all these chains We held together
There were certainly enough of us out there who kept track of this. Actually that’s a lie, most of us remembered G ‘N’ R as this guy in a red bandana and white shorts running amok on stage while a guy with wild hair, a top hat and a dangling cigarette seemed to absorb the madness and channel it though one wailing note after another. We were certainly not prepared for the revolving door of musicians both known and obscure (the number of people who have been credited on the album might need its own website).
Until the day when the name of the album itself started to become mythical, a mirage, a derisive term even. Making its way up the list of works awaited for the longest time, shoving aside pretenders. Seemed the second coming of Elvis would happen sooner.
Would it even stand up to scrutiny…end up as a joke when it finally appeared on the shelves? Can anything live up to this kind of promise, waiting?
I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore
Am not even getting into the merits/demerits of the album (for the record I am obsessed). He certainly still has the voice, the wail, the guttural intensity. Rolling Stone magazine remarked that AXL needed a wall of guitars for what Slash and Izzy would conjure up. The songs are likeable enough, wavering between the brilliant and the pedestrian as any “good” album would. But this certainly isn’t an ordinary album is it?
No, I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore
AXL is a true rock star. That makes up for a lot of things. I have wailed enough times that the only super group of my times had split up too way ahead of its time. And the front man who could step into the ranks of the greats in any era (in terms of the attention he generates at least) was busy obsessively turning knobs in an unnamed record studio. He creates interest, obsession, condemnation, anger but never ignored. Oh we had all listened to appetite for destruction with a sense of wonder and worship, marveled at the perfect conflagration of music, promotion and hype that was use your illusion and were all equally bewildered by the spaghetti incident. But where would the Chinese democracy land up in this scale? Was he even worried about the reception?
The answer of course is NO. AXL is one of those once in a generation deviants who leads public opinion, not follow it in the manner of a market researched manufactured product. If he was to crash and burn then so be it.....but crash and burn he would...on his own fucking terms....
Of course the fact that i listened to the damn album obsessively could be that i bought into the wait...bought into the fact that this had to be freaking awesome.....
This song in red...Madagascar, has been performed by G N R over the last few years. With samples from cool hand luke, Martin Luther King Jr and visuals of katrina, starving Africa and Nelson Mandela this would be a outrage against the injustice around, a U2esque paen to those fighting to turn the world.....but I dont think so. Its almost like this is the tracing of the ordeal that was Chinese Democracy.....
No, I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore That I can't find my way back My way anymore
http://www.gunsnroses.us/chinesedemocracy/madagascar.htm
what do you think?
I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore
In terms of mind boggling statistics there has been enough written about Guns N Roses, Chinese Democracy. 14 years, 15 studios give and take a few years. Am not even going into the fact whether it was worth it. For that matter can anything in the pop culture be worth that much? How does one put a tag or a rating on a work which has obviously consumed not just time but the artist himself.
No, I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore No I...I
Forgive them that tear down my soul
And bless them that they might grow old
And free them so that they may know That it's never too late
What would it take for this man to just give up and get the damn thing out? To move on? How many changes of his team, studios, labels, hairstyles would it take to just say fuck it am done? What bullheadedness was needed to ignore the kind of changes which have taken in the music scene, whole sub genres of music have risen and fallen in that time. What was the quest for perfection or imperfection that he was looking for? What mythical Holy Grail drove him?
Oh the many times What seem like a memory I've searched and found the ways you use to lure me in
I've found the ways, oh why it had to be Mired in denial, and so afraid
If we ever find it true That we had the strength to choose I'm free of all these chains We held together
There were certainly enough of us out there who kept track of this. Actually that’s a lie, most of us remembered G ‘N’ R as this guy in a red bandana and white shorts running amok on stage while a guy with wild hair, a top hat and a dangling cigarette seemed to absorb the madness and channel it though one wailing note after another. We were certainly not prepared for the revolving door of musicians both known and obscure (the number of people who have been credited on the album might need its own website).
Until the day when the name of the album itself started to become mythical, a mirage, a derisive term even. Making its way up the list of works awaited for the longest time, shoving aside pretenders. Seemed the second coming of Elvis would happen sooner.
Would it even stand up to scrutiny…end up as a joke when it finally appeared on the shelves? Can anything live up to this kind of promise, waiting?
I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore
Am not even getting into the merits/demerits of the album (for the record I am obsessed). He certainly still has the voice, the wail, the guttural intensity. Rolling Stone magazine remarked that AXL needed a wall of guitars for what Slash and Izzy would conjure up. The songs are likeable enough, wavering between the brilliant and the pedestrian as any “good” album would. But this certainly isn’t an ordinary album is it?
No, I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back My way anymore
AXL is a true rock star. That makes up for a lot of things. I have wailed enough times that the only super group of my times had split up too way ahead of its time. And the front man who could step into the ranks of the greats in any era (in terms of the attention he generates at least) was busy obsessively turning knobs in an unnamed record studio. He creates interest, obsession, condemnation, anger but never ignored. Oh we had all listened to appetite for destruction with a sense of wonder and worship, marveled at the perfect conflagration of music, promotion and hype that was use your illusion and were all equally bewildered by the spaghetti incident. But where would the Chinese democracy land up in this scale? Was he even worried about the reception?
The answer of course is NO. AXL is one of those once in a generation deviants who leads public opinion, not follow it in the manner of a market researched manufactured product. If he was to crash and burn then so be it.....but crash and burn he would...on his own fucking terms....
Of course the fact that i listened to the damn album obsessively could be that i bought into the wait...bought into the fact that this had to be freaking awesome.....
This song in red...Madagascar, has been performed by G N R over the last few years. With samples from cool hand luke, Martin Luther King Jr and visuals of katrina, starving Africa and Nelson Mandela this would be a outrage against the injustice around, a U2esque paen to those fighting to turn the world.....but I dont think so. Its almost like this is the tracing of the ordeal that was Chinese Democracy.....
No, I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore That I can't find my way back My way anymore
http://www.gunsnroses.us/chinesedemocracy/madagascar.htm
what do you think?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Our cricket tour committee is truly a bunch of witless morons
this is just out....the tour of NZ in Feb...we have included an extra test and 20-20, so the tally is two Twenty20 matches, five ODIs and three Tests..awesome...wow... there must be a catch right?but of course this comes at the expense of... wait for it....the three day practice match....how many more times will we repeat the same crap...possibly the toughest of tours ever...where journeymen cricketers of the caliber of Simon Doull have made mincemeat of us......how many more tour openers will we lose?!?!?!?!?!!?!?we are legendary poor starters anyways and absolutely mindless stupid fucking decisions such as this just makes the shit explode through the ceiling.....possibly the only saving grace is that the tour starts with 20-20 goes into odi and then the test matches.....but again the players not in the 20-20 and odi scheme of things will come into the cold as of course the three day warm up match between the ODIs and tests has been scrapped....so hasta la vista Dravid you are fucked...Laxman better start thinking of excuses not to tour, you too sir are fucked..we have not won a test here in 3 decades...with lunatics running the show its a miracle that we win abroad at all...just reinforces the fact that we win inspite of these assholes....
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