tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9398891624940062332024-03-13T18:06:19.619+05:30Dreams of an InsomniacWelcome to my world.When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep and you're never really awake.With insomnia, nothing is real.Everything is far away. Everything is a copy ... of a copy .... of a copy ...Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-79027440811463681622012-02-20T17:38:00.012+05:302012-02-20T20:47:05.677+05:30A better life - a review<div style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center; "><span><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: 100%; "><span style="font-size: 100%;"> There are these rare times, when a movie comes along and lifts your spirit with its freshness. There is nothing extraordinary about it. Infact, it is so excellently ordinary that it's beautifully special. A Better Life chronicles the story of Carlos Galindo, a mexican immigrant father struggling to make ends meet, to give his son Luis what he couldn't accord himself. Carlos works as a gardener/landscaper, tending the manicured lawns of LA's rich. However, with his employer Blasco returning to Mexico, Carlos is out of work, and is forced to wait with other immigrant workers, waiting for an employer to call them out. The day wears on, leaving just Carlos and one other old worker - Santiago, still waiting.</span></span><div style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><span style="font-size: 100%; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GhPUdXfDl2k/T0JeAUIFyCI/AAAAAAAADKQ/5smpWF3eXwc/s320/carlosonthepalmtree.PNG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711230636954863650" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px; " /></span></span><div style="text-align: center; "><span>Carlos admires the view perched atop a palm tree</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span> Luis doesn't think too highly of his father's toils, and in the company of his girlfriend Ruthie, leans dangerously close to joining one of the local gangs, who are relatives of Ruthie. Realizing that he is left with no other choice, Carlos asks his sister - Anita for help to buy Blasco's truck, so that he could run the landscaping operations. Carlos sees this truck as a means to give his family a new lease on life. In a cruel twist, the truck is stolen from Carlos, leaving him shattered. Luis joins his father in the hunt for the lost automobile. Luis who is more streetsmart doesn't see eye to eye with his father's straightforward, almost naive manner of dealing with people. The movie's strength is in the portrayal of the relationship between the two, riding on exceptionally natural acting by the two lead actors.<br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span><br />This is not a movie with an overload of melodrama. It's not a movie that raises the issue of immigration. The story line is quite predictable. What sets it apart is the extremely real and touching way the characters are sketched. You feel their angst, you understand their frustration and the simple joys they share. The story feels very real and human, an uncommon trait in movies of today. There is an underlying hope throughout the movie, that strives to bring out the goodness in all of us, and Chris Weitz has done a brilliant job of making a touching film which is definitely one of the year's best movies. Hard to believe that his last film was Twilight New moon! Bichir's moving portrayal of the single father has earned him a worthy oscar nomination, and I have a feeling it will stay only that, a nomination. For true gems like this performance are seldom rewarded over more recognised names.<br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; "><span><i>"Why did you have me? Why do these poor people have children?"</i> asks a frustrated Luis. <i>"Don't say that Mijo"</i> dismisses the offended father. In the last minutes of the movie, Carlos answers his son's question - <i>"Because I love you.You are the most important thing in this world to me, mijo.I wanted you to be able to be anything you wanted to be. That would make me feel worthy. If you became somebody. That's why I had you. For me."</i></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><div><span><br />It's beautiful. Watch it.</span></div></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span><br /></span></div></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mNsnCWvWS08/T0JeJMf52gI/AAAAAAAADKc/uTMOznOP7e8/s320/carlosyluis.PNG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711230789526084098" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 130px; " /></span><div style="text-align: center; "><span>Father and son</span></div></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-63182395004224198172012-01-31T19:54:00.009+05:302012-02-01T15:09:19.981+05:30Not quite number one<span>Being unemployed brings with it, its own benefits, one of which is catching matches in the afternoon (another other being, you grow tired of being lazy and start excavating your own blog!). I was treated to an amazing Australian open which saw Leander Paes beat the Bryan brothers, with Radek Stepanek. It was a complete mauling and I enjoyed every minute of it! The women's event yielded yet another world number one, but hey, atleast she has a grand slam to her credit (she played excellent tennis, no doubting that!).</span><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>But then, the men's semi final is what everyone seems to be counting down to these days. The big 4 of men's tennis find themselves lugging it out with each other to get the opportunity to win/lose the final in pretty much every tournament they choose to take seriously. Nadal and Djokovic have monopolised the slams over the past 2 years, winning 8 slams consecutively between them! A <a href="http://swathimeenakshi.blogspot.in/"><span>friend</span> </a>pointed me to this post - <a href="http://goo.gl/gCpQQ"><span>http://goo.gl/gCpQQ</span></a> . It's a prosaic romanticization of Nadal's perpetuity at number 2. First it was the man whom tennis should be grateful to for having graced the game, and now, is the indomitable Serb who has taken his game to entirely different levels over the past 13 months! </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>I remember writing a <a href="http://boyfromerode.blogspot.in/2008/06/somethin-i-wanted-to-post-while-back.html">post</a> about Nadal about three and a half years back (<a href="http://goo.gl/qRc8J">http://goo.gl/qRc8J</a>). As I read it again, I see that while Nadal has improved multiple aspects of his game and is truly a beast on court, much of it remains the same. It must be said that the Nadal serve is now a force to reckon with, and his volleying is employed to more lethal effect. Still, in terms of raw tennis ability, he is definitely overshadowed by his technically brilliant peers. While Murray just refuses to win a slam, his semi final against Djokovic was definitely the best match of the tournament, as he brought out the best in the champion, with tennis of the most brilliant kind. However, what Nadal lacks in finesse and technique, he more than makes up for it by his monstrous athleticism. Federer comfortably dispatches opposition of any kind with his almost casual dismissal of the tennis ball to any corner of the court he pleases. But with Nadal prowling the lines on the other side of the net, every one of those shots are chased down and hit back with tons of venom, leaving Federer out of ideas to match the Spaniard's physical strength.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Nadal is a player I've come to respect over the years. I can hardly think of anyone who has established a reign of invincibility over a particular surface (ok Pete and the greens of Wimbledon :) ). His doggedness in going 100% to attempt a shot many wouldn't even bother moving for, is unnerving. What is scarier is, he can just go on and on for hours on end retrieving the ball, never relenting, never tiring, a true bull indeed. Nadal has his moments of magic, the opened up forehand winner whizzing past hapless opponents, the booming backhand down the line, the occasional drop and neatly executed volley. But I would think his superhuman athleticism has been the reason for him being a strong contender for every single title, more than anything else. Viewed in that light, is he probably the greatest ever world no. 2, the ever present nemesis to anyone who dares challenge for a title? Arguably so, I would think. </span></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-1182662870675708582012-01-20T14:22:00.001+05:302012-01-20T14:23:57.749+05:30The Insomniac is backThe Insomniac is back after a rather long nap. A post should be up shortly, like nothing ever happened.Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-85554222463030596702010-05-19T19:30:00.006+05:302010-05-21T03:51:54.198+05:30The Wonder Years<div style="text-align: center; "><i>A heartfelt dedication to everyone who has been a part of the most memorable years of my life!</i></div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>May 20th,2010</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This room, these four walls have been my home, my best friend. To think that I cant ever come back to call this home again! My bags are packed. The goodbyes are done. The photos have been taken. The customary promises to stay in touch have been made. Plans for a get-together are already afoot! But the fact that things will never be like this, however hard we try, hits me hard in the face, as I sit alone in the room, savouring the last few minutes in my den. And then it's done. The room is locked. A final look at the hostel, and I'm gone.</div></div><div><br /></div><b>August,2006<br /></b>Fresh from school, we arrived, with the air of one who's set to conquer the world. We were the lords of all creation, as we strutted about the campus that night. The dream had been realised. We were <span>here</span>. <div><br /></div><div>It seems, but a blink of the eye, as semester after semester rolled by, each more eventful than the other, each as memorable as the other. Every day seemed an adventure. Coming late to class, sleeping and not getting caught, bunking class and going to a movie, bunking class and playing football, bunking class and.. well, just bunking class for the heck of it! We dictated our terms, and lived by those rules, <i>our</i> rules. We were no longer kids, nor were we adults. And boy did we abuse this situation ;) .<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>All of the good times that I can think of, has loads of people in it. Come to think of it, we were never alone. There was always somebody around to share the stupidest of jokes. Exam times were insane, as 30 of us crowd around a solitary laptop, a "session" in progress! To all those self-less souls who took the time to help the others out - <i>Unganaala thaan machan arrear vekkala!! </i>More than the T20 matches, the taunts, and the overall atmosphere in the TV room made it an experience that I shall always cherish. We were always together, always a group, and that made things all the more special.</div><div><br /></div><div>After college, the society leads us to evolve into unitary individuals, as we try to fend for ourselves, and later, for our family. We naturally become self-centred, and the joys of sharing and friendship, are at best, futile pursuits. Night time chats with friends in the hostel that extended for hours on end, stretching into the wee hours of morning, will become a mere e-mail, as we hurry past our life, running after it. These four years were when we actually lived life, drank it in and savoured it, enjoying every moment!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>May 19th, 2010</b></div><div>Last day for most of the chaps, penultimate day for a few others. The gloomy weather and the looming storm seemed to be a reflection of our moods, as the entire atmosphere was damp and ominous, thanks to over 12 hours of continuous rain. But a day that promised to be one of the worst, turned out to be the exact opposite. As darkness swallowed the campus, the lights gave an almost ethereal appearance to the trees. The entire campus was glowing! It seemed that the place had become beautiful, just to give us a lovely farewell. The last ride in the campus, is an experience I will never forget. Every single lane, every pavement, each and every building treasures a volume of memories that can never be expressed in words or caught in photographs!</div><div><br /></div><div>A few years from now, I don't know where I or any of my friends are going to be. We will definitely be in touch, but I am not even going to pretend that things are ever going to be like this, ever again! That's the worst thing about good byes. There's absolutely nothing good about it. Here's a toast to each and every person, who has shared a part of 4 of the happiest years of my life. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Good bye, and thank you for making this experience, very special. </div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/S_WqZfzPZJI/AAAAAAAAAT0/CJ9Dys8Ssj0/s1600/coll.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/S_WqZfzPZJI/AAAAAAAAAT0/CJ9Dys8Ssj0/s320/coll.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473468277148574866" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-11921813165333427042010-05-18T03:26:00.003+05:302010-05-18T04:02:18.813+05:30Of Anticliches and their abuseI just finished watching In Bruges, a movie starring Collin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralf Fiennes. I loved the film. The music, the screenplay, everything was just about perfect. Farrell was surprisingly good. Brendan Gleeson as Ken, an aging hitman was simply brilliant. But hey, this post isn't about the plot. It's not even a review.<br /><br /> Cliches have been plaguing cinema for quite a while now! (Ask Vijay fans). Movie-goers were no longer willing to lap up whatever the production houses threw at them. The directors at hollywood realized that and thus was born the era of the Anti-Cliche. <br /><br />Consider the classic cliche : <br /><br />Good guy always survives <br /><br /> No matter what the villain does to him, the good guy survives. If he's thrown off a building, he lands on really soft stuff. If he gets shot, the bullet hits a locket that he wears around his neck. If he's Vijaykanth.... hell he just cant die!<br /><br /> So the directors wanted to change things a bit and thought "Hey lets knock off the good guy!". This has been seen in a lot of movies as well. Arlington road, The Road to perdition, Pan's labyrinth, Titanic, anything to do with Nicolas Sparks, Gladiator, and urm Departed (where just about everybody who had a 20% or more screen presence got killed). We have had a lot of movies which show the protagonist dying. So many that <span style="font-style:italic;">this</span> has become a cliche. <br /><br />So along came another plot device.<br /><br />The Open Climax :<br /><br /> Ok, good guy living is cliched, good guy dying is cliched. So what do they do? They feature a monologue by the protagonist, while the film runs in black and white, as he lies, barely alive, with people rushing about him in slow motion. And then the credits start rolling<br /> While watching In Bruges, it was kind of obvious that this is what was going to happen in the end. A variation of this was featured in Truffaut's 400 blows, where you don't know if the kid is captured or runs free. Heck even "Yaaradi Nee Mogini" featured an open climax.<br /><br />Thinking about this, I can only recall that I have never hated fairy tale endings. (Unless it was some really sissy movie loaded with cheesy stuff, that is). So do directors have to really come up with convoluted endings, just to show that their film is not treading the beaten track? Or are directors going to come up with another new trick?Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-75235507900023275932009-09-06T13:33:00.002+05:302009-09-06T14:48:02.034+05:30I recently came across a famous violin concerto of Beethoven while browsing idly, titled - The Kreutzer sonata. I hadnt heard this one before and so, did what every self-respecting net user does. Ask Google.<br /><br />This led me to a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mixnMzHUYxA">youtube video</a>. Was reading an ebook while waiting for it to buffer.<div><br /></div><div> After a wait for 15 minutes, the chordal opening of the piece fill the silence, as if shaking me awake from a lull i would rather not submit myself to. The sweet notes of the violin then give way to the piano, and then the harmony begins, with the violin leading the way, the chords of the piano following suit. I relax as the introduction pans out, building up slowly, in pace and vigour.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="24" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.0.5.swf" w3c="true" flashvars='config={"key":"#$b6eb72a0f2f1e29f3d4","playlist":[{"url":"http://www.archive.org/download/ISGM_Podcast-The_Concert-9/theconcert9_64kb.mp3","autoPlay":false}],"clip":{"autoPlay":true},"canvas":{"backgroundColor":"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"none"},"plugins":{"audio":{"url":"http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.0.3-dev.swf"},"controls":{"playlist":false,"fullscreen":false,"gloss":"high","backgroundColor":"0x000000","backgroundGradient":"medium","sliderColor":"0x777777","progressColor":"0x777777","timeColor":"0xeeeeee","durationColor":"0x01DAFF","buttonColor":"0x333333","buttonOverColor":"0x505050"}},"contextMenu":[{"Item ISGM_Podcast-The_Concert-9 at archive.org":"function()"},"-","Flowplayer 3.0.5"]}'> </embed><br /><br /><div>The wikipedia article quotes a nice anecdote about this piece. Initially, Beethoven had written this piece at the behest of the English violinist - George Bridgetower. The 2 played this at a premier together, and Beethoven was so taken by Bridgetower's playing that he ran from the piano, while the concerto was in progress, to hug him in elation. He dedicated the piece to Bridgewater, after the recital. Howere, there was an unfortunate turn of events, as Bridgetower, under the influence of alcohol<citation> passed some disparaging remarks about a women whom Beethoven held in high regard. And as goes the pop culture saying ( aka. Vivek's dialog as he lies abandoned at the foot of a lorry, with Madhavan rushing off to court reema sen), dear old Ludwig von blew his top and withdrew the dedication. Instead, he dedicated the piece to Rudolphe Kreutzer, a violin virtuoso. Ironically, Kreutzer never performed this. On receipt of the manuscript, he declared it unplayable. However, to save face, Beethoven let the dedication stay in place, and to this day, we know Violin Sonata no. 9 as the Kreutzer sonata.</div><div><br /></div><div> While I type this,the A major opening is slowly turning into a darker minor, with the piano leading the way at a teasing pace. What follows is a fiery A-minor duet, with notes rendered in staccato bursts. The pace eases out and there is a sharp contrast in the tone of the piece, as we progress to an F - minor melody section. </div><div><br /></div><div>My favorite part, however, is the piano tarantella section, which crashes in on the calmness of the previous section, getting the listner to sit up and watch, reminiscent of the old tom and jerry cartoons. After flitting back and forth between major and minor, the piece moves into it's finale, ending with a rush of notes streaming from the violin, and chords rendered violently on the piano.</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mixnMzHUYxA">This</a> is a wonderful video, with Nathan Milstein on the Violin and Georges Pludermacher on the piano. An extremely well rendered version of what is considered by many to be one of the toughest violin pieces to play.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you havent listened to this piece yet, I recommend that you do, even though you have no taste in classical music. It will be truly worth your while.</div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-86898954006478627862009-08-17T00:02:00.003+05:302009-08-17T00:15:22.187+05:30Swine flu over the cuckoo's nest: <meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title></title> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.4 (Linux)"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --></style><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size:85%;">No I didnt think of the title. Credit to my good friend Rohit. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SohSAYvIFGI/AAAAAAAAANM/EIjoOn3qjBg/s1600-h/porky.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SohSAYvIFGI/AAAAAAAAANM/EIjoOn3qjBg/s320/porky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370632722232906850" border="0" /></a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Porky Pig, spelling the world's doom</span>
<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I just got back from a trip to bangalore. Apart from the usual sights and sounds of the city, if you know what I mean, there was a very striking feature all around me. At first, I thought that it had something to do with my blocked nose, as I was deemed incapable of sensation through my olfactory sensors. But then, it was obvious that there was something more repulsive than the usual stench of the railway tracks.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It was kind of amusing, for a while, to watch people using all forms of flimsy clothing, to cover their faces, and hurry along carrying their luggage in one hand, whilst the other was employed in adjusting the material that was covering their face. Then realisation dawned. It was the swine flu scare that was driving people to such extremes! I couldnt help laughing.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Kerchiefs, duppatas, pallu of sarees, hand towels and surgical masks seemed to be the weapons of choice, as humans attempted to defy the H1N1 virus, which was creating bigger waves than Rakhi Sawant ki swayamwar ( and that, in itself, is saying something! ) . I guess they had forgotten that itsy-bitsy piece of information which they learnt in 6<sup>th</sup> grade biology, which said “Viruses are the smallest known biological beings ( I am taking care to not declare them to be <i>Living beings, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">so that I wont be crucified by my core-biology friends) , measuring only a few milli microns” . For those of you not familiar with the metric system, that means viruses are smaller than the smallest thing you can imagine, way way smaller.
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<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Well, that was the part where they lost me. I mean, you can actually see the holes in your handkerchief when you hold it up against the light. That's gonna keep a virus out? Lol. Or does it give the wearer a false sense of security? It would be appropriate, at this point, to explore the actual effectiveness of a mask. The N95, is said to be the standard mask which doctors recommend, for </span><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>people displaying symptoms of swine flu. </b></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Dig? The mask is actually supposed to be worn by folks who are entertaining the virus in their biological system. Those masks come equipped with filters to prevent the infection from spreading. And these flimsy pieces of clothing, and surgical masks, wont even keep the wearer's bad breath off! I fail to see the logic behind such efforts. But hey, am not complaining. I had a lot of fun while waiting at the railway station.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;">
<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"> And umm, though the H1N1 virus sounds very threatening and all, the chances of mortality by a road accident, is far far far far greater than the probability of you being the next casuality of swine flu! Hell, there's a greater chance of being struck by lightning than getting swine flu! But then, you know that if you stay on the footpath, the chance of you being run over by a 'National permit lorry' is very low, but the swine flu seems to be all pervading, and has indeed taken the world by storm ( forgive the inappropriate usage of the expression. But couldn't resist) . You actually don't have to do anything to get it. Maybe it's the fear of the unknown that drives people to take precautions against the invisible enemy. And this is where terrorism scores. You never know where they are going to strike, until it actually happens.
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<br />The landmark quiz (held on independence day) turned out to be a huge canvas, where the creativity of the quizzers there, manifested itself in the form of superb puns and jibes at prospective pandemic. I would like to close this post, with the best of the lot ( contributed by Mathew, which ended up being our team name as well )</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;">
<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Overheard at the American Embassy : </span></span><i><span style="">We don't sell H1N1 Visas here!!</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">
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<br /></p> Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-28289496516258655652009-07-04T16:19:00.010+05:302009-07-17T23:29:09.630+05:30Music Videos - The Temple of the King<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SlhlpCEZjoI/AAAAAAAAAMs/IgAJYeLA3TQ/s1600-h/mj+silhouette.png"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i>Disclaimer : This post is exclusively about pop music, music videos, and the sultan of the dance floor. and it stops there. this post does not talk about the personal issues in the lives of the artist in question.<br /></i><br /><br /><div>Ah the music video. What would MTV be without it! Rewind to the early 80s, when the world of music was facing a transition from more rock oriented acts to popular music. The fact that many of the classic rock acts of the 60s 70s and 80s only live on in the minds of rock buffs of today, should be attributed to the media shifting attention to the world of pop, hip hop and all the sissy acts around us presently. But there was a time, when music videos paved the way for really talented artists to showcase their stuff in a way that was never possible for many of their predecessors. Leading the music video revolution, was MTV. <div><br /><br /></div><div>As if by a twist of fate, the launch and establishment of MTV as a mainstream music channel, also happened to coincide with the rise of one of the greatest ever entertainers of all time (THE greatest, in my book), Michael Joseph Jackson. This young African American, was making waves with his extremely refreshing style of music and his groovy moves. And so it came to pass, by the end of the year 1982, the world of music was about to witness an act that would not be eclipsed for more than 25 years since it's debut (27 years and still going strong) . 109 million albums world wide , selling a millioin copies a week while at it's peak, a record breaking 8 grammys, with seven of the ten songs in the album making it to the topp 10, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Thriller</span> took music to levels never dreamed of , before. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238);"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/Slhlo2eTQKI/AAAAAAAAAMk/81KnRpfPyoA/s320/michael_jackson_king_of_pop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357143509248983202" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" border="0" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The picture says it all</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div>But it doesnt stop there. Jackson was no mere musician. He was a true entertainer at heart. What others saw as a mere tool to market their music, Jackson envisioned a whole new art form. The music video was to Michael Jackson, a huge white canvas, where he let loose his arsenal of amazing moves to come to the fore. MTV, which was previously not that open to black american artists, had no choice but to cash in on Jackson's genius, as Thriller took the world by storm. To this day, "Beat it" remains my favorite music video. The verses venomously pouted out, the gang war, the choreographed dance sequences (which is now common place in almost every music video), and the insane guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen! What more can one ask for!<br /><br />While thriller was shattering world records in every which way imaginable, Jackson was busy working on his next project - Bad. This album, on it's release, debuted at number 1 !!! Number 1 on the day of release. I mean, man, there are people who call the Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake - the princes of pop!! I am already ruing the fact that I mention such names in this article! 5 songs from Bad in the Billboard top 10. The music videos of the singles making waves everywhere! The world of popular music now, officially had a King.<br /><br />With Bad, MJ had produced a musically better album than his previous ones. While the title track was a smash hit, the shuffling "The Way you make me feel" , the rock track - Dirty Diana with a guitar solo by Steve Stevens, Speed Demon, Liberian girl , featuring a host of celebrities and my favorite, from this album - Smooth Criminal, were also fantastic numbers, with almost everyone of them making the BillBoard top ten, their home for many a week. The anti - gravitiy lean in Smooth Criminal , is almost a legendary move today! Bad brought to the fore, Jackson's song writing abilities, his diverse musical tastes, and it unleashed a whole new world of dance moves. Following this, Dangerous, History and Invincible were also extremely good albums, but never measured up to the success of their predecessors. Those albums did yield such wonderful tracks like Black or white, Stranger in Moscow, They don't care about us, Scream, You Rock My World and Earth Song among many others.<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxvzN_cWLVFi3bwyJilBq_18IQrKOdYh6UxsgHhTQuTsOLqWEKtrsSYHllFyG2apgwbg-zfGrF7P-Af5y8t7Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br />Another thing which stand out, in Jackson's videos , is that there is usually a theme, such as racial themes (black or white) gang violence (Beat It, Bad) and you will almost get the feeling of watching a mini movie, something artists of today can learn, as more and more videos look exactly like any other music video. To the new world of pop music, Michael Jackson was a true messiah, as he took the industry, and the music, to dizzying heights, which he himself was not able to reach in the later parts of his career. And it is truly a great loss that the world has lost such an amazing talent. Pop will never see the likes of another Michael Jackson again!!<br /><br />And to quote B.B.King, the Thrill, is gone.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SlhlpCEZjoI/AAAAAAAAAMs/IgAJYeLA3TQ/s1600-h/mj+silhouette.png"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SlhlpCEZjoI/AAAAAAAAAMs/IgAJYeLA3TQ/s320/mj+silhouette.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357143512361569922" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 320px;" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">RIP Michael, forever, The King of Pop!!</span></i> </div></div></div></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-66068155661108593152009-04-23T13:47:00.006+05:302009-04-25T20:25:32.182+05:30Brave new world!I had a tough time getting Mario to lend me this book. But after reading it, I am feeling that it was worth all the effort. Oh there I go rambling again not giving a moment's consideration to give the readers an insight into what I am talking about. For those of you in the dark, A Brave New World is a novel written by Aldous Huxley and is considered one of Science Fiction's masterpieces, and justifiably so. While the concept of a dystopian future is a bit cliched now, this was a ground breaking work during the early 20th century (pub. 1932). While earlier works like <span style="font-style: italic;">Men like Gods</span> visualized a utopian future, Huxley chose to parody that idea, by creating a new world where men are 'reared' and life is an ever turning wheel, uniform and synchronised. Everyone has a pre-determined fate. They live it out and die, to be replaced by more drones.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SfDKu-Or0jI/AAAAAAAAAKI/-THHq4gIh5w/s1600-h/brave-new-world.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SfDKu-Or0jI/AAAAAAAAAKI/-THHq4gIh5w/s320/brave-new-world.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327981267506680370" border="0" /></a><br />The year is AF 632 (that s not a typo. It is AF). Population is stabilized and peace and harmony reigns in the world state. The novel opens with the director of Hatcheries taking a fresh batch of students through the Hatcheries and conditioning centre, explaining the process of Bokanovskification - the creation of various classes of human beings from embryos. While genetic engineering was unheard of during Huxley's time, he used the advantage of coming from a family of biologists to good measure, by giving a not too unbelievable explanation of how the various castes are developed. As the director takes the students on the tour, the reader is also transported to the world of the future. One is able to form a vivid mental picture of the decanting process, the hypnopaedic (sleep learning) centres where the babies are infused with ideas of class segregation and what is acceptable by the world order and what is not.<br /><br />Henry Ford sparked off a revolution with his assembly line concept, which revolutionised the industrial world. So much so, that in Huxley's future, Ford has replaced God, and Fordism, Christianity. And AD of the Gregorian calendar, is now AF - After Ford that is. One cant help but smile at this, as it is said in the most serious of tones. London's Big Ben has made way for Big Henry. Huxley, while on a trip to USA, got hold of a book by Henry Ford, and on reaching America, found out that a lot of ideas put forward by Ford seemed to predominate the activities of the people there. He was disgusted by the culture there, the sexual promiscuity, drugs and the lot. So Brave New World sort of, takes off from those American themes, with quite a bit of satire, as is evident from the psychedelic drug - Soma, which is absolute bliss for the one who consumes it,(and which doesnt have the bad side effects of usual drugs) and Sex hormone chewing gums(lol, and to think the world hadnt heard of Viagra back then. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. How true! ) . Most of the characters are named after prominent people of that time. More on that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_new_world#Sources_of_names_and_references">here</a>.<br /><br />As you turn the pages of the novel, you will find that the writing style reflects the thoughts of each of the key characters in that particular section. Predominantly, you can view the novel as 3 parts. Part one is described as seen by the eyes Bernard Marx, an alpha male (the upper class) , a sort of outcast because of his physical deformity and his blasphemous ideas (such as the desire to be lonely, his disgust at the thought of everyone belongs to everyone else, his distaste for soma etc) which ultimately land him in soup. Helmholtz Watson, a like minded Alpha Plus and lecturer at the College of Emotional Engineering is his sole confidante. While Bernard Marx is shown as different from the rest, he is by no means, your classical hero. He is portrayed as a weak individual who has different ideas, but is insecure, about the fact that he is a social outcast. Throughout the book, Bernard annotates quotes from various hypnopaedic lessons, much like Bible quotes one finds, in several texts.<br /><br />The next part is when Bernard sets off with Lenina Crowne, a Beta female, to study the "savages" who live in reservations pocketed in various corners of the world. By sheer coincidence, they chance upon John, a savage, who is actually "born" of a woman from the civilized world. John and Bernard become friends quickly. From here, we begin to see the world through the eyes of John. An obvious outcast, John tries his best to fit in with the natives. His mother however, cannot adapt to the real world, as she struggles to understand that, in the world of savages, everyone doesNOT belong to everyone else. John cannot come to grips with some of his mother's antics, though he loves her a lot, as is evident in the scene where she is in her death bed. His mother,Linda however, resents the very fact that she has given birth(which is pretty blasphemous. So is the word "mother"). Bernard then obtains permission to bring back John, the savage and his mother, to the New world.<br /><br />The third part is depicted through the eyes of John, the savage. Each and every "wonder" of the New World, troubles him. Everybody seems to want to use him, Bernard included, who,for the first time in his life, is getting recognition and importance. John falls in love with Lenina, and this grows complicated, as John is the classic romantic, while all Lenina knows is desire and pleasure. John and Helmholtz become friends very quickly much to Bernard's chagrin (as mentioned earlier, Bernard is not the epitome of perfection). In these portions, John is continually referred as the savage, but to the reader, it is quite ironic, because the behaviour of the so called civilised people around him, is nothing short of savagery. Inspired by Shakespeare, the romantic in John gets the better of him, as he tries to redeem the New World, by attempting to do away with Soma rations for the workers. A riot ensues, which results in John, Helmholtz and Bernard being arrested.<br /><br />While Bernard's excesses had been tolerated thus far, this was the last straw. Both he and Helmholtz are exiled to Iceland and the Falkland islands respectively, by one of the 10 Resident World Controllers, His Fordship, Mustapha Mond. The savage disentangles himself from society and leads the life of a hermit at the lighthouse. He blames himself for his mother's death, Lenina's behaviour and other issues, and embarks on teh act of self punishment, brutally whipping himself. This draws huge crowds, as they want to see the savage do his Savage Act. When even Lenina comes to watch this, albeit a tear in her eye, John, overridden by his love for her, and his loathing for her behaviour, whips her too. The crowd breaks into a frenzy. John's world crumble s before him. The book ends, with people looking for the savage, only to find him hanging by the neck in the light house.<br /><br />While Huxley portrays a pretty scary picture of the future, many of the characteristics of the dystopian world donot seem too impossible in the near future, especially the abuse of drugs, the urge to control the state of affairs of the world,etc. The conversations between John and Mustapha Mond, show that the Controller is aware of how the world was, and is deliberately carrying on with the New world, denouncing the old practices and Nature's laws. While trying to achieve the greatest good, the controllers lose sight of their goal, as maintaining order and control becomes top priority. So instead of a world of free men, we are left with colorful zombies who lead a pre ordinated and meaningless existence.<br /><br />At no point does the book allow the reader's attention to wane. It is a must read, especially so if you are a science fiction buff. 5/5 for Aldous Huxley's Masterpiece.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">O wonder! </div><p style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is!</p><p style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"> O brave new world! That has such people in't!</p><div style="text-align: right;">Miranda,in the Tempest by William Shakespeare<br /></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-5095262596530767572008-11-17T21:10:00.006+05:302008-11-23T16:31:42.120+05:30Vaaranam Aayiram - THe Insomniac's review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG3Wh0L2GI/AAAAAAAAAJg/pqeV7rNCMzc/s1600-h/sameera"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG3Wh0L2GI/AAAAAAAAAJg/pqeV7rNCMzc/s320/sameera" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269694636662446178" border="0" /></a><br />"De, first half nalla irunthuchu da.Second half kadi". "Director second half sothapitaanda". "Padam romba slow da. Thookkam vanthuchu". And lastly,Times of India gives a rating of 2 on 5. All this was playing on my mind when I was sitting all groggy on my bed,having been woken up from a disturbed sleep. But Mario said the movie was good and definitely worth a watch. So I was willing to give VA a chance.<br /><br />At the theatre, it was almost like a special screening. We could've sat on any seat we wanted. After the usual round of lame ads the movie started. Gowtham Menon is different. While Khaakha Khaakha can be called one of the best tamil movies in the Cop-genre, he gave us Vettayadu Vilayadu, tagging along the lines of Se7en and 88 minutes. With Vaaranam Aayiram, Menon is treading a path which very few directors before him had the guts to embark on. This is a movie which chronicles a relationship,one of the strongest and most complicated, the bond between a father and son, both roles,donned by Surya. Right from the start, the movie gripped my attention. The retching of blood maybe cinematic, some of you may argue, but then, Menon has to cater to all sections of the audience. The entire story is narrated in Flashback,Forrest Gump style, with the present making an appearance now and then.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG3W4X-B5I/AAAAAAAAAJo/lU-juEAQMyI/s1600-h/school+boy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG3W4X-B5I/AAAAAAAAAJo/lU-juEAQMyI/s320/school+boy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269694642718115730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The school boy</span>.<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > Surya really becomes the character</span><br /><br /></div>The first half of the movie is very light-hearted, with many an enjoyable scene featuring Old man Surya and Simran(was great seeing her back in action :) Simran rocks !!!). The bond between father and son is also not flimsy,by any scale. The father gives the son the space he needs, and sonny boy looks up to his dad for everything(including wooing his girl). The transition of the protagonist from school boy, to college punk to Mr.Romeo is deftly portrayed. And Sameera Reddy!!! Oh my God! What a woman! While most Hindi directors saw her as a show-piece, Menon gives us an endearing,shy and very pretty girl(and terror panduthanam REC Trichy. MS in University of Cal,Berkely!!!). I have to watch the movie again, for I might have missed many a detail during the time she was on screen. Had eyes for nothing else. Surya's Don Juan-like antics were enjoyable. The first half rode on the romantic escapades of father and son, Sameera Reddy and mild humour.Some witty exchanges will be lost in the B and C centres,though, as they are in English.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG4fzN1oBI/AAAAAAAAAJw/Mk5DSl794EQ/s1600-h/sameera.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG4fzN1oBI/AAAAAAAAAJw/Mk5DSl794EQ/s320/sameera.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269695895463895058" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">OMG!!!</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Well,after the tragic-element is introduced, this is when the movie starts taking an entirely new shape. Surya's portrayal of his inner anguish is extremely mature. The guy gets into alcohol,drugs and what not! This is one of the areas where Menon has been accused of falling short. His loose treatment of drug addiction. But come on guys, let s go easy on this chap. I mean, here's a guy trying to do somethin different in a mediocre industry where any form of experimentation is considered a mortal sin, and here we are, judging him by the strictest of standards. Yes his treatment of drug addiction is loose. I maintain that given one more hour of running time, and Menon would have taken care of the loose ends. But how many people would be willing to sit for a 4-hour long movie?? And I cant understand how people could call the second half slow. There's so much happening(a little too much, I have to say). The hardening of Surya's character has a base (though not too strong) and his bashing up of the Delhi Gang is a bit cinematic. But at the end of the day, this is not a movie targeted at multiplex audience alone. So I forgive the director for that.<br />Surya returns home, more mature and with a clearer mind. He comes to know that his sister's childhood friend,played by Ramya has been in love with him for an eternity. She helps him get over the pain of his loss, and he slowly begins to reciprocate.<br />Meanwhile the father's health is deteriorationg, thanks to his chain-smoking(the scene where he asks schoolboy-surya not to smoke, ultimate :) ). But the old guy cant kick the habit.One fine day,Surya decides to join the army. Surya in the army,again, is portrayed as a heroic major (come on dude, a Tamil film hero needs to show some gethu! Again, menon is pardoned). The final rescue mission would have served as a superb climax for an action flick. Here again, Gowtham loses track of the numerous things he wishes to say. The man has loads of ideas, but he needs to do them in separate movies. Again, only constructive criticism here.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG3Wo8WKqI/AAAAAAAAAJY/CwMPz34WKzg/s1600-h/oldcouple.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SSG3Wo8WKqI/AAAAAAAAAJY/CwMPz34WKzg/s320/oldcouple.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269694638575725218" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Surya and Simran light up the screen</span></span><br /></div><br />Ok,now for the highlights:<br />1. Sameera Reddy !!!!!!!!!<br />2. Surya as a yester-year loverboy (yes. The 'Dad')<br />3. Surya as a school boy<br />4. Surya as a young father<br />5. Surya as a college punk<br />6. Surya as the lover boy<br />7. Surya in anguish<br />8. Surya the junkie<br />9. Surya the mature man<br />10. Surya as the sick old father<br />11. The father-son relationship, which is never overdone<br />12. All the emotional scenes, with never too much melodrama<br /><br />Surya has once again proved that he is a cut above the rest. His meticulous work has been rewarded. This is one of my favorite performances by any actor. Hats off to you mate. And to Gowtham Menon, for bringing out many experiences from his own life to the screen. A HUGE thumbs down to Times of India and the other dailies which so cruelly criticised this film, which shines as a lone light in a dark mediocre film world.<br /><br />Do watch this movie. It's definitely worth watching more than once.<br /><br />One review which makes justice to the movie <a href="http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2008/11/22/between-reviews-in-the-name-of-the-father/"><span style="font-style: italic;">here</span></a>- Between reviews by IE movie critic Bharadwaj Rangan. Do chech that out too. Excellent review...Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-51203956992118431962008-09-13T00:31:00.010+05:302008-09-15T01:12:30.588+05:30Dr.Strangelove<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1ol76Qy0I/AAAAAAAAAIo/kW1vJlcrfcI/s1600-h/Drstrangelove1sheet-.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1ol76Qy0I/AAAAAAAAAIo/kW1vJlcrfcI/s320/Drstrangelove1sheet-.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245964141903006530" border="0" /></a><br />I had started watching this movie on a couple of previous occasions, but didn't proceed to watch beyond ten minutes, for reasons beyond my control. So I was bent on watching it today, at any cost (came home today after a couple of months). I settled down comfortably on the chair, speakers on, and lights off.<br /><br />When you are dealing with Stanley Kubrik, be prepared to be surprised. Who else can take the concept of the nuclear arms race tension between the super-powers during the cold war, and turn it into a political satire? Add Peter Sellers to the mix and there,you have the perfect recipe.Based on Peter George's novel- Red Alert, this movie adaptation is a comical take on the tension involved in the use of Nuclear weapons and Hydrogen bombs.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1n-RhPRaI/AAAAAAAAAIY/oXMXok5_8ks/s1600-h/Dr.+Strangelove3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1n-RhPRaI/AAAAAAAAAIY/oXMXok5_8ks/s320/Dr.+Strangelove3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245963460508861858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Jack D Ripper comforting poor Mandrake </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>The movie starts off as Brigadier General Jack D Ripper (nice pun!!), a guy with a malfunctioning cerebrum(and a perennial fear that them commies are out to contaminate his body fluids), orders a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union by making use of an anti-sneak-attack clause which allows senior army personnel to by-pass the chain of command and order a nuclear strike <span style="font-style: italic;">if something were to happen to the President</span>. As per the clause, he seals off his base, and orders the airstrike batallion,teetering on the edge of the failsafe point, to launch an attack. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake realises that there has been no attack on the Prez. But Jack D Ripper locks Mandrake inside his room and threatens to kill him if he doesnt obey orders. Now Mandrake is one of the characters Peter Sellers plays, and he does this with perfection, flawlessly expressing the helplessness and intention of the Captain.<br /><br />Elsewhere, in the Pentagon's war room, officials are scratching their heads to find a solution to this situation. The President - Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) is advised by Gen.Turgidson (George C.Scott with a memorable performance) to take advantage of this error and wipe out "them commies". Things get hilarious when the Russian Ambassador is summoned. Turgidson and the ambassador don't get along very well and the president tries to keep the peace between them. These scenes will tickle your sides. But the real fun begins when Muffley calls up the Russian Premier Dmitri Kissoff. If you were sniggering earlier, you will be in splits when you hear the "World leaders" talk.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1P1yFhMMI/AAAAAAAAAII/IUPx_m6RXPs/s1600-h/Dr.+Strangelove1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1P1yFhMMI/AAAAAAAAAII/IUPx_m6RXPs/s320/Dr.+Strangelove1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245936926353076418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Gentlemen,you can't fight here! This is the war room</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">-memorable lines by the president :)</span></span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> Premier Kissoff warns his US counterpart about a doomsday device installed by the Soviets, which would trigger itself automatically, in case of a nuclear attack on the soviets. And there was no way to disarm it. President Muffley consults Dr.Strangelove( yep,Sellers again), a former Nazi scientist, on the feasibility of such a device. Now Dr.Strangelove is this bizarre guy in a wheel chair with the "alien-hand" syndrome who explains that such a device may well exist and advises the president on ways to overcome the catastrophe if the device is triggered.<br /><br />The president orders the nearest army troops to fight their way into Ripper's fortress. We see an irony here, as the President warns the Soviet about the US' attack on them and sends his men to fight his own forces. Meanwhile, Mandrake figures out the code to contact the airplanes executing plan R and contacts the planes and asks them to head back<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">An exchange of dialog between Mandrake and Col.</span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano">Guano</a></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake</span>: Colonel... that Coca-Cola machine. I want you to shoot the lock off it. There may be some change in there.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Colonel "Bat" Guano</span>: That's private property.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake</span>: Colonel! Can you possibly imagine what is going to happen to you, your frame, outlook, way of life, and everything, when they learn that you have obstructed a telephone call to the President of the United States? Can you imagine? Shoot it off! Shoot! With a gun! That's what the bullets are for, you twit!</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Colonel "Bat" Guano</span>: Okay. I'm gonna get your money for ya. But if you don't get the President of the United States on that phone, you know what's gonna happen to you?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake</span>: What?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Colonel "Bat" Guano</span>: You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company.</span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><blockquote></blockquote>One plane is damaged by Soviet guns and it's radio gets blown. So they still carry on with their mission, headed by the Gung-ho Major "King" Kong, who, when the bomb is finally dropped, rides it like a cowboy. The movie ends with scenes of atom bomb blasts, with the symbolic mushroom clouds and all....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1l7bMAX8I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/jS-05QoA1t8/s1600-h/Dr.+Strangelove2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1l7bMAX8I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/jS-05QoA1t8/s320/Dr.+Strangelove2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245961212541296578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">King Kong riding the bomb</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Overall, fantastic movie to watch, if you sit through the first 20 minutes. Peter Sellers will make you crack up, whether it's by his bizarre portrayal of Dr.Strangelove, or the straitlaced Muffley, or poor Mandrake. George C Scott's portrayal of Turgidson also is extremely good. The performances of Sterling Hayden as Jack D Ripper and Slim Pickens as Major Kong also stand out.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1n-d_TMaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/mfP8JCOijFI/s1600-h/3SellersRoles.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SM1n-d_TMaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/mfP8JCOijFI/s320/3SellersRoles.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245963463856173474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Sellers' 3 roles : Dr.Strangelove, President Muffley and Group Cmdr Mandrake</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bottom line</span> : Very funny movie, provided you are in the mood for it<br /><br />The Insomniac's Recommendation- <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Do watch it</span>! It will be worth your while<br /><br /><br /></div></div></div></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-2012971660043069302008-09-09T01:23:00.001+05:302008-09-09T01:23:58.833+05:30The Ethi Experience<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">!! This one's a long overdue post !!</span><br /><br /></div>Not so long ago, Kalai called to tell me that,since Nitin had some work,he wouldn't be able to make it, and asked if I would accompany him to do a quiz at Ethiraj. I jumped at the chance(I mean,who wouldnt? :P). Then came the fun part of framing questions. He asked me to keep in mind that this was a quiz for girls, and that "We were directing a movie, and it should hold the interest of the girls for close to an hour and a half". As in any quiz, several hours of research went into the framing process. The day before the quiz, Kalai came to the hostel and we added the final touches(semi-final i should say,considering the last minute changes we made at the audi :) ). It was a long night for the both of us(but well worth the effort,as was evident the next day).<br /><br />Come Wednesday, Kalai,Srivats and I started from our college at around 9. After a nerve jangling ride(for Kalai i mean :P) we reached the gates of Ethiraj. As we stood waiting outside,a policeman was eyeing us suspiciously. Thankfully Rishma arrived and saved us from any embarrassment. We proceeded to the audi and were faced with a technical problem, our pendrive was not recognised by the computer there. Fortunately,I had brought my friend's laptop along, and we made a few hasty changes and were finally ready, as the audi was echoing with cries of "Please Start". The sheer numbers in the audi was enough to make your insides bunch into knots. Add to that, the 30 odd faculty members seated at the front row...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4bbEJzpkI/AAAAAAAAAFs/G-zreSGB2oI/s1600-h/audi.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4bbEJzpkI/AAAAAAAAAFs/G-zreSGB2oI/s320/audi.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241657168091129410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Tis a great feeling to conduct quizzes,if ppl turn up to watch<br /><br /></span></div>It was time for me to get up there and get things started. After introductions all around, the quiz kicked off,the first event of the 2 day fest. I have done a few quizzes in the past, the biggest being Kurukshetra's Sci-Tech quiz(Kurukshetra is our coll's National level Technical Festival.It s pretty big). But I've to admit...Nothing equalled the enthusiastic audience present that day. The cheers from the girls was like a fantastic reward for our efforts. While, at most places, you ll be congratulated for doin what you ought to have done, here was a proactive crowd which was responding to every question and every answer. Had never seen anything like that before. The participants were also extremely well behaved and sportive. There were some quality quizzers on stage to light up the event,but the team from the Commerce department were running away with proceedings.<br /> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4ctHfBL2I/AAAAAAAAAF0/_7R3JCPJf5w/s1600-h/win1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4ctHfBL2I/AAAAAAAAAF0/_7R3JCPJf5w/s320/win1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241658577734676322" border="0" /></a><br /><br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > <span style="font-size:78%;"> The winners-Khushi,Samhitha and Akshaya</span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /></div> <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > </span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4hnkMr4FI/AAAAAAAAAGU/eUaGZoR_gcM/s1600-h/win3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4hnkMr4FI/AAAAAAAAAGU/eUaGZoR_gcM/s320/win3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241663979921334354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4hny3ovrI/AAAAAAAAAGc/nBlqNtRLAm0/s1600-h/win2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4hny3ovrI/AAAAAAAAAGc/nBlqNtRLAm0/s320/win2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241663983859580594" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > </span> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">And that completes the podium :)</span></span><br /><br /></div>It was a memorable moment indeed when our question on mother's milk was answered by one of the teachers in the audience. When we played the "Pehla Nasha" song, the audi erupted like a volcano. That was a moment to cherish too. Kalai then did the Buzzer round, where team 3 made a late charge which ensured them 2nd place. The laptop s battery died out as the last question's video was being played. It was disappointing, but nothing could spoil the wonderful time we were having there. Kalai then handed the trophies to the top 3 teams, but the winner that day was The Spirit of Ethiraj (err yeah. Too cliched when I read this a second time. :P). As we stepped off the stage, teachers came to us and congratulated us on our job.It was indeed icing on the cake.<br /><br />But what impressed me the most was, the clockwork efficiency of the girls organising the events. It was indeed amazing, when the MC asked the audience to clear out to make for the girls waiting to watch the next event (Some sort of rotation system was followed), and the audi was empty in less than 5 minutes. Fantastic crowd management,it has to be said. The hospitality was awesome too. The light music event showcased the depth of talent Ethiraj houses, with so many teams participating. And the Retro Dance concept was amazing to say the least, with girls dressed up like boys, stealing the show. It was grrreat entertainment. The girls running the show were also very hospitable, and it was because of them that we stayed back,for we were feeling a bit out of place(I mean,3 guys amidst some 800 girls!!! Scary :P). And special thanks to Archana for getting us out of a spot of bother (:P).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4eFW4d69I/AAAAAAAAAGM/DwlClrlaSqc/s1600-h/team.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SL4eFW4d69I/AAAAAAAAAGM/DwlClrlaSqc/s320/team.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241660093696437202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >The "Union" Girls behind the success of the event ! Hats off to you, gals!!</span><br /></div><br />Oh and I almost forgot. We were also presented with a lovely memento. My mother liked it a lot too.(It s now adorning a wall in my home back in Erode. My hostel room is no place for something so pretty). I have to say,I am deeply indebted to Kalai for taking me along and giving me this wonderful opportunity.Thanks also to all the girls for keeping their faith in us and for the wonderful feedback. These are the things which make life what it is.....<br /><br />And here, I must stop, as I bring my thoughts back to the present, as my eyes slowly drift back to the computer screen, as I painfully unscrew the pen cap to copy down the Server side and Client side programs on to my Networks Lab observation notebook.Sigh!<br /><br />Until next time........Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-34382156804763395012008-09-09T01:22:00.001+05:302008-09-09T01:22:52.801+05:30The Dream<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SMWBVI-tFtI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Inqn010UkK4/s1600-h/logo.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 168px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SMWBVI-tFtI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Inqn010UkK4/s320/logo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243739541330532050" border="0" /></a><br />I remember that night all to clearly. A guy from IIT - Kharagpur came to our hostel,to market their event - Kshitij. He told us about the various technical events happening there, stressing,especially, on the robotics events. He was like- "This is simple stuff,yaar. Even school students over there participate in these events". Wait a minute... There was not a single guy in the 1st year hostel who knew one damn thing about robotics, (apart from the cute morse-talking R2D2 from star wars,that is :P). After this guy left, me and some of my schoolmates,who managed to go to the same college, got together and started givin this some serious thought.<br />We approached some seniors, and with some partial guidance, managed to construct a simple chassis with 4 motors. But we were surprised that it didnt run. We didnt know that without gear coupling, the bot wouldnt have the necessary torque to move (an analogy- tryin to boil an egg without lighting a fire), which is a pretty lame mistake, somethin which would make us the laughing stock of fellow enthusiasts. But this was a start. We wanted to participate in our college's technical fest - Kurukshetra-07, but failed to garner the necessary basics. So we decided to attend a workshop which was to give us our first real taste of robotics. But 2 days was time enough to get only the basic info right. Robotics, in actuality requires loads of patience and practice(especially electronics).<br /><br />The real turning point in our robotics-journey, was when we met the ultimate techie- Niranjit, and his friend- Darshan, whose grasp of mechanical design is second to none. With Niranjit's guidance, we started off with basic circuitry and stuff like that and were soon able to construct a manual wrestler bot, which managed to win a consolation prize at the ECE dept's symposium. I still remember those nights in Thala(Niranjit)'s room, which had barely enough space to house his bed. We would work all night,all the while bugging Niranjit to debug our circuit. This went on for quite a few months and we gained a bit of experience with autonomous bots. But sadly, we were the only 1st years in the college involved in robotics. We wanted this to change. And the seniors too,werent ready to handle another group of eager 1st years intent on disturbing their beauty sleep :P. That was when the plan for a robotics club was mooted. After several nights of animated discussions with the guys from CEG Tech Forum or CTF (our college's student technical body,responsible for organising Kurukshetra), we had a plan ready.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SMWBU-B9juI/AAAAAAAAAHg/bbhZT-Tdkp4/s1600-h/DSC00146.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SMWBU-B9juI/AAAAAAAAAHg/bbhZT-Tdkp4/s320/DSC00146.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243739538391404258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Take care of the club.Or else......... (Darshan's message to us :P)</span></span><br /><br /></div>I still remember that day when we presented the club to the dean, who half-listened to our impassioned description of the club's "Mission" and what our "Goals", both short term, and long term, were. He okayed it,as a part of CTF, but asked us not to expect any funds from the college. We were overjoyed that our dream had now been realised (if only,to a certain extent, though.But hey, it was something!). Then started the plans to organise classes. The club conducted several classes on robotics basics, with seniors giving lectures as well as hands on demos on robotics. The Orientation class proved to be a big hit, as students stared with wonder at the robot-videos we had compiled for them. We had huge attendance for the classes, sometimes overflowing so much that classes were held in two separate rooms. For any one to get started in robotics, kits are essential. So the idea of providing low cost kits (priced at around 500 bucks, whereas we ended up spending 2k during that workshop I talked about earlier) was what really gave robotics in CEG, a big boost.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SMWBUsmKp6I/AAAAAAAAAHY/kmA3OBFNNO8/s1600-h/DSC00141.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SMWBUsmKp6I/AAAAAAAAAHY/kmA3OBFNNO8/s320/DSC00141.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243739533711419298" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" >Clockwise from left: Kokki, Seshatri, Me,<br />Darshan & Niranjit (the 2 thalais), Papu and Naren</span><br /><br /></div>The mere feeling of guiding friends and juniors taking their baby steps in robotics is so humbling and exhilarating at the same time. Me and my team mates ended up making some good friends among the juniors. The high point,really, was when the participation of CEG students at Kurukshetra touched double figures. From the days when hardly 5 people were working on robotics only a year ago, we were now at a stage where around 40 students had managed to construct working robots, which is something truly unbelievable. By the end of the year, the club had a strong base, the seniors had done their job well... It was really sad to see them leave college, as we had become very close over the 2 years.<br /><br />This year, we decided to make the club an independent entity. The founders had appointed a board of final year members to the club. We managed to get a faculty advisor(a Dr.T.V.Moorthy, to whom we are very much grateful) and in Mr.George(who happens to reside in the same block as me), we found a very friendly treasurer. Despite not getting permission to market the club during the 1st year admissions, which is a sort of traditions where the coffers of all clubs swell, we managed well, thanks to the club orientations- 2 evenings where 1st years got to know about each club from the various presentations. The 1st class for the freshers went very well, and I can say many of them are hooked on to robotics. After the 1st and 2nd round of registration, we have around 250 members, which will increase as the weeks go by.<br /><br />Yes. What we once thought would be a distant dream, has now taken shape.<br />The Robotics Club of CEG is here to stay !!!!Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-54301283917597118122008-08-17T00:51:00.003+05:302008-09-03T10:55:49.543+05:30The Landmark Quiz 2008Every year, the quizzers of Chennai (and a few guys from Bangalore, Hyderabad and elsewhere) gather at the Colosseum of quizzing on the 15th of August, to take part in the Landmark quiz, the most prestigious quiz in the city.As usual, it was me, Mario and N.Dinesh. ND came up with a cool team name(which i wont put up here for reasons personal :P) after several hours of brow creasing thought, hoping to fetch us the best team name :) . And as usual, Mario came by bicycle, wearing his cap,only this time, he was wearing full pants :) and not shorts. We found our seats and were sittin with another team from college, listening to some nice Eric Johnson and Eric Clapton tracks. This was also the first quiz where all 3 of us brought pens with us :|.<br /><br />At 330, the man of the hour, Dr.Navin Jayakumar stepped on to the stage to kick off the landmark prelims. The landmark quiz had several novelties this year. One was the concept of an all India final, after regionals were held in Bangalore Pune, and there in Chennai, and this was to follow right on the heels of the Chennai regionals. Another big thing was the fact that the quiz was going to be aired on CNBC TV. After a few words about the sponsors, Dr.Navin started off with the prelims. There were some anticipated questions, like the "Maximum Khel Ratnas for which sport"(the answer being shooting), some Independance day trivia, a question on the late Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw, The Kungfu Panda question, and yeah Kuselan. The last question was a video , where we had to identify the child artist(Imraan Khan). This one, we wrote the answer even before the question was put up,due to 2 reasons - 1.Instinct and 2. We didn't have too many options to debate about :)<br /><br />Overall, the questions were very good, interesting to everyone in the audi. There was one question- geometrical term for an egg shaped curve, for which, after some high funda thought, we answered- <span style="font-style: italic;">lemniscate</span>, while the actual answer was given by a 6 year old, who said <span style="font-style: italic;">Oval</span>. Big bulb :) . But then, we achieved a personal best of 22 on 40. The qualifying teams were announced and there were no surprises as the usual suspects took to the stage.<br /><br />Round 1 comprised of 15 questions of the infinite bounce format, starting off aptly with a question on Tamil Thai Vaazhthu. The questions,as ever, were extremely interesting and the quizzers onstage were equal to the high funda stuff that was being asked. This round was followed by a round of Buzzer questions, were teams had mixed fortunes. Then came round 3 - infinite bounce again, where a question on Sagging jeans incited some creative answers from the participants and the audience. Round 4 was the one on one which would determine the Quizzer of the day. Arul Mani (4) of Metaquizzics, Thejaswi Udupa(3)- the guy who cracks the daily questions on qfi's blog regularly,Sriram(2), Samanth(3) - know him well,one of the best quizzers around, Rajagopal(5), Vinod (2) - the mensa dude and Alagar Swami(4) battled for the title, but it went to Ravi who got 6 questions right, to claim the crown.<br /><br />With that round, the landmark quiz,Chennai edition drew to a close, with QED (Samanth,Ramana and JK) finishing first and "Singh may be King, But Iyer is Higher" (Vinod Ganesh, Ram Kumar and Krishnamurthi) finishing 2nd. Since this year's edition was going to be aired on TV, it was shorter than usual, and the usual Long connects, multi level connects and floaters were missing. The quality was great, all the same.<br /><br />After a short break, the National final commenced, with the winners and runners from the Pune and Bangalore editions,joining the Chennai champions. The Bangalore winners- Quizzing Gouramis (Gopal, Swami and Sumo) were actually from Chennai :). Again,round 1 was infinite bounce, the questions of higher standards. There was a question on the change in color of the yolk of the egg when boiled, one of my favorites and the last question-asking contestants to connect 2 videos (The Tara rum pum pum song and a clip from Khabi Khushi Khabi Ghum) and an audio - Polly wolly doodle (of which Dr.Navin did a replay, showing off his singing skills as well :) ) was brilliantly cracked by the Chennai runners- Singh May be King. The next round was an innovative one, where teams had to choose from topics, and as the question s read and another team goes for the buzzer, the team whose question it was, had to make an attempt, failing which the team hitting the buzzer would get a chance. A bit complicated, yes, but made things interesting.<br />Then came another set of infinite bounce with a very nice question about Goldilocks zones(nice funda) and Rene Higuita's Scorpion kick. The "watch the birdie" question was the pick of the lot.At the end of this round, QED, backed by the home crowd were on 90 and so too were the Quizzing Gouramis, as the teams went into the buzzer round.<br /><br />In the last round, QED went for with,no holds barred, but had mixed fortunes, as they finished on 85 and Quizzing Gouramis won the quiz with 95. Singh Maybe King came 3rd. It was a great quiz, thanks to the wonderful research team and Dr.Navin's amazing on-stage presence. He is indeed my favorite quizmaster.<br /><br />Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I also managed to do something useful- i noted down all the questions asked (atleast the answers). If any of you, who missed the quiz, want the prelims, mail me at pdeepak88@yahoo.co.in and i ll send it to you.<br /><br />Until next time............Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-35546365933490684572008-08-16T23:32:00.006+05:302008-08-30T19:57:42.186+05:30The Thunder Bolt<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br />"As soon as I saw I had covered the field and I knew I would win, I was very happy and I started to celebrate."<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:85%;">- Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth<br /><br /><br /></span> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SKcWpfbCnkI/AAAAAAAAAFM/il4_7TrU4Ac/s1600-h/bolt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SKcWpfbCnkI/AAAAAAAAAFM/il4_7TrU4Ac/s320/bolt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235177993906855490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >A 6'5" athlete + 40 strides + 9.69s + celebrations before crossing finish line = World Record :) :)</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Let s face it, the Beijing 2008 Olympics 100m dash was one of the most anticipated event of the tournament, and it did indeed prove to be one of the greatest displays of athleticism in modern times. While it was widely expected to be a 3- horse race, I doubt if any horse can outsprint the champion Usain Bolt, given his electrifying form. Tyson Gay, the reigning world champion, wasn't even in the final,due to that unfortunate hamstring injury he sustained some 6 weeks ago, despite which he clocked impressive 10.05. But that was not enough. Some 30 to 40 of us in the hostel crowded around the prehistoric television set in our block to catch the action live.<br /><br />As the cameras moved across the 8 athletes gunning for the 100m gold, all eyes were on the boys from Jamaica - Asafa "The Choker" Powell and Usain "The Thunder" Bolt (terror nicknames :P, yes I have been unkind to Asafa, but he does choke at the big stage.There was another Jamaican- Michael Frater,in the starting block too). As the men started off, Bolt, in lane 7, appeared to slip slightly. For the first 40 or so meters, it was a hard race to call. But after that, came the lightning surge from bolt, as he almost waltzed past opponents,his lanky frame making graceful strides down the track. As he neared the finish line, he looked sideways, and followed it up with quite an audacious finish, arms flayed wide as if sayin- "Am I the only one running, here?" , and then thumping his chest even before he crossed the finish line.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SKcehN76KtI/AAAAAAAAAFc/lXYl4tTrRrg/s1600-h/bolt2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SKcehN76KtI/AAAAAAAAAFc/lXYl4tTrRrg/s320/bolt2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235186647866944210" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >"As soon as I saw I had covered the field and I knew I would win, I was very happy and I started to celebrate."</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" >-the champion explaining the reason behind his early celebration</span><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The amazing thing is, he broke his own world record(with 0.0 wind assist) despite obviously slowing down (he did this during the heats and the semis too), as if saving his best for bigger races. He could have easily broken into the 9.5 something zone, which has never been done before. One more interesting fact is that his left shoelace was untied when he crossed the finish line,believe it or not :) .<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SKcmd-8GXiI/AAAAAAAAAFk/KGdr2EincFc/s1600-h/usain+9.69.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SKcmd-8GXiI/AAAAAAAAAFk/KGdr2EincFc/s320/usain+9.69.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235195388394626594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Take a closer look at the left shoe lace :). It's dangling.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Let us not forget the fact that there were 7 other athletes giving their all. Richard Thomson,of Trinidad and Tobaggo, the NCAA 2007 indoor 60m champion achieved his personal best of 9.89s (.2 behind Bolt!!), which is not too bad a time (considering Carl Lewis' one time 100m record of 9.92) and Walter Dix of the United states,the 2007 NCAA 100m champion had to come up with his best performance too, to bag the bronze clocking in at 9.91s . Asafa Powell could only manage a 5th spot with his 9.95s effort, while compatriot Michael Frater clocked his personal best at 9.96 to finish 6th. It was also the first ever race in which 6 runners broke in to the 9 point something times. But the man of the hour was the 6'5" Bolt, who is pretty much the favorite to run away with the 200m crown as well.<br /><br />So for those of you who missed the action live, check this out... Sorry about the quality. This was the best I could manage at the moment. And yeah, commentary is not in English either. Watch out for the tall guy in lane 4.<br /><br /> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dws1oWYyT7lGYaJXl6-vPf-xtZBy6QmhrBMDvlnBnvb1077viAckm4ty2xch9qABlrQ6766-SRIndqKN8Tz7A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <br /> </div><br /> <br /></div></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-71752750265038487442008-08-05T22:12:00.003+05:302008-08-05T23:28:37.086+05:30The Prestige- Review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SJiTqO1qh1I/AAAAAAAAAEY/D9aYUzUJF1U/s1600-h/505247%7EThe-Prestige-Posters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SJiTqO1qh1I/AAAAAAAAAEY/D9aYUzUJF1U/s320/505247%7EThe-Prestige-Posters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231093320937801554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:lucida grande;" ><span style="font-family: verdana;">Are you watching closely?</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">The first time I saw this film, I was left speechless by the sheer twists in the plot. The second time I saw the film, I was sure that this was a master-piece. The Prestige, a tale of 2 magicians, is one of the greatest contemporary movies you are likely to see. Right from the start, it grips your attention, as the movie opens with the lines-"Are you watching closely", and you better be, as there are so many sub plots in the movie, and the narration too, flits back and forth in the time-dimension. The epistolary narrative (:D a word which I ve not heard of before reading the wiki article about this movie- Epsitolary means that it purports to be a collection of real documents,diaries in this case) keeps you on the edge of suspense as each scene unfolds infront of your eyes in typical Nolan style.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SJiTqI0adNI/AAAAAAAAAEg/xh2c-q6Iuds/s1600-h/prestige1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SJiTqI0adNI/AAAAAAAAAEg/xh2c-q6Iuds/s320/prestige1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231093319321941202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Borden and Angier coming out of the Chinaman's show</span><br /></div><br />Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) are small time stage hands to a magician. There developes a harmless rivalry between the 2 young, but talented magicians, which later turns ugly, duty a series of events, all starting with the death of Angier's wife in the midst of a trick, for which he blames Borden's judgment. They part ways, with Cutter(Michael Caine) taking Angier under his wing, whom he feels, is the better performer of the two, despite admitting that Borden was a superior magician.<br /><br />What follows is a series of sabotage attempts by both men, as they try to run each other down. I am not gonna spill any spoilers here, as it would take away the magic of the movie. One fine day, Borden unveils a new trick- The Transported Man, which Angier acknowledges,as the greatest trick ever. He and Cutter work on a copy of the trick, but nothing satisfies Angier. He even sends his assistant to join Borden and spy on him. She gives him Borden's diary, and he starts off on a journey to America, to meet the physicist Nikola Tesla. This is another undercurrent of the movie, as it is very similar to the war of currents between Tesla and Edison.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SJiTp3mCJpI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/euvA8a2Lmz0/s1600-h/Prestige_lights_full.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SJiTp3mCJpI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/euvA8a2Lmz0/s320/Prestige_lights_full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231093314698225298" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Angier witnessing some "real magic",courtesy Tesla<br /><br /></span></div>Tesla sees the same obsession he has, in Angier and agrees to help him. With Tesla's contraption, Angier returns to the stage and has the audience spell bound. But his ultimate aim of going one up over Borden drives him to stage his own death to destroy the life of his rival. The movie is filled with powerful twists which will hold you spell bound. Hugh Jackman plays the role of Robert Angier with great finesse. Michael Caine, as ever, is a class act. But Christian Bale stands out with his fantastic portrayal of the often-conflicting picture that is Alfred Borden(am deliberately wording this sentence to avoid spoilers). The problems he has with his wife, the fathomless love for his daughter, the rivalry with Angier, these aspects breathe life into an otherwise dark plot. Christian Bale is definitely an actor to look out for. Watching the movie a second time bolstered my impression on Bale. He simply steals the show.<br /><br />This is one of those rare movies which you ll enjoy all the more as you watch it again. The screenplay and camera work are exceptional. Christopher Nolan announced himself with The Following followed by Memento (ripped off as Ghajini in tamil). With Batman Begins, he changed the way superhero movies are made, and with Prestige, he has taken movie making to a whole new level. This is one of my all time favorites. I would recommend you to watch this movie atleast twice and please email your feedback to me at pdeepak88@yahoo.co.in.<br /><br />Until Next time.....................<br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:lucida grande;" ></span></div></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-31538379170172634002008-07-19T16:23:00.007+05:302008-07-19T23:11:58.157+05:30The Motorcycle Diaries - Review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHcxg-6ChI/AAAAAAAAAEA/YRaPKsVXeUQ/s1600-h/che.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHcxg-6ChI/AAAAAAAAAEA/YRaPKsVXeUQ/s320/che.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224699785951971858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="body">Many will call me an adventurer - and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes.</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><br />-Ernesto Guevara<br /></div></div><br /><br />This afternoon, I watched one of the greatest films I have ever seen. Having come home after barely 2 weeks in college, I was back to my old ways, ie, waking up at noon. After finishing breakfast, I switched on the TV and was surfing channels,in the hope of finding something interesting to munch the minutes away. Then, I saw the scheduler saw Zee Studio was gonna screen the film- The Motorcycle Diaries. For the benefit of those in the dark, this is a first hand account by a man called Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, in plain English - Che Guevara( the bandana guy on the T-Shirts,for the few of you out there who don't know about this great man's legacy).<br /><br />Call it coincidence, but only yesterday, I was reading a biography of Che on my friend's computer. I was hooked on to his adventures and exploits, but had to cut my tryst with the revolutionary short, for I had a class to attend(Anna University Attendance Rule SUCKS!!!!!). So naturally, when I learnt that this movie was on air, I was interested. And I sure as hell wasn't disappointed one bit.<br /><br />The movie begins, with a short profile of young Ernesto, a medical student at the University of Buenos Aires, his asthmatic attacks, his passion for Rugby which earned him the moniker "Fuser" and his affectionate family. Ernesto and his friend Alberto Granado, a bio-chemistry student, plan on embarking on a tour of the American continent (throughout the movie, the word- America is used to refer to South America, and not the US :| a strong statement in itself). Ernesto bids a fond farewell to his family and the 23 year old sets off with his friend who is older by 6 years, on a rickety old Norton 500 motorcycle, referred to by Granado as Don Quixote's Rosinante.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHbtFQxvqI/AAAAAAAAADo/B8-Uc6vL5cY/s1600-h/motorcycle_diaries.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHbtFQxvqI/AAAAAAAAADo/B8-Uc6vL5cY/s320/motorcycle_diaries.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224698610279628450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The 2 amigos on La Poderosa<br /><br /></span></span></div>Their journey takes them through the length and breadth of the continent, across country roads and towns where the economic divide is a gaping canyon. The screenplay is so fluid that you will find yourself flowing with the adventurers past the wonderful landscape of America. Gael Garcia Bernal (remember Amores Perros?) plays Ernesto with so much ease and poise that he becomes the character himself. And Rodrigo de la Serna portrays Alberto Granado with a touch of Tuco-style humor(Tuco of The Good The Bad and The Ugly) and a sort of elder brother attitude towards his younger comrade. Their chemistry also adds to the beauty of this film. Trivia- Rodrigo is a second cousin to the real Che Guevara :) . As they progress through the continent, first on La Poderosa ("The Mighty One"- Granado's bike) and later, on foot, hitchhiking, on boats and by air, their friendship is all the more evident.<br /><br />The movie also showcases the transition of Guevara, from a fairly-rich adventurous youth to the revolutionary that he would become. Particularly, the scene in the Inca ruins, where he attributes the fall of the Incas to Spain, to the fact that the Spaniards "had guns". There is a romance angle as well, as Ernesto spends about a week with his lady love Chichina, and when they part, he isn't too convincing with his "I'll come back for you" line. Nevertheless, Chichina gives him 15$ to buy her a swimsuit if he ever reaches the shores of North America. Throughout the movie, Ernesto holds on to this, despite Granado's frequent requests for the money,to improve their pathetic in many stages of the journey.<br /><br />At one point, the duo meet a communist couple looking for work in a mine, which marks another great change in young Ernesto's character. His heart goes out to them so much that he gives them Chichina's 15 $. The movie also depicts Guevara's frequent asthmatic bouts which would haunt him for the rest of his life. Granado's loyalty to his comrade is also very much evident throught the film. The movie is dotted with several humorous incidents which make you smile one minute, and the scene shifts the next moment, making your heart ache at the sight of the sad state of suffering poor.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHb97iolhI/AAAAAAAAADw/wSSwXNrWuOE/s1600-h/motorcycle-diaries-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHb97iolhI/AAAAAAAAADw/wSSwXNrWuOE/s320/motorcycle-diaries-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224698899727947282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Granado and Guevara hiking on foot</span></span><br /><br /></div>The major turning point of the film comes when the 2 men from Argentina make their way to a leper colony in Peru, where Granado and Ernesto break conventions with their friendly attitude towards the patients, who are separated from the healthy by the Amazon. This metaphor, of the river itself dividing the people is poignant reminder of the underlying theme of the movie. The duo manage to liven up the colony with their infectious enthusiasm and spirit. They even join the patients for a football match.<br /><br />The doctors, nurses and the nuns organise a big party on the night of Ernesto's birthday, which surprises and moves the young man. But his heart lies with the suffering of the poor on the other side of the lake. In a moving speech, Ernesto proposes a toast to a Unified America. Granado noticing the sparks of change in his dear friend is portrayed wonderfully in this scene. Ernesto then goes out of the party house,to the river bank. He stands there, planning to make a symbolic last journey across the river,to be with "the people" despite Granado's futile cries that it was too dark and he has asthma. Ernesto's crossing of the river,swimming against a strong current, battling not only the water but also his asthma, symbolises the triumph of human spirit, and as he is pulled out of the water on the other side by the people of the leper colony, there are celebrations on both sides.<br /><br />Ernesto and Granado set off to Venezuela, after bidding a fond farewell to the people of Peru. Then at Venezuela, the 2 friends part ways, with Granado planning on settling down in life, while his friend is about to embark on a different kind of journey. The movie ends with the real-life Granado looking at a plane taking off, and photographs of the 2 friend's actual journey through the continent.<br /><br />Please donot be put off by the fact that the movie is in SPANISH. It is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Gael Garcia and Roberto de la Serna deliver memorable performances as they take us along with them in their unforgettable adventure. This is one of those movies which will leave a lasting impression on you, with it's well crafted screenplay, great camerawork, wonderful acting, and above all, the plain simplicity, which makes you identify with the characters and scenes in the film.<br /><br />I am going with a 4 out of 5 for Walter Salles adaptation of the first person accounts of Ernesto and Granado about their adventure of a lifetime.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHb97CRgwI/AAAAAAAAAD4/BKuuRAMiA9k/s1600-h/Che_Guevara-Granado_-_Mapa_1er_viaje_-_1952.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SIHb97CRgwI/AAAAAAAAAD4/BKuuRAMiA9k/s320/Che_Guevara-Granado_-_Mapa_1er_viaje_-_1952.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224698899592217346" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Actual Route taken by Ernesto and Alberto</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" class="body">I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a Man.</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: right; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">-Che Guevara to his would be executioner,seconds before his death<br /></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-22752111567799361522008-07-08T21:58:00.003+05:302008-07-09T23:35:52.085+05:30The Insomniac's Algorithm to tackle Inflated Egos<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Disclaimer</span>: None of this content is meant to hurt the sentiment of anyone. It is just my take on how one effectively tackles the egos of his fellows,when a problem seems to be brewing. Even though at places some of the text may sound err inconsiderate on my part, i apologise. I don't intend it to be insensitive,but may be for want of a better expression I may have used something which is not that good a euphemism.<br /><br /> At some point of time,each and every one of us must have been a victim of the bloated egoistic rampages of our fellow Homo sapiens. Most of the time, it is a non-issue which somehow gets blown to larger than life proportions and ends up costing us something(not to mention our very own hurt-pride). Having been on the receiving end of many ego-maniacs (and sometimes, people whom I have known for a while too), i consider myself to have suitable experience on this topic,which I have decided to make the subject of my next post.<br /><br />First we ll try to look at the different angles from which the problem may arise.<br />1. It may be a misunderstanding with a friend<br />2. You may have pissed off someone on the road(allegedly pissed off,that is..)<br />3. An action of yours may have caused the ballooning up of the ego of someone in a position higher than you(like people in govt officers, the boss dude, teachers, generally people elder than you)<br />4. People who are frustrated with their current position, feeling they were meant for other bigger things..<br /><br />Ok. Now lets start off with No.1 on our list. Friends. Now this is a big issue, especially if that person has been close to you for a long while or has been/is a room mate in hostel. But this is the one with the easiest solution. Apologize. The fault may not be yours, but don't let your own ego get in the way of your friendship. Personally speaking, I would rather be the 1st to apologise than spend days without talking to a friend. There may be some fault on your side too, and a lot of it on his/her part, but make it a point to<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">BE THE FIRST TO APOLOGISE<br /><br /></span>Moving on to the next case- you are the victim of the ego of a complete stranger, a very common example of which, is in India's chaotic traffic :D. Cursing a driver who has jumped a signal and made you jump outta yer skin, or the poor pedestrian who braves the traffic in trying to cross the door,the kid with the brand new bike who seems to have a paralysis of wrist which ends up locking the accelerator at full throttle and his unawareness about a concept called brake (err i ve been guilty of this when I was a noob) and everyones favorites- the bus drivers who sometimes get a notion that they are riding an F1 car in a highway, and how can I forget the usual suspect- the lorry driver who drivers over anything-from potholes to poor dogs to the unlucky biker<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">. </span>On several occasions, this will make your temperature boil over. It's normal for any human being (I repeatedly request my father to fit our automobile with a wacky races- like contraption which can swat away vehicles which unnerve you :D). But the best way to handle it is,forget about it and drive on. You have better things to do. You know,I am proud of Erode being my hometown. Here, people just give you a sad smile as to say- This time you re lucky next time you may be dead,or worse, put someone else in hospital. But that look says it all. One of the reasons why I miss Erode(but more on that in another post). I would request my fellow residents of Chennai to take a leaf out of their books. Please don't stoop down to the level of exchanging discourtesies with auto drivers (discourtesies lol that s one of the best euphemisms I have come up with :) though I say so meself).<br /><br /><br />No.3 on the list is where we stand to lose the most. From several experiences in the past, as well as a very recent one where it might have cost quite a bit for me and my friend(I wont get into the details :D), I have learnt that the only way out of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">mess</span> (friends who know about the incident will notice the sad pun :| ) is- <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">SATISFY THEIR EGO. </span>If you feel that you need to get some work done out of that person, and some action of yours has jeopardized that notion, say for example, you are accused of some misconduct, try politely refuting the charge in your humblest of tones. I ll try to chart out an algorithm for this...<br />1. Keep your face dead serious (a look inducing a certain amount of pity wont hurt)<br />2. Admit the mistake you have been charged with, irrespective of whether you are guilty or not. For all I know, that person himself couldn't care less. It's a question of hurt pride,not logic<br />3. Don't think twice about saying sorry. And don't stop with just a couple either (you ll mostly have covered lot of ground if you perform steps 1,2 and 3 well)<br />4. Repeat step 3 (do it until terminated externally) and steps 1 and 2 for every 3rd repetition of step 3. If this doesn't get you out of the mess, go to step 5<br />5. Say that someone(preferably, someone whom that person has confidence in and respects. Be careful not to call someone who is not held in that high a regard by your antagonizer) can vouch for your conduct. This will mostly soothe him down. But this may backfire if that person transforms into a re-enforcement,sort of like "<span style="font-style: italic;">Namakku oru adima sikkitaan</span>" :D .<br />6. After he excuses you, be sure to thank him for his mercy like an accused commoner to a king.<br />7. The most important, put a heavy lid on your own pride and ego,coz if you let that outta the bag, yours is a lost cause to say the least, mate. :|<br /><br />If this algorithm doesnt get you out of the mess, don't hold me responsible. In many cases, you will find that you losing this battle of egos has in the end, turned out for the good, for that person will involuntarily begin to respect and like you(I know this from experience) .And if you find some other solutions to tackle this problems, i request you to post it in the comments section or mail me at <span style="font-style: italic;">pdeepak88@yahoo.co.in</span>.<br /><br />Moving on to No.4, this is the case where the person whose ego you are facing, deserves more sympathy than you would like to think. More often than not, this kind of problem arises out of frustration. It may be anyone,right from your watchman,to someone who has more knowledge than is obvious by his current position in the economic and professional ladder, an under-achieving friend, grandparents who feel they are not important any more, and so on. When faced with such a situation, take a minute to put yourself in their position and you will see the frustration which blinds them. I am not saying one should pity them. But the least we can do is,show them some respect. We can involve them in some small tasks which they feel is befitting. We can talk to them and make them feel more wanted. A kind word or two, asking their suggestion on something, this may end up making their day.<br /><br />Having been on the wrong side of the ego fence on many occasions, I have seen time and again that accepting your mistake without picking up a fight, you may even end up making a good friend, or it may even be a start of a good relationship with your superiors. We may have lost our pride, but when we look back, we ll end up feeling that we did the right thing. What good will it do to you had you won the argument? Nothing, if not getting you into some trouble. As our old friend <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dale Carnegie</span> put it beautifully -<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You can't win an argument, because if you lose, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it. Why? You will feel fine. But what about him? You have made him feel inferior, you hurt his pride, insult his intelligence, his judgment, and his self-respect, and he'll resent your triumph. That will make him strike back, but it will never make him want to change his mind. </span>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-84557213983197967302008-07-02T00:01:00.004+05:302008-07-02T00:07:00.430+05:30Image of the week July1-July6Here is the first of the Image of the Week series. Each week will feature a new image, which has impressed me enough to post it. What with the Euro coming to an end and all...I just couldn't keep my self from adding an image related to the tournament. Well after much thought, I decided to go with this one...<br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGp4toRuPKI/AAAAAAAAADg/cuptd3Sppe4/s1600-h/aragones.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGp4toRuPKI/AAAAAAAAADg/cuptd3Sppe4/s320/aragones.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218115843563338914" border="0" /></a><br />This image edged out the one featuring Casillas holding aloft the Trophy. I mean.. it's not everyday that you get to see a 69 year old man tossed up in the air like a sack'o potatoes. :DDeepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-70284378875274856132008-07-01T21:22:00.008+05:302008-07-01T23:57:14.119+05:30What I loved about the IPL<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGp2DFSWzxI/AAAAAAAAADY/lVPIxXvRcug/s1600-h/IPL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGp2DFSWzxI/AAAAAAAAADY/lVPIxXvRcug/s320/IPL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218112913592995602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The BCCI cashed in on India's success in the T20 world cup, by launching the IPL which was a mish mash of Kapil Dev and Zee Groups ICL and various football leagues in europe. So what did I love about the IPL?<br />Sorry, not the cricket. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer the longer 50over and Test versions.<br />And definitely not the commentary (planning on doing a post about that :P)<br />If not these,what else?<br /><br />The Ads of course :D. Wait,this can't possibly be!!! Ads?? Err,isnt that our cue to surf channels, or go get some snacks to energize us as we watch the players sweat? Well not this time,mate.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Over the past few years, India has produced some of the most creative ads one sees on television</span>. The IPL was a perfect platform for the ad-agencies to showcase their ingenuity (and in some cases, mediocrity) as never before. (Like, where else can you get the opportunity of seeing your ad every 5 minutes for umm close to 3 hours?).<br /><br />When the IPL kicked off, I wasn't too enthusiastic mainly due to the poor treatment of Kapil and the ICL. Nevertheless I found myself sittin infront of the Television, watching the Bowlers living out their darkest nightmares (shorter format shorter boundaries... Yippee!!! if you are a batsman,that is...). My interest would often wane (but would sparked up on occasions like Bhaaji and Shortfuse-Shreeshanth's Friendly fire,if one may call it so :D). But then, I started noticing these ads. Some were very creative, others, beautiful and a few quite hilarious ones as well. So here is a <span style="font-weight: bold;">roundup of the Ads of the IPL</span> :<br /><br />Well I ll start off with the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Pepsi ad</span>- The comical <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">spoof of Akshay Kumar </span>in that quite silly ThumsUP ad.The ad features a guy lyin in bed,after apparently getting a Vadivel-like knock (only, he falls off buildings instead of having the balls knocked out of him lol) :P and 2 cool dudes making off with his babe. This trend of pulling each others leg has been going one right from the "Don't be a Bhandhar Taste the Thunder" days :D.<br /><br />Then there was this one - <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Max New York Life</span>, where the wife comes running up the stairs, with shopping bags and all, and oh so naturally goes to the kitchen and starts preparing something, presumably coffee, all the while, shouting out the husband's pet name in a voice which would get her no where near playback singing studios. She runs out, finds the husband in the easy chair, head flopped to one side, cup over-turned, and her worst fears seem to have come to life. The mobile phone rings and the drops of water falling add to the effect. As she approaches him, you hear a voice which says - Without Max New York Life, misfortune can strike you at any moment (a loose translation :P). Since when do companies start threatening customers? :P lol i liked the wife's anguished cries of "Sanju Sanju", and the poor guy goes- You scared me!!! Lol who wouldnt be scared if someone's yelling your name with that kind of a tone and comes sneaking up on you when you're having some rest? Fun apart, a really powerful ad indeed. Puts the message across rather effectively. Good work by Euro RSCG<br /><br />And then there was this really lame ad about <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Hyundai Accent</span>, where you see this guy who seems to epitomise the Expressionless metro sexual of the corporate age, drive around in the car, whose features include err power steering steering, an ok chassis and the usual luxuries. An ad,totally devoid of an iota of creativity or humor. LG came out with ads for a new TV series labeled <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">LG scarlet</span>, with a model trying to seduce a TV (err i heard models are dumb, but man this is the limit). However, I came to know that it was actually a fake drive :D. More on this<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/805921/LG-launches-Scarlet-range-fake-TV-series-drive/">here</a><br /><br />There were also some really funny ones-<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> BigFlix.com</span> the online rental service from ADAG, which spoofs some of Bollywood's recent films (loved the dude in helmet doing the Gar Me disco =)). There was this ad for <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Bingo</span> chips, where the old man in the mad scientist get-up was trying his best to sound and to look funny, but foolish,was what it looked. I guess they were tryin something along the lines of that insane Ad Orbit white (Yellow Yellow dirty fellow;White White Orbit White- beat that). While the dentist kid and the cow in the Orbit white were super cool and brought a few smiles,Bingo falls way short.Crunchy,it may be, but the ad definitely was not.<br /><br />The<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Sprite Kohlega Toh Bolega</span> ad was good, with Sprite breaking up the romance. But and ad which impressed me very much, was the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Crab tree switches</span> ad, where 2 guys are discussing some business proposition, while 3 dudes,with accordion and all, and a lead singer who seemed to have forgotten his lines, doing some funny "Karramba Karramba" noises are (thankfully) muted by one of the guys discussing the deal, almost like turning a switch off, making us wish everything in life was like Crabtree switches. And the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Crabtree taps</span> ad,along similar lines,where the groom effortlessly turns on and off, the tears of his wife. Great work. Then there is that classic <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Havell</span>'s ad with the kid with the Dragon Ball Z hair style :)) cant help laughing. Funny music as well. The new one about havell's wires not catching fire is also very good, with a lady using it like a <span style="font-style: italic;">Kidikki</span><br /><br />One ad I really really enjoyed was the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Non-Iron shirts from Park avenue</span>,with a series of "Misadventures of the obsolete iron". One of the best ads in recent times,courtesy Dentsu Mumbai. So much meaning conveyed in so few seconds on air :).<br /><br />Ok now. Moving on to <span style="font-weight: bold;">my top 3 ads...</span><br />At <span style="font-weight: bold;">number 3</span> we have the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Citibank</span> ad with those snippets capturing many everyday events in a style reminiscent of academy award winning movies, with the music to match and the very powerful Citi Never Sleeps slogan. Apparently the wise dudes at Citi had settled on "Let's Get It Done," but the campaign fizzled after 2 months and a $30 mn campaign. Then came the Citi Never Sleeps slogan, which is a very powerful statement about the company. The words- "Your dreams are wide awake" and "That's why we work around the clock" "That's why Citi never sleeps" convey a strong message about the Company.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">A nice Ad indeed<br /><br /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwrPqOiZQNpy0-3EVRflcuYf1UJof_znBIOKe4tz0Elh6Zt_i9jYTucJ4BkGsKeBap817sB7EJpymUbJLfs3w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <br /></div><br /> <br />At <span style="font-weight: bold;">Number 2 </span>comes the hilarious<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Moto Yuva</span> Ad, and I don't have to tell you who steals the show :D. The Dad ofcourse. We see the son,modern kid, groovin to the beats of his Moto Yuva. He gets a call from his girl and struts out some youth lingo(he seemed to be anxious to get his lines right). As he goes off,leavin the mobile behind, the curious Dad, picks it up, and starts grooving,no no doing something which looked like a cross between the Coco Bongo dance by the Mask and the Twitch of Fred Flinstone :D . I loved the part where he flips the cell open and mimics his son with that - Hey Babes, see you in 15,Ciao. (especially that 'Ciao' part) rofl. And that is capped of by that mad dance with the table tennis bat. Was hilarious, to say the least. And that part where he maintains his image when he comes under the questioning glare of his wife and that "What the!" look from his son.No words. Double thumbs up to O&M for the wonderful job on this ad.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Check out the supercool "Dad Dance"</span><br /><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxKHlHPrdYw3teDcfbtsxn6_yj5kGQlXiySo6JHU-O4YL5J-BNH026TX-NBK5GoIWk5HNCFs28xUu7vT2tkyA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <br /></div><br /><br /><br />And <span style="font-weight: bold;">number 1</span> in my list is that beautiful <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Vodafone Chota credit</span> Ad. The scared look on the girl's face as the ink runs out, the tension created as the Teacher starts collecting the answer sheets, that cute little hiccup :) ,the act of help by the extremely cool kid,(with his teeth giving Chip and Dale a run for their money) and his fantastic facial gesture, which unfortunately, I am unable to describe here.Above all, the lovely little girl, with angelic innocence written all over her face, infuses so much life into this ad, with the narrator,taking the same soft tone of the ad,in describing the new chota credit scheme. Oh! How could I forget? The melodic guitar strumming in the background, was exactly in place with the ads theme. One of the most complete ads in recent times,and one of my all time favorites. I love watching this ad, never missing it when it's on air.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dedicated to Dinesh :D</span><br /></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyghjVQamXbMp2Zw_kzt3SU5Gkf6LlJDRwM4GMHIJ1bgXo650ogs-NkjOKP-tPVz4RJmJtBfWs1w4YNVIXKpA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-88351390812233385862008-07-01T17:27:00.003+05:302008-07-01T18:33:17.641+05:30The Insomniac speaks - 1Sometimes, as I lie in bed, I wonder if I ll ever sleep. I stare at the ceiling as if I could wither it just by doing so. I toss and I turn,but soon get tired of the exercise. Then I find myself thinking, do I really need sleep? After pondering on it for a while, I decide- no. And I go back to my old past time of staring at the ceiling<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGoq-gru1uI/AAAAAAAAADQ/ykxlE9beSmw/s1600-h/asdf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGoq-gru1uI/AAAAAAAAADQ/ykxlE9beSmw/s320/asdf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218030371675756258" border="0" /></a>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-21832679842153885832008-06-30T22:34:00.005+05:302008-07-01T00:23:31.607+05:307 reasons why Man U don' need Ron to don the number 7<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGkbI4Qg93I/AAAAAAAAAC4/ieTBM4C8eyE/s1600-h/ronaldo.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGkbI4Qg93I/AAAAAAAAAC4/ieTBM4C8eyE/s320/ronaldo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217731482639988594" border="0" /></a><br />(Disclaimer: Some people may feel that this is a <span style="font-style: italic;">Chi chi intha pazham pulikudhe</span>(chi chi this fruit tastes sour) type of raving, but do remember that this is only my own take on the transfer drama which has been unfolding the past few days)<br /><br />When I first saw Cristiano Ronaldo a few years back, I was amazed by his skill. As the seasons went by, Ronaldo matured into one of the most lethal attacking winger in the world,under the tutelage of Sir Fergie. And for his performances for Manchester United, he deserves all the accolades he gets and may even win the Fifa World Player of the year. But of late, this transfer saga has cast a big doubt. Will Ronaldo step on to the field wearing the famed no.7 of Man United? With all the hype surrounding his future, I have a bigger question.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Do Manchester United really need Ronaldo? After a lot of thought I have arrived at 7 reasons why I don't think they really do.</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">1</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Loyalty or in this case,the lack of it</span><span style="font-style: italic;">:</span><br />Ronaldo is today one of the best players in the world largely because of Sir Alex and Manchester United. Had the wise old man not taken the precocious kid under his wing,he might have been yet another one of those "immense talent but didn't materialize" footballers. But Ronaldo seems to have forgotten what the club has given him and doesnt give the plight of the fans a 2nd thought.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">2</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Sell when you're winning:</span><br />Manchester United may well cash in on the Golden Goose when the market price for the winger is so over-the-ceiling. With that kind of cash rolling in, United can go a long way in bolstering their squad for next season(Speaking in a purely Business sense.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">3<br />a.Unsportsmanly Conduct:</span><br />Yes I do have the Rooney sending off incident in mind. I don't want to elaborate more on this :|<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">b.Simulation</span>-Has diving/stuntman as an alternate career option:<br />How often have we seen this 6-foot something lad tumble down so dramatically that he could<br />give some of the Hollywood stuntmen a run for their money. And he has indeed won many decisions in his favour,though referees are more cautious these days :P<br /><br />This video showcases Ronaldo at his err.. best :P<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKmtZG5v7t-y-BMcDzJvG4XzouG2nLCL9pzo4XfHsZtM5KGEIZyzBTqJZ6JrklYN1TXikmUMewihcoysrOJw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">4. Too selfish:</span><br />Though his layoff in the recent Portugal may lead you to think otherwise. But as the old dictum goes, Once a selfish B*****d always a selfish B*****d. And yes, this also includes his monetary reasons for seeking greener (pun intended) pastures at Real.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">5</span>.<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Not leadership material:</span><br />Recently he's been handed the captaincy bands of both Portugal and Man United. But is he really captaincy material? I think not. He does cut a sorry figure indeed when things are not going for him, with his theatrical dives, dissent towards the officials, wringing of hands and my favorite, the ronaldo-nauseamixedwithconstipation-expression which he sports ever so admirably.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">6</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Risk of making United a 1-channel team:</span><br />Ok let me start off by saying that this is not the case often, but in the future it's quite likely to happen(if the greedy boy decides to stick on,of course). As was the case with Thierry Henry in his last few matches at Arsenal, very often, you see united players passing to Ronaldo expecting something to materialise.But in the grand scheme of things, they run the risk of being too predictable, as in cut off ronaldo and United are dead. But United, of course have proved this wrong many an occassion. I am only saying that this is a risk, in the future.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">7.Last but not the least, The Case of the Missing Ronaldo in Big match situations:</span><br />When was the last time you remember a standout performance by Ronaldo in a really important match? I certainly don't remember. He does enjoy toying with defenders who donot have the experience or skill to cope with him(I do admit,there are many such defenders bamboozled by Ronnie). But when faced with real quality, Ronaldo is as ineffective as a sub from the 3rd division(ok very harsh,but his performances are really pathetic). He couldn't do anything against the likes of Zambrotta of Barca in the Champions League semifinal nor could he outwit the pacey Ashley Cole of Chelsea in the final(Though his goal was excellent). Even in the Euro, Ronaldo failed to make a mark, as Portugal went down against the Germans despite initial promise.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">All said and done, let me not take anything away from Ronaldo's achievement of 31 Premier league goals in a season, and that, as a midfielder</span>. He is a fantastic player and a treat to watch, but I really think that Manchester United Fans and Alex Ferguson deserve better. He also must keep in mind the flop transfers of the past- Owen among many others Henry, who struggled to adapt to a new team and a new league.Ronaldo has quality but there is a long way to go before he becomes a truly complete player. I may have written this post criticising him, but it is with a heavy heart that I will see him leave United,but does he care one bit that fans around the world will be feeling the same way? The answer will be known soon enough, as I don't see Sir Alex letting this nonsense continue for much longer......Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-73532293602872136632008-06-30T15:31:00.011+05:302008-06-30T18:29:28.316+05:30A round up of Euro,top moments,team of the tournamentBefore the Euro 2008 kicked into pulsating action, there were quite a few incidents making headlines, most prominently, the absence of the so-called powerhouse England (people tend to forget that it has been 42 years since England won a tournament, their only Trophy so far) and veteran legends being left out of the squad(yes,Raul Gonzalez is the person in question). But once the actual event kicked off, all critics were silenced. Euro 2008 has indeed been the best international tournament I have witnessed so far(have been following intl football since 2000).<br />While the stadia where the matches took place were by no means up to the standard of an Anfield or an Old Trafford, this tournament broke all barriers,literally, with the rival fans sitting next to each other. Friendship between opposing teams and fans alike,has been taken to a whole new level. Except for that (very apt) chant the Germans had for Ronaldo, crowd behavior was excellent throughout. The onfield discipline was also pretty good. Referees had been given strict instructions to keep players focussed on the game rather than speaking their mind to the referee and his assistance, and they have indeed lived up to that. Not many errors were made.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGjVJbV9ssI/AAAAAAAAACk/_EV5pcy-XBc/s1600-h/fans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGjVJbV9ssI/AAAAAAAAACk/_EV5pcy-XBc/s320/fans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217654526244139714" border="0" /></a><br /><br /> Now coming to the football... Euro 2004 saw a very resilient Greek team,high on team spirit, walk away with the trophy, but it was a very dull tournament indeed. But this year was a diagonal opposite. With the Dutch,Portugese and eventual champions Spain lighting up the group stages with some of the best attacking football one has seen in a while, the quarterfinals came alight when Germany and Portugal fought a tactical battle,with Germany coming out on top. Italy and Spain played the dullest game of the tournament which ended in a penalty shootout which,surprise surprise, Spain won :D . But let us not forget the heroic displays of Turkey and the flair of the Russians. While turkey seemed to get a kick from behind everytime the opposition nets a goal, and then manage to somehow stage a remarkable 12th hour comeback, the Russians were beating the high flying dutch at their own game(you can find a detailed description of their showing <a href="http://boyfromerode.blogspot.com/2008/06/flying-err-russians.html">here</a>).<br />At the end of it all, Germany, Turkey, Russia and Spain managed to stand tall.<br /><br /><br /> The semifinals were entertaining too. While Turkey tried with all their might, Germany managed to do just about enough to go through to their 2nd final in the last 4 tournaments(they do get around,dont they). In the other semi, the Russians, were outclassed by the Spaniards,who seemed hell bent on breaking off from the choker tag,which has hogged them for some 4 decades. It was heartbreak for the high flying Russians under Guus Hiddink, but greener pastures lie ahead. In the end, probably the best 2 teams managed to enter the finals.<br /><br /><br /> The finals of Euro 2008 has been one of the most exciting end-to-end matches of football one has seen. Spain created chance after chance after chance, seeming content only to walk the ball into goal,much like Arsenal of the BPL. Germany too,were threatening,but never really came close to threatening St.Iker in the Spanish goal. At the 33rd minute, Torres showed everyone why he is currently the best striker in the world, as he managed to out wrestle Mertesaker and out-run Lahm to chip it above the advancing Lehman into the German goal. I tell you, only Torres could have done something like this. While his teammate Villa has been featuring in most of the headlines so far,it was Torres,who was causing the most trouble for defenders and creating chances for his strike partner(who unfortunately missed out) with his blistering pace and amazing strength.He is one guy who never goes down in a tackle too easily(unlike the Ronaldos of the world). And Cesc Fabregas has been one of the players of the tournament. With his fantastic footballing brain and immaculate passing, the talismanic arsenal playmaker can create gilt edged chances out of absolutely nothing, and it was fitting that he got a start in the finals. Marcos Senna has been the rock in the spanish midfield, plugging the holes left by his more attacking team mates. While Bastian Schweinsteiger,Germany's player of the tournament,Klose,Podolski and Ballack were trying hard to find a way past Casillas, time was running out. Gomez,who has been a huge disappointment, and Kuranyi came on, but it was only Joachim Low throwing everything short of a Kitchen sink at the Spanish goal. When the final whistle broke the electric atmosphere at the Ernst Happel stadium,it was Euphoria for Spain,heartbreak for the Germans. Finally, finally after years and years of underperforming and underachieving, la Furia Roja came out on top. A well deserved victory indeed.<br /><br /> Well,Here is my team of the tournament.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGjYGkyrdpI/AAAAAAAAACs/EI42e9ZMlMw/s1600-h/team.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGjYGkyrdpI/AAAAAAAAACs/EI42e9ZMlMw/s320/team.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217657775775774354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /> The substitutes would include Marcos Senna, Podolski, Lahm, Semi Senturk, Igor Akinfeev, Carlos Puyol,Sergio Ramos, Ballack, Zyryanov and Pavlyuchenko.Some of the inclusions may raise eyebrows,but kindly remember that this is just my opinion.<br /><br /><br /> I would like to share with you guys,what I feel,are my top 6 Euro 08 moments:<br /><br />6. David Villa's hat trick: It really set the ball rolling for the Spaniards<br />5. Nihat's near-death winner curling past Petr Cech: Goes to show, it ain't over till the fat lady sings(this is a favorite expression of one of my friends. Mass, you reading this? :P)<br />4. The Dutch trample all over the world champions Italy, putting up a fantastic display of Total football<br />3.Cesc Fabregas getting the winning penalty: To me,Cesc has been the star of the Spanish midfield,along with David Silva<br />2.Russia giving the Dutch a taste of their own medicine: The night belonged to Arshavin and the rest of the spirited Russian team led by the Golden Guus. My favourite game. :D<br />1. Iker Casillas holding aloft the (New)Henry Delauney Trophy: The elation on his face conveyed more meaning,more joy than a thousand words......<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGjHAzp02CI/AAAAAAAAACU/qlq_UAtZe18/s1600-h/Casillas.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGjHAzp02CI/AAAAAAAAACU/qlq_UAtZe18/s320/Casillas.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217638984988284962" border="0" /></a>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-11452386830699275932008-06-27T15:28:00.007+05:302008-06-29T01:10:25.464+05:30The flying ... err Russians?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaK7q6o9BI/AAAAAAAAABc/kfo7p883Oy4/s1600-h/guus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaK7q6o9BI/AAAAAAAAABc/kfo7p883Oy4/s320/guus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217009976092455954" border="0" /></a> I wanted to post this before the Spain-Russia semifinal @ Euro 2008. But what the heck.. I'll post it all the same. Well the stage was set,for the Dutch to clinch a place in the semifinals,after having put on a display of attacking football of the most lethal kind. Not so long ago, the flying Dutchmen beat the world champions Italy down to their knees and the other world cup finalist France was also pleading the Dutch to stop the merciless onslaught, by the likes of the extremely talented Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie. So it is only logical to think that we were in for another showing of class from the Dutchmen against the Russians,who after the return of Andrei Arshavin in the last group match, were also playing a little enterprising football of their own. But how different it turned out to be!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaLaot6U8I/AAAAAAAAABk/NoSSm2MPgiM/s1600-h/zhirkov.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 281px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaLaot6U8I/AAAAAAAAABk/NoSSm2MPgiM/s320/zhirkov.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217010508078142402" border="0" /></a> Right from kick off, it was the Russians who showed more hunger and they were consistently winning the ball in midfield and were making very telling passes,while the Dutch attacks seemed to crumble as soon as they started. A Yuri Zhirkov free kick was well saved by Van der Saar. Zhirkov has been one of the revelations of the tournament. While everyone was expecting the likes of Van Der Vaart and Van Persie and Robben to be flying along the wings,it was the Russian full backs- Zhirkov and Anyukov who lit up the wings with frequent surges into the Dutch half. Zhirkov has arguably been the best fullback of a tournament which features the likes of Philip Lahm and Sergio Ramos.<br /><br /> But the player of the night was Andrei Arshavin, the man who ensured Zenit St.Petersberg left Manchester with the UEFA cup,taking it to Russia for the 2nd straight year, was in formidable touch. After destroying Sweden with his inventive passes and incisive runs, Arshavin was orchestrating the Russian attack. The Dutch simply had no answer to this display of total football. Zhirkov was gettin on the ball in attacking areas,and the centre half Kolodin never thought twice about taking a whack at Van der saar s goal, as he sent 2 shots in quick succession,not too far away from the goal. Pavlyuchenko who has been one of the strikers of the tournament, sent out a signal to the scouts from all major European clubs, when he netted a 54th minute goal,off a cross from captain Semak.<br /><br /> On a night when people were expecting Van Nistelrooy to display some of his legendary poaching abilities, Kolodin reigned supreme, displaying a masterful demonstration of the art of Man-Marking, never giving the dutchman more than a few inches of space. Van the man,who can score from any angle, gave Akinfeev something to do, but the young Russian goalie was never really troubled. Every player wearing a Russian jersey was getting in on the act. Bilyaletdinov also had a good game. Saenko too worked hard in the midfield. The Dutch had their moments too, especially with Van Persie on the field,but it was just not their day. On the other end of the pitch, Pavlyuchenko came very close to his 4th as he struck the crossbar with a fierce drive.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaG7pRHLnI/AAAAAAAAAA0/_GjXsQviiY8/s1600-h/arshavin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 221px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaG7pRHLnI/AAAAAAAAAA0/_GjXsQviiY8/s320/arshavin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217005577603329650" border="0" /></a><br /> Just when all of us were getting ready to go to sleep, Van Nistelrooy proved his class, heading in a Wes Sneijder free kick,which was the only way the dutch could have scored. But the Russians were not beaten yet. They seemed to find inexhaustible energy resources, as they dug in and closed off the match in extra time, with goals from Dimitri torbinski and the instrumental Andrei Arshavin who managed to slip one past Van der saar. The Dutch hope was over as Van Basten's men were sent packing after an amazing display of football, as it was the Russians who served up some almost Samba-like magic football.<br /><br /> But the Flying-Russians were brought crashing down to earth by Spain and their One touch wizardry. After an even 1st half, it was Spain Vs Akinfeev. As Guus Hiddink had pointed out, the Russians were handling the 2 strikers well, but when Fabregas came on for Villa, the tables turned. The Russians seemed to have run out of steam after 2 fantastic performances,as they were outclassed by Spain in the 2nd half. Akinfeev tried his best,indeed he has been one of the better keepers of the tournament(please overlook the fact that he let in 7 goals from Spain :P). As the match drew to a close and Spain had finally managed to shake of the "Choker tag" after not progressing beyond the quarter finals of a major tournament on 6 previous occassions, there were celebrations all around, as the boys from Iberia were dancing with joy and waiting for a chance to have a go at the Germans.<br /><br /> But please spare a thought for the amazing Russians, who have shown the world that a tournament can be extremely entertaining even without the overrated English, as some unkind souls expressed that the Russians were here at the expense of the English who had "more quality" according to them. But after such fine displays against the Swedes and the Dutch, the Russians have indeed lit up a fantastic tournament, proving that if you dare to dream, you can soar beyond your wildest imaginations. Thank you Russia.........<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaOJQSjcfI/AAAAAAAAABs/pOvIg6JZagE/s1600-h/russia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D65_4TaJ2PU/SGaOJQSjcfI/AAAAAAAAABs/pOvIg6JZagE/s320/russia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217013507998052850" border="0" /></a>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-939889162494006233.post-82827018966766737502008-06-22T22:22:00.003+05:302012-01-31T19:51:59.400+05:30Something I wanted to post a while back- A tribute to Nadal<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This is an unfinished article which I wanted to publish a while back,but never got around to doing so. I thought this would serve as a reminder to me that I should post regularly. Hope you enjoy this one.....<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Ever heard the story of the bully who arm wrestled fourth graders and threatened to eat them for dinner?That is how one can describe Rafa Nadal's brutal tennis.I started writing this blog fresh from the Nadal-Hewitt french open clash.Nadal simply bulldozed the stylish Australian in the first two sets and had yet another French open victory in his kitty,despite facing some typical Hewittian resilience. The Aussie fought his heart out in the third set but the damage had already been done.Hewitt was sent packing after the round of 16 for the second straight year and at the hands of the same opponent.And this is a guy who has featured in the ATP top 10 consistently over the past few years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">18 nil. That’s how Nadal’s record reads,on the clay of Roland Garros.The muscular Mallorcan lad made history when he held aloft,the trophy,two years ago as a<span style=""> </span>19 year old.Since then, Nadal s dominance on clay has grown to such an extent that he seemed to literally own every tournament he played on the slow red surface.But all great things must come to an end.And end,it did, fittingly at the hands of another great,Roger Federer, who seemed to have finally solved the riddle that was Nadal, or are we speculating too soon? We’ ll know the answer when the French Open culminates in the inevitable final between the two giants of contemporary tennis.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>But the Nadal machine is not perfect as yet. His first serve is nothing to be proud of. His approach play and volleying are not the sharpest. But Nadal more than compensates for these minor flaws, thanks to his powerhouse forehand and that wicked two fisted backhand. He can place the ball seemingly anywhere on the court, to suit his whims and fancies. And he has a lot of mental strength and aggression, which are characteristic to his game style. </p>Deepakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995112774384055516noreply@blogger.com0