And I found the needle !!

Google Helps you do it ...that is helps u find the needle...from the haystack of information out there....but you need to know what u are looking for...Some times you may know exactly what you are looking for and you may not find it...And then there are days when out of the blue the needle presents itself even when you dont have much of an idea about what it looks like....

Today out the blue I had two such experiences that has just made my day!!!

First of which was this haunting number "" the epic Franz Schubert's Avie Marie (Well I didnt know that till i found this video) .
Last night I was watching U.S sitcom "The Modern Family" (just realized my view of the Western world is completely based on th few American sitcoms I watch here in India...but thats going off tangent...hopefully another post some day),where in Cameron sings this haunting piece at a funeral..the entire sequence was interspersed with scenes of his partner struggling with a intruding bird at home....all in slow motion.

Well I may not be a connosier of music ,but I do get it when I hear a extraordinarie piece.And this is one...Apart from the fact that this is a haunting piece ,was the sense of dejavu I was feeling when I heard it.Also I could almost envision myself using this in any movie I was directing preferably in a gangsta shootout or mob assassination scene shot in slow motion.Every thing fit perfectly except for the simple fact that I had no idea what the song was.

Once the scene was done the only thing I remembered from the song was the intial two words "Ave Mariya" and I started trying my luck with various combination of these two to finally end up with the link above.Didnt have to struggle much as this seems to be famous composition.

And soon enough I realized the reason for "Deja vu" I was feeling.The song was used in the background score in the recently released movie "Hitman".So much for using the theme music in my movie now .


The second in the series was this one .
I heard this song being used in one of the programs in the indian music channel [V].
I had one round of hunt for this song previously and when I couldn't make much headway, as i didnt know what language the song was in, I had almost concluded that the song was a in house composition of channel [V] and left it at that.

Of late there has been a spurt in the number of dubbed South Indian movies in Hindi  based movie channels.Though not a fan,I do often make a pit stop at these channels when these movies are running ,as translation often make dialogues really hilarious and corny in Hindi.
This afternoon as i was laughing at one of these dubbed translations ,as is the case with most masala movies now,an item no started with strikingly similar tune.Though the song had lost all its charm once converted to hindi,I know knew exactly where to check for this song.

This time I fed "youtube Arya 2 ringa ringa" to lord google and the got the link above in return.
i spend the next hour first enjoying the song and the enjoying the new model. I bet she will soon be seen as rival to "Munni" and "Sheild" in the days to come  ...:) .And btw damn ..Allu Arjun can dance ??

PS:For those who are wondering the dancer in the second video is Erina and she is not of Indian origin.

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The books are mocking me..... !!!

Remember this scene from Two and half man where Alan has a breakdown in a bookstore.This is exactly the feeling i undergo every time I visit a book store.The result:Impulsive Buys ending up in One big pending list.
It was in such a set up that I came upon “Bauer, Susan Wise - The Well-Educated Mind, A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had ”  and also The Guardian's '1000 books to read before you die'.

I realized I would never be able to complete the new list without first completing the list I have accumulated on my own discretion just to avoid leaving behind as Alan says "a shelf of unread books" 

And so I set up a online shelf  (and inadvertently ended up spamming everyone I ever sent mail to.Thanks Shelfari !!), and started through the list one after the other.

First book I picked up was Malcolm Gladwell's The Outliers. And it turned out to be good decision. A fast and interesting read ,it set up to 2 more books to be completed within a span of 1 month (The Legends of Khasak and Piccadilly Jim).

One month down I feel the its still going strong and I plan to clear of the rest within the next one year.

Documenting the pending list :

A Potrait of Young Man as an Artist
Dubliners
The so called "ultimate classic" Ulysses
Short story collection -O Henry
Greatest works of Oscar Wilde (of which I plan to read at least Dorian Gray and Importance
of being Earnest)
Code of Woosters
A few books on current affairs from Amratya Sen /Chidambaram/Gurcharan das and Arun Shourie
Helen Keller's Catch 22
George Orwell's 1984
Complete works of Kafka and Shakespeare
+
A an uncountable number of ebooks i have in my computer.

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And then i read =>The legends of Khasak.

The book is the translation of one of the foremost classics of Malayalam language.

A different experience in reading as it was a story of a fictional Keralite village of the 1960s.

Didn’t find the English obstructing  narrative much even though there are many cultural references which would have been much easier in Malayalam.

I didn’t see a plot per se in this novel ,think it has got more to do with the serialised form the novel had initially come out.

There are some real interesting characters like Appu kili ,Sivaraman Nair,Kuppu Acchan.

There is an undertone of satire that comes up from time to time. And some interesting sub plots.

It is said that the book has magical realism like in Gabrial Gracia Mrarques books.But since I don’t understand the term ,I haven’t found any.

update:

The experience of reading this translation has led me to order for couple of more transaltions of Malayalam legends.

I have already purchased "The Writings of M.T.Vasudevan Nair from Orient Black Swan and O.V.Vijayan's Selected Fiction from Penguin publication.

In the wishlist is 2 out of stock books from penquin publiction MTV's Demon Seed and other stories and Mukundan's Gods mischeif.

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Where do the ducks go in the winter??

Mark Chapman was all for Holden Caulfield and anti-phoniness campaign.So much so that the madman went all the way to stop John Lennon in his tracks .

This piece of news (from wikipedia )floating in the information superhighway was one of the main thing which led me to start reading “The catcher in the Rye”.

I had heard about the book from many a friends earlier but it finally took this incident for me to start reading it

Quite a interesting book about Holden Caulfield ,as he gives a first person narrative of his life,his views on transitioning to adulthood and about phony human interactions.The main protagonist is depressing for most of the book.

A more detailed analysis of the book would follow once i finish reading the same.

You’re not as fat as you imagine!!!

Update : Following words are not mine.I know not of the guy who wrote it.But what i do know is Baz Luhrmann made a video out it and it was damn interesting !!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience……

I will dispense this advice now…..

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

 Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Akad bakad bambay bo,Here is how our votings go!!!!!

Tripti Elena George...that was the name if my memory serves me right.My first vote.
It was Standard Six,K.V.Pattom .And post she was vying for School People Leader.
Well she had short hair.Much like Gaby Sabatini.I liked Sabatini.So I voted for Tripti.It was as simple as that.

That was me a 11 year old deciding who needs to be the leader.Sometimes this though often goes through my mind,whether grownups are any better while exercising their franchise.

Most recently the thoughts came to me as i watching the much publicized goof up by US Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin ,in her interview with Katie Couric.
Boy,at times it looked like she had no idea what she was talking about.
I would infact rate this interview as the second most pathethic interview given by a public figure.(The first being the controversial interview of India HRD Minsiter Arjun Singh by Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN's Devils Advocate).

I also was fortunate enough to see the vice presidential debates where only only browny points she earned in the debate was through her smile,the out of the bluw "gotcha" "darn you ar right" and repeated references to "hockey moms" or a  "Joe Six pack".Other than that for most part it sounded pure rhetoric to me.

Yes .She is a charismatic leader who knows how to work up crowd .But is that enough qualification for you to stake claim to the the most powerful person in the world.(That could well happen as she is just a heartbeat away from taking control of the nuclear weapons in case Maccain wins this election.)

 Boy,Do we live in dangerous times !!!

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The Last Lecture -Inspiring people !!

"But remember, the brick walls arethere for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give usa chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop thepeople who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people."

This was Randy Paush delivering his one of his last speeches on the topic Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams from Carnegie Mellon University on 18 Sep 2007 ,just 10 months before his eventual demise on July 2008.

Check out the entire lecture here
The lecture at no point looks like words from a dying man.I was just amazed by the energy shown by Mr Paush  through out the lecture.

Real Inspiring stuff...................

Rest in Peace Professor...........................

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Whats in your plate???

If you have to eat a plate full of frogs,eat the ugliest one first.....
But if instead,what you have ,is a plate of ugly frogs,roaches and lizards,better look for a change in your diet plan.....

Tips - Behind Bars!!!

Just ran into an interesting site about top-10-prison-survival-tips

Am much wiser now having read it.You never now where life would take you.It does no harm,in having a few survival tips up your sleeve ,other than having watched the “Shawshank redemption “ for the umpteenth time .....

Run!!! the Butterfly just flapped her wings!!!

Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas? -A paper presented by December 1972 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C by Edward Lorenz was the first scientific research on the subject of "Butterfly Effect".
The effect essentially is an extension of the idea known as sensitive dependence of a system on initial conditions. The small changes in initial conditions (often immeasurable by human standards )may end up having widely different behaviour than expected.

The 2004 Aston Kutcher starrer of the same name tries to look at the scientific scenario from a cinematic point of view.The main protagonist of the movie is somehow gifted with the power to travel back through time ,just by recreating the time in his memory,(usually by reading his childhood manuals).Reaching back in time he tries to make slight changes to his past ,which unfortunately leads to quite unintentional changes to his future.This results in him revisiting his past over and over again just to rectify the changes he has made in his previous visits.

The film though an interesting concept, it scientifically is not exactly the Butterfly effect as only his immediate family and friends are affected by his tampering of past.As per the Butterfly effect ,his changes would have had a world wide impact resulting in more wide reaching changes to himself and the world.

Other films which had tried their hands at this concept are
1998 Gwyneth Paltrow starrer Sliding Doors and the 2001 Tamil movie 12 B ,starring Shayam. Both are interesting takes on how a particular event(boarding/missing a train(or bus) which has a 50% probability of occurring impacts the protagonist future based on one particular action of boarding/missing a train(or bus as in the Tamil movie).

Another movie with a similar endeavor is The 1998 movie Run Lola run.The movie showcases 3 distinct possibilities in a 20 minute window in a person life based on small sub conscious decisions she takes.
About the movie,the trusted,Lord Wikipedia says :
“The movie itself begins by posing questions pertaining to the unpredictability of the world and the unknowable nature of its meaning. It suggests that drastically disparate consequences can alter the fates of different people from a one second change in the time of one person's running.”

Talking of time travel there is another interesting concept “Time paradox”,first thought of (or rather first publicly discussed )by science fiction writer René Barjavel,in his 1943 book Le Voyageur Imprudent.The poaradox here is, “What happens to the a time traveler’s “Present “ ,if he travels back in time and kill his grandfather before his father is concieved?” .Buts that’s for a entirely new blog……

Life's Unfair!!!

A Russian socialite has announced a reward of 2 "chicks"
to every goal the team scores in the semis.
How unfair....nothing for the goalie.....:)

Using the backdoor!!!!

My lazy sunday afternoon was disturbed by "Houston!!!!We have a problem here!!!".Two perfectly fine individuals sat silently in my house.Everything looked fine,but there was something missing....


What was missing the compatibility.Reason The language barrier.They just couldnt talk to one another.One was from London .Other was from Banglooru.
One was a DVD of American beauty,one of my all time best movies and the other was my brand new Philips DVD player(Model DVP3166)

Lord Google resolved the conflict,which i list below for future reference
Switch on Model DVP3166

1) Open the Setup menu then go to the Preference page.
2) Press 1 3 8 9 3 1 on the keypad of the Remote Control.
3) Options will be available to be selected.
4) Press UP / DOWN key to select the desire Region Code(Region 0 to play all region. )
5) Press OK.

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She is Back!!!

I saw Mrs Chitragada Singh for the first time in the critically acclaimed Hindi movie Hazaron Kwahishein Aisi.Though a apart of a cast which included brilliant actors like KK Menon and Shiney Ahuja,she managed to make her mark in the film industry.Her performance as "Geetha" totally blew me away.Its was one of the rare cinematic performance by a actor in female role which had totally blown me away.
Another moment comes to my mind is the introductory scene of Salma Hayek into mainstream hollwood in "The Desparado".That scene too "was a WOW" moment for me though it was more of a visual appeal more than anything.More credit should actually go to the Director than to Salma herself.



Coming back to Madam Chitragada,I was quite disappointed when she decided to quit the industry 2 years back after sterling performance in the only two movies she did.Impact those two movies had on me was that i paced here on the same pedestal as "Smitha Patel".(They look alike quite a lot").
She was and to some extend still is legend for me.

And now she is coming back.starting with Onir's "Sorry Bhai",she is planning a comeback into the industry.

This worries me.Will she be able to match the expectation set on herself by the start she had.I very much wonder whether she would be able to remain a legend d in my mind once she returns.Its easy to create legends of public figures whose time in the spotlight was cruelly cut down due to one reason or the other.I very much doubt whether people would have remembered Bruce Lee if he would have live d till 100 .Nor would Elvis be in the same platform as he is now if he had aged and died gracefully.

Lets wait n see how the things pan out in the coming months.Will she be able to hold on to the high pedestal I have have placed here,is a question that remains to be seen.

PS:Chitragada Singh has a famous spouse too.She is married to the leading Indian Golfer Jyoti Randhawa.

AVIAL ROCKS!!!

Just happened to hear a couple of tracks from the first Album of "Avial".
The first Alternative Mallu Rock band combining Kerala folk with rock.They have earned a reputation of using their music for socially relevant issues.(No songs about Sex,Drugs and Nirvana!!)

Never been a big fan of Hard Rock.But these guys are awesome.
They totally had me as a convert.
Totally cool riffs.

Have to admit didn't understand most of what they were singing,yet still was hooked on to it.Maybe its due to the fact that the songs are in Mallu,presented in a style never heard before.

If something different is what you are lookin for ,Then "AVIAL" certainly is one of the options....

Check out a few of their hot tracks here





ROCK ON guys!!!

PS:AVIAL is a South Indian dish which includes wide variety of vegetables mixed together.

The Death of a F***** Salesman

Glen Garry Glen Ross -One of the most gripping films I have seen in the past one year.

The movie cast includes some great actors Al Pacino,Kevin Spacey,Jack Lemmon,Ed Haris and Ark Arkin.
And the interesting part is about thats about the characters the movie has.(there are no female protagonist shown though there is mention of two).

The main premise of the movie is the professional lives about a set of real estate salesmen.Movie shows how a screwed up employee recognition policy can lead people to take desperate measures,when their career is put on line as a part of the policy.

The entire story time line is less than 24 hours.
The short time line couple with the fact that there are only a few chracters in the movie makes the movie more of a character study of a group of men with distinct characters.

Alec Baldwin :The Top man,...He calls the shots
Kevin Spacey : The Middle Management guy ...worried about saving his own ass
Al Pacino : The Office performer
Ed Harris : Closest challenger to Pacino.Doesn't like the environment he is in.
Arkin: Also ran,not bold enough to take a risk
Jack Lemmon :clutching on the last straws

This would certainly go on to the top heap of my "Highly Recommended" list!!

<i>NB: The title of this blog is what the movie was jokingly called by the crew and cast of the movie because of the notorious use of profanities in plenty.
In this 100 minutes movie,the F word was used around 138 times,ie more than 1 per minute .
In addition the 4 letter s word ending with t was used an amazing 50 times.
Guess the actors had great time enacting the scenes!!!!</i>

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Me n My Valentine !!!!

L*****i..Lets start of with the name.itself.No pretense. There is no need to hide anything you see.Pleasant to look at Sexy for sure Smart intelligent maybe.

[Intial version of the blog has been edited.The name of the lady in leading role has been edited out to repecting her privacy.Being too lazy no other major changes made to the blog]

Been a fan ever since saw her groove to “Kambakt Ishq” at a intercollegiate dance fest.

It was the second year of engineering. First batch meant 180 students .Enough time to know everyone if one really wanted too.By this time the lady in question was quite popular : I certainly knew her and the few times we met rather serendipitously she acknowledged my presence with a warm smile(not inviting, none the less not disapproving either).

This is the backdrop when Feb14 2002 came about.As were the 20 or so Feb 14 before that,it really didn’t mean much too me.I dunno why but I woke pretty early that day and ended up in college in time. There was something in the air that day.Some thing felt different. The nearby “chaya kada chettan” was in a happy mood giving us extra Appams for free.

A free ride on a friends bike meant I had reached Campus  a surprising 0.5 hors early.

Happy faces all around..Life definitely seemed beautiful with all those smiles .

Little this I realize that all the smiles were in fact in anticipation of something …

 
This is the day when hopeless romantics chase one try to vow the one they believe they love with all with a wide set of hopeless gimmicks ,ranging from flowers to dialogues .

I hurried to the class to join my gang in the back bench hoping not to miss any bit of the action.

 

As I enter I hear a voice.”Hi Vineeth…”.

My mind takes time to process.It double checks .then cross verfies.

No it cant be .But it is.....

I turn around and sure enough I find her standing there with a shining gift in her hand.Brain was quick enough to bring me down.

Oh so u are a messenger now.!!!...and who is the lucky guy anyway??

 
I look dazed.was confused.There are head popping out from the windows,under the table on the rooftop. All activities had stopped. There was pin drop silence. Or so I thought.

 Sensing my confusion,she handed me the gift and said “This is for you.I don’t know what else to say.Open this and u'll understand”.

 The Heart finally broke free the shackles imposed by the brain.It threw the logic out of the window.As my brain went in search for the lost logic.Hope occupied its place.

 Am I the one??Was I too sexy for my own good all these time.

 
Brain was back and working feverishly to figure out what was happening.It gave a try…

"Its too good to be true…"

Totally ignored .Expected.But The heart was in control now.
 
Egged on by my class mates I slowly start opening the glittering pink(how i hate this color) gift wrapper.

There was a box inside.Big enough to hold her heart,her mobile,a watch …..brain gave up fighting the heart.

slowly I opened the box inside and had a peek inside…..so did all the ladies and laydas surrounding me…..they looked stunned….more stunned was me…the color was black…there were shades of brown…is it what it is ??…no....Nooooooooooo

It cant be…………….

 
Laughter had already started…..No use hiding now. I opened the box completely to show off to the world, my old ragged pair of shoes which I had long forgotten in one of my friends house.

 
“I told u so” My brains exclaimed as it flung the hope and all other feel good crap somewhere deep inside….That was the last I heard from my heart for quite some time.

 
Interestingly this prank set up my friends ,actually helped me more than one ways as I spend my rest of the years in college bragging that one of the most beautiful ladies in the Campus was my Valentine and two got a chance to speak and be friends with her..a chance I would never would have got or never would have taken otherwise

 

 

 

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Isn't it worth fighting for .Isn't it worth dying for.....

"I just can't help thinking ,what if all these prophecies are wrong??"

"Then tomorrow we may all be dead.But how would that be different from any other day.This is a war and we are soldiers.Dead can come in at anytime at any place.

Now consider the alternative.What if I am right.What if the prophecy is true.What if tomorrow,the war would be over.

Isn't it worth fighting for .Isn't it worth dying for....."

This was from The Matrix.But then again this could be the very same words used by AlQueda before bombing Twin towers or for that matter US before invading Iraq.

But the WAR never stops......The Phropecy is never true.........

No Country for Stray Dogs !!!

Some posts achieve greatness...while others dumped down to oblivion.And between them are those which never get a chance to find out.For the writer forgets to publish them...This is one of those posts.....

After more than a year I decide to give it a chance.......

Today I saw Langda Tyagi.Mr Bolu Maharaj and Moto sarkar were also there.Maybe these are the last time someone would be seeing them.But hey seem quite oblivious to that fact.They were content going about their business of chasing cats,ravishing on leftover meat and simply chasing out members from other gangs.

Why there last day??Simply because miles away ,in a far of location,some from their kind had done a gruesome act.In bold day light.

The "human activists" sprung into action.All The Stray Dogies need to be culled.,they said.Well they cannot be blamed .Human lives is of utmost importance to humans.If humans dont support humans against other species in this fight for survival .Then who else would.

So the orders are out.All Stray dogs,related or not related to this incident, will be culled.While the act is being carried out,life goes on for our main men.

As their numbers dwindle,they may become terrified,lonely, desperate,clutching on to ....well ...nothing but thin air ,for their dear lives.
The "human activists" would be giving a sigh of relief.But would anyone be happy about the whole thing.I guess there will be atleast some.

The Streetcat association of India would surely be having a party organized.Lets see if i am invited......

Of 'Che' and 'Cha' ....

We take strong exceptions to Srimati Vasundhara Raje Scindia's Hitleresque orders of shooting at innocent farmers" proclaimed the poster outside the Conference Hall.

Just outside in the Building entrance were entrenched .....in red...."RED SALUTE TO CHAVEZ"

A few blocks away stood a huge poster celebrating the revolutionary Che Guevera.All this in the remote village in the state in Kerala,a state in Southern India.

Truly .......A Global Village .....but does it achieve anything!!!

I finally bought my first real six String…………………

In this cruel and fast world, you need to have a pressure valve to relive the tensions you face along. And what better way to relax than music. Being blessed with real bad vocals, my only hope to involve myself with the Music world was to learn some unobtrusive instrument without much effort.

Guitar fitted the bill perfectly. One of the supposedly easier string instrument, with plenty of self study material on the world wide web. I had this in mind for a few years now. But till now it just there ,because I just didn’t want to waste my precious weekend time for that.

Finally I heard there Guitar classes being within our extended workplace after office hours. I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity. So within a day of the news reaching me,I was ready with a Jumbo electro acoustic guitar from Givson Kolkota,a brand probably trying to use the popularity of Gibson brand.(it doesn’t matter to me ,as for the beginner you are looking out for the cheapest option and Messers Givson just fitted in right).

So soon hope to master what the six simple strings throw out ….....