Movies , Movies and only Movies

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Its festival time and various Tamil channels have 'variety' of special programmes lined up tomorrow. But why is that all programmes on all channels are always centered on movies ? Can entertainment be not provided by other means? Least thought is given to other forms of art. Even on Tamil new year it is cinema which rules. Why not give some space for Tamil Literature?I don't think it is movies alone which is in the psyche of people. I wish things change..

Let Our Life Lighten Up

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Wish you all a happy Deepavali.

Palacode

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This shot was taken in Palacode, Tamil Nadu.

Humour

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Read in the FeedBack column of NewScientist:
Heard by Claire Schoeefler on TV news in rural Victoria, Australia: "Police are concerned that the weapons stolen in the robbery may fall into the wrong hands"

Cricket and its Coverage

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The cricket played between the world XI and the Aussies was not as it was expected. The dismal performance of the world XI spelled the end of the World XI concept. No player in the world XI gave a good performance. Muralitharan did show his brilliance in the second innings of the six day test match( ironically the test was wrapped within four days). Rohit Brijnath has written very good coverage of the test match in the The Hindu. I liked the way he put Muralitharan's efforts in words:

Few moments in sport are as precious as when an athlete embraces perfection even for a fleeting instant, and Murali to Katich for four balls defined it. It was not an over bowled, but composed.

Murali let the ball go, Katich twitched; the ball landed, Katich prodded uncertainly; the ball turned and leapt, Katich looked distraught. Solace of a kind for the Australian was found in a shared embarrassment, for twice Mark Boucher was conned, too, once on a stumping chance, batsman and 'keeper hitting and clutching air respectively. Cricketing death was inevitable, only its method was in question; a ball later that, too, was settled when Katich edged a catch back to the bowler.

Being a ardent fan of the Lankan spinner, the writeup made my day.

Outlook turns 10

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The weekly news magazine Outlook completes 10 years of publishing. I have been a susbscriber to the magazine for the past three years. Outlook was launched as a weekly magazine to compete against India Today which was fortnightly then. Outlook became a strong contender and forced India Today into a weekly magazine. I feel Outlook is slightly better than India Today.And if one needs a unbiased news analysis then Hindu's Frontline would be the right choice.

I regret having subscribed to it many times. It's cover stories some times is nothing but nonsense.And there is one reporter, S.Anand who has written many articles which are controversial. I disagree with his opininions always. He was the one who covered the Sankararaman Murder Trial. Though I don't take any sides on this issue Outlook did a bad coverage on that , it was totally biased.Outlook rarely looks beyond Bollywood when it does coverage on Cinema. Even if it does it is always in a negative sense. It has reviewed only three 'regional' movies Baba , Anbe Sivam and Virumandi . All three got bad reviews.But I feel elated when Outlook brings some special editions.For example it carried a feature on Partition for this years Independence Day celebrations. The other aspect of Outlook which has me being faithful to it is its Letter section. The readers opinions are published unedited and criticisms are giving due respect.

On turning 10 it has published a special edition which is very enlightning.Carries some interesting articles and interviews. Also features many lists of 10 :10 Stories We're Proud We Did, 10 Famous Spats On Our Pages, 10 Lines We Like , 10 of their Worst Selling Covers , 10 people who sued us etc.Above all it had me engaged over the whole week after a long time

Stories of Steve

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I read the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios.It is very inspirational and thought-provoking speech.A little long but worth reading.Get inspired here.

Science and Aesthetics

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Does explaining the nature in terms of science spoil the beauty of it. Consider the rainbow. English poet John Keats once bemoaned that Isaac Newton had "Destroyed the poetry of the rainbow by reducing it to a prism". Michael Shermer thinks the opposite. In his regular column Skeptic in Scientific American he writes that science and aesthetics are complementary, not conflicting.Scientific explanation for any given phenomenon would not diminish its beauty or its ability to inspire poetry and emotional experiences.I concur with him.Even after knowing science behind it, nature would be as awe inspiring as ever. Science enables us to appreciate nature better.