Movies , Movies and only Movies

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

Wish you all a happy Deepavali.

Palacode

This shot was taken in Palacode, Tamil Nadu.

Humour

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

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

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

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

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.

Bridge and the Traffic

This image from Google Earth shows the painstakingly constructed suspended bridge.It took three years to complete the construction. The people using the highway during that period experienced hell. And the agony has not ended. New problems have crept in , the traffic near the bridge during peak hours would make one wish that the bride wasn't there.

Richard Feynman

"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" , a book which would give the reader a delightful insight into one of the most exciting character who shaped physics.His zest for life amazes me. A extraordinary physcist who also devoted time to art, safecracking,music and above all enjoyed his life.Hans Bethe had said "A magician does things that nobody else could ever do and that seem completely unexpected...and that's Feynman".I couldn't agree more.

Unnecessary Controversy

The controversy that has struck Indian cricket is unfortunate. The issue should have been discussed confidentially and sorted out. Now that the differences between Chappel and Ganguly have become public, the news channel are having good time. I hate seeing every bit of news being flashed as Breaking News.

After this episode I don't think there can be any patch up between the coach and the captain.Even if there is a fix it won't last long. One should quit.I am not sure who should go but I think Ganguly should do himself a favour by stepping down, make himself available to domestic cricket and prove his worth.

Partial Zero !

The folowing humour I read in the FeedBack column of the NewScientist.

“Patrick de Freitas tells us that in Salt Lake City, Utah, water department trucks go around proclaiming they are "partial zero emission" vehicles”

Photos at Flickr

I have now setup a flickr account and have uploaded few photos that I took
to flickr. Check them here

New Template

My blog has a new template now. If you have seen my earlier template and feel that it was better than what it is now please feel free to comment.

Freewheeling

Early morning walk or is it early morning drive ?

England Win Ashes

Thanks to Kevin Pietersen, England regains the Ashes. Australians have been humbled and I am delighted.


image courtesy : Cricinfo.com

Nalaya CM

With 'Captain' Vijaykanth's first arasial maanadu scheduled on 14 of this month one can see posters inviting the people to the meeting on every nook and corner of the town. His suppoters consider him to be the next CM of TN. Vijaykanth was also featured in the Madan's Thirai Parvai this week on Vijay TV. He didn't miss the oppurtunity and used it very well as a platform for canvassing.But I don't think his party will make any mark in TN politics if it decides to fight it out alone. The field is there for tussle between Karunanidhi and JJ only and none else.

Unfair Fare

I commute to my office and back home by the BMTC buses. Three months back there was a hike of Rs 50 in the monthly pass fare. And with the hike in fuel prices , the BMTC officials have announced that fare of the monthly pass would be further hiked by 30 Rs.However the ticket prices remain the same. Seems like I should not use the pass but rather buy tickets every time I do the travel.

Meanwhile the traffic woes of Bangalore is getting worse.Azim Premji of Wipro qoutes thus :

Bangalore is a national calamity in terms of infrastructure .

Visual Tale

Last week I along with my brother and his family visited our aunt’s house in a town called Kaveripattinam, Tamil Nadu. It was a welcome break to me. After spending a day there we visited our traditional temple (Kulla Deaivam) in a village called Dallapatti. It’s an hour drive from Kaveripattinam. After offering our prayers we were back in Kaveripattinam. The panorama of life that I witnessed during my stay enchanted me. In parts, I will post few of the shots that were taken during the trip.

Nostalgia

I am tagged by Venkat to recap my past. Here it is..

Do You Remember the Name of Your Very First School?

I did my nursery and my First Standard studies at Sri Ramakrishna Primary & Middle School, Ulsoor, Bangalore.

How about the name of your first friend at school...

Mallikarjun , we are good friends to this day and will be ever.

Who was your favourite teacher?

Miss Anthia who taught us English in our 6th and 7th Standards and Mrs Pushpa Bhaskar..she was my Kannada professor in my pre-university studies.

What subject did you dread the most?

Hindi

Did you participate in co-curricular activities?

Not a active participant , but I did participate in one quiz contest. My team won the preliminaries and lost in the finals.


Which was your favourite sport?

FootBall was the game that I played each day in my school. Also Leg-Cricket..a form of cricket in which ones leg is the bat and the ball is rolled down instead of being bowled!

Which places did you visit on a school trip?

Nothing. The only place visited with my class was the Nehru Planitorium, Bangalore.


Now, there must a boy/girl whom you hated the most and never wanted to see again in your life, who was it?

None, thankfully.

You must have had a close friend, without whom you thought you could never live and then you both moved on, lost touch and now only wonder in which part of the word he/she must be in…who is it?

Nothing as such..

Venkat, thanks for rekindling my memories of good old days.