Thursday, December 10, 2009

MTV Rock On!

In a recently concluded series on MTV India, finally we got to see MTV giving us a show which was actually based on music. Well congratulation are in order! I hope the success of this series will prompt MTV to remove non sense like Roadies and other such programs and focus on producing more shows based on music.

A lot has been said about the contestants but this post is about the judges.

Well, to me, the guy who impressed the most was Ram Sampat. Before the show, I only knew Ram Sampat as some guy who sued the Roshan's for plagiarizing Sony Ericsson 'thump' soundtrack. I guess just like me there are many others who knew nothing more about him as well. During the course of this show I learned that Ram is famous in the ad. jingle circle and had released a rock album many years back, although it didn't gain much popularity. But this show has brought him out of ranks and established his career for sure. He now has several projects in pipeline that include directing music for bollywood movies and releasing another rock album. Well done Ram.

Kailash Kher, unfortunately for me, came out as a moron who doesn't really understand music. I found him picking up cues from Ram and Nikhil in order to make up his mind about a performance. I found his comments lacking in originality and I found him lacking in confidence and character. Later I checked out his old music videos (not just the hit ones and found a similar trait, I guess we all have overlooked this because of the fantastic voice he has). He is a great singer, no doubt, but I don't think he is a great judge. Also, he was there to judge the desipann quotient (I don't why he kept saying 'deshipann') of the contestants but I don't think he did that at all. Most of the time he was commenting only on the singers, that's just a proof of his limitations. I guess, if anybody has hurt himself in this show then it's Kailash Kher.

Nikhil Chinnapa was a delight to watch. He wasn't messing around with words. I don't think I have much to say about him except I think he lost his interest in the show towards the end, I mean the guy was absent in the last few episodes. But apart from that he was as pagal and as cool as he can be. Nothing more, nothing less.

One last thing, I must mention, is the website. For people like me who don't live in India the only way to watch this show was the internet. MTV India website is really bad. MTV Rock on's website was full of dead links, the videos were being uploaded way too late after the broadcast on TV (ITV's Britains Got Talent show was being uploaded the very next day) and the video quality was pathetic. It seems that MTV has outsourced the website maintenance to an incompetent company. For a media company like MTV, such poor maintenance of the website is unimaginable and unacceptable.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Autumn and Lily

The park near my home is telling me that autumn has completely set in. The orange, red, yellow of the leaves that had turned into brown is gone too. Thanks to the rain last Sunday, the leaves that were clinging on their branches couldn't hold on any longer and fell off. Leaving the tress behind to face the unforgiving winter alone. The park that was once brimming with life, color and excitement now lies barren, dark and lonely.

Just around the corner of this park is Hana kōnā, a small flower shop, owned by an old Japanese lady. Today, when I saw her setting up her shop for the evening, laying down the roses, tulips, lilies, daisies, orchids... Red, white, blue, pink, purple... sprinkling water over them and trimming the petals. I said to myself, "What! Spring? Now? Is this right? Surely, this isn't right. Why is she doing this? Why is she robbing me and everyone else the joy of waiting for the spring. When the buds will pop out of the branches and the trees will be full of beautiful flowers. Why can't we leave the somethings the way they are? Aren't we already we living artificial lives, manipulating our environment living in air conditioners and room heaters. Is there nothing called Seasons anymore?

I approached the shop, I read "Sale - only 198 yen per pc". The old lady saw me and gave me a little smile. I smiled back to her in response but more than that I was smiling over myself as I said to her, "One lily please!" and then said to myself, "Happy Birthday". :-)

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Motorcycles that don't Fall

So I've been toying with this idea for a very long time now, definitely more than a year. And so I far I haven't done anything about it except for writing it down on a piece of paper. But then I saw this and thought that the least that I can do is to post this on my blog. Unfortunately youtube has disabled embedded video, so you'll have to go to youtube to watch the video.

See the video before you read any further.

All right! I hope that the motorcycle terminators got hold of your attention. More interestingly I hope that you were impressed by their maneuverability, how these motorcycles/terminators skillfully tackled the obstacles, that were being thrown at them, without losing their balance.

It may seems like an act of genius, although with out a doubt it is, but the science of falling while turning is very simple. When a motorcycle is turning there are two forces acting on it; the centripetal force and the centrifugal force. Centripetal force pulls the vehicle towards the inside of the circle and the centrifugal force pushes the vehicle outside. For a perfect turn these two forces should be balanced. In other words if centrifugal forces is higher then the vehicle will fall inside and if the centripetal force is higher the vehicle will fall outside.

I hope you haven't dozed off already. OK! if you are with me till now then let me continue. :)

The challenge is to make sure that every single time someone takes a turn, or in case of the terminator motorcycles dodging objects at 50mph, these forces remain balanced. Meaning that these forces remain equal an opposite to each other (remember Newton's 3rd Law of Motion?). Because this mismatch of the forces will make the motorcycle to lose its balance. And this usually happens so quickly that by the time the rider realizes that he's about to fall he actually falls.

So what are the factors that are governing these forces and affecting the fall? Well, there are 2 factors namely ; speed of the motorcycle and the radius of turn. That means to prevent a motorcycle from falling or to ensure that the forces acting on a motorcycle are balanced while turning all we need to do is tweak these two factors.

All we actually need are a couple sensing device and a couple of actuating devices that can perform the following functions:
a. A sensing device to measure the radius of turn (we already have that kind of device - it's called lean angle sensor - all FI bikes have it as a standard regulation but for a different reason.)
b. Speed sensor (all motorcycles have a speedometer)
c. An actuating device that will control the front wheel of the motorcycle. (meaning it will increase or decrease the radius of the turn by bypassing the rider and turning the front wheel based on requirement) - this thing needs to be invented
d. An actuating device that will control the speed of the vehicle (meaning it will increase or decrease the speed by bypassing the rider based on requirement)
e. And of course a small computer that would interpret and analyse the data sent by the sensors and direct the actuators to perform the action in micro-milli-seconds.

So how will this work? Well, I'll explain that later, the post has become too long already.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Red Chilly Powder

My First ffffuuuu comic. This is partially based on personal experience. Meaning only the second block is true. Enjoy!


Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Homecoming Part 2

continuing from where I had left a few days back...

6. Church: Thanks to Arvind, Karisa and their friend Jessy, for a brief period of time, I had good fellowship in a small church. The service was almost similar in structure to which I was accustomed to back in India. The people were very friendly, the atmosphere in the church was very warm and cozy and I did make a few friends there but unfortunately I didn't attend the church regularly enough and when after a gap of about 6 months I went there they had moved from there location. They should have updated their website at-least but they didn't and so I lost them. Later I started attending another church but it was more of a rock club called Committed Japan with Bible on the menu. There Sunday service was held in a coffee shop called Kick-Back Cafe (Sounds rocking! doesn't it? No, it's not.)

7. Autumn: To me autumn is much more beautiful than spring or sakura (in Japanese). Unfortunately I don't have autumn pictures to share right now. My current residence (notice the usage of word 'residence' and not 'home') in Sailer Komatsugawa (Higashiojima Metro Station) is located very close to Arakawa river and Nakagawa water canal. Arakawa has a very famous (and by famous I mean - It's a tourist attraction during spring season) Sakura tree belt on its banks whereas Nakagawa has clusters of Autumn trees on its banks (not famous). The scenic beauty of the trees on the banks Nakagawa in Autumn is beyond comparison with the what Arakawa has on offer during spring.

I always firmly believe that memories are not about places, it's about people and the experiences that you get to share with them. For me, unfortunately, Japan has been more like a place where I got to spent 2 years of my life but didn't get to share the experience. Anyway, it'll be over soon.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Homecoming Part 1

Very soon I'll be back in India and Japan will fade into the memories of the days gone by. Overall I can say that this has been a mixed bag. I've missed my family, my church and friends. And the work on most days wasn't exciting. But there have been some things that I've liked and some that I'll miss in when I am back in India.

1. The first one without a doubt is Shinkansen (or the Bullet Train) - It is an engineering marvel. Just the fact that you're sitting in a vehicle that's moving at 300kph on land is amazing. I had a great desire to sit in the cockpit and see how it feels when everything seems to be coming at you at that speed, well may be later. You can check out the video that I had recorded at Nishi Akashi (Kawasaki Headquarters). I am really sorry that when Arvind came to Tokyo I couldn't take him on a trip in Shinkansen.

2. Mt. Fuji Trek - I took about 15 hrs to climb on top of Mt. Fuji last summer. From the foot to the peak Mt. Fuji is about 3700 mts. And I started trekking from Station 5, which is about 2300 mts. I know, I took too long to reach the top but the crater of a volcano is one of the coolest things to see. Japanese don't climb Fuji to see the crater rather they climb Fuji to see the sunrise at 3700 mts. For me, it wasn't great.
(Regret - I wish I could've seen some lava flowing or at least some toxic smoke coming out of the crater.)

3. Sushi and Wasabi- Yup the lethal combination of raw fish and the stingiest spice of the world. If you haven't eaten Sushi till now, take my word you've really missed something. And Sushi bars are amazing, I mean for all those of you who know and have heard about JIT systems or The Toyota Way, a Sushi Bar is the epitome of all the principles that are being taught in the institutions and are being practiced by organisations all over the globe.

4. Fireworks - If you ignore the journey to and the return back from the place where these firework festivals take place and a million people who come to the show, the fireworks are are a treat to the eye. You can check out the link and see a few pics of the fireworks but it's no where close to what I'm talking about.

5. Konami - Swimming and gyming were the reasons I had joined the club but I've made some really good Japanese friends there. Most people think that Japanese are introvert people and mind there own business. Yes, that's true but what's also true is that these people are really loving, friendly and helpful. I won't say they are funny because I don't get their sense of humor.

It's a bit late now, rest later...

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Capitalism

I think that Labour unions are like cancer to the industries. Honda Motors and scooters India (HMSI) has been a 'victim' (notice the inverted commas - I'll come to this later) such labour unrest where the productivity of the factory has been severely hampered, which affects sales, which affects profits and which ultimately affects the salaries. And I think these unions are basically fighting for the increase in salaries. A simple relation that the unions have failed to understand. My complete sympathies for the management.

But this is just one side of the coin. What about the labour side? Frankly, I don't know the real issues that the labour unions of HMSI are facing. And actually this post is not about the labour issue of HMSI. It's about the company in which I am working. I won't disclose the name of my company but by the HMSI example one can fairly guess that I too am in a related industry (but I'm not working in another OEM).

My company made severe cost cuts in the name of recession in the beginning of this financial year. Stripping away the basic necessities such as Air conditioning in office space, stationary, allowance for mobile phones, transport in case someone had to make an official visit. Every new hiring now requires approval from the the M.D. Which has basically compelled the managers to force their employees to stay late night. Sometimes the employees are working for the entire night, then they go back home in the morning, freshen up and return to work (without overtime). Some of these cost cuts were not focused on actually cutting the expenses normally incurred by the company but were more or less cheap tricks to take out money from the employee's pocket. Apart from cost cuts, the company also introduced monetary penalties on its employees for delay in meeting a deadline.

Now somebody might say that it's justified keeping in mind that our focus should be on greater things, that we need to keep on going and survive this critical period and later things will return to normal. But wait till I tell more.

The marketing team of my company was in tremendous pressure from the management to get better prices from the OEMs. Since the volumes were 'supposedly' going down and the profits were decreasing. The marketing team worked hard and got better prices. Soon after that the raw material prices came tumbling down. As you might remember the crude oil prices that were over $150 per barrel same time last year are now around $50 per barrel. Almost the same thing has happened with all the other raw material prices globally. So now we have a situation where we are selling the goods at a higher price whereas our raw material costs are down by over 30%.

It's still justified, don't you think, considering that the volumes are down and the fixed costs are the same. Yes it is justified.

But, how about the fact that the volumes are much better. Maruti, Tata, Honda, Hero Honda, Bajaj, Yamaha and many other OEMs have in fact registered significant growth over the previous year in India in-spite of the on going recession.

There were some increments in the company recently at operator level and junior staff level. But they are like peanuts when you see the overall scenario. Management says that there will be no further increments. Reason - What if the recession comes back?

So basically at the end of this year all the hardwork, sweat, talent of passionate employees will get converted into serious money and will will go in one man's pocket. Coming back to the part where I had said that HMSI is a victim. Now if I consider a similar story in HMSI also, can I really say that HMSI is a victim?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Like, I mean, You know...

I read somewhere that Geniuses don't repeat what they say while others repeat what they say several times mostly by rephrasing their sentences without adding any new information in the process. If an ordinary guy, like me, has to explain something he or she will be repeating and rephrasing his sentences and conveying the information that he or she has already conveyed.

Anyway, I decided to conscientiously observe myself and others in order to verify whether or not this is correct. And believe it or not, it's true. All of us (including myself) use phrases such as - Like, I mean, You know etc. as starting or connecting phrases. I don't know why we do this, but we do. I also decided to see if this is because of the influence of contemporary cinema or television, but it isn't. The dialogues in movies and TV shows convey whatever they have to very crisply. I guess they have to, otherwise people will walk out of the hall or switch to another channel on TV.

I mean, I read somewhere that Geniuses don't repeat what they say while others repeat what they say several times... :)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Change of Plan

So it seem that the Lord indeed works in mysterious ways. Here I was all set to move to Hamamatsu in a few days. All of a sudden my organization changed its plans to open its new office. I decided that there is no point in staying in Japan anymore and now I'll be moving to India very soon. Honestly speaking I'm more excited with coming back to India than I was by moving to Hamamatsu.

To all my friends in India - See you soon.

To all the friends in Japan - Ja mata ne.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Updates

Last week I was on a business trip. Went to Osaka, Nishi Akashi and Hamamatsu. These cities are south of Tokyo towards the west Nishi Akashi being the last city in that particular direction.

The summer are over in Japan and the autumn has already begun. The weather is fantastic and reaches a maximum of 20degs in the day.

I'm moving to Hamamatsu soon, probably by the end of this month. Hamamatsu is called the music city as it has the headquarters of Yamaha Music Company. The presence of Yamaha Music Company can be felt the minute you step out of Shinkansen at Hamamatsu station. There's a beautiful jet black grand acoustic piano on display at the station and you are invited to play if you know how to. Just come outside the station and after about 5 minutes walk you can see a grand concert hall. I still haven't explored the city but I'm pretty excited already.

Another thing that you see at the station, just opposite the piano on the other side of the corridor, is the display of Suzuki's super sports motorcycles or the latest car launched by Suzuki. I think you already know what I'm about to say next. Suzuki Motor Corporation's Headquarter is also in Hamamatsu. Although there is no display of Yamaha motorcycles but Yamaha Motor Corporation's headquarter is also in Hamamatsu.

The atmosphere in Hamamatsu is pretty cool, you can feel the music in the air. I'm glad that I'll get a break from the maddening rush of Tokyo. Looking forward for my stay in Hamamatsu.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Love Story - Part 2

Gman: Hey DCat! I had to ask you something.
Dcat: Ok shoot.

GMAN TAKES OUT HIS REVOLVER AND POINTS IT AT DCAT

Dcat: (Screaming) NO!! I meant ask what you had to.
Gman: Oh! you better be careful with your words Dcat Ok
Dcat: (Phew) Ok.
Gman: Anyway, I just wanted to ask you about the picnic last Sunday. I hope you had fun.
Dcat: Well yeah! on one hand I had really had fun but on the other hand I was bored to death.
Gman: Oh! so you were multitasking huh! cool.
Dcat: No! I mean, I met so many new people so that was fun but it would've been better if there were a few friends. And you were busy running and jumping around with others.
Gman: I didn't know you were missing me so much. How about we hang out sometime tomorrow evening?
Dcat: Are you asking me out on a date?
Gman: Not exactly!! I got a new g-mobile and I wanted to show off.
Dcat: Ok!! let me see what you've got. See you tomorrow.

LATER THAT NIGHT

Dcat (to herself, while jumping on the bed): Yipppeee!!!

DCAT CALLS RTINI.

Dcat: Guess what? I am going out on a date with Gman tomorrow. Yippeee!!
Rtini: Way to go girl!

to be continued...

Friday, September 04, 2009

The Urban Guy

I always feel that I am lucky that I grew up in Delhi. Apart from good opportunities in terms of career, I think the atmosphere in Delhi taught me to be tolerant and open minded. During my growing years I learned to respect other cultures, opinions and most of all respect for an individual irrespective of caste, color or sex (Thanks to good schooling and progressive parenting).

So, I don't think that it's too much to expect that the people who have grown up with me in Delhi under similar circumstances, who have done their schooling from similar schools and who have well educated parents to be more or less like me when it comes to basic character and ethics.

Below is an abstract from a recent chat I had with an old acquaintance:

(We were talking about marriage in this part)

Me: tere end pe kya scene chal raha hai?
Urban: yaar kaam settle ho gaya to definitely next year
Me: sounds right vese bhi i guess 27-28 is the appropriate age i guess
Urban: dont know yaaaar i tell u one funda... :) girls are like fruits... first lot market mein aata hai 18-22 saal ka lucky guys get that fresh ripen lot
Me: then?
Urban: then second lot aata hai 23-26 saal ka usually used or smthg but still manageable phir aata hai last lot 27 - 30 saal ki ladkiyoon ka rarely good piece in the cart if u get one u r lucky otherwise accept it and move on :)
Me: OMG! Gurudev..
Urban: hehehe funde :)
Me: i don't have time for this rt now bt someday i'll love to know what exctly do u mean by "GOOD LOT" or if u can explain inshort
Urban: nothing for it good lot means good looking, fresh, .... etc etc just imagine a mango cart :) in mng, afternoon and eve
Me: u r treating girls like commodity man.. not the right approach . to find someone with whom u plan to spend rest of ur life with
Urban: lol.. not treating dude.. drawing analogy big diff the thing was.. that its better to find one by 26 otherwise difficult later on u took it in wrong sense LOL


After this I didn't feel like talking to him about this subject and digressed.

Urban is a guy of my age, grew up in Delhi, lives in one of the top residential location in Delhi, has done his schooling from a good school, is a shrewd fellow and has a successful career but I feel sorry to know him and I feel sorry for the mango he'll get married to.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Random Thoughts and Scribbles

Sometimes I feel guilty for not posting on this blog on a regular basis. I guess one of the reason is that I try to put what I think are my best ideas and thoughts, things that make sense and meaning, are complete, and if all of the above are in order then I need time to give words to those ideas so that every thing looks good.

All this has ultimately resulted in a nearly dead blog. But I can assure you that this blog is anything but dead, I'm always thinking about it, it's just a lot of stuff ends up just as a mere idea in my head or a scribble in the writer and saved as a draft. So, most of the time when I have a good idea either it's incomplete or it's not making much sense or I don't find enough time to put it in decent words.

I've decided to turn things around a bit and put those raw ideas into incomplete stories. Random thoughts even though they may sound stupid or ridiculous, things that come into my head, reflections, mental notes that I make while waiting for the train or while walking across a road intersection or while shopping. Things that I've learned, things that made me say Ahh!, perspectives, opinions, and many more things.

Just think that I'll be writing this to a friend to whom I just wish to say - I wish you were here.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Updates

Just managed to post something on the blog this month. phew! I am moving to a new city in Japan, it's called Hamamatsu (pronounce it as HAMA-MATSU) Yamaha and Suzuki headquarters are in this city. More on Hamamatsu once I get there.

Also today I saw Asakusa Samba carnival. I'll upload pics very soon.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Haven't you heard?

 
Now check this -

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Michael Jackson was an Alien

NASA and many other space organisations have been looking at the skies above for many years now with an expectation that one day they will be able to communicate with aliens. Well, I've got news for them, for the last 50 years an alien (that's just the one I know, there can be many) was living amongst us. He was singing, dancing and making best sellers. Now, why would I say that? Well, that's the only explaination that fits all that we've seen in MJ over the last 50 years.

Let me start with the numerous Plastic surgeries. Well actually those were not plastic surgeries. In fact those were routine maintenance exercises that are required because he was an alien disguised as a human and the 'human suit machine' needed regular maintenance for wear and tear. Of course he got a new chin, a new nose, a new wig and eyes every time. Those upgrades were not his efforts to look better, those were technological upgrades designed by the aliens, purely keeping the function in mind. May be to our human eyes they were ugly and asymmetrical.

The Color, some say Skin Bleach and some say Vitiligo. Well, the truth is that it was neither. The only simple explanation is that the alien skin is very receptive to the pollution on earth. MJ's skin was becoming paler and paler as the pollution on our planet was increasing. How else would you explain a skin that turns from black to brown to pink and finally into white. (Ok may be it's not pollution, but it's still alien skin.)

The singing, never ever in the history of mankind there has been a singer who has been able to sell millions and millions of copies of CD's by singing in falsettos. I agree that opera singers sing in falsettos but who listens to them? On the contrary, we simply loved MJ's singing! I mean just think of it, if you and I (and by 'you and I',   I mean human males) try singing in falsettos people will laugh. But for MJ, we bought his CD's, cassettes like hypnotised minions. Or may be we were hypnotised.

I heard that Google, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipeida and every major website in this world crashed as the news about Michael Jackson's death spread. I don't think the internet went down because of the overload, instead I think that the aliens were paying a tribute to MJ and wanted the whole world to observe 2 minutes of silence in his memory. And so may be Google was right, it was an attack, of sorts.

I guess, I've made my point. Am I, forgetting something?? OH YEAH!!! The MOONWALK. Need I say more?

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The Love Story

THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW DCAT AND GMAN GOT TOGETHER.

ATTEMPT NO. 1

AT THE CHURCH.

Dcat: Hey Gman!
Gman: What?
Dcat: No, nothing.
Gman: Nothing what?
Dcat: Nothing.. drop it
Gman: ok
Dcat: (to herself) This shouldn't be this hard.

ATTEMPT NO. 2

THE PHONE CALL.

(WHILE DCAT WAS ON THE PHONE PADDY WALKS INTO DCAT'S ROOM AND THIS IS WHAT SHE HEARD.)

Dcat: Hi Gman.
Dcat: I was just thinking about you.
Dcat: No! No! I am not joking
Dcat: Seriously.
Dcat: That'll be wonderful.
Dcat: Ok bye.

Paddy: Wow! girl what's going on with you two?
Dcat: No nothing. What are you talking about?
Paddy: Come on you can't fool me. I heard everything you just said on the phone.
Dcat: Oh no. You've got it completely wrong. This is what happened

Dcat: (dialing no.)
RING RING.
Dcat: Hi Gman.
RING RING
Dcat: I was thinking about you.
RING RING
Dcat: No! No! I am not joking.
HELLO THIS IS GMAN I AM NOT AT HOME RIGHT NOW.
Dcat: Seriously!
ANYWAY MY PHONE HAS A CALLER ID SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR NO. OR A MESSAGE JUST HANG UP AND I'LL CALL YOU BACK.
Dcat: That'll be wonderful.
THANK YOU.
Dcat: Ok bye.

Paddy: Oh!
Dcat: (to Paddy) Why is this so hard.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Monday, June 08, 2009

Look Alike

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Meaningless existence

A few days back I saw this - http://hubblesite.org/gallery/   .

I was truly amazed to see such beautiful and fantastic pictures of the universe. The events that are occurring out there are simply beyond my wildest imagination. And I was happy because now with the help of this little piece of equipment we are able to see a glimpse of what is happening out there. All that came into my mind after watching these images was "Wow".

But at the same time I my heart was filled with sadness just to realize that there is so much more out there that we, the mankind, don't even know about. Not just that, when I think of the new discoveries and inventions in the field of science, arts and technology that are yet to happen. The things that haven't yet been conceived. I feel more depressed. Just to realize that when all this will happen, I would be long gone. All this made me realize only one thing, that this life is totally, utterly, completely insignificant. It's something like - You are asked to watch an amazing movie from the middle, in the first place, and then you are asked to leave the hall just when you start enjoying it.

Having said all that, I can say that if it wasn't for the assurance, that I have in my life, of meeting the creator of all that exists and the one who knows everything about the past, the present and the future. If it wasn't for the belief, that I have, that I can still have the answers to all the questions and I can still see it all even after I am long gone then I can only conclude is that life is not worth living, it's insignificant and no one can make a difference, no matter how hard we try.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Nostalgia

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

No More Movie Reviews

In my last post I got tricked into writing a movie review. Suffice to say that the hoopla that the movie and it's subsequent Oscar glory created was simply irresistible. I am going through a period of drought in terms of having creative ideas for the blog, so this time I am trying something completely different. Here are the 10 random things that I have in my mind right now:

  1. I think it’s possible to believe in something and still fail to live up to it. A situation that I most often find myself in.
  2. Buono Kamachi is the first Japanese abusive word that I have learned. I must mention that it's quiet creative. But I won't disclose it's meaning. About the usage - well it's used in an "all show-no go" situation.
  3. Hardest thing to do is to keep posting on this blog.
  4. If I ever make a movie based on this blog. The following are some possible titles: (special appreciation to Vishal for the suggestions)
    • Janakpuri to Japan
    • Gman Returns
    • The G Knight
    • The Curious Case of Gman
    • Gman/Nixon
    • Taare G-meen Par
    • Gman- The Last Stand
    • Xmen Origins- Gman
  5. In this life conflict is unavoidable. You will do well if you are
    • Physically strong or
    • A good runner or
    • The boss
      If you are neither of the above keep your mouth shut.
  6. I am a quiet person.
  7. For any given problem the best solution is always the simplest one. And only real geniuses can provide the most simplest solutions. One of the reasons I believe in Jesus, because he is the simplest solution to all our questions about life. And of course God is the ultimate genius.
  8. One word to describe myself: Single :)
  9. You don’t have to be sad to write a sad song, you don’t have to be in love to write a love song.
  10. The purpose of this life is not to save the world but to get saved.

There you go, 10 random thoughts. Much of it might not make sense, anyway. And yes! I might write another movie review, if it's worth it.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Slumdog Millionare and Whatever

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Slumdog Millionaire won Oscars, how did this happen?
1. Slumdog Millionaire was indeed the best movie of the year.
2. American's love to watch Indian slums and poverty.
3. Danny Boyle cheated.
4. It was destiny.

Not surprisingly many Indians (including the Old B) think that this is definitely not the best movie of the year. I agree too. You see, we Indians are accustomed to such high intensity of melodrama that when movies like SDM are presented before us where almost everything is so subtle we toss it out. But in this case the movie went on to win BAFTA, GG and 8 Oscars and hence the controversy. If this movie was made by an Indian some of the scenes would've had a lot more intensity. One particular example, if the scene where Jamal and Salim lose their mother was followed by a really sad song with tears rolling down from the eyes of the (now) orphan kids as they walk on the roads with dead bodies, burning buildings in the background and with flashes of the moments of their mothers love. We would've applauded and marveled at the skills of the master director. There are many such opportunities in the film. But SDM does not get stuck, it just moves on. How could Danny Boyle simply let tremendous moments like these get by? What was he thinking? You see SDM cannot be the best because it completely missed out on such moments almost all the time.

Most Americans are Dimwits. They think that US is the center of the universe. And what else can boost their ego other than seeing the abject poverty in other countries. No wonder why 'City of Gods', a movie based on the life in Brazilian Slums was critically acclaimed by them. Of course, this year their judgment was completely flawed, they gave the best actor award to a gay and best supporting actor to a joker. But isn't it true that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder? Then if Oscars are the awards given by the American movie fraternity to the movie the deem best then who are we to complain. It's their movie and furthermore it's their award.

I must say one thing here, I have seen a lot of Hollywood movies and with some confidence I can assert that SDM is not the greatest Hollywood flick I have ever seen. So in spite of all it's natural flaws and short comings, how did this movie win 8 Oscars? In this case, all I can say to Danny, in words of Anil Kapoor (from SDM), "What a playa! Ladies and gentlemen. What a playa!".

Sometimes, you've got to give in to the elements of the nature. If I try to draw out the current global economic scenario, particularly in US and Europe as backdrop of the movie's release. I can say that the timing of the movie was impeccable. At a time when the entire rich part of the globe is looking at gloomy days ahead, probably this movie gave a message of hope. Again, the message was to the Americans and Europeans and not us Indians.

Friday, February 27, 2009

My First Snowfall

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Good-bye, maybe?

Every time I posted a blog entry, I felt that this may just be my last post. And that I will never have any more ideas. But some how I managed to do come up with something or the other for the last 2 year, I can't believe myself. But after my last post, the comic strip, I feel all dried up. The future of this blog is in jeopardy. Let's see. All the best to me.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Good Morning

Even though our hero GMAN appears to be absolutely different in each comic block, please note that this is because I can't draw, so I picked up clip arts and cartoons from the internet. Please assume that it's the same guy in all the blocks. (Click on the pictures to enlarge.)

 

Thursday, January 01, 2009

To The Best Within Me

This year I promise myself to achieve what I haven't even dreamed of.

This year I create happiness. A happiness which will not be achieved at the command of an emotional whim. A happiness which will not be the satisfaction of whatever irrational wishes I might blindly attempt to indulge. A happiness which will be a state of non contradictory joy - a joy without penalty of guilt, a joy that does not clash with any of my values and does not work for my own destruction, not the of escaping from myself but a joy of utilizing my full power. Not the joy of faking reality, but the joy of achieving values that are real. Not the joy of a parasite, but the joy of a producer.

This year I create possibilities.

This year I pursue my goals with out the interference of my body but the will of my mind.

This year I make a difference.

This year is dedicated to the best with in me.