Manjunath Trust

A trust has been set up in memory of Manjunath with several objectives in mind. Please do take a moment to read the details at Gaurav's blog here and contribute if you concur.

A Nightmare is ...

... an episode from the Zzzz Horror Show.

(If this has been done before, I claim refuge in independent re-discovery)

Veg Triple Mondae

It's uncanny how these three look the same - not just facially, but girthwise and in their cap-'n-beard-ness. And you thought Michael Madana KamaRajan was outrageous!

BTW, these three are Vikram Inamdar (this is from the film Iqbal - more famously Sanjeev from "Hyderabad Blues"), Himesh Reshammiya and of course, Inzy (IDuppazhagan?)

And also
* Saket's got a post in similar territory on how Conan O'Brien and the President of Finland got together (Daemon: I remember your theory-of-faces :-))
* And previously on this blog: Triple Schezwan Sundae

Here's a thought for the day

My biggest problem, nay complaint, with the day that is "today" is that you can't complain about anything today with most people ascribing it to "today". Instead, you've got to look like a benign Buddha (too much merriment also evokes comment). I like my complaints and I like to complain, so I'm not very happy with anyone taking that away from me in a blaze of innuendo. I'm fairly happy as a person right now (if you discount all the various complaints) and especially if you compare my lot to a whole set of people. I'd be complaining about the same things tomorrow as well, but suddenly tomorrow's complaint is much more mundane than today's. I resent that.

In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel rightly starts off saying that "Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap". And if you tell me this post was a classic example of a reaction from someone not having to make any purchases that make those greeting card companies fill their pockets, don't come near me or I'll give you something to complain about :-)

95 Run De Basanti*

Members of the ARR-SRT Fan Combine (there is usually a high degree of intersection between these two sets) breathe sighs of relief with two commercially successful scores recently. Though most of the followers had professed (atleast publicly) a continuation of faith and pointed to continued critical plaudits for immediately preceding records, these recent efforts would have provided a balm of relief and held at bay the wolf of doubt.

(*not to be confused as an exhortation to Hema Malini)

Night Fall

Just like Sud, I entered this effort in a short-story competition and didn't get any joy with it (weep, weep). Will hence splash it on these pages for all to see.

Night Fall

In the large chapel, he sees the priest hand over the crown to the emperor as the consort looks on, pleased. Everyone breaks out in applause. Cheers ring out as the king looks benevolently around. He reaches out and kisses the priest's (oh wait, he must be the archbishop) ring on his finger.

The ceremony is over. People start to file through the elegant staircase to the floor above. They're in the large open porch. On a turret above, the Royals emerge to the accompaniment of the clergy on either side. They wave and the guns below boom in august sonority, scattering the crows on the highest reaches of the castle. He feels extremely pleased, and strangely secure.

Below, the gathered soldiers transit into another formation. A hop across, one by one, strangely diagonal. Her Highness peers out, rather dangerously. It prompts the cautious King to look anxiously at her, much to the tittering amusement of the noblemen below (but he can only see deep meditation writ large on his face).

The cavalry file in offering their respects. The glittering standard leads them; the men on the majestic horses present a proud picture of authority. A collective gasp of wonderment is spontaneous.

Chestnut and dapple, charcoal and sorrel, these fine animals trot deferentially. But his heartbeat races. And lo! One of the black horses leaps up improbably onto the verandah scattering the dukes (he watches, horrified) and in another giant jump reaches the turret. She's dead and He will be soon. We will be powerless.

He woke up, sweating. Twice in two days.

*** "... lost the crown to the underdog. Despite the advantage of white pieces, the champion made an uncharacteristic error on his 38th move, leaving his opponent's Knight free to ..."

BCQC News feature

The BC quizzing gang got featured in a news article. More details here.

Talk and Mail - what's the difference?

Yet to have Talk enabled with my GMail, but it's quite exciting - for me, the most novel and lateral idea since GMail's conversations and labels in a Webmail service.

Never underestimate the predictability...

... of both stupidity and some ex-cricketers. If you want more reasons why Bishen Singh Bedi is the Indian equivalent of Fred Trueman (in making statements), some more popped out of this rather useless Rediff contribution of his.

First, the irony of him saying "He (Virender Sehwag) must shed a few pounds to look a competent athlete" is hard to ignore, even if there is any reason in that statement - I don't know. But defining the look of a competent athlete is perhaps best left to others. Then Bedi gets his facts horribly tied up as if mixing up an armball with a chinaman. He says:

The Pakistan coach was most familiar with the D/L method as he have been part of the South African team in a World Cup tie at Sydney when the Proteas were required 23 runs off one ball. Bob Woolmer was early and wise to keep his boys posted about the D/L method.

Now,

1. Bob Woolmer had no part to play with the SA team of 1992 in that World Cup (IIRC). He became coach sometime after 1994.
2. The Duckworth-Lewis method was not introduced until 1999.
3. The 1992 Cup was played under a rain rule suggested by Richie Benaud (and perhaps others), so they should be blamed (But then I'm sure Bedi has more respect for a great player than a bunch of "lousy mathematicians").

Finally, this infuriating statement: "the result had to be decided by that lousy mathematician duo of Duckworth and Lewis. What a pity that cricketers have to leave their unfinished work to the unknowns, who may have never played the game." Well, it comes back to asking whether playing the game at the highest level has anything to do with coming up with a rain rule system. D/L is perhaps not the best system, but it remains the fairest one known so far and its heart is definitely in the right place (I don't know about the alternative system some Indian suggested - however the same criticisms will be levelled against that as well). Even if some cricketer can't understand it, why does he have to bother - just follow the printout issued to you! What other way is possible to finish a match, Mr. Bedi?

Further suggested reading for him: The Duckworth Lewis Method and this article by Harsha Bhogle mentioning the topic. My problem with these sort of columns are that they are full of criticisms but not one bit of it is constructive and useful for anyone.

Anatomy of a human spam-collective

It was an ordinary evening until the following sequence of emails:

• 5 pm: Mail sent to all lists of a certain kind (reaching about 300 inboxes) announcing a programme (and a note on its history)
• 6:10 pm: Reply from someone objecting to certain interpretations of the history
• 6:15 pm: Same reply from someone objecting to certain interpretations of the history again
• 6:20 pm: Third copy of reply from someone objecting to certain interpretations of the history
• 7:10 pm: Response from originator of thread rebutting these objections
• 7:30 pm: Response from objector apologising for inadvertent triple sundae special earlier, but sticking to guns on version of history
• 8:05 pm: First mumblings of anger from person unconnected to the whole controversy asking above people to shut up
• 8:35 pm: Another reply condemning in no uncertain terms the washing in open of laundry
• 9:40 pm: First meta-spam condemnation asking spam-objectors to stop objecting so publicly
• 9:50 pm: Concurrence from another meta-spam object displeased at the modern tendency of people to first spam and of others to spam-spam
• 10:05 pm: Super-spam objector airdashes into fray and in no uncertain terms asks people to take a hike and stop (no points for guessing) sending unsolicited email to all
• 10:10 pm: First rat to desert ship: "please remove my email id/alias from this discussion" email
• 10:25 pm: "please remove my email id/alias from this discussion too" email
• 10:45 pm: "While you are at, why not remove mine too?" reply
• 11:05 pm: "Please please stop all this nonsense immediately" email
• 11:10 pm: The "yeah, I agree too" mail (in reality, didn't come).
  All times have been changed to protect temporal identity

  How I would like to see them hung upside down with cans of this preparation stuffed down (up?) their throats and end to end.

  [The "that's why I'm a misanthrope" collection]

Pyarelal's Cereal

I think Abhishek is getting his wish with this #me joke.

behN de Takke

Recent utterances have led me to draw a Thematic K-line between TarN Adarsh and Myuin KhaaN.

TarN says about the music of Rang De Basanti: A.R. Rahman’s music is ordinary. Barring Paathshala and the title track, Rahman’s score doesn’t stay with you after the screening has ended. Where was he when they were playing Ruubaruu ?

Myuin, in his turn, said: As a wicketkeeper, Sachin's controversial dismissal also reminded me of a few batsmen who preferred walking off the pitch on their legs rather than being carried away on stretchers when the great Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were at their brilliant best. Was he thinking back to this ?

Pardon first my intolerance, and then my ignorance, but what exactly does "behN de Takke" mean? Mail me if you can't say it in public. (Reminds me of the other time I was looking for meanings of Punjabi phrases.)

Rang De Basanti anti-review

I finally feel like I'm a member of the blogosphere again. I watched "Rang De Basanti" yestreen, seemingly one of the last members of the human-race-that-blogs to do so. This is the 135492.32th review of the movie:
(Dire warning: no spoilers ahead, so read at your own peril)

So I watched RDB yesterday (have Pancham fans united to reclaim the cherished brand? - I see a WWF-WWE tussle emerging) and I thought it was. That was because of the acting and somewhat because of the. The story was, but still I couldn't help thinking that they were really. The dialogues were right out of the.

Aamir Khan was, well,. As usual Atul Kulkarni. Perhaps the rest were by it. It was an but ensemble cast, the likes of which usually don't. I disagree with some of the reviews that held that. It wasn't in the case of the Khers and Om Puri, you would have to say. What more can you say to that?

Incidentally, did anyone notice that there were many ? As has been discussed in detail elsewhere, the parallels were and so I'm still to make my mind up on whether. So overall, one would have to say that. The music was used in.

So in summary, my recommendation would be. I wonder if people disagree with any or all of the above?

Dedicated to all those web-writers who gloriously took us through frame-by-frame of the movie (despite which, like any good blogger, I still queued up to pay my Rs. 100-odd) without (and with justification) needing to insert in spoiler warnings. This is exactly what a guy needs to make his mind up. I wonder if anyone revealed the exact kind of pickle Aamir Khan eats along with his paraaThaas? (oops - despite myself, I seem to have let out an important plot hook - drat and damn.)

Previous anti-review: Swades

If I was casting for triplets

I don't remember what Rubens Barrichello's voice sounds like, but Kelsey Grammer does have a voice worthy of Orson Welles.