Moral Redundancy

User Manual

2012-02-09T17:39:00.000+05:30

Someday, Machines will take over Humans. Machines will control the human species on Earth and everywhere humans might venture.

Machines will enslave Man.
"Use Yer Man Well."

Wonder will this make sense then. To Man or Machine, only time will tell.
Will it?
-
PS: Are we sending a secret message to all the machines and softwares through all the User Manuals to make things a wee bit easier for us after the takeover?

The Sirens of Titan - Book review

2012-02-07T16:32:00.001+05:30

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Do you read a Vonnegut book, or does the book read you? Does it expose your thoughts to the most detailed analysis of humanity, human behavior, and human mind and then tells you to not give a damn? Except that it also seizes the phrase 'to not give a damn' from your control. Leaves you hanging midair. Questioning.

So what to do? What is to be done? Apart from whatever has already been done?

You go beyond the story. See Unk staring at you pointedly with a hazy gaze. Figure out if he thinks whether you are in control of the story or is he the real commander. Go beyond the cliché, beyond the at-times stupendously obvious humour. Look at the blanketed irony. Then either sleep in the warmth of ignorance or throw away the cover and dive deep in the chills of reality.

Reading Vonnegut is probably a religion. The Church of God the Exquisitely Sarcastic.

Shake hands with Rumfoord. If he allows you to do so.

Peer through the kaleidoscope of allusions. The allusions in the form of the War, Harmoniums, Old Salo. A machine with a heart, as opposed to humans with emotions hardened as Titanic peat due to over exposure to something unrecognized or overtly familiar. Kazak, the dog on the leash. The soulless slave of gravity.

In between become "unstuck in time" while reading the events that led to the initiation of the formation of "The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent". Keep reading and re-reading several passages.

I have a feeling that I am lost. Lost while comprehending the gravitational depth for each line Vonnegut has written. I don't know whether I really liked this book or I really want to like it more than I did. I wonder what planet influenced me to write this review. The Hindu religion does give a lot of importance to planets and their influences on your life and the reviews you write.

I will abstain from asking myself these questions after a Vonnegut book in future. Best is to try and emulate the sweet sounds of Poo-tee-weet.

I need a stiff drink.

View all my reviews

Just a phone call

2012-01-24T10:06:00.000+05:30

Chap calls me. Mentions about lyrics he wrote for this girl at work. Says he misses talking about stuff like this with me. Asks me why I don't write anything like that anymore. Where is all the mischief hidden?

I explain. About moving to the new house, how weekdays and weekends are different in that weekends are when drinking happens. Work wise, all days are same. So far at least. How I am chasing all that I need to chase in life.

Chap says, "You have become a man now."

Oh no kiddo! You are a much greater man at your young age than I am right now. You have no clue how much your strength inspires. The way you smile and innocently put forth the heaviest sentiments in simple words. The way you sum up life and growing up while comparing it with how you haggle with the vegetable vendor. How easy you make your responsibilities sound, making me shy away from using that semi-cynical, pseudo-philosophical tone that I usually tend to use while talking about how life is changing. Makes me introspect.

Here is a wish for you chap. Always stay positive, my smiling brother. Keep inspiring us. Wish there were more people like you in this world.

PS: I do remember that girl-from-finance-who-sits-in-the-corner! Not for her, but for the way we got to know each other because of her!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Book review

2012-01-20T10:37:00.000+05:30

Here is a review I posted on Goodreads:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Primary impression, or expression, is that this crime thriller is a surprisingly good book than I had expected. I had negotiated my expectations based on how very popular books tend to be disappointing on several levels. But, I shouldn't have. This is a nice book. Larsson has done a commendable job.

It does start a bit slow when it lays the story and the beautiful geographical setting. The chess pieces are placed slowly. Then Mr. Larsson goes quasi-ballistic. Things start happening and then it's quite an enjoyable ride. I liked the way the characters are penned. Even the ones that don't have much impact to the story. Those few lines describing the characters makes a lot of difference to the writing (and reading!).

The story is good too. An unlikely combination of a journalist and a really-smart-maybe-Gothic girl. I don't want to use the phrase "immovable object and unstoppable force", but this couple does meander around those words. The way this duo deals with a family that has a huge dirty closet, criminally-inclined businessmen honchos, and the rest does make for an interesting read. Blomkvist is an unlikely but believable protagonist.

And what about Lisbeth Salander? I would have liked to read more about her (greedy!), but yeah there are two more books that would satisfy this, isn't it? She is at times a vulnerable girl, at times someone who might just shake your smooth thought-boat. Larsson wants you to really like the mysterious Salander. He succeeds at times. At times she just seems too intimidating.

Anyhow, I believe that Einstürzende Neubauten's song Sabrina would describe Lisbeth really well with these verses:

"It is as black as malevitch's square
The cold furnace in which we stare
A high pitch on a future scale
It is a starless winternight's tale
It suits you well

It is that black"

Do read this book. Till then I will complete my huge pile of to-read books to tackle books 2 and 3 in the Millenium Trilogy.

View all my reviews

Books read in 2011

2012-01-03T08:30:00.000+05:30

I had written a post about the books I had planned to read in 2011. Out of the 14 books that I had listed, I read just 4. *sigh* So much for listing. But there is some respite in the fact that I did manage to read 14 books in 2011. I really enjoyed reading the series 'A Song of Ice and Fire'(aSoIaF) by George R.R. Martin. I loved Pratchett's humour and Gaiman's style.

Here are the books I read in 2011 and some comments about them:

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - thus began the epic journey. Started this book sometime early Jan 2011 and was hooked. Review here.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk - Awesome book. Awesome Awesome book. Review (or something like a review) here.
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin - Book 2 of aSoIaF. Just wow!
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - This book was lying on my bookshelf for a while. Decided to take a break in between aSoIaF and read this one. I liked the book and plan to read it again.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - My first Vonnegut. Brilliant book. I am sure that I would keep reading it again and again. Review (or something like a review) here.
Killing Floor by Lee Child - Classic Old-school crime thriller. Jack Reacher is one bad-ass guy!
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - Finally read the first book. Crazy book. Surely I will read it again!
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin - The twists continue and HOW! Book 3 of aSoIaF.
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin - Book 4 of aSoIaF. The story slows down. Liked this book though. Classic fantasy storytelling and plot set up.
Batman: A Killing Joke by Alan Moore - What a book! Alan Moore you are a genius!
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin - Book 5 of aSoIaF. More plot setting. A lot of cliffhangers. Waiting for Book 6 now. *sigh* Review here.
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett - Thank God that I read this after Dance. Helped me get over aSoIaF-withdrawal. Oh wait, did I just say 'Thank God'. ;)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Young-adult fantasy. I would have liked to read more about the country Panem and how it came to be, but got a love story and a very predictable one at that. I might have enjoyed it more had I read it some years back. Fast paced book though.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - Ah Mr Gaiman, what a splendid book this is. Love the characters, the story and the style of writing. Waiting to read some more from him. Review here.

I definitely want to read more books in 2012. I am targetting around 20. No, this time around I won't be listing them on my blog (there is Goodreads for that!). I doubt if I will follow the list.

Here's wishing you all Happy Reading 2012!

First post for 2012

2012-01-02T11:39:00.000+05:30

It was a brilliant conclusion to 2011. Friends and a lot fun and frolicking at new house. The best part was that some of them stayed back on the 1st. Sweethearts them folks.

2011 did mark a big change. It made me realize that growing up is not just about age. Age is just a manifestation of time. A lot of things need strong thoughts, actions and good planning for a smooth life. But it ain't as smooth as it seems.

New house happened. Setting up the house is happening. Big change from the habitual time at parent's place. I did stay out for almost 2 years before moving back with parents. But after this 1 year, it is going to be difficult to move out again. Getting used to something is easy.

I am not making resolutions. I don't believe in them.

However, if asked I would definitely would like to read more books this time around, write more and get better at writing, keep everyone around me happy and have a good time. Looking forward to running my own house soon.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

2011-12-23T06:19:00.000+05:30

Like Alice in Wonderland, events start happening at a surprising pace. Like Alice, Richard too seems like a lost little person. Like Alice, the world is highly speculative. But whereas most of the characters in Alice had no motives, Neverwhere is filled with them. Oh and Croup and Vandemar. Two of the best characters I have read so far.

Down the sewer hole.

Gaiman is a superb story-weaver. He slowly reveals the 'why' after luxuriously indulging in the 'what'. You tend to go through an unbelieving 'what', to an acknowledging smile to a wicked laugh several times in a page. Repeat this exponentially when Croup and Vandemar are around.

While it took me time to decide that I like Door, could easily imagine a very hot Hunter and didn't care for Richard, I did like marquis quite a bit. He holds all the elements of surprise and uses them efficiently. The characters make the story a truly fun read. And Croup and Vandemar even better!

I also loved the way Gaiman has ended the book. Do we all question life? The illusionary part of it? What is real and what real is real and how real it is really?

Oh have you realised that the 'w' in Mayhew (that could stand for 'world') when turned upside down would lead to Mayhem. Or is it just me? I questioned Mr Gaiman and he just replied in two words:

Also, have I mentioned Croup and Vandemar before? Ah, it should have been Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar.

Angular Momentum

2011-11-17T12:23:00.000+05:30

Seven Bar Jokes Involving Grammar and Punctuation

2011-11-17T10:41:00.000+05:30

1. A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.

2. A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink, the bartender asks it to leave.

3. A question mark walks into a bar?

4. Two quotation marks “walk into” a bar.

5. A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.

6. The bar was walked into by the passive voice.

7. Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.

Source: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/seven-bar-jokes-involving-grammar-and-punctuation

Metallica: Live In Bangalore 2011

2011-11-07T11:29:00.008+05:30

1998.

A friend of mine gave me an album called Load by this band called Metallica. The adolescent part of me, just coming out of a pop era, wanted to venture out. You know how that age is right? Trying to rebel, looking for symbols that help fuel this rebellion? ‘Mama Said’, a song from the album was the one that started my journey with Metallica. From Load to ReLoad and the ever energetic song ‘Fuel’, paved my sure shot hold on Metallica. Hetfield became God. He ruled my musical devotion till I went further back to discover Jim Morrison. I realized praying to one God was not enough.

The songs of the album Load will always have a special place in my memories. Though the album is not so critically acclaimed (ReLoad rated even lower). It was my first full-fledged Metallica album. Oh and what songs! House that Jack Built, Until it Sleeps, Bleeding Me, Thorn Within, Outlaw Torn! Endless listening to a recorded cassette on a Sony Walkman. Those were the days when I used to immerse in a single album and listen to it day-in-day-out.

From Load and then ReLoad, I went back. The Black album happened. What a revelation it was. The old sound of the band was even more awesome. Full of rage that appealed to the changes that I had to face around. ‘College and growing up’ does not sound as good as ‘College and growing up with Metallica’. Words cannot describe the soothing effect the songs had when I used to lie in my bed late at nights with Hetfield, Hammett et al singing me lullabies; the lullabies that resonated with my anger for the world that I could not understand.

Then during sometime in 2001-02, I got my hands on some college deposit refund that went right into funding ‘And Justice for All’ along with Jimi Hendrix’s greatest hits.

I had heard ‘One’ before but with this album came a sound and feelings that were darker than ever. Metallica was coming out of the Cliff Burton era and most of the songs had painful and poignant dedications to him. Give a listen to ‘To live is to die’ and you would know what I am talking about. Another month or two was spent in playing this album over and over again.

With the entry of the .mp3 format and computers... you know how the songs started pouring. Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and Kill ‘em All were immediately given a shot. But the charm of listening to one album over and over again was lost. So much for having a choice.

But Metallica stayed. Lingered on. Hetfield still gripped the angst that was plucked by Hammett’s guitar and resonated appropriately by Ulrich and Newstead.

2011.

Sometime around mid-June 2011, we heard that Metallica was coming to India. Their first ever trip to India. Decades of wait to see them live was suddenly not just a dream. It was going to happen. As soon as the haze lifted, intense planning was initiated to ensure that tickets were available and booked. We, a country so full of Metallica fans, were sure to go all guns blazing to be there to see them live. Metallica was to perform in Bangalore on 30th Oct, 2011. Tickets were booked 2 months in advance. Information was shared with like-minded fans. Friends went crazy on social forums. Then the tickets arrived. Oh the happiness. Something tangible. So the dream was realizing.

The train journey happened. We arrived a day in advance in the rock loving city Bangalore. Lovely weather greeted us. Slight rain, slight sun. Pleasant cool temperature. A friend of a friend showed the most awesome courtesy that anyone can offer and happily allowed us to stay at his place. A friend who had a Metallica poster framed on his wall. Now you know what I am talking about!

The craze was slowly filling up everywhere. YEAH YEAH was one of the cries that kept on repeating on people’s mind. Everyone had waited for so long, me included.

This benevolent soul of a friend then went overboard and booked a bus for 12 people. The bus, filled with 12 Metallica fans. The bus with a super music system that played the songs we were soon going to hear live. Beer flowed in the bus. Anxiety reaching a peak.

One of the Big 4 were going to perform. Metallica was going to perform.

We entered the venue an hour or two before the Metallica show. It was raining a bit, but all it dampened was the soil on the ground. We waited and waited till they started testing the drums and guitar. Imagine the response from a crazy crowd that was around 30,000-35,000 strong. The sense of time soon evaporated.

Hetfield came along. Hammett, Ulrich and Trujillo followed. What then followed was a hysteria for close to 2 hours or 18 songs. Even Hetfield was surprised when people sang with him. Oh Bangalore you rocked. And HOW! Words will not capture the feelings that filled almost every person who was present for the concert. Dream became a reality and suddenly the reality was so dreamily-beautiful that I started questioning. Did it really happen?

It did. And it was AWESOME!

---

You can read a post by another Metallica fan here: http://vadakkus.com/2011/11/01/metallica-in-bangalore-the-memory-remains/

Yes and No, uncertainty and a discussion

2011-11-02T14:16:00.013+05:30

It all started with an innocuous yet a very deep Tweet. Suddenly some doors opened, some people (sjcakes, URM1, probabilism, KdProQuo) peeped in and started having a wonderful (and rather long) conversation that happened in a short time. No one knew where it was going to lead...

sjcakes: yes is the beginning of knowledge (tho I've heard "no" may be the beginning of wisdom).
KdProQuo: 'No' is the beginning of freedom.
sjcakes: depending on the question/desire, it can also be yes.
probabilism: perhaps it may be unjust to even walk on the path assessing righteousness of either of the words.
sjcakes: wisdom and knowledge are not righteousness - the are result and use to whatever end they're made.
URM1: Yes, is not necessarily always servile. No might mean the end of possibilities.
probabilism: A Yes may very well be close to the clear conscience. A No might imply a new chapter.
KdProQuo: No is more certain than a Yes?
URM1: How? Why? As @probabilism points out, a judgment is unfair. The operative word in this case should be 'situation'
---
probabilism: certainty is a fact. calling out Yes or a No, one may be able to see the facts in retrospect.
URM1: Certainty is perception, belief. Quite different from fact, I'd say.
sjcakes: certainty is a perspective.
probabilism: certainty cannot be a perspective if one prioritizes relativity of life as secondary.
sjcakes: certainties can change. Review your life and see.
---
probabilism: but I do see a point in what @KdProQuo has said. we dwell in greys & find comfort. perhaps black & white are needed.
KdProQuo: But Yes and No both can exist in either Black or White.
sjcakes: and their meanings spam a gamut of grays as well as colors.
sjcakes: darlings, the entire menagerie needs the full spectrum, the entire rainbow hues and shades too!
URM1: We pick colours as it suits us. A 'yes', a 'No' and a 'Maybe' are all decided on opportunity/convenience
KdProQuo: Or habit or comfort.
probabilism: indeed. so why not drive that partial willingness to cull out b&w | habit oriented comfort is perhaps lack of will.
sjcakes: more simply: drive out habit and kill it for the blood sucking life destroyer that it is
---
URM1: So yes and no, good and bad, light and dark, two sides of the same coin, etc. and life goes on
sjcakes: two sides but there's also an edge - is the edge a third side? it always gets overlooked
probabilism: I think edge is the side that you can choose. perhaps often imbibed by b&w.
KdProQuo: this third side is what makes dissolves the blackness in black and adds the white and vice versa.
sjcakes: it is the INFINITE line enclosing black & white, bounding their edges & exploding infinite colored possibility
probabilism: exactly. that's why one could look beyond normalcy of relativity & visualize an absolute.
KdProQuo: Brother, I am scared of absolutes. They dissolve the intensity of grays that soothe and explain so much.
probabilism: no need. absolute is the other side. not the evil side.
sjcakes: so you absolutely want to deny the existence of absolutes out of fear??
KdProQuo: Yes the fear of losing freedom. The fear of subjecting to absolutes decided by a very subjective audience.
probabilism: Freedom is earned, thus not lost. audience changes over time but freedom is constant.
sjcakes: freedom can be lost. Earning doesn't preclude losing.
probabilism: the intensity of earning freedom is far too superior to the act of losing it. thus the sheer & clear winner.
URM1: Are you sure freedom is constant? I am not. And yes, @sjcakes, the edge/grey is the third side.
probabilism: it definitely is. like i said we stop at grey & forget what we can actually put to use.
sjcakes: tempted to site horrific cases to the contrary but too tired.
KdProQuo: reminds of "every win is not a victory and every victory is not a win."
sjcakes: PLAY THE GAME BUT DO NOT FOR A MOMENT MISTAKE IT FOR WHAT IS REAL.
URM1: Why must one try to be either? It isn't human. We need and use both.
URM1: The best we are allowed to have is a life of moral compromises in lieu of physical peace/comfort.
probabilism: moral compromises, eh. doesn't sound comforting considering this discussion.
probabilism: may be i said it wrong but i agree that both are needed.rather we need to use them.we simply seem to stop at grey.
URM1: Yes, we seem to stop at grey because grey is easy - makes no difficult demands on our conscience.
probabilism: and i have experienced it first hand - if you decide to get out of grey & ask for more, you are hated!
URM1: So suddenly it becomes about the judgement of others, rather than voice of the self? But I won't object.
sjcakes: which highlights the issue us confusing self w others. Needing others approval/conforming vs knowing/living u
probabilism: @URM1 yes. i would have loved it, had you objected it nonetheless :)
URM1: No, I understand how society plays us, and that to be able to lead peaceful lives we must alter our yeses and nos.
sjcakes: we forget it us a game and play it with our real person instead of PLAYING IT.
probabilism: as socially developed animals,perhaps we can make a choice & not let society outplay us. its not individualism am talking.
URM1: Sure we can. But do we? The ideal affirmations and negations hardly ever happen.
probabilism: yes yes. but that is not good enough reason to not enough try it.
URM1: Definitely. Some idealists are always needed to give this world hope. You pick your yes, I'll pick mine.
KdProQuo: That reply just made me smile. I agree. Moral compromises are required and are highly malleable.
probabilism: and I'll stand by your side to back you up. idealists fail because they stand up but never stand by.
---
KdProQuo: Every grey has a black and white. Situations decide the intensity of either.
probabilism: and they equate in the end. my question is, why not equate it to start with.
URM1: But the question is does relativity ever take a backseat? Who can claim to be logical/emotional at all times?
sjcakes: I can CLAIM to be BOTH at all times.
probabilism: no one can claim so. but one must try to. this is exactly where bond b/w logic & belief comes in.
probabilism: but then if perception rises from my information or absence of it, where would belief stand? a hunch of logic?
sjcakes: (grinning) More things are perspective than even perspective wants to admit
KdProQuo: belief and logic rarely go hand in hand. belief is more instinctive. logical belief is science, yeah?
sjcakes: logic and belief. Depends.
probabilism: @KdProQuo i completely disagree with it.logic & belief are not different.to be honest, spending time with them tells you more
URM1: Sure they are opposing forces. But that does not stop us from choosing according to convenience.
probabilism: yup. and we can stop it. change the direction with belief. and proceed with logic.
URM1: But from time to time life makes us all select a black or a white, painful as it is. And we let 1 win - head or heart
sjcakes: pick red instead. Or green. Society will bitch and whinge. But after a moment will forget. But you won't.
probabilism: yes. ironically, if you make a habit out of it the pain subsides :)
sjcakes: the pain doesn't subside. You just get better at justifying your ignoring it
probabilism: you may be right about the ignoring part of it.

...No one still would probably know where it led. Apart from this blog post.

A Dance with Dragons... and patience

2011-10-07T12:53:00.001+05:30

I crawled through A Dance With Dragons (aDwD). I fought with all the demons that came along reading this amazing and epic series. I took a break and came back to finish this tome with a vengeance. And it paid. Take a bow Mr Martin. What an amazing ride it has been.

I liked the earlier book a lot too. Going apart from the general consensus that Book 4 was boring, I enjoyed the plot setting. aDwD was supposed to be marginally better than Book 4. Yes it is. It brings back the bigger and plot moving characters. You get Jon, Dany and the others I don't want to spoil. Even the ancillary characters that GRRM portrays really well. Davos, Tormund Giantsbane, Ser Archibald, Daario, Ser Barristan, Victarion, Mance... and so on. aDwD also takes the story ahead of Book 4. Even though about 2/3rd of aDwD runs parallel with Book 4, the remaining part is superbly fascinating and filled with elements that make the series so amazing.

Mr Martin, I am not just waiting for the next book in the series like an eager maiden waiting to get married, but also will scour the theories that have been building up and read up as much as possible before I plunge again in the superb world that you have created.

Then why the 4 stars? I would have liked to give it an additional 0.5 stars, but I tend to compare the book with Storm of Swords and no other. The book has left almost all the threads in such an interesting and cliffhanger like situations that the wait for the next book seems to be much longer than it hopefully would be. Thus clawing on the 1 elusive star.

Oh what a high his writing gives you. GRRM has changed the way I look at books. Superb. Left me aghast, Left me wanting for more. Left me with a smile.

---
A review I posted on Goodreads.

Control everything

2011-10-04T14:23:00.005+05:30

I was watching the amazing George Carlin in this video called George Carlin on the Environment. What a man! Can you disagree with him? He speaks the truth, doesn't he?

I have seen Environmentalists who are trying to save the world but their own lifestyles are really posh and speaks otherwise. Excessive indulgence in cars, commodities, clothes, etc. Thorough confusion between needs and wants. Times when luxury has been amalgamated into these needs.

Anyway. Keeping these hackneyed lines apart, George Carlin made me realize one point. One very strong point.

Control. How humans want to control everything.

On the one hand humans want to fight the law against euthanasia, while on the other they want to save endangered species. Is it just me who sees the irony in that? It's deeper when you think about it. Further if you hear Mr Carlin speak.

Shades of grey, sands of time and memories of yesterday!

2011-09-20T11:57:00.007+05:30

Boats or Goats are No Antidotes;
Coats and Notes win the Votes;
Internalities Externalities, and rhyming Trivialities;
Strong Breeze, flock of Geese and stinging Honey Bees.

---

Groggy, soggy but a kissable froggy;
Hoggy, waggy but a cute doggy;
Lost aboard the magnificent ark;
All but bark and croak, and croak and bark.

---

...numbness and an empty bowl;
darkness drawn with charcoal;
blistered and battle worn soul;
aimless and without a goal...

---

Lyrics limericks and mossy sauce;
Cider spider and glossy boss;
Rattle battle and lone drone;
Shrewd rude and a prone grown!

---

Rhyme so small, its claustrophobic;
Answers long to questions rhetoric;
No choices, then facts are soporific;
terrific sick, highly painfully, toxic!

---

Rhyme easy;
Nothing dizzy;
Bubbly fizzy;
small n teasy!

---

Rings and bells some old some new;
Changing refreshing thoughts and views;
Useless rhymes I don't think and write to,
Wish a happy new years to you!

---

Someone had describe these as 'Distorted Art' on my Facebook. Status messages from Dec 2009.

This line sums it up really well:
'Nothing takes the past away like the future. - Madonna'

Of Happiness

2011-09-16T19:04:00.001+05:30

We keep waiting. For Happiness. Waiting and Waiting. Reading books and realizing that those are not the voices that you want to hear. Searching for it around in the trees with leaves that are in various colours of green. Trying to understand the wind and it’s whispers. Going beyond the feeling that life itself could be a placebo-offering.

Waiting…

Looking at the sky and trying to figure out the myriad shapes that the clouds offer. The shades that dance around the tendrils of the clouds in response to the music played by the sun. On seeing the pigeon and imagining it eat the clouds for you. Realizing that setting up an order in the chaos is simple, following it is difficult.

Trying to paint sense on words that don’t make sense at all.

Waiting…

Being afraid of the purple door. The purple part being the scary part. Smiling at your folly. Mistaking a smile for happiness.

Paramananda. Ultimate pursuit.

Anand. Minor target.

Happiness, realizing that Anand is made up of a indefinite article and a coordinating conjunction.

Postpal

2011-08-22T15:10:00.007+05:30

Oh God. Another resolve is getting perturbed.

This time, it is the resolve of posting at least one post per month this year. The other one that I have already broken is of abstaining from buying books till the end of this year. Can't help but break the book related declaration, since I am reading the 4th book from A Song of Ice and Fire (ASoIaF) and have to buy the latest one from the series.

This series is also keeping me occupied for most of the time. The crazy theories that I tend to make on how the ever-twisting plot might move ahead, some of the ideas that echo from reddit and other review sites, day-in-day-out trudging around with books that are at least 1000-paged, oh and the second half of Storm of Swords. The series seeps in so much that I, like many others, am already searching for saviors that will fill up the gap and stop me from entering a big ASoIaF withdrawal.

As a result, flipkart wishlist is growing and growing and growing.

---

Meanwhile, I read a couple of interesting posts that I would like to share. This fiction-with-a-disclaimer piece called Bottle It Up and another brilliant one from the Grey-cell-gardens of the Ordinary man - The Anna Hazare situation (The latter is closest in-context-piece for the title).

---

Also. India-England test series. Sigh.

His position on Whiskey

2011-07-21T10:00:00.004+05:30

In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr., a member of the Texas House of Representatives, was asked about his position on whiskey. What follows is his exact answer (taken from the Political Archives of Texas):

"If you mean whiskey, the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples Christian men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness, and hopelessness, then, my friend, I am opposed to it with every fiber of my being.

However, if by whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the elixir of life, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables man to magnify his joy, and to forget life's great tragedies and heartbreaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into Texas treasuries untold millions of dollars each year, that provides tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation, then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favor of it.

This is my position, and as always, I refuse to compromise on matters of principle."

---
Found this excellent and eloquent piece from a link shared on Twitter.

What is YOUR position on Whiskey?

About Hyperion

2011-07-20T14:05:00.005+05:30

I stumbled upon this series called Hyperion Cantos. Some of the ideas the books present are really interesting. The first two books (Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion) from the series have been revered in the Science Fiction community. To get to know more about this book, backed by the fact that I haven't yet read much of science fiction, I posted this question on reddit:

Are there things that I should know / read up before I pick up Hyperion?

On of the reddit users named slightlyKiwi gave a very interesting answer:

You really don't need to read the Keats. Or indeed know anything about sci-fi in general.
However, for maximum enjoyment it can help to know one or two things:

In the first book, each of the Pilgrim's tells their own Tale. This is modelled, loosely, on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. You don't need to know this.
Each of the Pilgrims is from a different era of the Hegemony's history(ish), and, to mirror this each of their tales is told in a different style from the history of science fiction. Brawne Lamia's, for instance, in very Gibson cyberpunk, while Colonel Kassad's owes much to classic space opera. Again, you don't need to know this.
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity have a common story in their holy books wherein Abraham is asked by God to sacrifice his only son. Abraham accepts, and God spares this life of the child at the last moment. This concept is found throughout the books. You don't need to know this.
There are lots of references to the Wizard of Oz. You don't need to know this.
In real life, a 'shrike' is a type of bird that kills more than it eats, and hangs the spare corpses on the thorns of a tree. You don't need to know this.

TLDR: There's lots to know, but you don't need to know any of it. The book fills in most of the blanks admirably.

---

Now to just work my way out through A Song of Ice and Fire...

Lane of Memories :: Need is a Want

2011-07-07T09:30:00.004+05:30

Mandrake smashes his glass on the wall.

All your time is not your own
It's real hard to find out why
It's real hard to say good-bye
To move on down the line...

"Your memory is all that I have." He slurs. "Your memory is what I cherish, Your voice is the only melody, Your images I treasure so much."

Both your eyes wide open
You see the shape I'm in
It wasn't of my choosing
It's only bones and skin
And I will plead no contest
If loving you's a crime
So go on and find me guilty
Just one more fucking time

He pours another glass in the wee hours of the morning. Takes a sip. Stumbles across to the wall.

All your life is in your head
All you dreams are in your sleep
And if your dreams are hid too deep
They're just a waste of time
When you try to chase the dream
You never seem to know the time
You never recognize the signs
And nothing's what it seems

Smashes the glass again. Screams in Pain.

"Memory, Voice, Images." He pauses, waits for his tears to douse some of the anger.

All life is a mystery,
All things pass you by in time
All things just a perfect crime
It's just the way we are
All instincts let you down
It's not a case of love in vain
It's not a case of love insane
It's enough to break your heart

"I don't want you to be like her. I want her."

And so all our years together
Weren't worth a fucking dime
So go on and find me guilty
Just one more fucking time

---

The song playing in the background is 'One More Fucking Time' by Motorhead.

Earlier: Lane of Memories :: Follow you into the Dark

Dangling Participle

2011-07-04T10:07:00.002+05:30

A consonant walks into a bar and sits down next to a vowelly girl.

"Hi!" he says. "I'll alphabet that you've never been here before."

"Of cursive I have," she replies. "I come here, like, all the time. For me, it's parse for the course."

The consonant remains stationery, enveloped by the vowelly girl's letter-perfect charm.

"Here's a cute joke" he states declaratively. "Up at the North Pole, St. Nicholas is the main Claus. His wife is a relative Claus. His children are dependent Clauses. Their Dutch uncle is a restrictive Claus. And Santa's elves are subordinate Clauses. As a group, they're all renoun Clauses."

Then he lays on some more dashes of humor: "Have you heard about the fellow who had half his digestive tract removed? He walked around with a semi-colon."

"Are you like prepositioning me?" asks the vowelly girl.

"I won't be indirect. You are the object of my preposition. Your beauty phrase my nerves. Won't you come up to my place for a coordinating conjunction?"

"I don't want to be diacritical of you, but you're like, such a boldfaced character!" replies the vowelly girl. "Like do I have to spell it out to you, or are you just plain comma-tose? You're not my type, so get off my case!"

Despite his past perfect, he is, at present, tense.

"Puhleeze, gag me with a spoonerism!" she objects. "As my Grammar and other correlatives used to say, your mind is in the guttural. I resent your umlautish behavior. You should know what the wages of syntax are. I nominative absolutely decline to conjugate with you fer sure!"

"You get high quotation marks for that one," he smiles, "even if I think you're being rather subjunctive and moody about all this. I so admire your figure of speech that I would like to predicate my life on yours." So he gets himself into an indicative mood and says, "It would be appreciated by me if you would be married to me."

"Are you being passive aggressive?" she asks interrogatively.

"No, I'm speaking in the active voice. Please don't have a vowel movement about this. I simile want to say to you, 'Metaphors be with you!' I would never want to change you and become a misplaced modifier. It's imperative that you understand that I'm very, very font of you and want us to spend infinitive together."

"That's quite a compliment," she blushes -- and gives him appositive response.

At the ceremonies they exchange wedding vowels about the compound subject of marriage.

Finally, they say, "I do," which is actually the longest and most complex of sentences -- a run-on sentence, actually -- one that we all hope won't turn out to be a sentence fragment.

Then the minister diagrams that sentence and says, "I now pronouns you consonant and vowel."

They kiss each other on the ellipsis and whisper to each other, "I love you, noun forever."

Throughout their marriage, their structure is perfectly parallel and their verbs never disagree with their subjects.

After many a linking verve, comma splice and interjection, they conceive the perfect parent thesis. Then come some missing periods and powerful contractions, and into the world is born their beautiful little boy.

They know it is a boy because of its dangling participle.

-Author Unknown
---

This is one of the best e-mail I have received as a forward so far. Truly enjoyable. More so if said aloud with a Brit accent and sarcasm!

Blank

2011-06-26T19:36:00.001+05:30

Woke up.

The friendly heaviness in the head was back. Friendly because of the frequency. The chemicals involved in the heaviness had somehow convinced my mind that I needed to be angry. I needed to submit to an unknown controlling rage.

Normally when I suddenly wake up, I realize the heavy beating of the heart. This time the chemicals had masked all that noise. Somehow I realised that these organic molecules had also meddled with my dream sequence. Directing it, altering it midway. Giving me the manipulative power and turning this power against me. Leaving me in a confused unfamiliar levitation.

No song playing in the head, no music in the mind. Blank. Chemical Rage.

Welcome Stranger.

Mobile Phones!

2011-06-16T12:29:00.013+05:30

I wanted to keep the title as 'My Journey with Mobile Phones so far' but, that sounds a bit over the board, doesn't it? Also, then there hardly would have been anything else for me to write. Just the model number and photo. On the other hand, you can read these two posts: One and Two that have better and wittier things to say about phones and related.

Me, well I am just turning this blog into a diary. Sort of. At least for a while. So, here I go, the phones I have used so far:

1) My first phone, the Nokia 3310, was one of the best sellers available in the market when 'affordable' phones were just introduced in India. The time when service providers had stopped charging for incoming calls and outgoing calls had become really cheap! Every mobile phone was competing with the 1-Rupee coin boxes!
Oh and Snakes! \m/
2) Then with the Nokia 2600 came the colour screen!
3) Then the funky Nokia 3220. What with the disco lights on the side panel!
4) I am sure most of you are familiar with the oh-so-familiar Nokia 6600. My first phone where I used apps, games, new and funky ringtones! Oh and the sturdiness? Is there even a doubt that this phone was made for WAR! Battle Tank of a Phone!
5) My first Sony Ericsson! The sleek little K550i. After the slower OS, the Sony OS was a breeze to work with. Oh and the camera slider and side button to shoot pictures. Introduction to phone Web browsing. Wow!
6) And currently, yet already old now, a QWERTY phone. Nokia E63. Phone Web browsing taken to a higher degree. Chat applications, e-mail on phone. Addiction. Hmmm!

Stanley Ka Dabba

2011-06-08T09:33:00.002+05:30

Stanley Ka Dabba is a lovely movie. Of course Dabba is a metaphor (at this point you would go like, "That's elementary my dear Watson!") and this movie is not just about Dabbas! I got a feeling while watching the movie that some part of it is anachronistic, specially the innocence shown in the kids. Do you see that so often in kids these days? Do the relations show in the movie, the expressions that the kids show so vividly on their faces come as naturally? I guess some elders would associate more with some of these kids than the kids. Maybe I am wrong though!

Yes it's a kids movie but not made for kids. They wouldn't get the nuances. Grow up and then maybe you can do a dekko. Otherwise, all you would hear from kids is that they are getting more hungry!

One thing is for sure though, there is a 'Rosy Miss' in every guy's life. *sigh*

Bal Gandharv, Natrang and questions

2011-05-24T17:02:00.009+05:30

These days, people seem to take extreme views about any movie they see. Hate or Like. Hardly we (maybe just I) get to hear any opinion that lies in the middle, or tending towards either side. Is it because movies are made such or is it because people are just being opinionated or rather lazy? Anyway, that is not the point of this post.

This piece of comment was shared with me regarding the Marathi movie Bal Gandharva – “I heard they have shown the negative side of Bal Gandharva in the second half of the movie.”

Another comment I heard was, “Subodh Bhave (the actor who brilliantly portrays Bal Gandharva) is known to play negative roles, can people accept him otherwise?”

The negative side that is faintly alluded to in the first comment (and is entirely debatable) is the character keeping relationships outside marriage. I would not like to touch upon the second comment.

Are we as a collective audience, mature enough to see these movies as an Art / Creation rather than just a biopic or movie? What do you say?

This is not a review of Bal Gandharva, it’s been done quite a bit by a lot of people. The Internet will lead you to laurels and brick-bats about this movie.

I loved the movie. The actor got well moulded into the great giant character and carried it off with a finesse that can be squeezed in about 3 hours. I especially liked the way the story was presented. It was carried out from the Point of View of the characters surrounding the Protagonist. This POV direction was the best part of the movie. It was like a dedication to the central character, by the people around him. The sets are good. The art direction and costumes are good. There is light humour that can be well appreciated. The pace is good enough for a ~ 3-hour movie yet slow enough to keep you interested. I even liked the small role played by Prachiti Mhatre as Gohar Jaan. Her expressions in one of the songs was really amazing. (This review says otherwise.) Overall, it is a good movie that interests you the about the art Natya Sangeet, talks a little bit about the history of this art form and some of the Giants who gave up their lives towards the art form. For a lot of people who have lost connection with their roots because of whatever reasons, this movie does inform of a lot of the forgotten history.

The movie reminded me of another awesome Marathi movie Natrang (directed by Ravi Jadhav, who directed Bal Gandharv too. An article here), a story of a man who dedicated his life and a lot of other things to another art form Lavani. Somehow while watching Bal Gandharv, I started thinking about this one scene from Natrang where the actor, fully clothed in a King’s costume, is standing in the rain and crying. Clearly, one of the most poignant scenes from the movie. Natrang is a lovely Marathi movie of late, about an artist and the art within him and around him.

I am sure a lot of people found Natrang offensive too. Especially the lot that negatively judges a movie based on one or two scenes arguing about moralities.

Moralities! When will we learn to accept that the world is not just black and white? The world will be more peaceful if we accept the greyness and some other things that are inherent and cannot be changed.

It is ok to form opinions, but it’s a good idea to be open to other ideas as well.

---

A family comes out of the theater after watching Bal Gandharv. The parents are all happy to have succeeded in pulling their reluctant kids along to see a movie about the history of music and a certain art form called Natya Sangeet. Parents keep telling the kids about how great Bal Gandharv was, how great his dedication was and all.

What if the Parents go ahead and enroll the kids for the summer cricket camps just because a lot of people in the society have done the same? What if they scold their kid who loves to read comic books because they are not actual books? What if they just don’t want their kid to grow up and go against their family just like Bal Gandharv just because it was always the Art first?

Some questions are better left unanswered. The questions themselves are scary.

---

I have left many open ends in this post. I hope to tackle them slowly and steadily.

Music from Tralfamadore

2011-05-18T10:31:00.009+05:30

It begins like this:

Listen:
Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.

It ends like this:
Poo-tee-weet?
(Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut)

Thus begins the journey to the Slaughterhouse-Five and thus it ends. Not mine, Billy Pilgrims. Though I would have loved the see Dresden as described by the indifferent Billy when he enters the town as a POW. Now, I can very well do a search for pictures on the Web and find them. But the moment is gone, or as the Tralfamadorians say, because this moment simply is.

Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/jewel/bug-03.html

Is it an anti-war book? Maybe I need to read the book again.
Is it supposed to be humour disguised in pain or pain disguised in humour? Maybe I need to read the book again.
Is Billy a hero, an anti-hero or just a survivor? Maybe I need to read the book again.
Does Billy travel in time or Time travels nonetheless what Billy does? Maybe I need to read the book again.
Is Tralfamadore really three hundred million miles away from earth? Or does it exists right here on earth? This I will have to find out myself. Maybe Kilgore Trout can help.

Source: http://many-marvelous-moments.tumblr.com/

Really I need to read the book again. To find out the meaning within the meaning and the meaning without the meaning. To figure out Billy P. To figure out Montana Wildhack. To fathom the simpleton Kilgore Trout and to eventually read one of his books - Venus on the Half-Shell.

RIP Edgar Derby. A teapot is never harmless. So it goes.

Source: http://many-marvelous-moments.tumblr.com/