Awrite...time for a pit-stop...Out of a breath thanks to 10 nightless days where all I remember is waking up at random airports and emptying gallons of coffee into the nicotine/blood stream...
Budweiser is getting older...The realization dawned in, while I took at what was supposed to be a "breather" at home(the original one..)...He does not enjoy prancing around to reach that distant fly on the wall anymore...He is more than content to watch the fly prancing around right before his nose..But he did yank at my jeans and almost tore it apart..Damn dog!
B & W TVs are not that too uncool...At least I wouldn't have noisy roommates arguing over which shade of pink Kareena Kapoor is wearing...So I airlifted meself one :) Okay..so ground reality...I don't have enough dough to get a new TV...I picked up the one which has been long since neglected at home....
Bangalore has the poorest of transport infrastructures...I absolutely abhor getting stuck in traffic...but even more so, in Bangalore! I quite like the Barista at that road parallel to Museum Road..the one next to Koshy's...But this is strictly for lazy Sunday mornings...
I am beginning to see mathematical models when I came across any number... I am also bargaining on arbid things...even on offers from friends (okay, it's actually singular :D) to write one of those "you are the coolest" testimonials on Orkut! I am evaluating glow signs of the ATMs and retail markets on how high/low they rank on the "Good Branding" quotient..Am also more harrowed by the fact that the calender month end is a wee bit too early this month, which means I need to push the sales forces to close out cases, add more numbers to this month's figures (Arrgh!! My evil work-obsessed other side is taking over again!!)...while actually I should be thankful about an early wallet refill....Christ, I have lost the ability to think non-manager like!
I still haven't listened to the Mercury Rave album loaned by a pal...I did spin the first Camel album that I bought (Pressure Points) a coupla times again on the deck though...
I have to move twice in the next 15 days...My new place (all to myself..Yaay!) is available only on March 15th..But the landlady has warned us to get our asses dragging out of her place by the 1st...So, am camping with the existing roomies at their new place for a while...
Of course...it's not all dismal..Far from it! MPD ( a.k.a the band I ..well..manage) are getting geared up from a resurrection again...March 13th is the D-day...Tomorrow, am scooting off to Pune...A coupla guys from MPD are doing a tribute night somewhere near J.M.Road...Have a "process orientation meeting" at the Pune office on Monday...*yawn*..
Oh hey...go to THE EIGHTIES BAR on Sunday evening for a Mark Knopfler Tribute nite...At the turntable is a pal, who knows his music and would not leave you with just a cold beer in your hand...
Time-out...the show at Regal starts in 15 minutes!
Friday, February 25, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
Post Lunch Slumbers and Original Soundtracks...
NP: Too Young by Phoenix from the original soundtrack of the movie "Lost in Translation"
Who would have thought that I would have fallen hook,line and sinker for a popish/get-shoes-on-and-hit-the-dance-floor kinda track by an obscure artist on a movie soundtrack, while I got new stuff from Henning Pauly, Kevin Moore and the likes...Not to mention a surprise find of a Joni Mitchell CD at Planet-M and the timely delivery of online ordered stuff....And out of the blue comes this track, which seemed almost like a bright streak of light in an otherwise dull day so much so that I have had it on repeat mode for the past half an hour and I am still not bored....Apart from the fact that it is peppy, very 80ish, glaringly simple, it has that energy and tempo to take you back to your late teenage summer years where you taste the first traces of love...True to its title, it makes you feel "too young"....
But seriously, I can't remember the last time I heard a song which had a "baby" in it...Jeez! Guess I ~am~ getting too bracketed in my music....
Baby when I saw you turning at the end of the street
I knew a time was gone and it took me like ages
Just to understand that I was afraid to be a simple guy
I tried my best to smile but deep inside my heart
I felt it was shouting like a crowd dancing
I guess I couldn't live without the things that made my life what it is
Can't you hear it calling oh yeah
Everybody's dancin' oh yeah
Tonight everything is over
I feel too young
I can't lie on my bed without thinking I was wrong
But when this feeling calls this world becomes another
Nighttime won't hold me in your arms again
I got a very good friend who says he can't believe the love I give
Is not enough to end your fears
I guess I couldn't live without the things that made my life what it is
Can't you hear it calling oh yeah
Everybody's shakin' oh yeah
Tonight everything is over
I feel too young
Oh rainfalls and hard times coming they won't leave me tonight
I wish I knew what I was doing
Just do let this spirit survive
Can't you hear me calling oh yeah
I guess I couldn't live without the things that made my life what it is
Can't you hear me calling oh yeah
Everybody's dancing oh yeah
Tonight everything is over
I feel too young....
Who would have thought that I would have fallen hook,line and sinker for a popish/get-shoes-on-and-hit-the-dance-floor kinda track by an obscure artist on a movie soundtrack, while I got new stuff from Henning Pauly, Kevin Moore and the likes...Not to mention a surprise find of a Joni Mitchell CD at Planet-M and the timely delivery of online ordered stuff....And out of the blue comes this track, which seemed almost like a bright streak of light in an otherwise dull day so much so that I have had it on repeat mode for the past half an hour and I am still not bored....Apart from the fact that it is peppy, very 80ish, glaringly simple, it has that energy and tempo to take you back to your late teenage summer years where you taste the first traces of love...True to its title, it makes you feel "too young"....
But seriously, I can't remember the last time I heard a song which had a "baby" in it...Jeez! Guess I ~am~ getting too bracketed in my music....
Baby when I saw you turning at the end of the street
I knew a time was gone and it took me like ages
Just to understand that I was afraid to be a simple guy
I tried my best to smile but deep inside my heart
I felt it was shouting like a crowd dancing
I guess I couldn't live without the things that made my life what it is
Can't you hear it calling oh yeah
Everybody's dancin' oh yeah
Tonight everything is over
I feel too young
I can't lie on my bed without thinking I was wrong
But when this feeling calls this world becomes another
Nighttime won't hold me in your arms again
I got a very good friend who says he can't believe the love I give
Is not enough to end your fears
I guess I couldn't live without the things that made my life what it is
Can't you hear it calling oh yeah
Everybody's shakin' oh yeah
Tonight everything is over
I feel too young
Oh rainfalls and hard times coming they won't leave me tonight
I wish I knew what I was doing
Just do let this spirit survive
Can't you hear me calling oh yeah
I guess I couldn't live without the things that made my life what it is
Can't you hear me calling oh yeah
Everybody's dancing oh yeah
Tonight everything is over
I feel too young....
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Unweaving the rainbow...
My Frameshift CD has been delivered....Yaaaaaaay!!
Now that I have regained enough control over my senses, thought I would post in the breaking news...
Is there some other way to accentuate the "Yaay"?! Don't think I have made it cleat enough....
MY FRAMESHIFT CD HAS BEEN DELIVERED!!
P.S - For more info, http://frameshift.progrockrecords.com
Now that I have regained enough control over my senses, thought I would post in the breaking news...
Is there some other way to accentuate the "Yaay"?! Don't think I have made it cleat enough....
MY FRAMESHIFT CD HAS BEEN DELIVERED!!
P.S - For more info, http://frameshift.progrockrecords.com
Monday, February 07, 2005
Sunday Bloody Sunday....
Apparently..any acrobatic move on my part to reach a high and stay there are usually combatted by an equal(if not,more powerful..) and opposite reaction...And any hopes of resting the butt on the crescendo and keeping it there for a while is met with a cruel reminder that I am riding a bell shaped curve and once you hit a peak, it is all smooth thereafter...Smooth way downhill, that is...
After a very "uplifting" Saturday nite, I decided to kickstart my regular lazy Sunday by scoring some CDs at Phoenix...But then little did I know that I am walking into the "woman-trap" called "The Discount Sale"...now these things are well-camouflaged (Ever noticed the proportion of font size of the words "Upto" and "50%") and of course designed to pull you into the chasmal vortex..I mean, look at the strategic positioning of these ads and hoardings!! Propped up to take into you into a hypnotic trance..sort of like "when you hear the word - discount sale, you will stand with your paws lifted up, on your hindlegs, with your tongues hanging out"..But then again, there is a downside to creating too many zombies, I guess...I put up a resistance and came out empty-handed out of...not one...but THREE of these sales...Yee Haw!!
Now this might seem to be a happy ending...but it was quite the reverse with the actual story...Like any woman with/without a heavy wallet (don't even get me started on this evil force called the credit cards!!) would do, I marched into these stores, telling myself that a momentary glance would do no harm...I had spent barely three minutes before which I came to a conclusion that I am not going to find anything that I would have picked when I am clear-headed...But since I was dazed and possessed by this greed demon inside me, I decided to keep my hunt going...Picked up a couple of Tees after what felt like an eternity of deliberation...then I headed towards the trial rooms...and damn!! the queue was longer than ones that you would find in a municipal ration store!! Summoned up some patience to take the last position in the queue...Minutes passed by and the crowd just lengthened its tail behind me but I hadn't moved an inch...This realization seem to have dawned up the rest of the women too and there was a visible unrest marked by loud murmurs and forceful tapping of the feet...Then the door of the trial room of my queue opened and this lady paraded wearing the entire ensemble of new kurta and long skirt and boots and accessories...Just when we were about heave a sigh of relief, she whisks into the room back again! Apparently, she had to show the dress to her husband standing outside (the clothes that he carried out in his shopping bag would have sufficed to create another retail clothing chain!!) for a nod of approval...from the commotion caused by the ladies in front of me, it was obvious that this lady had been doing this for a while now, which explained the stagnant queue...That was enough for me to come back to my senses...I rushed out of the store...
Shop #2 - Didn't have too much breathing space to walk around...and so I walked out...
Shop #3 - Well, whaddaya know..Deja-vu all over again....
And so, I visited Planet-M...was aghast by the discount offerings on the Floyd and the John Mayer CDs...they were priced at the rates of tapes!! Picked it up, in any case....then moved towards Big Bazaar to get drowned in the tsunami of people there...the mission was to flesh up my kitchen shelves..(Did I mention I am trying to cook these days ?! :D :D :D)...and phew! when I came out of the store, it appeared as though I had just come out of a downtown brawl ....
The high-point of the day was the pack of smokes that I indulged in at the end of the day...So much for the weekend, eh?
After a very "uplifting" Saturday nite, I decided to kickstart my regular lazy Sunday by scoring some CDs at Phoenix...But then little did I know that I am walking into the "woman-trap" called "The Discount Sale"...now these things are well-camouflaged (Ever noticed the proportion of font size of the words "Upto" and "50%") and of course designed to pull you into the chasmal vortex..I mean, look at the strategic positioning of these ads and hoardings!! Propped up to take into you into a hypnotic trance..sort of like "when you hear the word - discount sale, you will stand with your paws lifted up, on your hindlegs, with your tongues hanging out"..But then again, there is a downside to creating too many zombies, I guess...I put up a resistance and came out empty-handed out of...not one...but THREE of these sales...Yee Haw!!
Now this might seem to be a happy ending...but it was quite the reverse with the actual story...Like any woman with/without a heavy wallet (don't even get me started on this evil force called the credit cards!!) would do, I marched into these stores, telling myself that a momentary glance would do no harm...I had spent barely three minutes before which I came to a conclusion that I am not going to find anything that I would have picked when I am clear-headed...But since I was dazed and possessed by this greed demon inside me, I decided to keep my hunt going...Picked up a couple of Tees after what felt like an eternity of deliberation...then I headed towards the trial rooms...and damn!! the queue was longer than ones that you would find in a municipal ration store!! Summoned up some patience to take the last position in the queue...Minutes passed by and the crowd just lengthened its tail behind me but I hadn't moved an inch...This realization seem to have dawned up the rest of the women too and there was a visible unrest marked by loud murmurs and forceful tapping of the feet...Then the door of the trial room of my queue opened and this lady paraded wearing the entire ensemble of new kurta and long skirt and boots and accessories...Just when we were about heave a sigh of relief, she whisks into the room back again! Apparently, she had to show the dress to her husband standing outside (the clothes that he carried out in his shopping bag would have sufficed to create another retail clothing chain!!) for a nod of approval...from the commotion caused by the ladies in front of me, it was obvious that this lady had been doing this for a while now, which explained the stagnant queue...That was enough for me to come back to my senses...I rushed out of the store...
Shop #2 - Didn't have too much breathing space to walk around...and so I walked out...
Shop #3 - Well, whaddaya know..Deja-vu all over again....
And so, I visited Planet-M...was aghast by the discount offerings on the Floyd and the John Mayer CDs...they were priced at the rates of tapes!! Picked it up, in any case....then moved towards Big Bazaar to get drowned in the tsunami of people there...the mission was to flesh up my kitchen shelves..(Did I mention I am trying to cook these days ?! :D :D :D)...and phew! when I came out of the store, it appeared as though I had just come out of a downtown brawl ....
The high-point of the day was the pack of smokes that I indulged in at the end of the day...So much for the weekend, eh?
Sunday, February 06, 2005
A lot can happen over coffee....
What are the signs that you are spending a blissfully alone, buoyantly joyful and relaxingly peaceful midnight hour?
A. You are watching the glistening contours of the sea-side waters do a ballet-like act in the moonlight...
B. You are doing that, while sipping the perfectly-blended and ideally-strong coffee with just-the-right-sugar and of course the never-ending pack of energy sticks...
C. All this, while a bunch of teenage party-hoopers are squeaking like rats whose tails are caught in traps all around you and yet....you have no intention of getting up from the ever-so-tranquil moments which seem to have been transfixed in the history of time....
D. You know your night's just gonna get better than it already is...since you have the bestest possible movie library which never fails to fling one good movie after the other with every visit of yours there...This time around, it was "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" ....and to top it all, you still haven't touched your indigenously-mixed cocktail yet;)....
Aaaah...there's something about an unaccompanied saturday-night in Bombay that makes me feel inexplicaly concoted with the city...so much so that in order to prolong this harmony, I decide to take a bus trip which takes me to a place in the completely opposite direction to my not-so-secluded abode...Sure, it's the wee hours of a VERY bright night, thanks to the electrically-enriched neon lights..And of course,a gallon of coffee and Steven Wilson's inescapable voice (Not an evening in the company of Porcupine Tree again...this time it was O.S.I's out-of-the-world track called Shutdown) to keep my insomniacal tendencies up and running...But then again, in a city of free will, what better day/night to exercise it when the whole population is up and about?
A. You are watching the glistening contours of the sea-side waters do a ballet-like act in the moonlight...
B. You are doing that, while sipping the perfectly-blended and ideally-strong coffee with just-the-right-sugar and of course the never-ending pack of energy sticks...
C. All this, while a bunch of teenage party-hoopers are squeaking like rats whose tails are caught in traps all around you and yet....you have no intention of getting up from the ever-so-tranquil moments which seem to have been transfixed in the history of time....
D. You know your night's just gonna get better than it already is...since you have the bestest possible movie library which never fails to fling one good movie after the other with every visit of yours there...This time around, it was "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" ....and to top it all, you still haven't touched your indigenously-mixed cocktail yet;)....
Aaaah...there's something about an unaccompanied saturday-night in Bombay that makes me feel inexplicaly concoted with the city...so much so that in order to prolong this harmony, I decide to take a bus trip which takes me to a place in the completely opposite direction to my not-so-secluded abode...Sure, it's the wee hours of a VERY bright night, thanks to the electrically-enriched neon lights..And of course,a gallon of coffee and Steven Wilson's inescapable voice (Not an evening in the company of Porcupine Tree again...this time it was O.S.I's out-of-the-world track called Shutdown) to keep my insomniacal tendencies up and running...But then again, in a city of free will, what better day/night to exercise it when the whole population is up and about?
Monday, January 17, 2005
The Healing Colors of Sound - Part II
Peace - Undistorted, vehement, gripping, sullen and uplifting, sudden and paralyzing...developing an inner void of all the mundane thoughts and useless resolutions....engulfing you in a random fit of questions.....The "whys", the "whos" and the "hows"...
Clarity - Undiluted, honest,apparent, absorbing and daunting, unattached and alluring...leading you to the eventual assimilation of incoherent thoughts...attaching reasons to the initial hypothesis and assumptive answers....
Ecstacy - Consequential, potent, aggressive, appeasing and illusory, levelling and far reaching....Concluding the crest of the abrupt peace and the gradual clarity...reaching the peak in a smooth and uninterrupted pattern....
Are all drunken experiences so elevating? Or is it the...healing color of sound?
Clarity - Undiluted, honest,apparent, absorbing and daunting, unattached and alluring...leading you to the eventual assimilation of incoherent thoughts...attaching reasons to the initial hypothesis and assumptive answers....
Ecstacy - Consequential, potent, aggressive, appeasing and illusory, levelling and far reaching....Concluding the crest of the abrupt peace and the gradual clarity...reaching the peak in a smooth and uninterrupted pattern....
Are all drunken experiences so elevating? Or is it the...healing color of sound?
Sunday, January 16, 2005
The Healing Colors of Sound - Part I
If I close my eyes..
And fell asleep in this layby
Would it all subside...
The fever pushing the day by
The amber ends glow...Brighter than usual against the gloomy backdrop of the darkened room...The sporadic sounds of the glass meeting the cold marble...Breaking the insipid monotony of reverbaration in your ears because of the incessant and unanimated whirring of the ceiling fan...
Steven has a quite a lot to say apparently...His coherent mutterings are almost a distant echo...My attention is undivided, although my senses are clogged..He seems to get a brooding reaction to anything that he utters...Not that he would mind,though...He knows what to expect...from me and the rest....This is not the first time...definitely not...He always starts off narrating about his road trip east of Baldock and Ashford... That's because I want him to... Sometimes,I want to listen to his telltale of the summers slipping by first..Today it's about the heartattack in the layby..That's how we started, as you can see... I know what is going to follow...He's gonna strip the soul and fill the hole...He says that's because he has a fire to feed....
Steven, you always attach a bleak picture to the otherwise irrelevant things....I refuse to get buried in this forlorn mood...Now,you don't really need to expect us to assume the overwhelming sense of foreboding that you pervade, do you? Actually I know you don't expect us to do that..It need not necessarily be contagious...I guess I realize that and you already know that....And Steven, I'll continue to listen to you...You know I will....Have a couple of batteries to spare even if this set runs out...So you can keep it going...
NP : Gravity Eyelids
Written and Composed by - Steven Wilson
Performed by - Porcupine Tree (Richard Barbieri,Colin Edwin, Gavin Harrison
and Steven Wilson)
And fell asleep in this layby
Would it all subside...
The fever pushing the day by
The amber ends glow...Brighter than usual against the gloomy backdrop of the darkened room...The sporadic sounds of the glass meeting the cold marble...Breaking the insipid monotony of reverbaration in your ears because of the incessant and unanimated whirring of the ceiling fan...
Steven has a quite a lot to say apparently...His coherent mutterings are almost a distant echo...My attention is undivided, although my senses are clogged..He seems to get a brooding reaction to anything that he utters...Not that he would mind,though...He knows what to expect...from me and the rest....This is not the first time...definitely not...He always starts off narrating about his road trip east of Baldock and Ashford... That's because I want him to... Sometimes,I want to listen to his telltale of the summers slipping by first..Today it's about the heartattack in the layby..That's how we started, as you can see... I know what is going to follow...He's gonna strip the soul and fill the hole...He says that's because he has a fire to feed....
Steven, you always attach a bleak picture to the otherwise irrelevant things....I refuse to get buried in this forlorn mood...Now,you don't really need to expect us to assume the overwhelming sense of foreboding that you pervade, do you? Actually I know you don't expect us to do that..It need not necessarily be contagious...I guess I realize that and you already know that....And Steven, I'll continue to listen to you...You know I will....Have a couple of batteries to spare even if this set runs out...So you can keep it going...
NP : Gravity Eyelids
Written and Composed by - Steven Wilson
Performed by - Porcupine Tree (Richard Barbieri,Colin Edwin, Gavin Harrison
and Steven Wilson)
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Murphy's Law...
If anything has to go wrong, it will...
My own interpretation of this axiom reads - If there's anything that you don't want to happen, it will
My tryst with the Dune series began a couple of weeks back (Now this has taken a long time in coming...I realize!!) ...But once I embarked on my journey to dwelve deeper into Frank Herbert's world of Bene Gesserit witches and Harkonnens, there were no pitstops whatsoever...Even when I had managed to chance upon THE book that I always wanted to grab hold of, since the time I actually could spell the word "book" ( Wild exaggeration..yes! But you get the message!!) . This coveted book is "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe (For the uninitiated, this is the most definitive book on the hippie movement and on Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters)....So what's the interlink between Murphy's law and me being the proud possessor of two masterpieces ?! Well...that's where my sob story starts...
I was careless enough to leave the book in the office loo( No...I don't take books to keep me occupied in the loo..This was because I was just leaving work and I had to carry my stuff home!! And Yes, this ~is~ true inspite of what my Mum claims!!) ...And I actually axccentuated this sin by realizing the fact that the book's not in my hand anymore only when I boarded the train !! So after a coupla days of ransacking ALL the store cupboards in the office and not finding the book ( Throwing many cusses at the thief/altruist in the process...), I decided ro take a trip to Crossword (the big bad retail book chain..), which is an even bigger sin in itself...(Honestly, I am not a " Retail bookstores suck!! " purist...I am just in a very masochistic state of mind right now..)
Anywayz, I do not come across the book, but Satan decides ro tempt me by throwing in 85% discounts on Heretics and Children of Dune and Dune Messiah ( D-uh...those are some of the others in the series...)..But I do not cave in ( He thinks he can tempt me, Ha!).....Then I frantically scramble to Flora Fountain where I had found the book that I lost...Now these guys pack up by 8 generally...So I nearly jog down from Churchgate station to these pavement shop walahs ( Err...okay...that's not too far...so BITE ME! :p)...I offer to pay as much as a first hand version of the same book would cost (As you can clearly see...I ~was~ desparate)....Unfortunately, all I received in return was a sheepish grin from these guys that they do not have any copies left...
Then I scamper to Oxford's, asking almost every Tom,Dick and Harry on the streets for direction..I manage to find the place and hastily I asked the dude at the counter as to where's the science fiction section and that guy guides me to the bloody kids science text books rack!! Disgusted, I decided to unravel the mysteries of the arrangement of the bookstore, all by myself, when I knew the clock is ticking towards closing time...I finally manage to find that dark corner where they have stashed the "H" author books...And as a detour, Satan plants THE OTHER book that I have been after, for what feels like an eternity no - Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby...This time, I stripped my soul, handed it to Mr.Satan and get hooked onto reading a coupla pages (When I knew I was going to pick it up any which ways..)I soon come to my senses and find the row of the Dune books...Now the suspense was mounting...I had to know whether my tale has a happy ending...No,siree! Wasn't to be...What I had in store was the Heights of all Ironies, folding his arms tightly around his chests and laughing out loud at me....Beat this, All books EXCEPT the first i.e. DUNE were there!
Why, God, why?!
My own interpretation of this axiom reads - If there's anything that you don't want to happen, it will
My tryst with the Dune series began a couple of weeks back (Now this has taken a long time in coming...I realize!!) ...But once I embarked on my journey to dwelve deeper into Frank Herbert's world of Bene Gesserit witches and Harkonnens, there were no pitstops whatsoever...Even when I had managed to chance upon THE book that I always wanted to grab hold of, since the time I actually could spell the word "book" ( Wild exaggeration..yes! But you get the message!!) . This coveted book is "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe (For the uninitiated, this is the most definitive book on the hippie movement and on Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters)....So what's the interlink between Murphy's law and me being the proud possessor of two masterpieces ?! Well...that's where my sob story starts...
I was careless enough to leave the book in the office loo( No...I don't take books to keep me occupied in the loo..This was because I was just leaving work and I had to carry my stuff home!! And Yes, this ~is~ true inspite of what my Mum claims!!) ...And I actually axccentuated this sin by realizing the fact that the book's not in my hand anymore only when I boarded the train !! So after a coupla days of ransacking ALL the store cupboards in the office and not finding the book ( Throwing many cusses at the thief/altruist in the process...), I decided ro take a trip to Crossword (the big bad retail book chain..), which is an even bigger sin in itself...(Honestly, I am not a " Retail bookstores suck!! " purist...I am just in a very masochistic state of mind right now..)
Anywayz, I do not come across the book, but Satan decides ro tempt me by throwing in 85% discounts on Heretics and Children of Dune and Dune Messiah ( D-uh...those are some of the others in the series...)..But I do not cave in ( He thinks he can tempt me, Ha!).....Then I frantically scramble to Flora Fountain where I had found the book that I lost...Now these guys pack up by 8 generally...So I nearly jog down from Churchgate station to these pavement shop walahs ( Err...okay...that's not too far...so BITE ME! :p)...I offer to pay as much as a first hand version of the same book would cost (As you can clearly see...I ~was~ desparate)....Unfortunately, all I received in return was a sheepish grin from these guys that they do not have any copies left...
Then I scamper to Oxford's, asking almost every Tom,Dick and Harry on the streets for direction..I manage to find the place and hastily I asked the dude at the counter as to where's the science fiction section and that guy guides me to the bloody kids science text books rack!! Disgusted, I decided to unravel the mysteries of the arrangement of the bookstore, all by myself, when I knew the clock is ticking towards closing time...I finally manage to find that dark corner where they have stashed the "H" author books...And as a detour, Satan plants THE OTHER book that I have been after, for what feels like an eternity no - Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby...This time, I stripped my soul, handed it to Mr.Satan and get hooked onto reading a coupla pages (When I knew I was going to pick it up any which ways..)I soon come to my senses and find the row of the Dune books...Now the suspense was mounting...I had to know whether my tale has a happy ending...No,siree! Wasn't to be...What I had in store was the Heights of all Ironies, folding his arms tightly around his chests and laughing out loud at me....Beat this, All books EXCEPT the first i.e. DUNE were there!
Why, God, why?!
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Just one of those things that make you go "Hmm..."
It's amazing how some things that you read even in one of those very matter-of-fact moods can leave you with some food for thought....
This one's out of Dune...Yeppers, am on the sci-fi trip again and boy! does this kick ass or what! I am kicking myself for missing out on reading the series at Pilani...but hey, it's not all over until...errr...the fat boss makes my life a lot more miserable than it already is...
" Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part on the myth-making imagination of humankind. The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality even occasional greatness will destroy a man. "
This one's out of Dune...Yeppers, am on the sci-fi trip again and boy! does this kick ass or what! I am kicking myself for missing out on reading the series at Pilani...but hey, it's not all over until...errr...the fat boss makes my life a lot more miserable than it already is...
" Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part on the myth-making imagination of humankind. The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality even occasional greatness will destroy a man. "
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Talk the (Corporate) Talk....
They say appreciation of anything comes with an instant identification towards it. Rest assured, the list that follows will make you go , "Been done, seen that" ;)
Assmosis
The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss.
Closer to home, that's usually the art practised and perfected by the dude in the neighbouring cubicle
Blamestorming
Sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project
failed and who was responsible.
For all of you who wonder what happens in those long drawn-out meetings of mine...well...:D
Seagull Manager
A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, shits over everything and then
leaves.
Read - BOSS
Salmon day
The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
^^ EVERY SINGLE DAY
Chainsaw consultant
An outside expert brought in to reduce the employee head count, leaving the brass with clean hands.
In other words, "strategists"
CLM
Career Limiting Move - Used among microserfs to describe ill-advised activity. Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is a serious CLM. (Also known as CLB - Career Limiting Behavior)
Ah-hah! Now I know why am still on the last rung of the corporate ladder (?!).
Dilberted
To be exploited and oppressed by your boss. A la Dilbert.
Note - This terminology is soon to be revamped as "krithikated".
Flight Risk
Used to describe employees who are suspected of planning to leave the company or department soon.
Mera number kab aayega?
404
Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested document could not be located.
"Don't bother asking him . . . he's 404, man."
The all too familiar conceptualization of others by me...and me by others :D
Ohnosecond
That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a
BIG mistake.
Going by the math, the number of ohnoseconds on my average day varies from 3600*12 to 3600*14 :))
Percussive Maintenance
The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to
work again.
Oh well...these are those bright moments of the day :P
Assmosis
The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss.
Closer to home, that's usually the art practised and perfected by the dude in the neighbouring cubicle
Blamestorming
Sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project
failed and who was responsible.
For all of you who wonder what happens in those long drawn-out meetings of mine...well...:D
Seagull Manager
A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, shits over everything and then
leaves.
Read - BOSS
Salmon day
The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
^^ EVERY SINGLE DAY
Chainsaw consultant
An outside expert brought in to reduce the employee head count, leaving the brass with clean hands.
In other words, "strategists"
CLM
Career Limiting Move - Used among microserfs to describe ill-advised activity. Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is a serious CLM. (Also known as CLB - Career Limiting Behavior)
Ah-hah! Now I know why am still on the last rung of the corporate ladder (?!).
Dilberted
To be exploited and oppressed by your boss. A la Dilbert.
Note - This terminology is soon to be revamped as "krithikated".
Flight Risk
Used to describe employees who are suspected of planning to leave the company or department soon.
Mera number kab aayega?
404
Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested document could not be located.
"Don't bother asking him . . . he's 404, man."
The all too familiar conceptualization of others by me...and me by others :D
Ohnosecond
That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a
BIG mistake.
Going by the math, the number of ohnoseconds on my average day varies from 3600*12 to 3600*14 :))
Percussive Maintenance
The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to
work again.
Oh well...these are those bright moments of the day :P
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Try Whistling This...
I am a sucker for melodies...especially those which are lyrically loaded... I must admit that's last thing that you would hear from a person whose mornings generally begin with a dosage of a "20th century schizoid man" or "6 o'clock on a Christmas morning" (Okay, it's not exactly christmas! And I cant remember the last time I saw dawn...I wanted to underline the fact that I dig prog rock/metal!)...But then there's something about what is come to be known as "intelligent pop" ( Contrary to my view a coupla years back, the term is not exactly a paradox!) that makes you want to stretch your legs, put up your hands behind your head and really, REALLY relax.... There are a flock of artistes that I have begun to check out at a retail music store/website these days...and beat this! I have begun doing this before even checking which Camel album I do not own yet! And one of the chief reasons for this sort of metamorphosis is this brilliant, brilliant singer/songwriter called Neil Finn...I just own one of his albums now called "Try Whistling This"..but it will probably outnumber the times that I have played my latest Porcupine Tree buy on my deck by a looong margin....So,what's so awesome about this album? Okay, here we go..some of my thoughts on some of his tracks...
1. Last One Standing - Kick starts the album with a jiggy acoustic groove...the tempo that this groove sets carries forward through the entire track with so much energy...and as far as the lyrics...well, wish I can get away smoothly with something like this...
"Lean and hungry with a fire in your eyes
I'll play catch up, you can show me where it's at
I'll go along with anything that you want to do
Everyday I'm making ground
So high I might as well be gone"
2. King Tide - Starts with a seemingly innocently gloomy four lines before it suddenly gets infused with strong chords and it takes a heavier turn with each passing verse...I like the way this heavy downpour hits the climatic note with the chorus rendition...Actually this climatic note is more anticlimatic, if anything...the last verses, the chord element gets so strong that Neil Finn is almost rapping along to keep pace!!
3. Try Whistling this - The title track is really toned-down in terms of the mood, the pace etc...But two things that I like about this song...the bass drum in the back ground and the soaring end to the song...Beautifully constructed melody and pulled off brilliantly by Finn...
4. She will have her way - My favorite track out of this album...whether it is the "ru-tu-ru" backings or the uplifting turn that the track takes when Finn starts the " Still no end in sight...though I travel far and wide" verse...Agreed, most critics would not rate this as the album's best track..my message for them is "GO PICK UP NICK HORNBY'S 31 SONGS, DUDE" !!
5. Truth - If not for anything, the fact that this track has the line " Truth is worth more than pride"
6. Dream Date - Memorable bassline..but I gotta nod in agreement with most other reviewers, the falsetto on the chorus is a definite turnoff!
7. Faster than light - Okay, I don't dig the melody on this track a lot, but then again, there's something about these lyrics which makes you remember the moral science lessons at school!
and praise will come to those whose kindness
leaves you without debt
and bends the shape of things
that haven't happened yet
close your eyes, colours changing like a lizard
I know where the sun goes
I have seen the world turning
in time you'll find that some things
travel faster than light
in time you'll recognise that love is larger than life
8. Addicted - He keeps a low note on most parts of the song..But I love the keyboard parts with " and you wait and it makes you feel strange...as if you were deranged...and you lie with a look to the side...and you say I was addicted to the drug...but I know when I've had enough"...
Now, Neil Finn is not a fantastic vocalist..far from it...Most of the times when he hits the lownotes, you wish you are hearing someone else...But his falsettos make you cringe your brows...but hey, this dude can churn out good , lyrically sound melodies and I maintain, am a sucker for 'em...
1. Last One Standing - Kick starts the album with a jiggy acoustic groove...the tempo that this groove sets carries forward through the entire track with so much energy...and as far as the lyrics...well, wish I can get away smoothly with something like this...
"Lean and hungry with a fire in your eyes
I'll play catch up, you can show me where it's at
I'll go along with anything that you want to do
Everyday I'm making ground
So high I might as well be gone"
2. King Tide - Starts with a seemingly innocently gloomy four lines before it suddenly gets infused with strong chords and it takes a heavier turn with each passing verse...I like the way this heavy downpour hits the climatic note with the chorus rendition...Actually this climatic note is more anticlimatic, if anything...the last verses, the chord element gets so strong that Neil Finn is almost rapping along to keep pace!!
3. Try Whistling this - The title track is really toned-down in terms of the mood, the pace etc...But two things that I like about this song...the bass drum in the back ground and the soaring end to the song...Beautifully constructed melody and pulled off brilliantly by Finn...
4. She will have her way - My favorite track out of this album...whether it is the "ru-tu-ru" backings or the uplifting turn that the track takes when Finn starts the " Still no end in sight...though I travel far and wide" verse...Agreed, most critics would not rate this as the album's best track..my message for them is "GO PICK UP NICK HORNBY'S 31 SONGS, DUDE" !!
5. Truth - If not for anything, the fact that this track has the line " Truth is worth more than pride"
6. Dream Date - Memorable bassline..but I gotta nod in agreement with most other reviewers, the falsetto on the chorus is a definite turnoff!
7. Faster than light - Okay, I don't dig the melody on this track a lot, but then again, there's something about these lyrics which makes you remember the moral science lessons at school!
and praise will come to those whose kindness
leaves you without debt
and bends the shape of things
that haven't happened yet
close your eyes, colours changing like a lizard
I know where the sun goes
I have seen the world turning
in time you'll find that some things
travel faster than light
in time you'll recognise that love is larger than life
8. Addicted - He keeps a low note on most parts of the song..But I love the keyboard parts with " and you wait and it makes you feel strange...as if you were deranged...and you lie with a look to the side...and you say I was addicted to the drug...but I know when I've had enough"...
Now, Neil Finn is not a fantastic vocalist..far from it...Most of the times when he hits the lownotes, you wish you are hearing someone else...But his falsettos make you cringe your brows...but hey, this dude can churn out good , lyrically sound melodies and I maintain, am a sucker for 'em...
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Top 10 reasons why I would not offer a media liability policy in India
Okay, it's a frikkin' Saturday and I have been made to drag my ass to work cuz..Oh well, what other day can be better to ruin than Saturday by scheduling comfortably looong review meetings, where big burly boss types take out their wrath on the fact that they don't have a life and you seem to show the slightest trace of one! So these lumberjacks are out with their axes to nip these threatening hints of a life in its bud....whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..crash! Amen! But they didn't see a retaliatory reaction coming, did they?! They think they can make me work on a weekend?! Bah! Blog , I must and blog, I will!
Anywayz, I know I am trying to sound very ungeekish...That's b'cuz I am gonna start out on..err...slightly occupation specific topic...Sprung up as a consequence of a discussion over lunch where some chaps from the liability insurance business groups decided to make their presence felt...Is it a good idea for our company to go in for a media liability policy?!
For the uninitiated, media liability insurance protects any newspaper/magazine agency against claims made by the affected public, as a consequence of gathering and communicating any false/unsubstianted info...It generally covers defamation, personal disparagement or invasion/infringement of privacy charges...A more ground level example - you see some snaps of filmstars smooching splashed across the front pages of tabloids...and the filmstar is understandably livid because her "oh-but-I-am-the-typical-Bharathiya-nari" image is being shredded to pieces right before hers and a million others' eyes, she files privacy invasion charges against the tabloid/papparazzi...(Assuming she does end up actually filing a suit... more often than not, these are usually mere noises with declaration that she is marching to court...Before you know it, a coupla days have passed and everyone's forgotten about this controversy cuz some other actress' clothes-shedding gossip is more hot-selling news item now...)...so just in case, the court rules in favor of the plaintiff and the media company would have pay a handsome price for it, a media liability policy will come in handy..cuz it will be the insurance company which will have to empty its pockets...
So, if I had my way and I was the CEO of my company...would I recommend we introduce for media liability insurance for the media agencies in India? Even if I did prudently underwrite it and I also take the seemingly safest bet out of the media agencies...say, a Hindu ...I might not have too many filmstars lining up at my front door for claims on defamation charges, but I would sure as hell have politicians doing that with me! Same is the case with any political mag, I guess....
I would think twice before issuing any business magazine a media liability policy because they take too many big honchos head on...and they also usually lambast the government for poor infrastructure or sickly investment et cetera et cetera... Although these guys kinda play it safe most of the time by getting into the semantics and cleverly disguising accusations..They might be low risk...
I would definitely not even consider sparing a moment of thought for deciding whether to cover a TOI or a Zoom...
I would not cover any TV channel which has these " I am reaching out to the general public" kinda talkshows...The next thing I know they will be interviewing some gay activists ( or anti-activists!) movement and I am in a thick soup!!
A music channel is a high-risk profile too...The odds of an enraged parent knocking on your doors is heavy, with the number of booty-shaking videos that come out these days...
At the end of the day, I can think of only an inside/outside or zome health magazine that I might decide to insure...but of course, the chances of them coming to me for insurance in the first place are rather slim....So now, put yourself in my "assumed-CEO" shoes ;) Would you insure any media agency in India for liability?
Now again, please refer to the title of the blog....I rest my case herein...
Anywayz, I know I am trying to sound very ungeekish...That's b'cuz I am gonna start out on..err...slightly occupation specific topic...Sprung up as a consequence of a discussion over lunch where some chaps from the liability insurance business groups decided to make their presence felt...Is it a good idea for our company to go in for a media liability policy?!
For the uninitiated, media liability insurance protects any newspaper/magazine agency against claims made by the affected public, as a consequence of gathering and communicating any false/unsubstianted info...It generally covers defamation, personal disparagement or invasion/infringement of privacy charges...A more ground level example - you see some snaps of filmstars smooching splashed across the front pages of tabloids...and the filmstar is understandably livid because her "oh-but-I-am-the-typical-Bharathiya-nari" image is being shredded to pieces right before hers and a million others' eyes, she files privacy invasion charges against the tabloid/papparazzi...(Assuming she does end up actually filing a suit... more often than not, these are usually mere noises with declaration that she is marching to court...Before you know it, a coupla days have passed and everyone's forgotten about this controversy cuz some other actress' clothes-shedding gossip is more hot-selling news item now...)...so just in case, the court rules in favor of the plaintiff and the media company would have pay a handsome price for it, a media liability policy will come in handy..cuz it will be the insurance company which will have to empty its pockets...
So, if I had my way and I was the CEO of my company...would I recommend we introduce for media liability insurance for the media agencies in India? Even if I did prudently underwrite it and I also take the seemingly safest bet out of the media agencies...say, a Hindu ...I might not have too many filmstars lining up at my front door for claims on defamation charges, but I would sure as hell have politicians doing that with me! Same is the case with any political mag, I guess....
I would think twice before issuing any business magazine a media liability policy because they take too many big honchos head on...and they also usually lambast the government for poor infrastructure or sickly investment et cetera et cetera... Although these guys kinda play it safe most of the time by getting into the semantics and cleverly disguising accusations..They might be low risk...
I would definitely not even consider sparing a moment of thought for deciding whether to cover a TOI or a Zoom...
I would not cover any TV channel which has these " I am reaching out to the general public" kinda talkshows...The next thing I know they will be interviewing some gay activists ( or anti-activists!) movement and I am in a thick soup!!
A music channel is a high-risk profile too...The odds of an enraged parent knocking on your doors is heavy, with the number of booty-shaking videos that come out these days...
At the end of the day, I can think of only an inside/outside or zome health magazine that I might decide to insure...but of course, the chances of them coming to me for insurance in the first place are rather slim....So now, put yourself in my "assumed-CEO" shoes ;) Would you insure any media agency in India for liability?
Now again, please refer to the title of the blog....I rest my case herein...
Friday, December 17, 2004
Mass Hypnosis?!
The early morning rush hour…
...The scramble to get a foothold in a fast local…the pushing and shoving to gather more leg room…It’s bad enough that you are holding onto your life by virtue of that door handle which is supporting a couple of other hands too…But hey, that doesn’t stop you from hollering to the privileged soul ( well, she DOES have the central pole to hang onto!!) to get in…”Jahag dhiktha hai kya andhar” comes the retort…And there we go…a few more fiery exchanges which increases in amplitude with every reply received…soon hits the high note when out comes some bellowing sounds which lasts just about a minute or so (natural progression, I say!)….before fading into oblivion with as much intensity as the ascending trip……The sine curve is drawn…
And your regular day in Bombay has begun…..
The men…well, they have their own version of these cat fights…It has some infliction of machismo, of course…So, there’s always the daily dose of fist fights and finger movements and bawling sounds, all replete with some colorful intonations…Either this, or the gleeful celebrations for finding that much desired inch of foothold near the mouth of the compartment…This usually comes with some “yee haws” and other cowboy like maneuvers which includes high-fiving some stranger on the platform who has not been so fortunate as the passenger himself, when the train starts moving out…
Leave the trains aside, lets jump onto the highways to hell and the rulers of this terrain – the cab drivers…If you have been in Bombay and not been stuck in traffic because a cabbie has distorted the already dilapidated bumper of the car in front of him, you must have had Lady Luck showing off all her molars on you, dude!
Oh no, you guessed wrong! This is not a preamble to yet another sob story of a poor soul stranded in this new-age jungle…the point is…I dunno about you, but I definitely marvel at the city’s innate love for attention…Anything that is remotely glance worthy is spared much more than just a glance….If there are X people who just love to draw attention onto themselves, there are at least 10 X people who want to give them all the attention that they crave and much more…..And what is weird is that fact that, at no point of time do these parties exchange their prerogatives….Will any of the “givers” of attention step in and intervene with the proceedings of the “takers”?! …No, sir! It’s almost as if they don’t want to steal the takers’ thunder…”The limelight’s on you for today and you can hog all of it” types….How many fights have you seen being broken up by spectactors? “They might as well pull their tooth out, but we are happy getting our free entertainment of the day “……This might not be very endearing, but aren’t you amused by the collective hypnosis that the people of the city are under?! I sure as hell am….
...The scramble to get a foothold in a fast local…the pushing and shoving to gather more leg room…It’s bad enough that you are holding onto your life by virtue of that door handle which is supporting a couple of other hands too…But hey, that doesn’t stop you from hollering to the privileged soul ( well, she DOES have the central pole to hang onto!!) to get in…”Jahag dhiktha hai kya andhar” comes the retort…And there we go…a few more fiery exchanges which increases in amplitude with every reply received…soon hits the high note when out comes some bellowing sounds which lasts just about a minute or so (natural progression, I say!)….before fading into oblivion with as much intensity as the ascending trip……The sine curve is drawn…
And your regular day in Bombay has begun…..
The men…well, they have their own version of these cat fights…It has some infliction of machismo, of course…So, there’s always the daily dose of fist fights and finger movements and bawling sounds, all replete with some colorful intonations…Either this, or the gleeful celebrations for finding that much desired inch of foothold near the mouth of the compartment…This usually comes with some “yee haws” and other cowboy like maneuvers which includes high-fiving some stranger on the platform who has not been so fortunate as the passenger himself, when the train starts moving out…
Leave the trains aside, lets jump onto the highways to hell and the rulers of this terrain – the cab drivers…If you have been in Bombay and not been stuck in traffic because a cabbie has distorted the already dilapidated bumper of the car in front of him, you must have had Lady Luck showing off all her molars on you, dude!
Oh no, you guessed wrong! This is not a preamble to yet another sob story of a poor soul stranded in this new-age jungle…the point is…I dunno about you, but I definitely marvel at the city’s innate love for attention…Anything that is remotely glance worthy is spared much more than just a glance….If there are X people who just love to draw attention onto themselves, there are at least 10 X people who want to give them all the attention that they crave and much more…..And what is weird is that fact that, at no point of time do these parties exchange their prerogatives….Will any of the “givers” of attention step in and intervene with the proceedings of the “takers”?! …No, sir! It’s almost as if they don’t want to steal the takers’ thunder…”The limelight’s on you for today and you can hog all of it” types….How many fights have you seen being broken up by spectactors? “They might as well pull their tooth out, but we are happy getting our free entertainment of the day “……This might not be very endearing, but aren’t you amused by the collective hypnosis that the people of the city are under?! I sure as hell am….
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