Kozhambu chaadham with usuli kari and porucha appalaam..If this is not heavenly, what is ??

I am in madras until jan 15..My blogging might be irregular but my hogging will be more than just regular..Immersing myself in ol' friends and movies(but y'day had been to a terrible one - attahasam)..Now that its carnatic season,have attended 4 kutcheries until now including jesudoss.. The city is lively as usual; most of my friends look settled in their jobs..It gives me goosebumps to think that just y'day v were learning about trigonometry in class IX and now suddenly, the past is like a haze, moreso because the present looks very clear. Time flies.

Catching up with relatives and friends is so much fun, though not as much as watching sun t.v (!) and reading dhina malar's take on issues around us ! The nicest thing abt the press here is that they take sides, unlike in other places, so that there is a zing all the time..being mundane is for losers ! Am lovin it.

Finishing up my masters and settling down here is definitely high on my priority list.. Hope it materializes.

~Mandaveli Kapali

Yesterday was a proper weekday.But here's what i did
1.Got up around 2:30
2. Obliged certain biological systems.
3. Ate until 3:30
4.Started watching Oprah(!) at 4.
5. Saw some absolute crap marketing video upto 5:30
6.Slept for a teeny-weeny 1.5 hours.
7. Out of guilt, started studin something at 7
8.Dint last too long..Started watching the Apprentice recap.
9. I thought 9 pm there are no good shows and so will study then..There were no good shows but i still managed to watch 1 (fully) -- Nanny911. (!!!!!!!!!!)
10. Along came raymond; had to oblige.
11. Seinfeld
12. Parts of Jay Leno show.
13. Eat
14. Conan O Brien show
15. Even the Late call with carson daly..

Hows that for an eventful day..I went almost mad finally and had to release my pent-up frustration..Hari obliged..Psyched him inside out.!

That was some day.

-r

Tendulkar has scored just 84 runs in his last five Tests (eight innings) at an average of 10.5.
And Dravid (!) is trying to defend him!

If this guy's name was say, praveen amre or yuvraj singh, he would not have played the last few tests.

I am not a Sachin fan. It is interestingly 'boring' when his fans, as a means of defending him, bring up time and again Sharjah(they get some kick saying 'DESERT STORM' btw), and the chennai innings of 136 ad 98 vs Pak..
Good for you guys, Keep living in the Past.

Happy Thanksgiving guys..
Shopping is not really my 'thing' but had to do some today, atleast for the sake of discounts..Had a ball at JC Penney. The coolest i felt was my Adidas..I love it. I have always wanted an Adidas..When i was back in india, i always was given Nike,Reebok,K-swiss by parents/relatives when they came from the states..Hence, liking for adidas grew! Bored of Nike's swoosh and reebok's vector(is that the name) by now.Hence, adidas, here i come! It seems americans, on an average, spend 900 bux on this shopping spree during thanksgiving..Isn't that something..The most popular stuff was digicams and then clothes and toys..I want to check out toysRus sometime..But jeez, i cant get up at 4Am and stand in the line for coupon discounts maan! I dont want that EXTTTRRRA discount at the cost of my sweet sleep ..
Chill mama..
Then, watched Mr.Deeds (Adam Sandler)..now i know where arunachalam came from..
Watching ambani case with heavy interest..tell u what..only timesofindia can do this kinda masala on such a routine basis..Got to handit over to those folks..stupid stories but keep u hooked..Lalu pitches in with his 2 cents worth..ROTFL @ those filmy connections finally..I think what lalu says is pretty much on the spot..He does assess things well..

Kanchi case - every1 by now thinks something's fishy somewhere..I think JJ arrested jus to get a headstart over MK..o yeah..the elections r approaching..But to do this to some1 who has made some constructive difference(alrite, he may hv done this too ) to society is not 2 cool..what am trying to say is that all of the normal sanyasi gurus, I think, hv always been non-controverisial and hv just done time-honored traditions..To accept all castes of society and make every1 feel part of the same was no mean task, which i believe was done by him, or atleast it happened when he was at the helm..Also, to start so many schools/univ's, eye-clinics,hospitals was definitely some positive contribution to society, rather than just being the routine guru advising ppl..Action sure sounds better..Ofcourse, some of his establishments are run for profit, but atleast they've been set up and are pretty professional..Now, that also seems practical..It really is tough being a celebrity..Just an issue on u could blow up, taking u to new lows..Ofcourse, for any celebrity, its the grp of ppl around him/her that is finally paramount..what they r upto..Thats what i suspect in this case.

Watched ( in horror!) the Vols almost succumb to the guile-less,harmless, nothing less than a run of the mill Vandy team..Phil Fulmer before the game spoke of Vandy highly that I mistook them for the TB Bucaneers..He's such a bore, praising opponents all the time and trying to think its pressurizing them..! I know for a fact, what he would say before the next game..might talk of Kentucky's 'deadly' defense or 'crafty' centers etcetera..
38-33 made me wonder how it would be in Atlanta on Dec 4 against the tigers..i hope its not a rout..
'Amistad' was the week-end movie this time..Spielberg does the same stuff that others do, but finally manages to get his stuff 2 or 3 notches above the rest, somehow..Maybe, he selects his cast to perfection..Hopkins was brilliant, as usual..
Why would a superstar(not just any superstar; the only one) want to have an SIL who has actually given some1 like Murali(Remember that actor..avana paatha road-side gudusai hotel la sambar ootharavan maadhri irupaan!) a superiority complex..Ofcourse, looks arent much..Still, I find it hard to believe it was a smooth affair after all..
BigB looked aghast in the elite company of incomparable KasthuriRaja(Hereafter, Big K...hope he doesnt make superstar to act in his movie!!)

All does not seem to be lost for the seer
Groups across the country are rooting for him, far and near,
But rooting there is, looks several notches down the gear
Hope this doesnt take much of a political turn, but looks like it, O My Dear..

Exams are fast approaching but so is Thanksgiving..The latter gets the priority, for now! Good link for today..
http://phdcomics.com/
Make ur academics fun(not funny..)

Varta

I feel like kicking ass
But no one's showing any, alas..
God, this week is boring
Spent all my time coding,chatting and snoring
I ate Uppma yesterday,pizza today
Both of them dint exactly have my bowels yelling 'hurray!!'
A limerick is supposed to be 5 lines they say
But we live in a world where rules have been thrown to the dogs anyway
Reading about the arrest of the holy guru made me wonder
How the lady always steals the thunder
She is a class apart,may I acknowledge
Much more interesting than other politicians, the IAS officers would pledge..
The world is rotten, the world is getting to be better
Much of what I do is IMHO the reason for the latter
And so as I sign off with utter contempt for anything seemingly senile
It seems to be more difficult for Chennai to get water from the Krishna than the Nile..

rand(thots)

1. Whats wrong with Sachin Tendulkar..giving press meets saying why he's slowed down..Giving such reasons to the press reduces his stature..In any case, even if he's slowed down for the team's cause, it is for the ppl to realize it themselves sooner than later; not sachin telling them y he's done that..
2. Saw 2 movies..'What the bleep' - Using quantum mechanics to explain how v can lead a better life!( not a bad movie.but i gez science junkies will like it more..i was a misfit in the audience for the movie.)..Other movie was Azhagiya theeye..Was waiting for some twist that never came till the end..Mebbe, 'coz of prakashraj, expected a litttle more..
3. Bush back in business..Mebbe, kerry could've nominated some1 from the battleground states for VP..Or atleast some1 who wud've been influential there..It could've been a closer fight.
4. Kanchi acharya arrested..Obviously the police couldnt hv acted w/o jj's consent..Looks like she's slowly moving away from h'va.
5. Hope the UT Vols make the SEC finals..highly unlikely that auburn could be beaten tho..On current form, looks like an Auburn-USC national finals..Other bowl picks - Utah, Longhorns, Sooners(tho they seem to b struggling a bit of late)
6. Grad student, sleeping at home, not going to classes - thats me.
7. Caffeine taking its toll on my biomedical system; and my wallet too..

Laughing my wits out ..U do the same

If this is true, then its not a gr8 thing..Got hold of this at a blog
http://beerchipsandcricket.blogspot.com

Chek it out sometime..

Adios

2 good links for today

First one is a stand-out interview..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/tamil/highlights/story/2004/09/040930_jayainterview.shtml

Excellent drilling by thapar and also some solid resistance by J.j

The next one is absolute fun
http://www.methodshop.com/tech/articles/conan

Hv fun!

Arbit Thots

1. Jay Leno seems to be the weakest of the 3 stand-ups rite now..Hope Conan replaces him sooner..2009 is a long wait!
2. Apprentice sucks big time..Its so stage-managed that it shows very poorly!
3. KamalHassan and Tom Hanks are the 2 greatest actors that i have seen. As to who is better of the two is what is making me tear my hair apart.
4. Ilayaraja has more of a carnatic tinge in most of his compositions than Rahman..Is it because of that that i can listen to Raja's songs over longer periods of time (the freshness doesnt seem to fade) than ARR's...Was it then a coincidence that the best ARR album that i liked was Duet which had a strong classical flavor, thanx to Kadri. I really cannot listen to ARR's songs over long periods of time..Few exceptional songs here n there, but..
5. Debate b/w Bush and Kerry starts today..If am kidding, am expecting something constructive outta it.
6. Cricket is going to be in sometime, confined to just the sub-continent(Massive assumption eh?)..Y dont v create a system like American football, where in u have the game played between american cities/states and are such huge draws..Like v could have between Chennai curry and Mumbai magic or something like that..But for this to be a draw, leave along a huge draw, All the top stars hv to play..obviously indian stars..v could also buy stars from other places..Flintoff could play for Bangalore blues for instance..
7. Usher is one of the biggest things to hv happened to Hip-Hop..I almost listen only to usher when i wish to be cool.
8. Thinkin abt Ayudha ezhuthu, When i listened to the Yakkai thiri number, it sounded like a liberating experience..The video of that number was a sham..It was disgusting, showy and anything but liberating..Mani let me down there.
9. I am thinking of visiting india in december but b4 that, a small halt in Zurich would seal it! Iam thinking of that.

FALL FROM GRACE
Could this be the apt way to describe Sachin Tendulkar's current status..When u have ppl commenting on ur retirement at a time when just 3-4 yrs back, u had ppl talking that u had another 7-8 yrs of greatness ! My thots on this issue further increased after i read an article on rediff today and timesofindia sometime back on sachin's retirement.!
The only thing that stumps me is y did he choose to mature(!) at a time when he can be more free-flowing, now that the support cast(more than a support cast) in the team is as good as it can get. I only hope it was not an externally influenced decision! 1 point..He;s been playing like this for almost 3.5 yrs now.But at teh world cup in 2003, he suddenly exploded and then went back to his own ways again..Y was that? Roger Federer plays well in Grand Slams admitted, but he also plays equally well in other tournaments. Am not too sure any individual would want to perform well in select occasions. Or are there some? Beats me!

Ravi

Just a little incensed over a few people who call arranged marriage as ' arranged prostitution'..
The very fault in their statement is just that they consider marriage only as a license for sex, nothing else..These morons got to get a life and think better..I am not faulting most ppl but atleast some of the present generation have wrong ideas of what's cool and what's not !
If there's some1 here who;s missed out this sentence from dhyaana :

"IF SOMEONE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS FROM INQUISITIVE FORIEGNERS, HE IMMEDIATELY SAYS THAT HE DOESN'T BELEIVE IN THESE THINGS. It may be true that some of them have come by tradition and may not have a significant meaning, but that does deprive everything else of their meanings. The point of the whole paragraph is, this is a simple indicator of how the people these days are more attracted to 'modernism' without even attempting to learn their root culture properly."

Puts what i think in perspective..Arranged marriage is just one instance of this.
I seriously believe pride in Indianism is somewhat missing in this generation..And hey, by pride, i dont mean these external shows of patriotic fervour like hoisting flags on independence day..its more inherent.

The problem lies in the fact that a majority of us are influenced by some ppl who feel what's cool and what's not. For instance, when in school, it was 'cool' to speak in Hindi (even among tamil guys!) while talking in tamil was just considered run-of the mill..I mean, gimme a break..The fad is intially created and is passed on generation thru generation..We need to be independent thinkers and its about time.

Ravi

Comments section added now guys!.So indulge!
Had been to Nashville to visit i)Pillayar and ii) Pillayar in the making. (Vardha, madras pakkam poidaadha..Marina la karachuduvaanga!)
Had a longish talk with 2 ppl there about India stuff in general and govt machinary in particular. It couldnt get more interesting because 1 was a Govt employed Prof from Goa(law prof..a socialist somewhat)) and the other was a guy who'd been with Infy(financial division) whos' currently doing his MBA(pucca capitalist) . I triggered off the argument and watched the fun(or was it!) unfold. Our first target was the constitution..I tended to agree with the capitalist that the constituion in India was somwhat screwed up.I am a greenhorn in all this, so what..the constitution gives me the right to speak against it.(Long live the constitution.:)) The socialist has been teaching stuff like Civil law for sometime now and he defended the constiution so stoutly I wondered if i was mistaken. The capitalist (and mine) main grouse' were with stuff like Whats the President/Governer/ and other really powerless guys doing when they were nothing but a notch more than just puppets of the ruling govt.(I dint say puppets.the capitalist did!) He called them just "ribbon-cutting" guys. I felt myself siding with him because i have always wondered what a visionary like Abdul Kalam could do for teh country if he had power and what he is not able to do coz he is just the president and nothing more...He can visit school kids, tour the country, give inspring speeches on radio and Tv..But what more than that.?? The main stuff like making decisions on hte state of the country..He cant do much abt it, sadly..The socialist starte saying that the consti was absolutely right and that the concept of a President was that an elder statesman as the head of teh country(read powerless head) would be some sort of a moral thing to ppl more than anything else!! My point is that India today is like what the western world was sometime back..Morals and stuff have takena backseat when all that ppl want is economic development..I mean the number of professionals in India have increased and they are not the old "listening to an elder's advise" kind of ppl..They mind their business and get on..Atleast most ppl dont give two hoots for all this..Hence, if the Pres is supposed to be like a scoailly accpeted elder guy who ppl listen to (atleast this was supposed to tbe idea behind the creation of the post), then it was absolutely not flawless as it done in an age when this mite have been right but not so now. I am again speaking like a greenhorn here(forgive me) but even Karl Marx wrote his stuff thinking of a Utopian socirty in mind..At the risk of sounding immodest(he's a big guy!) THts where he went wrong - in not thinking practically..Mebbe, if all of us were programmed devices without any sort of significant evolutionary concepts inside us, Karl Marx' communism would've been great.
Its Charles Darwin vs. Karl Marx now. As regards my vote, Darwin has the edge.
But couple of thots from the socialist made me think. Erstwhile USSR, like say half a century ago, when it got free from Czars and other lords, was in a state of chaos. Food was not easy to get and the basic supplies to take care of a population were not easy to get. They had 2 choices,
1)survival of teh fittest(capitalism)-- hence, what is finally left out after the process would be truly at the upper spectrum of economic strength.
2)Communism(something for everybody).Consider the society as one and help provide in any limited means atleast to almost all.
Obviously, if 1 had been followed, it would have disastrous to millions while the most competent would get thru..If 2 is followed(which was, thouhg in a convolute form), the chaos would've died down atleast a bit and most ppl would've something )
My vote here goes for 2.
THe capitalist said even NewFoundland(USA) was in chaos in a manner not too different from USSR though there were no big feudal lord stuff here relatively..But they went for option 1(i asked him if he knew US went for 1 definitely and he said ofcourse but am not too convinced)..
He asked to compare US and USSR even when Soviet Union was at the peak of its powers..But US was better economically..USSR was mainly a power becuase of its arms power mainly..Economically, they were ok coz of ther natural resources like oil etc. But essentially, the communism which helped them sustain early years ultimately dint work coz the society was not utopian.
In hindsight, initial communism helped USSR sustain itself initially but then what..!Look at how china was 15 yrs go(when it was communist) and look at it now(truly capitalist)..That answers it in a nutshell as to which is better ultimately.Hence, obviosly capitalism is the ultimate solution bbut what before that..What, when a society is getting started up,..Would u want to reduce the disorder or heighten it and then allow it to die down..I am not able to decide in favor of either choice..If i am unemotional and look long-term, captialsm is ok.But , how can u stand looking at the filtering of the chaos using such a method, coz i mean we are emotional(atleast indians are!)
On the other hand, to salvage something for the moment(Which is something that i'd prefer given the circimstances), would mean turning socialist, ATLEAST initially.
The soclialist finally agreed that communism earlier on and then ultimately tkaing up capitalism is the best choice(China stayed communist too long but still is an example).But the change is not easily done.
Hence, if there arises a position wherein making the above possible is known to be difficult at the beginning itself and I am given only 2 choices, i would be in a terrible state of confusion. I am getting swayed either way.I had a look at the capitalist( unassuming yet authoritative in his opinion ) and the socialist(passionate in what he was saying and had almost somewhat close to utopian ideas). I have to decide.
I go with the capitalist.


Ravi

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

I gave my all for an exam yesterday...and dutifully screwed it up.
Maybe i got too confident..i finished(if i can call it that) with more than 10-15 mins to go (which is alot for a 50 min exam)..dint even bother to chek as i thot i had indeed cracked(!)..Horseshit!
Saw the solution test today..Absolutely galled to see every other answer wrong! Seri, anyways, will not study as much hereafter so that idont get too confident in exams!!
Apram, thinking of travel to india in december/jan..mostly jan i think...Ore bayam enna naa ooru vitta thiruppu vara manase varadhu..Neways, decided that i'll settle down there for sure mebe after working here for few years..The vitality there is missing here..(or am i missing it?)
Anyway, http://www.dhyaana.blogspot.com is gettig hot nowadays..chek it out for ashwin's solutions to the maladies...(Ashwin, overaa ethitenaa?)
I did Gayatri japam today on account of Avani Avattam(i dint do it on the proposed day!!)
Anyway, i did it ..hope thats wat counts.!
Among other things, hope togoto nashville to see Pillayar and Another Pillayar(Vanderbilt Varadarajan) and karachufy vardha in some river there.
Ok, will get back soon.
Ravi

I hope Sachin dutifully saw Sourav's knock y'day and about how to play for the team..

Chek this out..

www.20q.net

Interesting..Hope its not another high skool kid whos done this..!

Varta

Chek this out..

www.20q.net

Interesting..Hope its not another high skool kid whos done this..!

Varta

I dont understand how a gold won by such a large team (such as say the Basketball or soccer team) would b of the same value as a god won by an individual in say, weightlifting. Ofcourse, the latter is tough to , but to think that the former needs many more rounds to get thru and opponents, definitely much more than the latter(in say 48KG weightlifting clean n jerk) , and to finally think , they equate to the same value; beats me!
My Indian hope this time, i guess is LeeHesh again, but they run into Roddick n fish first match which is more than jus tuf!Lets c

Adios
Ravi.

Tasted heaven saturday..Actually, it was Madras Grand Sweets' Murukku and Sri Krishna Sweets Mysorepak..
Man, am i on a high..U bet! Amma has sent quite a lot of other stuff too, apart from this.
My mom's the greatest..!

rav

I think i've found out a major porblem with me:
I try to make things sound complex and think they wud b more effective if they were complex!
What a convoluted mind!
In yoda's words,'May the force be with me' to overcome these times!

Another match loss, another good knock in a match-losing(!!) effort..
Sachin Tendulkar is finally on par with his peers, atleast as regards public adulation and respect.
Another match loss, another poor knock..Rahul dravid failed in another match and the match India lost dutifully..(Not to be taken in teh same vein as the earlier 1..still, speaks something i guess)..
I was apalled when a reporter once lately asked sachin if he felt his knocls were no longer match winning.And sachin retorted "Go look at the statistics"..And statistics confirm wht the reporter asked was very true!
Sachi is getting desperate now..It wud b obviously b very very difficult for a person who was in a rarefied kinda place to b brot back to the same place as his mates..But he made the good times last as a champion wud.End of story!
Hail the new champion,Dravid!

AAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
(Meaning tht Long time no c, u dumbos! - - for all those who dint figure it out, which am sure there'll b lots)
Watched Gilli y'day..I am a VIJAY fan maan..he rox! I feel so empathetic towards him, in tht he has average looks , to which i can relate to,..still he s a hero..thts the kind o f hero i like..not some1 who already looks a hero..Nee kalakku maa!
1 year after i landed here, am felling more madras-sick then ever!

For my 1 year aniversary..three cheers to me!
Hip,Hip and Hip.!
O podu maama ku!

Was doing a research on some quotes, (some inspiring quotes)..
The best i thot was:
Do or do not. There is no try!
-Yoda.
Kinda kool quote.
A person can take the quote to suit his interests..!

Listened to Clinton's speech y'day at the DNC..The charmer has not lost it 1 bit..
Very succint and overall a neat speech! Lets c how kerry fares thursday..

Sgt.Hartman character is unbelievable..Kubrick is too good..Just read 1 of these most famous ones ever..

Sgt. Hartman: "How tall are you, private?"
Arliss Howard as Cowbo: "Sir, five-foot-nine, sir!"
Sgt. Hartman: "Five-foot-nine, I didn't know they stacked shit that high. You trying to squeeze an inch on me somewhere, huh?"
Cowboy: "Sir, No Sir."
Sgt. Hartman: "Bullshit! It looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of your mama's ass and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress. I think you've been cheated. Where the hell you from anyway private?"
Cowboy: "Sir, Texas, Sir."
Sgt. Hartman: "Holy dogshit! Texas! Only steers and queers come from Texas Private Cowboy and you don't look much like a steer so that kinda narrows it down. Do you suck dicks?"
Cowboy: "Sir, No Sir."
Sgt. Hartman: "Are you a Peter Puffer?"
Cowboy: "Sir, No Sir."
Sgt. Hartman: "I bet you're the kind of guy that would fuck a person in the ass and not even have the god damned common courtesy to give him a reach around. I'll be watching you.":

i jus cant stop laughing..jeez, he was good.!

Chek this out
Samma super write-up paa..
enoda thesis indha maadhiri aayidaama paathukanum!

~r

Work's going on, atleast better than before..Just tht a little too much of carefree spending(by my standards) on food n stuff..But this' LA and i knew tht this would happen..
Wat to do..Saapaadu namakku romba mukiyam !
I was apprehensive that Chidamabaram's too much talking and creating hype would undo him but i guess he stod up and delivered a balanced budget(from whaat little i can make of it). Periya ShahRukh fan pola !(Mein Hoon Naa)..
Apart from tht, I'm the son made interesting reading..The 1 thing i am not clear is did Kamal call himself the son of brando, or was he generalizing tht to mean his generation of class actors who are a generation behind brando and who r inspired by him.. I almost believe he meant he was the son of brando which caused a furore as can be seen in the comments section..
Still, a pretty neat write-up by Kamal.
Other news, saw McEnroe y'day on CNBC..Watz he trying..Standup comedy or what..Hes caught in between ..neither stand up or a good talk show stuff..Lets c how it goes..i jus saw first 10-15 mins until when roddick is on the phone.Wasnot very entertaining really..
Watched Kadhal Kondein..Pretty good movie..Dhanush pramaadham pannitaan..Sonia Agarwal's my chic from now on.! Am now waiting for 7G Rainbow colony, the next Selvaragavan movie , the trailer of which i saw and which was promising..lets c.!

Rest in next
Rav

My sis has joined the IT program in an engg college.. I guess many ppl r going to IT once again..Looks like a re-rising of IT/CS after that C.S boom (i guess 96-2000) when every1 was opting for a CS seat in engg or if not available, atleast shooting for a B.Sc in Copmp Sci..Then , after this dotcom bust happpened,every1 thot ECE was the best investment and then EEE..Now, its come a full circle and back to CompSci and IT, now that the industry is really booming there..On the flip side, even a Civil engr finally is placed in a software company as a computer science engr thru campus placement..This, they attribute to the fact that there r no Civil Engg companies coming to campus and hence they take to these s/w firms..But i seriously feel that even if they had a choice(of a civil engg vs s/w job) they would take to the s/w job because obviously it pays more..Finally, for most ppl ,its a question of money (pretty cold-blooded of me to make such an assumption ;)) ..Infact, i was the only guy i think working in a non-software position after college..Almost all of my EEE batchmates were in one s/w company or another..Mebbe, even i would've tried for a s/w comapny if i had not got this campus placement at SCM..Another thing tht i feel is that the number of ppl who come for MS wud now steadily reduce as most ppl land a job after college now in india..I would b really surprised if the number of students who come to my univ is nearly as much as last years or the year before's number..I think am going to blog more abt GRE, MS and the like soon..

Best
Ravi

Yahoo...Holland in S/F of Euro..Really god news for me...i've always liked their soccer and they were under-achievers of some sort for sure, though not as much as Spain..
Looks like Czech republic is playing with a vengeance..Lets c..it has to be either Holland or Czech Rep. i guess..Very sad tht am not able to watch any of the matches..Newsya, hv got DVD's of matches from a friend..Esp waitingf to watvh Sweden-Denmark match..Lets c if the fairness of the game was really lost, as the Azzuris so proclaim.!
Among other things, swam for a long time y'day..around 1.5 hrs..Got really drousy..Swimming is seriously refreshing .esp'ly underwater..
Got a DVD of superstar's movies..Mannan, Rajathi Raja and Uzhaipali. Superstar was my favorite at 1 point of time but then switched to Kamal after Heyram i think..

This interview was nice...
Kamal never, never ceases to be refreshing in whatever he does..Read the first part also using the link in it..The confidence that he exudes is wrongly interpreted as arrogance by many .. When a man has stuff, he can afford to have tht brash confidence..Whereas i would get pissed if Shahrukh or any other actor were to sound in the same way...Kamal is eons ahead of all these ppl seriously..I remember once an interview in which kamal's asked " Do u think, with ur versatility and talent, u'd have been better off born in USA and working in hollywood" ..To whcih pat comes the reply "Why do u always consider Hollywood to be the reference".. Whcih more than sums up whtever can bve answered for tht question..And in another, he's asked abt the fact that politician Krishnaswamy(who caused problems with sandiyar a.k.a Virumaandi) and tht he'd told tht kamal's movie idea was pathetic, Kamal subtly and aptly replied -"Krishnaswamy knows as much about movies as I know about Politics"..Gosh..Can a reply get better than that..

Anbe Sivam,
Ravi

Y'day was horrible w.r.t transportation..Utterly forgettable..Missed my regular morning bus..i mean, the drivers here look for certain movement in the passsengers at stops if they r to stop..Otherwise, if they dont see any passengers moving or making an attempt to move to board the bus even as it is only approaching the stop, they simply Dont stop..As simple as that! Tuf luck for me..i wanted to act like one of those cool dudes out there who stays calm until the bus stops and then moves only when the door opens..Atleast thts what i used to do back in Tennessee..Y'day was different though..also dint hv any of those normal passengers who board the bus with me, strangely !Normally, they move abt as the bus is approaching...Anyways, got 3 connecting buses and reached office at 10, 2.5 hrs of bus travel...Could've travelled from Knoxville to Nashville in that time!
Again in teh evening, missed the bus..got caught in some conversation with boss here and time was flying..Boss dropped me though, some 40 miles..nice of him..nice boss..

Seri vidu joot..
ex-Mandaveli Kabali

Saw Perazhagan y'day...Nice movie..Surya was again amazing which we've come 2 expect of him nowadays i guess..
Then, saw Batcha today "Ulaga tholaikatchigalil pathaavadhu muraiyaaga Sun TV yil "paarthen.. Superstar was super.
Okay, cya then..
Ravi

Was in Hibernation... Too much stress, too much work, hence no time...wish i could say all this ..Just that I lost my appetite a bit and wanted to reload and reboot this blog afresh!
Quite a bit happened..My pop had come down and we'd been to the city of Sin 'Vegas' ..T'was fun..could've been real fun with friends. Pop was here in LA for just 2 days..made me a bit homesick for sure..Vegas was breathtaking..esp the strip..gosh..hv never seen so many lights and so many shows..Andre Agassi the showman of tennis..hez from Vegas..! Each hotel there has its own conceptual stuff..we were in Sahara while there was Mirage(which I liked most), then there was Treasure IsLAND, Riviera et al...Just too many to pen..
Gambled and gambled zealously, sincerely thinking i was not going to b a loser unlike others..was too good to b true whne i made a quick buck eventually squandering everything n more..In the heat of the moment, even the most conservative person would think twice abt not letting his money go(after hes made some)
Had been to Ayudha Ezuthu when it was released in LA..I liked the movie though it was anythign but Manirathnam style movie..More like a Shankar movie..and i like shankar's movie a lot..hence, this appealed to me..esp Surya i think was awesome..he must b having a cult folowing with the new generation of youngsters i gez as he realy looks realistic and likeable..Maddy was bad..twas not a great sight , he dint know how to speak in chaste Kuppam tamizh..some1 else would've done better, maybe even ajith!! Maddy is a real god actor thouhg( as was seen amply in Anbe Sivam) but he needs rite roles.I 've started liking sidarth and also liked trisha...she did well, i thot..overall a movie i enjoyed and even made me think what am doing here in US when i could've done so mcuh in india..(ofcourse, all that a Rushof Blood when watching)..Surya rejects a scholarship in a US univ .. Only surya in the current crop could underplay in such scenes i think.others would've dramatized the whole stuff.
Then, among otehr things, Lakers let me down suddenly..Hv become so used to last minte and even last second miracles tht many ppl incl me thot the series would come to LA for game 6..Very poor play by Kobe..hes the guy i used to like most but his play stunk..I felt really really sorry for Shaq , atleast who made an effort in game 4 with 30+ pt and 20 rebounds..Kobe,Shaq and derek fisher r critical to Lakers..they r the ppl who really matter now..I dont wanna see the day when Deavan george is hte lakers #1 player..mite happen soon..here,anythign can happen..
Internship going on anything but ok wht with my programming skills(or the lack of it) tested to the limit..Lets c.Seriusly htinking of getting alaptop..I dunno y i think i'll b better off with one..Lets c.
Theres 1 good blog http://instapundit.com ..real nice 1 by Glenn Reynolds, a prof at UTK.
Untl later
Adios Amigos.
Ravi aka Calif dude

LA's just too much and too big ..i always thot madras was too big until i saw bombay .. and now LA..Hv not got lost until now..hope i dont..! o, am suddenly reminded of morpheus' words "I do not believe its a matter of hope, general; It simply is a matter of time"..Maybe relevant context for my situation!
Had just 20 hrs sleep this whole week..! Not tht am working too hard, in fact i return home at 5:30 in the evening..the problem is tht i get up at around 4 in the morning everyday..and b'coz theres all this sun tv and stuff here, i sleep late! Watched some megaserial..as usual, funny!some kolangal i think..
Rooting for lakers took some time away this week..As usual Kobe, the entertainer,my fav was in full flow in 3r qtr..I dunno if my analogy is right but i find somehting similar b/w Kobe and Lara..Both r genius' and at times they seem uninterested in what they r doing..But both of them entertain like none other in their sport..Hack-a-Shaq was not a complete failure but has not been good enuf to win a game..lets c..
Other things, internship going on ok..not bad..boss' russian; looks like tht typical brilliant russian guy..Paavam, inime avar pozhappu kashtam dhaan! Daily 6:15 am to 3:30 at office..Never used to sleep anywhere less than 9 solid hrs in Knoxville and now this !
But anyways, thoongi thoongi idhu varaikum onnum kazhatala..Idhu epdi irukku nu paarpom..!
Hv to watch ayudha ezhuthu some time here in the theaters..atleast for maddy and surya.!
Was reading Anandha Vikatan after long time..saw tht Chimbus next heroine is ...any wild guess...boy, this' wilder than u think..Mandira bedi..! Bayangaramaana jodi dhaan..!
Summer special tamil movies la koothu kaathurukku nanikaren!
Varta

The last 1 week has been exacting actually..Spent long hours on the microscope and the lab in general..Thot of wrapping up all academic work by thursday..Alas! I dint save my microscopy images !! I almost went mad..Then, decided tht enuf was enuf and thot of doing something constructive and suddenly thot of getting the driver license friday morning first thing..On hari's insistence, i got a seniors car to practice (tho i thot i was good enuf to get pass the exam w/o any practise)...How wrong i was!!! My thursday nite practise was horrible, to say the least..The worst part was a cop caught me for speeding!! Only after he saw tht i had only a learner's only and was practising to get a proper one, did he advise me and let me go...I was real tense...Braked when i had to accelerate..over-braked when i had to brake..Did both extremes..Tht senior friend Kalyan deserves some kinda Peace prize for putting up with my practice and sitting thru all of it..I went to bed tht nite almost sure i was going to screw it up..Next morning, kalyan took me to the exam center and told me to practice..Again, was driving pretty rash, sudden brakes et al..A li'l better than previous nite but still pretty difficult to pass was a foregone conclusion..Enter the d-time...i dunno what got over me, atleast for most of the first half, i was driving real smooth..I'd never driven like tht b4 and am not sure if i'd drive like tht hereafter..Then got a little carried away and screwed up the 2nd part a li'l bit but yeah finally, GOT THE LICENSE ! Then, went to college, met my prof and was discussing a few things abt my internship plans..A few courtesy calls and after tht, headed home..Hari made some good sambar, was pretty hungry..downed the sambar rice with tea!!! Then, spending time with hari a bit as another 3 more months without him hereafter..My internship in LA is for 3 months until mid-aug..
Reached LA today..as always, the city is alive and kicking..nothing like madras though!
Hv to get some arrangement for vanpool fixed up soon as i need to get started form monday onwards for this summer internship..Boy, lots of work 2 do..Feel like sleeping..Jetlag! - 3 timezones maan -- from Charlotte to LA is no easy task..!!Will catch up soon..Until then, zzzzzzzzzzzz

This is as stupid as an article can get..Writing with no inside information...more informed articles appear in the Mylapore Times..!

Manmohan as PM would be a good thing..But then, the choice of FM is now tricky..Pranab Mukherjee vs P.Chidambaram vs J.Ramesh, the last considering that he can get an RS seat....Whoever it is, they should be well-guided as Dr.Singh is the PM ..

Other things, India-Pak cricket teams awarded best teams for promoting goodwill was real good news..Schumi again world sportsman of the year..I mite stop watching F-1 is he's going to continue like this..Its boring..Better to watch golf !!

I think Sonia, apart form all tht sacrifice stuff written all over, thinks she doesnt have it in her what it demands to b PM! She has not proven her intellect as yet but has revived the party thru her stature and her emotional intellect only.Atleast, thts wat i think..

Guess the future should be interesting....

Guess i've given my bloggie too well-deserved a rest!
Time's just flying (as if its not obvious!)..I would be leaving for LA in a week and b4 that, I need to work a lot for a conference presentation - My prof is suddenly evincing gr8 interest in me sending abstracts and preparing posters, just when my summer hols have begun ! Hmm..Cant complain abt that..If it gets selected, should be gr8..
I think the Lakers can make their die-hard fans a hearT patient..I almost switched off the TV when Duncan slotted tht 2-pointer in the dying seconds..Out came Derek Fisher with that miracle..It was incredible - the support for Fisher in the next Lakers home game..PPl's tishirt read "Fish for Pres" Heehee...I think they now have a good chance of winning the title..I wud want them to meet Kings next..
Amma washed out in TN...!!But gez this was a blessing in disguise for her..I think she'll get her act pretty soon in order to win the Assembly elections..Felt bad for Rajni as none of his influence really worked..Gez he would not enter politics for quite sometime hereafter..
Have to get driving license sometime this week..Pretty important..Cant delay any more..Got the learners..

Varta

Ctrl-Alt-Del for Chandrababu Naidu - goes the headline in rediff ..Sensex fall of abt 250 points is attributed in part to his defeat !! Nasscom issues a press release saying his defeat wont affect IT .. I think he's achieved something going by all this headliners! May b a bit hyped though..I felt he'd traded the crux of rural livelihood -agriculture for IT a tad too much !
I think if the Rajini factor works this time and helps influence voting patterns in PMK strongholds, and he does make a difference, its only a matter of time b4 Thalaivar jumps into the bandwagon..I guess hes kinda being real careful abt what he does and is studying general mass psychology w.r.t politics b4 coming in .... He's pretty wary of what happened to Shivaji though i think rajini's mass popularity and appeal far outweighs Shivaji's....Thalaiva..seekaram pa..Cant wait!

Saw ThirudaThirudi y'day -- 1 heckuva horrible movie..Only nice part was Manmatha Raasa (was waiting for tht song all along!) and the fact tht i got to see tiruchi which reminded college times..Otherwise totally stupid movie..Mebbe ran well coz of the Dhanush feelgood factor!! So much for feel-good factors and luck!

Exams got over friday n was jus out for the most part of last 2 days..Had been to a place which's supposed to b the most hip kinda spot here on friday nite... It wasnt bad tho..i had a headache which got worsened with all tht Heave hip-hop number tht were played there..Head almost split tht nite!
Watched a tamil movie y'day after a long time...Mounam Pesiyadhe..I kinda liked the movie but dint understand how it was a hit in madras..Considering the pysche of the avg movie-goer, i thot it wud've been an average if not a flop movie..
Today, hv 2 more in store..1of which is thiruda thirudi..Jus going to hv a summer blast with all these tamil movies which i've missed for a long time..English and Masala-less logic(!!)can take a backseat for some time i think !!heehee..
Went to a movie today..some 'eternal sunshine..' stuff..forgot the full name in fact..Was a drag at times, though my friends liked it..I guess it was an attempt at making a different kindof mvie ..dint like it much tho..Then saw the Lakers get into their own against the Spurs though at 75-61, i was a little scared in the 4th quarter as lakers started giving me a feeling of insecurity..

I think Ashwin's blog is getting interesting nowadays..am very much know nothing in all this philosophical stuff n looking fwd to all his forthcoming blogs which he's told me would b in this regard..

Elections in TN..shud b fun i gez..Lotsof drama, intense at that ..missing out on all tht superfun!

Ravi

Well, those photos of Iraqi prisoners was very gruesome..
But, y wud US soldiers want to take snaps of something like that when they know there is a lot of attention on iraq. When some1 knows he/she is being watched, no 1 would resort to such stuff normally and have documentary evidence of the same..Am a little confused by this..Beats me !

J.Lo was real fun y'day in Will n Grace..The best part was she started out on giving some marriage advise to the new couple and then said "O..who am i kidding" - poking fun at herself
Friends gonna get over..all these nice sitcoms coming to an end i guess... hmm..
Currently humming to Jenny from the block tune ....long since i heard this 1..got hold of it 2day !

cya

My friend was telling me he saw autograph and it was pretty good..Its quite a while since i saw any tamil movies..Was also thinking of my favorites till now..lemme list 10 in that order..
1. Anbe Sivam
2. Agni Nakshathiram
3. Kadalora Kavidhaigal
4. Thalapathi
5. Iruvar
6. Thillu Mullu
7. Unnaal Mudium Thambi
8. Oru Kaidhiyin Dairy
9. Amaidhipadai
10 MichaelMadhanaKamaRajan

Done with all the shifting..Was a li'l tiring..The new apt is pretty good, well furnished etc but its more like a hotel when i compare it with my earlier place..Cant crib 2 much though..Hv to get along..
Was talking to my friend Ashwin abt how ppl fake stuff and how both of us wished every1 or atleast most ppl were a li'l more less pretentious....Kinda interesting stuff 2 talk to..i like to especially talk on such stuff..as they say, enakku vambu nalla vendi irukku !
Vetti vambu!
Nothing much going on except for an assignment and a project..As regards the assignment, BRUTAL's the word ! 2 much !!!

Was wondering on 1 more thing today..dunno y i thot abt it..Was thinking of the indian rupee appreciating a lot against the USD..This could prove bad for the exporters in india i thot..Am not sure if they would hence bring pressure on the central financial agency in india to stem any further rise of the rupee ! Hope my economics doesnt stink !!!

Tata

Will b shifting 2 another apt this weekend, which's closer to school..Shud b useful i guess, being close to school, atleast coz of the fact that i wont miss as many classes hereafter(certainly no blaming the bus service if i'm late to class hereafter)...
Some of my friends hv got the F-1 ticket for the indianapolis GP in June..I gotta c what i can do..As of now, my summer plans look like a blur ! Hv to check on that..
Besides, jus following lotsa election stuff..I think its evenly matched b/w bush n kerry here..As for india, i think lotsa masala happening..Dharmendra - feel sorry for him..his election stuff is in tatters..! TamilNadu - again, is highly unpredictable as usual i gez...Hv to c what Cho's opinions r on this regard..He influences in a small way, quite a few middleclass urban ppl in their voting, i wud tend to think...
Nothing elz besides..Another sem coming to an end, another week of pressure( i gez am hyping MS a tad too much !)....
Cheerz !

For those who havent read this already..

This particular para personifies Ganguly
"Ganguly is that kind of man - when it comes to opinions about the Indian captain, about what he means to the team, about his strengths and weaknesses both as a batsman and as a leader of men, we find that the middle ground is so thinly populated as to be almost irrelevant. We love to inhabit extremes when making judgements on Ganguly. "

This' so very true..I, for one, have got into heated arguments with friends on this topic..the best part being that the number of ppl were almost always equally divided on this issue..
I think Ganguly is the best thing that has happened to Indian cricket for a long time...True, Sachin was a great thing to happen but that was an individual thing ..Look at the number of players Ganguly has brought out - Viru, Yuvi, Kaif, Nehra and now Balaji..He backs them to the hilt and tries to make sure that they are in the best frame of mind - And mind u, each 1 of the above mentioned has at some point helped India win ... When India was in Australia, Ganguly did not ask the selectors - 'Can i have murali karthi'..He said 'I want Murali Karthik'..! Now, thats the sorta person u need at the helm..(The fact tht karthik did not meet expectations is another matter altogether)..
Ganguly's act of tossing the ball to Sachin to get the last wicket in the third test made me like the 'Prince' all the more....
Iam hoping tht ganguly will be consistent with his batting hereafter..He's a player who can unsettle the opposition (we saw tht in ample measure in SouthAfrica..god, tht was gorgeous)..Afterall, when he hits sixers off spinners, thats one of the better sights in cricket rite now ..!

He's done it ...!! The Prince..

My favorite player is back to form, AND IN STYLE ! There arent many other ways u could stamp ur authority better !! Way to go, LARA ! Go, sink 'em..

If salim malik were really not guilty, i feel real bad for him ! Azhar on the other hand, is having a good life i guess..hez started some event management consultancy in hydrebad..Malik cant dream of such things though in his place..!!
Longish weekend this..playing cricket n sleep take over in such times....
Another interesting tidbit is tht Gates is losing his richness ranking positions to other europeans etc 'coz the dollar is falling...hehee..
For those who dont read hindu, this article was xcellent..Nirmal shekar's writeups make gr8 reading....
Nothing elz much going on..Chal..cya

Whew..! not had enuf of sleep 'coz lost 1 hr due to standard time being restored..(!)..
Saw Virumaandi in the weekend..Pretty ok movie i thot..The villain was pretty impressive..Where was he all this while?
Apart from that, ..F-1 is turning out 2 b a bore..I am a loyal f-1 fan but my interest's waning partly 'coz ferrari keeps on winning and also 'coz my fav team McLaren dont seem 2 really race this yr..Jenson button is taking a dig at McLaren technology.Now this is as bad as things can get..They r missing Mika sorely now..The point is if they develop such a car, wud montoya really join them?..
Following the match 2 an extent..Dont hv any idea as to wat Sadagoppan ramesh's doing rite now....I cant think of another player who's been time n again traumatized by the selection committee..Feel real bad 4 him !

Was trying to compile a program today when i was reminded of this funny incident while in Shanmugha...
Disclaimer: All shanmugha faculty are not as knowledgeable as the below-mentioned..

We were doing our c++ lab in 3rd sem..1 guy got 14 errors in his code and so called the lecturer to help debug..
Lecturer vandhaar,paathaar, pethinaar ! He deleted all lines which contained errors in the code and re-compiled it..It showed 3 errors this time..U must've seen the victorious smile on the lecturer's face ! Adengappa..! Indha oru pethalukku ipdi oru punnagai..
His leaving comments to the student - It's now upto u to reduce the remaining 3 errors..!

Adhe lecturer , another time... For 1 guy, the program showed no errors but dint execute properly..Prompt came the reply from the pethal lecturer - "printer cable seriyaa connect aayirukka pa".... What a kidney, oops..brain..

College was a laugh-riot...thanx 2 ppl like the above who made it possible !

It is that time of the semester when everything is due..!
friendsku kadan, professorukku assignment, advisor ku project report, room uku rent,
And en manasukku nimmadhi..Aala vidungappa..M.S seriyaana kadi!

I jus stumbled on this article which infact was from our univ itself
Warren Buffet is incredible..Must b 1 of the biggest extroverted businessmen( oops..read tycoon) around..
My interest in doing an MBA is only growing..I had planned that i would do it part-time after i get a job here(which BTW is not 2 easy )
But i somehow feel that the intensity that is there in a full-time MBA program is unparalleled..
I saw this rating sometime, not sure if its accurate enuf..Owens school,my friend in Vandy, tells me is pretty good..Lets c how things go..

Ravi

Today, missed my Imaging class..dint feel bad though.! The class is anyway getting uninteresting..Atleast had some interesting dreams as i slept within the sweet confines of my home sweet home!
The rest of the day, when i dint sleep, ARR with his Faanah..caused enough trouble in that i had to listen to the song atleast once every half hour compulsorily.! Things r getting out of hand !!

Ravi

Had a job-fair today at our univ..There were seriously more tech companies who came to Shanmugha(my UG) than those who came today here..Most of the companies - Marketing,Logistics, Supply-Chain,Sales..The only tech company relevant to me was National Instruments and they said they do not take Masters for internships..But they said they r looking to hire Masters students for full-time positions at Austin..That was encouraging..Maybe, the first company i'll apply to when i start my job-search would be NI.
Atleast collected lotsa freebies at the fair..Tht way, it was not a bad outing..!
All the same, looks like the economy is slowly picking-up after all..Jobs r slowly coming up..some1 i know in my univ jus got a job coupla days back in NC..Lets c..

Today's match was nice..jus saw the last 1 hour or so....Sachin's catch of inzy i thot was a gr8 effort which kinda turned the match to an xtent....

Ravi

Maddy in Ayudha Ezhuthu looks like Ajit in 'Red'..Ajit bombed after that movie..Hope the same doesnt happen with Maddy..He's a neat actor..His performance in AnbeSivam i thot was outstanding..AnbeSivam in itself is a big topic for me to blog abt..The best movie i've seen to date..Will do that soon..

Here in my univ., there r some desi ppl who contact u for being part of some marketing (something like multi-level marktg)..I guess this is there in all univ's here in US...I hv not gone to even 1 meeting for time-constraints...But the funny part is that all of my friends uniformly rubblish this kinda concept saying its crap and that u only lose money in the bargain..they say this only 'coz the seniors hv told them so..i dint like that..it pays to have ur own opinion on stuff rather than being influenced by ppl..i think its time v investigate things better b4 voicing our opinion on things....

Ravi

This 'Fanaah' is giving me goose-bumps...The flow in this song is unbelievable...
Spending my day on "researching" this number..

Ravi

Saw today's indo-pak match....was almost fuming when dravid dint get the man'o'match ..What the heck's going on?..He, honestly, deserves an award better than that infact..Time n again, of late, hez pulled us out of trouble and infact, won matches....For me, dravid's india's # 1 batsman whatever ppl may say of sachin's genius,laxman's flamboyance etc..
Sachin again fell early in a match we won..I hope those ppl who always say he wins matches and that india collapse after sachin falls will eat humble pie sooner or later..Not that i have any grudge against him..i like his play infact, but a great batsman is 1 who delivers under the most daunting of circumstances..Lara and Steve Waugh, in my opinion are 2 of the best contemporary batsman 'coz they fire in times of need and fire really well..Of corz, tugga has bid farewell..Lara also would follow in mayb and year or two..Sachin still has some time left..Hope he turns in something magical soon..
Another thing today was Inzy's batting...Majestic would b an under-statement...Boy, he smacked 1 six off balaji with such effortless ease, i was left wondering y he's not a much-talked abt batsman..Once he gets settled, he deals only in boundaries..Singles r for lesser men..looks like..when hez batting..
The last thing was that balaji's trade-mark gopal toothpodi smile was missing today for watever reason i dunno..mebbe dada gave him an appraisal !

Ravi

Hello world,
Vanakkam..My first blog!
BTW, Ve-ku stands for vetti-kootam...a college lingo which translates to 'gossip on anything under the sky and even over it'!

Keep visiting..i luv wasting ppl's time..

Ravi