A Celebration of being Vetti

2008-10-18T16:00:00.004-04:00

It's been more than 3 years since I wrote something here! I guess even now, I am just writing since I was wanting to test something on some online space, and what better than my blog! Let's see if my 'blackberry' lifestyle has impacted my writing skills.

Like I read somewhere once - 'Only one thing is true and all else are lies - that time flies'. I still remember updating this blog when I was doing my job-search in grad school. It was a very interesting phase - a very testing phase too, but I enjoyed it and took it as a challenge. Grad school was one of my favorite phases of life so far. I think that's when I started to dream. I used to day-dream about anything under the sun - be it what I would do as a 1-day CM of Tamil Nadu (like Mudhalvan), directing a Tamil movie (for some weird reason, I always thought of a romantic sci-fi movie!), playing basketball and making it to the NBA(that was a stretch, I agree). But basically, what that made me was an optimist, and some one who looked forward to the future.

Fast-Forward 3 years, I hardly have time to do existing work, leave alone dream. Work is hectic but I enjoy it. I took a day-off once, thinking I would relax at home, and boy, did I go crazy that day! Perhaps the best thing right now, apart from some good friends that I have, is New York. Even though my time in graduate school was fun, I still felt that something was missing. If you are used to living in a high-energy Indian city with lots of people and stuff happening all the time, you might feel lost in parts of this country. But not here. New York, and parts of New Jersey too, have that same spirit that I used to love about Chennai. Crowded places, people walking at night, 24 hour Starbucks (sorry, no Nair tea kadai's that I have seen so far!), lots of things to do. Basically a lot of activity. Oh, it also helps that it is on the coast. Someone asked me why that was important to me. Sometimes, somethings are like that. I mean, being rational all the time is not something I can handle ;)

There are some things are still the same - Bush is still President! On a personal level, it seems interesting. I don't see myself debating on big issues (like Kashmir, WTO agreements - gasp!) with friends all that much these days; I prefer to just have some general vetti-koothu with them. Ofcourse, the debates still continue but it's over-shadowed by general tamizh fun ( i don't know how else to phrase that!). I see traces of how I was (in terms of being frank and opinionated) in my sister these days. I just think as you get busy, you prioritize things accordingly, and don't feel the urge to do things that you used to. I don't google for Sourav Ganguly and Kamal Haasan as I used to! (Thank God for finally getting the self-control to let go). I saw my friend the other day; he seems to google for Roger Federer frequently. I chuckled.

Pradeep and Aravind have been 2 good friends I have made in this time. It's been wonderful, the times we have spent so far - Friday night bowling, the brilliant Baba-Hut Biryani's, trips to Boston and Chicago, general Vetti Vambu, oor-suthal in my car almost every weekend...Muthu, for all his tips on girls, what they like and all that stuff, beating him all the time in Rumy and watching him slump with his Mac on the sofa dejected after losing yet another game! My current roomies are also awesome - I haven't had too many North Indian friends before; now all three are. Sheesh, I speak in Hindi these days! Work is great, in part because of the people I work with..can't say enough...some really smart and friendly people.

Somehow, my addiction with American sports has been a constant, these 3 years, though this year, I have been limiting myself to Football. Seriously, Saturday, Sunday ,Monday and sometimes Thursday nights. I don't get to watch a whole lot, but when I do, I just don't do much else. I can't relate to cricket these days..I grew up rooting for Ganguly, and seeing him struggle to be in the team these days, I think I am getting to be apathetic. It doesn't help that Lara and Akram don't play now either.

I think I have spent too much time away from home. Independent as I have become, I appreciate the essence of a family these days. My sister, although we are tight, tells me we haven't spent enough time together. It's true, I guess, but we still talk so much and laugh for crazy things, so I guess that's a constant. Good lord, she's an asst. manger now..I have enough material to rag her for a while! When we were both home, one of our Athai's used to keep her distance when me and my sis were together ;) Good times! Fish-boy, gossiping abt my friends, her friends, Naai-paiyyan (she could get really 'cheri' sometimes :p)

I was reading some of my posts from before - funny! Reading that Gillette article in the 'Onion' felt like yesterday (ok, perhaps not :p ..just stay with me as i try to get my creative writing juices flowing, will ya??) I still want to write that post about Anbe-Sivam sometime..want to create a new list of my favorite tamil movies, cricketers etc. Will do sometime.

Perhaps this post has ended up to be too much of a personal exercise. It's just that you don't get too many chances to look at something you wrote 3 years back, and try to see what has gone on. It would be like if you were to watch your marriage video 5 yrs hence, kids-in-tow.

I tried to pull an 'Autograph' Cheran,

So I can show this to my Peran ;)

I wish Big Papi never hit that home-run!

I am back, baby! (seri, ok, right, adangarom!)

2005-10-07T17:46:00.000-04:00

arbit bits

Although my first reaction to the call by the unions to create one for the IT sector was just another grimace (given that the CPI and the like do from time and time, its become routine), I then thought that maybe a union among the companies (biggies and medium scale ones) might be an idea to reduce the attrition rate. But if I had a company, I would not be part of such a thing.

A lot of news seems to be coming out regarding the moral policing in Chennai and subsequent media bashing. Bashing the media does not serve any purpose, since they also enjoy the personal space/freedom of expression that you are fighting for. It is the capitalist or rather just the rule of nature. The probability of you checking out a news article that seems interesting rather than logical is higher. But in any case, I hope aMMa puts these marauding 'tamil-protectionists' in place.

Cricket again seems uninteresting. I think the administrators need to do something regarding getting more countries involved in the sport. Only a third of the stadium for the recent world xi and aussies game was full. When I saw that image, I did not want to read further about the game. I felt embarrassed.

Jacques Kallis has been one of most overrated of sportsmen. Some people, though average, seem to possess a charm that makes people think highly of them. To have him in a team before Inzy or even Nathan Astle is just wrong. They just wanted to have a couple of SA guys in the team I guess.

I read, what arguably has been the finest book I have read. 'The Alchemist' quite packs a punch. It inspires you without sounding like a motivational lecture at any time. And as the boy says Muktab ! I was impressed by the line 'All things are one'. Now that is the example of a seemingly simple yet powerful line. I saw a framed painting a few days back that said 'I am better than you'. I could only grimace.

I watched this movie 'Crash'. A very fine movie. I watched 'Sarkar'. A decent movie. Ramu does have a style, much like Mani and Selvaraghavan. Other directors do have styles but these are the ones that appeal to me. I wish to direct a tamil movie some day. I want to prepare TamilNadu for sci-fi genre movies. Heh!

Another big game tomorrow coming up. It might be a long day for the Vols. I sincerely some1 from the SEC wins the Rose Bowl this year. USC struggled to win against ASU. We will know how good it is when they play Notre Dame. Alabama seems to be giving surprise. But the big question is will the Vols defense contain the Bull Dogs. I have no idea.

I hope Narain gets a chance next year in some team, although it seems difficult given his relative performances. But the recruiting bosses in F-1 have a keener eye for detail that the junta might be missing out on. Hence, I still hope he's not out of the reckoning. I feel he's good material.

I watched 'Mouna Raagam' after a long time 2 weeks back. It was a superlative movie, no doubt.

I went to the Indian restaurant today. I go there, like once every week. I ate heavily. As my stomach was beginning to feel full, I was reading this story.

2005-09-26T20:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, So I think I have read enough about the GC-SG issue.

Now, I was a dada fan - an ardent one at that. But GC seems to be making sense to me quite a bit.

Now lets see. I think it will be tough if not impossible for both of them to work together. Hence, either 1 or both have to go.

If dada goes, heavy pressure on GC to perform (victories) and hence vindicate his stand. Not easy.

If GC goes, definite pressure on dada.

If both go, extra-ultra-heavy-pressure on team india, but which could in 2 years, give Zimbabwe a serious run for their money.

So, lets see. Choosing between GC and SG is the final option.

Now before that, it seems team is divided, with supposedly all non-performers with dada..Ha ! If dada returns, bhajji mite stake claim for vice-captaincy for all u know! O my!

Anyways, GC seems to be pretty tough guy who seems to be knowing what he's upto and from his recent interviews, I appreciate his way/approach.

Dada on the other hand is on life-support in playing/tactical matters now.

But Dada does have experience in team-building. He built or atleast helped build a pretty neat team for the 2003 world cup and it did reasonably well. Once he does not have mess-makers in the team (who might be actually talented though!), he definitely works on his tactics/instincts and does succeed, more often than not.

But dada must've surely lost some respect/swagger/confidence after such media exposure of his limitations. And it might take sometime to recover his cool. Maybe even 5 months. Helpfully, WC is a lot more further than that.

On the other hand, if retained, the pressure of performance might not be that high on GC, as compared to SG.

We need some1 tough, some1 like GC or SG in the indian team. People like Vaughan wouldnt work for an Indian team. I am saying this because if both were to be dumped, I dont know if we have a captain who can be tough.

That dada is mentally strong is known. But whether he'll still have that confidence in his ability is questionable.

Ok, I still have not made a decision on whom to side with. Still, I believe the odds of a compromise are rather slim.

2005-09-26T20:04:00.000-04:00

It would be quite silly to keep harping on the fact that Alonso's victory this year was in no small part thanks to McLaren's u-know-what!

Reliability is definitely an important factor in the whole set-up and Renault hv managed to do that better as the McLarens have managed to do the same on speed.

Good steady driving Alonso..Congrats!

But absolutely no chance of defending the crown man!

Next year, watch out for Juan Pablo..He's going to take the attack to Kimi, you and Button.
BAR is a team to watch out for, next yr. I dont know about Ferrari because I dont know about Bridgestone.

Among other teams/drivers, Toyota with Trulli would be also be contenders next year. They are fast enough during qualifying but run out of steam in the race. That they will work on and they will be on par with BAR and Renault.

Title contenders for 2006 (in order) : JPM, Kimi, Button, Alonso. ( Dark Horse - Schumi (!))
And hey, one last word..dont count Fisi out..McLaren's ill-luck was distributed..Renault's was lumped onto him!

And boy, finally Narain can breathe a bit easier..Tiago dint finish.Finally!

F-1 needs more quality competition..There's no difference between Bangladesh/Zim'bve in cricket and Minardi/Jordan in F-1, except in the latter the drivers go on to better teams later.
But its still effectively 6-7 teams.

And I am still wondering about the logic of using 1 tyre uniformly for all teams..Might actually not be a bad idea but not easy to slam/support.

Finally what F-1 needs is a race track in India. I dont care if you lay it in the border between Assam and Sikkim or the banks of the Cauvery. Just get it started man.

BTW, do they share a border ..I doubt it.

2005-09-23T20:59:00.000-04:00

Full day researching the headline story..dada vs. GC.

Read on a few blogs..What nerve GC has got to use Sourav to get in as coach and then back-stab him!

Count me out of such groups ! For godsakes!

Dada is bringing out the blogger in me (!)

2005-09-23T17:03:00.000-04:00

Raj Singh Durgapur says (via Outlook)
"Chappell is a genius. Sourav is much below Chappell in stature," Dungarpur told newspersons here"

Dude, this is a serious insult to my intelligence that I have to keep hearing statements as primitive as this from a guy who's supposedly in the upper echelons of powers-that-be concerning indian cricket.

I know durgapur isnt the best of buddies with dalmiya and consequently with sourav. But this is pure nerve,to make such a sweeping statement. I can almost assure you this guy has no idea why he called GC a genius..

I smell a conspiracy theory.

2005-09-23T16:31:00.000-04:00

I know this is becoming like a 'desis for dada' kinda blog!

Dada should've considered steve waugh's advice/warning that GC mite not be a good choice as coach and that moody was a better one.

Maybe steve knew that given dada's nature,it will be tough for him to adjust with another tough, aggressive guy like GC. Heck, dada even struggled to impose himself on Murali karthik, who was dada Jr. at the time. So GC is another ball game altogether.

When SRT comes into the team and seems like a sucker for form, lets see if GC does the same. We'd get to know if this GC's no-nonsense approach is for real.

I am thinking dada will not be sacked.

2005-09-19T03:01:00.000-04:00

Just as I expected, the indian media goes gaga over greg chappel's dont-care-about-reputation-but-current-form' logic and villifies saurav.

Well, given the pseudo-intellectual rantings that have always been there to see from the media, this is not surprising that they think they have a logical and public accepting argument.

But isn't this all presumptous..Like Ravi Shasthri says, we need to know the context in which the coach made these remarks..Absolutely correct.

Its a good idea to crack the whip, no matter what the reputation, like Greg thinks. But to change the system all of a sudden is not a great idea..Meanwhile, my dada could definitely have averted some of this happenings but if he did make a calculated move (!), i got it. But the greatness of dada went down a notch.

Indian cricket must be thankful to Rahul Dravid in all this. He's truly worthy of respect. A more ego-driven/me-first vice-captain and I dunno where this team would be now.

2005-09-16T22:52:00.000-04:00

It is a shame that we need to introduce reservation for more women representation in the indian parliament.

But nonetheless I would tend to think of it as necessary.

Sometimes this is where my each-man-for-himself (little dependence on social welfare a.k.a captialist) beliefs are at confict with social ideals. There are sections of people who cannot compete with other sections of people, unless they are given a positive offset. Sometimes, government can do wonders..But they must know when to stop interfering in other things.

Now why am i thinking of others progress anyway..Oh well, maybe iam just a pseudo-capitalist !

2005-09-15T21:53:00.000-04:00

There are people you can mess around with. But then there are others you dont want to mess with.. Like Saurav da.

Hope the indian board does not come up with some seemingly interesting decision like making kaif captain..Maybe, he could be made Vice-captain, but thats that.

Go dada !

2005-09-13T23:36:00.000-04:00

Was scrolling through the Onion archives and chanced upon this article.

God, did I laugh !

2005-09-07T22:23:00.000-04:00

The last ashes test is gonna be a wash, 1 way or the other.
Provided there's no nature-wash, I am thinking Aussies will white-wash england.
Phew! Some prediction that..

Lets just hope warney does it for me..As some newspaper cited, if the aussies win this, the urn must go to Warney..Dude, is that guy awesome or what !

2005-09-07T19:49:00.000-04:00

I make an attempt these days to respect people's POV rather than people themselves, in any discussion/thinking.

But as I read interviews like these (on instapundit), all such feelings are flushed down at once.
A fan of Ray Kurzweil just became a die-hard fan. I love his realistic optimism. I hope to get the book soon.

2005-09-01T13:41:00.000-04:00

At the rate at which aMMa is going about things ( this and this ), I am thinking about starting a Rasigar Mandram for her here..
Deduced the following from the 2 articles.
The former article - Dont mess with me !
The second - most transparent sign of progress, to the voter.

I am beginning to kinda empathize with her M.P's falling at her feet..Maybe they feel they have a genius in their midst or something.

2005-08-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

The comments on this SepiaMutiny post were sincerely stimulating.

Among other things, am just hoping JPM, Button and Trulli rise to the occasion and beat alonso hereafter. I think JPM and Button will do that.
At the rate at which JPM's going, I doubt if the McLaren car's next versions and all will be as much suited to him as it is for Kimi. Kimi's been exceptional so far. JPM needs to buck up. He's an excellent driver and I hope he dominates the other cars consistently soon.

Because of this Ashes and all, my interest in cricket increased again and I chanced on this World XI vs Aus XI article. I cant even believe you have players like Pollock, Kallis and even Sachin in the team while Inzy is left out. Ok, atleast Sachin has some past glory which could carry him for another year I guess..

I used to love Aravinda De Silva in his prime (his last few years esp). He was a batting god !

My fav conventional players (might be a few ex players here n there. )
1.Brian Lara
2.De Silva
3.Adam Gilchrist
4.Inzy
5.Mark Taylor (C) - (I dunno why he isnt mentioned as 1 of the great captains. He really was 1 !)
6.Wasim Akram
7.Waqar
8.Warne
9.Akthar
10.Yuvraj
11.Mark Waugh (His batting was 1 of the most stylish things in all sport i've seen)

Hows that for a XI..I know, not balanced and all..But still good enough. Just watching Lara and DeSilva square-cutting for six at both ends would be ...am at a loss for words!

2005-08-24T17:41:00.000-04:00

Days ago, I was thinking how I was going to catch hold of the Volunteers first home game against UAB, as I work my butt off coding for some snazzy hi-tech company in downtown San Jose.

And here I am, today, thinking of where to eat in a couple of hours - McDonalds or BurgerKing !

This job search seems to be a humbling phase..But maybe, thats what makes it exciting.

2005-08-24T17:20:00.000-04:00

Rediff's business section is one sane tab in an otherwise 'India shining' gibberish..
This article was actually good

I especially like the way Haq talks about setting up the place with the proper ambience/tools to make things happen, as in Si valley.
And I think he has a point about Pune being the place in India. Personally I think Chennai/Coimbatore is as good a bet. Ofcourse, you need to figure in the fact that the only place I have been outside South India is Bombay..I saw Pune's railway station on the way though..Not a bit better than Arakkonam though!

I love this Venture Capitalist kinda positions..Risk-taking in all its glory, it sure is! I wish I'd be one some day (just a try atleast!)
Pramod Haq went to North Western univ; I am at a univ in the South East..Hey, we seem to be sharing something..like antonyms or something..atleast, thats a start.

2005-08-15T18:49:00.000-04:00

How i miss this

2005-08-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

Whenever I do something out of obligation, the end result of the effort takes a severe hit.

Like this blog post for instance.

I love Jack Nicholson.

The gap between Alonso and Kimi is actually smaller than it looks. Provided kimi does a top2 finish and ferrari are again resurgent and along with trulli/ralf, can create a sandwich b/w kimi and alonso for atleast 4 races, I am sure its gonna be decided in China. I think Alonso will be defensive, which anyway he is. I doubt if he's a good driver. These next 6 races will let me know. I guess Tiago would be alonso-2...steady,reliable finishing,consistent etc etc..
Ok, this analogy doesnt mean i put narain ji together with JPM...

2005-08-11T17:39:00.000-04:00

Accepting my limitations
And living up life as per the norm
Is a stupid bane
I can do well without.

2005-08-02T22:03:00.000-04:00

Like the columnist Sainath once wrote about drought, every1 loves a good whipping boy.

Kamal Haasan, Kobe Bryant, Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara, Shoaib Akthar.
They all have 2 things in common.. They are some of my favorite stars.
Another common thread - all whipping boys !

But I hope I just dont always like stars because they are outcasts( well, sorta..). Sometimes, I hate the notion 'the people know best', used mainly, to explain box office success, that can be applied to this superstar scenario as well I guess. Well, I dont first believe in that notion I stated before.

People have made a supermegagigastar out of Rajinikanth and just another actor out of Kamal Haasan. Well, Rajinikanth doesnt make sense to me at all. Talks about spirituality to the extent that makes believers wonder if they are believers indeed (on a more serious note, without any effective meaning, atleast to me). Burnt his hand trying to venture into politics. Made 2 mega excuses for a movie (Valli and Baba were the ones). Says he is not interested in money/movie success but inner peace(yes, he said that a few days back) . KamalHaasan talks the talks and walks the walk (ok..ok, atleast he's frank and lives for himself, not trying to put on an image for society). Did rajinikanth correctly understand/analyze the mass thinking and come up with stuff that they liked..I dont think so ( Well, if he did that indeed that well, I would just think he's really clever, thats all. Too many ppl credit rajini with doing that, although i think its being overdone). Ok, I guess I am a little confused for my own comfort here..Maybe, you see the point am trying to make already. Most of the mega stars seem to ppl who though clever, seem to be living for the society. Most whipping boys seem to living their own life. Living your own life and being a mega-star seems to be a no-no for the masses.

Currently listening: Pudhu Vellai Mazhai (Roja)

2005-07-30T23:46:00.000-04:00

Its been a while since I followed cricket. But i just dont understand why ppl/media are going so 'ooh..aah' abt greg chappel. I dont know if half the guys who wax eloquent about him have seen him in action, of some sort.

I would go with some1 like arjuna ranatunga for a coach.

And btw, I guess Schumi is light on fuel. If that is the case and given the hungary circuit, not unexpected stuff from ferrari, who though lacking in technology, are still strategy champs.
I am bullish on bar for next year..Button's cool.

2005-07-30T23:17:00.000-04:00

Hoo boy! Its been quite some time now..Schumi vs. Montoya.
Watch out for the first corner tomorrow!

2005-07-29T15:53:00.000-04:00

One of the patrons of this blog (can hear gasps) suggested that I stop using this a personal diary and start some active serious blogging. That thought has been doing the rounds in my mind.
Maybe after I get set here, which could take quite sometime, I am going to start some real serious blogging. Maybe I guess I will rope in a few of my friends to have a collective issues/ideas based blog.

On another note, I think blogs have become an overrated phenomenon, ofcourse mainly due to the mainstream media. I liked blogs initially and used to read a lot of them. But most of the good blogs nowadays are no different from MSM, in that a lot have lost objectivity, beyond a point. On my personal puking scale, posts devoid of objectivity would top it all, suburban Chennai girls a close second and Tennessee whiskey a distant third.

2005-07-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

I think I was never really demanding, as a kid.
One of the very few things that I politely demanded at home was quitting complan and switching to coffee. This was refused because I was in Class IV then.
3 years on, my demand was accepted. I have since, taken to coffee in such a way that the quantity I consume sometimes even stupefies me.

And why O why does poor kimi have no luck? He really does have some ice in him, for such a season as his would have made a retard out of any normal driver. I guess the next 3 races could dictate narain's progress in F-1. If he does well now, I guess some teams dont hv too sophisticated a technology to refuse him for the next season or the one after.

2005-07-24T22:14:00.000-04:00

Each man fending for himself rather than for the society at large sounds like a sensible foundation for a successful society or whatever you want to call it.

I watched Yuva yesterday, again. Michael mukherjee's wish to transform politics/society is his own self. His supporters' wish to transform society is not. Rather they are wanna be good samaritans. This is evident when after the life attempt on Michael and his recovery, they all gather and say they would not contest the elections, fearing for life. Because, their thoughts earlier on the same topic was not 1 of conviction but of feeling good by doing something for society. Although I am not making any revelations here, Maniratnam's potrayal of this was just remarkable. It is clear that trying to do social good for the sake of feeling good will lead nowhere.

Capitalist socialism might be a really cool idea.

2005-07-21T00:33:00.000-04:00

I was listening to 'Margazhi poove' - an ARR classic. Its been like half a decade since I last heard it. Felt like I had re-discovered ARR.
Roja and MayMaadham were a little different from ARR works - they were sublime. Somehow, down the line, ARR's music became a tad too commercial for my liking I guess.

On an unrelated note, I just saw my room today which looked like a 'dress garage'. I havent done my laundry for 1.5 months now i guess. This bachelor life so totally rocks!

2005-07-20T18:55:00.000-04:00

As I try to scramble through every possible job search portal, the only thing that pops in my head is "Why doesnt google have a job portal?"

Heck, I thot i would be selecting a nice job from a few offers sometime back.
Although that seems as far-fetched a thought as Uncle Pai being selected for the Pulitzer, this job search phase seems exciting nonetheless.

2005-07-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

Pretty informative interview
Indiscriminate projects and clearances in the name of development for political showmanship and political gains is pathetic.

I dont know why jayalalitha is not taking this seriously.

Its interesting that while TamilNadu has had some really smart politicians, it's never had, in recent times, a head of the caliber of s.m.krishna or the street-smartness of c.naidu who had pretty good vision for development. (Although whether what c.naidu was indiscriminate and intent only on s/w is another debate altogether). But even through all this, the state has somehow managed to be in the top 5 states, on the economic front. Well, thats a tribute to something that the state possesses..i dont know what.

It would have been interesting if rajaji was CM for a longer time. I think rajaji was a visionary, although 1 of his ideas (regarding education based on father's occupation i think) seemed a little confusing to me.

2005-07-13T22:22:00.000-04:00

When will raaga understand that their advertisements in between songs are downright irritating. Its become an automatic reaction these days..i dont even think before clicking the fwd button when they play some money sending ad.
Not too much of a thot process goes on in these kind of advertisement creation and stuff i guess..I mean, raaga's not the loser, the advertisers are.

I am all for a good ad, if it sounds cool. I hated watching ads in between programs when i was in india. But here, the ads are actually pretty good that I infact enjoy them at times.
I guess, the huge ad on rediff page covering all the news sets another low in showcasing advertising skills.

Look at blogger..Even though the ads on different blogs dont exactly make the page look great, they are atleast on the sidelines. Atleast, you arent irritated; infact get some 'good samaritan like feeling' (though such feelings go against my recently acquired capitalist leanings) when you click on some random guy's blog.

2005-07-09T22:37:00.000-04:00

Ideally tomorrow should go this way.

JPM catches up with Alonso, overtakes him and keeps him behind.
Meanwhile, Kimi charges from 12th to 3rd. (how easily said :) )

Aah. Battle royale for 10 laps!
Then, Alonso sandwiched b/w the Mclarens and gives in to the pressure. Now, its battle time b/w JPM and Kimi. Am just waiting to watch if there would be team orders in this case. If there are, I might not root for McLaren anymore.

Keeping my arms, legs and finally fingers crossed.
Lets see.

2005-07-08T17:33:00.000-04:00

Read 'Digital Fortress' by dan brown. Sucked.
Not unlike Anniyan. I am yet to get over the mental trauma of watching tht movie.

btw, i am beginning to see too many patterns in life/events these days.. Feels wonderful.

I am beginning to understand communism more and more. And my appreciation for capitalism continues to grow with it.

Pink Floyd's liberating.

2005-07-06T23:15:00.000-04:00

Was Chirac's joke abt English food any reason at all for Paris losing out to London for the olympics bid??
Anyways, European news has never been this interesting in a long time. As some daily pointed out, Blair seems to winning his gambles with the poise normally shown by the French.

Enough of Asian and SAARC games, New Delhi..Bid for Olympics, atleast by 2030..
Heck, if C.Naidu was still CEO of Andhra, I guess we would've seen Hyderabad's name on the bid, sooner than later.

2005-06-30T22:36:00.000-04:00

I guess I've become too much of a regular at the coffeeshop in the library that am being given free coffee once in a while these days. Free Brazilian coffee..talk abt luxury!

Continuing on my quest for 'classy' music,
Currently listening - 'Elangaathu Visudhe' -Pithamagan(nothing to rant and rave abt..come to expect it of the Maestro).

2005-06-30T21:18:00.000-04:00

Somehow, I lost interest in following tennis sometime back. But today afternoon, i decided to catch up on some action when i learnt venus was playing. Venus, to me, was always like an underachiever for her talent. And she was playing sharapova!
The first set was just too good. Shots which would've been winners against other players were being returned!
I then realised maybe why i lost interest in tennis. After sampras and rafter retired, maybe i had no1 to root for.
I think among the current lot, I remember having seen safin's game before. He is one guy who can beat federer.

BTW, Listening to Mun Paniya (Nanda) at 9:20 pm is sheer bliss.

2005-06-30T18:56:00.000-04:00

I watched the movie 'kaadhal' some time back. Stunning. I guess this was the same director who made 'Samurai' which was a lot of hogwash though it had great music and visuals.
Sane movies like Kaadhal are needed to retain my interest in tamil movies.

I watched Anniyan some time back. I cant even believe I was comparing shankar with maniratnam before i saw this movie. I liked Sachien(note the correct spelling!) better.
Basically, I was in awe of shankar coz of Indian mainly, which was in good measure due to kamal also.

From the trend he's shown, Shankar seems to want to convey some social msg. Pointing out problems in society like corruption, red-tape and apathy is by now known to ppl and not a big deal. However, plausible solutions to these problems in the form of a movie would be interesting. I cant watch re-hashed Matrix stunts when I'd initially set out to watch thinking some decent social msg was going to be shown. For the first time, grandeur in a movie seems cheap.

The funny thing is I cant even understand what media reviews are talking abt when they say shankar's now salvaged lost ground after the boyz fiasco. I believe Boyz was a very well made film and also was really entertaining. If Thulluvadho Ilamai can become a hit and accepted, i dont know y boyz cant.

Currently listening : Kannamoochee (A.R.R ..whoa!!)

2005-06-21T23:10:00.000-04:00

An F-1 race never ceases to amaze me; Its top-tier management however, do.

Cant there be any better creativity in thought than to say the michelin teams need to slow down on corner 13 if they were concerned abt safety? I mean, this is the sport whose perennial quest is to become popular in USA, but only achieved notriety with such brain-racking decisions.

Agreed, I too think it was Michelin's fault not to be prepared but you dont have an F-1 race every weekend. What happened at Interlagos in 2003 is well-known. Why now some kind of 'I am a stickler for perfection' kinda image?

I am so very angry now when I think Ferrari (and with the car they've got) are level with McLaren. And to think McLaren should've been leading the constructors by atleast a clear 25 points. I seriously think De La Rosa must be tried out sometime. I am pretty convinced he is a sure podium finisher with that McLaren.

2005-06-19T20:14:00.000-04:00

Am getting pretty prophetic these days..Had just said 4 posts back that Narain would have a top 10 finish this season soon..

And he gets a top 4 finish, if it can be called that.
The scariest thing when the race was over was that Michael was on 34 points, 3 off Kimi.
Vow! This is going to be one of the best seasons in a long time. Schumacher is one of the fiercest competitors in all sport.

2005-06-19T00:19:00.000-04:00

I have always liked comparing Europe and the US.

The US right now seems stronger, economically and politically. But Europe always has its charm - a super blend of old world and modernism, left-right diversity(economically), fashion, vibrant life-style and most of all style.

There are a couple of crude analogies that come to mind - Soccer and NFL. Formula 1 and Nascar.
Football and Nascar are fun to watch but somehow come a cropper against Soccer and F-1 for sheer style and substance. I cant even begin comparing Indy to Monte Carlo or Spa.
Style has been one of Europe's best exports to the world.

2005-06-16T15:09:00.000-04:00

Its just around 75 F here and I already cant take this heat.
I cant even imagine how I was so normal at 105 F just 2 years back!

I was cursing winter all along (it was snowing the week before Spring break!) and now summer.
Guess April is my month. Actually, September wasnt bad either.

Somehow, happenings in the E.U have been interesting me lately.

2005-06-15T22:46:00.000-04:00

I read 2 books in the last month - Deception Point and 'House for Mr.Biswas' - 2 books that couldn't be any further content-wise.
After 'Da Vinci code', Deception Point, although a fast read, was a let down.
On the other hand, I took around 20 days to finish House for Mr.Biswas. It was my bed-time story. Initially, it seemed drab and I lost interest when there were no plots, as is the norm in other books i read. But somehow, the flow was there..When I finished, I felt it was one of the better ones I have read in a while, along with Tharoor's Riot. I have discovered V.S.Naipaul!

2005-06-15T21:29:00.000-04:00

Being an avid Lakers fan, I wanted them to get a big name and I think Phil fits the bill. That Lakers had a below par season would be an understatement. I dont know if Phil can correct that too soon with the current crop.
But I feel if Phil can make a Pippen Version 2.0 with Lamar Odom, Phil-Kobe-Lamar combo could be pretty lethal and entertaining. Not exactly showtime, but good nonetheless.

2005-06-13T18:41:00.000-04:00

I think 75% of important news worldwide is generated by the Northern Hemisphere.

Kimi keeps winning..Vow! I became a big fan of Hakkinen and thats how I started liking Mclaren..Now, i root for Kimi. He's really good. Iceman..Meanwhile, our own 'babu' seems a little bored by his stint in f1 or something..karthikeyaa, I am still hopeful you'll hv a top 10 finish this season soon. Guess he's like JPM(!)..All or nothing..Coming 12th,13th or last is for lesser people like his teammate.
Thats why I like McLaren too..'No fancy math..We are going to try only to win'..Whew!Thats my team. Ferrari or Renault would've tried to get into strategic math and infact, if a ferrari or renault driver had been in kimi's position at the Euro GP, they would've taken a stop in the end and tried for second..
I love McLaren !

2005-06-10T22:53:00.000-04:00

Heck! Bashing ToI is on every blogger's to-do list or what!

That was the common theme among many blogs that I read today.

As for me, I dont believe in showing my intellectual prowess butchering mediocrity. (romba jaasthi dhaan..ok)

2005-06-10T20:38:00.000-04:00

Spelling bee..
I know your next reaction...indians.

Tunku Varadarajan does a super analysis of why Indian-Americans win this
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110006801

Nice write-up. Once upon a time, I was interested in learning new words and all. Then came Barrons word lists.

P.S: I gave a good account of my verbal self though, in the GRE!

2005-06-10T20:15:00.000-04:00

Pistons winning gm 7 was a very heady feeling..Watching the game, I became more and more a fan of 'Detroit' basketball. 'Sheed was shooting 3 ptr's with defenders hands on his face..Hoo boy!

Anyway, they dutifully lost gm 1 to the spurs. Was on expected lines..I dont know why Spurs dont excite me at all. Maybe because they are so methodical. Detroit somehow put themselves in a hole and wriggle out of it almost all the time..That certainly is entertaining. Lets see who wins..Mind says Spurs. But only the mind.

Narain seems to be throwing some attitude now(the race incident with JV) . And I am loving it. I hope he somehow makes some points. Go narain!

Sports is such a huge reliever.

2005-05-27T21:42:00.000-04:00

This is my first summer at school and I can tell you its not pretty.

BTW, i've been here for only 2 summers.

On a sidenote, Tayshaun Prince could be the most critical aspect to the Pistons winning the East. Talk abt defending 'The Flash'

2005-05-23T23:07:00.000-04:00

Some great news if ur a kamal/mani fan. Long overdue, time!

Somehow, I liked 'Iruvar' the most among mani's movies..Prakashraj and mohanlal really outdid one another. A.R.R's tunes were top-notch, one of his best.

2005-05-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

The last 3 days have been a maze,
Reading 'Core dump' over a 1000 times has left me in a daze.
Masters Thesis is not for the faint-hearted,
I say so to myself whenever I am greeted by 'Program Terminated'.
From segmentation faults to core dumps to motivation,
I sincerely hope these dont play too many pranks with my plans of graduation.

Heck, Its going to be quite a summer!

2005-04-25T14:37:00.000-04:00

Resistance to 'Change' is the reason for being stuck in mediocrity.

Knowledge of the above and still being resistant adds just another adjective - agony.

As I enter the last of my boyhood years (huh !), I am feeling that my thought process is being refined in a way that should have happened 10 years ago!

Signed.

2005-04-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

I was a Rajni fan for most of my school days and also in college.

And then Anbe Sivam happened. I watched it again 2-3 hours after I first watched it. Most of my thinking for the next 2-3 days was about the movie. It was supposed to be directed by Sundar.C but who was behind most of the scenes was no secret. My 'thalaivaaa' changed to Kamal. And its been him ever since.

I was desperately hoping that the movie would be a hit because there are directors who could make nearly as good movies as this but dont want to do so for commercial reasons. It would've been ushering in a new era in Tamil Cinema if this had happened. But..

Still, I am amazed by Kamal and his restless energy. I think I loved every1 of his movies in the last few years except for PKS. Panchathantram left me in splits like none other including MMKR.

Rajni is some 1 who gives you plenty of 'feel good' doses when you watch him on screen - he endears himself so much that you dont even care about the logic in the movie. But it doesnt affect me once the movie is done.

Kamal's movies can actually keep you thinking days after you've watched the movie, and when you finally connect to his ideas, it's an experience in itself.

Hope I get to meet my Thalaivar sometime !

2005-04-20T14:42:00.000-04:00

Saw ChandraMukhi. Not a bad time-pass.
But for a guy who makes 1 movie in 2-3 yrs, it could've been much better.
Though should admit that Rajni looks 'not bad at all'. I was totally reminded of his '16 vayathinile' when I see him as the villain Raja. Boy, was he a super villain or what! I would rate it somewhere between Arunachalam and Padayappa. P'appa rocked and moreso, coz of A.R.R. They should've roped in A.R.R for this too.

Somehow, quietly confident Mumbai express would only be better than CM. (Kamal fan(atic) you see)

I dont know why most of the city youth look down upon vijay as if it conveys their sense of sophistication. Granted, he did some cheap movies earlier on, but that was an entry level thing.
Even now, there might not be much logic in his movies but in whose movies other than Kamal's do you have a truckload of logic? If you dont expect logic in a superstar movie, then ...
Though I dont like Vijay as much as Madhavan, I am sure he's not bad at all.
There are some roles only he can play. He would fail if he does something like surya in KaakaKaaka. He's best at doing roles like in Gilli. I thought Gilli was so much fun, which might not have been with Surya/Maddy instead of Vijay.
Someone who loves rajini but hates vijay would be interesting to meet.

vArtA

2005-04-12T20:41:00.000-04:00

Pakistan would've lost both series' by now if it had played against the T.N ranji team instead of this Indian team.

Or do I smell something here??

Gasp!
Read this
$181000.
Gasp!

Thats what maybe even the cream at Harvard and NorthWestern would get !

After such a media-blitz in recent times about the salaries for mba grads, me thinks parents back home are going to ask their college kids to study for CAT and other mgmt exams and get an MBA from some good school rather than study for GRE/MS hereafter.The children know that unforutnately, it is not as easy to clear cat/other exams as it is to get an arbit score in GRE, get into an arbit university in some arbit part of USA. I dont know if the parents would realize that ! Some of my college friends have been writing CAT for years now.
It would not be bad to have fewer desis to see here so that the notion that am in USA might atleast stick then ;)

chill.

2005-04-10T23:43:00.000-04:00

Even like 2 months back, I used to laugh at people watching golf of all sports on TV.

Today, I think I witnessed one of the finest moments in all sport that I've seen. Of Tiger winning at Augusta. More than that was his shot on the 16th hole. It was drama, high-octane drama seriously; the ball stayed near the hole for a moment and then went in after a few teasing moments.
My heart went out for DiMarco. He did a great job in taking the competition to a play-off but Tiger was sublime. I dont remember the last time when a moments in sport have sent me into fits of tension and ecstasy as this one. Maybe these two come close.
1.'Desert Storm' @ Sachin.
2.Sampras outgunning Ivanesevic at Wimbledon (dont remember the year.)

Have watched some really good Hindi movies of late. Have always been prejudiced w.r.t Hindi movies after watching some cry-fests . The ones that I saw of late include Page 3, Ab Thak Chappan, Swades and Rog. I thought Page 3 and Swades are pretty well-made movies. Swades, especially so. My friend asked me as to what I dint know that Swades showed. I said Swades had almost everything that I knew. I could relate to it which really cannot be said about the cry-fests.

When I think of a genius, few people come to mind as quickly as Brian Lara time and again. He came back and scored in a fashion that is uniquely his. When Lara is on song, it is good for world cricket. His batting could even be a graduate coursework in Arts. (ok..ok)

vArTa

2005-04-08T05:37:00.000-04:00

Today was some day..

I had little sleep the previous night. had to get up for a class from 8 to 9:30. Then had a class at 2 and then a meeting with my advisor. Was talking about my thesis with my advisor; I think i confused him a bit or so; He suddenly asked me as to who my advisor was ! Even I felt that my speech was incoherent. Fortunately, my advisor was in a pretty jovial mood.

Then, was walking past the University center and stumbled on 1 of the sofas in the lounges and thought I'd do my 'nap' thing. There were a few students, I think Chinese students working on some stuff. 2 hours into my nap, I was woken up by a roar and realized it was me snoring. There have been a few occasions when I get into subconscious fits of sleep or something that I hear myself snoring. Not a very nice experience. There was no1 when i woke up. Must tender an apology soon to those guys. The lounge was supposed to be 'Quiet Study Lounge' !

Then hurried to starbucks and felt a coffee was the sureshot way to clear this muddled state of affairs. I felt good until I realized I had done nothing the whole day with just a month to go for finals and projects. Then thought of checking out some wacky stuff on raaga as I'd come to the point where I decided nothing normal would do for the day. Checked out 4 students.
I listened to Lajjavathiye once, twice,..and have been listening to it for like 4 hours straight. Jassie Gift is something. The song borders on the sublime. With some traces of normalcy returning to my attic, felt blogging would make the process complete.

Over n out.

2005-04-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

There was this post on The Hindu some time back
http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/28/stories/2005032803920300.htm

Basically about the big I.T co's hiring like there's no tomorrow.

I was a little amused to see a strong reaction on different blogs to this news item, generally opinions against the s/w companies with even 1 comment on a blog saying "India will only improve if its free of these companies" .
Gulp !
I seriously cant still understand the big deal about this. Why should this mass-hiring be a bad thing at all? Why should not civil engineers write code in TCS if they get paid better and presents them a good chance of settling down quick and easy. If at all the bloggers feel the 'core technical' junta is dwindling, we can always 'outsource' those core jobs over a period of time. The actual 'core' junta ( my definition of core is only R&D junta ) would not change that much. And we dont have a sizeable 'core' population anyway right now.

The only thing that concerns me about IT in India ,from what little I know, is the fact that the big 3-4 companies contribute too significant a chunk to the total s/w mkt share. The smaller companies must evolve and contribute proportionally in the long run for a healthy I.T India.

2005-04-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

Was reading an IEEE Proceeds paper today.

Suddenly was reminded of the undergrad days when every third person i knew in college did like a paper presentation. It was a hot thing at 1 time, like in the 3rd year i guess. The wildest things - like , design of optimal blue-tooth technology ( o yeah..papers with such 'explosive' titles would find takers at umpteen colleges), State of the art Neural network (this was another perennial topic at different presentations) along with an occasional HVDC/AC topic !
Even I did some stuff on some design of super-efficient resonant converters (phew !) . Preparations were no laughing matter ! Most of the focus was on using the best software tools to write our stuff and do plots (what plots !) along with some occasional reference on google as to what some scientist in Estonia was actually upto on our paper topic . Our lecturers would be very encouraging and appreciative when we used to tell them about working on a paper presentation. They werent amused, however, when we asked them a few questions on whatever we understood from that publication from Eastern Europe !
The best part however was the trip to the college. Most colleges always had some culturals going on at the same time ;participate in them. I cant forget once at Mepco engg college, when we pocketed quite a cool sum in all this but dint actually win anything in the event for which we actually went there ! Then, collect the bus/train fare from the organizing committee with a smug smile; watch a movie and make umpteen jokes on any/many of the organizers on our way back home !

Boy, that was fun. Paper Presentations.

2005-03-31T21:14:00.000-05:00

"But the insatiable expectations of the people always look for Sachin to produce magical innings every time."
http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2005/mar/30srinath.htm
Hey wait! Diplomacy in writing is fine as long as it is bearable. Srinath, in doing so borders on the ridiculous.
Leave along magical, not many people even expect a match-saving knock from him these days.

After reading that, this one was refreshing though a bit cocky (like the Ganguly of the past)
"In my mind I felt that the rest would be able to draw the game but I was the only one capable of winning it"
http://sify.com/sports/columns/fullstory.php?id=13706068

Go Sehwag !

2005-03-29T15:49:00.000-05:00

Was reading a bit about the 3rd test b/w India and Pak.
I guess the supposedly elite batting line-up quit when sehwag lost his wicket. It was a 1 man team some 10 years back. There was a time 2 years back when the team performed. Now again, it seems to be a 1 man team. I dont know what strategy sachin or sourav or dravid had when they came to play!
That sourav is being accorded some preferential treatment now while the other veterans have been spared is not very amusing. Sachin and Dravid had a great opportunity to come up with a challenging innings and they both failed.
Persisting with sourav for the next couple of series' would not be a bad idea is my guess. Dependance of sehwag has to be removed to a good degree if the team is to improve.
One player I felt happy for was Balaji. I think he has a good future.

-r

2005-03-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

I've almost stopped following cricket. But I do follow sachin tendulkar quite a bit.

Read http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2005/mar/14sachin.htm

This stumped me inside out..Time and again he talks about his injuries to reporters more often now than before and says he played in this or that match with some pain. I know he was pretty fussy about sightscreens even in his prime, but this time seemed more like cribbing.
I read about his batting on day 3 or something during the mohali match which only india could possibly lose (atleast thats what the media says)..What would have been the reaction of 'experts' if some 1 other than sachin had slowed the scoring rate?? Surely, they dont wanna risk spoiling their good names trashing sachin!! And his statistics get bigger as ever..10K runs.

To me, he's ceased to be a factor in indian cricket right now. Sehwag is the go to guy for the next few years definitely.

Interesting thing abt sehwag: When i talk to ppl abt sehwag, common refrain - he's inconsistent, cant score like sachin on a regular basis etcetera..Know what, some arbit stat states he's getting 1 ton every 3 games..Er, what else is consistently good? 1 in 1.? It is interesting to note that when ppl talk about a flashy player, they are prejudiced by the fact that flashy corresponds to inconsistency. Nice!

-r

2005-03-10T20:17:00.000-05:00

Things have been so random in the last 1 week that even infinite samples of weeks like this wouldnt yield anything close to a gaussian.

On another arbit note, I saw S.M.Krishna's interview on rediff sometime back. It still baffles me how 'supposedly wise voters' decided he shouldnt continue. Karnataka's loss, I conclude.

-Ravi.

2005-03-01T16:46:00.001-05:00

ARBIT NOTES

1. Its March ! Is nature playing or what? It's almost snowing here.
2. Its March ! I am getting freaked out. Time flies.
3. I have started hating using stuff like 'u' instead of 'you' etcetera in e-mails . Am I getting mature or what?
4. I tried taking some notes in a class today after a really long time. My handwriting has degenerated almost beyond recognition. Blame it on the laptop. I remember having won a handwriting competition in school.
5. Lakers lost to Knicks! Jayhawks beat OkState in a classic. I think I prefer watching NCAA Ball than NBA. Its March dammit and the madness has begun.

Its March. The month of Madness.

Go get mad.
-r

2005-02-17T10:10:00.000-05:00

I read this everyday(well almost)..Its one heckuva laught riot..Though maybe this was written quite some time back, still it seems too good..

(From Ramesh Mahadevan - An Algorithmic Approach to ModernTamil Verse)

Algorithm number 1 is very simple. Just take any object. Think for a second and discover one of its attributes. It doesn't matter if there is anything creative or poetic about the attribute and the object. You simply say 'Object-kku attribute azhagu'. For example,
Rasathukku uppazhagu, vishathukku warning azhagupazhathukku juice azhagu, kizhathukku thadi azhagu(Salt beautifies rasam; 'warning' beautifies poison; juice beautifies a fruit and a walking stick beautifies an old person)
You can carry this one step further and compose the next stanza,
Wire-kku current azhagu Vaigaikku karai azhaguVayatrukku thoppul azhagu, vairathukku muthazhagu(current is cute for the wire bank is cute for Vaigai river bellybutton is cute for the belly and diamond is cute for pearl)
Here, the 'Vaigai' line is important - so that old fashioned, conventional guys are satisfied that you are not Picasso-like modernist when it comes to crafting verses. And 'vairathukku muthazhagu' is one of those phrases you quietly slip in, hoping that no one would analyze it, because it sounds 'meaningful' and cute itself, even though it doesn't mean a damn thing.

Read the whole thing <here>

joot.

2005-02-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

As Ravi reads this article (over and over again), he rubs his hands in glee and just cant wait for April 14 when he is sure to expect explosive ecstacy. There arent better things to do in life than listening to Maestro's works of art when he's at the peak of his powers...

Neways, http://in.news.yahoo.com/050210/54/2jjgy.html

2005-02-10T21:56:00.000-05:00

This was a really good interview..I think i totally agree that indians always overstate success and w/o any doubt are over-sensitive..He really speaks like a guru !

Well, its been quite some time since i watched television so much.. the past few days, i was at home most of the time and back to watching 'malcolm in the middle','general hospital(!)' etcetera ! Television can certainly be addictive..At home in the afternoons, eating, watching some sitcom and having a good nap -- nothing to beat it ..3 out of these 4 weekdays was spent like that !!

Finished my day on a high y'day as the lakers finally won 1 on the road..Much more satisfying that they won a thriller..Kobe, plz come back soon. This is getting too close for comfort..

I have listening to music from the movie 'April Mathathil' - maan..super-duper songs some of them..I caNT believe it has taken me so much time to discover this..

Currently listening to -- Manasu rendu (kathal kondein)

Varta

2005-02-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

I was talking to a guy y'day about getting F-1 racing to India and especially abt C.Naidu's attempts to get 1 at hyd'bad..I am all for it..I believe it would be a good revenue/job generator.
But the other guy said we should address more pressing issues at hand like poverty and other socialist stuff..Even after i tried to make him understand that the govt is not going to pump in all the money and it could be done in part by FII's for instance.
Talking to pseudo-socialists is tough ! They try to relate everything to social issues, often much more than a proper socialist .

2005-02-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

If narain does put on a good show and consequently the viewership ratings in india go really high, i would then tend to think that some good team in f-1 would be asked by the f-1 mgmt to take narain..If narain gets to say BAR Honda next yr, that would be a great thing..I mean, his performance would also improve, being in a better car..Hence, his performance would be critical to F-1 revenues itself..

Kovai kusumboda schumi ku thanni kaaminga vaadhiyaare !

-ravi.

2005-02-01T17:18:00.000-05:00

She gave me great hopes,
She gave me sweet dreams when it all began,
She made me hard-working,
Everything about her was so sweet, I was in love with her..

Fast forward 4 months...

She gives me anything but hope,
She gives me nightmares in bed,
She's made me think about fate and luck,
And mate, I anything but love her..

My thesis, although getting disasterous by the day,seems to be making a poet out of me !

2005-01-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

All you guys (Esp guys in the US) are going to love me for this gr8 link (Trying to think u guys hv not seen this !!)
http://openscroll.org/ramesh/

Very cool articles..Being a senior grad now(final year la), tending to appreciate it a lot more !

Watched Shaq after a long time toDAY..he looked good w/o doubt..Lakers are in quite some trouble this time, esp after kobe's injury..Lets hope they come back or atleast kobe comes back.

Watched Baba again in the spaCE OF 1 week..Some movies are not meant to be comical but they actually are nothing but that.This 1 fits that bill very well. The main problem i think was that the screenplay was by rajni..(thinking rajni was my favorite at 1 time!!)

JooT..
ravi

2005-01-24T17:51:00.000-05:00

Back to the land of honey from Singara Chennai..
1 month went by in a flash and it just feels like I was doing all the Thxgiving shopping y'day !
Madras was really cool..I mean, the climate was warm and sunny..Tht makes it cool..
Had been to Mysore/B'lore, Pondy/Cuddalore and T'pathi..Ofcourse, Mandaveli was infinitely better for me than any of the other places tho !
hmm..Another 2 more yrs before i get back to Kozhambu chaadam with the combo..mmm..Talk abt being spoon-fed !
Any1 who likes reading mystery shudnt miss out on the Da Vinci code..Amzing flow with continued high tempo of suspense/thrill..Dan Brown makes Ludlum look ordinary. Heard there's a movie adaptation of the same.
Back in Knoxville..Back to freaky weather..-12 Degrees sometime last weekend..Too much for a kabaali like me who was lazing in 30 degrees to adapt to suddenly..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/sherlock for all those holmes fans out there..

Varta
rAVi

2004-12-19T23:55:00.000-05:00

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

2004-12-02T18:35:00.000-05:00

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

2004-11-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

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.

2004-11-27T02:10:00.000-05:00

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.

2004-11-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

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

2004-11-17T18:08:00.000-05:00

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..

2004-11-15T20:39:00.000-05:00

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..

2004-11-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

Laughing my wits out ..U do the same

2004-10-12T10:29:00.000-04:00

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

2004-10-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

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!

2004-09-30T10:52:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-09-24T16:54:00.000-04:00

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

2004-09-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

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

2004-09-19T14:00:00.000-04:00

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

2004-09-16T20:05:00.000-04:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

2004-09-16T19:23:00.000-04:00

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

2004-09-11T13:58:00.000-04:00

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

2004-08-31T14:10:00.001-04:00

Chek this out..

www.20q.net

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

Varta

2004-08-31T14:10:00.000-04:00

Chek this out..

www.20q.net

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

Varta

2004-08-15T19:57:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-08-09T12:04:00.000-04:00

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

2004-08-05T18:12:00.000-04:00

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!

2004-08-03T11:52:00.000-04:00

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!

2004-08-02T12:32:00.000-04:00

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!

2004-07-27T19:55:00.000-04:00

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..

2004-07-22T16:01:00.000-04:00

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.!

2004-07-14T20:06:00.000-04:00

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

~r

2004-07-08T20:08:00.000-04:00

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

2004-07-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

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

2004-06-28T12:39:00.000-04:00

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