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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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!!)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 !

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)

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!

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.