Synapse to Synopsis

Zeppelin flew to Wordpress

2007-09-06T13:34:00.000-05:00

Yes. machis and ladees, ladies and gentlemen, baayon aur behenon, i've jempdu to wordpress. not to worry, same name there also ya... I just could not give up the name... why I moved.. well, i just needed to see some changes to my blog template and was looking for something new... and recently stumbled upon a few wordpress blogs... totally impressed with the templates and different cool features...

basically, para vetti... :)

so the great few souls who have patiently stuck with me and have been reading my sometimes-interesting-but-mostly-boring posts, please continue to do so at the new space.

http://musicpaithiyam.wordpress.com

meendum ellorayum varuga varuga endru varaverthu, nandriyudan vidaiperugiren... dha chi...vartaaaa!

wogay...yeskayyyyp! see y'all on the other side...

Heyy Babby!

2007-09-05T13:29:00.000-05:00

watched a Hindi movie at the theatre after a very long time, owing to the fact that all.. ok.. maybe most of the recent movies are stupid love stories or about the underworld mafia and such bullshit that is no longer even slightly palatable, even with amazing company...

Honestly, the main and ONLY reason I went to watch was Vidya Balan. :D... Hey wait! Dont roll your eyes already! I am a bloke and I can watch a movie even if it is for a (l)dame reason. That said it was sort of disappointing as Vidya appeared only in a very few scenes and seemed like she has lost her groove... I meant the acting groove.. :)

moving on, the visuals in the first song 'hey baby' are just...well.. EYE POPPING! there are about 15-20 models/actresses (female, of course) dancing with the lead guys in a club. And God Almighty are they HOT or what! out of the $8.00 dollars spent on the ticket $4.00 went to that song sequence alone. well, you get the picture... especially Riya Sen and Amisha Patel.... I've never seen them like this... Agreed it was well over the border on being 'decent' for conservative Indian standards.. but hey, Indian standards are far from conservative, last I checked. I'd probably be called a prude by kids these days. ahem... :D

The comedy is good.. Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh and Fardeen Khan have put forth decent performances... but of course, the real star was Baby Johaina! She is really cute and sweet and everything... from those lovely intriguing eyes... to the two-toothed smile.... and of course the lovely little dimples on both her oh-so-chubby cheeks. :) I fell in love with this little angel in an instant! and btw, the character she plays is called Angel. :)

Music was decent...SEL, did not ROCK this one...but it is definitely better than some of the other ding-chak music that comes out these days. A couple of songs piqued my interest - Mast Kalandar and Meri Duniya tu hi re.

Mast Kalandar has a faint flavour of 'Kajra Re' and other similar Bhangra-Pop-Dance numbers that SEL have done. Meri Duniya is plain and simple and very melodic. Seems to have a little Mohanam-Sankharabharanam touch to it.... and I am totally hooked to this song - Audio Link

So, overall, a good movie to watch and a pretty decent entertainer.

Oh but the post doesn't end yet... I also watched "Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag" on sunday. many words come to my mind such as @#*&@^*#&#. But that would not convery my angst... So to summarize it:
** The BIG B is the BIGGEST BS I have seen yet! Only Amjad Khan can be Gabbar Singh!
** The music sucked ass..
** Ajay Devgan in Dharmendar's role was bearable.
** Prashant whatever-his-last-name-is sucked royally in Amitabh's role.
** URMILA MATHONDKAR, ladies and gentlemen is the O.N.L.Y good thing in the movie. She appears in the poorly rehashed Mehbooba song, along with Junior bachchan, who sucks as well. But Urmila is SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKIN HOT! I had to hold my mouth closed through the entire song... **blush**
** Amitabh Bachchan as Babban Singh (Gabbar Singh) SUCKED ASS! agreed, he is a great actor, but he is not THE actor.
** Mohan Lal should zimbLee stOp agding in yindhee movees....I mean, please he is such a good actor but does not fit in the Sanjeev Kumar role..even a bit. It is disheartening to see him bring himself down to this.
** Earlier I said that Urmila is the only good thing in the movie..scratch that.. Nisha Kothari comes a far second. But all her exaggerated mumbayya hindi and rough-and-tough body language sucked. One good thing though, was, there was Thalaivar's poster stuck on her auto rickshaw's interior and one of the initial scenes had the 'Autokaaran' song playing in the background.
** Amitabh Bachchan sucked! I was fighting to sit through the entire movie, just because I'd paid for the damn ticket!

Please do not watch Ram Gopal Varma ki Ga...sorry Aag.. even if you get it for free.. humble rekvesshht baayon aur behenon!

-- The End.

KalinDaja

2007-09-04T11:58:00.000-05:00

Raga composers of yester years..I mean the Grand Masters of Carnatic music... sometimes I think they were a little frivolous about ascertaining raga definitions.... basically, system konjum OB dhan nu solla varen.. cos some of it seems purely mathematical... especially derivatives 'or' Janya ragams... Or maybe they were meant to be like that...but to me, it is some what disillusioning... to think that all it takes to formulate a new raga from a given melakartha template is to create a permissible subset of combinations of the swaras(notes) from the parent raga...may be in my mind, I have overrated the whole system... and probably once a person has an in depth understanding of the ragas and all the magic surrounding them, it would then be apparent that it is nothing but, simple physics (acoustics maybe?) and mathematics put together...

hmmm...anyhoo... Arvind, just chimed in with this input, about raga kalinDaja being a janya ragam of Vakulabharanam (14). Checked on karnatik.com to see if there are any listed carnatic compositions.... none. Also checked MIO for any carnatic songs - vocal/instrumental..zero results.

Aarohanam: S-R1-G3-M1-P-N2-S
Avarohanam: S-N2-P-M1-G3-R1-S

The movie song that he told me about is Vanithamani Vanamohini, from the movie Vikram, starring Kamalahassan, Dimple Kapadia and Lizzy(?) George, and of course Ambika...after all she is in this song.. :D
Audio Link

Vakulabharanam - Melakartha 14

2007-08-30T23:50:00.000-05:00

Was listening to this song, by Ministry, an Industrial Metal band, while working today... and was strangely drawn to it... In the back of my mind, this song sounded extremely familiar and I kept thinking hard, but could not nail it.

Ministryh.mp3

And then while I was walking to the parking lot, it hit me like lightning! Certainly like the tamizh version far better than the hindi version..Sonu has sung alright, but something is missing.. Not enough Junoon in the hindi version... know what am sayin'? ;) Srinivas ROCKS! and so do the BASS riffs. yeah, I couldnt help mention that, as always... :)
The song - Ennuyire Ennuyire

And then I searched for the carnatic songs in both Vakulabharanam and Vasantha Bhairavi, and definitely saw traces there... plus I googled for Ennuyire's ragam and saw a TFM page entry confirming my suspicion. Boy am I glad or what! :)

Vakulabharanam
Aarohanam : S-R1-G3-M1-P-D1-N2-S
Avarohanam : S-N2-D1-P-M1-G3-R1-S
Song : Ee Ramuni
Artist : Nityashree Mahadevan
Audio Link

Vasantha Bhairavi
Aarohanam : S-R1-G3-M1-D1-N2-S
Avarohanam : S-N2-D1-M1-G3-R1-S
(if you know the song, you can already see the flavour coming out from the aarohanam/avarohanam)
Song : Nee Dayaragada
Artist : Bombay Sisters
Audio Link

**Update, August 31, 10.46

I had this question in mind about the characteristic of this raga - Vakulabharanam - more like an aching curiosity to find out why it sounds so "Persian" ? and of course Mr.G helped me find my answer and I found it here on Deepak S. Raja's blog. In short, from what I read there, there is a raga called Basant Mukhari, which is Hindustani music's adaptation from the Carnatic Vakulabharanam. Deepak also mentions that Basant Mukhari has been influenced by a Persian 'raga' called Hijaz! and there you go, answer to my question... :)

orrrrrrreee the grass itchings today maan!

All audio links - www.musicindia.online.com

The many levels of conversation...

2007-08-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

Observing the way I talk to different people this idea cropped up in my head... Take for example the conversation between two people.. This can be broadly classified as meaningful or utterly meaningless.

1. person A and person B know exactly what they are saying to each other, but they don't talk at the same time, for the most part.. So there is clear understanding of what the other person is saying and if not, it is plain obvious.

2. person A (or) B is not much of a talker but a very good listener... still someone understands something that is being said..

3. both of them are really hyperactive beings and avid conversationalists.... this is the most interesting and peculiar case - at times both say things to each other AT THE EXACT SAME TIME, be it in person, or on the phone, or whatever, essentially having a parallel monologue/dialogue.... most of it understood by both of them... of course there is some data loss... but it does not really affect the quality of the conversation. This is probably one of the most complex conversation patterns there can be... If you master this, well, treat yourself to some ice cream.. :P

4. both of them say utterly meaningless things but still the conversation goes on... there is absolutely no comprehension of any sort of what is being said....in fact, there is not even a need to comprehend what is being said, as both know it is TOTALLY meaningless worthless time filling chatter... not time consuming, mind you, time filling... this probably happens because both enjoy the company but have really nothing to talk about....

and one such conversation between a couple of friends recently (chat):
x: ding
y: dong
x: ping
y: pong
x: kling
y: klang
x: sing
y: you cant say 'sing', as it indeed has some meaning... you have to say something utterly meaningless... [making up rules of the game on the fly]
x: ceng
y: see, now you're talkin! good one..
x: hehe..your turn..
y: tling
x: chling
and so on.... and both ended up seriously laughing the heads off!

Bottom Line: Conversation does not necessarily mean any "true" cerebral involvement.

I rest my case.. :D

Who is GOD?

2007-08-28T15:42:00.000-05:00

A little kid asks his father, "Daddy, is God a man or a woman?"

"Both son. God is both."

After awhile the kid comes again and asks, "Daddy, is God black or white?"

"Both son, both."

"Daddy, does God love children?"

"Yes son, he loves all children."

The child returns a few minutes later and says, "Daddy, is Michael Jackson God?"

Got this joke from here.

How to make salad interesting...

2007-08-25T01:17:00.000-05:00

ok...so, i went to the gym....worked up a little sweat... got tired...came back home...and was starving like an animal..

I wanted to eat something really spicy and fulfilling...i had some dhal, some aaloo bhaji, stored away in the fridge. But I didn't wanna eat that... I wanted salad, but some interesting salad... thought about making a Mexican style salad - you know, with some onions, capsicum (yes, I will still call it capsicum, and not 'bell pepper'), some corn, rice, lettuce, tomatoes or salsa...But, after a long day at work.... nah... screw that...

But just then, the bulb lighted up...

so, I took a couple of Boca burger patties, fried them in just a couple of drops of olive oil, until the aroma reaches your brain... threw in some lettuce - romaine and iceberg, some carrots, red cabbage - actually the salad mix that you get in grocery stores... some chopped red onions (which is always part of my weekly inventory)...

a liberal dash of crushed black pepper, a sprinkle of zesty italian salad dressing, a sprinkle of sundried tomato dressing, and just a few drops of hidden valley 'light' ranch... oh and I forgot a few drops on the very top, of - HOT CAYENNE PEPPER SAUCE! :-)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present, the Ak's home made Boca Salad.... it's HEALTHY and..... it tastes good...for a change! :-)

and I am in love with Daisy Fuentes... (tv show - AFV)

Brain Fart

2007-08-24T15:24:00.000-05:00

covering portions is not the right way to learn.. or acquire knowledge...

and for an averagely zealous person, to acquire knowledge there should be some sort of a pressue...i.e. exams, tests, debates, blah blah.... to keep up the drive, to learn more...

Is learning just a response to external or sometimes maybe internal stimuli?

I have noticed some people who just compulsively read pretty much everything... news, novels, autobiographies, non-fiction books...yeah, you know, the DEEEEEP stuff... and religion, politics, you name it... and even remember most of it... These people defy the previous statement which I just said about learning being a response to a stimulus...

As far as my life goes, I only read about stuff that I'm interested in.... and retain whatever is necessary... mathadhellam hearsay and then maybe a little research to ascertain some facts and maybe learn more about it... but then again, even I go to great lengths to learn about stuff which does not mean anything to the common man... or should I say men/women caught in the urban civilized world.

So I guess, learning is probably partly a response to stimuli and probably part of the stimulus itself depends upon how curious/inquisitive one is...

hmm... coffee - toffee...

Impedence structures

2007-08-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

just a crazy idea... would it be possible to erect structures in coastal areas, to basically absorb the hurricane energy and translate it into say, power?

call me crazy, but i was just browsing reports of Dena battering Mexico for the second time... I was just wondering if it would be possible with the advanced tools of engineering to construct something like a wind turbine or whatever you wanna call it, that could sustain, maybe a Cat 5 storm, and turn that energy into something useful?

Now, if this idea is already in place, and somebody knows of it, please point me in the right direction..say, a link, a reference, whatever.... please... it is only rarely that mortals like me get the thirst for knowledge... please do not stifle it...

ok... end of post.. :)

Madras Day!

2007-08-22T15:31:00.000-05:00

All Madrasis, today's the day people! Apparently Madras was created on the same day in 1639... yes, August 22, 1639..

And yes, this might be a surprise coming from me, as I am not a major history buff or anything... but one of my friends, Heidi, told me about this and I am really overflowing with enthusiasm... well, basically to do nothing... however, it just feels great we have a day named to celebrate the birth of one of the greatest cities in the world!

And for all the converts - meaning, the people who prefer calling Madras, Chennai... well, I don't have any special words to say... to each his own...As for me, it will always be Madras and I will always be a proud Madrasi and never a Chennai-ite.. (yuck!)

To read more about Madras day check the following links.

Three cheers to Madras... Hip Hip Hurrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!!! :)

Buckethead - Jordan (ORIGINAL VERSION NO SOLO)

2007-08-19T23:23:00.000-05:00

When I first knew that Slash has been replaced (GNR), I was a little upset, but when I saw him live @ Cleveland, I was impressed. But this video tops it all! I dont know a lot about electric guitars in general, but this is really COOOOLL stuff! He is also a pretty good break dancer! Check out his other videos on youtube...

Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro

2007-08-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

This song is called "While my guitar gently weeps", by George Harrison of the Beatles. This JAP ROCKS!

Song of the day

2007-08-17T22:04:00.001-05:00

One of my personal favourites, by Hoobastank...

Hoobastank - The R...

Kilometre stone

2007-08-17T14:57:00.000-05:00

so, it's been six years today. And since it's been six, it falls on the exact same day - Friday. Probably the last flight that Sabena airlines ever flew. :-)

I feel a little too far away from home all of a sudden today... Its one of those feelings that one cannot really explain...and today is one of those days, when the voice in my head keeps asking me, why did you leave home for? What did you get?

But then all those wonderful Diwali parties, potlucks, first experiences at almost everything from cooking to washing clothes, cleaning up the house, etc... oh yeah and of course, blogging. :-)

Thanks to calling cards, emails, etc. I still almost feel close to home... But I miss all the excitement - Diwali shopping, Vinayagar Chathurthi, Pongal, Independence day/Republic day celebrations - flag hoisting, temples, December season kutcheris, Landmark, the extremely irritating noise of some guy's car reversing early in the morning, PTC or whatever it is called now, suburban trains, VLR stalls (bonda, coffee), Station Road, Kinetic honda, Omni, Maruti 800 MPFI, Madras to Kanchipuram in under an hour(? maybe 70 minutes), Ayodhya Mandapam, T.Nagar, Saravana Bhavan, Kabali koil, Kaprpagam mess, RASI, "kaalathi kadai rosemilk", Vargheese Bakery, Marina, Bessy, Sathyam/Woodlands/Devi/Shanti/Ega/Udayam/Mayajaal...

still cant forget how bro and me checked almost 20 different shops for Minnale's cassette after watching it at Mayajaal, and still came home empty handed..all shops said we had to wait atleast another week to get a copy!...and how the movie was (and still is) reminiscent of my college days...Mech/CompSci fights, usually over girls.. :)

And now, it is pbs, starbucks, "that indian restaurant", "that italian restaurant", cheese cake, chipotle, camry, amc, "mall", cell phone, VANS, Skechers, blah blah...

The following lyrics come to mind -

Peychellam thaalaattai pola yennai uranga vaikka nee illai...
Dhinamum oru mutham thandhu kaalai coffee kudukka nee illai...
Vizhiyil varum thoosi thannai naaval yedukka nee ingu illai...
Manadhil yezhum kuzhappam thannai theerka nee inge illai...

Indraya Vaanilai....

2007-08-16T16:23:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Ma!

2007-08-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day y'all!
Jai Hind! Vande Mataram!

The Way I See It # 274

2007-08-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

People often ask me if it is worth it to work at sea, isolated from the world, far from loved ones, seasick, and running on three hours' sleep. To lay eyes on something never before seen by anyone, to learn something new about our planet, for that one moment of discovery - yes, it is all worth it.

-- Katy Croff
Archaeological Oceanogrpaher and National Geographic Emerging Explorer.

Dedicated to my best friend, a sailor himself! Cheers CHIEF! :-)

Technorati

2007-08-06T08:26:00.000-05:00

one of me friends suggested that I join technorati...basically, to read more blogs... so well, what the heck, i am adding my blog there too... heh...

Technorati Profile

Paradise Regained!!!!

2007-08-04T21:25:00.000-05:00

Yes, that, I believe is one of the finest works of the great poet John Milton. One of his poems, ‘On his blindness’, was taught to us in grade school. My English teacher, a Mr. Sudarshan (I think so), explained that poem so well, that I actually started enjoying poetry more. Of course I haven’t read or enjoyed quite a lot of poems and I am not a poetry geek. But today, it really felt like Paradise Regained, and yes, I haven’t read that one either. But, just the two words, carry so much meaning in them and a similar feeling overcame my entire body, my spirit, today.

Is this how true love feels like? maybe…(pbbbbbbbbttt)

Last week, I was driving with a friend of mine to an Indian restaurant and I saw this unbelievable sight on the way there - a sight, which I have been waiting to see since ever since I moved out of Cincinnati. This brought back so many wonderful memories of the years past, and of course friends, laughter…. You know how it works…It felt like meeting up with a very old friend, a long lost love, perhaps.

As I was pulling out of my parking lot at home, a familiar feeling starting growing inside…and a few moments later, the excitement and anticipation was almost getting the better of me. All I could think of, “wow..dude…we are finally meeting after two and a half years…wonder how that will be…would the excitement , the chemistry still remain? God knows, I have yearned for this moment for such a long time now… I hope it feels the same..blah blah blah…” To add to this, the scene from Harry Met Sally, where Sally fakes it in the restaurant was also rushing through my head for reasons totally unknown to me… Also the dialogue the older lady says to the waiter – “I’ll have what she’s having..” Basically, I was a nervous wreck and about 20 minutes later… I reached the place where we were supposed to meet and I entered…by this time I was so excited my hands were actually shaking…and I was probably even blushing… :-)

So I ordered, and in a few seconds….there it was…. What I had been waiting for the past two and a half years…. My favourite “veggie burrito bol”!!! My God! I was so happy I almost cried! It felt like spotting an oasis!

And if you haven’t figured yet, I just ate my first veggie burrito bol, at CHIPOTLE, in a looooooooong time! ..and of course, I had my usual Nantucket Nectar – Peach and Orange – juice, with it. And it’s only 4.5 miles away from my current home. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttt !!!!

Alright guys, I am off… oh that reminds me, since I am all nostalgic and stuff… I also bought myself the little icecream cup from the nearby grocery store – Haagen Dazs’ coffee flavour! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……

Have a great rest of the weekend y’all… adios! :-)

Brain Fart

2007-08-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

Question: What is an extremely happy single man popularly known as?

Answer: Gay. :-)

Borat Sagdiyev - VERY NICE!

2007-08-02T11:17:00.000-05:00

This man is totally hilarious! The very intro - Yagshemash! uh..My name-uh Borat-uh... is absolutely funny! From the trailers on TV, I thought this was some type of a spoof.. you know.. something like Austin Powers, Hot Shots, which are my favourites by the way.. :) Both the times I watched this movie at the theatre, I just could not stop laughing and was crying with laughter all through the movie...God! Sacha is unbelievably ridiculously funny! Also

If you like stupid, utterly nonsensical and crude humour you have to see it! Also check out his Da Ali G show... there are some clips available even on youtube.

Oh another tidbit - Sacha Baron Cohen, appears as the french guy in Talladegha Nights - The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

A couple of colleagues and I have printed posters of Borat and have pinned it up to our cubicle walls! :))

This movie is certainly not for people who say ewwwww...grrrooosssss.. at fart jokes and other dirty jokes and believe certain things are taboo and should not be discussed in public or even amongst friends - cos a lot of it, is actually enacted in the movie. :)

Weird Humour

2007-08-02T10:29:00.000-05:00

Its a Good Life... la la la...

2007-08-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

Saw this pet food advertisement on the tube recently. It struck me at that point about Man invents all these stupid theories especially when it comes to segregation.. This ad made me think about sex-segregation. Let me explain.

The pet food ad has two versions - one for the felines and one for the canines. The pussy version has a lady singing the exact same song, which is sung by a guy for the doggie version. 'tsup with that? I don't know what the ad director had in mind, but after having seen a lot of people who think pink is for girls and homosexual males, I can only deduce that cats are a girls' best friend and dogs are for dudes!

After all the old saying goes... Dog is a MAN's best friend! Right? ok..sorry, that was uncalled for... :D

But then I do know some people on either side who happen to love either or both as pets. I like cats, but not the friggin domestic cats.. I like the wild members of the feline family.. Tigers, Cheetahs, Jaguars.. not Lions though - lazy bastards! They are human equivalents of couch-potatoes! Ok, I totally drifted..

Anyways, coming back.. Well, can't exactly think of anything more to write... but just curious as to how all this segregation started...

At the end of it all, MOSTLY, girls are not affected in either way. In the sense girls can have a cute little pussy cat as a pet or a little choooooooo-chweeeeett-puppy and nobody says anything. But I think it's a tricky situation when it comes to the boys.... maybe not...maybe so...just my opinion.

any thoughts on this anybody?

Music and Coffee

2007-07-31T14:35:00.000-05:00

The Way I See It #268

Music is what I always turn to when I’m feeling a certain way. It’s my reason for everything.

-- Josh Groban
Musician. His songs can be heard on Starbucks Hear Music™ station, XM Satellite Radio Channel 75.

How to set your tongue on fire....

2007-07-25T16:25:00.000-05:00

ok...being a tech-lead sucks ass.. but this post is not about that...

so, recently I went on a camping trip with a bunch of guys in W.V. and one of the things my buddy made was the corn cob - madrasi style - like how you get on the beach - marina/ bessy wherever.. since we had a propane stove for that...

since then I have been addicted to that and for the past few weeks have been eating some corn cobs at home. Only difference I steam cook it in a pressure cooker, cos I ain't got no flame.. :(

in short here are the steps:

steam the corn in the pressure cooker.... I don't know how many 'sathams'... but you know...if you've been cooking for some time now, you will know... (too many knows... I know! :P)
on a plate or on whatever you wanna eat the corn on... add some salt, red chilly powder, and some dhaniya powder of varying proportions. These proportions depend on how much you wanna torture yourselves.
Squeeze some lemon juice on this mixture.
Hand mix/ finger mix the above powder-lemon-juice mixture.
Using your fingers smear the mixture evenly on to the surface of the cob.
what next? EAT!

Note: The masala should not be too wet not too powdery... the right consistency is very important... If it is too dry, you cannot get the flavour to mix.... and if it is too wet/fluid, it won't stick on to the cob enough...

If you have the appetite eat about two cobs and then you will understand the title of this post!

Cheers!