Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Whither art thou?
Got my hands recently on a Def Leppard CD from my younger days. It really felt like I was being drawn back to those college days. I got hooked on Def Leppard in the summer of 1990 and was fueled by their music for a few years. I still remember when I really begged my dad to get that prized possession "A brand new Sonodyne" player. he was always asking me why I was not satisfied with those small boombox type players and I knew instantly that he was not connecting with me. Recently saw the 200W player neatly put away in the attic of my parents bedroom. Guess all they wanted was couple hours of TV.This surely is the passage of time. I did eventually get to listen to Def Leppards Songs from the Sparkle Lounge and I felt that either they were too old or I was too old. But like my old Sonodyne player and the Def Leppard craze my new passion will die down too. That too will pass.
Got my hands recently on a Def Leppard CD from my younger days. It really felt like I was being drawn back to those college days. I got hooked on Def Leppard in the summer of 1990 and was fueled by their music for a few years. I still remember when I really begged my dad to get that prized possession "A brand new Sonodyne" player. he was always asking me why I was not satisfied with those small boombox type players and I knew instantly that he was not connecting with me. Recently saw the 200W player neatly put away in the attic of my parents bedroom. Guess all they wanted was couple hours of TV.This surely is the passage of time. I did eventually get to listen to Def Leppards Songs from the Sparkle Lounge and I felt that either they were too old or I was too old. But like my old Sonodyne player and the Def Leppard craze my new passion will die down too. That too will pass.
Old habits die hard (pun intended)
Was reading the BBC article about a fireworks accident in Rajasthan (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7685583.stm) How much more senseless can it get out there? All this loss of life for something that is so trivial. And to think that most of the lives lost were of young children. Should they not be in schools enjoying their childhood. I do remember my childhood days when I celebrated Diwali with fireworks. Guess if it had dawned on me that early I would have gladly given that up if it meant having those tender hands work the pencil instead of those toxic chemicals. I heard that in Chennai, school kids have signed petitions to do away with fireworks. I salute their brave hearts and their dedication to their cause. I feel very small in front of them. I guess it’s easy to say that the better thing to do is to keep children away from the fireworks companies, but good luck at trying to implement that in our greedy society.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Real Man on the Moon (guess it's actually unmanned)
Was really excited reading about India's space mission, actually moon mission that is going to launch tomorrow. At a whopping cost of $83 million, this is going to be a really grand spectacle. I remember those Diwali days watching all those fireworks and looking with awe at the rockets that were launched from a bottle. This is way cooler than that and I wish the space program all the luck. I hope they bring back some moon dust and I hope that this is not going to be called a "staged" event at a Bollywood studio. Well it's a lot better than "Koi Mil Gaya". Just kidding. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Was really excited reading about India's space mission, actually moon mission that is going to launch tomorrow. At a whopping cost of $83 million, this is going to be a really grand spectacle. I remember those Diwali days watching all those fireworks and looking with awe at the rockets that were launched from a bottle. This is way cooler than that and I wish the space program all the luck. I hope they bring back some moon dust and I hope that this is not going to be called a "staged" event at a Bollywood studio. Well it's a lot better than "Koi Mil Gaya". Just kidding. Keeping my fingers crossed.
The Wizard of OZ
If you were wondering who that was I'd say most definitely Dhoni. Looks like he has the balls to tame the OZ. I guess they have some serious damage control to assess after that pasting they took from the Indians. It's time to stop the bragging and start playing cricket mates. Look out for that tour de force in the third test. With the advantage on their side I a hoping for that last nail to be driven on the Oz brag coffins. They can doo all ther crying back home on the plane.
If you were wondering who that was I'd say most definitely Dhoni. Looks like he has the balls to tame the OZ. I guess they have some serious damage control to assess after that pasting they took from the Indians. It's time to stop the bragging and start playing cricket mates. Look out for that tour de force in the third test. With the advantage on their side I a hoping for that last nail to be driven on the Oz brag coffins. They can doo all ther crying back home on the plane.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The king is not dead. Long live the king.
For all you Tendulkar bashers, I guess you can all keep your mouth shut. Here is the ultimate run-machine. Subtract that elbow injury and the cricketing nations might have seen the real Bradman. I salute him on his no mean achievement. Looks like he has the fire still burning. Way to go Sachin you pint sized powerhouse.
For all you Tendulkar bashers, I guess you can all keep your mouth shut. Here is the ultimate run-machine. Subtract that elbow injury and the cricketing nations might have seen the real Bradman. I salute him on his no mean achievement. Looks like he has the fire still burning. Way to go Sachin you pint sized powerhouse.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Proposition 8. How it affects me.
I recently got a couple of emails from friends and family to support Prop 8 on the California ballot. I still am not eligible to vote but do have a few thoughts of my own. I do have a few gay friends and I do not have anything against them. In fact I have a lot of respect for them. But the fact of the matter is that what the gays and lesbians demand is not a social right ( I found it especially ludicrous when their demands were compared to to the civil rights movement). The civil rights movement was not a movement to legalise perversion. Civil unions are a better alternative and the right to redefine marriage for the community as a whole and support perversion is outrageous. This is the basic insecurity playing havoc with their already confused minds. Why is that in this country people get psychiatric counselling for depression, PTSD and mental illness but not for perversion? Also spare a thought for children adopted by a gay or lesbian couple. The terrible tragedy is that they would miss on either motherly or fatherly love which cannot be substituted by any amount of attention form a same sex couple. This is the dangerous precedent that would ruin the social fabric of our children. Why kill the innocence of a child for no fault of theirs. If this dangerous trend were to continue a few years from now we would have people wanting to marry their sisters, parents and even pets. These are sad times for a once glorious nation which used reason for every decision it made. I do hope better sense prevails. Let us all wait and see.
I recently got a couple of emails from friends and family to support Prop 8 on the California ballot. I still am not eligible to vote but do have a few thoughts of my own. I do have a few gay friends and I do not have anything against them. In fact I have a lot of respect for them. But the fact of the matter is that what the gays and lesbians demand is not a social right ( I found it especially ludicrous when their demands were compared to to the civil rights movement). The civil rights movement was not a movement to legalise perversion. Civil unions are a better alternative and the right to redefine marriage for the community as a whole and support perversion is outrageous. This is the basic insecurity playing havoc with their already confused minds. Why is that in this country people get psychiatric counselling for depression, PTSD and mental illness but not for perversion? Also spare a thought for children adopted by a gay or lesbian couple. The terrible tragedy is that they would miss on either motherly or fatherly love which cannot be substituted by any amount of attention form a same sex couple. This is the dangerous precedent that would ruin the social fabric of our children. Why kill the innocence of a child for no fault of theirs. If this dangerous trend were to continue a few years from now we would have people wanting to marry their sisters, parents and even pets. These are sad times for a once glorious nation which used reason for every decision it made. I do hope better sense prevails. Let us all wait and see.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Another one bites the dust. The Ganguly Saga
Its too bad to see Ganguly leave Team India http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/372830.html. The very team he led pragmatically, fiercely and with a lot of guts. Looks like another soft dismissal for the Dada from Kolkata. But one surely cannot forget the yeoman service he has done to Indian cricket. His towering sixes especially off the spinners was a delight to watch. Another sight that brought the goosebumps was his rollicking opening stands with Tendulkar, which kept that adrenaline flowing when one was watching TV.
I guess his only primal wrongdoing, other than his circumspect footwork to the left arm seamers was his love-hate relationship with the management which finally undid him. The sad aspect of Indian cricket has been the heavy dosage of politics which was the only constant change, be it the Bombay dominated team of the 80's or the Chappel histrionics with Ganguly. It is however pleasing to see the Tiger of Kolkota leave with a roar rather than a whimper, a sure way to keep those memories alive instead of quitting kicking and screaming. I do wish him a great future and hope he gets to mentor those talented young guns out there raring to go out and play for India.
His story seems a harsh reminder of the fading glory of the famous five, and sure must ring alarm bells for the rest of the seniors. I hope India takes the "Shape up or ship out" stance, which would work wonders and keep that well-oiled machine running smoothly.
Its too bad to see Ganguly leave Team India http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/372830.html. The very team he led pragmatically, fiercely and with a lot of guts. Looks like another soft dismissal for the Dada from Kolkata. But one surely cannot forget the yeoman service he has done to Indian cricket. His towering sixes especially off the spinners was a delight to watch. Another sight that brought the goosebumps was his rollicking opening stands with Tendulkar, which kept that adrenaline flowing when one was watching TV.
I guess his only primal wrongdoing, other than his circumspect footwork to the left arm seamers was his love-hate relationship with the management which finally undid him. The sad aspect of Indian cricket has been the heavy dosage of politics which was the only constant change, be it the Bombay dominated team of the 80's or the Chappel histrionics with Ganguly. It is however pleasing to see the Tiger of Kolkota leave with a roar rather than a whimper, a sure way to keep those memories alive instead of quitting kicking and screaming. I do wish him a great future and hope he gets to mentor those talented young guns out there raring to go out and play for India.
His story seems a harsh reminder of the fading glory of the famous five, and sure must ring alarm bells for the rest of the seniors. I hope India takes the "Shape up or ship out" stance, which would work wonders and keep that well-oiled machine running smoothly.
"Why I still love Chennai"
Was back in good ol' Chennai for my now biennial homecoming. I have to say that Chennai has become more of a big bustling city than I have ever experienced. But my awe of the city never ceases. I guess I have to substantiate that claim with a "Why I like Chennai still". So here goes.
So after a few days in Chennai post long haul flight from LAX we decided to venture to New Delhi and Agra. I guess I had to show my wife the eternal symbol of love "The Taj Mahal" and I had to make my son see it too lest he be plagued by his teachers and friends at school about" What, You're from India and haven't see the Taj?" I guess we also have to see the naked fakirs and the flying carpets too someday, but we sure did miss those this time. We took the "new look" Rajdhani Express http://www.indianrail.gov.in/rajdhani.html from Chennai and man was I impressed by this train. It apparently is now a quasi-private run train and the sponsors (Airtel) must be given kudos for their excellent maintenance of the train. And here is the best part, the food was excellent a far superior fare than burgers and fries. It was complete with soup and dessert too and we had very little to complain about it. And there was more pampering with frequents jolts from our sojourn by the catering staff bringing us cutlets, coffee, soft drinks to name a few.
Anyways, back to the issue. We did have a great time in Agra and Delhi bit there sure was a stark contrast in the attitude of people. Whenever we asked for directions or help they sure looked at us if we got off a spaceship. Well at least we were lucky to get those looks since the usual attitude is to ignore the offender who asked for directions. If we rewind the same scene to Chennai the person would happily walk with you or get into your car and take us to the place with the added value of a free "the demise of values" or "I know this place like the back of my hand" chat. Another ordeal we had to endure was the indifferent attitude of the tourist operators in Delhi. They sure did act like they were doing us a favor when we wanted to take a tour of the city. Most routes according to them had too much traffic and hence they did not want to take us to the spot. I was thinking about a city without traffic in India and funnily I could not remember any.
Guess all this made me want to run back to Chennai for solace where I did find a little bit more of humanity and the personal touch. You can call me biased because I lived for almost 27 years in Chennai, but I guess I am my own best judge.
The only ironic bright spot in Delhi was in the form of a traffic accident. A scooterist hit a school girl who was blindly crossing the street and some good Samaritan immediately whisked her off in his car to the closest hospital. It is sad that something tragic has to happen for people to show their good side. But I am glad that there are a "few good men".
Was back in good ol' Chennai for my now biennial homecoming. I have to say that Chennai has become more of a big bustling city than I have ever experienced. But my awe of the city never ceases. I guess I have to substantiate that claim with a "Why I like Chennai still". So here goes.
So after a few days in Chennai post long haul flight from LAX we decided to venture to New Delhi and Agra. I guess I had to show my wife the eternal symbol of love "The Taj Mahal" and I had to make my son see it too lest he be plagued by his teachers and friends at school about" What, You're from India and haven't see the Taj?" I guess we also have to see the naked fakirs and the flying carpets too someday, but we sure did miss those this time. We took the "new look" Rajdhani Express http://www.indianrail.gov.in/rajdhani.html from Chennai and man was I impressed by this train. It apparently is now a quasi-private run train and the sponsors (Airtel) must be given kudos for their excellent maintenance of the train. And here is the best part, the food was excellent a far superior fare than burgers and fries. It was complete with soup and dessert too and we had very little to complain about it. And there was more pampering with frequents jolts from our sojourn by the catering staff bringing us cutlets, coffee, soft drinks to name a few.
Anyways, back to the issue. We did have a great time in Agra and Delhi bit there sure was a stark contrast in the attitude of people. Whenever we asked for directions or help they sure looked at us if we got off a spaceship. Well at least we were lucky to get those looks since the usual attitude is to ignore the offender who asked for directions. If we rewind the same scene to Chennai the person would happily walk with you or get into your car and take us to the place with the added value of a free "the demise of values" or "I know this place like the back of my hand" chat. Another ordeal we had to endure was the indifferent attitude of the tourist operators in Delhi. They sure did act like they were doing us a favor when we wanted to take a tour of the city. Most routes according to them had too much traffic and hence they did not want to take us to the spot. I was thinking about a city without traffic in India and funnily I could not remember any.
Guess all this made me want to run back to Chennai for solace where I did find a little bit more of humanity and the personal touch. You can call me biased because I lived for almost 27 years in Chennai, but I guess I am my own best judge.
The only ironic bright spot in Delhi was in the form of a traffic accident. A scooterist hit a school girl who was blindly crossing the street and some good Samaritan immediately whisked her off in his car to the closest hospital. It is sad that something tragic has to happen for people to show their good side. But I am glad that there are a "few good men".
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