I'm pretty sure my blog is feeling neglected right now. The right navigation bar has a section 'posts worthy of your attention' with pretty much nothing noteworthy for five months. It's been a fallow few months creatively. It's not just my blog though.

I've been sucked up into a lot of activity and suddenly I realize that though I'm giving the usual things enough thought, my opinions, though well-formed are not expressed enough here. A number of books I read have simply gone back to the library or on my bookshelf with no reviews on here. Some amazing music has passed by with no mention here. (That was a deadline I just heard whistling by, now that you mention it).

However, resolutions have been made to change things around on this blog. After a long winter, spring is here. Summer too will be here soon.

To everything, there is a season....

Been there, done that

The small things that you don't do because life sucks you into the routine are the ones that matter the most.

I know native Washington state residents who haven't been up the Space Needle. The same goes for the EMP, IMO a fabulous music experience anyone genuinely passionate about music should visit( not for the exhibits as much as for the 'experience' part of it). 

The nice thing about lists like this one:

http://seattle.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/dont_forget_the_1.phtml

is that they're small things that can genuinely make your day (or week, for that matter).

The nicer thing about this list is the fact that I've done most of them.

Ahh...for those old times' sakes

Summer of '69. Bryan Adams. Hostel rooms. Late nights. Chai at Shivajinagar station. Submissions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpucUihZ4HE

A special shout-out to AC,AP,Bunty,DSD,GA,VS and VD for those rocking nights (and bleary-eyed days)...

India Diaries - III

Not knowing when to stop

I'm not defending the King of Nasal Overtures, the one-and-only Himesh Reshammiya. But I wonder how much of the hatred the man invokes is a function of overload.

One can't escape him. His songs are everywhere and on everything - TV, radio, Bajaj motorcycle ads. Kids sing Himesh songs on Anupam Kher's excessively cute " Say na something to Anupam Uncle."

In an ideal universe, he would know when to quit. He wouldn't have the hubris to actually think his voice is worth anything. He'd recognize that there are better singers he can use for some of his admittedly hook-sy songs. (Try listening to jhalak dikhla ja more than twice and I challenge you - it'll be stuck in your head for the day).

But then, the market does rule, doesn't it? T-Series just came out with a six-CD collection featuring 'The One and Only Himesh Reshammiya'. An autographed cap free to boot. And the amazing thing is, there'll be people buying it. Just like people paid $25 to go see Himesh in concert here.

But the most fun part of this trip was driving my mother nuts with my renditions of 'tera suroor'. And of course, Shaka Laka Boom Boom ( SB2, for those who come in late). I link to Ramanand and George's fun investigations into this one for the ages.

India Diaries - II

All in Bad Taste

- There's only one word to describe the news channels in India. Pulp. Watching Zee News, NDTV and any of the other N channels cover the World Cup, Bob Woolmer's death or anything else for that matter reminded me of the  rags you could buy for a buck on railway stations in Bhopal or New Delhi. Lurid and sensationalist too.

Wait, I thought I was talking about news channels, not the Times of India.

Aaj ki match ka villain kaun - a) Sachin b) Dravid c) Sehwag. Apne jawaab 8284 par SMS karein....

- The only redeeming program on TV for me was the one Barkha Dutt moderates. Unfortunately, it is geared towards a sound-bite friendly speaker and not for any sort of nuanced debates. Even before someone gets a word in edge-wise, she's moved on to someone else.

- What I was probably happiest about apropos news coverage was that I flew out before the Ash-Shek marriage. The Hurley-Nair alliance has left its scars, and the Rai-Bachchan merger would have meant even worse.

'Prateeksha' has been painted a shade of muave that Rai chose herself from Asian Paints' Color World, where you can choose from millions of colors to match your choice. (that's your surrogate advertising right there. The TOI just made a few cool millions).

But seriously, that adds one more pair (Baby B - Rani) to the list of pairs with obvious  chemistry that went on to off-screen alliances with people they don't gel as well with on-screen. Famous examples in the past include Big B - Rekha and Kajol-SRK.

Maybe that's two more pairs, if you have a sense of humor and count Ash- Hrithik in D:2.

India Diaries - I

Playing Catch-Up

- Flying now means lots of movies. A bad year in terms of buzz-movie viewing was over-compensated on a 11+11-hour splurge between Seattle and Seoul-Incheon, both ways.

- The Departed was over-rated - best film of the year, really? 

- The Prestige, under-so (best movie of the year for me. JR - I complete my Chris Nolan filmography including The Following :-))  

- Happy Feet was light on it's feet, dark around the edges and better than everything Disney's put out in the past 10 years. The sucker for the underdog story that I am, Rocky Balboa rocked my world. Stallone as director still packs a punch, and Rocky is as endearing as he ever was.

- DiCaprio has really matured as an actor and I think I can finally forgive him for The Man in the Iron Mask. Especially in The Departed, though Blood Diamond wasn't too bad. I don't know about the accent he had in the film though.

- Even without really expecting much, Babel and Pan's Labyrinth were both underwhelming. I liked Pan's... more, and Babel was just too self-important for my taste. What's the f*%$ing point? is my question. Was it an attempt to make the movie festival-friendly? Maybe my tastes don't coincide with the NPR crowd,  but I actually didn't meet anyone who liked Babel either side of the Pacific.

Back, I am

A vacation extended and time away from the computer resulted in a very long hiatus for this blog. I'm back, for anyone still interested.

Loads of observations and insights on a chaotic trip to India coming your way soon...

Being counted when it counts

Cricinfo has a great article here .

Bloody-mindedness is more important than mere skills and talent. I think Rahul Dravid has it. Dhoni exhibits it from time to time, and Dinesh Karthik's looking veryyy promising. Stick-to-it-iveness is a quality that is often unnoticed and mostly under-appreciated.

If you can do it when the chips are down, the world is yours to conquer.

Edit: corrected the Karthik from Murali to Dinesh

R.I.P.

Audioslave, a personal favorite in the modern/alternative rock genre is splitting.

It's sad and kinda maddening. It took me a while to start liking a band in the present set enough to buy their albums. In the last six months, I've heard and liked quite a few tracks off Audioslave's debut release "Audioslave"and their second record "Out of Exile." Now they go and split up.

Well, it was a good run while it lasted.

Rage Against the Machine (75% of RATM became Audioslave, and they're going back) is re-uniting, though I personally preferred the introspective Chris Cornell over the perpetually angry Zack DeLaRocha.

A good thing is that this means there'll be more to listen to from Tom Morello ( lead guitarist) . I sometimes hope he goes solo or teams up with some other artists to expand his horizons. He is one guitarist for the ages.

Recommended Listening:

From Audioslave

"Show me how to live"

"Gasoline"

"Like a stone"

From Out of Exile

"Your time has come"

"Dandelion"

Want to see:

Black Friday
The Prestige (it's been out forever, I know *sigh*)
Guru (let me judge for myself if it's good or not)

Need:

Some time to breathe ( is it 2 AM or 2PM? Is it friday yet? Can I sleep in this weekend?)

Desperately looking forward to:

That vacation

Whither safety?

After this, it'd be really galling of the Aussies or the Poms to protest about safety conditions in the sub-continent or Africa.

There's a sickening, grinding noise.

"Did you see the Super bowl yesterday?"

"No. When was it? Maybe that was why traffic was so low when I was driving yesterday!"

More scraping noises. Clinking, as enamel meets steel. There's some unnerving cracking noise thrown in for good measure.

"We're almost done here. You doing OK there?"

I raise my hand, though obviously I'm not. There's intense irritation. A visceral urge to get up and walk away. 'Discomfort' doesn't quite cut it. My hair's on end, fingers curled up into fists. Nothing really scares me, but it doesn't take much to raise my hackles.

Suddenly, I'm less wise.

Life is good

The simple moments that make me happy.

- Not waking up late on a saturday morning. The weekend then seems so full of possibilities.

- Sunlight gleaming off my car after it comes out of the car wash.

- That aroma of coffee as I walk into a coffeeshop

- Speaking of coffee, the Mochas they serve at the drive-thru on Dexter Avenue.

- That stolen moment of clarity in the midst of this muddle. (Don't ask me what that means, it only comes to me occasionally)

Music Lust

Previously, book lust or something similar

There are places you do not venture into unless you know no buyer's remorse.

For fashionistas, it may be the mall (for some friends, it's a shoe store). For bookworms, it's the really great bookstore (yes, I succumb to that, but I think the library helps a bit there).

For me, it's a Used CD store. The last trip just to check one out in my area saw me walking out with four CDs, lighter in the pocket. With a song on my lips.

When you find that CD that you've heard of a lot of times but never heard, and it's up for sale at the all-too-tempting price of 60% off brand-new retail, it's hard to pass. Acquisitions on this trip:

Sarah McLachlan - Solace - "Building a Mystery" and "Sweet Surrender" among others.

Soundgarden - A-sides. The best of the grunge movement. The Seattle sound, as it was. "Feel the rhythm with your bones."

Gypsy Kings - The Best of . I've got a thing for flamenco, spanish guitar et al going now. Rodrigo y Gabriela started it, and it won't get out of my head now.

Dire Straits - Money for Nothing . I've already plopped down Rs. 100 for the cassette a few years back, and 125 for one of "Sultans of Swing -The Very Best of Dire Straits." I went to see Mark Knopfler perform ($70) and blew $30 on a t-shirt at the show. But seeing Knopfler do "Telegraph Road" and "Sultans of Swing" live? Priceless.

"Change is inevitable.
Growth isn't."

- seen on a bumper sticker.

The quest

CAR, this one's for you. And for you, DQ.

I don't claim to have any answers. This post may be too academic and even unrelated to what is going on in your lives. But I hope it offers some food for thought.

I read David Brooks' delightful social commentary/satire book "Bobos in Paradise" a couple of weeks back. Bobos is 'BOurgeois BOhemians' and describes today's elite - people who have gotten their wealth from their intellect. This class is different from the wealthy classes (the Bourgeois) and the intellectuals (the Bohemians) of the past. Back then, money was inherited, and intellect didn't bring in any. Today, the number of smart people raking in money is high, and has resulted in the formation of an elite which still struggles to retain bohemian values and reconcile it with an increasingly bourgeois lifestyle.

Expounding on bobo behavior, Brooks pokes fun at bobo behavior in various spheres of social life - consumption, work, play and how bobos bring their unique world view into all this.

However, the most illuminating passages of the book come up when he talks about bobo views on beliefs and their spirituality:

"These people talk about tradition, roots and community, but they are just paying lip service to these virtues. When push comes to shove, they always choose personal choice over other commitments. They move out of communities when a better job comes along. They abandon traditions and rules they find tiresome. They divorce when their marriages become unpleasant. They leave their company when they get bored. ...

... And this is self defeating, because at the end of all this movement and freedom and self-exploration, they find they have nothing deep and lasting to hold on to."

It's something I've wondered about in the past too. As we increasingly try to fit in an individualist society, are we losing track of what matters? Do we as a generation have anything to ground us, or are so many of us increasingly adrift?

I personally see quarter-life crisis as a first, early manifestation of these questions. You are at a point where you are trying to define meaning for your life, away from the insane goal-oriented pressure of college and grad school. Once you settle into a job, meeting career goals becomes your day job and you need to make a life outside of it. Answers are not easy to come by. Finding something to latch on to is a challenge. Religion may cut it for some people, while not for others. Being an immigrant probably makes it harder as your life is even more individual than you probably prefer it to be.

Of course I don't have all the answers, but I've found the simple things that make my life work better. I can still see how CAR's post defined what I felt a couple of years back really well. I can't say the same anymore.

Maybe there's something about adding those candles to your birthday cake. Maybe it's just that I discovered a greater willingness to push for and find something that would give me clarity.

Maybe I'm clueless and have no idea about what I'm talking about :-).

Words

Say them. Feel the way the syllables form and curl around your tongue. Watch them turn cartwheels and somersaults across the arena of your imagination. Smell them. Taste them. Delight in the pure joy that comes from a metaphor well-used or a comment well-directed.

Dare stop the tears that well in your eyes when Steinbeck's characters hold their heads high in The Grapes of Wrath. Try suppressing that giggle as Bertie Wooster bumbles again, and sniff in contempt as Jeeves saves the day again. Gaze agape at the fount of fables that is Neil Gaiman.

Why stop at reading? Stand tall when you deliver that impeccably worded one-liner with a smirk on your lips. Cringe when someone uses the same three adjectives all the time to describe completely unrelated things. Distill some of what you read (nay, drink, imbibe) into something of your own.

Try and make them stand on their own feet. OK. Maybe you are ambitious. Try and make them do their own stunts.

Use them. Respect them as they are your best friends. And your worst enemies.

EOY Blues, Windocalypse and a tune for the times

It's that time of the year again. December is when work begins to winds down in anticipation of Yuletide spirit and new beginnings. Colleagues and friends head out on holidays, and for the third successive winter, I stay put, albeit for happier reasons.

Going to grocery stores is hazardous, since hearing It's the most wonderful time or Let it snow one more time may cause that vein throbbing in my head to finally explode.

Of course, it's not all bad. Unexpected snow and lit-up skies in the early part of the month helped a bit. So did the sudden surge in the sheer amount of busy-ness at work which has left me with very little time to gripe. Add the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and a gourmet experience that had been on the agenda for a while, and this December is suddenly looking up. S.I.'s visit provided for much fun, and I survived Windocalypse 2006 fully unharmed. (A day of no showering doesn't count).

And, there are notable exceptions to the Christmas song rule. One of them is Sarah McLachlan's rendition of Joni Mitchell's River. Sarah's dreamy voice is the kind to launch a million ships.

She makes the beautifully written song stand on its own two feet, and I can almost see a frozen river someplace in the Midwest, with a frail, forlorn figure skating alone on it. The song isn't about the Christmas spirit. Far from it. That's why it's odd that it's a Christmas favorite, especially since it's been seemingly covered so many times. It sounds right, though.

 

 

The Windows Source Tree, and other insights

Joel Spolsky has good things to say about the Windows source-code tree.

(As always, I speak for myself and not for Microsoft)

There's always talk about how incredibly difficult managing such a hierarchical structure must be and how slowly changes propagate across branches and so on. It's not as bad as it looks because while there is process involved, the most important thing is the product. Important changes are fast-tracked to ensure everyone gets them earlier. Breaking changes (like, say a change to the XML library) are announced throughout the Windows team, making sure everyone calling into it has enough head-time to ensure they're compatible. Anything that'll affect the product quality, usability and development speed is prioritized across branches and source trees. Looking at it as a static, purely process-driven system run by PHBs does it (and the people who make it work) a disservice.

Of course, the system isn't perfect. It's an ongoing process, and we have to see how it can be improved on to make sure we do better and our ship cycles shorten.

Joel link via Ari's blog, who also points to some failings in the system.

Joel also criticizes the 'Shutdown' menu in Windows Vista. I agree grudgingly. On my laptop, the 'Sleep' option is darked out so I can't use it. Fast user switching is great if more than one persion is using the same machine (say, in a family) and some of the ideas Joel gives don't work with existing hardware, or with all of Microsoft's hardware vendors.  There's more to these options than meets the eye, and I wish someone on one of these teams would post an explanation which may help us understand these decisions better. I didn't find anything when I looked.

The Matrix has you

A cold, surprisingly dry winter's night. It's a lonely office complex building with dried leaves all around. The wind blows harder than it normally does, disturbing the leaves. They fly around causing small swirls, mini-typhoons all by themselves. The rustling is loud.

There's a lone figure walking out into this quiet storm. 

I can almost hear the subway train passing by. And a voice from left off-screen. "Mr. Anderson...".