Movies in Pheonix....

So I have been laid back for the the past few days...

I was at a friend's in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a nice place. In the middle of the dessert...:p (i wish...)

Anyway, so having nothing much to do than to wander around a bit, we decided to watch some movies...

I manage to watch like 10+ movies in 3 days...

For those interested....

1)Dil Chahta Hai....once again...I had watched like 4 times in 2 days the last time I was in US...:p

2)Kya Cool Hain Hum.... not that cool...

3)Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi.... really brilliant movie...

4)Meenaxi...great music...but not for the non-Lit ppl here....

5)American Born Confused Desi..... there are some really confused ppl here

6)American Chai....OK I guess...But I am not a big fan of tea...

7)Flavours.... Really great ABCD movie...

8)Mein, Meri Bewi, or Woh... Another nice movie... very subtle but makes a lot of impact...

9)Bollywood Hollywood... kinda melodramatic... Not as funny as expected...

10)... Dun remember the rest...


So now.. back to LA....and then to LV...:P:P:P

Merry Christmas.....

Merry Christmas..... To all of you!!!

No time 2 blog now.... Updates coming soon...

Of Looong flights and laid back holidays.....

OK. So after a reallly long and boring flight I am finally here.
The movies were crappy, the screen resolution absolutely sucked.
They took out most of the cool games from the games selection.
The food was OK, but 3 meals in 16hrs is too much, esp. if all you do is to sit and/or sleep.

I remember I had once(when I was like 5-6) wowed vowed that I would never travel to US, unless there was a faster way to go there. Sigh....I should keep more promises.....

Anyway, so at LA, I had like a 7hrs wait for the next flight. That was long, boring and at the end the flight was delayed...&*^@#%^&

I was sleep, bored, hungry and desperatly trying to keep awake. So I decided to indulge in a large cup of pure all-American capitalism....:P:P

OK. So I was really bored.

The nice thing though was when I saw this.

The wonders of technology. Not that its anything new, but I felt the power of technology when I realised that I was in touch with anyone and everyone I knew through this peice of tech... Amazing isn't it? Just bring it there and it works!! Seems pretty simple at first, but then when u think of all the mechanisms that have to work for this to happen, it just great.

Long live technology....

More updates from a very laid back trip to Pheonix soon.....

Adios....

Off I go.... I hope to be able to blog while I am away.... Lets see how.....

Holidays......Boon or Bane????

I never figure out whether I like holidays or hate them!!

I mean its all nice to be free and stuff, but its soooo boring. I mean you do all the standard holiday activities for like a week or two...and then what??? Holidays are boring....

Whats worst is this holidays that I am havings. It's not boring but it is driving me crazy. For once, I have planned a trip to go overseas during the holidays with my family. Now, this will drive some people crazy with jealousy, but I am not feeling anything closed to satisfaction or content or for that matter happiness.

On the other hand I am feeling very conscious of the fact that I am leaving my undone FYP behind to 'waste time'. There is a lot of work to be done and there are important deadlines in January. Sigh....

But I can't cancel the trip because its gonna be wonderful(I get to meet many cousins, aunts and uncles and old friends) and also cos I have already paid for it....

Now, I wish that the holidays ceased to exit and we could work all year round...

OK. Blast me all you want, but this is how I feel......

Sigh...

Sigh... No mood to blog....

No time either.

If you need entertainment please visit my friends blogs....

Piya tora kaisa abhimaan

Piya tora kaisa abhimaan,

Sagan saawan laayi, kadam bahaar,
Mathura se doli laaye, chaaron kahaar

Nahi aaaye, Nahi aaaye
Kesariyaa balamaa hamaar
Angana badaa sun saan

Piya tora kaisa abhimaan

Apne nayan se, neer bahaaye
Apnee jamuna khud, aap hi banaave
Laakh baar usme hi nahaye
Poora na hoyi asnaan
Sookhe kes, rookhe bhes
Manwaa bejaan

Piya tora kaisa abhimaan

Bol sakhi kaahe kari saajo singaar
Na pahinaba ab sanaa kaanchana haar
Khali chandan lagaao angmaa hamaar
Chandan garala samaan....

-Rituparno Ghosh, 'Raincoat'

If I dig a very deep hole, where I end up??

I always wondered this.

http://www.digtootherside.cjb.net/

Now I know, somewhere in Equador, in the middle of a forest....

Nice way to travel to South America huh??

Njoy....

Canon....Now that's what I call customer service...

So....my Canon digi-cam was screwed.. For some reasons, since like 2 weeks ago, it started showing me a blank screen. The menu could be seen but nothing from the lens. The pictures that I took also turned out to be blank. Seemed like a CCD problem.

But because it was "That time of the year" I did to try to get it repaired untill today. I was also a bit hesitant since the warranty was only untill last month. The cam is freaking cheapo, din wanna spend like 1/2 its price for repairs.

Actually I had heard something about many cam companies calling back their cams for damaged CCDs. But hadn't heard about Canon.

Anyways, so I go to Canon Service and Repair today. Its at Harbour Front. This is how it went...:P

Me: Umm... The problem with this cam is that it...

Lady at the counter (LATC): Has a blank screen?

Me: Umm Ya! (How does she know??)

LATC: OK. Its a CCD problem. We'll repair it for you FoC

Me: OK! Thats Cool.

LATC: Oh, but we dont have the stock for the CCDs. They wont be arriving till January.

Me: Oh! (Damn it...that means I need to buy a new cam for the trip in Dec???..)

LATC: But, we will loan you a camera till then!

Me: Huh?? Really??(Oooops did I just say that??) Cool!

LATC: Just fill this up...

(Followed by lots of paper work. How I wish they have some kinda RFID/NFC tech to grab all my usefull data that I authorize....:P:P)

LATC: Since you had a A310, and thats out of production, we will loan you a A410.

Me: OK!! (Yipeee!!!)

(A lot more paper work)

LATC: Ok. Here is your new cam. Thanks. We'll sms you when your cam is ready. Just bring back this cam as it is

Me: Sure. Thanks.... (Smirks...)

Seems like its a very common problem. Saw a lot of people carry away replacement cams. Here is the notice that Canon has given me. Seems like really a lot of people affected.

So if you own a Canon cam. Check if you can get the CCD replaced. Its only untill 31st Dec 2005.

I have to agree that the customer service is great. Reminds me of Fujitsu in a way...

I just I have one question for them... Can I keep it???...pls pls pls.....

Bored????

Bored???

Here is something to do...

http://files.deviantart.com/f/2004/188/8/7/gridgame.swf

Try to beat my max score of 1460 1661!!!....:P:P

Give Away...

Hello!!

I am giving away a few things. If you are interested in any of the following things, contact me.

(Hehe. Mostly academic stuff.... Semester end what.... :P:P)


1.EE3207 Computer Architecture ==> Lecture Notes + Text (Computer Architecture , Mano)

2.EE4214 Real Time Embedded Systems ==>Lecture Notes + Text (Real Time Software Primer, Simon)+Exam Papers!

3.GEM1519 Science of Music ==> Lecture Notes

4.EE4103 Coding Theory and Applications ==> Lecture Notes + Really really minuscule Cheatsheet...

5.Serenity movie Poster. (Its new, untouched and pretty large)


Things that are not cleared out by next week will be burnt in my semi-anual notes burning cermony.... All are invited...:P:P

'Tis Done.....

Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeee.............


"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well" -Billy Shakespeare

Outside my window....

I hate this weather....

I look outside my window and its soo dark and dreary. Reminds me of the start of winter when I was in Denmark.

It was dark....cold.....and wet!...Still sends shivers down my spine....I remember that I did not see the Sun for like 3 weeks straight. The Sun was not supposed to rise by 10am and was supposed to set at like 3pm. But most of the time it was overcast and the Sun couldnt peer through at all...

It was soooo depressing. I couldnt go out, it was getting really cold and I couldn't even look out of my window to waste time (It was just too depressing). Whats worst was my laptop had died on me and I was w/o a computer the whole time.....

I couldn't believe that weather could affect the mood (or the sanity)of a person so much. But, when I was there I could understand why the sucide rates in the Scandinavian countries sky-rocket in winter.

I have a photo of that dark and dreary sky somewhere....I'll post it up when I find it...

I hope I can see the sun later today.....or tomorrow.. Good old Sun.....

From MP3 to SLS...

Now for some techie stuff...:P:P

Recently, I have been to exposed to a lot of good techie stuff. There were some really cool seminars/tutorials in I2R. And me being the me....I had to go for all, even when they were during exam period. I feel that such things should matter more than exams. But anyway...

So the highlight were these talks by Dr. Jürgen Herre from Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS). He has been contributing to MPEG audio standards since the time of MPEG-1. So he's like pretty big in the field.

The talks were so cool. He talked abt the evolution of the MPEG standards. Its really amazing to see that. I mean how much progress people have made!!! Whats even more amazing is the amount of efforts that have been put in in these things!

For the un-initiated, MPEG-1 or specifically MPEG-1 Layer 3 is what u know as mp3.

In the talk Dr. Jürgen was talking abt the latest MPEG standards. The MPEG-4. For general audio, one can acheive 'good quality'....rather acceptably good quality at as low as 24kbps!!! And he demo-ed it. And it sounded nice. A bit synth, but that's if you are very very picky about things. But come on....for 24kbps....i'd take that anyday.....

Today Dr. Jürgen had a 'tutorial' about Multi-Channel encoding. The stuff they do so that you can have ur precious 5.1 audio over channels ment for stereo or mono.....Another amazing field. Man I wish I could understand 1/2 the stuff that they were talking about. I mean I kinda got it but not fully. There is so much that people have done. MPEG-Surround the new standards that is gives 'good quality' 5.1 in as low as 42kbps!!! Just amazing...

Parametric Coding is the way to go!!!!....(Ner mind if you dont get it. Else ask me....if you dare...)

I am so gratefull to I2R allowing me to do my FYP there. I get a chance to meet and rub shoulder(in a figurative way) with all these great ppl....I hope I2R has more such cool talks...

Anyway, so much for MPEG and mp3s. I still prefer my ATRAC...so back to my Mini-Disk....:P:P

Exchange!!!!!

OK. This is too much...

I suddenly have this urge to go on Exchange again. Rather to go back to Danmark and study as an exchange student in DTU. Og , selvfølgelig læse Dansk, en gang tid....All over Again!!!

I mean it was soooo coool. All the people I met there. All the adventures that we had. All the places we visited. And of course all the parties that we had. I am missing it.

What sucks....is looking at people blogging from exchange and feeling jealous. Especially so when you have been to places that they are blogging from. Its like..."I know that. I have seen that. I was standing right over there!!!!"

Man, I am sure all those who have been on exchange will agree, hands down... the best time for your Uni-life.

Now my friends are asking me to visit them again!!! Oh man, I am soooo tempted to go back. How I wish I could just heck these exams and tour around Europe for a whole month, or maybe two or more...:P:P

My friends are asking me to make plans for next summer to Italy or Greece. I wanna go!! But I really doubt I will. Jobs and stuff would have started then. So I guess not for 3 more years then. Thats too late then.... But then where is Europe going. It will always be there as it is. So there is no hurry.

OK! Anyway, I will surely go one day. Like I said to so many of my friends from Denmark, "I promise to come back, some day". Hope that 'some day' does happen some day....

As Momo said... Till Next....

Its that time again....

Oh yippiee...

Its that time of the year again.....

The time when you :

1. argue with ur best friend that exams don't make sense...

2. wonder if there is any point in mugging millions of pages of stuff that does not make sense..

3. wonder if you are in the wrong course (never wondered that...at least...:P:P)

4. wonder why they never let you print out your cheat-sheets. (I mean they let you cheat anyway right)

5. toss a coin to decide which of the chapters you should read before the exam (I personally dont trust those coins....I have other ways)

6. wonder what would really happen if you put all 'B' for you MCQ exams...

7. tell yourslef that the only reason you find it difficult this time around is because you didnt study consistently from the start of the sem. And next sem you surely will.

8. dream about the time when you had so much fun in the lecture with your friends...while trying to think of what the professor was trying to say.

9. hope that there is webcast for this course....

10. wonder how to finish watching 24hrs worth of webcast before the exam in the afternooon...

11. wonder what you are still doing in NUS...

12. wonder where you put that "Withdrawl from University" form....


Well... For those who need it and for all the other over-acheivers who don't....

Good Luck!!!

Sleep....Where art thou???

This absolutely sucks....

I was not feeling so well, so I decided to sleep early today!! I have been sleeping pretty late for the past week, so this is like a big deal.

I try to sleep and I cant seem to fall asleep!!....Ahhhhhhhhhhh

Was tossing and turning for an hour. So I decided to listen to some music to help me sleep...

Thats when I realised that I had left my headphones at home! Man....

So I listened to an Engadget podcast....Though listening to all that tecky stuff would 'bore' me to sleep.....But guess what.....now I am more awake than before!

And I hate this state. My brain seems to be needing the sleep. It's like working at 50%. But my body does not wanna sleep.....

Sigh...I think I'll just blog some great link that I found....


1. Ever wanted to own a microscope?? I rem I used to have one, but this one is way cooler...

2. "PodLocker promises security, delivers torn pants..."

3. Smart Fire Alarm....Is it me or do you think that the neural network is a bit of an overkill????

4. A tea serving robot!!! Man...wastage of technology.....

5. Zeno zit zapper... Whatever man....


To receive new about all these 'cool' gadgets everyday, subscribe to Engadget RSS Feed

OK....Now I shall go back to trying to sleep again....

Back....

OK! I am back...

Whew....what a ride!!

3 days, 2 countries, 3 cities, 5 great meals, 6 boring hours in bus and 8 in the plane.

It was really fun though. Got to meet almost all my cousins and relatives since all were invited for my neice's Barsa (naming ceremony). She was named Tanaya! And she is very cute. Take a look.

So everyone was saying that she looks like my mom. Especially the nose and the cheeks... All I can say that she indeed lacks a 'proper nose' and thus is a member of the "Sans Nose" group of our family! Hehe....

OK! now enough. I should get back to work. There are heaps and heaps of it lying before me. :'(

Hasta La Vista....

Off I Go.....

I don't think I can blog from Pune. Probably won't have the time.

Down the memory lane....

Update : Found the lyrics for Mile Sur Mera Tumhara... So now you can sing along in ALL the languages too!!!

I should try to learn that, then I can say at least one phrase in each of the languages.

---

I was surfing around when I bumped into these. Stuff that used to be on TV when I was in India. This is pure Nostalgia....

Really brought back many many memories. The TV shows that I used to watch. They had this one called "Giant Robot". Found out that it was actually called "Johnny Sokko and his Amazing Flying Robot!". Found some description and pics here

Then there was "The Jungle Book" dubbed in Hindi. The best part was the title song. It went something like, "Chaddi pahen ke phool khila hai phool khila hai" Rough translation is, "A shorts wearing flower has bloomed "... :S:S. Cant seem to find much about it. The names of the characters were changed though. Some of them were hillarious.

And then there were these animations. They were like PSAs but just look at the quality of animation. Just soo cool that one can still find them still. This one: Ek, Anek and Ekta was very pupolar...

Who can forget the songs about multicultural unity. It was so fun to hear all the various languages from India, see all the famous people on TV. I'd wait untill they sang in Marathi and get really excited. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the videos. If anyone has them, please contact me. Would really like to see them again....

I found Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and Baje Sargam originals on mp3s though. Thanks to the guys at "Rtp Desis"..

And finally, this hillarious remake of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara by people from MIT. Its awesome. Man ....do these people ever work??

And by students of UTA....this one is cooler...I think...

Njoy...

Mixed Feeling??...You bet

It is said that the best example of a mixed feeling is when :

"your mother-in-law drives your new Alfa-159 over a cliff"

(Personalised for NTT).

For me, this week is as mixed as it can get. On one hand I have tons of work to do. On the the other hand I am going to Pune! The worst part is that my weekend trip to Pune is not going to help reduce the work that I have to do.....:'(

But then, I get to meet the cutest girl in the world....:P:P

Sigh...I dread next week. I am going to drown in work.....

But then, a weekend in Pune would be a refreshing change.....maybe thats what I need....

But, my project mates aren't going to be too happy are they??


Thats mixed feeling for you..... Bet it cant get worst than that...can it?

When it Rains...it Pours!!!

That was the title of a Tabletopic at the last NUSTM meeting.

The person who attempted it was unable to speak about it. But I can...

That my life.....:'(

Life was OK last week. Things going on. Slow but steady. And then suddenly today, it starts pouring like never.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I have like a million things to do now and NO time.....

I want more time... Maybe I should try out Uberman Sleep. But that would like give me 3-4 hours more per day. Not enuff!!!

How??? Someone help......pls......

On a more natural note about pouring. Its really gonna pour in Singapore for the next month. Thats what the weatherman says....

Dasaryachya Shubheccha!!

Sarva Mandaleenna Dasaryachya Shubheccha!!

(cant seem to find my Marathi Fonts)....

Geeks R Us!!!

I found this list of Geek Quotes...

Though I'd rate my own...... Though, I dont think I am qualified to be a Geek...

Anyway here goes...

10.I'm not anti-social; I'm just not user friendly.

9.My pokemon bring all the nerds to the yard, and they're like you wanna trade cards? Darn right, I wanna trade cards, I'll trade this but not my Charizard.

8.A thousand words are worth a picture, and they load a heck of a lot faster.

7.Absolute addressing corrupts absolutely!

6.I spent a minute looking at my own code by accident. I was thinking "What the hell is this guy doing?"

5.People say that if you play Microsoft CD's backwards, you hear satanic things, but that's nothing, because if you play them forwards, they install Windows!!

4.I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code.
(LOL...Sooooo true)

3.You know it's love when you memorize her IP address to skip DNS overhead.
(Absolutely!!)

2.There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.
(Which of the 10 type are u?)

1.Roses are #FF0000
Violets are #0000FF
All my base
Are belong to you!!!
(Pwns all others!!)

Nature knows no Borders...

I am really saddened by the recent earthquake in Northern India and Pakistan. It's really a tragic thing.

Though such events can't be prevented, I feel sad for the people from that region. And even prediction of such, cannot help much since the power of Nature is overwhelming.

What is even saddening is that the region of Kashmir has never seen peace for eons now. I mean I have always heard of the beauty of the Kashmir valley, but it seems that that, is now a thing of the distant memories.

Just when things seem to get a little better for the people, nature decided to unleash its wrath on them. All I can say is.... Nasheeb....

We can learn one thing from this though....Nature does not know borders. It's a human concept. A concept created by those who wanted power and control over others. A natural tragedy like this though can strike over borders, not differentiating between any state, any province, any country, just dealing equal damage to all.

It seems that this event may bring the neighbours closer. Its a pity that such tragic happenings are required to generate friendships between two neighbours. Ah well, beggars cant be choosers.

I hope one day, I will get to see the beautiful Kashmir valley again.....

Of Really Sucky Days.....

Not the worst day....but quite close to it.

*I had slept late and unsatisfied....unable to get any leads on the archi project.....

*Went to have Dosa for breakfast at engin.....Sold Out.....

*My name was called by one prof. and my test results read out to the whole lecture....:$..paiseh lah..

*The freaking bus had to come just then......Its fate I tell U.....

*My favourite headphone muffs decided to die on me today.....

*Found out that I will have to share my Linux machine at I2R with my friend....

*Waited for ISB back from I2R for like 15mins

*Worked on RT for like 6hrs with no result.....stupid RTAI

I hate these days....nothing goes right....

Another unsatisfied nite...

Cool Images.....

I have no knowledge in Computer Gaphics and stuff like that. But this site is absolutely cool.

Its called CG Channel.

Check out this image. Drawn exclusively on photoshop using bushes all the way. Cool stuff....

ECE Professors....

Today, I am NOT going to bitch about the professors from ECE. I think we have had enough of that. Instead, I am going to praise them today! (OMG!! Is that even possible??).

By the grace of god, our department is blessed with a few souls whom I respect with all my heart. How I wish we had more of them....

One of these, is my professor for my EE4**** module from "Communications" concentration. His aim for the course is not to finish the syllabus and satisfy the department guidelines.

He genuinely wants us to learn.(Isn't that unbelievable??) To ease our pressure and to allow us to understand the subject, he cut down the syllabus vigiorouly (and I mean like by 50%).

Not only that, he explains things again and again when we don't get them. For that course, we only get like 10% of the things after the 1st pass. So, that is a great benefit. How I wish some other profs. did that...

Finally, this is what happened today....

*I was having dinner with a friend when I feel a tap on my shoulder.

*I turn around to see my prof!!!

*Uhh...I blurt out a 'Hi'! (Not very polite I say to myslef)

*He starts asking me how I was faring me with the module and all.

*I am soo lost for words. I mean I am so not used to talking casually with profs. (Reminds me of the time when I was in Denmark. There you have to address the profs. by their 1st name. Took me like a whole month to get used to that.)

*So anyway, the prof. asks me about the last chapter that we studies in the lecture and how I felt about it(It was a tough one).

*Then he asks if he should revise it with the class so that we can understand it better.

*I try to give some "pollitically correct" answers. Utterly confused I somehow manage to end the conversation.....

Sigh what a ride!!!

Whats worst, is that prof. thinks I am really good at this module, since I ask him a lot of 'good' qns and I managed to finish the test in like 1/2 the given time.

Well....here is the truth revealed for you....

1. I hang out this dude who is really good in mathematics and all. He always asks 'good' qns. Not me...I just tag along....
2. I blanked out around 1/2 the time through the test....Thus, I stopped writing....I had not finished. I was not even finished in the end...:(

Anyway....Kudos to you Sir..... You shall be my vote for the best prof. this sem....

Headphones for Dogs....and Whales????

Alright...

So I am looking for a nice pair of headphones. Not too expensive, but something that gives a nice flat frequency response and undistorted sound at considerably high levels.

With some help I managed to shortlist the Sennheiser HD497.

I was looking for it at a Best Denki store when I chanced upon another headphone from another brand (I seem to forgotten the brand and the model). The technical specs read,"

"Frequency response 20-30000 Hz"

What???

30000Hz???

Werent we taught in like secondary that a human ear can only hear between 20-20kHz??

My course in Acoustic (at DTU) also taught me that human hearing was even worst than what was taught in secondary school. To actually hear a sound at 20kHz, you need to a sound that is as loud as a jet engin!!!!

So what do we do with a headphone that can give out a 30000kHz frequency??

What's funier is that most of Sony's headphones sport a frequency response of more than 22kHz! And the more $$ you pay for the pair the more in-audible frequencies your headphones can output!!!

This is exemplified in the Sony MDR-SA5000. Costs US$ 699.99!!! Boasts a frequency response of 5-110,000Hz!!!! And there is no typo here, its "a hundred and ten kilo Hertz"!!!!!!!

The only reason I can think of is that with such headphones, you can not only listen yourself, but let your dog listen as well!!!!

So next time your dog (or your whale) seems bored, go get it a pair of Sony/Sennheiser headphones. And both of you can enjoy the music!

Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

Pardon my French.....

I watched this movie again yesterday. (Please dont ask me why I am watching movies...:$)

I still find it a very amazing movie. Its a really simple story about an amazing lady named Amélie Poulain. She is played by the lovable Audrey Tautou. The best part is, at the end you feel very nice, very elated. The beauty lies in the simplicity of the movie. The There is no drama, no crying, no fighting, no Kutte...Mein tera khoon pee jaaungaa.

There is this really descriptive and yet captivating narration in many scenes. The jokes are hillarious and the music by Yann Tiersen.... What can I say about the music? You have to listen to it and tell me.

I saw the French version and I feel that its better than the English one. Of course, I don't know much French (You probably don't want to hear the French words that I know..;)) but then what are the sub-titles for??? Also the French language just adds to the simplicity and naiveness of the movie.

I am generally not a big fan of movies, but this is one of my favourite.

So, do watch it if you get a chance (or a torrent...:P:P). And try to watch the French version.

Au Revoir...

Of Morons and Reservations...

I never understand some people. And NO, I am not talking about politicians or that new lecturer in your lvl 3000 class .

I am talking about people who do moronic things and instead of just stopping there...do they advertise their moronic actions..... Let me exemplify what I mean.

I saw this a couple of days ago on the door of my dorm's (PGP) common "Reading Room".

I mean how stupid can anyone get??? And even if you do something stupid, you dont have to tell the whole world about it....

From the dawn of time there have been notices warning residents not to leave their belongings and especially books in the reading rooms. But, every semester, especially nearer to the exams ALL the tables in ALL the Reading Rooms in my dorm are 'reserved' by people leaving their books on them.

Not that I ever study in these Reading Rooms, but I find this action very annoying. Its not fair for anyone who does not find an empty table on the 1st day. He'd probably not find one ever again.

Once.....me and my friend were contemplating on switching the books on different tables just to irritate those who had 'reserved' the tables... The Reading Room was totally empty with around 30 books on the 10+ tables. Would have been a nice mix and match game huh???

What's funny is that small scribble, at the bottom right corner, on the paper. I have blown it up. Here you go!

So do I...my dear friend....so do I....


Speaking about reservations...did you notice how people 'reserve' seats in canteens. And I emphasise, HOW?? I don't want to talk abt whether one should reserve seats at all. Thats a touchy topic.

But, I have noticed people 'reserving' seats in canteens with tissue paper packet. That is ridiculous. If that's not bad enuff, I have seen a table in the Arts Canteen reserved by a wallet and a mobile phone!!!!(I am not lying...I have a witness. )

And I am just lost for words.....

The Music...The Magic....The Man

Saturday, 24th September 2005.

This day I will remember for the rest of my life (Doesn't count if I forget about it when I am really really old).

It was the day when I met one of the greatest there has ever been, at least for me. His music has enthralled, captivated, fascinated, mersmerised (Ok I am running out of verbs) me! The simplicity and at the same time the complexity of his music is brilliant. No one has ever created such beautiful mix of various kinds of music as the man. One of the most dynamic musicians that has ever given music in Indian Movies, and for that matter anywhere in the world.

(Enuff description now. I am sure you guys are bored by all the description).

He's the one and the only, A. R. Rahman!

The concert, A. R. Rahman, The 3rd Dimensional Tour was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Supposedly 8000 people attended it. Not surprising for the man himself. I am yet to find someone who absolutely doesn't like Rahman's music (If any of you falling in that category, pls shout out!).

The concert was absolutely astounding. I mean,
1. There was A.R.Rahman
2. There he was...playing his music
3. There were exteremly talented people playing/singing with him!

What else could I ask for??

I mean Tya concert nantar maaze mann agdi trupta zhaale.

There was one thing though, that I was not too happy about. In one of the brochures for the concert, they said "They will perform hits like Chak De from Hum Tum, Nahin Samne from Taal and Yun Hi Chala Chala from Swades."

Two things.
1. Since when did Rahman do the music for Hum Tum??? I mean when you are making a brochure for such an event you have to take at least that much care! COME ON! I am just :@ that people linked the music of Hum Tum with Rahman.

2. They did not perform Nahin Samne in the concert....:'( That track is, for me, Rahman's best compostion! Sung even more brilliantly by Hariharan. I was very very saddened.

However, the concert did save itself right from the start! There was some crap from the sponsers which was not very well accepted by the audiance. The concert started with a big bang and firework. And immediately, Rahman went into Fanaa! What else could I ask for. I was this close to going all crazy.....:$

Rest of the concert was fantastic! Four hours of non-stop entertainment. One of the best four hours of my life. I returned a happy and satisfied person!

What else can I say....

The Man....The Music....The Magic.....

Of Russell Peters and Stereotypes...

Watched a show by this standup commedian Russell Peters yesterday. It was like a clip that my friend sent me. Pretty funny stuff. You guys, try to watch it. You can torrent it.(Thanks to the guys who are hosting it);)

He's got some nice takes on people of different races. I mean it can be a bit crude sometimes but hey, its always good to be able to laugh on yourself and your kind. And if you think he's rude.....Get a life man!!...

The thing that struck me though, was a comment by a friend of mine that all the 'issues' that my man, Russell, brought up were stereotypical. Accepted!..... Not all Indians have such heavy accents and not all Chinese know Kung Fu.... But then my friend says that Russell forgot to mention (and I quote).

"dancing arnd coconut trees"....

Now, that I cannot accept.

My friend did though also say that (and I quote again).

"thats what some ppl tell me....not my idea".

But that does not change the fact that people have this stereotype that Indians in general like to dance around coconut trees. Now, this is supposed have come from movies. That implies one of these three things.

• 1. 'ppl' here have been watching films that dont even last for a day in India.

I salute those soul, I feel for you my brothers. I used to watch something like that 11yrs ago, din have ZeeTV then. Man.... movies with names that don't even make sense. "Roti Dhoti Chaupati". Thats was a real movie name. Though I din make it through the anything after the title.

• 2. Hindi movies have been getting really shitty recently??

I'm not a big fan of movies in general.... So I dare not comment.

• 3. 'ppl' watch movies from decades ago and only find the dance/song sequences interesting thus just remember that

Possible explaination, given the fact that many non-Indians find the dance/song sequences very intriguing.

So where do I stand???...

Good qn.... I say...Rather go for a concert than watch a movie, after all....

its the sound that matters...;)...!!!

To Blog or Not to Blog???

I have been contemplating about blogging for a few months. Its kinda fun, but it needs discipline. The thing that I lack the most. I mean I even had a 'cool' website once,back in secondary school days. Don't know what happened to it. Cant even seem to find it. All I remember was that it was hosted on Geocities, and the address has a "/CapeCanaveral/" inside!!!

So I decide to give it a try. I guess I have to start learning discipline somewhere. Furthermore, its a nice way to stay in touch with friends, and I get to practice my writing. Oh and my HTML as well. Have forgotten that as well. Man! this University, makes you forget everything.....

Anyway, so here is a try at the most hyped thing in town. Hope it works.

nJOy