Do we need a code of conduct?

The other day, someone I know remarked on the use of "copulation" on my other blog. Why not use the common 4-lettered term, was the suggestion. Well, my first thought in response was if my 10-12yr old cousins read this, I don't want to be source for bad words/set a bad example. Not that I don't use 4-lettered words, but I try and keep it to a minimum. Ditto for mudslinging and other forms of incivility. I might disapprove of what you say, but I wont get abusive about the disapproval. With the recent explosion of self-appointed pundits in the blogosphere, people are now proposing a code of conduct. Unfortunately, you can't just pass a bunch of rules to make incivility go away, says Tony Long. And I agree!

In memoriam?

Some bridges just wont let you burn them down. I should have told you, dear friend, that the sight of John Frusciante making that battered guitar wail moved me so.

I'm hoping it'll be Bookends instead!

Home for the weekend

"We don't have to like each other. We're family"

(Claudia, Home for the Holidays)

I'm off for a 4 day trip back home. Have a nice weekend, folks

Damn, I need to see this movie!

Vanaja, a one of a kind movie and probably the first indie Telegu movie. Check it out here, and don't miss reading the Intro and bios of the cast. The director (Rajnesh Domanpalli) has actually roped in real life people and trained them in acting, music and dance to make this picture. Looks like we've found Nagesh Kukkunoor's successor. Amazing venture!! (Thanks Ju, for sending me the link!)

A close encounter of the scary kind

Those of you who are regulars at Nariman Point will know all about the shared cabs that one is forced to take from Churchgate station. Was squashed inside one this morning, when the cabbie decided to take a stupid turn near Mittal Chambers (Towers?? I never get that right). And promptly collided with a bus trying to turn as well. I sat frozen as this bus came right at me and banged into the door on my side. The only thought in my mind was that I was a goner! Thankfully, the bus was rather slow and the driver hit the brakes on time. Lucky me!

Did you know that Alanis has a great sense of humour?

This is hilarious!

Cant Stop

Love the song, love the video. So RHCP!

Can someone mail me the mp3?

In other news, here is a previously unpublished interview with Douglas Adams. Which reminds me, I haven't re-read the Hitchhiker's Guide in a while.

I loved 'em all

Once upon a time, someone who was a friend told me that he would've love The Doors even if Morrison hadn't been a part of the band. I disagreed with him then, and I disagree with him now. Morrison's beautiful lyrics and resonant vocals will always be an integral part of The Doors. But then I'd always admired the way the other 3 members (Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore) made music together. When Jimmy boy was going bonkers on stage, doing his wild shaman routine, the trio got their chance to create some really beautiful music.

It was magic, the way the music just went wild even as their lead singer went about enthralling the crowd. Was Jim doing the other three disservice by distracting the crowd with his antics? I suppose, but then he wasn't a rock god for nothing. While I don't agree with the concept of the 20th Century Doors (I'll make an exception if they rope in Eddie Vedder!) and I absolutely hate the remixes (its blasphemy!), I love them for their wonderful music. If only they'd stop using Morrison lookalikes even as they trumpet that they were the brains behind the music, and stop making fools of themselves!

Microsoft's at it again

I remember attending a lecture by Richard Stallman while I was working as a techie at Hyderabad. Came away enthralled - what passion! For the first time, I understood what free software really meant. Though I've never been an active participant in the free software movement, I try to do my bit. Recently, Microsoft reared its ugly head again, cutting a deal with Novell in November that included a cross-patent protection agreement that some critics say implies Microsoft has legal rights to Linux. The Free Software Foundation is trying to undermine the deal. I hope they are successful!

Update: 29 March 2007, 4:56 pm
St.iGNUcius strikes back!

Hindi

From the new movie - Ek Chalis Ki Last Local.

Would be nice if someone could provide the English translation to the lyrics.

Family of the year!

They come in different varieties - big, small, fractured, strict, mushy, nuclear, joint -but the one thing always glues them together is that they are family. Blood is thicker than water and relatives are always fighting to prove it, goes an old adage. Little Miss Sunshine, arguably amongst the funniest movies of the year, stresses exactly that point with delicious wit.

Olive (Abigail Breslin) is chosen to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in California and the family is left with no option but to drive down from Albuquerque to California in their old VW mini bus. On board are a really obnoxious father (Richard - Greg Kinnear), a high strung mother (Sheryl - the wonderful Toni Collette), a heroin snorting grandfather (Alan Arkin, in his Oscar winning role), a suicidal uncle (Frank - Steve Carrel from The Office) and aspiring pilot brother (Dwayne - Paul Dano).

At first sight, it seems like family can't get any more dysfunctional than the Hoovers. When little Olive orders some ice cream, Richard reminds her that none of the beauty queens are fat. Olive pushes the ice cream away with great longing. Grandpa steps in and starts eating it with great relish. Soon the entire family (excluding Richard) follows suit till Olive steps in to grab her share. The first glimpse of the real love and affection behind the hysteria.

The road is fraught with disaster - the clutch fails and the family invents a really hilarious way of starting the VW, Frank sees his life's achievement (he was the #1 scholar in Proust!) slip away from him, Richard goes bankrupt after his book deal falls through, Dwayne finds out that he cannot fly because he is colourblind and sadly, grandpa overdoses on heroin. The family makes it to the pageant against all odds, which includes stealing grandpa's body from the hospital. When Olive's routine turns out to be a striptease to everybody's horror (choreographed by none other than grandpa!), the family unites for a final stand!

I cannot remember the last time I nearly fell out of the seat laughing. This is not the first movie about a family on a road trip, nor is it literary genius brought to the screen. What works for the movie is that it stays strongly connected to its heart, without trying to make any pronouncements. The Hoovers are a deeply flawed lot, a bunch of losers waddling through their mucky lives. But even as we laugh at them for being such klutzes, we are touched by their humanity.

The movie's cast works amazing well for the storyline. Greg Kinnear, who has been wasted after that silly Oscar nomination, is brilliant here. Here, he gets rid of the As Good As It Gets sweetness and is nothing short of a nightmare as the goal crazy father. Toni Collette is so good that she could have done this in her sleep. I'd like to see her in roles that less deserving Hollywood A-listers usually get! Alan Arkin as the sardonic paterfamilias is a scream - I loved the scene where he gives Dwayne advice on sex and drugs, hilarious! Was kinda disappointed that his character died at halftime. Steve Carell as the depressed uncle Frank is a revelation. Who'd have thought that this guy could act so well in non-Office roles? Paul Dano brings a brand new twist to the troubled teenager - he doesn't talk for most part of the movie but its amazing how much he can convey without saying a word! And when he does talk, his voice breaks out like a fresh mountain stream. Great choice!

But reserve all applause for Abigail Breslin - she is delightful in ways words cannot describe. Her Olive is the glue that holds this family together. I came away astonished at how well one little girl could act. She is a natural in front of the camera, and not once do we get an impression that she's been taught how to act. When her family sends her down to her upset brother, she walks down with baby-girlie steps down the field and puts her head on his shoulder. Made me go - awwww! I wont see Dream Girls, but this little girl will be the true winner for me, even if the Academy thought it fit to give the Oscar to someone else!

Verdict - Delightful!

Champagne Supernova

Actually, its a simulation of the real thing! Watch it here!

Knut will live

I don't understand how people could want to put such a sweet, little thing to sleep. Agreed, he's going to grow into one big bear, but he's a zoo animal anyway. People must be heartless to want to kill an innocent animal. Its good that the Berlin Zoo plans to keep him alive.

Another interesting article: All due respect, "You're Beautiful" kind of makes me want to hurl.

No sex for a million years!

A tiny creature that has not had sex for 100 million years has overturned the theory that animals need to mate to create variety. Analysis of the jaw shapes of bdelloid rotifers, combined with genetic data, revealed that the animals have diversified under pressure of natural selection. (Read the whole article here).

Isn't it amazing how nature works? The most microscopic organism can expose staggering truths about life on earth. I wonder at the patience of the scientists who actually did research on a tiny little microbe that lives on a louse!

In other news, I recently started updating my other blog - about Mumbai life.

Exultation

The wanderings have ceased
The lost traveller has found his path
Music permeates the very fibre of existence
And elevates the soul into the empyrean

Lyrics here.