Barbados vs. Grenada in '94: The Most Bizarre Match Ever | Bleacher Report:
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
evam's The 39 Steps
The following can be considered a sort of a brief review of Chennai based drama company evam's production of The 39 Steps. The show was held at the Music Academy, Chennai, today, the 22nd September, and it began at 7:30 pm.
Cast: Navin Balachandran, TM Karthik, Renu Abraham & Sunil Vishnu K
Directed by Bhargav Ramakrishnan
_________________________________________________________________________________
When you hear that a play is going to be enacted, a play that has seven score characters, and that these hundred and forty characters are going to be played by four actors, you don't believe the folks who are spreading such mindless dribble. So I went to tonight's show with a pinch of salt at the ready. I was right!!! They were swindlers! There weren't four actors. There...were...(drumroll)...FIVE actors!!! And a Car! Damn shame. Damn dear shame, I do declare.
Setting Poe's law aside, evam's take on the play The 39 Steps was, for want of a better adjective, exciting, exhilarating, ethereal, enchanting, entertaining, elevating, emphatic, ecstatic, and eloquent. And entertaining. Did I mention entertaining?
Preparing a play is a difficult job. the actors have to get their lines right, their interactions spot-on, and, for a comedic play, their comedic timing on notch. The production has to make sure that the lights, props, stage...er...stuff has to be at the right place at the right time. For simpler plays that move on a a more sedate pace, this is probably easier for a well-oiled unit. For the crazy rollercoaster ride that is evam's 39 Steps, this becomes a herculean job. (Needs better oil, that is.) And you guys pulled it off! Bravo!
The director's (Bhargav) vision was spot-on, and made the scenes come alive. The backstage unit was on the spot, making the show run smoothly. And the four actors did their job to the hilt. Renu certainly did so, quite literally.
Yes, I know, I have blabbered on a tad more than get-this-insane-guy-off-this-wall-NOW limit. But, as a postscript, I reiterate the point I was trying to make tonight at the post-match conference ... I mean, at the post-drama interaction session : that the accents employed were brilliant! TMK and Renu's Scottish were well done, and Renu's Deutsch was, well, wunderbar!
Yes yes, ok, I'll get off now. Don't have to push me you know.
Cast: Navin Balachandran, TM Karthik, Renu Abraham & Sunil Vishnu K
Directed by Bhargav Ramakrishnan
_________________________________________________________________________________
When you hear that a play is going to be enacted, a play that has seven score characters, and that these hundred and forty characters are going to be played by four actors, you don't believe the folks who are spreading such mindless dribble. So I went to tonight's show with a pinch of salt at the ready. I was right!!! They were swindlers! There weren't four actors. There...were...(drumroll)...FIVE actors!!! And a Car! Damn shame. Damn dear shame, I do declare.
Setting Poe's law aside, evam's take on the play The 39 Steps was, for want of a better adjective, exciting, exhilarating, ethereal, enchanting, entertaining, elevating, emphatic, ecstatic, and eloquent. And entertaining. Did I mention entertaining?
Preparing a play is a difficult job. the actors have to get their lines right, their interactions spot-on, and, for a comedic play, their comedic timing on notch. The production has to make sure that the lights, props, stage...er...stuff has to be at the right place at the right time. For simpler plays that move on a a more sedate pace, this is probably easier for a well-oiled unit. For the crazy rollercoaster ride that is evam's 39 Steps, this becomes a herculean job. (Needs better oil, that is.) And you guys pulled it off! Bravo!
The director's (Bhargav) vision was spot-on, and made the scenes come alive. The backstage unit was on the spot, making the show run smoothly. And the four actors did their job to the hilt. Renu certainly did so, quite literally.
Yes, I know, I have blabbered on a tad more than get-this-insane-guy-off-this-wall-NOW limit. But, as a postscript, I reiterate the point I was trying to make tonight at the post-match conference ... I mean, at the post-drama interaction session : that the accents employed were brilliant! TMK and Renu's Scottish were well done, and Renu's Deutsch was, well, wunderbar!
Yes yes, ok, I'll get off now. Don't have to push me you know.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Geeky Gifts
11 cheap gifts guaranteed to impress science geeks | DVICE:
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A pretty weird list indeed.
'via Blog this'
A pretty weird list indeed.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Let's Pour Liquid Nitrogen on the Floor! - YouTube
Let's Pour Liquid Nitrogen on the Floor! - YouTube:
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These guys are having just way too much fun!
Thanks to RS for the link.
'via Blog this'
These guys are having just way too much fun!
Thanks to RS for the link.
Friday, August 03, 2012
Cloud Atlas Extended Trailer #1 (2012) - Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Wachowski Movie HD - YouTube
Cloud Atlas Extended Trailer #1 (2012) - Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Wachowski Movie HD - YouTube:
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Rather stunning, epically ambitious. But will it stand, or will it bite the dust?
'via Blog this'
Rather stunning, epically ambitious. But will it stand, or will it bite the dust?
Montmarte, through the eyes of Athena
Athena recently said this of her walk through a section of Paris. I reproduce this without her permission. I do hope I don't get a pasting for this. :)
After walking through Montmarte, Paris, i am terribly missing the Kolkata book fair which used to happen at maidan..Each pavillion of a different style and theme,hundreds of artists sitting on the dusty grass and painting, little magazine stalls, street musicians, some nameless person with a ponytail and guitar singing unmindfully, the scent of new books mixing with the scent of candyfloss and popcorns, the bamboo floor of each stall slightly creaking beneath my feet, continuous announcements of people who got lost in the crowd, jampacked metros after 8 pm, old old yellow russian books in the vostok stall, and i remember at least twice i was given a book completely free, when i was a child: someone just put them in my hands..:)
Milanmela ground is not the place of the happiness that was the Kolkata book fair, the charm has been successfully destroyed by taking it there.
After walking through Montmarte, Paris, i am terribly missing the Kolkata book fair which used to happen at maidan..Each pavillion of a different style and theme,hundreds of artists sitting on the dusty grass and painting, little magazine stalls, street musicians, some nameless person with a ponytail and guitar singing unmindfully, the scent of new books mixing with the scent of candyfloss and popcorns, the bamboo floor of each stall slightly creaking beneath my feet, continuous announcements of people who got lost in the crowd, jampacked metros after 8 pm, old old yellow russian books in the vostok stall, and i remember at least twice i was given a book completely free, when i was a child: someone just put them in my hands..:)
Milanmela ground is not the place of the happiness that was the Kolkata book fair, the charm has been successfully destroyed by taking it there.
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Pulp Fiction
Can't quite remember when I last had such a day of opposites. Can't remember when I last felt so deeply. An incredisad day, but also a fanthappific day. Like being on cocaine and heroine at the same time. Somehow, I don't think I'll forget 31st July 2012 that easily.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Today I Found Out..
...about this ultra-cool website called, err, "Today I Found Out"! Seems legit. Spent a nice half an hour in a mild Antiquity haze browsing through Bell's "Ahoy hoy" and tongue twasters (quite correctly spelt, thank you) and the incredisad tale of a Japanese soldier who thought the second world war went up to 1974. Also, TA Edison apparently did not invent the word ``Hello''.
Dinosauric Trilobites
Saudi Arabia's Female Olympic Athletes Called 'Prostitutes'
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I mean, seriously? Also, this and this.
'via Blog this'
I mean, seriously? Also, this and this.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Gmail: How it all started!
One of the very first gmail invitations
This is a blog post that I had started writing quite a long while back, and had somehow inexplicably filed away under "drafts". The link above points to a cool post wayyy back in 2004, where someone proudly exclaims that s/he has been invited for a gmail account. The first reply lays out the advantages of the gmail interface, including the labeling-over-foldering technique and the view-mails-in-a-conversation-thread innovation. These are of course now considered kernel for any self-respecting mail service. In fact, I have for some time stopped making much distinction between Email and Gmail. I recall in those early days I had a primary rediffmail account, a secondary yahoo account, and multitudes of hotmail accounts. The latter I signed up for just to test out the Incredimail software (which, I must confess, I was rather surprised even existed anymore). Those were the heady days of pioneers, testing out different sorts of email providers, figuring out which one is the coolest. Then, one day, I got an invite to gmail from JC. Inertia-loving that I am, I ignored such an invitation, preferring to stay true and loyal to my beloved(!) rediffmail and yahoo mails than sell my soul to the devil...read, gmail. I liked google, don't get me wrong. I just did not quite understand how a search engine could deliver mail. Anyway, a few days later, JC and I were conversing over phone, and he inquired about the invitation. To which I promptly expressed my disdain, and explained that I had managed to delete that invitation. He persisted, in true spirit of the one he is named after, and sent me yet another invitation. You must understand, in those days, each gmail user had a limited stock of invitations they could send out. Sending two invitations to the same person was a luxury one could ill-afford. yet, JC was persistent, and managed to make try out gmail. That was around 2004-05.
Need I say more?
p.s. Just checked, and it seems that my old rediffmail account still exists!!!
This is a blog post that I had started writing quite a long while back, and had somehow inexplicably filed away under "drafts". The link above points to a cool post wayyy back in 2004, where someone proudly exclaims that s/he has been invited for a gmail account. The first reply lays out the advantages of the gmail interface, including the labeling-over-foldering technique and the view-mails-in-a-conversation-thread innovation. These are of course now considered kernel for any self-respecting mail service. In fact, I have for some time stopped making much distinction between Email and Gmail. I recall in those early days I had a primary rediffmail account, a secondary yahoo account, and multitudes of hotmail accounts. The latter I signed up for just to test out the Incredimail software (which, I must confess, I was rather surprised even existed anymore). Those were the heady days of pioneers, testing out different sorts of email providers, figuring out which one is the coolest. Then, one day, I got an invite to gmail from JC. Inertia-loving that I am, I ignored such an invitation, preferring to stay true and loyal to my beloved(!) rediffmail and yahoo mails than sell my soul to the devil...read, gmail. I liked google, don't get me wrong. I just did not quite understand how a search engine could deliver mail. Anyway, a few days later, JC and I were conversing over phone, and he inquired about the invitation. To which I promptly expressed my disdain, and explained that I had managed to delete that invitation. He persisted, in true spirit of the one he is named after, and sent me yet another invitation. You must understand, in those days, each gmail user had a limited stock of invitations they could send out. Sending two invitations to the same person was a luxury one could ill-afford. yet, JC was persistent, and managed to make try out gmail. That was around 2004-05.
Need I say more?
p.s. Just checked, and it seems that my old rediffmail account still exists!!!
Walking through the world, Toph-style!
How does a person, deprived of the sense we primarily use, make their way around the world? This is a video from three graduate students from the National Taiwan University of Arts. The blind girl is robbed of her handbag, and her guide dog runs off after the snatcher. The girl begins her search of the dog, and, in doing so, slowly uncovers the world around her. A simple, yet beautiful, short video.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Departures
Associations are a complicated thing. When someone is a very good friend, and you have spent the last five-six years with them, for them to suddenly go away takes away a part of you. It is even worse if it happens twice in quick succession, or, in my case, simultaneously. Either way, one adapts, as one must. That is one of the most enduring traits of humanity in general --- adaptability. Which is why we survive, I reckon.
When I came to IMSc, I was going to be living outside home for the first time. They were exciting times; the thrill of finding new horizons and limits, and the satisfaction of being able to evolve as a human being outside one's zone of comfort. Except that, pretty soon, this too became my zone of comfort. And it happened because of the fantasticus folks I managed to entwine my life with. Two of them are now departing. The best memory I have with AV has to be in the first year, in the music room, during the November Chennai deluge, when he and JIS had that unforgettable impromptu extempore jam session : the first on violin and the second on guitar and violin, alternately. I don't really have a "best" memory with SP; there are too many brilliant ones to rank. But there is one gesture of his that will always stay with me : whenever I would get an absolute twacky idea, and would enthusiastically proclaim it and set about trying it, he would second it with an assuring and I-have-your-back-go-ahead thumbs-up! AV and SP, I'm going to miss you, amigos!
When I came to IMSc, I was going to be living outside home for the first time. They were exciting times; the thrill of finding new horizons and limits, and the satisfaction of being able to evolve as a human being outside one's zone of comfort. Except that, pretty soon, this too became my zone of comfort. And it happened because of the fantasticus folks I managed to entwine my life with. Two of them are now departing. The best memory I have with AV has to be in the first year, in the music room, during the November Chennai deluge, when he and JIS had that unforgettable impromptu extempore jam session : the first on violin and the second on guitar and violin, alternately. I don't really have a "best" memory with SP; there are too many brilliant ones to rank. But there is one gesture of his that will always stay with me : whenever I would get an absolute twacky idea, and would enthusiastically proclaim it and set about trying it, he would second it with an assuring and I-have-your-back-go-ahead thumbs-up! AV and SP, I'm going to miss you, amigos!
Monday, July 02, 2012
An Idle Mind is the Devil's Workshop
Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done. “Idle dreaming is often of the essence of what we do,” wrote Thomas Pynchon in his essay on sloth. Archimedes’ “Eureka” in the bath, Newton’s apple, Jekyll & Hyde and the benzene ring: history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments and dreams. It almost makes you wonder whether loafers, goldbricks and no-accounts aren’t responsible for more of the world’s great ideas, inventions and masterpieces than the hardworking.
This I quote from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/. Tim Kreider, essayist, columnist and cartoonist, makes a stirring case in this article. Another quote :
“The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. That’s why we have to destroy the present politico-economic system.” This may sound like the pronouncement of some bong-smoking anarchist, but it was actually Arthur C. Clarke, who found time between scuba diving and pinball games to write “Childhood’s End” and think up communications satellites.
I used to believe, strongly, in what Kreider says here. Now I am no longer sure. Maybe its just a case of fatal "busyness".
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Cutlery C-Hilarity
Since I have reliably proved to myself that I am no good at being original, here is a shout-out to a recent blogpost by Guruji. In case you are wondering, "chirality" loosely means "handedness".
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