CBB is that such a big deal??

Celebrity Big Brother?? Is that such a big deal?? Well I was wondering whats happening to all these news channels? I guess somebody finally put pen to paper...and it was as below!!!

Found an interesting review on Mouthshut – details below:

So behold we have another WORLD Crisis….Coz poor Shilpa Shetty is being victimized on the Oh-So-classy Big Brother…..in simpler words for all you not-so-alarmed people out there…she is being Racially discriminated against …. Oh-the-disaster !!!! what will we do??? How will we survive??? HELP!!

So this was the top story of the week.. hell it is so important that this can be easily said to the top story of the year…!!! And its only January

Let me give you a glimpse of all the other not-so-important stories that we are constantly bombarded with

Dafur – 400,000 people dead

- This is termed as one of the most gruesome periods in the region. 400,000 dead, and countless displaced. Have you heard?? Thousands of orphaned children, and incidents of rape and murder are a common site.

In the name of ethnic cleansing, Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, are massacering the people of Dafur. The Janjaweed have terrorized the Darfur region by raping women, burning villages, killing Muslim religious leaders, destroying mosques, ruining food stocks, and murdering men women and children alike.

But hey this is not as horrfying as SHILPA SHETTY being called a ‘PAKI’……Save Shetty ….screw Dafur…its not that Important.

Iraq – Almost a civil war – Yeah here is another not-so-important piece of news that we hear about everyday. According to the site http://www.iraqbodycount.org/ around 60,00 Iraqis are dead, some wonderful stats can be found also on http://www.icasualties.org/oif/

The Sunnis kill the Shias, who kill the Sunnis back, till each of them have bodies piled up in stacks, and blood everywhere, dismembered parts lying for the dogs and other scavengers to find. In this wonderful situation also throw in the inherent hatered for Kurds and wht you have my friends is present day Iraq.

And to top it all off, the US is planning to deploy 20,000 more troops to the region for sacrifice (oops!!) …oh I mean to stabilize the region.

But SHILPA SHETTY being called a DOG…How dare they!!!!...hey media…stop boring us with Iraq…tell us more about the DOG incident

India – Reservation Issue – So the bill has been passed, and the polititians have included the Creamy layer, just to ensure that there is no doubt left in our minds as to who exactly this reservation policy is to benefit.
Thousands of students whose voice of reason was met with brutal police force stand witness to exaclty how deaf our political system has become to the real isssues faced by a citizen.

It works in Tamilnadu they say 69% reservation!! So why cannot 50% work in the country???? In Tamilnadu they count 80% of the population as Minority !! so the 20% so-called-upper class are still Majority over the 80% minority???? Hmmm

So now that the bill has been passed and merit rendered useless, we can rejoice coz the foundation has been laid for mediocracy

Still this is not as important as SHILPA SHETTY being called a FAKE….she and fake…NEVER…poor thing!

Global Warming – Doomsday is approaching -

So the Ice shelves are melting, a gigantic piece the size of 11,000 football fields, just broke away from the Canadian mainland in record time. The Artic Ice has shrunk by 250 million acres.
60,000 people die every year from the effects of global warming, from malaria to malnutrition, children in developing nations seemingly the most vulnerable. These numbers could almost double by 2020. Severe weather patters emerging all around the globe, Floods in Thailand, Hurricanes in America, Typhoons in the East. Hundreds and thousands of people without food water or shelter, and so many on the other extreme living in conditions of drought

Not Important!!! What is important is that SHILPA SHETTY is crying…!!! God I cant stand it.

So shrug aside the bodies found in the Nithari connection, the many children molested and killed; But please cover every precious drop that cascade down SHILPA SHETTY’s cheeks.

Don’t tell me about the million of children who are financially exploited as labor, denied and education and robbed of their childhood. But do tell me how hurt SHILPA SHETTY was when the housemates rejected her Chicken

Don’t tell me about the about the father and mother who cannot afford to spend time with their kids coz they barely can afford to survive on both their salaries… But please publicize the measly 3 Crores that SHILPA SHETTY is getting paid to go thru this torture . (Somebody please start a petition to pay that poor girl atleast 15-20 Crores…she deserves better)

Shilpa is constantly taunted, because she has SERVANTS, she is taunted about her accent. But thank god the Indian government has taken up the issue….how could they have been blind to the utmost important issue for so long…I demand answers!!!

And………..I rest my Case!!!!

Slow Down Culture

A very interesting article!!!!

An interesting reflection. : Slow Down Culture
It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule.
Globalize processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme.
At the end, this always yields better results.

Said in another words:
1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.
2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.
3. Stockholm, has 500,000 people.
4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, Nokia are some of its renowned companies.

Volvo supplies the NASA. The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning.
It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don't you think? Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe name Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week. Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fueled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being". French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%.
This slow attitude has brought forth the US's attention, pupils of the fast and the "do it now!". This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means reestablishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living. It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit.

In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance to a tango.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment.

As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

An Apartheid Body!!!

Another incident of apartheid comes to face the ICC. This time its some South African playe giving racist abuses to Pakistani spectators.
The International Council for Cricket, well so it says, but its the governing body or rather a protection body only for the white nations of the council.
In spite of the fact that the so called Asian block, is the reason for the cash flows into the ICC, there seems to be absolutely no respect whatsoever for players of non white nations.
The way decisions are given in a cricket match, you would think the umpires have gone blind. And they turn blind only when its the non white player who is at the receiving end. Sachin Tendulkar, one of the most legendary players, has some embarrassing decisions to his name. Namely, shoulder before wicket, pushed out, etc. And what were the umpires doing at that very instance? They were busy doing nothing. Absolutely irritating!!!
Then we have the famous Umpire, Darell Hair. He has an amazing reputation of being able to spot issues or create problems with the Pakistan cricket team or the Sri Lankan cricket team. His friendship with Muttiah Muralitharan is almost a tale of legends!!! Mr. Darell Hair called Murali for a no ball seven times during the course of a match. Even the legendary batsman, the late Sir Don Bradman was quoted as saying "worst example of umpiring that [he had] witnessed, and against everything the game stands for. Clearly Murali does not throw the ball".

If you look at players behaviour, white players are forgiven under the pretext of mere aggression or some other word, while non white players are pulled up for setting up wrong examples for the game. This smacks of double standards!!! The Australian team is the worst example of sportsmanship. They are undoubtedly the best team yet, but does that require them to be shamelessly arrogant? This team has a history of unwanted situations, they get into. I wont waste cyber space with repetitions of their childish behaviour. The West Indian team was also at its peak in the initial years of this game. No one could challenge their skills or the team. Yet, they were never so arrogant. Then what is it that makes this new lot so arrogant?

The BCCI on its part is just a pack on spineless individuals, who do not have any guts to put forth a fight for its players!! The way certain individuals are selected into the Indian cricket team, we wonder if they select the team by drawing lots? Our selectors are the worst!!!
Wonder when things might change. When would fair play prevail? Lets wait and watch!!!

Cleopatra - The Play

Cleopatra, this was the name of the play I saw yesterday. This is not some official review, but some thoughts I would like to write out.
The play was well directed. It seemed just right, though it could do better. The characters were well portrayed by the cast. Personally, I liked the character of Julius Caesar`s son ( I don't recall the name right now). This person was also the director of the play. The rest of the cast was good as well.

One line which would remain etched in memory would be the one said when one of Mark Antony`s key lieutenant switches loyalties to Caesar before the war.
It goes some thing like "Its easy for the wise to betray, for the wise can outsmart their conscience.!!!"

The play does not narrate the entire story of Cleopatra, I believe its expects its audience to be aware of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar`s love story. The play starts from the point where Julius Caesar is no more, and Mark Antony and Cleopatra are in love with each other. This is also about the same time when Rome is faced with external threats. It builds up on Caesars frustration at Mark Antony being lost in love with Cleopatra, ignoring Rome.

The story is built on these premises, and I dont wanna spoil the fun of watching it, by writing all its story!!!
You should be probably going and seeing it for yourselves.

Just one observation... I was hoping that people would know how to behave during a play. We had people who were rude enough to keep their cellphones on full blast during the duration of the play, absolutely rude and uncouth!!!

THE SPOON!!!!

The Spoon
Last week, we went to a new restaurant, & noticed the waiter carried a spoon in his shirt pocket. It seemed a little strange. When the busboy brought our water, I noticed he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked around & saw that all the staff had spoons in their pockets.
When the waiter came back to serve our soup I asked, "Why the spoon?"
"Well, he said, the restaurant's owners hired a Chartered Professional Engineering firm to revamp all our processes. They concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It represents a drop frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour. If we are better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to the kitchen and save 15 man-hours per shift."
As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he was able to replace it with his spare. "I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen instead of making an extra trip to get it right now."
I was impressed. I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly. Looking around, I noticed that all the waiters had the same string hanging from their flies. So before he walked off, I asked the waiter, "Excuse me, but can you tell me why you have that string right there?"
"Oh, certainly!" then he lowered his voice. "Not everyone is so observant.The engineering firm also found out that we can save time in the restroom.By tying this string to the tip of you know what, we can pull it out without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands, shortening the time spent in the restroom by 76.39%.
I asked "After you get it out, how do you put it back?"
"Well," he whispered, "I don't know about the others, but I use the spoon."


THATS IT!! Henceforth I am carrying my own spoon to any restaurant!!!

The Ramayana , A Devi & The Sadhu and list goes on...

The title might make this look like some kinda religious discourse based blog. Albeit NO!!!
Its all about outputs from a new venture between Shekhar Kapur, Gotham Kapoor & Virgin Comics ( Richard Branson ).

http://www.virgincomics.com/preview.html


The results are amazing. The drawings are surreal!! Am impressed. The take on Ramayana is something new. Its a far far fetch from Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana ( Indian audiences would be familiar with it. )

This version of Ramayana is a story told somewhere after 3000 A.D. Have a peak at the graphics below.

The other one is a story told of Shakti. The storyline is similar to that of Goddess Durga. But again put in a new modern approach. Graphics as below:





The difference between the Goddess
Durga and the characterization of Devi is that she is a mortal, who gets her powers in each birth. Another twist in the story is that Devi is the girlfriend of one of the key henchmen of the villain in this storyline. The Villain is known as Bala, whose background again is that of a fallen angel who rises again, but with powers much beyond the other Gods.

The next in this series is The Sadhu. Look at the graphics below.

This story is set during the Indian Independence struggle. And is based on an english soldier.

I would like to read these comics, especially so for the NRI kids who might be on a staple diet of Marvel & DC comics. Though my statement might be wrong. Another aspect is how this would be welcomed in India? Would the saffron brigade create hurdles? Would self proclaimed champions of Indian culture come out and create effigies ? I would keep a wait and watch attitude!!

Nevertheless comic buffs could visit the link mentioned above and get a glimpse of all thats in store, there is an offering from John Woo, and some other noted guys as well!! On a personal note, am waiting to get my hands on it!!!

Anatomy of a cold

for those who think, that I would be discussing what a cold is in biological terms, No, not at all. This is a way to vent out my sheer fustration of suffering from cold.

Cold or Cough or whatever you call it. It can strike you any moment, can catch you completely off gaurd... And once it strikes, there is no escape. Its like a barbaric sworde of armymen who burn and pillage and wreak havoc on places they attack. In the end there are just corpses strewn around.

Similary, once the damn cold attacks, it attacks you, blah blah ( achooo) , etc etc...

And somehow every one in this world has some important thing, which they wish you to attend, when you have a cold. The importance of the task is directly proportional to the nastiness of your cold.

I have emptied almost half of the bottle of pepper powder, but to no effect. The cold still haunts me. The bottle of cough syrups is almost emptied, the medicines are almost over...but the DAMN COLD STILL PERSISTS!!! If only our cricket team could persist so well in the face of adversity.

I sincerely hope, some scientist maps the genetic code of the cold virus and help humanity destroy this virus. Ironically, the cold virus is the one virus which saves all of humanity from being mutated or whatever it was, in one of Robin Cooks novel. I guess it was called "Invasion".

Greetings and some Retrospection

We now start the new year...after waiting for exactly a year, I finally get to see the year 2007.
I sincerely hope that his year turns out good.
Unfortunately, for a few folks the new year also started with some bad news

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aVv3D1a8XamM&refer=japan

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=205806766&p=zx58x747z&n=205807526

May these be the only unfortunate incidents this year.

On the personal front, I have couple of milestones and look forward to successfully achieving them.
In retrospection, last year was an eventful year on the professional front.
We created an entirely new architecture for our project. I revamped the codes, to bring down the processing time to 1 hour from the previous 10 hours. For that I deserve a pat on my back!! (which I did get...along with a kick on my butt!!)
And as we go ahead, we have plenty of technical challenges on our hands. Not to mention the usual story of funds and resource crunches!!!
Plenty of events awaiting to unfold themselves gradually this year!!

Wishing everybody a very happy new year!!