Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Thyagam seyyum oli vizhakaga nee
nadamaadum kallaraiyaga naan
meendum ennai pudhaitha edathileye pudhaithu vittai!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Rajini - THE REAL BOSS

I wouldn't be doing justice to this blog if I didn't write about Sivaji. I have loved many Rajinikanth movies in the past like Baasha and Padaiyappa just for his style, despite being an ardent fan of Kamalhassan. If not for anything else, I knew I could watch Sivaji for Rajini's style. I haven't seen this much hype for any other movie as long as I can remember. As I settled down in a seat in the fourth row, this guy who had driven down from Wyoming to watch this movie, thrust a handful of shredded paper into my hand to throw on the screen when Rajini appears. I thought, YEAH RIGHT, like I am going to do this! But when Rajinikanth turned his face towards the screen, I just did it (Mannichidu thalaiva!). What can I say, I was in the moment!!!
The movie was all Rajini, right from the title card to the ending credits. He looked atleast 10 years younger and refreshingly handsome with his new look. The first half was funny with Rajini's antics to get the girl, combined with Vivek's one-liners and his usual ways of mimicking other actors. Both of them even manage to do a Vadivelu, all in good spirits, I hope. My favorite was of course when Rajini says after taking a dip in a tub full of Multani Matti, "Ippo paaru, poi kazhuvittu chumma Kamalahaasan maadhiri varen". The way Vivek makes fun of all the younger heroes trying to emulate Rajini is a bullseye shot not only for the Simbus and Dhanushs, but also for the Vijays and the Ajiths. Rajinikanth's style is just unbeatable in this movie too. Yesteryear tamil actor Suman has been pulled back from the telugu land to play the villain. He has done a neat job in the age of loud villains with long hair. Shreya as the heroine has played her part to perfection both as the homely girl and the glamor girl.
The second half got serious as expected with Rajini getting rich with just one rupee and using all the money to do good deeds. Well, atleast he didn't do it in a single song like his other movies. Rajini as the Mottai Boss was too stylish (obviously). The songs were actually pretty impressive on the screen. The art direction was amazing. Imagine this: A whole bunch of fat men with Rajini's face drawn on their pot bellies! Creativity at its ridiculous best!!! Overall it was pure fun, if you leave the logic in the parking lot. Once again Rajinikanth has managed to show that he is the real boss when it comes to Tamil Cinema, no matter how many younger actors lurk around calling themseleves the next Superstar. And please Mr.Director, stop extrapolating things at the end of the movie and showing that India had become a super power in 2020 without any corruption whatsoever. It's not only impractical but also impossible, atleast the corruption part, whether you do it sincerely, to make yourself feel good or to impress the audience.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Credit Cards, Points, Cash back and whatever

Points points points... wherever you turn, it's points! Is it just me or does everyone feel overwhelmed by this sudden surge in attracting credit card consumers with points or cash back rewards? As a seasoned veteran in the art of maxing out credit cards, I have to say that I am really disappointed about losing a whole lot of points, just because it's a relatively new concept. If someone gave me a point for each dollar I spent on my credit cards when I was a student, I would exactly have - well not exactly - but roughly 20000 points. Where are the credit card gods when you need justice? Where are the pre-approved mails when you badly need a credit card with 0% APR for balance transfers? OK, that is a little off-topic! If it's not the points, then it's the cash back rewards. Correct me if I am wrong, wasn't there a period when credit cards were considered a luxury or a status symbol, way back in the 17th century or something? Now, the credit card companies are giving us cash back? Talk about marketing strategies! I used to think that the credit card companies get their money only from the interest amounts and used to wonder how they would make any money with people who pay their balances in full each month (NOW, which one of you called me a dummy, huh?). And yes, now I know the merchant also gets charged for each transaction. Looks like I have to change the topic to "Credit Card for Dummies" if I keep writing in the same vein. Did you really know that American Express card does not guarantee payment to the merchant if the consumer defaults on payment? THAT IS CRUEL! Ok, I will stop. I swear this post is about the points and cash back rewards.

So, now I am getting all kinds pre-approved credit card offers, like 2 everyday. Anyone who knows me well knows why I even have to mention that here. There was a time when credit card companies used to run with their heads falling off of their bodies (tried to translate "Thalai therikka odinaanaga!") whenever I used to apply for a credit card. When I see all these offers now, I say to myself, "Oh, now you want me to be your customer?" and then I think, "I have never been pre-approved for anything in my life!" a la Joey from friends, while my eyes get all glazed. One more time, coming back to the actual topic of points and cash back, Now one of my credit cards gets me 5% cash back on certain purchases. If you think I am not going to make full use of it owing to my previous experiences, then I am sorry Amigo, you are so wrongo! It's time for PAYBACK. No, not that stupid Mel Gibson movie! I really don't know if I did any justice at all to the topic, but who cares, it's my blog and I am doing some general whining here. PHEW, I justified the label for this post too! THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!

Monday, April 30, 2007

WC 2007

I have been wanting to write about the very first edition of the Carribean World Cup, but there was always something or the other stopping me. First I wanted to write about that left arm spinner from Bermuda, Dwayne Leverock, but c2c knowingly or unknowingly stole the post right out of my laptop, hours before I started to write. I am not going to read his blog until I finish this one, so I don't lose the little enthusiasm I have left to write this one. Then, there was that little incident of Bangladesh upsetting India, well I woudn't call that an upset after seeing Bangladesh playing far better than India and Pakistan. There has been a constant nagging from my regular readers (2 to be precise) to put something on the blog and here we go.

When India was knocked out of the first round, I was desperately searching for another team to root for, to keep my cricket interets alive. Then came 'BANGladesh with a BANG' (get it? I can write lyrics for hip-hop), beating South Africa in the Super Eights aka SODHA eights, sparking some interest in an otherwise boring world cup. There is always a pleasure in rooting for the underdog, especially when your favorite team is not playing. You always want to see the minnows bashing the giants. When I say giants, Australia is not included as they belong to a completely different category, which experts are still trying to find a name for. I just hope Bangladesh keeps that fire in them burning all the time and not lose it like India. Then came Srilanka, winning all their important matches, without much fuss. When a team has a bowler, who can take 4 wicktes in 4 balls, you can always expect that team to make it atleast to the semi-finals. So, I started rooting for Srilanka as there was a realistic chance of them beating Australia.

On Saturday I woke up at 7AM (I can hear the collective gasp from the two people who are reading this) to watch the finals, only to be disappointed by the rain. Finally, when the match started, it was trimmed to 38 overs a side. That was the first blow. Whenever the overs are reduced, the team playing first only tries to score as much runs as possible. It wouldn't have made any difference in the way Adam Gilchrist played anyway. Heck, it wouldn't have made any difference to the Aussies even if it was a 10 overs a side match. That's the way they have been playing throughout the world cup. They can't even be termed as bullies, which would also be an understatement. They treat South Africa the same way they treat Bangladesh or Ireland. They don't just win, they totally demolish the opposite team, demoralizing them and making them think twice about playing cricket ever again. Once Gilchrist got going, I always knew, Srilanka was not going to win, barring a miracle innings from Jayasurya, reminiscent to the way he used to play in the nineties. And then, there was that stupid rain again along with light issues, leaving the players to grope each other in darkness. Finally, the best team won! Austalians are playing the game with so much power and dedication that it makes it boring to watch. I vote for Australia to play directly in the semi-final game of the next world cup, no matter how they perform during the time in between.

If ICC is looking for a way to reduce the number of matches in the next world cup, here is an idea: USE THE FREAKING RANKINGS to give first round byes to the first four teams or do something like that and please don't make the second round a round robin league. It took forever to get over. Is it really that complicated to find a way with only 12 teams?

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Loosu Pennae...

How many of you have NOT heard this song from the movie Vallavan? Well, shame on you! It's been playing non-stop on the FM channels in chennai and the Harmon-Kardon stereo system that came with my BMW (yes, I am always this modest!) for the past 6 months. Actually, I used to wake up everyday to this song when I was in India, thanks to my brother.
I am not a music person at all. I only need songs when I drive. The first time I heard this song, I was like, what the hell kind of a song is this? I totally hated it. But then, like a lot of other songs, it just grew on me. Now, I am listening to it all the time.
Usually, when I like a song, it should definiltely have good Tamil lyrics, otherwise it's very tough for me to even think about liking it. Though there is a rap segment at the beginning and the end, the main part is just tamil words. The way the rap and the tamil part of the song have been combined without defeating the purpose is just amazing. I am not a music genius, but it takes a lot of effort to keep it simple. This song is too simple and very addictive. I decided to look up for more information on the song on the internet and found out that Silamabarasan (a) Simbu had written the lyrics, though I already knew it was his voice. I wasn't very surprised knowing very well he comes from a gene pool that belongs to a person who used to torture us all with his multiple talents, including sticking posters for his own movies.
More than anything, what makes it a catchy number is the lethargic voice of simbu, which sounds like the music director woke him up in the middle of the night and forced him to sing. Well, whatever works! Of course the credit goes to Yuvan Shankar Raja for giving me something to write about. Thanks dude and keep up the good work!

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Happy New Year!

The new year didn't start off very well for me. I was sick, sick and more sick as my cold/headache got worse and ended up going to the doctor's office (only for the second time in 7 years).
Atleast an OU win in the fiesta bowl against the Boise State Broncos would have eased my pain, but no, the sooners had to make every mistake possible in the game in the first half, only to come back and tie the game in the second half and again lose it in overtime. Boise State deserved to win is all I can say though you wonder if there was ever a team that had executed so many trick plays in one game. Well, OU should have seen this coming from a team that plays on a BLUE turf at home.
From one Broncos to another, the Denver version lost their must-win game of the season miserably to the 49-ers and thus bringing an end to my decision to start watching NFL games with more interest. Talking about names like 49-ers and 76-ers, if I ever manage a start a professional team, I am sure I will name it THE 69-ers. Well, it's a long shot anyway.
At work, it's business as usual, getting killed with productions issues and new development projects.
Since there were too many negative things on this post, let me end it with two positives of 2007, not necessarily involving me directly. The first one is that my brother got placed as he was doing his MBA, with a nice heavy pay package. The best part is that I can make him pay for all my expenses when I go to India (shameless, I know). Congrats dude!
Talking about making someone else pay for my expenses, the first person that comes to my mind is one of my two best friends from my high school days, Karthik. He is getting married in a couple of weeks to the most enthusiastic and bubbly person I have ever known in my life, Rachna. It was never a surprise for me though. I told Karthik the first time I saw them both way back in the spring break of 2001 that he should seriouly think about spending the rest of their lives together. The sad part is that I won't be able to make it to the wedding, for which I have been called a 'Ditch Pot' numerous times and I am sure it will never stop for the rest of my life. A small price to pay for missing my best friend's wedding! Congratulations Karthik and Rachna!