Rishabh Singla's 'Other' Blog

Without a comb for over 4 months :)

2012-01-28T01:55:00.001+05:30

When I think about it now, it's like a wow!. From the morning of 26th August 2011, when I departed for Shanghai from Delhi, to the night of 4th January 2012, when I arrived at Delhi from Singapore, I didn't comb my hair even once :). Actually I forgot to pack a comb in my baggage, and so I just didn't buy one in China :)

Seems like a record :)

List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites I've seen

2012-01-24T23:02:00.002+05:30

I strongly believe in this concept of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I believe that if one visits a place (a city or a country), and that place happens to have one or more of the World Heritage Sites, one must utilize the opportunity to experience the Site. In the following list, I'm trying to list all the World Heritage Sites that I've ever visited. Of course, it's possible that I might have visited a few other Sites too but I don't remember them.

Agra Fort (India; year unknown)
Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi (India; year unknown)
Red Fort Complex (India; year unknown)
Taj Mahal (India; year unknown)
Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and Environs (South Africa; 2009)
Memphis and its Necropolis - the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur (Egypt; 2009)
uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park (South Africa; 2010)
Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (South Africa; 2010)
Mount Huangshan (China; 2011)
West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou (China; 2011)
Classical Gardens of Suzhou (China; 2011)

One dark night at Rwanda

2011-07-24T15:24:00.004+05:30

I might be moving to three Asian nations, but my heart is still in Africa. I frequently get this thought of a dark night somewhere in Rwanda, with minimal development and a faint source of light weakly illuminating the road. There's no single picture that can explain the thought, but all of the photos below can together give an idea.

Regent Road

A hawker in Togo.

A shop at night in Kenya.

Kalahari Desert, Northern Cape, South Africa.

On the lack of self-confidence in many Indians

2011-07-24T14:12:00.003+05:30

I've frequently seen a lack of self-confidence in Indians, both during my college days and during my professional stint. Most Indians know this ugly truth already - all around us, we have already seen Indians trying hard to ape the West, in language and in style, and that increasingly, us Indians are starting to feel ashamed of our culture, languages and styles.

A few examples:

The samosa has gotten devalued so much it's now looked as a "poor man's snack". Pizza anyone?
Western outfits. They're so "cool".
Language. I recollect an episode of MTV Roadies in which girls has difficulty speaking Hindi.

The other day, I was watching the official Miss Universe channel on YouTube, and I found the interviews of contestants especially funny and interesting. I watched the interviews of Miss Colombia, Miss Poland, Miss Romania, Miss Russia, and Miss Venezuela. I thoroughly enjoyed the candid answers the girls gave, and enjoyed their diverse (and sometimes funny) accents as well.

Then I saw a link to the interview of Miss India, and naturally curious, I started watching it. So disappointed I was with her interview, that I felt that this interview by her can be used as a poster child to demonstrate a lack of self-confidence in Indians. She felt like a typical Indian, under pressure to perform, trying to look natural but clearly disgustingly fake (with an irritating smile). The girls of other countries, in contrast, were so comfortable in their skins - they spoke their hearts and used their native accents without trying to ape Western English.

Downloadable videos of interviews on SkyDrive.

Why I no longer feel bad wasting food at parties

2011-05-09T22:56:00.050+05:30

This post is directly related to my recently-posted thoughts on the value of the life of an animal.

When I was small, and I had never thought about non-vegetarianism, I used to believe that at social gatherings like parties and otherwise, us humans shouldn't waste food. I was taught that there are hundreds of millions of undernourished humans in this world, and every gram of food that we don't waste can potentially go into the stomach of a poor man. Then as I grew up, I developed a keen interest in the related concepts of animal rights and non-vegetarianism. At a tender age, I developed a love for animals (especially birds, cats, and dogs), but I saw immense cruelty being inflicted by humans to animals, both around me and on TV.

I began to try to help animals in whatever small ways I could, but the blatant abuse of animals that I saw on TV and on the Web (especially via PETA.org and YouTube) disturbed me quite a lot.

A few years ago, I was watching a video on the Discovery Channel (or maybe it was on Nat Geo) in which the narrator was describing a confrontation between a crocodile and a python. At the end of the video, just as the crocodile shattered the python to pieces and consumed it, the narrator concluded the scene saying, "In nature, nothing goes waste.".

I thought about this. How true, I wondered! Nothing goes waste. Even if I throw some food while at a wedding function, it'll ultimately end up being eaten by birds and cats and dogs and insects and microorganisms. It won't be wasted. It might not go into a hungry human's stomach, but it'll go into a hungry dog's. Coupled with my strong opinion about animal rights, I decided to never worry again about throwing food. Just because some food doesn't go into a human's stomach doesn't mean that it has got wasted. This arrogant thought is yet another example of the selfishness of the human species. I'm happy I've gotten rid of it.

Questioning the huge disparity between the value of a human life and of an animal life

2011-05-03T23:29:00.076+05:30

This title stems from my thoughts about humans and non-vegetarianism. I sometimes wonder:

Why do we humans value a human life more than the life of any other species?
Why do we pronounce the death punishment for someone who murders another human, but not for a human who kills a horse or a tiger. Why is an animal that attacks humans killed without a second thought, but not vice versa?
Have non-vegetarians seen how the meat they enjoy is prepared? Its entire lifecycle? Do they know that the animal suffers so much pain that even its soul cries? Have they seen a chicken or a goat howl relentlessly when its throat is being cut? Do they ever compare this pain to the pain they feel when a thorn pricks into their finger?
Which celestial entity has given us humans the right to treat animals as property?
Why are we, as a species, so protective of humans but so disregarding of animals?
Are the non-vegetarians weak people? Do they want to hide away from the ugly truth about how the meat they find so delicious is prepared? The story of death behind it?
Why do we kill billions of creatures of non-human species each year, but frown upon cannibalism? Does this disparity stem from some self-protecting genetic code in our DNA? What logic, what reasoning do we have to believe that it's alright (and in most cultures a symbol of celebration and joy) to kill and eat an animal, but not a human?
What meaning do the daily prayers and religious activities of non-vegetarians have? Are they trying to cleanse their sins? Do they never realize that whenever they eat an animal, there's an ugly story of death behind it?
Is it okay to to call a kind human kind, if he or she is a non-vegetarian? What relevance does the kindness (to humans or even to animals) of non-vegetarians have?
When humans celebrate at mortuaries like KFC, do they ever think about those yellow chicks, those babies, who got slaughtered (long before they could grow up and live their lives) only to satiate the tongues of humans who chose to not care?
Doesn't the meaning of the word humane smack of an arrogant self-righteousness of us humans? Shouldn't this word instead signify a negative connotation?

A few pictures to accompany the above questions:

A pig suffers excruciatingly during its slaughter as humans rejoice.

A pin can make us cry. How much pain did this tied animal feel?

Her smile shocks me. Will we ever stop farming of animals?

If nothing else, perhaps we can do some justice to the animals by acknowledging that we're the most selfish species on planet Earth...

In Anna Hazare, a rare glimpse of pre-freedom India (and on nonviolents vs. a revolutionaries)

2011-05-01T14:57:00.079+05:30

I wasn't aware of Anna Hazare's efforts until many days had passed since his movement began. I wasn't reading newspapers and I wasn't watching the news much, so I was practically unaware that there's a nationwide movement going on against corruption, spearheaded by Hazare. But after an uncle gave me a summary of what Lokpal Bill is who Anna Hazare is and what he's doing, I got interested [I'm so tired of bribing Municipal Corporation clerks and officers just so that they quickly sign property documents that I desperately wish this disease leaves this country].

I returned to home that day, launched YouTube, and watched a couple of videos of Anna Hazare [as opposed to about Anna Hazare] put up by Aaj Tak, NDTV, Star News and others.

I felt, observed and realized two important things:

Non-violence vs. revolution: Since my school days, I've criticized freedom fighters who used non-violence [Gandhi, Nehru, et al.]. I've praised revolutionaries who resorted to violent means to scare and oust foreign bodies [Azad, et al.], and I've mocked at Indians who accepted the suffering of lathi-charge at the hands of the sadistic British men. However, when I watched Anna Hazare spew sharp words at the corrupt ministers and politicians of this nation, I felt the impact of those words right in my head. I, someone who had long believed that only bombs and swords could've contributed meaningfully to India's independence, felt the power of an old man's fearless tongue. The videos of Anna Hazare that I watched have fundamentally altered my views about the efficacy of non-violent methods of opposition. I don't see myself criticizing non-violence anymore. Which brings me to the second point.
A (rare) glimpse of pre-independence India: I keenly watch those low-resolution photos and videos depicting lectures by Gandhi or Subhas Chandra Bose in pre-independent India [the 30s and 40s]. It's such a good feeling watching India's freedom struggle [as opposed to reading about it in textbooks]. Of course, those freedom fighters don't exist anymore, and the small repository of photos and videos that exist is the only way to experience India's struggle for independence. However, when I watched Anna Hazare roar and spit at the corrupt top of this country, I saw in him a rare glimpse of pre-independent India. I likened his feelings to those of Senapati in the legendary 1996 movie Hindustani. Hazare, a former soldier, also sees the present day India as a nation that might have got freedom from the British, but is being gagged by its own people. I saw in him that same unadulterated altruism and patriotism that we're told existed in our freedom fighters. And in this context, I think he's one of those rare people still alive who genuinely love Bharat [as opposed to the iPod and McDonald's generation], and are ready to fearlessly sacrifice even their own life for the sake of their motherland.

Mysterious fun at the dentist's clinic ;)

2011-04-12T20:39:00.001+05:30

I've been going to a nearby dentist for many months now (to correct the alignment of some of my teeth using braces). The clinic is owned by a lady doctor who is somewhat old and quite experienced. I'm also treated by a young (~25 years) male doctor who is both learning and practicing at this clinic. There's also a young lady doctor (~24 years) who is learning and practicing here, but she hasn't ever handled me (till today, whenever I went to the clinic, she was always already operating on someone, so I don't really know if she would operate on me, if given a chance).

I digress for a sentence. That I spontaneously observe and think about things that go on around me is probably well known to those who happen to read this blog.

We're all aware that dental treatments that last for months are best done by the same doctor(s), because they get to understand the structure and subtleties of your jaws/teeth quite deeply, and can hence perform the procedures better. And that's what's been happening with me - both the old lady and the young male have been treating me for all these months.

However, when I went to the clinic today, both the young male and the young lady were idle. As I was entering the treatment room, a sweet-looking girl (~21 years) also entered the room from the second door. She was also there to get herself treated. Naturally, I was expecting the male doctor to come to my seat and the young lady to handle this girl.

That I am writing a blog post should make it obvious that this did not happen :). What happened is not that unusual, it's funny - both the young male and the young lady doctor exchanged smiles, and from the two ends of the room, they both walked to the opposite ends... the young male doctor - who had been treating me till now - took on the girl, and the young lady - who had never treated me before - took me. And they smiled many times while treating us two :).

(Source)

Why? Only they know :).

A quick thought on respecting people who're old

2011-04-02T00:21:00.001+05:30

I once asked myself if old people really deserve respect. Most of us have at least some respect for the men and women who're old (I have a lot), but I asked myself the reason why we do so and if it's justified.

John Forbes Nash and his wife Alicia, young.

I've concluded that yes, all old people, whether or not they've achieved something in life, deserve respect from people who're young. The fact that all old people have seen and sailed through the many facets of life, the highs and the lows, the pretty and the ugly, makes them worthy of respect. They might not be able to burn bright, but they hold much sense and wisdom. They might not have earned as much money as you, but they've surely earned more wisdom. They were all young once, and you will all be old one day.

John Forbes Nash, old.

P.S. Once again, I just queried this thought on Google and found that it has been discussed a lot!

My favorite aftershaves, colognes, deodorants, perfumes, etc.

2011-03-23T23:16:00.002+05:30

I love using deodorants. Apart from using them for their intended purposes, I also spray them inside my (and others') shoes (or even directly on the feet) and also use them as room fresheners at both home and factory. I love to buy a different deodorant each time, and I've used deodorants of a variety of companies (Adidas, AXE, Fa, Garnier, Gillette, Nivea, Park Avenue, Reebok, Set Wet, etc.).

Why this post? Well, out of the dozens of different deodorants I've used over the years, I've liked some and I haven't liked others. Each time I liked a deodorant's fragrance, I said to myself that I'm gonna remember this one and I'm gonna buy this one again. But I was never able to remember, and so I'm gonna record the nice ones in this post so I can buy them again :)

AXE: Pulse
Benetton: Sport
Milton-Lloyd: America (Colours)
Nivea for Men: Cool Kick

And here is the list of deodorants with bad or average fragrance:

Garnier MEN: Aqua Fresh (Extreme Cool); Woody Fresh (Absolute Dry)
Gillette: Power Rush
Set Wet: Casanova, Haute

British : Indians :: Punjabis : Non-Punjabis

2011-03-22T23:41:00.002+05:30

I've often heard stories from others that individuals from the Indian subcontinent are mistreated in the UK (I've never been to the UK, so I've to assume that this is true). Since I'm an avid reader of Western publications (BBC, CNN, FT, NYT, TIME, WSJ, etc.), I've sometimes read comments such as "Indians have infested the entire universe!" on some articles about outsourcing.

What I've heard and read makes me feel that many British people (and by British, I'm referring to the broader West) hate the presence of people from the Indian subcontinent in their country. They hate that we've infested their country and are flouting their culture and norms. They don't like our skin color, our smell and our accent. They see us everywhere, they curse us, give us angry looks, sometimes even beat us up, and want us out.

Are their feelings unjustified?

At first I thought so, but over the last few months, I noticed something strikingly similar right in my own state, Punjab. Now, Punjabis are quite patriotic and proud people. We believe that we're superior to other people in India, and that no non-Punjabi can ever match the grandeur of a Punjabi. And like the UK has a large and growing population of people from the Indian subcontinent, Punjab has a large and growing population of individuals from other states (most notably, from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh).

And what's happening to Indians in the UK is similar to what happens to people from Bihar and UP in Punjab - those from Bihar or UP are cursed, beaten, mistreated, looked down upon, and generally given little respect by native Punjabis. I've heard fellow Punjabis exclaim that "These 'bhaiyas' have infested the whole of Ludhiana!".

And so, I've finally understood why the British feel the way they feel. How they feel isn't surprising anymore.

Sexism and gearless scooters

2011-02-01T00:59:00.001+05:30

It was late morning of today, and I was driving, on the way to work. I stopped at the traffic signal and had a fairly young girl - she was probably 22 or something - stop to the right of my car. She was on a gearless scooter (one of Honda Activa, TVS Scooty, etc.). Waiting as we all were, my ever-wandering attention wandered to the fact that nearly every girl and woman who drives a two-wheeler in India drives one of the gearless scooters. Advertisements promoting such scooters virtually always pitch them to female drivers. The selling points? They're light, they're hep, they're colorful, they're peppy, they're feminine, and most importantly, they're gearless.

Ads of gearless scooters are targeted towards young females.

Does the preference for, and use of gearless scooters by girls and ladies symbolize that the weaker sex is indeed weak? Why are boys and men reluctant to drive gearless scooters? Does it make them less manly? Is there some kind of pride in driving a geared two-wheeler? Why don't girls drive geared scooters? Are gearless scooters meant for the girls?

I pondered over these questions, and at last I concluded - even though it might not be apparent to even the girls themselves - that girls have actually made a smart choice by opting for gearless scooters. I've driven a Kinetic Honda and a Honda Activa for many years, and they're hands down easier to drive than geared bikes/scooters. It takes less effort to drive these gearless scooters, which - if you analyze scientifically - puts less stress on your brain and keeps you more relaxed, mentally. In this case, keeps the ladies more relaxed.

So while the guys are busy rejecting gearless scooters in favor of the more complex geared vehicles, the girls have quietly and happily endorsed a simpler - but hardly less capable - technology. Scooter companies seem to love this uptake, as they're introducing many new models in India.

The market for gearless scooters is growing fast.

Just to be sure, as the traffic light turned green, the girl on the gearless scooter swiftly zipped ahead of my geared Swift.

Little cubs in safe hands

2010-11-21T23:14:00.002+05:30

Watching the otherwise fierce lionesses display such care and tenderness gives me such a good feeling!

(Kenya; source)

(Botswana; source: Punjab Kesari)

Exposing the so-called gods of Hinduism

2010-11-07T00:27:00.042+05:30

Update (12-Nov-10): For the less aware, Duryodhan's real name was Suyodhan. I'm replacing all instances of the word Duryodhan with his correct name (to give him all the respect that he rightfully deserves).

Indrajit vs. Lakshman: At one point in the Indrajit vs. Lakshman combat, Indrajit's lethal weapons refused to kill Lakshman, purportedly because the latter was an avatar of God. Really? Weren't Ram and Lakshman supposed to be regular humans who win based on dharma, satya and skill, and nothing else? If Indrajit's weapons are not going to kill Lakshman, why do the Gods who grant such weapons call them lethal ("अमोघ")? Interestingly, Krishna was easily killed by a regular arrow that struck his foot.
Jayadrath vs. Arjun and Krishna: Is Krishna's temporarily hiding the Sun using some cheap magic alright, and does it not qualify as adharma? Why isn't the so-called best archer in the world able to kill Jayadrath without resorting to dirty magic, unworthy of even his low self-respect? Is Arjun so impotent that he needs Krishna's magic to save his life? (Arjun had pledged to kill Jayadrath, or he would immolate himself)
Dronacharya vs. Bhim, Dhristadyumna, Krishna, Yudhisthira, et al.: The beheading of an unarmed Dronacharya through the use of cheap lies about the killing of Dronacharya's son qualifies as cheating, and if God resorts to cheating, it's alright, but if others cheat, they deserve death (mukti), right?
Suyodhan, et al. vs. Yudhisthira, et al.: This so-called dharmaraj bet his own wife while gambling, and lost her. Does he still qualify for the title of dharamraj? And, after having lost his woman to the rival party, what right does he have to grumble and grunt over what the Kauravs do to their slave?
Bhishma vs. Arjun, Shikhandi, et al.: Use of Shikhandi to down Bhishma and weaken the Kauravs demonstrates the impotence and incapability of Arjun and his allies, and exemplifies just the kind of adharma that the Pandavs purportedly were fighting against.
Ekalavya vs. Dronacharya: Arjun wasn't the greatest archer in the world. Ekalavya was. By having his right thumb cut, Dronacharya purposely made the world of archery a less competitive place for Arjun (not that this made Arjun a better archer than Karna).
Indrajit vs. Lakskman, Vibhishan, et al.: What kind of bravery and dharma is it to disturb and destroy the yagya (for Nikumbala) being performed by Indrajit to attain invincibility, outside of the battlefield, and that too through the use of a coward rat known as Vibhishan?
Suyodhan, Balram vs. Bhim, Krishna: During his solo fight with Suyodhan, Bhim knowingly and nefariously broke one of core rules of mace fighting, that hitting below the waist is prohibited (and he did so at the indication of Krishna). Just because you've taken an oath that you're gonna do something doesn't mean that that something becomes legal. Not only that, when an angry Balram charged towards Bhim with the intention of punishing him, kapti Krishna stopped him. The result? Suyodhan died a lonely, painful death, despite being a great fighter (notably, both Bhim and Suyodhan were trained by Balram).
Gandhari, Suyodhan vs. Krishna: In order to bestow upon her son all the energy gained through a lifetime of sacrifice for her husband, Gandhari orders Suyodhan to take bath and come naked in front of her. Gandhari knew that when she would open her eyes at the naked body of Suyodhan, the extreme energy emanating from her eyes shall transform Suyodhan's body into unbreakable stone ("वज्र"). Krishna knew this all too well, and he cleverly criticized Suyodhan for going naked in front of his mother, making Suyodhan cover his groin. When Gandhari opens her eyes, to her shock, Suyodhan isn't completely naked. Disappointed, she informs Suyodhan that the energy in her eyes had transformed every body part of Suyodhan into a substance stronger than everything else in this world, and that the covered parts haven't been fortified. Suyodhan understands the nefarious trick played by Krishna, but it's too late.
Karna, Suyodhan vs. Ghatotkach, Bhim, Krishna, et al.: In order to protect the impotent Arjun, Krishna made Bhim summon his son Ghatotkach to wreak havok on the Kauravs (after the sunset and against the rules of the battle), with the intent of having Suyodhan force Karna to use his single-use lethal weapon ("अमोघ शक्ति") against Ghatotkach. And Krishna's plan worked just as it was planned - Ghatotkach was killed by Karna's lethal weapon, and by getting Bhim's son killed, Krishna made Karna exhaust his lethal weapon and saved Arjun a certain death. Yeah, right, the Pandavs shrewdly got one of their own sons killed so that a weak rat named Arjun could live. Wow! Dharam, anyone?
Karna, Surya vs. Indra, Arjun: Karna, son of Surya, was born with an armor ("kavach") and a pair of earrings ("kundal") which made him invincible in battle. Indra, the father of impotent Arjun, knew that Karna was invincible and wanted to weaken him in order to protect Arjun. He also knew that Karna was famous for his generosity and so he devised a plan to get rid of Karna's armor and earrings. Although Surya had warned his son of Indra's evil plan, the plan worked (Karna had a policy of not turning back someone who came to his door), and Karna cut his armor and earrings and handed these to Indra. Ashamed and impressed, Indra gave Karna his most powerful weapon - a lethal weapon ("अमोघ शक्ति") that could be used only once ("Karna, Suyodhan vs. Ghatotkach, Bhim, Krishna, et al."). Yeah yeah, I know, Indra is on the side of dharma, I know.
Karna vs. Shalya, Yudhisthira: Dharamraj Yudhisthira struck a deal with Shalya under which Shalya vowed to weaken Karna by demoralizing him, something he executed well as Karna's charioteer. I find this arrangement outrageous. Funnily, however, Shalya was killed by Yudhisthira!
Karna vs. Arjun, Krishna (part 1): Arjun's impotence is clear from the numerous attempts made by Indra, Krishna, etc., to save his life. During a battle with Karna, Karna shot a lethal weapon called Nagastra ("नागास्त्र") at Arjun. Krishna used his dirty magic to lower the chariot and saved Arjun from a certain death. On the evening of the same day, Karna rendered Arjun weaponless by showering arrows at the pace of lightening. However, Karna aborted firing a lethal ("प्राणघातक") arrow at a now-weaponless Arjun because, as Karna later explains to Suyodhan, the arrow would have reached and killed Arjun after sunset (and Karna did not want to disrespect Surya, his father).
Suyodhan vs. Bhishma, Pandavs: I find it unjust that Bhishma vowed to not kill any Pandav during the great battle at Kurukshetra. Effectively, Bhishma was helping the Pandavs by not killing them, and by allowing the Pandavs to kill the Kauravs. Despite Suyodhan's efforts, Bhishma maintained his stance, citing his love for the Pandavs, betraying his own oath that he shall always stand by the king of Hastinapur.
Indrajit vs. Lakshman, Ram: It's intriguing and even funny that both Lakshman and Ram nearly died when Indrajit used the Nagpash weapon (separately, Lakshman almost died for the second time when Indrajit used a powerful shakti on him), but later, when Indrajit used a bunch of lethal weapons, these weapons "refused to kill Lakshman". What a joke!

A shame that we rejoice these impotent personalities.

I'm sure that this post is grossly incomplete (for example, it doesn't include the barbaric killing of Karna by impotent Arjun, at the indication of kapti Krishna). The crux is that many of these so-called gods and other holy figures of Hinduism are actually wicked creatures. It's a shame that we worship these cowards with blind eyes.

This post was previously titled "The cowards and the rats", and published on 7-Nov-10.

Why displaying desperation for Obama?

2010-10-30T12:41:00.001+05:30

For some days now, I've been keenly following the developments related to President Osama's visit to India.

(source)

And I don't like the desperation being shown by Indian (and foreign) Sikhs to make the American President visit the Golden Temple during his visit to India. Agreed that's he's the President of the US. Agreed that he's a big shot. Agreed that in the US, Sikhs are frequently mistaken for Muslims. But don't you guys have any self-esteem? The way Sikhs - yes, this includes the highest Sikh bodies in Amritsar - are trying to pull Osama to the Golden Temple smacks of desperation.

Ladies look gorgeous in a miniskirt with long boots!

2010-10-15T23:27:00.004+05:30

I think ladies look gorgeous when they wear the miniskirt plus long boots combo! Dunno if I'm alone, but I find this outfit very elegant!

Okay, this last photo is plain awesome!

Update (24-Jan-11): I now feel that long boots look great even without a miniskirt, as seen in the photos below.

Opposing opposition to "sex fixing"

2010-10-15T00:59:00.002+05:30

I don't support female foeticide, but I oppose opposition to what a recent story in The Tribune calls sex fixing [remember that opposing opposition to something is not the same as supporting it]. I'm a strong supporter of free market, and in my opinion the contemporary desire to have a male child over a female child is driven - in the language of economics - by demand and supply. It is perfectly okay, in my opinion, if a couple uses modern techniques to fix the sex of their would-be child.

A free market is self-correcting, and any indiscriminate use of such techniques shall automatically result in a situation that shall make such techniques undesirable. Furthermore, no harm to any living being is involved in the so-called sex fixing, and this factor itself makes the process legally and morally acceptable. Instead of thoughtlessly opposing sex fixing, we should analyze its harmless nature objectively, and then form an opinion.

A screenshot of the recent story in The Tribune

I felt like a coward today. Like a loser. I felt ashamed of myself. And I cried.

2010-10-13T00:37:00.005+05:30

I feel ashamed even writing this post. Don't know what's keeping my fingers moving.

"Death stands mute at the doors of the `maut ka kuan' where Dil Fariyad, Afzal Khan and Goutham perform the speed feat on three vehicles. The intuitively perfect calculation of time and speed by these daredevils from Ajmer in Rajasthan will sure keep time waiting for an eternity... To the question of fear of death, Jagdish Raj Sharma, owner of the visiting exhibition said rather philosophically, "Iska naam hi maut ka kuan hai. Maut hamesh hamare saath rahti hai. Vo to ooparvale ki marzi hai ki ham aj bhi zinda hai (The performance is called well of death. Death is alway beside us. However, it is the grace of God that we are still alive)."" - Defying death in `maut ka kuan', The Hindu, Dec'05

An hour back, me and my papa went to the Daresi Ground (Ludhiana) to watch the Dussehra Mela. As we were roaming, we were chatting about the danger and the possibility of a terrorist attack at Daresi Ground. We did a bit of shooting and then we moved on. A little later, we noticed a huge cylindrical chamber, the familiar maut ka kuan. Papa asked me if I wanted to see it. I wasn't that interested, but I said yes.

We both climbed the stairs and reached at that level of the frame where the wooden walls end. Papa and me both noticed that the walls are nearly vertical, and although we've both seen this particular performance at least once previously, we were both a bit surprised at the steepness of the walls.

There were two bikes and four Maruti 800 cars parked at the base, and we started waiting for the show to start. A few minutes later, a young man wearing a reddish shirt - he was probably not over 25 - entered the chamber through a door at the base of the cylinder and revved his bike a few times. The public's eyes got affixed on him. The excitement was increasing. Everyone was waiting for him the climb the walls of this death pit.

And he did. Within seconds he climbed the walls and started circling the near-vertical cylindrical chamber. The breadth and depth of the situation cannot be described in words. No photo, no video, no words have the power to describe the magnitude of risk that the young man took as he circled the circular wall. He continued to circle, even changing his configuration inflight. He rapidly pulled notes from onlookers who offered him bits of money, he freed both of his hands from the bike's steering, he even jiggled the bike - all while performing the already-incredible activity!

My legs started to shake. My eyes became wet. I didn't feel any thrill. No fun. Only sadness for these brave boys who carry their lives on their hands every second while they're performing. I say again, it's their insult to try to describe their magic in words. It can be felt only on watching a show in reality.

The young man finished his performance and climbed down the wall. My heart, which was beating rapidly for the last few minutes, started to come back to normal. Just then, I saw four more men enter the chamber on their bikes, and this group of five men started revving their bikes. I knew that this time they're gonna push even further. The men quickly started circling the chamber. They jiggled, made formations, performed, saluted, took notes, and did everything that they should not have been doing. I tried to hide and stop my tears. I felt helpless. Ashamed. Ashamed that I sometimes find it difficult to get out of a cozy, warm quilt. Well-fed, two phones, three computers, bank accounts, bank balance, credit and debit cards, my own car, I felt very ashamed of myself. As those young men circled the death pit, with their life hung by a fragile thread, I though about myself and felt ashamed.

When the boys finished the performance, I told papa that I'm not feeling good. That I can't, and don't want to see more of it. All these minutes, my papa had been feeling exactly as I had been feeling, and he agreed that we should leave. That the huge amount of concern that spontaneously develops for these men is more than what can be born. See, we can't even bear the concern. And they're doing it.

We climbed down the stairs as the bikes and cars started the composite performance. For the next many minutes, me and papa kept talking of these poor boys who are totally unaware of the magnitude of risk they're taking. Multiple times each day. Multiple days each week. Multiple weeks each year. Multiple places in India and elsewhere. I felt like I'm a loser. What have I done by walking away? I've only proved to myself that I don't even have the courage to watch these men put their lives at stake. What to talk of putting my life at stake? As I was walking away from the cylindrical chamber, I said to myself -"Main to bhagoda ban ke ja raha hu, back into my comfortable world. But that doesn't mean that this show will stop. Even if I won't see it doesn't mean that this cruel show won't continue to happen. The boys don't value their lives. They don't know how to make money, and so they will, again and again, put their young lives at stake. The show must go on.".

I feel so sorry for them. And it can't be described. It can only be felt if you know what can go wrong and what its consequences are gonna be. Those who don't understand engineering and physics have no fucking idea that these boys are putting life, LIFE at stake. And that there are SO MANY things that can go wrong.

One breakdown, or one mistake, and life shall painfully leave the shattered bodies. And how much do they get? A few hundred rupees? Just that? Yeah, that's what they get for this feat that only they can pull off.

This guy on YouTube probably watched a real performance. His words echo the sentiment that's in my heart at this moment:

"No halmet ho jackets just regular clothes no safety no training no timings just practise. THIS IS REAL STUNT. REAL DARE DEVILS"

Yes. That's what they are. REAL DARE DEVILS. But they're also the unsung heroes of the Third World. They won't get coverage on Discovery Channel. Documentaries won't be made on them. They won't get sponsors or co-sponsors. They don't have companies insuring their life. They don't have branded teams getting media coverage. Their families are as poor as they are. They don't have a medical team ready with first aid. They don't have money to pay for medication. Nobody's gonna pay for their treatment. They don't have those assurances that allow the rich to take more risk. They don't have any safety equipment. They have nearly zero money in their pockets but infinite courage and infinite energy. And a desire to earn a buck or two. They sport real smiles as they fearlessly circle the death pit. Smiles that feel like swords piercing through my heart. Smiles that make me realize that there's so much wrong in this world. That make me wonder why these boys are unfortunate. I'm unable to look at the smile of the man in the Maruti 800 in the photo above. I can't bear his fearless smile. It feels like a slap. Their families are not aware that each day, their sons, brothers, husbands and lovers beat death in a match against the relentless laws of physics. These men are not aware what friction or gravitation is. Or what force or momentum means. They use their gut, and their gut alone to pull incredible tricks. And amidst all the malls, the cars, the India Shining, the blitz, the development, the GDP growth, the Chandrayaan, and the news stories about the Arrival of India, these fearless, low-paid warriors will continue to beat death and entertain crowds for decades to come.

The GMAT girl and why I scored (only) 760...

2010-10-01T23:32:00.006+05:30

Disclaimer: By using the word "only" in the title of this post, I do not intend to convey that on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), 760 is a low score. It's a phenomenal score, as anyone in the GMAT/MBA sphere will testify. The only reason why I've called 760 as "only" is that I had strongly hoped for a 780 (based on my performance in the over 40 practice tests, etc., I took).

*********

I first heard her voice when I called up at Jetking, Chandigarh a couple of weeks back (to get some information on GMAT). When I kept down the phone, I remember feeling both good and surprised. How can someone talk so nicely? How can someone give you information so politely and sweetly? Wow, I thought.

Then I forgot.

I heard her the second time when I called up at Jetking a few days back (GMAT, again). I remember feeling good and surprised once again. How in the world can someone be so soft-spoken? Someone whose voice shows so much real concern. I was impressed.

Then came the judgment day - 30-Sep-10. I went to Jetking, Chandigarh, and as soon as I saw her, I was like 99% sure that it's her (even before I had heard her voice). She was wearing blue jeans and a green top, and when she asked me to sit on the chair in front of her, I knew it was her. She's one of the sweetest and politest and loveliest females I've ever seen in my life. I won't call her a woman, but she's not a girl either. Perhaps she's what Britney says - Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman. I was mesmerized, and her concern helped to lower the slight nervousness that had dawned upon me before the test. She looked at names of the five schools I had written on a piece of paper, and gave a childlike surprised gesture. Then, for the next ~4 hours, she helped me in every way a responsible test-administrator should. She would notice on her monitor that my scratchpad is about to finish, and would proactively supply me with a new one (but she never broke a single rule). She helped me through the navigation screens. She probably noticed the weird gestures I emanate whenever I give a test (I tend to do weird-looking actions whenever I'm doing a test), and perhaps thought of me as a madman, but when she printed my Unofficial Score Report, like a child with a curious twinkle in her eyes, like a deer with big, baby-like eyes, she curiously gazed at the Report, and with a gleam in her eyes, she exclaimed "760? Wow!". However, to her dismay - and now I feel sorry for dismaying such a helpful, innocent and nice girl - I gave a repulsive reply that I had expected 780 (to which she apparently didn't know what to say).

Then, I reminded myself something and hurriedly left the scene, singing, once again:

"But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you"

I'm no painter, and I can't draw her. I can only say that she looked something like each of these five photos.

All photos shamelessly copied without permission...

Oh, I forgot to write why I (probably) didn't score 780. During the Quantitative section, the test-room was very cold. And I faced quite a lot of difficulty because of this cold and it probably took a toll on my performance. She had probably noticed me shivering because she turned off the air-conditioning system during the break between Quantitative and Verbal, and my Verbal went great!

From divide and rule to divide and sell

2010-09-24T11:41:00.004+05:30

Whenever I read news stories saying that the US has struck a deal to sell so many fighter jets to a country, because of apparent threat to that country (from its neighbors, etc.), I feel sad. Because in many of such cases, the so-called threat has been created by the US itself.

(source: Emirates 24|7)

The brilliant strategy followed by "America" can be summarized as follows: Create widespread belief that a particular nation is rogue and thus too dangerous, and then sell tens of billions worth of military equipment to that nation's neighbors. It's in the interest of the US to create controlled tension between different nations of the world, because it gets strong pretext to sell military equipment to the threatened nations. It's annoying to see the US express its desire to see issues between India and Pakistan get resolved, and then see it sell or attempt to sell military equipment to both the nations, further escalating the tension between the nations (culminating in an arms race, fueled both by one-upmanship and by "America").

It looks like a modern form of divide and rule - I call it divide and sell.

Institutions that work - Supreme Court of India

2010-09-23T14:03:00.000+05:30

I've been keenly reading judgments given by Supreme Court of India for many years now. A little bit surprisingly, I've almost always agreed with its rulings (except on the matter of reservation in education and employment opportunities). I like that the Court thinks sensibly. Its observations and informed, rational and wise. It is one of the few institutions in India to be proud of.

My feelings on transporting an accident victim to a hospital (2)

2010-09-19T00:51:00.002+05:30

After over a year, tonight I got the third opportunity to help an accident-victim. It's past midnight now, and about half hour back I was in my car with my buddy Vinayak, driving on the Ferozepur Road in Ludhiana. We were heading back home, the weather was good and the drive was smooth when Vinayak - who was probably looking at the right half of the road - suddenly uttered "Gaya! Gaya!" and within a second there were sparks on the road in front of us. A speeding car had rammed into a scooter, on which a boy and his mother were going back to their home (this car fled the scene).

Sensing that a serious accident had happened, we wasted no time and stopped my car right next to the semi-conscious lady. She had injuries on her face, nose, neck and chest, was bleeding profusely and seemed to have great difficulty breathing (blood was flowing out of her nose). With the help of some people who had stopped at the scene, we quickly loaded the victim on the back seat of the car, jumped in, and rushed to the nearby Raghunath Hospital (as requested by the lady's son). After handing over the victim to the emergency services personnel at the hospital, we left the scene.

Although what happened is unfortunate, I have satisfaction that I contributed to save a life, again. My plan of going where I (and Vinayak) had gone was unconfirmed initially, but it seems like it's fortunate that we went (although the Butterfly Effect says that if I had not gone to that place, the configuration of the road would have probably been very different, and the accident might not have happened at all).

Contra - my all-time favorite video game!

2010-09-12T23:31:00.000+05:30

It's surprising that even though video games have advanced so much in the last 20 years, Contra continues to rule my mind, as ever :)

Contra promotional flyer

Defence spending vs. healthcare/medical spending

2010-09-02T14:14:00.002+05:30

On the nights of 30th and 31st August, 2010, I spent a few hours at the Apollo hospital in Ludhiana, as a close relative who, unfortunately, is gravely ill, is admitted there.

I've been to hospitals many times, and a thought that invariably comes to my mind whenever I'm inside a hospital is that it's very, very important to make disproportionately large investments to enable research that leads humans to advancements in health-related diagnosis and treatment.

So when I read statements such as these:

"Even in an age of austerity America still towers above all-comers in military power, as well it should given its annual defence spending of $700 billion, almost as much as the rest of the world put together..." - After Iraq, The Economist, Aug'10

I feel sad. The world needs to spend the most on issues that help us all, and less on human-obliterating bombs, pain rays and other "futuristic" weapons.

Sick of American journalists' ignorance... denial?

2010-08-28T20:04:00.005+05:30

"...false belief in weapons of mass-destruction led the United States to a trillion-dollar war." - Building a Nation of Know-Nothings, NYT, Aug'10

I'm sick of reading supposedly-factual news articles and opinion columns written by American journalists in "highly regarded" publications such as The New York Times, in which these journalists routinely claim that WMDs in Iraq was a mistake by the US!

I say BULLSHIT!

Grow up, kids. Even a chaiwalla in India probably knows by now that American claims of presence of WMDs in Iraq were all blatant, fabricated lies! Lies with a clear purpose, these were projected as truth by the USA as a pretext to bleed, conquer and leech Iraq.

And what about the mother-of-all-lies - the link between Al-Qaida and Iraq that the US created like a genius? My fingers are burning... I don't have the capacity to write!

Does the US-given designation of "State Sponsors of Terrorism" apply to the US itself?

2010-08-26T22:26:00.004+05:30

Just noticed this - the map on the Wikipedia article for "State Sponsors of Terrorism" has the US colored. Does this please US-haters, by indicating indirectly that the US too is a sponsor of terrorism?

Funnily, these countries have been listed by the US

Back home from a dream visit to Argentina

2010-08-24T16:40:00.003+05:30

A few hours back, my flight - bound for Delhi - took-off from Johannesburg. It stopped for a layover somewhere in Argentina. I was flying with two of my friends (Kaushik; Piyush Garg). I don't remember clearly, but we were put in a nice hotel - the hotel, by the way, wasn't in Argentinian territory - and told that we had only a few hours to wait until the flight took-off for its final destination.

(source)

We knew that two of the grandest beaches of Argentina were near our hotel, and I was too excited at the prospect of spending some time in this country. It's a country we used to study back during my school days, and the mystery attached with South America - and Africa - made me eager to see it.

I was trying to break out of the hotel - I remember running from floor to floor, even finding the elevator locked in chains and locks on one particular floor - and into the country, worried that with each passing minute, the take-off time of the next leg of the flight is coming closer. Finally, after some attempts, I was able to break out onto a beach called Masaha. How happy I was! I clearly remember the excitement, the happiness, the thrill of being on that beach! I ran around and called back home and shared my joy with my family. I'm really in Argentina, I thought. Shit. Wow! Within minutes, my friends also broke out from the hotel and came onto the beach.

We roamed on the beach for a few minutes, when we came across a group of four young ladies with some strange-looking colors on their faces. An approximate approximation of what we saw can be made by imagining a hybrid version of the following two photos:

(source)

Everything was going so well. We guys smiled at each other. Something was about to happen. But what?

Unfortunately, I'll never be able to know what was gonna happen, because that was when someone made a noise and my eyes opened, and to utter disappointment I found myself back at my home, half-clad in the mattress. The fan on the ceiling was rotating as ever. I looked at my phone - it said 8:46 AM.

I was shattered :(

Four learnings from the Landmark Education session I attended on Tuesday, 17-Aug-10

2010-08-20T01:24:00.002+05:30

Background: I'm an Aug'06 graduate of The Landmark Forum by Landmark Education.

Stand in the future and live your present from the future: Stand in the future that you want to achieve, and let it empower you and give you happiness and a sense of fulfillment. Then work your present according to that future. The past is exactly that - past. The present is not supposed to be operated according to the past, but according to the future that you desire and have targeted
Targets must be specific: Unless targets are specific and unambiguous, one won't achieve them. "I wanna lose as much weight as possible, as soon as possible." is a BS target. "I wanna lose 5 kg in the next 50 days." is a specific target. "I wanna get rich." is not a BS target; it's a CowShit target. "I wanna earn INR 1 crore in the next 1 year." is a specific target
Targets should be realistic: Setting lofty-but-achievable targets is different from dreaming wildly. "I wanna earn 1 crore in the next 24 hours." is an unrealistic target for me (at present), although it can be a realistic target for someone who currently earns proportionally. "I wanna earn USD 1 million in the next 5 years." is a realistic target
Work on the goals, not on the stories ("I want X but Y"): The Ys are all stories made up by us and assumed to be true, while the Xs are the goals. We convince ourselves that the Ys are true, and that our lack of success in achieving the Xs is justifiably attributable to the presence of Ys, and that these Ys result in our inability in achieving the Xs. We keep thinking about and working on the Ys, whereas we should be concentrating our energy and time on the Xs

My thoughts on Indian female drivers

2010-08-20T00:45:00.008+05:30

The outrageous "hit, kill and flee" incident at Chandigarh presents an opportunity to pen my views about the driving of Indian female drivers. These are based on the many years for which I've been driving both two-wheelers and cars in various North-Indian cities.

My views can appropriately be segregated into two buckets - the first called G (for females aged >=16 and <30), and the second called W (for ages >=30). Females <16 years old are out of scope.

G: I don't just distrust the driving of most Indian females, and I also fear it, and I plead not guilty to the accusation of being a sexist. I not only have little confidence in the driving of most Indian female drivers from set G, I also get extra cautious when I am driving around one. However, there exists a small subset of G - about 5% of the full set - which does possess good driving skills. The remainder ~95% can be attributed with dangerous/pointless/random turns, frequent collisions, mid-road car stoppages, sudden braking, unneeded honking, etc. I have been victim of the oft-careless driving by set G drivers - in 2004 I was hit, hard, by a car driven by two young girls, who didn't bother to stop to say sorry!
W: The proportion of good drivers in W, in my opinion, is only ~2%. Frankly, I'm tired of the troubles created by this set! The drivers in this set generally appear clueless. No more to say...

Update (10-Jul-11): As if this was not already known to every guy (and the ladies too, although they wouldn't admit it), a study by the University of Michigan proves beyond doubt that female drivers indeed cause more accidents than male drivers.

On atheism, god, life, intelligent life, and the existence of this universe (and more)

2010-07-27T03:11:00.008+05:30

Those among us who don't believe in the existence of an omnipotent and omnipresent god (myself included) cite science as one of the reasons for their disbelief. Since god is typically associated with magical/supernatural phenomenon, scientists routinely deny the possibility of presence of god.

A thought just crossed my mind - isn't the very existence of

The universe
Life on earth
Intelligent life, in the form of human beings

magical enough or supernatural enough to make the (possible) existence of a god less magical and less unbelievable?

Should (or shouldn't) the skeptics, including me, look at the world around us, the life in little babies and chicks and puppies, and the intelligent life in homo sapiens as a real-life demonstration of the supernatural, right in front of us, making the very thought of the existence of an all-powerful entity more believable?

Related content: Why God Did Not Create the Universe, WSJ, Sep'10

First encounter with flirting: aboard an Emirates A340, at >40,000 feet, somewhere over Africa

2010-07-16T17:24:00.003+05:30

It was 8th of October, 2009, and I (along with a few colleagues) was flying - for the first time - to Johannesburg, aboard an Emirates A340 aircraft, cruising smoothly at over 40,000 feet, somewhere above Africa. The dusk was changing into night and we were only a short while away from our final destination. I was busy watching Aloo Chat, feeling a bit sleepy in my seat located near the rear of the aircraft.

While the main course meal was being served, a Black African air-hostess - who, admittedly, was quite smart - seemed unusually friendly. At first I was a bit doubtful and tried to ignore it, but when she repeatedly smiled at me in a suggestive way, I got the hint.

The first thought that flashed in my mind? Welcome to Africa, beta!

The African lady was like the highlighted lady above (source)

My doubt vanished when she came over and made herself comfortable in the empty seat beside me, threw a wide smile, and told me and her colleague - another stewardess apparently belonging to the Middle East - that "I was watching this man for a long time...". The other stewardess - who was a bit surprised at this lady's statement - gave a silly laugh to me and showed wide eyes to this lady. The Middle Eastern stewardess uttered, "She's just crazy!", as if preemptively trying to calm me down (I obviously wasn't a bit offended).

The Middle Eastern lady was like the right-most air-hostess (source)

This Black African lady then chatted with me for a few minutes, during which she got to know that it was the first time I was flying outside India. So happy she was at this, as if looking for a reason to celebrate! She excitedly told me that this calls for a treat, and said, "Come! Come to the back! Let's have a party... we have a cake!". "What?", I thought. But before I could think of anything else, she had already grabbed my arm and was trying to pull me to the back. Holy shit, I thought, but before I could think of something, the Middle Eastern air-hostess quickly arrived at the scene and got my arm freed from the African lady's hands and smilingly apologized to me, and again showed wide eyeballs to the African lady.

The drama ended at this point, and it was an experience for sure, but to this day I wonder why the Black African lady was so keen to take me to the back of the aircraft.

In India, Dabur doesn't sell many 'flavors' of Vatika Enriched Hair Oil that are available abroad... Sad!

2010-07-15T17:46:00.001+05:30

I remember that when I was in South Africa, and one day we went to Fordsburg, I was surprised to see some flavors of Dabur Vatika Enriched Hail Oil that I had never seen in India. Presence of Arabic language on the bottles instantly indicated to me that these had been - presumably illegally - imported/smuggled from the UAE.

Four flavors of Vatika available at DXB and Fordsburg, but not India

Fine, but why doesn't Dabur - an Indian company - sell these in its home country? Despite my close to 2 years of experience in the Market Research and Business/Strategic Consulting fields, I'm unable to think of the reason why Dabur doesn't.

Anyways, I bought one bottle of the Cactus flavor from Fordsburg and happily use it these days :)

I don't like the word 'Commonwealth'. It constantly reminds me of the devastating British rule in India

2010-07-06T16:25:00.001+05:30

The media in India might have gone crazy about the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi, but I don't like this very word 'Commonwealth'. To me, it's a reminder of the atrocities committed by the British on Indians. The very group Commonwealth of Nations is a constant reminder of the British Empire, and the sufferings suffered by millions and millions of people all over the world. My mind doesn't want to adopt this word. I'm least willing to read news stories about the Queen's Baton reaching somewhere, or articles telling me that Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth.

Fifty-four countries still headed by the British Queen (even if ceremonially)?

Thanks, but no thanks. Give me a Head of the Commonwealth from Bangladesh or Botswana or Cameroon or Ghana or India or Nigeria or Pakistan please (or from any other Third World country).

A representative of British atrocities in India (source)

Heat makes me go crazy!

2010-07-06T12:39:00.001+05:30

I've observed this about myself for many years now - heat makes me go crazy! It makes me needlessly angry and perpetually annoyed, and makes me bark at others for no apparent reason. This observation about myself finally got set in stone over the last couple of weeks, with high temperatures and zero rain experienced in Ludhiana (Punjab, India). I barked at everyone and I was annoyed most of the time and I didn't feel like working till the noon, and my behavior would change dramatically as the dusk grew and the temperature fell.

Screenshot from 'A Few Good Men'

I need to take note of this fact-about-myself in the future. I need to ensure that I keep myself cool during the hottest days in India (or elsewhere), and don't let my composure or productivity fall.

What frigging right does the US have to impose sanctions on another country (outside of the UN)?

2010-07-04T23:57:00.007+05:30

When I read news stories such as this, this, this, this, this, and this, my blood boils and turns into lava.

Can someone please explain to me what fugging right does the US have to unilaterally impose sanctions on another sovereign state? Why are these sanctions passed as "laws" in the US Congress, instead of the UN headquarters? Who the hell is this Barack Obama dude?

(source)

Laughably, how in the frigging hell can the United States pass a law in its (troubled) homeland which bars other countries from exporting refined petroleum to Iran (among other things)? And why are these "other countries" so impotent as to accept these laws and sanctions? Why is the UN impotent as well?

No matter how much I try, I fail to understand (and tolerate) this.

France has no right to ban Muslim veil... (and thoughts on Britain and Spain)

2010-07-01T23:51:00.012+05:30

...claiming that the scarf is symbolic of suppression of females (and other blah blah blah). What about those Muslim girls or women who want to wear the veil? Will they have to carry a legal document certifying that they're absolutely okay about wearing a veil? Is France regulating what Muslim women can or cannot wear?

(source)

IMHO, and ironically, it's anti-democratic to not allow Muslim ladies to wear the Islamic veil. When did the intent of secularism change from respecting the harmless beliefs of different religions' individuals, to imposing your own views of the world on everyone - including on those who probably oppose it?

Updates (19-Jul-10 and 27-Jul-10):

French ban on the veil - a garment purportedly supported by Islam - will do more harm to the image of the Western world in general, and France in particular
I support the rejection of a ban of the Islamic veil in Britain (link 1, link 2), for the reason they've cited - tolerance
A funny part of France's ban and Spain's consideration of a ban on the veil is that these guys call the veil degrading to women. First, is France/Spain to decide whether those Muslim women feel degraded with the veil, and liberated without it? Second, what irks me is that for some odd reason, wearing extra clothes has come to be regarded as degrading, while a public show of nudity by French and Spanish females (see here, here, here, and here) is not-degrading, is not sexual-objectification of females, is not corrupting the youth, and is instead a demonstration of liberated, modern women? Tough to digest
What about the prostitution industry of France? Is that not degrading to women? WTF!
The ban on veil has less to do with liberating women, and more with reinforcing the stereotype of Muslims as backward

Update (7-Aug-10): A rare gust of fresh, unbiased air from America

A sweet puppy died today :(

2010-06-15T09:52:00.002+05:30

This female dog had given birth to three puppies a few days back, and the puppies soon became notorious for their "getting between the legs" behavior. They were playful (too playful actually), would jump around (displaying their infinite energy), and would get between your legs, scaring you.

Just last night I and my brother watched their notoriety, and fed one of them with biscuit.

Today morning when I woke up and went out to open and then close the main gate, I saw one of the three puppies lying dead on the side of the road. Such a sad sight it is. Reminded me of how it was jumping last night. I felt more sad when our maid told us that she had seen and heard this puppy taking "lambe lambe saans" (long breaths) this morning.

Poor little puppy. Feel sad for him. Its mother came to it, and licked it, perhaps wondering why it wasn't moving. Its brother is not jumping around (I'm surprised at how calmly and sadly it's sitting under my car this morning, as if mourning its brother's loss). The third pup is nowhere to be seen.

Me vs. Shrinking Trousers. Fight!

2010-06-02T00:59:00.006+05:30

I've finally gotten SICK of my shrinking trousers (a euphemism for my bulging tummy) laughing embarrassingly at me ("Hey Jack, you can't wear us anymore!"). In the past ~2 years, I've seen at least 5 trousers go waste because they no longer fit! Ditto with at least 3 jeans. What the fugging hell is going on? Where's that conviction that I'm never gonna get fat?

I don't wanna look like a pregnant woman, for heaven's sake! (source)

Okay, I gotto halt and reverse this downhill slide. The next update to this post will be on 2-Jul-10. Hoping to lose 2 inches by then.

Real men don't wear pink

2010-05-31T22:10:00.000+05:30

Okay, I know this makes me appear like a fuddy-duddy, but I'm clear about this one - real men don't wear pink.

A loser (source)

Brian McFadden may have backtracked from his statement by calling it a 'joke', but I'm never gonna approve men wearing pink. Ever.

PS: Real Men Wear Pink on Urban Dictionary. A nice read.

You're beautiful

2010-05-25T00:14:00.004+05:30

There's a young lady who works at my workplace (I don't know if calling her a 'girl' is okay). I saw her the first time after I returned from Jo'burg. Ever since I've seen her, I've been trying to not think about her. I've never worked with her, or talked to her, except an accidental "hi" the first time I met her (she had replied with a smiling "hi"). She's in a different division, a different team. I look at her as she passes by my desk - perhaps she knows this. I don't know.

I've told my feelings to one of my best friends. I've told him why I do not want to think about her. How her presence makes me lose focus. How I have to slap my mind and bring back my concentration. How I feel sad that I must not lose the sight of my goals - not for a girl.

But I wonder, do I really need to? Sometimes I doubt. To what end?

Far and going further away (source)

It's a pity that I can't even mention her name here. Nor can I tell her what I feel for her. I don't even have a picture of her. But I'll move on soon, and things will change, and maybe I'll forget her. For now, I can at least hum James Blunt's beautiful words:

"But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you"

Weird: Experiencing feelings for aircraft

2010-05-15T17:45:00.007+05:30

I felt this the first time when I read on the BBC about the crash of Polish President's Tupolev Tu-154. When I saw the following photo, I felt sad for the airplane.

(source)

The crashed plane felt to me like a mammoth animal who had been mercilessly salughtered. I imagined how the aircraft must've struggled as it hit the ground, how its engines must have grunted like a bull before comming to a standstill. And I felt sad and bad.

Nowadays when I see crashed planes - like below - I feel for them.

(source)

Not sure why have I started having these seemigly weird feelings. Maybe I need to go out more often...

Update (22-May-10): Sad about the crash of Flight IX-812. I feel a sense of urgency while reading the Wikipedia article about this crash.

It was a good plane (source)

Thoughts on visiting a country again

2010-05-15T10:19:00.002+05:30

Sometime during the six months of my stay in South Africa, I had a brief discussion with a colleague on "tourists who are second-or-more time visitors to a country". I questioned - huh, why would someone want to visit an already-visited-once country again, unless he has already seen every other country that he wants to see in his lifetime? I reasoned - in a utilitarian manner - that once someone has seen/visited a country, it doesn't make sense to spend money again to visit that same country. Instead, it makes more sense to me to see a different/new country when one next goes on a holiday.

That was when I was in Jo'burg. Now I'm in my home country, and I have a slightly different viewpoint on that topic. Do I want to visit South Africa again? Yes. Am I willing to spend money to visit SA, thus making an unvisited country as the opportunity cost? Sure!

Why this change of thought? I seem to have realized one of the reasons why people visit a country again. They come again because they like the place and the place makes them feel good. And seemingly, their primary purpose of doing a holiday is to make themselves feel happy, and not merely to visit a new country.

When I think of SA - especially Johannesburg and Cape Town - I start to feel happy. When I look at photos of SA, I feel so good. Perhaps that's why I too am happily eager/willing to be there again.

Johannesburg at night (source)

There are two learnings that I've got from this change of opinion:

It's okay - and not wrong - if people visit a country again, instead of exploring new parts of the world. They want happiness, which this country is sure to provide
Although I usually have an unassailable opinion about most things, I must remember - as I've also realized at other times - that my opinion can sometimes change. And so the vehemence with which I sometimes voice my opinion might get invalidated later, when my viewpoint changes

Web counter replaced to StatCounter

2010-05-09T03:05:00.002+05:30

I've replaced the hit counter on this blog, from Tiny Counter to StatCounter - the former's counter didn't show up quite often. I've started the count of StatCounter's counter at 9,638 - the latest count displayed by Tiny Counter's counter for this blog.

Just Promoted

2010-05-01T23:03:00.000+05:30

Yes, the title is inspired by the 2007 Bollywood movie 'Just Married'. Happy to be writing that I've been promoted from Analyst to Senior Analyst ("Associate") at Grail Research India (on 30-Apr-10). It was a good feeling calling up the family to inform them, updating my profiles on Google, Orkut, Blogger, LinkedIn, and GrailWiki, as well as tweeting about this and writing this blog post.

MUST RETURN INR 35 LAKH, WITH INTEREST

2010-04-29T22:37:00.001+05:30

She cried on the phone today. He made her cry. She requested me to return it. She challenged me to return it. I take an oath today - to return INR 35 lakh to him, as soon as I can, with full interest. I am writing this here because I want to remember this all the time. I want to remind myself about this each day. I want fire to burn in my heart each day, just like I remind myself about this, this, this, this, and this each day.

This fire will quench only the day I throw the principal with interest at him. I WILL FUCKING DO IT.

Yearning to fly again...

2010-04-28T00:55:00.005+05:30

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." - Leonardo da Vinci

Emirates A340 taking-off from Johannesburg (source)

Gulf Air A330 taking-off from Beirut (source)

Wanna fly again :(

Adieu Africa, good bye Johannesburg !

2010-04-03T06:12:00.003+05:30

It's 12:53 AM of the 3rd of April, 2010 here, right now. It's cold tonight. There's light breeze. The building diagonally opposite to my home is illuminated just the way it was on 8th of October, 2009. The roads are empty too, just like they were back then. How am I feeling? I'm cold, feelingless and sad. Jo'burg feels like it's a part of me. These roads, these walls, the flowers, the air here, I've fallen in love with these. I was looking at the road right in front of Berkeley Square. It's wet and it looks good. No voices can be heard, except the ones in my home. The home is illuminated... nearly all the lights are on. It's so quiet outside. I went out on a drive tonight, but couldn't go far because the car was out of fuel. Money, battery, memory and now fuel too. Whenever something good is gonna happen, something finishes. But I felt good that I could see that well-lit area tonight. I want to go out on a long drive tonight. I'll probably get the car refueled and go on a drive. It's my last night in Jo'burg, so I should go. Don't know when I'll come back here. Maybe months, maybe years, and maybe even decades. Don't know. Am sad. I had some very good times here. It has changed me quite a lot. I'm remembering the days before I came here... so many times I went back to Ludhiana, to get the clearance certificate. There was excitement, there was eagerness. Tonight I'm calm and composed. I cried a few hours back. Bitterly. I'm done with my packing. My luggage is ~4 kg above 30 kg limit. Yesterday I was remembering some huge mistakes that I did in life. I have so many things still to do. I wanna do helicopter ride, I couldn't see Soweto. But I had some lovely time at Dullstroom, Drakensberg, Hazyview, Graskop and Cape Town. I have learnt a lot here. I'm already so sleepy. How am I gonna go on a drive, I wonder? Tomorrow at this time I'll be in the flight, somewhere over Africa. I still remember the first tourist place I visited - Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve - on 10th October last year. A smile comes to my face whenever I think about it. The roads were new, the place was new. I would feel so good looking at hills and mountains around.

Sorry for the break. It's 2:24 AM now. I'm just back from a drive along Jo'burg's skyline. There's a particular road on the way back from the airport, on the right side of which Jo'burg's beautiful skyline can be seen at night. I've been to O.R. Tambo airport at least 10 times now, and each time on the way back to home, I get speechless when I look at Jo'burg's skyline. I loved watching it today. We took a wrong turn, which lead us into Hillbrow, perhaps the most dangerous area of Jo'burg. We didn't have a GPS, and we reached very close to the Hillbrow Tower. I had gotten quite alert and scared as we went deeper into Hillbrow. There were a few guys on the road. Ultimately we managed to get out of the area. But I am happy because I've been gazing at the Hillbrow Tower for 6 months now, and today I got so close to it.

I'm sleepy again. But I don't wanna sleep.

I'm remembering the first flight which brought me to Jo'burg. I remember very clearly that as we were nearing Johannesburg, I could start seeing orange colored lights on the ground. We had guessed that this should be Johannesburg. That feeling of new and unknown was something I can probably never forget. I don't think I will ever get that feeling ever again, because Johannesburg was the first time I came to an all new world. I remember clearly how I was feeling while inside the taxi which took me to home. I was looking at shops all around me, and thinking that I'm in an all new world. It can't be described in words. It just can't be described. It can only be felt. And it's entrenched in me. Every time I think of it, I feel good. I still remember the first time I entered the home. The first time I was looking out of my room's window. It was so quiet that night. A few cars passed every few mintues. It was an all new world then.

Whenever I think of the word 'Johannesburg', I feel good. Don't know why. I feel so proud. So connected. I want to keep writing. But sooner or later I'll have to press the 'Publish Post' button. But I'm feeling good as I write this post. Soon I'll sleep for the last time at 302, Riviera Mansions. Shit. It's such a bad feeling. Really, am I sleeping here for the last time? Let me click a few photos which'll make me smile, later. Feels almost like my college days. Tomorrow night's sleep? In A340. The night after that? ATS Greens. Lot of movement. Where is peace?

I'll miss you, Johannesburg. A lot. Don't know why I'm in so much love.

God proposes, Man disposes!

2010-03-30T02:04:00.007+05:30

Even as I write this, I can't believe that this has actually happened.

We were at the Drakensberg mountains a couple of weeks back, hiking our way to the top of a peak. We were a group of ~25-30 people (five of us from India, and the rest from other parts of the world), among whom were two pretty young ladies on a holiday to South Africa - one a Canadian named Annie, and the other from Colombia. The latter's name was Anna Maria, and one of my friends (with all respect due to my good friend, let's call him Faggot for this post) started circling around her as soon as we started our gruesome hike to the top, helping her in clicking her own photos, crossing the river, etc. After hours of diligent work, they only became what can be called one step behind friends (Event1). The day passed soon, and we came back to our camp. We headed back for Johannesburg the next day, and their story ended here, seemingly.

Luck had something else in the store, however. Two weeks later, we were at Cape Town, staying at Long Street Backpackers. On the second day of our trip, me and Faggot went to a nearby Internet cafe, to get the photos and videos on our cameras' memory cards burnt to a DVD. And then the height of coincidence happened - there was Anna Maria at the very same time on the very same date in the very same Internet cafe of the very same city (Event2)! As I was busy surfing the Internet (yawn...), my friend struck a conversation with her, and managed to exchange phone numbers. Before parting ways, Anna asked my friend to meet her at the V&A Waterfront, at seven in the evening (Event3)! What more could've Faggot asked for! We left the cafe and came back to our room, and everyone was excited that Faggot was gonna go on a date with a Colombian chick this evening. Luck had something else in the store, however. When the clock struck 19:00 hours, Mr. Faggot was busy gulping Indian food at a restaurant in Cape Town, fully cognizant that Miss Maria had summoned him for a date! It's unbelievable that he screwed up this opportunity-of-a-lifetime... (Event4)

Not the end of the story, however. We were back in Johannesburg on 22-Mar-10, and on Thursday, the height of coincidence happened a second time. Miss Maria SMSed Mr. Faggot that she would be in Johannesburg (Event5) on Friday, and that they should meet up and do something (Event6). We were all dumbstruck at what was going on, and we pushed Faggot to not screw it up this time. Anyways, I slept over the weekend, and on Monday (i.e., today), when I asked another of my friends as to whether Faggot had gone to meet Anna Maria, I was left speechless as I heard that he did not (Event7).

Let me assign a probability each to Event1 through Event7, based on my subjective judgment. Event1= 0.75; Event2= 0.001; Event3= 0.02; Event4= 0.001; Event5= 0.001; Event6= 0.02; Event7= 0.001

Using basic rules of probability, the probability of this chain of events is 0.0000000000000003, meaning that the impossible happened.

I still can't believe that he actually didn't go, twice. I told him just this - dude you'll bitterly, bitterly regret this a few years down the line...

Review of air hostesses of the airlines I've flown!

2010-03-08T02:59:00.028+05:30

First thought? This is gonna be an interesting post to pen :)

I've flown on a few airlines to date, and air hostesses (also variously called cabin crew, flight attendants, stewardesses, etc.) are one aspect of the overall flight experience that I'm keenly observant of. In this post, I'm gonna rate the air hostesses of various airlines on the following parameters (definitions of these parameters are in KB):

Beauty (BT)
Elegance (EL)
Gestures (GS)
Hotness (HT)
Smile (SM)
Service Quality (SQ)

I've chosen these parameters as I believe that these are the key parameters for evaluating an air hostess (from a young-adult male passenger's perspective). Dress/uniform is encapsulated in EL and HT, while language/vocal skills are covered in EL and GS. The ratings are my personal subjective opinion, and based solely on the flights that I've myself taken on the respective airlines.

A 4-level scale (Bad=0; OK=1; Good=2; Great=3) will be used. An airline's name will be followed by its total score in braces, which may be used an indicator of the total quality of that airline's air hostesses (this, of course, assumes equal weights to all of the parameters).

Air China (?): Coming soon!
China Eastern (5): BT=0; EL=2; GS=0; HT=0; SM=1; SQ=2
Emirates (13): BT=2; EL=3; GS=1; HT=2; SM=2; SQ=3
Gulf Air (11): BT=3; EL=3; GS=1; HT=2; SM=1; SQ=1
Hainan Airlines (10): BT=1; EL=2; GS=1; HT=1; SM=2; SQ=3
Indian Airlines (?): Can't recollect...
IndiGo (14): BT=2; EL=3; GS=2; HT=3; SM=2; SQ=2
Kingfisher (12): BT=2; EL=2; GS=2; HT=3; SM=1; SQ=2
Mango (9): BT=1; EL=1; GS=1; HT=1; SM=2; SQ=3
SAA (6): BT=0; EL=2; GS=1; HT=0; SM=1; SQ=2
SpiceJet (9): BT=1; EL=2; GS=1; HT=2; SM=1; SQ=2

Special mention: Gulf Air... never seen as beautiful air hostesses...

A Gulf Air air hostess (source)

An Emirates air hostess (source)

Unknown air hostesses (source)

Kingfisher Airlines air hostesses (source)

IndiGo air hostesses

Related post: List of my travels in an aircraft

Carlton Centre, the shame of Africa?

2010-03-03T19:26:00.003+05:30

The Carlton Centre - a 50-floors, 223 meters tall skyscraper in the CBD area of Johannesburg - is considered as an object of pride in South Africa. I remember a cheerful man who emphatically uttered "Top of Africa!" at us, as we were about to enter the skyscraper last November. For good reason, as this is the tallest building in whole of the continent of Africa.

Some of the photos I clicked on 7-Nov-09. More here, here, and here

I, however, am of a different opinion, especially after having seen both Dubai and Cairo last December. Buildings (much) taller than the Carlton Centre are commonplace in Dubai - a tiny emirate of UAE. And here we are talking of a large continent with 53 countries, with an area ~7,400 times the area of Dubai (the emirate). The grimness of the situation becomes more clear when one realizes that the Cairo Tower - a mere 187 meter tall tower in Cairo - counts among the tallest structures in Africa, and that the Carlton Centre doesn't count among the 100 tallest buildings in the world.

I would rather call Carlton Centre the shame of Africa, or a reminder for Africa - an engineering and symbolic achievement for sure, but a stark reminder of what all still needs to be done. African people should be proud of it, but whenever they look at this skyscraper, they should also remind themselves that their billion-strong continent has just one of these megastructures...

Remembering the days when I used to play Holi

2010-03-01T16:33:00.031+05:30

It's Holi today. And I'm remembering those days when I used to play Holi as a kid, studying in school. A few days before this one-of-the-best festivals, I used to buy a few packets of balloons ("gubbaare"), some amount of dry color ("rang" or "gulaal"), and one or more pichkaris. I also used to buy some amount of semi-permanent colors ("pakke rang"), and sometimes also the large-sized balloons (the ones you inflate with air).

I used to wake early to start filling the balloons (each balloon was precious - I remember counting the balloons to make sure that a packet which claimed 50 balloons indeed had as many), and used to dip them in a bucket full of water (to slow the outward flow of water). After this was done, all of the arsenal was carefully placed just behind the gate (in the behra, or verandah), and I used to venture out of the gate, looking for my prey. I frequently used to team-up with some of my friends, and we used to together attack others.

And it would happen sometimes that we would be hit with eggs or grease, by elder guys on bikes. Sometimes someone would overturn my bucket (and I would do the same sometimes).

I also remember the time when I would come back home, all colored and drenched, and mummy would ask me to rush straight to the bathroom. I remember using shampoo to remove color from my hair.

All that is past now. It's been years since I played Holi this way. I don't even have a picture of me-a-kid playing Holi. And as I sit here at my office in Jo'burg, I'm remembering those beautiful days when I played Holi, and I'm missing them.

763 meters below the earth...

2010-02-27T21:43:00.024+05:30

It was a great day today. Today, we went to the Cullinan Diamond Mine to do an underground tour. We were thinking of doing this for many days, and we finally came here today. I was a bit nervous initially about going deep down a live, working mine, and that too to a depth of 763 meters (~2,503 feet). I was not 100% confident about the safety of this tour, but after our guide informed us that there had been only three fatal accidents at this mine since 1903, I felt more assured. After a brief walk on the surface, the guide took us down via the industrial lift, and when we reached down and he opened the gate, I was both delighted and surprised to see this:

It looked like caves, like tunnels, and it felt deep. It took some time for this feeling to get down that we're thousands of feet below the earth's surface, and if something happens, there's probably no rescue.

We stayed there for over 2 hours (mostly walking from one place to the other), watching machines, the ore, the equipment, the workers, etc., accompanied by a super-experienced guide with decades of first-hand experience in coal, diamond, gold, and platinum mining.

It was a nice and memorable experience, good learning, and I'm glad that I went.

Me in the 'Level 763' safety suit, 763 meters deep down

Will the US bomb Punjab?

2010-02-20T14:16:00.002+05:30

I've seen this dream many times - perhaps 3-4 times. Each time I wake up clung tightly to whatever is near me, shivering. Today I woke up about 2-3 minutes back, my arms clung tightly to my sheet. The dream goes this way:

I'm at my home, along with my family
I start seeing black-gray colored fighter jets in the sky outside
We're aware that these are US jets
They're flying too low, with the base of their fuselage open, revealing shining orange missiles (this isn't always seen)
A few of them pass too low - ~2 meters over my home - and I'm looking at them, and just as I'm fearing the worse, I realize that the fighters dropped bombs on my home's roof-top
Simultaneously, other jets bomb the other homes in our colony
There's chaos everywhere. Brick and mortar is falling. There's debris around. There are large holes in the ceilings
After a few minutes, the bombing stops. The jets can no longer be seen in this sky. People start to come out of their homes
The dream usually breaks somewhere here

I don't know why I see this (and other similar dreams) often. Will the US ever actually bomb this part of Punjab?

Self-applause for commendable first-ever-time performance on an ice-skating rink

2010-02-15T03:16:00.009+05:30

I'm happy that I performed quite-well at Northgate Mall's ice-skating rink today, especially considering that it was my life's first ever hour of ice-skating... :)

Slight nervousness on watching people flying effortlessly on the rink

I struggled quite a bit initially, but picked up pace soon, and in no time I was swiftly gliding on the rink.

And lo, I'm flying too...

Disclaimer (lolz): I fell down real-hard on the ice multiple times (~7 times in total), to the amusement of many, and had my bones compressed in this process. But never mind...

Update (Early morning, 15-Feb-10):I just went to Bing, and its wallpaper shows ice-skating :)

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

2010-02-15T00:01:00.004+05:30

Exactly two years have passed since that day... bloody two years that have changed so many things... more good time's coming...

A death at Riviera Mansions, Johannesburg, SA

2010-02-13T02:15:00.013+05:30

Someone died at Riviera Mansions today. As I had heard during my childhood time about American/European culture, there were few people to be seen (<10).The event was a quiet affair, and unlike in India, no screams could be heard. It was sad to think that someone died, but the event did confirm what I had heard years back.

My favorite Miss World 2009 contestant? Miss (Mesmerizing) Mexico!

2010-01-16T03:11:00.003+05:30

I was really looking forward to the Mexican beauty Perla Judith Beltrán Acosta winning the crown, when unexpectedly, Miss Gibraltar was crowned the coveted Miss World 2009 title... bah!

A thank-you to Emirates airline!

2010-01-06T16:16:00.005+05:30

//All time-values mentioned are local times in respective cities

On 3-Jan-10, EK 511 was to depart from DEL at around 11 AM. However, due to thick fog (and other reasons), the flight couldn't depart until late evening, and this made it impossible for us to board the connecting flight to JNB (EK 765), that departs from DXB at around 2:40 PM. We reached Dubai around 7:30 PM, and were relieved to know that Emirates was going to provide us with overnight stay at a hotel, and that we shall now be boarding EK 765 the next day.

In lieu of the delay and the 'inconvenience' caused to us, what all did Emirates provide us?

Overnight stay at Capitol Hotel (individual rooms for all)
Dinner and breakfast
Transfers from and to the DXB airport
Three minutes of international calling per person
A 24-hour visa for Dubai!!

As I had very freshly been to Dubai on a 4-day holiday, I knew the importance and value of this visa pretty well! This is my golden second chance to see things that I wanted to but couldn't, I thought. I must make the most of it, I told myself. So after enjoying a nice dinner at Capitol, I quickly went to sleep and woke up early the next day and swiftly got ready. As none of my friends had visited Dubai previously, they too were excited about this golden opportunity they had unexpectedly got.

Since EK 765 departs DXB near 2:40 PM, we had about 5 hours to see Dubai. In these five hours, we saw the following (in this order) - Dubaitaxi, Dubai Metro, Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai Snow Park, Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach, The Dubai Mall, Burj Dubai (now Burj Khalifa), and of course, Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. For me, this opportunity meant that I fulfilled my wishes of traveling third time in the Dubai Metro, and of spending a good amount of time on the Jumeirah Beach - things I had wanted to but couldn't do on my first visit...

Why does Wikipedia say that A340's service ceiling is 39,000 feet?

There was more to come, for me :). As I was about to board the magnificent A340-500, I was notified that my ticket (and only my ticket) had been upgraded for free to Business Class! I was pleasantly surprised, and had a delightful experience getting a taste of the Business Class journey...

Thank you Emirates!

Excited about witnessing Miss World 2009 live!

2009-12-10T13:58:00.003+05:30

I've been a fan of nearly all of the beauty pageant contestants (and somewhat of the contests as well). This has long been established beyond doubt (lolz...). So when a few months back I moved to Jo'burg, and one fine day I fortunately read somewhere that Miss World 2009 is gonna take place at Jo'burg, I was all charged up and happy!

I went through the Wikipedia article and I checked the schedule and I checked the ticket prices and I checked the directions (more stuff here). And two days back, with a heavy stone on my heart, I finally doled out ZAR 780 (~INR 4,800) to buy a ticket for Miss World 2009.

Some noteworthy things:

All the contestants are currently staying at Hyatt Regency (Rosebank, Jo'burg), which is about 4 minutes drive away from my apartment, and about 2 minutes walk away from the Planet Fitness center where I gym
First of the (many) reasons I bought this relatively expensive ticket is because I thought it might never happen again in my life that I'm in that very city and on those very dates where/when a Miss X contest is taking place. Even if I am there, I might not be able to watch it because of some unforeseen issue(s)
I was ready to buy this ticket for the last couple of weeks. However, there was a moment when my colleagues here had decided that we shall all be going to Durban on 12-Dec, and I had accepted that I was not going to be able to watch Miss World 2009. Fortunately, on last Sunday, the Duban plan got spilled-over to December 18-20, and wasting no time (lest the tickets sell-out), I grabbed a ticket on Monday morning

A (short) visit to an Emirates call center

2009-12-06T00:12:00.005+05:30

Today I went to the Sandton City office of Emirates, to inquire something about my Apr'10 flight. One of the staff members came up to me and asked if I mind going directly to the call-center to have my issue resolved, as the number of customers was more than the number of computer-terminals they had in that office, and her intent was to have my query answered faster.

I readily agreed.

As beautiful as always - Emirates staff (source)

Through various corridors, passages, stairs and doors, she took me to the Emirates call center, and had me seated besides her near one of the terminals. In ~10 minutes, all my queries had been solved.

This was my first visit to a call-center - a world-class one at that - and I'm glad that today I finally got to see one from inside. It made me understand first-hand how a call center looks like, how are individuals seated, what type of computer-software is used, and so on.

(I didn't ask her name)

Comparing the course of a day to a boy's life

2009-11-28T00:33:00.002+05:30

This thought ran across my mind as we were whizzing past the roads of Mpumalanga, en route to Graskop, on 22-Nov-09. When I looked at the first rays of Sun, it reminded me of how boys are when they're two years old. They're young, they're new, and they're just starting to give a glimpse of their infinite energy.

First rays of Sun, Mpumalanga, South Africa, 5:08 AM, 22-Nov-09

And as they grow up into an adolescents and then adults, the display of their energy seems to mimic the course of Sun's light on a typical day - it grows and grows and then reaches its peak, when it burns bright and overshadows everyone and everybody else - like an 18-year-old boy who considers himself on top of the world. Thereupon, like a 25-something adult entering his 30s, Sun's rays begin to calm down, get more relaxed, and start feeling pleasant. The evening Sun, especially during moments just before sunset, looks like a ball of wisdom, like an old, ageing man, who can no longer burn bright, but holds much sense and wisdom.

Rays of a young, growing boy, Blyde river, Mpumalanga, Age unknown

And that's how I compare the course of a typical day to the lifecycle of a young boy...

Missing computer science and my college days

2009-10-26T21:45:00.014+05:30

Today I'm missing my college days. Am missing those highly intellectual subjects and chapters I used to read and enjoy... the graphs, parallelism, microprocessors, operating systems, computer graphics, NP-hard problems, algorithm-complexity, databases, and on and on and on...

Good days they were... and I wish to bring back the joy of those days...

And today I'm missing it so much that I drew a directed-graph on the whiteboard at my company's Jo'burg office, and started remembering the traveling-salesman problem.

List of my travels in an aircraft

2009-10-03T02:16:00.122+05:30

A flight is being considered distinct whenever it's preceded by a takeoff. Aircraft models are indicative of only the broader series. Entries in italics are confirmed flights, yet to commence. Entries in blue highlight are tentative, subject to change.

1993; Delhi-Agra; ~20-40 minutes; Indian Airlines; Unknown
Jul'06; Delhi-Goa; 2.5 hrs; SpiceJet; Boeing 737NG
Jul'06; Goa-Delhi; 2.5 hrs; SpiceJet; Boeing 737NG
17-Oct-08; Delhi-Bangalore; 2.5 hrs; Kingfisher; Airbus A321
19-Oct-08; Bangalore-Delhi; 2.5 hrs; Kingfisher; Airbus A321
8-Oct-09; Delhi-Dubai; 3.3 hrs; Emirates; Boeing 777
8-Oct-09; Dubai-Jo'burg; 8.2 hrs; Emirates; Airbus A340
23-Dec-09; Jo'burg-Dubai; 8 hrs; Emirates; Airbus A340
27-Dec-09; Dubai-Cairo; 4 hrs; Emirates; Boeing 777
30-Dec-09; Cairo-Bahrain; 3 hrs; Gulf Air; Airbus A330
30-Dec-09; Bahrain-Dubai; 1.3 hrs; Gulf Air; Airbus A320
31-Dec-09; Dubai-Delhi; 3 hrs; Emirates; Boeing 777
3-Jan-10; Delhi-Dubai; 3 hrs; Emirates; Boeing 777
4-Jan-10; Dubai-Jo'burg; 8.2 hrs; Emirates; Airbus A340
19-Mar-10; JNB-Cape Town; 2 hrs; Mango; Boeing 737NG
22-Mar-10; CPT-JNB; 2.3 hrs; South African Airways; A340
3-Apr-10; Jo'burg-Dubai; 8 hrs; Emirates; Airbus A340
4-Apr-10; Dubai-Delhi; 3.2 hrs; Emirates; Airbus A330
26-Aug-11; Delhi-Shanghai; 6 hrs; China Eastern; Airbus A340
03-Jan-12; Shanghai-Haikou; 3 hrs; Hainan; Boeing 737
04-Jan-12; HAK-Singapore; 3 hrs; Hainan; Boeing 737NG
04-Jan-12; SIN-Delhi; 6 hrs; IndiGo; Airbus A320
14-Feb-12; Delhi-Beijing; 6 hrs; Air China; Airbus A330
16-Feb-12; Beijing-Seoul; ~2 hrs; Air China; Boeing 737NG
23-Jun-12; Seoul-Beijing; ~2 hrs; Air China; Airbus A330
23-Jun-12; Beijing-Delhi; ~7.3 hrs; Air China; Airbus A330

Aircraft (wanna fly on, and already flown on): Airbus A320, A321, A330, A340; Boeing 737NG, 777

Aircraft (wanna fly on, but not already flown on): Aerion SBJ, Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde, Airbus A320neo, A350, A380, A400M; Antonov An-124, An-148/An-158, An-225, An-70; ATR 72-600; Boeing 717, 737 MAX, 747, 747-8, 787, B-52H Stratofortress; Boeing/McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III; Bombardier CRJ, CSeries, Dash 8/Q Series, Global 8000, Global Express; Cessna Citation Sovereign; Comac ARJ21, C919; Dassault Falcon 7X; Embraer E-Jets, ERJ 145, KC-390, Lineage 1000; Gulfstream G550, G650; Honda HA-420 HondaJet; Ilyushin Il-476, Il-86, Il-96; Irkut MS-21; Lockheed L-1011 TriStar; Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, C-5M Super Galaxy; McDonnell Douglas MD-90; Mitsubishi Regional Jet; North American XB-70 Valkyrie; Saab 2000; Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo, White Knight Two; Sukhoi Superjet 100; Transall C-160; Tupolev Tu-154M-100, Tu-204-120 OR Tu-204SM; Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer

Aircraft (don't wanna fly on, but already flown on): None :)

Airlines (wanna fly on, and already flown on): China Eastern, Emirates, Gulf Air, Hainan, IndiGo, Kingfisher, Mango, South African Airways, SpiceJet

Airlines (wanna fly on, but not already flown on): Aeroflot, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Air Arabia, Air France, Air Greenland, Air India, Air New Zealand, AirAsia, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Bahrain Air, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, EgyptAir, EL AL Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Finnair, flydubai, Iberia, Jet Airways, KLM, kulula.com (Kulula Air), Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Mexicana, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, Ryanair, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, TAM Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Virgin Galactic

Airlines (don't wanna fly on, but already flown on): Indian Airlines

Related post: Review of air hostesses of the airlines I've flown!

Moving to Johannesburg (SA), shortly

2009-09-08T00:21:00.001+05:30

I'm moving to Johannesburg, South Africa, within a couple of days. So many things need to be done still... Visa, packing, other formalities, learning cooking (!), etc.

Let's see how things pan out.

Miss Russia was the sweetest of all the contestants in Miss Universe 2009, I think...

2009-09-02T00:16:00.012+05:30

...just an opinion... but it's true :)... more of Sofia Rudieva here

Update (19-9-09): It looks like Miss Argentina was beautiful as well, although she's less sweet and more raw compared to Miss Russia!

When you fear that you might have got swine-flu...

2009-08-27T14:02:00.009+05:30

I fell down unconscious in the bathroom last night. When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on the floor of the bathroom - in an utterly helpless state. I've always been proud of my uptime (so much so that I triumphantly bang this drum in front of some of my friends - "Me and ill? I don't fall ill! I haven't fallen ill in the last two years...") (plus read my tweets here, here, here, here, and here), and when I realized that I must've fallen down on the floor, it was then that I felt that I might really have gotten swine-flu.

I was feeling unokay since afternooon of the day before yesterday. And it worsened that night, and it kept getting worse yesterday (I kept ignoring my 101 fever, hoping that I'll soon get well, but when I didn't, I finally took leave from work). I looked up the symptoms of swine-flu on the Web, and it all seemed to suggest me that I've got this hopefully overhyped, but potentially life-threatening sickness.

How does it feel when you're living with this fear? Not good. You just wanna get ok real fast. You wanna see signs of recovery. You realize why they say that health is wealth. And you ask "Why me? Why now?".

I'm probably on the path to recovery (that's why I'm able to pen this post), and I'll hopefully be declared fit-for-work by my doctor by Sunday, so I'll probably be able to resume work on Monday.

I have so many dreams, and things keep getting added, and I must stay okay so I can fulfill them, and make my parents proud of me.

Let's see.

My feelings on transporting accident-victims to a hospital, twice...

2009-08-21T18:30:00.007+05:30

Yesterday, while driving back from my company, I saw an accident-victim lying on the road. I was taken aback on seeing that practically no one was willing to help him. The crowd was making its way around the body, seemingly curious, and concerned too, but unwilling to help.

Shamefully, I too moved ahead - about 5 meters ahead of the body - and that's when my conscience slapped me and stopped me (I don't know why I just moved ahead initially). I quickly got out of my car, rushed to the body, shouted loudly that I'm gonna back-up my car towards the victim's body, and that someone must accompany me to the hospital.

People quickly placed the victim on the back seat, and one person joined me. I drove as fast as I could, safely, and got the victim admitted to a nearby hospital. After ensuring that the victim's family is on the way, I left the scene.

The incident reminds me of Jan'09, when a *ditto* incident took place at the very same spot. That time too I had seen people unwilling to render help. And that time too I had transported the victim, to the same hospital. The similarity of these two incidents is almost surprising.

It makes me feel good that I could help these needy and helpless human beings.

Still not out of my college...

2009-08-07T11:50:00.007+05:30

I went to my college the day before yesterday (on Wednesday). As I roamed there, it did not feel at all that I'm no longer an active student there. Walking in the canteen, rushing to the science block, or simply wandering in the OAT gave me the exact same feeling that I used to get when I used to be a student there. I still many times think of my college, and wish I was there.

Click here to watch a memorable video of class of 2008

Remembering last year's squealing

2009-08-05T18:38:00.005+05:30

I was crying bitterly around this time last year - almost begging. I guess I was on the phone for 2-3 hours maybe, while she kept destroying me mercilessly, over and over. 5th of August, 2008... will a day ever pass when I don't think of that day? Who knows. I promised her a comeback, and by god, I will come back with a bang that they won't be able to withstand.

A brand new blog - on my own domain

2009-08-02T22:18:00.001+05:30

Close on the heels of the launch of my email address on my own domain comes the launch of a new blog - also on my own domain name. This new blog - named HyperBlog - will be my official blog from now, and is likely to supersede my Main Blog (my Other Blog should continue just fine).

Click to read Rishabh Singla's Google profile

Google I-O 2009 (Day 1) - Chrome Experiments Video's Background Music - Song Download Link

2009-06-07T18:03:00.012+05:30

I recently watched the keynote video of day 1 of Google I/O 2009. Day 1 kicks off with an introduction video showing different Chrome Experiments running in Chrome. The video is abstract but quite impressive, especially if the viewer has knowledge of the ongoing Web-apps-versus-Desktop-apps war.

What is more impressive however is the background music of this video. I liked it so much that I watched the video about 10 times. User comments on the video's page show that many others too liked this song. However, no one really seems to know which song this is, or whether it is an original composition by Google or an existing song by some artist, and where to find / download it. Some comments on the video claim that it is a song called Falling, from Into The Fire album by Krylyn.

Incorrect. There's another video posted by Google, with not the whole keynote but only the introduction video, and its description clearly states that the background song is an original composition by Googler Matt Waddell.

I downloaded the highest quality version of this video (HQ22) (click here to know the difference between HQ18, HQ22 and HQ35), extracted the audio from it in WAVE format, trimmed it to remove the silence at start and end, and encoded it into 2 MP3 files (each at 192 Kbps) using LAME MP3 encoder

File 1: Unabridged audio. Click here to download this file
File 2: Same as File 1, but with the leading Welcome to Google I O removed, so it starts directly with the music and can be used as a ringtone. Click here to download this file

I think I'm not violating the DMCA because I think Google will love it if this file spreads :)

About Me - My Google Profile

A Continuity Mistake In The Movie "Crimson Tide"

2009-03-14T17:20:00.008+05:30

***Caution: Spoiler Ahead***

I watched Crimson Tide a few days back. I usually read user comments, goofs, trivia, etc., on IMDB after finishing watching a movie. When I read the list of goofs in Crimson Tide, I was surprised to see that nobody had pointed out this important mistake.

Throughout the movie, Hunter kept insisting that the crew should try to receive the second EAM, which the Alabama wasn't able to receive due to a chopped cable first, and due to a faulty radio thereafter. This second EAM was shown partially twice, before being shown completely the third time. However, each of the three times the message shown is different in some ways, as demonstrated by the screenshots below

FROM field ends with D.C.; SUBJECT starts with NUCLEAR

FROM doesn't end with D.C.; SUBJECT still starts with NUCLEAR

FROM ends with D.C.; SUBJECT starts with TERMINATE

My claim that this is an error rests on the assumption that an EAM is like a SMS message - it stays queued at the sender end until it is received correctly, and the sender keeps attempting to send the message until the recipient acknowledges that the message has been received successfully. The contents of the second EAM could not have changed (the way they are changing in the screenshots above).

An Error In The Movie "Chaos"

Remembering This Day... This Memorable Day

2009-02-21T20:21:00.016+05:30

Blood comes to my eyes when I recollect the memories of this day. I was at Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, cordially invited by her. Invited by her to take her photos, as she participated in the "Fash-P". I remember that I didn't have much charge in my camera, and she had asked me to not waste charge on others. I knew that she was happy about me coming down to NSIT, just to click her. What I didn't know was that devil was brewing, quietly. I could smell it at times, though.

(This is not her photo)

Here is a link to some of the photos I clicked that day (I've not posted any of her photos to this album). I had kept this album private all through the year, and today I'm opening it up.

Dance & Fashion Show At The 2008 NSIT Fest

Let this be known that I've not forgotten what was done to me, and that I will not forget what was done to me, and that I'm not going to sleep peacefully till I've had the vengeance I rightfully deserve.

List Of Songs That Boil My Blood

Arcade Games, Computer Games, Video Games, Board Games and Other Sports I Like

2008-12-31T15:00:00.008+05:30

I like the following arcade-games /computer-games / video-games / board-games / sports (These are grouped by the computing/gaming/logical platform they belong to, and within each group they are sorted alphabetically. The groups themselves are sorted alphabetically)

Java ME

Blackjack
mAtaxx
Pipes

NES / SNES

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Captain America
Circus
Contra
Contra Force
Double Dragon II
Goonies
Super Contra
Tetris

Sports

Badminton

Windows

Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
Delta Force
Delta Force 2
Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In
Quake III Arena
Unreal Tournament

Songs That Boil My Blood (GAMMA)

2008-11-29T17:05:00.008+05:30

On the lines of this and this post, here's the list of the songs that make me angry, that spoil my mood and that ignite the firepower within me.

U2 - Electrical Storm
Judaai (From the movie "Jannat")
Tum Se Hi - Remix (Jab We Met)
Alvida (Life in a... Metro)
Jaane Kyun (Dostana)
Bhool Ja (Shaan)

It Happens Only In India (1)

2008-11-17T21:53:00.002+05:30

To buy milk and curd, I went to a grocery shop at the local market. Another young-looking guy came up there, and he hurriedly asked the shop-owner for a pack of "Kohinoor meat masala". He had probably asked for something like this. The shop-owner, however, didn't seem to have paid much attention to his words. He took out a shiny pack the size of a pack of cards, and handed it over to the customer.

The poor fellow took it, looked at it for a moment, and was seriously taken aback, because this shop owner had not given him something to make his meat taste better, but had handed him over a pack of this!

It was laughter all over the place :)

List of movies and videos that I have watched

2008-10-27T14:36:00.246+05:30

Intent of this post: To enlist the movies & other videos (documentaries, TV shows, etc.) that I've seen, along with metadata about my viewing experience for each of them.
Limitations: The list is not intended to be exhaustive. I will not add every movie / video I watch to this list (because of multiple reasons). Additionally, all those short-duration videos that I frequently watch on various websites (YouTube, Yahoo! Video, etc.) will not be enlisted here. I will generally also not add repeat watches of movies / videos (something I do non-infrequently). Retroactive addition will be done, but not at the cost of my convenience.
Policies to be followed on this post: Movie / video title, date of watching, watched with, place of watching, comments, verbal rating, numerical rating and other information will be written (in the aforesaid sequence) against each movie / video (whenever these fields are available). A '~' symbol along with a date indicates that it is approximate. Items will be sorted in a descending order by date (whenever available), and alphabetically when the date is equal (and otherwise as well). Insertion sort will be used to add items retroactively.
A discussion of the ratings I will give: I intend to give a numerical rating to each movie/video on a scale of 0 to 100. How do I decide what score to give to a movie/video? If I liked a movie a lot, should it be given 70 or 75 or 80? Who decides the rules? Well, this problem is actually a little interesting one, because numerical ratings are relative in nature, and not absolute (at least as far as the current situation is concerned). This is because we do not know the end points (0 and 100). We do not have a movie which we know deserves 100, and that no other movie can ever exceed its goodness. Hence I start by giving two of my most-loved movies (Hindustani and Terminator 2 Judgment Day) a score of ~95 each. I shall give scores to the initially added movies/videos relative to these two. Subsequently, however, it will keep getting easier to give scores as I will have an increasing number of precedents to compare with. It is very interesting to note that verbal ratings can be given without comparison- they seem to be more absolute than the numerical ratings.
Relation with my psychology: Any psychologist/psychiatrist can tell you that my psychology can be deciphered/understood better from this post, by analyzing the movies/videos I watch, and the comments and ratings I give to them. There's a lot more information present in this post than is visible to eyes, at the first glance at least!
IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes connection: It'll be interesting to compare my numerical ratings to the average user ratings of the same movies/videos on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes (I haven't done this yet). If my ratings turn out to be approximately same / similar as those on IMDB / Rotten Tomatoes, it shall mean that my ratings are a representative of the average ratings that a bunch of people give, and that my ratings can be believed (at least if you believe IMDB / Rotten Tomatoes ratings). If not, then my ratings are unique to my likings and not a representative of the overall public

List of movies/videos seen by me:-

National Geographic - Seconds From Disaster - Space Shuttle Explosion (On: 7-Aug-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Supports my long-held belief that managers shouldn't be allowed to come in the way of engineers, especially when it comes to issues such as safety. MBAs who don't know engineering/science are just incapable of making informed decisions about some things. We must accept this ugly truth. And kudos to James Chiles for investigating this disaster in detail, and for helping to bring out the truth.) (Verbal Rating: Excellent.) (Numerical Rating: 75)
National Geographic - Seconds From Disaster - Columbia's Last Flight (On: 3-Aug-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: A highly informative documentary that becomes even more interesting as one is introduced to outstanding engineers and researchers like LeRoy E. Cain and Scott Hubbard.) (Verbal Rating: Excellent.) (Numerical Rating: 80)
PBS (FRONTLINE) - Flying Cheap (On: 31-Jul-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: One of the best documentaries I've seen ever. The most investigative aviation documentary ever. The world really needs such documentaries on every subject of contemporary importance.) (Verbal Rating: Very, very good.) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Delhi Belly (On: 2-Jul-11) (With: Saurabh) (At: PVR Flamez, Ludhiana) (Comments: Minus the disgusting mondo film portions, the movie was a gust of fresh air!) (Verbal Rating: A nice movie, except that the makers have banked on elements of an exploitation film in order to awe the audience of India.) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Air Crash Investigation - Hudson Splash Down (On: ~Jun'11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: One very important event post the ingestion of birds was the Captain's turning on of the APU, which allowed the A320's computers to keep the aircraft well inside the flight envelope.) (Verbal Rating: Decent documentary.) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Air Crash Investigation - Stalled in the Sky (Dead Tired) (On: 30-May-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Perhaps aircraft of the future will detect and warn the crew about possibly incorrect actions in situations such as a stall.) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary.) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Air Crash Investigation - A Wounded Bird (One Wing Flight) (On: 29-May-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: What surprised me is that at impact, everyone survived, and deaths only occurred later due to fire and due to a delay in the arrival of fire-fighting and medical services. This underscores the importance of calling emergency services in time.) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary.) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Air Crash Investigation - Blow Out (Ripped from the Cockpit) (On: 29-May-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Aside from the main stories, another thing that this documentary shows is how resilient millions of years of evolution has made human life. His body held on to life even under the fiercest conditions that would without doubt extinguish any human.) (Verbal Rating: Chilling documentary.) (Numerical Rating: 85)
7 Khoon Maaf (On: 22-May-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: I deleted the file halfway through the movie.) (Verbal Rating: Useless.) (Numerical Rating: 40)
National Geographic - Seconds From Disaster - Crash of the Comet (On: 22-May-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: The documentary succeeds in temporarily transporting you back to the 1950s. It's a tragedy that design and manufacturing defects in the Comet prevented it from becoming a highly successful airliner.) (Verbal Rating: Great.) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Awarapan (On: 17-Apr-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Yawn...) (Verbal Rating: Totally timepass movie.) (Numerical Rating: 50)
Contact (On: 17-Apr-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Touches your heart if you have a keen interest in astronomy, extraterrestrial life, and philosophy, like I do.) (Verbal Rating: Lovely movie.) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Thank You (On: 10-Apr-11) (With: Akhil, Garima, Kapil, Naina, Saurabh, Sunish) (At: Wave Cinemas, Westend Mall, Ludhiana) (Comments: It's obviously a typical Bollywood comedy, spiced with a generous dose of Indian and foreign oomph.) (Verbal Rating: Fun timepass for once!) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Great Planes: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (On: 27-Mar-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: While I'm impressed by America's advanced military aircraft, I'm deeply concerned that nobody's able to stop America from blatantly abusing its stockpile of WMDs against oil-rich sovereign nations, in the name of liberation and peace.) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary.) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
Faces of Death II (On: 20-Mar-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: More ugly truth made naked.) (Verbal Rating: Excellent.) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Faces of Death (On: 19-Mar-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: This is not a usual documentary or movie. It's different, it's the ugly truth made naked, and if you don't feel the depth of what the guy is trying to convey, you really don't have a right to comment about this invaluable film.) (Verbal Rating: Beyond excellent.) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
Russell Peters: Outsourced (On: 19-Mar-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Nice, but not as much as Red, White and Brown.) (Verbal Rating: Funny and nice to watch once.) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
Russell Peters: Red, White and Brown (On: 13-Mar-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Although I hate Peters' harsh attacks on Indians, I found this show very funny.) (Verbal Rating: Very funny, even if a bit anti-Indians.) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Naked Fear (On: 13-Mar-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Even though some parts of the story are difficult to digest, the movie is nonetheless entertaining.) (Verbal Rating: A good one-time watch.) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
History Channel - Most Extreme Airports (On: 01-Mar-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Interesting, but I would've ranked Kai Tak higher. Also, there could've been at least one African airport in this list.) (Verbal Rating: Teaches so much about airports!) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
Jeopardy! The IBM Challenge (On: 19-Feb-11) (With: Alone) (At: Delhi) (Comments: The first machine that can actually process natural language questions better than the best humans can!) (Verbal Rating: Nice!) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Bing Faces Off Against Google Over Search Results (On: 6-Feb-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: The best part of this video is this dialog - "I have too many ideas, I have not enough engineers.") (Verbal Rating: Thoroughly enjoyable!) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
The Arena (2001) (On: 27-Jan-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Poor acting and dialogs, but overall, the movie does entertain) (Verbal Rating: A fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 50)
Russia Today - Kaczynski plane crash explained: Full minute-by-minute reconstruction (On: 13-Jan-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: It was a bit, just a little bit, boring in the initial few minutes, but it kept on becoming interesting as the minutes went by) (Verbal Rating: Interesting and educating reconstruction of the unfortunate crash of a Tupolev) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
Pirates of Silicon Valley (On: 12-Jan-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: With much fresh juice and blood in the Silicon Valley, it's time for a sequel) (Verbal Rating: Such a nice movie, not so much about Jobs and Gates as about the birth of the PC) (Numerical Rating: 75)
National Geographic - Caught on Safari: Battle at Kruger (On: 10-Jan-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Reminded me of the beautiful time spent last year at Kruger National Park) (Verbal Rating: An insightful deconstruction of an impressive series of events that unfolded at Kruger) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Samsara (On: 8-Jan-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: I loved watching this very peaceful movie. Both Tashi and Pema have acted nicely, and of course, Kala.) (Verbal Rating: A very nice movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead (On: 2-Jan-11) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Poor dialogs, poor delivery of dialogs, poor direction, and a disappointing performance by the lead lady. Yet not bad for a one time watch.) (Verbal Rating: Fine one time watch.) (Numerical Rating: 55-60)
National Geographic - Breaking Up The Biggest - Boeing 747 (On: 26-Dec-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: What a nice documentary about extracting the maximum value out of a retired Boeing 747) (Verbal Rating: Very nice!) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
Discovery Channel - Superstructures - Boeing 747 (On: 22-Dec-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: I didn't find much new stuff in this documentary) (Verbal Rating: Not very interesting) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Dispatches - Terror in Mumbai (On: 5-Dec-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: My already-high respect for the NSG commandos rose further after watching this documentary. Also, I realized the gravity of 26/11 for the first time after watching this documentary.) (Verbal Rating: Very good documentary on 26/11 attacks) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Barkha Dutt, other editors on Radia tapes controversy, NDTV (On: 5-Dec-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Surprising to see such shrewd and smart journalists, since I've generally felt that journalists are generally clueless) (Verbal Rating: Nice one time watch) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Anjaana Anjaani (On: 9-Oct-10) (With: Saurabh) (At: PVR Flamez, Ludhiana) (Comments: Except for the first few minutes that were interesting, the rest of the movie is a dud. Kiddies who have no work but to fool around with their girlfriends might like such pointless movies, and girlfriends fooling around with these kiddies might as well like the movie, as might the people who tend to get easily impressed by even mediocre things. Unfortunately, this class of sheep seems to account for more than nine out of ten people around us) (Verbal Rating: Bakwas picture) (Numerical Rating: 50)
We Were Soldiers (On: 8-Oct-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Yet another disastrous movie about war that plays the cheap "America" card. And how blatantly it does! Whoever made this piece of HorseShit actually let down his "America" by instilling hatred, and not respect, for Americans. The morons who crafted this movie seem to believe that the audience is uncritical and uneducated, that they can't see how American invaders have been portrayed as good boys with cute kids and loving wives, whereas the patriotic soldiers of Vietnam have been portrayed as emotionless fighting machines. What's even more blatant are the desperate attempts that have been made to blanket this bias, by frugally sprinkling bits of emotion and life into the Vietnam men, but carefully ensuring that "America" and its greatness constitute 95% of the movie, while Vietnam and its brave soldiers defending their motherland from greedy American invaders constitute only 5%. Thank god, unlike most of those in America, I don't buy this nefariously-twisted propaganda) (Verbal Rating: A purposely biased movie that distorts truth) (Numerical Rating: 55-60)
Garam Masala (On: 3-Oct-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Had been thinking of watching this movie for quite sometime now, and finally got to watch it today. Nice movie with sweet air-hostesses) (Verbal Rating: Fresh and funny) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
The Silence of the Lambs (On: 2-Oct-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: A brilliant movie, except that the mistake made by Buffalo Bill at the end of the movie appears too unreal. It's highly unlikely that a killer as smart as Bill would make it so easy for Clarice to kill him. Also, the way Clarice realizes that Bill is a tailor isn't persuasive enough) (Verbal Rating: Great movie with brilliant performance by Hopkins. Worth every minute, but with some important flaws) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Discovery Channel - Man Made Marvels: Hangzhou Bay Bridge (On: 26-Sep-10) (With: Raghav) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: It's too frustrating to see India and Indians stuck with Ayodhya, while the Chinese are building awe-inspiring engineering marvels such as the Hangzhou Bay Bridge) (Verbal Rating: A good documentary on a disbelief-inspiring structure) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Great Planes: North American XB-70 Valkyrie (On: 18-Aug-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: I'm stunned by the grace and the phenomenal power and speed of the Valkyrie. It's a pity that the XB-70 never went into production) (Verbal Rating: Nice documentary about an unmatched aircraft) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (On: 4-Aug-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: A gust of fresh air, after years of never-ending and practically worthless - leaving aside the health benefits - comedies of the Sharook and the Salmon Khans. Rocket Singh is poised to have an actual impact - it succeeds in evoking entrepreneurial spirit in the viewer) (Verbal Rating: Inspiring, nice, well-made, worth-watching) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Great Planes: Boeing 747 (On: 27-Jul-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Has left me shivering. A documentary can have so much impact on the human mind?) (Verbal Rating: I don't have a term to justifiably describe how great a documentary this is) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Blue (On: 23-Jun-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: When will Bollywood realize that its desperate attempts to match the special-effects packed action sequences of Hollywood movies have failed consistently and embarrassingly?) (Verbal Rating: Not a good movie) (Numerical Rating: 45)
Rajneeti (On: 12-Jun-10) (With: Saurabh) (At: PVR Flamez, Ludhiana) (Comments: Good movie, but a bit more complicated than it should've been. Also, at times, a bit more believable) (Verbal Rating: Good one-time watch movie) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Premonition (On: 3-Jun-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Unnecessarily complicated, this movie would've been better had it been made simpler. And the ending could've been far better) (Verbal Rating: Okay, but not great) (Numerical Rating: 60)
A Few Good Men (On: 31-May-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Such a nice movie - reminds me of men with principles, as shown in Crimson Tide. The background music gives me a feeling of the 90s. I love watching courtroom scenes, and I enjoyed watching the case proceedings in this movie. This is the first time I watched Demi Moore, and admittedly, I'm floored) (Verbal Rating: Great movie) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Oldboy (On: 28-May-10) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: After such a long time have I watched a movie with so much depth, emotion and spell. No problems faced watching this Korean movie with subtitles) (Verbal Rating: Brilliant) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Ishqiya (On: 22-May-10) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The movie started-off well and kept raising expectations till about 50% or 67% of its length, before sliding down. The last 33% is the movie is complicated, and apparently made-up. As expected, however, Naseeruddin Shah was beyond excellent, with the bus scene around 1:06:40 the best scene of this movie) (Verbal Rating: Good but flawed movie) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (On: 2-May-10) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: The movie has good intention, although the execution could've been more believable) (Verbal Rating: Good movie) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Tum Mile (On: 3-4-10 to 4-4-10) (With: Alone) (At: Airbus A340; Somewhere over Africa) (Comments: Although I did not like the movie, it evoked memories of my just concluded stay at South Africa. The scenes showing Cape Town touched me and made me smile. I've seen those roads and I've driven on them, and it actually surprised me that a random movie I started watching during my flight had a significant portion of it shot in the country I was leaving, and feel attached to) (Verbal Rating: A timepass movie) (Numerical Rating: 60)
The Mountain of the Cannibal God (On: 28-3-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Bears some resemblence to Cannibal Holocaust, although this one's less gory. After having gotten drenched in technology for many weeks, watching only animals and nature for two hours felt nice) (Verbal Rating: Not a very good movie, but a good change nonetheless) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Air Crash Investigation - Dead Weight (On: 20-2-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: This documentary taught me many concepts & facts about distribution of weight on an airplane, and aircraft maintenance) (Verbal Rating: Good and informative documentary) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Air Crash Investigation - Mistaken Identity (On: 20-2-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Intense rage is what I felt as I watched this pro-US documentary. The US government's account is the only account being shown, and the Iranian government's account is nowhere to be seen. There is no mention of the fact that the US did not ever apologize to the Iranian government. It feels all the time that the documentary is trying to justify this unpardonably barbaric act, apparently committed purposely, on the day I turned exactly two years old) (Verbal Rating: A biased documentary) (Numerical Rating: 20)
Air Crash Investigation - Frozen in Flight (Deep Freeze) (On: 6-2-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Made me understand the phenomenon called icing, and its dangerous effect on airliners. Also made me realize that planes made by smaller makers of civilian/business aircraft such as ATR, Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Embraer, Gulfstream, Saab, etc., may not be as safe - particularly in rare and unusual situations - as the planes made by Airbus/Boeing, due the latter's far more extensive experience, resources, and R&D) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 75)
A Tribute to Ethiopian Airlines (On: 6-2-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Raised my already-strong faith in this world-class African airline. Hope to fly Ethiopian someday) (Verbal Rating: A nice tribute video) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Air Crash Investigation - Fanning the Flames (Cargo Conspiracy) (Mystery Fire) (On: 26-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: 83, Central Street, Houghton, Jo'burg) (Comments: Could this disaster have been avoided, had the 747 Combi been equipped with an automatically-triggered fire-extinguishing system, at least in the cargo area - something like those in modern buildings?) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 70)
The Final Destination (On: 24-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Predictable and unexciting... yawn...) (Verbal Rating: Fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 55-60)
Air Crash Investigation - Mixed Signals (The Plane That Wouldn't Talk) (On: 23-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: The documentary increased my understanding of aircraft by introducing me to the pitot tube. It made me understand how an aircraft's airspeed sensing works, and also, how an insect can bring down an airliner) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Air Crash Investigation - Air India: Explosive Evidence (Explosive Evidence) (On: 23-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Loved watching it... though it made me shiver at times... could relate to it especially well as I'm from Punjab, and understand Sikh extremism more closely) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Brothers (On: 22-1-10) (With: Arpan, Dheeraj, Divyanshu, Kaushik, Mausam, Neha, Pradeep) (At: Sandton City, Jo'burg) (Comments: Watched a serious and well-made movie after a long time... liked it... reminds me of House of Sand and Fog) (Verbal Rating: Quite nice movie) (Numerical Rating: 70)
3 Idiots (On: 16-1-10) (With: Divyanshu, Kaushik, Mausam, Neha) (At: The Zone, Rosebank, Jo'burg) (Comments: As an engineer and someone who aspires to be a real engineer, I felt offended and outraged at the so-called physics and engineering, the way it has been portrayed in this movie. The film-makers seem to believe that their audience is uneducated and even unintelligent, and it's apparent that little research went into verifying the science depicted in the movie. I really do not wish to start commenting on the childbirth scene, the inverter and the vacuum cleaner, and all I want to write here is that 3 Idiots lacks depth, is uninspiring, predictable, tries too hard - visibly so, to the extend of appearing like a wannabe - but ultimately fails to touch and move) (Verbal Rating: At best a funny movie... everything else is undeserved hype. Actually, to be honest, it's unadulterated BS) (Numerical Rating: 50)
Air Crash Investigation - Panic Over the Pacific (6 Mile Plunge) (On: 13-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: As much as I was impressed by the crew when they successfully landed the aircraft - after a lengthy and damaging free-fall - I was disappointed to know that their own actions were partly responsible for the near-disaster. However, one hero that silently performed and held itself together was the Boeing 747... am impressed) (Verbal Rating: Nice documentary... am all praises for Boeing and the 747) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Air Crash Investigation - Ocean Landing (African Hijack) (On: 12-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Sad to see that we're still in a world in which aircraft can be hijacked by people with nefarious intentions, and zero understanding of a modern airliner. Separately, I learnt something important from this documentary - that one should never inflate one's life-jacket until one is in water) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary... taught me something important) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Avatar (3D) (On: 10-1-10) (With: Divyanshu, Kaushik) (At: Sandton City, Jo'burg) (Comments: I'm delighted, absolutely delighted, that James Cameron's most recent creation lived up to very high standards he had set with the Terminator series. I could spot cues of the Terminator series in this movie - war of humanoids against the machines, a leader of the Resistance, among others. And please, if you're one of those who didn't like Avatar, kindly take comfort in the fact that you belong to that minority because of whom Avatar scores only 8.7, and not a perfect 10 on IMDb) (Verbal Rating: So good that it touches) (Numerical Rating: 90-95)
Air Crash Investigation - Head-on Collision (Collision Course) (Crash Course) (Sight Unseen) (On: 9-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Even though I had previously read thoroughly about this catastrophe multiple times, I clearly recollect how much chilling feeling I had when I was watching this documentary) (Verbal Rating: Chilling... but a well-made documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
Jashnn - The Music Within (On: 3-1-10 to 4-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Started on a Boeing 777, somewhere over the Pakistani airspace and then over the Arabian Sea; Finished on an Airbus A340, somewhere over the Middle East) (Comments: A fine timepass movie if you have nothing better to watch) (Verbal Rating: Fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 55-60)
Meet Dubai (Atlantis, Bastakiya, Creek, Dubai Mall, Ravi, Refletts) (On: 3-1-10) (With: Alone) (At: Boeing 777, somewhere over the Pakistani airspace) (Comments: Nice little videos that market Dubai) (Verbal Rating: Good!) (Numerical Rating: 70)
A Christmas Carol (On: 14-11-09) (With: Arpan, Divyanshu, Hemant, Ipsa, Kaushik, Krishnan, Mausam, Neha, Vivek) (At: The Zone, Rosebank, Jo'burg) (Comments: The first 3D movie I've watched. Took me back to my school days, when we enacted this play in our class, and made me feel choked, haunted and restless by reminding me of some things in the near and the far past) (Verbal Rating: Good movie) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
As luck would have it (On: 14-11-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Violently shook my longstanding belief that There's no fate but what we make for ourselves.) (Verbal Rating: Awesome) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
Johnny Gaddaar (On: 8-11-09) (With: Divyanshu, Kaushik) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: A good crime-thriller movie, with some good acting by the cast) (Verbal Rating: Good movie) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Bheja Fry (On: 7-11-09) (With: Divyanshu, Kaushik, Krishnan, Mausam, Pradeep) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Although I watched only the later 75% of this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I intend to watch the full movie again...) (Verbal Rating: Great comedy!) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Up (On: 6-11-09) (With: Divyanshu, Ipsa, Kaushik, Krishnan, Mausam, Vivek) (At: The Zone, Rosebank, Jo'burg) (Comments: It's the first animated movie I've watched, and I loved it. A lot. The movie made me feel like a kid... there were moments when I was clasping my fingers and gnashing my teeth, hoping that all goes well with Russell, Kevin, Mr. Fredricksen, and Dug. I'm so happy I watched this movie. And I'm also happy that this movie made me understand the business of animated films a little better - through first-hand experience) (Verbal Rating: Very good animated movie. Worth every minute) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
National Geographic Channel - CIA Secret Experiments (On: 1-11-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Surprising and enlightening to know that USA's CIA was covertly performing such horrendous and inhumane experiments on real, alive humans, in the name of national safety. I won't be surprised if I'm told that the CIA does this even now) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
National Geographic Channel - Direct from the Moon (On: 31-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Interesting to watch, especially the parts detailing future plans to setup a human colony on the Moon) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Air Crash Investigation - Missing Over New York (Deadly Delay) (On: 26-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: How enraging it was to see the Avianca aircraft being delayed repeatedly - caught amidst bureaucracy - ultimately leading to fuel-starvation and a deadly crash of the Boeing 707) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Air Crash Investigation - The Killing Machine (Hijacked) (Hijack Rescue) (On: 26-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Delighting to see how the brave men of GIGN rescued every hostage from the hijacked aircraft) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Air Crash Investigation - Lost (Crash on the Mountain) (On: 25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Sad to see how super-experienced pilots of the Boeing 757 reached a level of complacency, assuming that now they know this monster-machine well. And that's why this tragedy happened) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
Air Crash Investigation - Deadly Crossroads (Mid-Air Collision) (A Father's Revenge) (On: 25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Amazing how two aircraft could collide in mid-air, despite independent maneuvers being performed by both the pilots. It's also an alarming demonstration of how a collision-prevention system such as TCAS can actually become a significant contributor to causing a collision) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
Air Crash Investigation - Cutting Corners (Fatal Error) (On: 25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Still furthered my understanding of the operation of an aircraft and its onboard systems... once again, it's sad that a beautiful McDonnell Douglas MD-83 crashed due to violation of maintenance procedures by Alaska Airlines) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Air Crash Investigation - Flying Blind (On: 25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Furthered my understanding of the operation of an aircraft and its onboard systems... it's sad though that a beautiful Boeing 757 went down in the Pacific due to an insignificant piece of tape) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Air Crash Investigation - Fire on Board (Fire in the Sky) (On: 24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Just the thought of fire-in-the-cockpit is chilling... I imagine what the passengers and crew must be thinking) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Air Crash Investigation - Flying on Empty (On: 24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Interesting to see a veteran pilot assume that "the computer must be erring", causing a pilot-error in this process... lol) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Air Crash Investigation - Unlocking Disaster (Ripped From The Sky) (On: 24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: I salute the three brave men, who maintained their composure, and safely landed the disaster-stricken Boeing 747; I also salute the Campbell duo, who relentlessly pursued their own investigation of United Airlines Flight 811, and made public certain alarming design-flaws, that will make us all safer for decades to come) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Air Crash Investigation - Racing the Storm (Fatal Landing) (On: 24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Increases one's knowledge of how bad weather affects an airplane's flight, and helps further remove the scarf of ignorance from one's eyes) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Battle at Kruger (On: 18-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Jo'burg) (Comments: Never again will I say that animals are emotionless machines, or that they don't have feelings of love for their community/offsprings) (Verbal Rating: Unbelievable) (Numerical Rating: 90)
All The Best: Fun Begins (On: 16-10-09) (With: Kaushik, Mausam and Vivek) (At: The Zone, Rosebank, Jo'burg) (Comments: The movie is so ridiculous that it actually revolves a full circle around the imaginary sphere of movie-goodness, crosses over the line of hyper-ridiculousness, and comes back to the line of goodness from the opposite side... lolz) (Verbal Rating: Nice and bad!) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Aloo Chat (On: 8-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Airbus A340; Somewhere over the Indian Ocean; Somewhere over Africa) (Comments: I watched this movie in the second half of the long DXB-JNB flight) (Verbal Rating: A decent one-time watch comedy movie. Ah yes, Nikki was cute!) (Numerical Rating: 60)
13B (On: 8-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Boeing 777; Somewhere in the Pakistani airspace; Somewhere over the Arabian Sea; Somewhere in the Dubai airspace) (Comments: A poor movie that should only be watched if there's nothing else available) (Verbal Rating: What a waste!) (Numerical Rating: 45)
National Geographic Channel MegaStructures - Mega Ship (On: 25-9-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Interesting to see how good are transported around the globe, what issues arise, and how logistics are handled. Quite interesting and insightful) (Verbal Rating: A good documentary about a huge container-ship, that awes the viewer) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Cruel Intentions 3 (On: 1-9-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I thought this was going to be similar to Euro Trip, and Road Trip. It wasn't. Although good, the movie would've been better had it been kept non-serious) (Verbal Rating: A fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 60)
BBC Timewatch - Concorde - A Love Story (On: 31-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Loved getting to know the past of this very beautiful machine, the object of my dreams for long) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary on the world's greatest passenger-aircraft) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
Concorde : Thank you for 27 supersonic years (On: Late Aug'09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Concorde was the queen of the skies) (Verbal Rating: Beautiful) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Adieu supersonic, good bye Concorde ! (On: Late Aug'09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Makes my eyes moist... Concorde is such a marvel) (Verbal Rating: Touching!) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Satya (On: 29-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I liked it, but in the end, what was the point? Good movie, but seems slightly overrated) (Verbal Rating: Good, but great? I'm not sure) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
Vaastav (On: 29-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Finally, I understand why I hadn't understood Hathyar till today, despite having watched it about five times already) (Verbal Rating: Great movie) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Knocked Up (On: 19-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A good comedy. But beyond that, this movie has a heart. It makes you feel things. It seems as if this movie's changing my notions about childhood, marriage, parenting, etc.) (Verbal Rating: Nicely-made movie) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
Marissa Mayer's Illinois Institute of Technology Commencement Address, Spring 2009 (On: 16-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Miss Mayer delivers invaluable pearls in this address. Interesting and inspiring) (Verbal Rating: Everyone should watch this) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
40 Days and 40 Nights (On: 15-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Similar to Euro Trip, Road Trip, and Sex Drive - this movie too is a watch-it-enjoy-it-forget-it type movie) (Verbal Rating: Good movie) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
Swimming Pool (On: 14-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A very nice movie. Intellectual and engrossing, it keeps you interested with its daring candidness and mystery. The open-ended ending is something that makes you both love and hate it) (Verbal Rating: Loved it) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Death Race (On: 13-8-09 to 14-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: For first few minutes, I felt that the movie may not turn out to be good. It became interesting past the first 30 minutes. There's some good action and speed in this movie, mixed with some superheated steam. In short, an adrenaline-pumping mixture) (Verbal Rating: A good action-filled enjoy-it-and-forget-it type of movie) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Sex Drive (On: 9-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It's been quite a long time since I watched Euro Trip and Road Trip. When I read the plot of Sex Drive, I was instantly interested - it felt similar to Road Trip... this is a fun-filled movie that makes you laugh, with some innovative new words like Cockspert) (Verbal Rating: If you loved Euro Trip and Road Trip, you're gonna love this one too) (Numerical Rating: 65)
PBS Nova - The Deadliest Plane Crash (On: 9-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A worthwhile watch, although it's quite alarming to know that there are 325-odd annual runway "incidents" in the US alone) (Verbal Rating: An interesting and insightful documentary about the deadliest airplane crash in human history) (Numerical Rating: 75)
National Geographic - On Board Marine One (On: 8-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I finally got to see the other aircraft. When I started watching this documentary, I initially got the impression that Marine One is just a poor cousin of Air Force One. Deeper into the documentary, its role and its importance become clearer. The epic moment, however, is around 25:00 when a McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III is shown taking off - very, very majestically. I've already watched this scene perhaps 10 times) (Verbal Rating: A good documentary about the Presidential Helicopter of the US President) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
The Hills Have Eyes 2 (On: 31-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It's a movie with some things good and some bad. Although it was able to entertain me overall, I must say that most of the dialogs and acting are quite pathetic. Some of the scenes seem forced and unnecessary, and the movie tries to make them interesting by sprinkling gore and violence) (Verbal Rating: A poor sequel, although a watchable movie in absolute terms) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
The Hills Have Eyes (On: 26-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Looks like today I'm watching good movies! The Hills Have Eyes is a nicely made movie, based around some ill-genetic effects on humans at the towns where the US had conducted nuclear tests in the past, and the consequential hatred these mutants develop for the normals. Two of the things I liked were the clever trick that Bobby and Brenda pulled off with the trailer, and Doug's new-found bravery that saved Catherine's life, among other things) (Verbal Rating: A good movie overall) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Wolf Creek (On: 26-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Although a work of fiction, Wolf Creek is surprisingly well-made, minus it's rather "open-ended" ending. It reminds me of movies such as Turistas, and Wrong Turn) (Verbal Rating: A nice movie that should've had a more "close-ended" ending) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Terminator Salvation (On: 17-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Being a non-James-Cameron-made movie - like Terminator 3 - I had quite low expectations from this movie. And it met those expectations nicely. Salvation is untrue to the spirit of Terminator. It seems the makers have no clue about what Terminator stands for, or what people feel about it. The dialogs are too casual. The movie is too predictable. The number of goofs in movie is so large that it'll take a day to list them all. Why is Kyle Reese - a true Resistance warrior, as portrayed in The Terminator - depicted as an idiotic civilian? The makers seem to have overlooked his character in The Terminator. Why are there only two Terminators inside the Skynet building? Where are the others when Marcus and John destroy the building? Why does Skynet have to orally talk to Marcus, and not communicate electronically? Why are there seemingly unnecessary and unexplained fires and sparks inside the Skynet building? I feel like vomiting thinking how the makers have raped the out-of-this-world movie series defined by The Terminator and Terminator 2. This one is worse than Terminator 3. These people will never understand the depth of the comments written on this video) (Verbal Rating: Only James Cameron understands what Terminator is all about) (Numerical Rating: 60)
New York (On: 11-7-09) (With: Arpit & Yuvraj) (At: Wave, CSM, Noida) (Comments: The first half is good, and I felt that perhaps this is going to be a good movie overall. The second half slows down a bit, things get a bit bollywoodish, and the story seems to be going nowhere. Overall a good movie, minus the many goofs. The NYSU scenes are nice and make me want to study abroad!) (Verbal Rating: A good movie that could've been much better) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
The Virgin Suicides (On: 7-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A different type of movie. Kept me smiling halfway through. Made me quite nostalgic about my school days, and my childhood. Provides a glimpse into the enigmatic world of teenage girls - especially teen sisters. And a much needed caution to parents) (Verbal Rating: A good but sad movie) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
Paying Guest (On: 27-6-09 to 28-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Difficult to tolerate even if one doesn't have anything else to watch) (Verbal Rating: A useless movie) (Numerical Rating: 35-40)
X-Men: The Last Stand (On: 26-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Overall a good sequel, but I have severe complaints with Jean's role. With no previous indication of her split-personality, The Last Stand sees Jean suddenly transforming into a speechless monster that does more harm to the good X-Men than good. Felt so unrealistic) (Verbal Rating: A good sequel, but Jean's role could've been a little more realistic, and vocal) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
X2: X-Men United (On: 26-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Having tasted blood, I watched part-2) (Verbal Rating: Good sequel) (Numerical Rating: 70)
X-Men (On: 25-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Wolverine had sparked my interest in the X-Men series, and having watched the prequel, this one felt quite enjoyable) (Verbal Rating: A good movie) (Numerical Rating: 75)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (On: 21-6-09 to 22-6-09) (With: Kapil) (At: TDI Paragon, Delhi) (Comments: I had never seen an X-Men-series film before, and I had thought that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as those who would've already seen the first three films. Luckily, this film turned out to be a prequel... yay! And what else can one ask for if the movie itself is nice! Looking forward to watching the other three...) (Verbal Rating: Quite nice!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
National Geographic - My Brilliant Brain - Make Me a Genius (On: 17-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A nice documentary which shows that human brain's "FPGA" can be hardwired to do a particular task extraordinarily well, using hard work, right training, and "fortunate circumstances") (Verbal Rating: Brilliant) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Rock On!! (On: 9-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Makes me want to throw away all the never-ending "works" I have, and to start living my life; Surprisingly, I had guessed Rob's brain tumor much before it was revealed in the movie - on the basis of his headache + pills + hair-loss + looks + absence from the meeting + gut feeling; My favorite scene is near 1:13:20, when the guys are with that clown-like sponsor of the music album) (Verbal Rating: A beautiful movie on life, on death, on youth, on dreams and on friendship. Both touching and inspiring) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Mirrors (On: 7-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A horror movie which is good on most dimensions, except, crucially, its story. The story looks promising till about 75% of its length, and begins to show its cracks thereafter. I couldn't understand the whole point of many things, and there doesn't appear to be a convincing explanation of the overall story. The last scenes - except that lastmost - are quite pointless. Despite this serious weakness, the movie deserves to be watched once, for its nice special effects and a few interesting scenes) (Verbal Rating: A fine-to-nice one-time watch horror flick) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
Google I/O 2009 - Keynote Day 1 (full) (On: 7-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Very impressive keynote. An ovation to the Web, a glimpse of what's coming. Equally impressive is Vic Gundotra) (Verbal Rating: Every Developer and Computer Science student should watch this) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009 (On: 7-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Wave is an amazing product, a modern tool that blends the disparate tools we currently use. And this video stunned me. Hope the product is successful) (Verbal Rating: So amazing, it scares!) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Discovery Channel - The Real Superhumans - And The Quest For The Future Fantastic (On: 24-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Makes me feel that many of the issues we all keep worrying about, they're all petty. Documentaries like this one raise and broaden our thinking, and make us realize that there's much, much more to our life than what we believe. This documentary almost scares me - the future is not going to be simple) (Verbal Rating: A must-watch for everyone) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Red Swastik (On: 15-5-09 to 16-5-09 to 24-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Rarely does it happen that I delete a movie upon watching it. This one I deleted) (Verbal Rating: A waste of time) (Numerical Rating: 35)
Batman Begins (On: 23-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: No comments) (Verbal Rating: Excellent) (Numerical Rating: 85)
House of Sand and Fog (On: 23-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A sad tale of an unfortunate dispute turning into a series of disastrous events) (Verbal Rating: A beautiful movie. Worth every second) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Bombay Boys (On: 13-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: When I read that there's Rahul Bose in this movie, I knew it was going to be good. No wonder, it did) (Verbal Rating: A good movie, but you need a special taste to like it) (Numerical Rating: 75)
The Blue Lagoon (On: 4-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I wanted to watch this movie since many years. Today finally I did. It's a different type of a movie. It's as natural as things can get. There are no cell phones, no cars and no buildings. All that there is are animals, trees, leaves, insects, rains, and humans - the way god made us. It made me ponder whether the life depicted in this movie is really the ideal life... whether the happiness shown is really all that one needs) (Verbal Rating: A different type of movie. The story of how two kids grow up and discover love. Worth one watch) (Numerical Rating: 55)
The Killing of America (On: 3-4-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: An excellent documentary with 100% real footage about some of America's most notorious criminals and events. Although it's 27 years old, it shows how, when and why America has decayed culturally and morally, and is probably valid more today than ever) (Verbal Rating: An intense documentary about the decay and decline of modern America. A must watch) (Numerical Rating: 70)
A Mighty Heart (On: 1-4-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Well-made movie about the 'back-end' events surrounding the kidnapping and subsequent beheading of WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl. Irrfan Khan is superb, while Archie Panjabi is sweet - both as usual. This movie would've been better had there been some 'front-end' scenes of Daniel Pearl with the kidnappers) (Verbal Rating: A good movie. Reminds me of Traitor. Worth watching) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Cannibal Holocaust (On: 20-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had read that this is one of the most controversial and banned movies of all time, and this sparked my interested. I wanted to see what is it about this movie that it got this infamous reputation. It turns out that the movie indeed is more gory than I had expected. The worst part, worse only to the blantant demeaning of women, is the real slaying of many animals) (Verbal Rating: My stance on this highly controversial film is that of almost support. An eye-opener, that shows us one of the darkest, unexplored sides of the world we've never seen. Eat your dinner before you watch it) (Numerical Rating: 50)
The Blair Witch Project (On: 19-3-09) (With: Arpit) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had heard of this movie from a long time, and had reasonably high expectations from it. Instead, I kept waiting for one good scene to come. Before anything good could come, the credit roll opened abruptly, leaving me not just disappointed, but a little annoyed as well... I want my 86 minutes back!) (Verbal Rating: A complete waste of time. The hype surrounding this fictional movie is unjustified) (Numerical Rating: 25-30)
Dil Kabaddi (On: 16-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I somehow had a feeling that with Irrfan Khan, Rahul Bose and Konkona Sen Sharma, this movie was going to be good. And it turned out to be just that. A humorous movie that portrays the sexually-disturbed lives of modern Indian couples, their desires and fantasies, and a constant mental battle they wage with their morality. The movie succeeds in balancing light-hearted humor with serious tones) (Verbal Rating: A well-made sex comedy with some fine performances by Irrfan Khan and Rahul Bose. Nice to watch) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Gulaal (On: 13-3-09 to 14-3-09) (With: Kapil) (At: TDI Paragon, New Delhi) (Comments: I was apprehensive about buying the tickets for Gulaal - a movie I had not heard about until last night. And I had quite low expectations, but gladly, Gulaal turns out to be a nice movie. It has a fresh theme that circles around politics and power, with crime, comedy and some sex thrown in to spice-up the serious plot. The first half is especially nice, while the second half - particularly the last quarter - appears somewhat confused and off-course. The end appears to be incomplete, as if something is missing. Overall though, a definitive thumbs up) (Verbal Rating: A fresh movie with a new theme. Gulaal is a pseudo art-movie that puts before the audience several aspects of the modern world - politics, violence, power, crime, and women - all of them naked) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Pearl Harbor (On: 12-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had high hopes from this movie. And it let me down badly. Pearl Harbor could've been such a great movie. It could've narrated the tale of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in a memorable way. Instead, it turns out to be a monotonous, non-serious and emotionless drama, that's confused between a three-way love drama and the World War II event - doing justice to neither. The dialogs are awkward at best, and funny at worst. It's fun to see the actors using cool language in situations that should've been intense and serious) (Verbal Rating: An utter waste of time. It's a shame that this movie got an Oscar) (Numerical Rating: 50)
The Spy Who Loved Me (On: 11-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It may be a Bond movie, but The Spy Who Loved Me is a dated and stupid movie. Probably because it's late 2000s now. The gadgetry seems primitive and the whole environment is primitive as well. It's laughable to see characters using huge analog telephones, and using computers that look like microwave ovens. The more troubling part, however, is that the acting of most of the characters, and even many of the scenes themselves are outright stupid. It does have one memorable scene - the helicopter chase. Only three characters played their roles elegantly - Naomi, Anya Amasova, and Stromberg. 20 years later, someone else may say the same thing about Tomorrow Never Dies - a Bond movie I like - but the truth is, The Spy Who Loved Me failed to impress me) (Verbal Rating: A dated and largely stupid Bond movie that may have been ahead of its time in 1977. Not anymore) (Numerical Rating: 55)
Crimson Tide (On: 9-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Crimson Tide is as beautiful a movie as its name. Every bit about it is beautiful. Is powerful. Energizing. And inspiring. It's the story of two brave men - men who fight for their beliefs, for their country, and for mankind. Men who know what they're doing. It's a story that teaches us that two men with clashing opinions can both be both right and wrong - at the same time. Also noteworthy is the fact that there is almost no female role in this movie - there are men and men and men) (Verbal Rating: It's a beautiful movie. Of men, of merciless machines, of war, of mankind, of choices. Not to be missed) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
Taken (On: 8-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: When I had just started this movie, I didn't have much expectations from it. However, Taken turns out to be a rememberable action movie that keeps you hooked to the screen nearly all the time. It's the story of the relentless pursuit of a heroic father to save his teen-going-adult daughter from the human trafficking business. And it's worth watching) (Verbal Rating: A surprisingly good action movie that keeps you engaged and engrossed nearly all the time) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Delhi 6 (On: 1-3-09) (With: Yuvraj and Madhur) (At: M2K Rohini, Delhi) (Comments: Ever since I had heard of this upcoming movie named Delhi 6, and more so after I had watched one of its trailors, I had a strong feeling in me that no matter how the movie is reported to be, I am going to watch it. Today we went, and I am glad that contrary to what many of my friends had heard, Delhi 6 is a really nice movie. I wasn't aware of the plot, and I wasn't aware of the core concept of the movie (kala bandar), and I believe this contributed to me liking the movie so much) (Verbal Rating: An excellent movie that brings forward the themes of ignorance, illiteracy, and religious disputes using the kala bandar as a tool. A worth remembering movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Solaris (2002 version) (On: 22-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Solaris - unlike many other sci-fi flicks - provokes deep thought. It has the potential to haunt you, to make you think about life, existence, and mortality in new ways. Although it doesn't itself try to explain any of these, it touches the concepts of group mind, Gaia hypothesis, and collective consciousness. I didn't fully understand the movie, but whatever I did left me thoughtful and impressed. Hopefully I'll understand Solaris better when I read the original novel) (Verbal Rating: A sci-fi movie that can scare and haunt you. Painfully slow at times, but nonetheless a good watch for sci-fi fans) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Malèna (On: 21-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Malèna is an altogether different type of movie. It's unlike any other non-Indian movie I've seen. It's a touchingly-told tale of a young boy transitioning from childhood to adoloscence, who develops obsessive sexual attraction for an unusually voluptuous 27-year old married woman. Hats-off to Giuseppe Sulfaro and Monica Belluci for their brilliant performances) (Verbal Rating: An art-movie that not only impresses you, it amazes you too) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Kidnap (On: 19-2-09 to 21-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The movie-makers have tried hard to utilize Minissha Lamba to "spice up" the movie and cover its many deficiencies. They fail miserably) (Verbal Rating: A wannabe movie that an utter waste of time) (Numerical Rating: 35)
Predator (On: 18-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I've watched Predator at least twice previously, but that was years back. And today I felt like watching it again. Predator is a sci-fi movie about a hostage-rescue that goes awry when the rescuers discover that there's an extra-terrestrial creature hunting them down - one by one) (Verbal Rating: A nice sci-fi movie. Worth watching once) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Jab We Met (On: 17-2-09 to 18-2-09) (With: Alone / Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: My friends had told me quite many times that Jab We Met is a nice movie, and that I should watch it. Today I did, and I am happy to admit that they were right. Jab We Met is like a sweetly narrated fairy tale. Despite the utterly simple and bollywoodishly-predictable story, Jab We Met entertains you, makes you laugh, makes you smile, and sometimes touches you. Most of the credit for this goes to the lead actors. Kareena Kapoor has played her role way too good, and even Shahid Kapoor has acted quite well. Both are able to bring innocence to their characters. Overall, it's a lovely movie) (Verbal Rating: A nice movie that's as innocent as its lead characters. Touches you at times, makes you giggle at others. Worth the watch, especially for those in love) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Dev.D (On: 8-2-09 to 9-2-09) (With: Kapil) (At: TDI Paragon, New Delhi) (Comments: Devdas must change with the times, and how can we spare his name? The oddly named Dev.D is a different type of movie. After you're watched it, you feel like exclaiming "Wow! That was nice...". However, this feeling can't be foreseen when the movie just starts - in fact, looking at Paro, you may be tempted to write the movie off. That's when Chanda enters and not only lends the movie a gust of fresh air, but also gives it a new and interesting direction) (Verbal Rating: A hatke movie that shows the many shades of today's youth. It's fun to watch with your friends. Beware, however - this is not a movie to be watched with your parents) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Slumdog Millionaire (On: 7-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: After reading enough of the hype surrounding Slumdog, I finally fired it up today. Fortunately, the movie lives up to its hype. I had tears rolling down my eyes a couple of times during the movie, sometimes watching the misery of human beings living in Mumbai's slums, and sometimes watching Jamal's fearless love for Latika. Applause to the director of Slumdog Millionaire for making this wonderful movie. I, however, have two complaints. First, and most importantly, is with the term Slumdog. The term has been carefully coined to be as close to the line of offense as possible, and yet be sufficiently intriguing so as to generate interest. Danny Boyle should be ashamed of himself for insulting the millions of poor Indians living a life of misery in Mumbai's slums, just to lend the movie a provocative title. Second, the way the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire slings insluting statements towards Jamal based on his profession as a tea-server not only feels unnatural, it makes me feel angry. No sane host of a television show would dare to make such derogatory statements about someone's profession. These small qualms apart, Slumdog is a masterpiece that every human should watch. I don't know what thoughts will come to my mind the next time I see a blind kid, begging in a subway in Delhi) (Verbal Rating: One of the best motion pictures of all time. Capable of physically touching your heart) (Numerical Rating: 90)
National Geographic - On Board Air Force One (On: 3-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: One would have to be either a feelingless-stone, or a time-traveler from the future, to not be awed by the advanced and complex system named Air Force One. This documentary shows us the behind-the-scenes story of this majestic airplane, the symbol of the supreme influence of the United States of America in the world. And it doesn't fail to impress) (Verbal Rating: Breathtaking. Watch it if you haven't) (Numerical Rating: 85)
BBC Four - The Story of Maths - The Language of the Universe (On: 10-1-09, 1-2-09 & 3-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A well-made and highly insightful documentary on the dawn of the sophisticated discipline that conclusively governs the world around us - Mathematics. The Story of Maths takes us into the world of the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Greeks, and leaves the viewer amazed at the level of mathematical advancement these ancient civilizations had achieved. Only the BBC could have delivered a documentary of such quality) (Verbal Rating: A masterpiece documentary on one of my favorite subjects - Mathematics. Fascinating, thoroughly enjoyable, and an eye-opener as well) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Iron Man (On: 31-1-09) (With: Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: Iron Man is both a good and a bad movie. Good, because it is fun-filled and entertaining for the most part, has some excellent computer graphics, along with a fine story. Bad, because the movie feels stupid and childish at times. The reactor that Stark is wearing on his chest feels 'forced' most of the time, and it seems that this device has been introduced into the movie only to lend it a sci-fi touch. It is not hard to notice that this movie has copied more than a few ideas from the Terminator series. Another stupid twist is the way Iron Man suddenly converts from a fun filled action movie to a full blown Terminator versus T-1000, or Spiderman versus Green Goblin movie, without any meaningful reason. To summarize, the movie lacks believability, it is easy to guess most of what is about to come, and most of what is not guessable, turns out to be stupid) (Verbal Rating: Good to watch once, or maybe twice, but certainly not worthy of the unusually large number of positive reviews that it has got) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
The Eye (On: 26-1-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The Eye isn't really a horror movie - it failed to scare me. Worse, it failed to interest me. It isn't a pathetic movie, in fact it's fine, but I really didn't quite feel interested in it. Things felt monotonous at times, unexciting at others) (Verbal Rating: A just fine one-time watch. If your standards for a horror movie are high, look elsewhere) (Numerical Rating: 50-55)
Ghajini (On: 1-1-09) (With: Parents, Brother & Kapil) (At: Aarti Palace, Ludhiana) (Comments: Thank god, Bollywood has released a film with some nice acting and a hatke story. Ghajini, albeit allegedly copied from Memento, is a much-needed different story about a person who suffers from short-term memory loss. Despite its many obvious scientific flaws, the movie doesn't fail to impress. One can't stop oneself from falling for the genuinely sweet Kalpana, and one also can't fail to notice the realistic performance of Aamir Khan. My only qualms with the movie are - the force-feeding of songs, and its strange use of inappropriate electronic music in the background of many scenes, even some of the crucial ones - just like in Rang De Basanti - this felt very odd. Had the movie not been a loose copy of another movie, it would probably have garnered some international awards) (Verbal Rating: A well-made movie with a different story and terrific acting by the lead stars. Definitely deserves to be watched!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
History Channel - Ancient Discoveries - Ancient Torture Tech (On: 29-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: A documentary that explores and tests the various gruesome torture techniques used on slaves and POWs in ancient empires. The documentary is insightful as well as interesting, and an unexpected positive side effect of watching it is that one learns some useful things about human anatomy) (Verbal Rating: An insightful documentary about ancient torture techniques. Also teaches some aspects of human anatomy. Worth watching once) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Fashion (On: 28-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: An insightful - albeit monotonous at times - journey into the dark side of the fashion industry. Fashion is interesting at the beginning, but it gradually starts getting monotonous because of an excessive number of ramp walk scenes. Some parts are interesting, while others are easily guessable, something non uncommon for Bollywood movies. Overall though, Fashion is an entertaining film, and it can also be called a primer on the Indian fashion industry) (Verbal Rating: A good movie on an unusual subject. Monotonous at times, but worth watching) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Discovery Channel - Everything You Need To Know - The Brain (On: 27-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: An eye-opening documentary that takes the viewer into the mysterious world of the human brain. The video starts with a brief introduction of the structure and functioning of the brain, and then moves to showing some amazing brainiacs, as well as some hard-to-believe medical incidents related to the human brain. Overall, the video makes the viewer realize that there is immense untapped potential in our brains. My only complaint with this documentary is that it doesn't teach viewers useful things that viewers could use to improve the functioning of their brains in a profitable way) (Verbal Rating: An interesting and insightful journey into the mysterious world of the brain. A must watch for everyone!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Aitraaz (On: 26-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Although Aitraaz is a fairly typical Bollywood flick, it's slightly different because it's a pro-male movie. Aitraaz steps away from the oft-seen ideology that it's always men who are at fault for everything that happens to women, and narrates a tale of a beautiful and ambitious woman who tries to use her professional power to force her ex-lover to make physical relation with him. An interesting chain of events follows. This reversal of ideology is what makes this movie a little interesting) (Verbal Rating: A typical Bollywood movie which is fine to watch once) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Sorry Bhai! {On: (25-12-08) & (26-12-08)} {With: (Aayush, Piyush and Raghav) & (Alone)} {At: (Jalandhar) & (Ludhiana)} {Comments: Sorry Bhai! is a tale of two brothers and a girl. The movie is a much needed gust of fresh air, with an unusual yet refreshingly interesting plot. I liked nearly every portion of this movie, except the seemingly unnatural reaction of the elder brother, when his younger brother admits before him that he has fallen in love with his brother's fiancee. Newcomer Chitrangada Singh has played her role well, as have others. A nice thing about this movie is that it narrates this tale without getting too serious, and keeps things the way they should be kept - simple! A nice watch, especially for those who have a younger brother, like me!} {Verbal Rating: A nice movie, which will appeal more to the youth} {Numerical Rating: 65}
2001: A Space Odyssey (On: 13-12-08 to 14-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It's a strange movie, different from any movie I've seen to date. The way photography has been done, it seems as if the makers have a taste for paintings. Minimal use of dialogs, apparently arbitrary and unexplained scenes characterize this movie. The concepts presented in the movie are way ahead of the time when this movie was made, and most of them remain a dream even to this date. The special effects are so good that I'm confident that Bollywood is incapable of producing such effects even today, 4 decades after this movie was released. However, there were a few boring scenes, and I skipped them) (Verbal Rating: An ahead-of-its-time movie that is nice to watch) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (On: 12-12-08 to 13-12-08) (With: Deepu, Karan & Natasha) (At: Wave Cinemas, Noida) (Comments: Overall a horse-shit movie, but does have a few nice scenes) (Verbal Rating: Don't waste your money or time for this shitty movie, unless of course you have nothing else to waste them on) (Numerical Rating: 30-35)
Traitor (On: 10-12-08 to 11-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I liked this movie. It takes one into the world of Islamic Jihadis, and presents their reasons for doing what they do - mostly against the USA - from a perspective that the USA never lets us know. And I have to admit that watching this movie, at times I did feel that the reasons they have for acting against the USA are genuine enough and strong enough. The movie runs at a nice pace, and almost all actors acted well. This movie reminds me if Babel, another movie I liked a lot, although there are hardly any parallels. Overall, a nice flick) (Verbal Rating: A dive into the world of Islamic Jihadis and their quest to terrorize the USA. Nice to watch!) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
The Descent (On: 30-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The Descent starts off with an interesting scene, although it slows down for a brief period after that. Subsequently though, as the core movie starts, it's all the way up. The movie is chock-full of suspense and violence, and a few unexpected events did manage to scare me a few times. The all-female cast performed brilliantly, with the lead character Sarah's transformation into a fearless soldier reminding me of Sarah Connor and The Terminator. The parallels with the equally good The Cave are hard to miss; in fact at times I felt as if both of the movie camps had installed insiders in the other's camp to ensure that any improvement in the story is copied promptly) (Verbal Rating: Absolutely thrilling horror movie!) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Hijack (On: 30-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It is clearly visible that the movie makers have tried to create a United 93. Sadly, but not surprisingly, they fail; and miserably. Hijack is a poorly made story of the ill-fated Indian Airlines flight IC 814. The movie has rare flashes of good content, but a multitude of laughably childish scenes mar the ocassional goodness that this movie does have. The "special effects" are blatantly unreal - kiddish most of the time - and the dialogs are overly generic and overemphasized nearly every time. Needless to say, the movie makers probably don't have any idea of a commercial passenger aircraft or a plane hijack situation) (Verbal Rating: Utterly timepass movie. To be watched only if there is nothing else to see. Even then you won't be able to stop yourself from laughing at some of the scenes which are supposed to be the most crucial ones) (Numerical Rating: 40-45)
Turistas (On: 29-11-08 to 30-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: There are two camps of people - those who hate this movie, and those who are surprised that many people hate this movie - read here and here. Well, I belong to the latter group. The movie isn't really a horror movie, although it does include a high dose of suspense and thrill. Some scenes are so bloody and gory that they may be unpalatable for many people. Overall though, I enjoyed this movie) (Verbal Rating: A nice thrilling movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Captivity (On: 25-11-08 to 27-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The movie tries to act smarter than it is. It's a little less than 'fine to watch once') (Verbal Rating: Watch it only if you don't have anything better to watch. Most people will not like this movie) (Numerical Rating: 55)
Tortured (On: 23-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I didn't exactly enjoy this movie, as I didn't understand the plot well... guess the plot is a little confusing. But I could figure out some parts of it, and yes, some parts of this movie are nicely made. In particular, Cole Hauser was great! Other parts, though, can be boring. Overall, this movie gave me a glimpse of the torture methods used to mentally break down suspected criminals and extract information from them) (Verbal Rating: The movie has frequent graphic scenes, many of them very graphic in nature. Watch it only if you don't mind them) (Numerical Rating: 50)
The Dark Knight {On: (2-8-08) & (16-11-08)} {With: (Deepu, Karan, Natasha & Prashant) & (Alone/Ankur)} {At: (Delhi) & (Noida)} {Comments: (Because of my personal problems, I couldn't concentrate on the movie & couldn't enjoy it as much as I could have and should have) & (It's today, after watching it the second time, that I've truly understood and appreciated this masterpiece)} {Verbal Rating: (Absolutely awesome! Watch it if you haven't!) & (Wish I had a 50-inch home theater!)} {Numerical Rating: (75-85) & (85)}
Six Days Seven Nights (On: 15-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I first saw this movie a decade back, in 1998, at my classmate and friend Abhinav Oswal's home. God it feels so strange to be writing that it's been a decade since I watched this movie last time. It was his birthday celebration and I still remember so clearly how we all friends sat down in his room and watched this movie on a DVD on his Sony VAIO laptop. Good old days! As for the movie itself, it's a nice movie. A light-hearted movie that never gets serious. Fun to watch one time. It isn't memorable, except that there are some really beautiful and touching scenes of sea, islands, hills and forests. As for the acting, Harrison Ford's understated and manly role left me impressed, whereas the actress' over-acting left me a little turned off) (Verbal Rating: A light-hearted movie that is a nice one time watch, especially if you like adventure) (Numerical Rating: 60)
1920 (On: 15-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: One of the worst-made movies I've seen in a long time. The movie starts off nicely, and the first half is actually acceptable too, although one can start drawing parallels with Raaz quite soon. It's in the second half that disaster strikes. As the movie progresses, my feelings shifted from that of surprise (initially) and disappointment (increasingly) towards laughter and ultimately carelessness. The otherwise sweet and pretty actress was made to act like a ghost in (creatively) weird ways, and this felt like a major turn off. As the second half progressed further, the extent of absurdity, at times, made me want to stop the playback. I frequently tell my friends that we either laugh at the goodness of a joke, or at its absurdity. 1920, sadly to say, fits the latter very well) (Verbal Rating: It takes a lot of desire, creativity, hard work, time and money to create a movie which is as shitty as the oddly named 1920 is) (Numerical Rating: 35)
Mumbai Salsa (On: 13-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I liked the movie. It's the fourth movie- after Hello, Life in a Metro and Dil Dosti Etc- that teaches me about the life of youth in urban India. There were a few less-than-great scenes, but overall I enjoyed watching this movie) (Verbal Rating: Not for everyone. You'll like it if you like movies about romance, love affairs, etc.) (Numerical Rating: 70)
Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine (On: 11-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It was an interesting documentary about the historic match between Kasparov and IBM's Deep Blue (Kasparov lost the match to Deep Blue). I strongly believe that had IBM placed whole of Deep Blue in front of Garry, with Air Gap making sure that Deep Blue couldn't possibly receive any external/human help, not only would the match have been decisively fairer, Kasparov wouldn't have had any doubts about possible human intervention in the match) (Verbal Rating: An interesting, although a bit anti-IBM documentary. Definitely worth watching though) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Hello (On: 10-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The movie sheds an unbiased light at the life of India's youth, increasingly employed at call-centers. I liked the movie and enjoyed all of it, except a small scene near 1:45 hours, where the movie gets slightly stupid for a short while. It is the third movie- after Dil Dolti Etc and Life in a Metro- that teaches me about the life (of youth) in metropolitan India. This is the first movie I've seen in which there's a two-level flashback; a flashback inside a flashback. If you found this fact interesting, you'll probably find this interesting as well) (Verbal Rating: A creative story which has been nicely told by the way of a memorable movie. Highly recommended if you are young and employed; You'll find a lot to relate to) (Numerical Rating: 80-85) (A worthwhile photo album on Hello is here)
Bachna Ae Haseeno (On: 7-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I just loved this movie, although there were many scenes right after the first 2 hours, which didn't quite fit the serious mood that had descended on the movie by that time. This movie strengthened some of my recent painful memories; memories that haunt me multiple times each day (before I fall asleep, when I wake up, while brushing my teeth, while taking bath, while driving to my company, while in the elevator, while working on my workstation, while watching a movie, while listening to music, even while reading a Gartner report... it's like it's on my mind all day, every day) even now. The movie has some really nice shots involving airplanes; it seems that the makers are as fascinated by these flying birds as I am. Finally, my skepticism for Ranbir Kapoor not just ended after watching this movie, I highly liked his performance in this movie) (Verbal Rating: You'll love this movie if you have been through some of the tormenting incidents that have been played in it. You'll like this movie if you like movies about love. Overall a nice movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Ted Bundy (On: 5-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: This is not a usual movie. It's about Ted Bundy, America's most celebrated genius serial killer. There's lots of gore in it- multiple rapes, brutal murders and an execution- although I strongly believe that this movie could have been made much better) (Verbal Rating: You should watch it only if you are interested in knowing about Ted Bundy, and if you can take all the gore that this movie has. If you fit this criteria, you will appreciate this movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
Frequency (On: 2-11-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: Although it's fiction, it has been very well made with no boring part) (Verbal Rating: A thoroughly enjoyable watch for fans of sci-fi flicks) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
An American Crime (On: 2-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A true heart-wrenching account of torture and murder of Sylvia Marie Likens. I almost had tears in my eyes near end of the movie, feeling sorry for the little girl) (Verbal Rating: An awesome movie) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
Discovery Channel - Disaster at Chernobyl (On: 1-11-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: An eye-opener which made me realize the horror and scale of the accident in Soviet Union) (Verbal Rating: A must-watch for everyone) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Discovery Channel - Kings of Construction - Dubai - The Ski Resort in the Desert (On: 31-10-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: Good as such, but could've surely been made less-boring/more-interesting) (Verbal Rating: A slightly boring- sometimes- documentary on a great topic) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
Discovery Channel - Most Evil Mastermind (On: 30-10-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: An eye-opening journey inside the mind of a genius killer, and about the most high-profile murderers in the recent human history) (Verbal Rating: One of the best documentaries I've seen) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Heroes (On: 24-10-08) (With: Karan, Nishant and Divyashish) (At: Noida) (Comments: A fine one-time watch. Has a few emotional/touching scenes that feel good. Also has many scenes showing beautiful landscapes/scenic-beauty) (Verbal Rating: Not bad) (Numerical Rating: 60)
History Channel - Modern Marvels - Apollo 13 (On: ~Mid-October 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I salute the crew and the mission control staff on the ground for pulling this most unlikely rescue mission. Apollo 13 is without dispute a triumph of the mankind, stubbornly defiant in the face of tragedy) (Verbal Rating: Will leave you both speechless and inspired, especially if you're an engineer) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Discovery Science - Apollo 11 - The Untold Story (On: ~Early October 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: This nice documentary not only left me amazed and inspired, it also largely quashed my skepticism about the truthfulness of Apollo moon landings. It showed me how the famed Apollo 11 mission was actually on the verge of a disaster, not once but muptiple times during the course of the mission, a fact known to a handful few) (Verbal Rating: An enjoyable and insightful documentary about one of mankind's greatest triumphs) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Life in a Metro (On: 2-10-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had high hopes from this movie. It lived up to them. It proved to be as good an insight into the darker side of lives of metropolitan India as Dil Dosti Etc was) (Verbal Rating: An excellent, well made and memorable movie) (Numerical Rating: 85)
Untraceable (On: ~Sometime in early October) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A sci-fi flick packed with tons of gore and blood. Watch it only if you're comfortable with seeing blood-soaked human bodies) (Verbal Rating: It could have been made much better. As it stands now, it's a timepass movie. Recommended only if you have nothing better to watch) (Numerical Rating: 35-40)
National Geographic - Seconds From Disaster - Crash of the Concorde (On: 13-9-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: I enjoyed watching details of the year 2000 crash of Concorde. However, the documentary emphasizes the use of computer graphics a bit too much- more than what's apparent) (Verbal Rating: A thrilling documentary about fatal crash of one of the most iconic engineering marvels) (Numerical Rating: 80)
Cannibal Ferox (On: 8-9-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Violence and blood alone cannot sustain a movie. Has lots of gore and blood) (Verbal Rating: Poorly made and overall boring movie) (Numerical Rating: 35-40)
Dil Diya Hai (On: 30-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: Not very different from a typical Hindi movie. If you like typical Bollywood movies, you'll like this one) (Verbal Rating: A fine one-time watch for those who enjoy Bollywood movies) (Numerical Rating: 60)
21 (On: 14-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: Entertaining and thrilling true account of the MIT Blackjack Team) (Verbal Rating: A memorable and well made movie. Thumbs up!) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
Woodstock Villa (On: 12-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I hate to write this, but once again this is a typical Bollywood movie. Low quality action, masala romance and poor storyline...) (Verbal Rating: Fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 50)
300 (On: 10-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A historical account of the brave Spartan dynasty. Action packed) (Verbal Rating: A nice one-time watch, although I won't call it memorable) (Numerical Rating: 75)
Mission Impossible (On: 29-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I watched this movie many years back, but had not quite understood it then. This time I not only understood it, but also enjoyed and appreciated it) (Verbal Rating: A great one-time watch. Has some memorable scenes) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (On: 28-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: It was a waste of my download time. Wish I had not wasted my time on it) (Verbal Rating: Overly complicated and overall boring plot) (Numerical Rating: 25-30)
Chak De India (On: 27-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: Absolutely thrilling fictitious story about Indian women hockey team) (Verbal Rating: A memorable movie that's worth watching again and again) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (On: 26-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A thriller. Has more gore than its prequel, but the prequel was a little better than this one) (Verbal Rating: Good!) (Numerical Rating: 60)
Wrong Turn (On: 25-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A thriller. Has some amount of gore) (Verbal Rating: Nice!) (Numerical Rating: 65)
The Train (On: 24-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A typical Bollywood masala movie) (Verbal Rating: Just fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
Dil Dosti Etc (On: 22-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I was left speechless. The movie taught me a lot about the youth of today's metropolitan India) (Verbal Rating: One of the best movies I have ever seen) (Numerical Rating: 90)
Final Destination 3 (On: 21-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: It's sad to see sequels degrading in quality as compared to originals. This one's no exception. Predictability and forced introduction of sexuality tends to spoil an otherwise interesting concept) (Verbal Rating: A fine one time watch. Not memorable though) (Numerical Rating: 65)
Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (On: Probably mid-2008) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A fine funny movie) (Verbal Rating: An okay lightweight one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 55-60)
88 Minutes (On: ~Sometime in early 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual plot) (Verbal Rating: Excellent!) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
A Beautiful Mind (On: ~Sometime in early 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: A very interesting and highly inspiring movie) (Verbal Rating: Excellent and memorable!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
The Butterfly Effect (On: ~Sometime in early 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: An interesting one-time watch) (Verbal Rating: Nice!) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
Next (On: 8-1-08) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: Good acting by Nicolas Cage and a nice movie overall, although it has a goof) (Verbal Rating: A nice one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 70)
The Pursuit of Happyness (On: ~September 2007) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I had tears in my eyes as the movie ended. Read more about my feelings in a blog post here) (Verbal Rating: One of the best and the most inspiring movies I have ever seen) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
Identity (On: ~Sometime in 2007) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: An interesting and well-made movie) (Verbal Rating: Nice!) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
United 93 (On: ~Sometime in 2006 or maybe 2007) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: I had tears in my eyes as the movie ended) (Verbal Rating: One of the best movies I have ever seen) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)

Further information:

A little bit more about my taste of movies/videos can be found on my Orkut profile.