Monday, July 27, 2015

Sanki Subramanian Saami

"

"History needs to be rewritten in the right perspective, so that the young generation gets rid of their low self-esteem imposed through distorted history, if India has to emerge as a powerful nation in the next couple of decades,"

…India could emerge as a strong economy since 70 per cent of its population is under 35 years of age. If the government invested in their education and health, apart from making them mentally strong, India could emerge as a strong nation, he said.

Link

It would be interesting to conduct a proper survey, and if I am not mistaken, the result would be that the only individuals who are allowing the HISTORY of their respective country to influence their SELF-esteem are the overly nationalistic cunts patriots, who already think way too much about themselves (flag bearers) and/or their country.

Obviously there is no need to rewrite history for such deluded fucks people. They are fine with it as is. They are proud nationalists even with the allegedly incorrect account of history.

The sensible ones would understand that the concept of SELF-esteem is related to self worth and ones own individual capabilities/achievements. They would understand that SELF-esteem has nothing to do with their respective country or the achievements (or lack of) of its collective population or the individual accomplishments of a fellow citizen. It's termed 'SELF'-esteem for a reason.

Dikhaawon pe mat jaao. Apni akal ladaao

True Story

Watchable but nothing memorable about the film.

SHOULD'VE been better.

Tara

Third class shit film. Waste of time. Horrible acting.

Rekha Rana does have some potential but will need a lot of mentoring and a bit of grooming.

Ahalya

It was a good watch. Rather obvious 'twist' but it was a good watch nonetheless. I am guessing that had more to do with Radhika Apte than anything else.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

There Is More That Can Be Done

"

NEW DELHI:  In the wake of terror groups using Internet to incite religious intolerance, the government has ordered blocking of at least 40 webpages with inflammatory content relating to a minority community, including posts on social media and popular video-sharing platforms.

"Government has issued order under Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 to block some...videos that could incite minority community," an official source said.

Link

The Indian government should also consider blocking / banning some ministers/MPs/politicians. There are plenty who have proved (repeatedly) to be equally inflammatory (if not more inflammatory).

Seriously, why not ban/block these individuals? Why not shun them? Reprimand them? Arrey bhai koshish tou karen? How about mentioning some of those names in your Mann Ki Baat?

Selfie With Rattlesnake Costs Man Over $150,000

"

A US man who was bitten by a rattlesnake while taking a selfie with the deadly serpent, has incurred a hefty hospital bill of over $ 150,000. Todd Fassler's entire arm went purple after he yanked the rattlesnake from a bush and as he was composing the perfect shot it bit him.

Link

Bahut naa-insaafi hai

It should have cost him his life (One less idiot in the world)… or at the very least, his arm.

Unbroken

Did I feel anything for the characters? Nope. No sympathy (probably that says more about me than the film). But I also didn't find the characters annoying (which is rare for me, considering the genre). At no point did I want to scan through it or switch it off. Watched the entire thing without cribbing.

Seemed like a reasonably well made film (which is also rare).

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

What The…

After Selfie sticks, the world will soon see the Selfie Light Ring (or whatever the fuck it's called)… To address the very serious issue of LOW LIGHTING faced by most Selfie enthusiasts.

Link

That's even more stupid than the Selfie fad itself. Even more ridiculous than Mastercard thinking about using Selfies as a security feature to authorise online payments [Link].

But hey… if it REALLY bothers you so much (and you simply can not function without taking selfies), then I am sure some dumb phone manufacturer (and there are plenty) will come up with a phone that has a front facing flash along with the front facing camera. Perhaps someone a tad bit smarter will put a small screen on the back-cover so you can use the camera and the flash located at the back of the phone (perhaps someone has done that already).

Months later, I will ask: "You can't be serious… how the hell does this even qualify as a 'feature', let alone a MUST HAVE feature?"

I will be told: "You just don't understand technology. People have needs."

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Trip To Bombay

A short and wonderful trip to Bombay. Got a chance to unwind and relax with absolutely delightful company in a great hotel. Even if the hotel wasn't as good (thankfully it was), being in such wonderful company just ensures that you cherish the memories of the trip.

It was sheer luck that the weather held up nicely during the few days that I was there. My chilling sessions by the pool weren't ruined by the rains. It wasn't unbearably humid either. It had been raining before my trip, and it started raining the morning after my departure. It was sheer dumb luck that the weather played nice for the days I was there. I seriously doubt that ANY weather app (on ANY phone) would be capable of providing such precise information to plan a trip.

Had a peaceful flight with exemplary service from the very courteous cabin crew. Thank you Jet Airways. Thank you Hifsa.

Arrival at B'bay airport was fine except for the unnecessary queuing required to exit through the Green Channel. It SHOULD be handled better. Especially for those travellers who have limited luggage (standing in line for an hour or more to scan a back-pack does seem pointless).

Interestingly enough, an official at the airport did realise that passengers with just a handbag or a carryon don't need to be waiting in the queue and their processing should be expedited which would be helpful for everyone and reduce the clutter quickly. The only problem was that this chutiya official was of the opinion that this sensible move should be extended ONLY TO non-Indian passengers (*rolls eyes).

It did require the use of some colourful language to convince the chutiya official that I too qualified for this 'preferential' treatment at which point I walked to the front and exited from the Green Channel. Wonder how many others managed to convince this cunt.

Int'l Airport Departure - Even better than what I saw the last time. The lounge was better organised. The staff was mindful of the guests and were professional (wasn't the case last year).

The problems - For some reason (which is beyond my comprehension), people don't use the flush in public restrooms. The cleaners need to be reminded that their services are needed. The passengers at the airport, in their quest of taking selfies and family photos have forgotten that this IS an airport and NOT a photo-studio. That it is extremely inconvenient for the rest of us who have to walk around them while they decide to pose right in the middle of the walkway and take an impromptu selfie (every 10 paces)!

A certain set of unreasonable passengers came to a conclusion that the airline staff did not want them boarding the flight. Loud and annoying complaints. It was easy for me to ignore them and stand on the other side and not herd up like cattle.

Sigh… there isn't much one can do about PEOPLE. Although I do wish there was. I do have some ideas which may be radical but are sure to be effective.

Piku

Brilliant! A beautiful and extremely simple film perfectly executed.

Wonderful performances by all. Amitabh Bachchan delivers yet another award winning performance. Deepika should bag a considerable number of awards for her role. Hopefully at least SOME of them will be actual awards for acting and not the reflection of some popularity poll.

Shoojit Sircar deserves a standing ovation for this one.

Insurgent

In my view - This was a B grade Sci-Fi film (in terms of performance / plot / screenplay) with some rather fancy and expensive special effects.

Disappointing.

Tyrant

The synopsis seemed to indicate that this could be watchable (if not a good watch).

It probably would be if there was a tad bit less stupidity in the first few episodes (after which I deleted the entire season).

Bassam (Adam Rayner) is a sad man with serious issues which I honestly couldn't care less about. The character evokes only ridicule and no sympathy. It's difficult to take one seriously when one throws a tantrum at being given the option to sit in the First Class of an otherwise empty plane. It's fine if you don't want to sit, but don't get all hysterical.

Molly (Jennifer Finnigan) is an annoying cunt of a character. In the few episodes that I did manage to sit through, Molly has the WORST lines. Her husband opting NOT to dance anymore with his brother - somehow merits an elaborate explanation (*Rolls eyes). Her insistence that her husband talks to her (and his father) about something that is clearly painful for him (and happened 20 odd years ago), shows just how out of touch she is.

Samuel and Emma are extremely lame characters. I just don't find them believable.

I wouldn't recommend this idiotic series to anyone.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Horrible Experience At Xcite

The staff at Xcite Xpress (Marina Mall) had zero information about the products they were expected to sell. But that wasn't the worse thing about my experience.

Given that these people had no idea about the Macbook(s), I had to resort to looking up the product info on their website (while I was at the store). I selected an item and I was told by the staff that I could collect it from the same store on the following day at 11:00 am. After paying for it, I reconfirmed with the staff. I reminded them that the next day would be a Friday. The idiot nodded along and said "Yes sir, tomorrow morning at 11".

The following day I reached there at 11: 10 AM. The idiot who had attended to me the previous evening wasn't in the store. I showed the receipt to the staff present and they said "You will have to collect this in the evening from our other showroom".

I just started to argue with this person when my mobile rings and it's the idiot who had attended to me "Sorry sir. I didn't know it's a Friday. Store is closed Sir. Can you take it later in the evening?" I yelled (naturally) reminding him that when he had assured me of the delivery time, I had reconfirmed with him and told him that the next day would be a Friday.

I was vocal about my displeasure. Not just about them not keeping up with the assured delivery but even more upset about this dumbfuck not bothering to call me BEFORE the promised time!

He came over to the store about 15 minutes later at which point he tells me "Sorry sir and one more thing, the product information on our website is incorrect, so even if you get that item in the evening, it is NOT what you were looking for" (screenshots at the end of this post). So:

  • The website has incorrect info about the product.
  • The staff doesn't know anything about the product.
  • The staff doesn't know about the timings of the other store and warehouse.
  • The staff also claims that he isn't aware of what day of the week it is!

I ended up buying another laptop (which I could have taken the previous day itself). I paid the difference amount. The 'compensation' this individual was willing to offer was a 'complimentary' product worth KWD 30, which I believe is a gross underestimation of the annoyance caused. I told him that he could keep the 'complimentary' product and his money. I also said that the only acceptable compensation would be if he was fired, which is exactly what I WOULD do if I were his boss (might be a bit of an overkill).

Screenshots:

 

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Cutting For Stone - Abraham Verghese

The cover art - Some more thought should have been put into deciding the cover. This cover has NO connection with the story. That said, it was a wonderful read.

Sure, I could pick on bits like getting the year of the revolution incorrect, but hey… this is fiction after all (and altering the timeline for the revolution suits the plot of the book). It didn't bother me at all.

What did bother me was the not-so-subtle attempts of trying to depict something divine/supernatural/magical/paranormal of sorts. Thankfully there wasn't too much of it, but those bits DID bother me, considerably.

The coincidences and chances in this one didn't seem forced. Somehow, it all seemed to work reasonably well.

Monday, July 6, 2015

'Khali Angrez Mat Bano. Pehle Bhartiya Bano' - Rajnath Singh

"

NOIDA: Giving grist to the English versus vernacular debate in the country, Singh told students in Noida on Saturday they should not try to become 'angrez' (Englishmen) but speak English only when there is a need to.

During a nearly 30-minute speech delivered in Hindi, the home minister said, "English bolne se gyan nahi hota (one doesn't gain knowledge just by speaking in English). One should speak English when needed."

Link

Rajnath 'ji' - One doesn't become 'Angrez' just by speaking English. The same way, one doesn't become 'Bhartiya' just because one speaks some Indian language. Pehle aap ye baat tou samjh len.

Aapke swayam samjh lene ke pashchaat hi nirnay liya jaayega ke aap kissi aur ko kuchch bhi samjhaane ke laayak hain ya nahin. Samjhe? Sigh… agar kuchch samjh sakte tou hum ko samjhaana kahaan padhta. Ab sunn:

There are a lot of things that a Home Minister should be concerned about. Some of them may be of a certain importance. Some may actually be relevant. Surely you can find something worthwhile to do with your time and YOUR POSITION in the government. There is absolutely no need to limit your talks to just these non-issues which have very little PRACTICAL significance. There are plenty of idiots doing this already. Why contribute to further redundancy?

It's a tad difficult to believe (and extremely sad) that all you wanted to convey to the students was 'Hindi bolo aur maa baap ke paaon chchuo'.

You want people to become Bhartiya before they become Angrez - Interesting point. Here is another one - Why not FIRST become a REASONABLE person before becoming anything else (bhartiya or firingee)? Too much for a politician to conceive?

Chutiye log. Thu…

Dikhaawon pe mat jaao, apni akal ladaao.

Jaatishwar

The music was great (except the supposed 'Rock fest' bits towards the end. Those bands were rather shitty). The background score in the film was brilliant!

Prasenjit Chatterjee (Kushal/Anthony) has put in a wonderful performance here. Well done, Sir!

That said, the first 37 minutes of the film - Absolute rubbish. Had I not known that this film was about Anthony Firingee, then I would have definitely switched it off within those 37 minutes.

I am sure Swastika Mukherjee is a reasonably good actress (to say the least), but the character of Mahamaya Bandhopadhyay was pathetic and extremely annoying! For example, The part where she rejects Rohit's (Jishu Sengupta) advances SHOULD've been handled better (by Mahamaya).

Rohit has been flunking for around 4 years or so. Mahamaya has been doing EXTREMELY well, academically (that's an understatement). There is no shortage of sensible reasons to reject Rohit. To name a few - Not as intellectually inclined, is rather creepy, stalker. Mahamaya ignores all these OBVIOUS ones but points out her problem is that Rohit isn't Bengali enough (face-palm)!

Rohit is just as idiotic. I seriously believe that more than Kushal/Anthony, it was Rohit who was in need of professional psychiatric help.

Every time the screenplay moved to the 'Rohit-Mahamaya' plotline or just had Mahamaya in the frame, I couldn't help rolling my eyes. The 'love story' of these idiotic characters and these characters themselves were a hindrance. A hurdle. A major problem that I had to overlook to be able to appreciate an otherwise beautiful film.

Dragon Blade

Pointless… boring… crap film.

John Cusak as a Roman General… laughable.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Chotushkone

*Applause

Brilliant film. Well made. BUT Trina Sen should've been killed. At least I would've liked it better that way.

True Detective

Started off with this series and deleted it after watching 4 episodes. Too slow for my taste. Also, I simply HATE Matthew McConaughey's accent.

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