tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158213902024-03-08T02:57:41.408+05:30InCubbatorHatching zone for ideas. Anything goes here!sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-9739240826524227542017-02-12T14:05:00.000+05:302017-02-12T14:35:08.990+05:30Film Festival Diary - BIFFES 9th Edition - 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b>THE BUSINESS OF WATCHING MOVIES 2016</b></h2>
The recent BIFFES film festival showcased movies of the year 2016, from around the world. It was an eclectic collection from the 2016 film festival circuits. BIFFES-9 happened at PVR Orion Mall, Bengaluru from Feb 3 to Feb 9. Over the 7 days, I was able to watch 22 movies! Very much back in the saddle of The Business of Watching Movies (TBOWM), at long last, after a hiatus of 6 years.<br />
<br />
The organizers did a great job managing the screenings and the huge crowds. The volunteers kept the information flowing. There were timely updates about the minor snafus that are to be expected in an event of this magnitude.<br />
<br />
The venue was great, with 11 screens, good seating and other facilities. PVR also provided a special festival-priced menu organized by was also a good move. Only suggestions for improvement are that a) they could avoid the long queues and subsequent mob-like behavior, by allowing immediate entry into the auditoriums and b) utilize the poster displays to also show timings.<br />
<br />
All in all, it was a great experience and time well-spent.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
PERSONAL</h2>
I was mostly focusing on watching the movies, catching up after a long time.<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>DUET</b> - Iran 9/10 - Portrait of problems faced by their current spouses when two exes with unresolved issues meet. Silent ambiguities.</li>
<li><b>A MAN CALLED OVE</b> - Sweden 9/10 - Heartwarming tale of a grumpy old man who finds new friends and purpose in life, despite his peeves!</li>
<li><b>VERY BIG SHOT</b> - Lebanon 9/10 - Slick comedy. Pizza guys shoot movie to smuggle drugs in film canisters. Lovable characters.</li>
<li><b>THE POLAR BOY</b> - Estonia 8.5/10 - Boy needs to fake bipolar disorder to get out of trouble caused by bipolar girlfriend. Funnymotionalsadjoy</li>
<li><b>THE TEACHER</b> - Slovakia 8.5/10 - who exploits students to get her chores done. Comedy done in a delightful 12 Angry Men style narrative.</li>
<li><b>LIKE CRAZY</b> - Italy 8.5/10 - Comedy drama about the escapades and discoveries of two inmates who escape from an institution -</li>
<li><b>A CONSPIRACY OF FAITH</b> - Denmark 8.5/10 - Tightly executed, fast-paced thriller about a kidnapping serial killer. Faith ruminations weaved</li>
<li><b>GUILTY MEN</b> - Colombia 8/10 - Rustic crime drama. Theft, treachery and murder! And a love triangle. Delightful watch.</li>
<li><b>FLEMISH HEAVEN</b> - Belgium 8/10 - Drama piece about a brothel owner's daughter getting abused and justice. Thought-provoking.</li>
<li><b>RAUF</b> -Turkey 8/10 - Boyhood tale. Shepherd boy's crush on his master's daughter,who wants a pink scarf. But pink's in short supply!</li>
<li><b>PAULINA</b> - Argentina 8/10 - Drama about woman who takes up rural work, gets raped in a case of mistaken identity and has the baby.</li>
<li><b>THE PEOPLE VS. FRITZ BAUER</b> - Germany 7.5/10 - Gripping account of how Bauer got Eichmann caught by the Mossad. Facing Germany's Nazi & homophobic past seems to have been a motivation behind the movie..</li>
<li><b>MINISTRY OF LOVE</b> - Croatia 7.5/10 - Down-to-earth comedy. Budget cuts off widow pension, if they've remarried. Inspectors need proof!</li>
<li><b>NERUDA</b> - Chile 7.5/10 - Fictionalized biopic of an inspector's hunt for impeached Pablo. Would've been more fun if it was less abstract</li>
<li><b>HEDI</b> -Tunisia 7/10 - Tale of a mama's boy who tries to break free from his mother's chosen plans...At 25, and about to get married...</li>
<li><b>DOGS</b> - Romania 7/10 - Parabolic story of man who inherits vast land from gangster relative but is unable to sell.-</li>
<li><b>K SERA SERA</b> - India 7/10 - Dual tale about the futility and illusion of choices we make. A bit worn but great acting.</li>
<li><b>ANNA’S LIFE</b> - Georgia - 7/10 - Struggles of a single mother with an autistic kid to go to the USA</li>
<li><b>SIERANEVADA</b> - Romania 7/10 - Accurate, real-time view of events at a family lunch. Brilliant exploration of the quotidian. Too long.</li>
<li><b>THE TOTH FAMILY</b>- Hungary 7/10 - Comedy about a family putting up with their son's eccentric commander who long overstays his welcome. The techniques have not aged well.</li>
<li><b>PRETENDERS </b>- Estonia 6/10 - All elements for a Polanski-style behavioral thriller. Couples in an isolated place etc. But falls flat.</li>
<li><b>THE CAT</b> - India 3/10 - Cheap symbolism and lines in a B-grade movie about a lusting(?) monk...Marks only for the sincerity of melodrama! I have no clue how this made the cut.</li>
</ol>
The only interactive session I attended was one with the crew of Ke Sera Sera, which was fun. The crew talked about how they were able to pull it off in 16 days flat and how the actor who played an old man managed the physical transformations.<br />
<br />
Another funny episode for me happened in the queue for one of the shows. I told my neighbours in the queue for one of the shows that I was in the business of watching movies. They took me seriously and asked me whether it paid well. I hadn't known they were students in a film institute!<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
MOVIE REVIEW DIARY</h2>
<div>
Detailed listing of the movies I watched with a short review, in th order of recommendation follows. On the right are excerpts from the official BIFFES catalog PDF.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>DUET - Iran 9/10</b></li>
</ul>
Portrait of problems faced by their current spouses when two exes with unresolved issues meet. Silent ambiguities.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Duet</b>, Director - Navid Danesh, Iran / 2016 / Persian / 103 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:Minoo drives her husband Hamed to see his ex-girlfriend Sepideh as</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
he wants to apologize to her for their unpleasant breakup some years</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
ago. The reunion, however, revives old memories that set in motion a</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
sequence of events that affect Sepideh’s life.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">A MAN CALLED OVE</span> - Sweden 9/10</b></li>
</ul>
Heartwarming tale of a grumpy old man who finds new friends and purpose in life, despite his peeves!<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>En Man Som Heter Ove</b>, Director - Hannes Holm</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Sweden / 2015 / Swedish | Persian / 116 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: 59 year old Ove is the block’s grumpy man who several years earlier was</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
deposed as president of the condominium association, but he could not</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
give a damn about being deposed and therefore keeps looking over the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
neighborhood with an iron fist. When pregnant Parvaneh and her family</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
moves into the terraced house opposite and accidentally backs into Ove’s</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
mailbox it turns out to be an unexpected friendship. A drama comedy</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
about unexpected friendship, love and the importance of surrounding</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
yourself with the proper tools.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">VERY BIG SHOT</span> - Lebanon 9/10</b></li>
</ul>
Slick comedy. Pizza guys shoot movie to smuggle drugs in film canisters. Lovable characters.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Film Kteer Kbeer</b>, Director - Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya,Lebanon / 2015 / Lebanese|Arabic / 107 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: Three brothers find themselves in the middle of a struggle with an armed</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
man. One of the brothers, Ziad, shoots the man dead. His brother Jad,</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
however, takes the fall and is sent to jail. In the intervening years, Ziad</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
has turned their modest family bakery into a drug dealing hub for a local</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
gangster. With Jad’s imminent release, however, he wants to go legit,</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
much to the charging of his boss, who asks him to do one last drop-off</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
as a personal favor. When that-drop off is across the border in war-torn</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Syria, anything can happen.</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">THE POLAR BOY - </span>Estonia 8.5/10</b></li>
</ul>
Boy needs to fake bipolar disorder to get out of trouble caused by bipolar girlfriend. Funnymotionalsadjoy<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Polaarpoiss</b>, Director - Anu Aun,Estonia / 2016 / Estonian | English/ 97 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:,Mattias is a young talented photographer in his final year of secondary</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
school, who has a dream to become a student of the Berlin Arts Academy.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
He unexpectedly falls in love with Hanna, who is adventurous and</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
unpredictable but appears to suffer from bipolar disorder. Mattias risks</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
his whole future by breaking the law together with Hanna, but ends up</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
destroying the girl he loves as he commits a crime that could end up</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
putting him behind bars. His only solution to avoid jail is to fake the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
illness his girlfriend already has - bipolarity.</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">THE TEACHER</span> - Slovakia 8.5/10</b></li>
</ul>
who exploits students to get her chores done. Comedy done in a delightful 12 Angry Men style narrative.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Ucitelka</b>, Director - Jan Hrebejk,Slovakia / 2016 / Slovak / 102 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:Since the arrival of the new teacher, Maria Drazdechova 1983, life has</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
turned upside down for students and parents. The teacher’s corrupted</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
behavior and one of the students’ suicide attempt that could be related</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
to that matter, makes the school Principal call the parents for an urgent</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
meeting that will suddenly put the future of all the families at stake. They</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
are asked to sign a petition against Maria. Maria’s connections in the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Communist Party makes everyone feel threatened. Will they dare to go</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
against her and stand up or will they just remain silent and let things be?</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">LIKE CRAZY</span> - Italy 8.5/10</b></li>
</ul>
Comedy drama about the escapades and discoveries of two inmates who escape from an institution -<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>La Pazza Gioia</b>, Director - Paolo VirzimItaly | France / 2016 / Italian / 118 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis: </b>Beatrice is a motor-mouthed fantasist, a self-styled billionaire countess</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
who likes to believe she’s on intimate terms with world leaders. Donatella</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
is a tattooed introvert, a fragile young woman locked in her own mystery.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
They are both patients at the Villa Biondi, a progressive but secure</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
psychiatric clinic. The film tells the story of the unpredictable and moving</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
friendship that develops between the two women as they flee the mental</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
institution in search of love and happiness in the open-air nuthouse - the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
world of sane people.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">A CONSPIRACY OF FAITH</span> - Denmark 8.5/10</b></li>
</ul>
Tightly executed, fast-paced thriller about a kidnapping serial killer. Faith ruminations weaved<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Flaskepost Fra P, </b>Director - Hans Petter Moland,Denmark / 2016 / Danish / 112 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: An old note is found in a bottle in Jutland which has travelled across the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
ocean for a long time. The note is hard to decipher but when the Danish</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
investigators from Section Q receive it, the odd personalities within</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
the section find a new angle on it and try to unveil yet another old and</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
diabolic case even though the lead is cold to catch an elusive serial killer,</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
while time is running out.</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">GUILTY MEN </span>- Colombia 8/10</b></li>
</ul>
Rustic crime drama. Theft, treachery and murder! And a love triangle. Delightful watch.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Pariente</b>, Director - Ivan D Gaona,Columbia / 2016 / Spanish / 115 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:While the demobilization process of an illegal armed group is taking</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
place in rural Colombia, a town leader plays a risky game with the local</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
paramilitaries with a cache of cash at stake. When Willington’s only love,</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Mariana, is about to get married with his cousin Rene, they get caught in</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
a situation that rapidly slips out of control.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">FLEMISH HEAVEN</span> - Belgium 8/10</b></li>
</ul>
Drama piece about a brothel owner's daughter getting abused and justice. Thought-provoking.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Le Ciel Flamand</b>, Director - Peter Monsaert,Belgium / 2016 / Flemish / 112 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:A look at the lives of three generations of women. Monique and her</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
daughter Sylvie run a brothel on the border of West Flanders and France.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Eline, Sylvie’s six-year-old daughter, is fascinated by the mysterious</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
workplace of her mother and grandmother, but she is never allowed</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
inside. A dramatic event turns their lives upside down and the family ties</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
are put under pressure.</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">RAUF</span> -Turkey 8/10</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
Boyhood tale. Shepherd boy's crush on his master's daughter,who wants a pink scarf. But pink's in short supply!<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Rauf</b>, Director - Soner Caner And Baris Kaya, Turkey / 2016 / Turkish | Kurdish / 93 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: Rauf is the story of a nine year old, living in a village under the shadow</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
of invisible endless war, who embarks on a journey to find the color pink</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
for the girl he loves who is a twenty year old daughter of the carpenter</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
to whom he is an apprentice. For him, pink is the color of the love in his</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
dreams and peace he never saw. The quest for pink starts with his desire</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
to make her smile. But his experiences in the grey world teach him the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
black and white.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">PAULINA</span> - Argentina 8/10</b></li>
</ul>
Drama about woman who takes up rural work, gets raped in a case of mistaken identity and has the baby.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>La Patota</b>, Director - Santiago Mitre, Argentina / 2015 / Spanish / 103 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: Paulina abandons her successful career as a lawyer in Buenos Aires</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
to engage in social activism back in her homeland on the border</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. After two weeks working in a</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
neighborhood scarred by poverty and marginalization, she is assaulted</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
by a gang. Despite the brutality of the attack, instead of fleeing, Paulina</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
resolves to hold tighter to her convictions - to survive, against the odds.</div>
</div>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">THE PEOPLE VS. FRITZ BAUER </span>- Germany 7.5/10</b></li>
</ul>
Gripping account of how Bauer got Eichmann caught by the Mossad. Facing Germany's Nazi and homophobic past seems to have been a motivation behind the movie..<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer</b>, Director - Lars Kraume,Germany / 2015 / German / 105 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: Germany, 1957. Attorney General Fritz Bauer receives crucial evidence on the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
whereabouts of SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann. The lieutenant</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
colonel, responsible for the mass deportation of the Jews, is allegedly hiding</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
in Buenos Aires. Bauer, himself Jewish, has been trying to take crimes from</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
the Third Reich to court ever since his return from Danish exile. Because</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
of his distrust in the German justice system, Fritz Bauer contacts the Israeli</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
secret service Mossad, and, by doing so, commits treason. Bauer is not</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
seeking revenge for the Holocaust--he is concerned with the German future.</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">MINISTRY OF LOVE </span>- Croatia 7.5/10</b></li>
</ul>
Down-to-earth comedy. Budget cuts off widow pension, if they've remarried. Inspectors need proof!<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Ministarstvo Ljubavi</b>, Director - Pavo Marinkovic, Croatia / 2016 / Croatian / 103 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: A razor sharp comedy all about relationships and red tape. Kreso is at a</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
loose end. A fully qualified biologist, disillusioned, out of work and stuck</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
in a marriage. Over 20 years after the 1990 war, spying on war widows in</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
order to cut off their pensions ,should they find new partners? But what</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
his bosses, including his father-in-law, don’t know is that he just may be</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
romance’s unlikeliest champion. Ministry Of Love is a quirky, sardonic,</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
blisteringly funny road trip through the idiosyncrasies of finding one’s</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
passion in unlikely places.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">NERUDA</span> - Chile 7.5/10</b></li>
</ul>
Fictionalized biopic of an inspector's hunt for impeached Pablo. Would've been more fun if it was less abstract<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Neruda</b>, Director - Pablo Larraín, Chile / 2016 / Spanish| French /107 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:Poet and politician Pablo Neruda, who goes underground when Chile</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
outlaws communism and is pursued by an ambitious police inspector</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
hoping to make a name for himself by capturing the famous fugitive.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">HEDI</span> -Tunisia 7/10</b></li>
</ul>
Tale of a mama's boy who tries to break free from his mother's chosen plans...At 25, and about to get married...<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Inhebek Hedi</b>, Director - Mohamed Ben Attia,Tunisia / 2016 / Arabic / 88 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: Hedi is the very picture of a man listlessly treading the path laid out for</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
him. He’s a lousy salesman with zero interest in what he’s doing. His</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
mother is an overbearing, strong-willed widow determined to keep him</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
close to her. But, a week before his marriage to Khedija, for whom he</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
has no interest, he meets Rim. She is a free-spirited woman who makes</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
him feel alive, and opens his eyes to the possibility of enjoying life, on his</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
own terms.</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">DOGS</span> - Romania 7/10</b></li>
</ul>
Parabolic story of man who inherits vast land from gangster relative but is unable to sell.-<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Caini</b>, Director - Bogdan Mirica, Romania / 2016 / Romanian / 104 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: A group of thieves assemble to pull of the perfect diamond heist.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
It turns into a bloody ambush when one of the men turns out to be a</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
police informer. As the group begins to question each other’s guilt, the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
heightening tensions threaten to explode the situation before the police</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>step in.</b></div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">K SERA SERA</span> - India - 7/10</b></li>
</ul>
Dual tale about the futility and illusion of choices we make. A bit worn but great acting.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Ghodpachem Ghoddtelem</b>, Director - Rajeev Shinde, 2016 / Konkani / 125 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: K Sera Sera revolves around a concept of “Do we live life... Or does life live</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
us…”. The film is about two individuals. One who believes in changing</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
the circumstances with precise and definite decisions and the other who</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
believes in drifting with the situations around and let the circumstances</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
decide the course of life.</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">ANNA’S LIFE</span> - Georgia - 7/10</b></li>
</ul>
Struggles of a single mother with an autistic kid to go to the USA<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Anas Ckhovreba</b>, Director - Nino Basilia, Georgia / 2016 / Georgian / 108 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: Young single mother Anna works several jobs in order to fund the care</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
required for her autistic son, who is placed in a specialist establishment.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
One day, she decides to leave it all behind and take him to live in the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
United States. But she has difficulty in obtaining the visa. So she sells</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
her flat and entrusts everything she has to a man who can acquire false</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
papers for her. Can she really trust him?</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">SIERANEVADA</span> - Romania 7/10</b></li>
</ul>
Accurate, real-time view of events at a family lunch. Brilliant exploration of the quotidian. Too long.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Sieranevada</b>, Director - Cristi Puiu, Romania / 2016 / Romanian / 173 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>: A doctor and his wife are having a family meal in Bucharest to mark</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
the passing of his father when an argument about 9/11 breaks out and</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
deteriorates into a settling of personal scores.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">THE TOTH FAMILY</span>- Hungary 7/10</b></li>
</ul>
Comedy about a family putting up with their son's eccentric commander who long overstays his welcome. The techniques have not aged well.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Isten Hozta Örnagy Úr</b>, Director - Zoltán Fábri,Hungary / 1969 /Hungarian / 95 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:Nervously exhausted Major (Latinovits) is spending his leave with the</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
parents of a favourite subordinate. For the son’s sake, mother and</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
daughter generously comply with the Major’s peculiar requests. However,</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
the esteemed fire chief resists the Major’s aggressive ways in the name</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
of human dignity.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">PRETENDERS</span> - Estonia 6/10</b></li>
</ul>
All elements for a Polanski-style behavioral thriller. Couples in an isolated place etc. But falls flat.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Teesklejad</b>, Director - Vallo Toomla, Estonia / 2016 / Estonian / 102 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
After a heavy decision, Anna and Juhan are unable to move on with their</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
lives. They take time off at their friends’ fancy summer house and once</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
there, are forced to offer shelter to another couple caught in the storm.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
The couple assumes that the house belongs to Anna and Juhan and they</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
do nothing to correct the mistake. Instead, they seize their new roles and</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
start taking their mutual bitterness out on the strangers. Pretenders is</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
a psychological drama about the truths and illusions of a relationship.</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><span style="text-align: right;">THE CAT </span>- India 3/10</b></li>
</ul>
Cheap symbolism and lines in a B-grade movie about a lusting(?) monk...Marks only for the sincerity of melodrama! I have no clue how this made the cut.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><b>Bekku</b></i>, Director - Baragur Ramachandrappa, 2015 / Kannada / 102 min.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Synopsis</b>:Man’s sub-conscious mind is a den of plenty of emotions: it could be lust</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
for women as well. So, an emotion craving for pleasure sits at the back of</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
the mind. The lust, craving desire which is a dimension within, expresses</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
itself outside when it gets an external stimulus. This is an innate process</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
of human nature, if the same happens in the case of a saint, who is</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
supposed to have renounced the world, then the ethical and non-ethical</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
questions crop up. It explores the anxiety that comes out of the clash</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
between the inner and outer world.</div>
<br /></div>
sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com5Bengaluru, Karnataka, India12.9715987 77.59456269999998312.4764182 76.949115699999979 13.4667792 78.240009699999987tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-40996188732696560232013-08-09T16:31:00.000+05:302013-08-09T16:37:33.666+05:30Under The Work Spell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Under the work-spell, we do a lot of things to "add value" and "get the job done".<br />
<br />
SPELLING FOR THE WORD PRONOUNCED <b>KYOO</b><br />
<br />
The sales pitch goes: "We are the world's foremost specialists in spelling! Our special spellings will help others pronounce your word! Let us help you come up with the spelling for your word that you now pronounce as '<i>kyoo</i>'".<br />
<br />
<b>Step 1</b>: <i>q </i>(pronounced kyoo)..."Elegant and unique, q also has the k sound, what's more also has the pronounced as kyoo. Nifty, eh? But, there's more work to do."<br />
<b>Step 2</b>: <i>q-u</i> (unpronounceable)..."Uh-oh! Are we really as good as we had claimed? But we have to add it...because of the mandatory u-after-q regulation..."<br />
<b>Step 3</b>: <i>q-u-e </i>(pronounced kwe)..."Whew! That's better, at least it looks like a word now."<br />
<b>Step 4</b>: <i>q-u-e-u </i>(pronounced kwe-oo?)..."Adding u is always a mistake. Lesson learnt."<br />
<b>Step 5</b>: <i>q-u-e-u-e</i> (let's agree to prononounce it as "kyoo"!)..."Applying a lesson learnt, adding e after we mess up by adding u makes things better."<br />
<br />
The spelling is now just great, don't you think?...(Let's ship this, before the customer realises what we are really doing!)<br />
<br />
<b>Q-U-E-U-E</b>!...(<i>Q</i>(unique)-<i>u</i>(rules)-<i>eue</i>(beautiful pattern, don't you think, <i>ue-ue</i>) : Launch presentation)</div>
sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0Bangalore, Karnataka, India12.9715987 77.59456269999998312.4764182 76.949115699999979 13.4667792 78.240009699999987tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-10216246865897535012011-01-28T20:50:00.001+05:302011-01-31T20:52:39.586+05:30Two Otocorrect Jocks<div>Malayalees have an inclination for the round "O" sound when we talk.</div><div>For example, we tend to pronounce the word "Auto" as "Oto".</div><div>Being self-conscious and also self-effacing by nature, we make a genuine effort to oto-correct when we find we made a mistake, and pretend it never happened...often with hilarious consequences... </div><div><br /></div><div>Here are two illustrations from real life (courtesy Jeswin & Abid)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. --- JOBY --</b></div><div>Joby was a Malayalee who migrated to the US. People made so much fun of his pronunciation that the poor chap even changed the way he pronounced his name! Earlier, he was Joe-bee, now he was Job-bee!</div><div>Once, when Joby had come to Bangalore, we went out for lunch at a restaturant.</div><div>After taking the order, the waiter asked, "What would you like to drink, sir?"</div><div>"I'll have a Cock please. Thank you!"</div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. --- VIVEK ---</b></div><div>Vivek (English was not his strong suit) was out on a trek with friends when he spotted a scarecrow in one of the fields</div><div>"Hey, look guys! A scapegoat!!!"</div><div>Everybody started laughing. </div><div>Vivek quickly oto-corrected himself,</div><div>"Oh, sorry! I meant scape-got."</div><div><br /></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-11080906816926977572010-12-16T20:53:00.001+05:302011-02-01T11:37:37.066+05:30Film Festival Diary - IFFK 2010<div><b>20101216</b></div><div>Think I'm retiring from this year's edition.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><b>20101215 Optical Illusions</b></div><div>Was supposed to be "a delightful comedy" according to the blurbs. Delivered in parts. Interestingly characters albeit without depth - a blind man who regains his sight and along with it pessimism, an employee being trained for unemployment...Lots of humor understated</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101215 Zephyr</b></div><div>Nobody reminded me..what I'd noted day before yesterday! Made-up Symbolism and Songs with Meaning tire and stress me out now. Cow lost (calf without mother), mother of protagonist comes home. Later mother leaves, cow returns. Not all without substance though.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101215 Certified Copy</b></div><div>If you have a good enough copy one won't miss the original. Movie illustrates the point beautifully, starting with discussions about Art - paintings and their copies. Then the lead characters (a writer and a fan) role-play as husband-wife. The lines are quickly blurred. Intriguing.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101215</b></div><div>Decided to go for 3 today!</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101214 The Light Thief</b></div><div>Movie about an adorable inventor in the middle of nowhere. Slow-moving but poignant. </div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101214 </b></div><div>Decided to take it slow. Going for only one movie today</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101213 Lola</b></div><div>Remind me to never watch movies about bringing up a kid alone, woman director. No substance, some good music.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101213</b></div><div>Announcement in hall: "I kindly request you to switch off your mobile phones."</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101213 Silent Souls</b></div><div>Depressing Russian movie about belonging and death. Merjan rituals and vodka-washes...Perhaps a dream the director or the author dreamt, should have stayed a private fantasy... Must say the movie was made with genuine feeling though</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101213 The Grandmaster</b></div><div>Japanese movie (1960s) captivates whether you know anything about the game of Shogi or not. Powerful acting by daughter of the Grandmaster in the scene about the Silver-Bullet move stands out as a highlight.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101212 Of Love And Other Demons</b></div><div>Boring boring. A prototype of the pretentious art-movie stereotype. Provided me with a most refreshing power-nap. Rabies, a priest's love affair with a teenager...shot mostly in darkness and dungeons...made me long for the lights to come on. Shots of faces half in darkness, half in light seem to be the director's favorite trick to provide symbolism...slipping into the dark side...</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101212 Apart Together</b></div><div>A nice Chinese movie about a man returning to his lover after 50 years and planning to take her back from her husband. The husband agrees! Enjoyed a song that reminded me of the drinking songs of Malluland.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101211 The Daughter-In-Law</b></div><div>Nice to be touched by genius every once in a while, Silent movie from Kyrgyzstan with no dialogue. Powerful storyline. Symbolic interludes with shots of animals are a little bit cheesy but acceptable.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>20101211</b></div><div>I'm delegate number 13309.</div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-1663746995415946752010-09-18T12:56:00.000+05:302011-01-31T21:02:43.655+05:30Card Hacking With The Aashaan<div>On a lazy Saturday morning, nothing better to do - decide to analyze cards along with Nithin "Gokul" Rajagopal aka Cindy aka Aashaan, who has an insanely good visual memory...</div><div><br /></div><div>Each face card (JKQ) is different!</div><div> </div><div><b>Aggression</b></div><div>Only card with a raised weapon - King Of Hearts</div><div> </div><div><b>Grooming!</b></div><div>Only king without a moustache - King Hearts - He also has 4 hands in views. Hands up?</div><div>Only people with curls inwards - King Of Hearts and King Of Diamonds</div><div>Jack Spades is the only guys with multiple curls</div><div> </div><div><b>Profiles</b></div><div>Only cards showing the side-view - Jack Of Spades, Jack Of Hearts & King Of Diamonds</div><div> </div><div><b>Attitude!</b></div><div>They don't care? Looking away from Sign - Jack Of Clubs, King Of Spades, Queen Of Spades, Jack Of Spades</div><div>King Of Clubs and the Queen Of Hearts don't have their sign on their attire! All the rest do!</div><div> </div><div>(C)20100918 Aashaan</div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-38967329699419985472010-03-16T11:17:00.004+05:302010-03-16T12:16:37.744+05:30Who You Are Versus What You AreOf late, I have been analyzing various social interactions and personal conflicts from the angle of <b>Who-You-Are </b><i>versus </i><b>What-You-Are</b> and I've found that it explains a lot of things: from extravagant weekend shopping sprees to Daddy-wasn't-there situations to I-won't-talk-to-you-anymore personal crises...<div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><b>Who You Are</b>: There are things you do because of your intrinsic nature. You are who you are. <i>That's the kind of person I am!</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What You Are</b>: There are things you do or want to do because of things you have no control over. Victims of circumstance is what you are. <i>I do what I have to do!</i></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Examples</u></div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><b>Army officers</b>: <i>Attention!</i></div><div><div>People who spent most of their lives working in the army come to expect similar levels of discipline and no-questions-asked obedience in their personal lives as well. They expect you to listen to what they have to say (<i>Attention</i>!) and this is what often leads to coffee-table monologues!</div><div><br /></div></div><div><b>Beggars</b>: <i>What kind of cheapo are you?</i></div><div>A beggar pleads with you for money persistently. Finally, you are touched and finally give him small change. Then It has happened to me! </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Beggar</i>: Please...Please...Please... (What You Are: Beggars beg)</div><div><div><i>You</i>: No...No...No... (What You Are: Refuse requests for money from strangers.)</div><div>Then you finally give in...give him small</div><div><i>You</i>: Here take this. Hope this change helps. (Who You Are: Human being with empathy)</div><div><i>Beggar</i>: What? 50 paise!!! (Who You Are: I gave up my dignity for <i>this</i>!!??)</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Crux </u></div><div>There is an Ego associated with both these components of our personality and this leads to conflicts and problems. Our irritation with people we interact with usually expresses itself with the protests: <b><i><u>Who </u>does he think he is?</i></b> <b><u>What </u>does he think I am?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It is easier for the What-You-Are component to override and control the Who-You-Are component. I guess how comfortable you are with the sudden switch-overs will determine how happy you are...</div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-44289701285266518732010-02-16T16:46:00.003+05:302010-02-16T17:14:52.608+05:30Professionally Good!Can an exceptionally good doctor be an evil person?<br /><br />A high degree of benevolence is intrinsically associated with some professions. People working in these roles are supposed to help people commonly held to be "un-evil” and we often subconsciously confuse the professional with the personals. <span style="font-style: italic;">Surely, some of the good in the work he does would rub off on him, wouldn't it?</span><br /><br />The character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Silence Of The Lambs) was so shocking and effective primarily because of the inherent traits we tend to associate with doctors and cooks. Given that Hannibal the Cannibal was both a doctor, a good cook and a connoisseur to boot, the line of dialogue, "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." comes as a real blood-curdler!!!<br /><br />People who are “professionally” good could include -<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Doctors</span>: Save us from disease! (Godly actions)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cops</span>: Save us from bad guys! (Father figures. They enforce the law which is for the greater common good, ensure justice)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cooks</span>: Feed us! (strong association with Mother, care etc. They feed you, would never knowingly poison you, would they!)<br /><br />So we tend to assume that if they are good at what they do, since what they do is for the good, they must also be good persons who will not want to do you harm. Surely, he cannot be a bad person!<br /><br />There are also many movies where the "good cop" hero, also does a lot of bad, evil things. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dirty Harry</span>, for example.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Given the choice of a lawyer, a politician and a doctor, and all of them are ready, willing and equally equipped to help (say, take care of your dog) you, who would you rather go to for some help?</span>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-60899639363217823172010-02-01T23:52:00.001+05:302010-02-02T15:21:22.786+05:30Notes To My ChildDon't lose: <div><br /><div>* your curiosity and sense of wonder. <em>Never hesitate to question Why or</em> to ask <i>Why not!</i></div><div><i></i><div> </div><div>* your openness and ability to accept new things. <i>This is what I thought, but it could work that way too and, you know what, it might actually be better <b>that </b>way.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>* your lack of inhibition and shame. <i>Don't be afraid to try out whatever's on your mind. People might think it's silly but hey, it's just them, who cares!</i></div><div><br /></div><div>You'll be better off if you get rid of:</div><div><br /></div><div>* Your naivete and innocence. <i>Some people are evil, though most of them are harmless because they are selfish as well. </i>You'll be better off with a slight(but hey don't overdo it), mean streak.</div><div><br /></div><div>* The need to be/feel rewarded for every little thing you've done. <i>Yeah, that was great all right but not everybody realizes it.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>* </i>your impatience. <i>It could take some time before things improve.</i></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div></div></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-3864751709505467352010-01-31T18:45:00.003+05:302010-01-31T19:55:14.708+05:30Greenmailing<div>We would love to go green, but we need your help...is a line you often hear from corporates nowadays. It's become so prevalent that there is actually a word that has been invented for it: <b><i>green</i></b><i>mailing</i>, as opposed to <b>black</b>mailing. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's only a change of shade, you know, from blackmail to greenmail. The greenmailer also aims to exploit a sense of guilt in you for his private gain. But one difference i:, the cheapo greenmailers don't have the guts to admit that they are engaging in cheap greenmail, while the blackmailer has no qualms about doing so . What was that about, Honor Among Thieves?</div><div><br /></div><div>GREENMAIL in action</div><div><br /></div><div>* The Bank asks you to opt for account-statements by email. Save Paper!, they say.</div><div><br /></div><div>Distorted viewpoint? Hardly. These pleas are more about saving petty overhead expenses than about the environment. It's all about the bottom-line, and that is the bottom line!</div><div><br /></div><div>* The Bank then sends you printed fliers about their latest loans and facilities. They even have the temerity to send you (and keep on sending you!) paper reminders of the importance of opting for paperless email-statements!</div><div><br /></div><div>More flagrant examples of greenmailing are on view at hotels. The Hotel asks you to reduce your water-usage in the wash-room. Water is Scarce!, a prominently placed poster proclaims. The Hotel asks you to not expect a fresh towel/sheet every day. We need to Conserve Resources!, they say. The Hotel asks you to cooperate during the scheduled switching off of the air-conditioner for two hours...with the energy used by an AC in an hour can be used to...blah blah... Use less, save the environment!</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah, right!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-43433904536092702982009-10-11T10:19:00.008+05:302009-11-06T15:50:06.627+05:30Photography Was Allowed!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWQPvyUTpqtNbc1towJvGy-7Zb3OucltwhYY7qgtOJIEpc_mEbwfrAdzyIfz9qqOwAU0WSfW-PnUJneGwxF-XzNV_0t06SDyQNHgiz-G0UUIB73jV-HAWaz5K9be8bxojlQnQ/s1600-h/AdultGames.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWQPvyUTpqtNbc1towJvGy-7Zb3OucltwhYY7qgtOJIEpc_mEbwfrAdzyIfz9qqOwAU0WSfW-PnUJneGwxF-XzNV_0t06SDyQNHgiz-G0UUIB73jV-HAWaz5K9be8bxojlQnQ/s320/AdultGames.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400849633293459890" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8KYunkyI4HdnqgyJxJ72EuvMpypr0jnhPeT7uqfE6s59v1s17sB1vO_FNAfUvQslUGbAiegvILst-qMYqOw9vCrsL6PaAZS6eUeHKCUNmCMAZGvYp5snVm5wptIZSr4pMzif/s1600-h/XMenAtWork.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8KYunkyI4HdnqgyJxJ72EuvMpypr0jnhPeT7uqfE6s59v1s17sB1vO_FNAfUvQslUGbAiegvILst-qMYqOw9vCrsL6PaAZS6eUeHKCUNmCMAZGvYp5snVm5wptIZSr4pMzif/s320/XMenAtWork.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400851052060195170" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUTmmRa37NAMqKq_XmbhXoAEYuVzDc11i5IrwMK9noHDsR4OqzYSgawrhHB4tMaflLYjLWyuUluv3dOPRjG42lJhYAppyAM8qkVNyd3P3RZxSJaUpR01DDCi6nHC9ZE8krfYn/s1600-h/101020091017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUTmmRa37NAMqKq_XmbhXoAEYuVzDc11i5IrwMK9noHDsR4OqzYSgawrhHB4tMaflLYjLWyuUluv3dOPRjG42lJhYAppyAM8qkVNyd3P3RZxSJaUpR01DDCi6nHC9ZE8krfYn/s320/101020091017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400931001607990610" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8iqV0R0hfTZSX9-SwlyWISnjfYPBpURWDcnIGw25zgdbvXNvWDnkvRGBlGynh4UWz0G4vSkIawFJdWLyWHReDAaJXUjgJqiMXWBSQ5jxlagUcUH45We8uSRvrwGY07ZVpAbm/s1600-h/101020091020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8iqV0R0hfTZSX9-SwlyWISnjfYPBpURWDcnIGw25zgdbvXNvWDnkvRGBlGynh4UWz0G4vSkIawFJdWLyWHReDAaJXUjgJqiMXWBSQ5jxlagUcUH45We8uSRvrwGY07ZVpAbm/s320/101020091020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400931008656797442" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />These snaps were taken when I visited a friend's house - is it in Bangalore or Sign Land, I wonder :), the situation was signs-signs-signs. Some are signs I have (and probably never will :) see anywhere else, some are just naughty perspectives, some are just plain funny! I really had a blast taking these.<br /><br />The playground was called Concrete Ground for heaven's sake, and there were so many rules that one simply could not relax there...my heart goes out to kids growing up there...<br /><br />My personal favorites are the no-games-allowed in-toilets, poetic r'turn well-wishing and the children-at-play sign boards... Nope, I did not break any rules taking these pix though, <span style="font-weight: bold;">photography was not prohibited</span>!<br /><br />(I suspect photography will be next! :) )<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3BV81xy4GZyTJolLQX0tr3nuXYIO605VhnmQqvHus_LnEDW0QwTzm9ReWG8Llw82daL3bx_AnZuaqJLT0YjZ5-uIM01yRbCvX8HFvYzAgOL5XAi3snov9E6fSBksN0eLGFpb/s1600-h/Clutter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3BV81xy4GZyTJolLQX0tr3nuXYIO605VhnmQqvHus_LnEDW0QwTzm9ReWG8Llw82daL3bx_AnZuaqJLT0YjZ5-uIM01yRbCvX8HFvYzAgOL5XAi3snov9E6fSBksN0eLGFpb/s320/Clutter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400849873615553730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjGWsjbtAmlr4ZI1zOIdqOKxMSFizY3uVV8Lyj6op-sJrODeci99Iy4osjhl0tALxqoV0QozRLzOF1o-t099NKKGMNbpFCLMxOQJGGn70XxHQBqu4f3n0Z-s3P2VzdvlT83ro/s1600-h/PetPest.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjGWsjbtAmlr4ZI1zOIdqOKxMSFizY3uVV8Lyj6op-sJrODeci99Iy4osjhl0tALxqoV0QozRLzOF1o-t099NKKGMNbpFCLMxOQJGGn70XxHQBqu4f3n0Z-s3P2VzdvlT83ro/s320/PetPest.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400850493034459042" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnhkMRKobDdBIw7t4QxHrX_dxcdRXfPQxyBfvp56JCdYQZYWkUUCA5GGclSvrqnWDe-3UaeMvt-qV6cjGM3GfWmpRt56YTQxZegpLR8pvxcNx9T8S2AtlqTU2MsVGjtzos0YK/s1600-h/NoisePollution.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnhkMRKobDdBIw7t4QxHrX_dxcdRXfPQxyBfvp56JCdYQZYWkUUCA5GGclSvrqnWDe-3UaeMvt-qV6cjGM3GfWmpRt56YTQxZegpLR8pvxcNx9T8S2AtlqTU2MsVGjtzos0YK/s320/NoisePollution.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400850195151489218" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zzt6IRArlLo2f-uOOHlCUj5x3Aw_g3InTxK6bp7p3luWgcw_UIsMthGMri3AIYLF9a9YrLdz52FBEbvScc-VH-6XtiPR4g50aJTWVsoYzCvHDY-q8JYLuDeuBbfET7zwdeK3/s1600-h/101020091029.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zzt6IRArlLo2f-uOOHlCUj5x3Aw_g3InTxK6bp7p3luWgcw_UIsMthGMri3AIYLF9a9YrLdz52FBEbvScc-VH-6XtiPR4g50aJTWVsoYzCvHDY-q8JYLuDeuBbfET7zwdeK3/s320/101020091029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400855117225123426" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCN7Rq9h_cTbypE_2O7Iva3NDdim-frnETCp_AYunh3gt1LduirfPiTBYvKvp_5Ngz4t2OdbUCHulgQKUUjvLKhqRFzEv2AYTBcGyMXX7w_VB1ibV2HgL3XuX0M3JpEXke3IjU/s1600-h/101020091013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCN7Rq9h_cTbypE_2O7Iva3NDdim-frnETCp_AYunh3gt1LduirfPiTBYvKvp_5Ngz4t2OdbUCHulgQKUUjvLKhqRFzEv2AYTBcGyMXX7w_VB1ibV2HgL3XuX0M3JpEXke3IjU/s320/101020091013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400853885212071474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SAoDGeUj6JnKXxn5Ta3PlS4jnrNQCt0tRBb1YbOS9eMrlV0GE8uy7jdskPWoFH3rhxK8vHkogR9rknkSzctIJkHTs9PXIC1LurJSkkNEwdKUrEwzhVoZLkR37deU_ZaECzoY/s1600-h/101020091012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SAoDGeUj6JnKXxn5Ta3PlS4jnrNQCt0tRBb1YbOS9eMrlV0GE8uy7jdskPWoFH3rhxK8vHkogR9rknkSzctIJkHTs9PXIC1LurJSkkNEwdKUrEwzhVoZLkR37deU_ZaECzoY/s320/101020091012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400853880769059426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHE5kg9e4_oDmpw3KwH18nZW_1zVBiVFZuTC3qs0o50WB17-bFy3TTJj3jIkRV6RzKOxYmbwUOvh7eHQ6bx63D35h4p9ZW9RJf7kHCwb9tOFlXxkhEaBgVWISuEa43eQrlCvX3/s1600-h/101020091004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHE5kg9e4_oDmpw3KwH18nZW_1zVBiVFZuTC3qs0o50WB17-bFy3TTJj3jIkRV6RzKOxYmbwUOvh7eHQ6bx63D35h4p9ZW9RJf7kHCwb9tOFlXxkhEaBgVWISuEa43eQrlCvX3/s320/101020091004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400853859750881586" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQquqx74WTSzixPSu2Dt55jr3AEgMcXIrXb8unU3Sy3tno4OPCSvZZr0_Vpt8p8Z5zLF_I4upKJfCvIiz9QcTfzcIXdERCVXwL2ITfa7jBp_KF7uW3pxagQjOmk-jdLtAV5EQy/s1600-h/101020091006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQquqx74WTSzixPSu2Dt55jr3AEgMcXIrXb8unU3Sy3tno4OPCSvZZr0_Vpt8p8Z5zLF_I4upKJfCvIiz9QcTfzcIXdERCVXwL2ITfa7jBp_KF7uW3pxagQjOmk-jdLtAV5EQy/s320/101020091006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400853866081473986" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwFnAkOUsKL-bBAd-jVUuZHiSoABUYQijGPRXSslH5BX3Xb7elnFEs9v8apKWe_ma9Pk5X-GpBspcf_YbivACuj_6lpohqQIiyC0yt6rAdG-mgMCii00t52RZ3RCnXwlF0Tvu/s1600-h/101020091009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwFnAkOUsKL-bBAd-jVUuZHiSoABUYQijGPRXSslH5BX3Xb7elnFEs9v8apKWe_ma9Pk5X-GpBspcf_YbivACuj_6lpohqQIiyC0yt6rAdG-mgMCii00t52RZ3RCnXwlF0Tvu/s320/101020091009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400853874252224882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ie3CObUNR09iVpelprHrJWBfsGUW4kVHPRHbcnNKitjg_9seJtbXr0RNCgPjZMRre4fzxOc_xN9iPyVTuyvyYjnvjrU5DywGr4-2aCgzVcrZM9ecuureZbhrGWGWlwBhYQ9a/s1600-h/PoeticBlessing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ie3CObUNR09iVpelprHrJWBfsGUW4kVHPRHbcnNKitjg_9seJtbXr0RNCgPjZMRre4fzxOc_xN9iPyVTuyvyYjnvjrU5DywGr4-2aCgzVcrZM9ecuureZbhrGWGWlwBhYQ9a/s320/PoeticBlessing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400850738621929266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-23152931526289470152009-09-19T20:33:00.001+05:302009-09-23T19:32:19.393+05:30Malayalitmus Test<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>I have devised a litmus test to determine the Malluness quotient of an individual.<br /><br />Depending on how the person says the following word:<br />Neerazhi (നീരാഴി) - a synonym for the word "sea"<br /><br />You can determine how much Malayalam a person knows, how "native" he or she is from the way they pronounce this word.<br /><br />The na, ra, and zha are different!<br /><br /><br />TIDBITS<br />===========<br />From Wikipedia,<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; color: black; background-image: none; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; font-size: 17px;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Extinct_Kannada_letters">Extinct Kannada letters</span></h3><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 1.5em;">Kannada literary works employed letters ಱ (transliterated '<span title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration" class="Unicode" lang="sa-Latn" style="font-family: inherit; white-space: normal; text-decoration: none;" lang="sa-Latn">ṟ</span>' or 'rh') and ೞ (transliterated '<span title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration" class="Unicode" lang="sa-Latn" style="font-family: inherit; white-space: normal; text-decoration: none;" lang="sa-Latn">ḻ</span>', 'lh' or 'zh'), whose manner of articulation most plausibly could be akin to those in present-day <a href="/wiki/Malayalam" title="Malayalam" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none;">Malayalam</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none;">Tamil</a>. The letters dropped out of use in the twelfth and eighteenth centuries, respectively. Later Kannada works replaced 'rh' and 'lh' with ರ (ra) and ಳ (la) respectively.<sup id="cite_ref-kannada_literature_69-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"><a href="#cite_note-kannada_literature-69" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;"><span>[</span>70<span>]</span></a></sup></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 1.5em;">Another letter (or unclassified<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>vyanjana</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(consonant)) that has become extinct is 'nh' or 'inn'. (Likewise, this has its equivalent in Malayalam and Tamil.) The usage of this consonant was observed until the 1980s in Kannada works from the mostly coastal areas of Karnataka (especially the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="/wiki/Dakshina_Kannada" title="Dakshina Kannada" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none;">Dakshina Kannada</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>district). Now hardly any mainstream works use this consonant. This letter has been replaced by ನ್ (consonant n).<sup class="noprint Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from March 2007" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none;">citation needed</a></i>]</sup></p></span></span>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-70053628639012460002009-09-18T20:55:00.007+05:302009-09-21T23:58:05.612+05:30Barking Barking Malayalam ChoppingA joke that Malayalis share about non-Mallus <span>is </span>that the hapless foreigners always say: "Kurachu kurachu malayalam ariyum". This post is about debunking and clarifying that joke - which is quite an impossibility!<br /><br /><span></span> Well, a little more about the "joke".<br /><br />When the foreigner (who has tried to learn the notoriously difficult-to-speak language) means to say:<br />"<span>കുറച്ചു</span> <span>കുറച്ചു</span> <span>മലയാളം</span> <span>അറിയും</span> ",<br />They end up saying it as. <span><br />"കു</span><span>ര</span><span>ച്ച്</span> <span>കു</span><span>ര</span><span>ച്ച്</span> <span>മലയാളം</span> <span>അരി</span><span>യും</span>.".<br /><br />The former means "Little little Malayalam I know" while the latter means "Barking Barking Malayalam I chop"! :)<br /><br />There is only a slight difference in pronunciation for the 'ra's involved in this statement. The normal 'ra' (റ) sound that a foreign-tonguer would utter naturally would result in the correct version (<span style="font-style: italic;">knowing-knowing</span>) of the statement in question!<br /><br />The other ra (ര) is a sound that Wikipedia tells me used to exist in early Kannada and Tamil as well; but they became obsolete there. To understand the difference between the two 'ra's, contrast the two la sounds in "Loyola" (ലൊയോള). The difference between the two 'ra' s is also the same.<br /><br />The <span style="font-style: italic;">barking-barking</span> version of the statement is actually a testimony to Malayali elitism and sarcasm. The <span></span>joke is that the foreigner would not be able to say the joke... or hear it, he would auto-correct it.<br /><br />It is an insider joke!... perverse Malayali humour... :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-64817538626024635402009-08-27T01:52:00.001+05:302009-08-27T01:52:46.639+05:30Do It With MirrorsToday I went along with a friend to (window)shop around for an exercise-machine at the Proline shop on CMH Road. There was a full-wall mirror installed in the display/trial area. I noticed that in this mirror I seemed to be fatter than I thought I was.<br /><br />I pointed this out to the salesman, who initially pooh-poohed my suggestion. (I am comfortably obese, you see... and who does not think they are slimmer than they actually are?) Then I showed him his reflection in the glass-window in the front (it was night) and asked him to compare it with the mirror. He was also startled by what he saw!<br /><br />On further investigation, the mirror seemed to be slightly concave and made you slightly more convex; it most definitely had an aberration - a mistake of convenience?<br /><br />What a brilliant sales-strategy!<br /><br />1. You enter the shop, thinking that you are getting fat and that need to buy-equipment<br />2. Make the mirror show you a fatter version of you.<br />3. Seeing is believing, so...<br />4. You really need that exercise-machine now, don't you?!!sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-32483494149679876982009-08-26T23:59:00.003+05:302009-08-27T00:58:02.865+05:30And On the Seventh He RestedI have temporarily defected from the world of gainful employment, after my resignation in July. I am taking an indefinite break from the material world (time and money). As the Tata Safari ad went, it was time to reclaim my life; it was time to rediscover some of my passions, which were slowly slipping away. My world is definitely money-less now, and also, sadly, not as time-less as I thought it would be.<br /><br />Well, I do kinda miss office and I feel like writing a report. :) Here's the status report on the 50th day-versary of my quarantine.<br /><br />THE LOWDOWN<br />================<br /><br />Life has still been busy. Have been doing things that I would never have done otherwise because they are 'unimportant'.<br /><br />* Was confined to bed for 6 days - bad case of fever (not swine flu)<br /><br />* Cleaned up the clutter and piles of junk that had accumulated - both in my house in Bangalore and at home in Trivandrum<br /><br />* Successfully came up with a blog-idea a day for nearly the whole of July<br /><br />* Went around with my cousins, who had come down from the UK and the US.<br /><br />* Went to watch the Badminton World Championship in Hyderabad.<br />Lin Dan, the Roger Federer of shuttle, won!<br /><br />* Took a break from computers in general for around 10 days<br /><br />* Started writing some programs (open-source) that I had meaning to do for quite some time<br /><br />EVENTS<br />========<br />* Fever<br />* Cleanup<br />* Speech at family function<br />* Shuttle tournament - saw the World no.1,2,3,4 in action on the same day<br />* Coincidence - bus broke down, auto-rickshaw broke down - both on the same trip<br />* Coincidence - caught my ex-boss bunking office, met an uncle - both accidentally<br /><br />TYPICAL DAY<br />===========<br />8-11 - Get up/breakfast, read newspaper, crossword<br />11-4 - Go out somewhere (there are random trips on the bus. With a pass, you don't need to tell even the conductor where you are headed. I also go to Reliance Timeout, where you can comfortably sit and browse through books. Or maybe a movie.)<br />5-7 - Go to read in the neighbourhood park<br />7-10 - Dinner, laze around<br />11-3 - On the computer, generally programming also browsing<br /><br />LESSONS<br />=======<br />* There's still no escaping the tyranny of time.<br />* You can do only one thing at a time.<br />* It's kind of tough to be responsible for your own time; it's so easy to slip.<br />* Anything can start to be boring.<br />* My mood-fix: watching four movies in a row<br />* It's actually not that important to read the newspaper everyday. You know what, some articles are really repeats!!!<br /><br />PoA<br />===<br />Even now, there's no time! There's still so much stuff on the back-burner to get back to! For instance there's a movie I borrowed nearly 2 years ago: <span style="font-style: italic;">The Two Jakes</span>, unopened books (too many to list :) ), piles of documents and emails to sort... I also need to get up to speed on technology.<br /><br />Plan to get everything online soon.sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-63322730803947702372009-07-17T01:58:00.000+05:302010-01-04T19:02:26.129+05:30The (4,5) Crosswords<div>Absolutely frustrated and exasperated with the abysmal quality of the Hindu crossword these days. Negative this post may be, but hey I got me a muse! :) </div><div><br /></div><div><b>=====================</b></div><div><b>(4,5) CROSSWORDS</b></div><div><b>(ALL DOWN THOUGH) :( </b></div><div><b>=====================</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div>1 Now in the abyss, just a good girl initially (4,5)</div><div>2 Gets confused: one Roman giant jag on Greek slopes(4,5)</div><div>3 Girl, clumsy moves ain't a jig (4,5)</div><div>4 One ganja git on steroids? Sort of (4,5)</div><div>5 Known for a half a jiff gag hints, endlessly confused (4,5)</div><div>6 Rhymher: clues neat are buggy, say 5D (4,5)</div><div>7 Always gets Aga TJ in karate dress, say gee! (4,5)</div><div>8 Respect tag for completely gaga, half nitwit? Hardly. (4,5)</div><div>9 Blasphemer in the Holy Grid (4,5)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Discards (only because I am not the answer :) )</div><div>-----------------------------------------------</div><div>Eskimo house without toilet messes up Agra monument profit (4,5)</div><div>Sings motley clue at Jain gig (4,5)</div><div><br /></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-12640570690413812212009-07-08T01:41:00.000+05:302010-01-04T19:02:26.153+05:30Crossword BluesReturned to doing crosswords today. Was reminded of this poem gathering dust in my vault, more than seven years I think. Thought this was occasion enough - also since now it's nearly two years since I put anything up here. Renaissance Post! <div><br /></div><div><div><b>=================</b></div><div><b> CROSSWORD BLUES </b></div><div><b>=================</b></div><div><br /></div><div>That morning I was out in the garden,</div><div>Body in chair, newspaper in hand</div><div>My mind none knows where</div><div>for it was lost in thought.</div><div>So many right, yet so many left.</div><div>So many acrosses, I was feeling down</div><div>Was it hell or inferno?</div><div><br /></div><div>Ere come flying did this crow</div><div>Blacker than night</div><div>Darker even than the mind</div><div>of the grid-setter so cryptic.</div><div>Twinkle in eye, mischief brimming</div><div>the crow, he perched on the arm of my chair,,</div><div>looked through icily, said</div><div><br /></div><div>“What have we here, boxes?</div><div>Light boxes, dark boxes,</div><div>Shaded boxes, numbered boxes</div><div>but filled, lettered ones so few.</div><div>It is, I see, that which Nature she abhors!</div><div>As to how to fill these blanks,</div><div>I’m sure, you have no clue!”</div><div>Thus spake the crow.</div><div><br /></div><div>To these words offence I did take,</div><div>For though no master, I was no slouch</div><div>And I taught him the perilous </div><div>ways through the Holy Grid.</div><div><br /></div><div>About how a tree was an unetched three</div><div>And how the ear was the sense organ of time</div><div>About how Al ever managed to operate the lever</div><div>And how confused fears made you feel safer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thus I explained to him at length</div><div>About clues- cryptic, quick, hidden</div><div>and other literal sorts you know</div><div>the rowdy, wordy anagrammic clues</div><div>and funny, punny homophones.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this juncture,</div><div>I paused my lecture.</div><div>Not because my pupil was perplexed</div><div>rather `cos his were unflexed!</div><div><br /></div><div>The insolent indolent crow, </div><div>he smiled a knowing smile</div><div>Not in the least awed</div><div>(I know) for now he guffawed</div><div>and then he cawed,</div><div><br /></div><div>“Mere wordplay!</div><div>The CrossWord, tis but an eternal truth</div><div>The Beginning, cross words were heard</div><div>no sooner than God made woman.</div><div>Then so many battles, so many wars</div><div>when all people did was cross swords”</div><div>(How words could this get, I thought)</div><div><br /></div><div>“And I believe Christ’s last utterings</div><div>are now to be had as the Cross-Words, </div><div>The End!”</div><div>Oh, the way he punned it</div><div>I knew he was no crow ordinary</div><div>Really, he was some pundit!</div><div><br /></div><div>And then went flying did the crow.</div><div>There was nothing left to do</div><div>But to bid goodbye</div><div>and jot those immortal thoughts down.</div><div><br /></div><div>For these crass words</div><div>I am not to blame.</div><div>(Though the excuse is lame)</div><div>These were but the crow’s words!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>- Thomas Jay Cubb</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-19419811370226778602009-07-07T16:30:00.005+05:302009-07-28T12:44:11.492+05:30Tender ResignationYesterday was my last day in my office, where I had worked for nearly 4 years. My tenure there was just like how that Mastercard ad of some time ago went: times that were more better than worse. And thankfully, it was an amicable split (in fact, I had been reading many "How To Handle A Breakup" stories on the Web of late): it was just a case of time to move on.<br /><br />By a strange and unfortunate stroke of misfortune, I was not well on this last day and was extremely tired throughout. This had to do with my <a href="http://incubbator.blogspot.com/2009/07/eggs-in-fridge.html">eggscapade </a>of Sunday of course, had caught a bug or a curse on that caper. A major reason for my quit was the realization that there were too many eggs in the fridge of my life - stacks of unread magazines, unexpanded ideas, and many other undone things! But I do hope that this creative-exploration reasoning for my quit holds water when I'm ready to find another job!<br /><br />I struggled to complete my exit formalities because of exhaustion and was forced to spend most of the day resting at my desk. Hence I was not able to bid cheerful enough adieus to people who came there to my desk and probably decided not to trouble me too much. Guys, it was just that I was ill and exhausted, not sick and tired! :)<br /><br /><br />PS Yeah, this is the explanation for the recent, increased blogging activity.sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-77132809068179728112009-07-06T16:14:00.005+05:302009-07-28T20:25:14.678+05:30Unvital Statistics (TPS Reports)Have you ever prepared a report at work that you felt was pointless to prepare and was based on useless data?<br /><br />A couple of posts ago, I'd mentioned TPS reports in passing. Here's some info. From Wikipedia: "TPS report" has come to denote pointless <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busy_work" title="Busy work">mindless paperwork</a> after its use in the comedy film <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Space" title="Office Space">Office Space</a></i>. In the story, a primary character is reprimanded by several of his superiors for forgetting to put the new cover sheet on his TPS report. Mike Judge, who wrote and directed the movie, said that it meant "Toilet Paper Sheet" in the movie.<br /><br />TPS reports typically gather and formalize unvital statistics. <span style="font-style: italic;">Is there a correlation between the length/number of breaks and productivity? How much time is spent by the typical employee not working - blinking, walking, could be anything - how can we capture and utilize that time? </span>Typically, these questions have common-sense answers but they need to be backed up with evidence, don't they?<br /><br />What's behind the gathering of these unvital statistics? Why does it happen? Why is it so prevalent?<br /><br />1. Information loss happens at each level of hierarchy. These reports are an attempt at mitigating the resultant damage.<br /><br />a) Bosses get insecure because of this inevitable information loss. Already, they are losing touch with field-work and they don't want lose their utility completely. They want to take "informed' decisions and who can say for sure that these stats are, in fact not vital? Hence they want to capture as much data as possible, data being the basis for information.<br /><br />b) There are TPS reports at all levels. Your TPS report is what forms the basis for your boss's TPS report!<br /><br />2. It gives you, as an employee, something to do. It helps in boosting your <a href="http://incubbator.blogspot.com/2009/07/perceived-utility-factor.html">PUF</a>. It gives you an easy opportunity to prove your uniqueness and utility. <span style="font-style: italic;">You know what, my TPS report is the best, packs the most punch!</span><br /><br />Data if collected has to be processed into information, interpreted and assimilated. Otherwise the effort expended on collecting the data is a waste. The time spent for interpretation and analysis of the data at each level is an acceptable transmission-loss.<br /><br />My colleague (who of his own volition neither reads nor writes, hence I am obliged to document!) termed it "statistical masturbation" - because it is useful to none and, in most cases, provides satisfaction to just one! :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Thomas Jay Cubb</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Asides</span> (Analysis/expansion later)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">---------------------------------------</span><br />1. In information theory, <b>entropy</b> is a measure of the uncertainty associated with a random variable . Work is a random variable. Corporate hierarchies are based on information. The second law of thermodynamics, states that the entropy of the universe always increases.sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-85616805165976656882009-07-05T14:39:00.006+05:302009-07-27T01:58:10.999+05:30Eggs In The FridgeRecently, I discovered <b>4 eggs</b> in a forgotten corner of my fridge at home. I was shocked, to say the least, because I realized then that I had bought those eggs nearly one-and-a-half years ago...<b>15 months</b>, no kidding!<br /><br />Of course, they had gone bad. I tried keeping them on a plane surface and saw that they wobbled - this way, then that, sort of like a pendulum. This, I guess (and recalling my high-school science lessons and of course Google), was due to the build-up of hydrogen sulfide gas within. So the affair of the eggs in the fridge had become a real stinker- both literally and figuratively.<br /><div><br /></div><div>I had robbed those unborn chickens of their utility and denied them the purpose of even their non-existence! Omelets, French toast, cakes... perfectly modest aspirations for eggs, these had not become even those! I decided that these eggs, if nothing, at least deserved to go out with a bang; I owed them a decent funeral.<br /><br />The thing about funerals is that they are pointless unless there is a release of emotion, any emotion. No funeral is better than a nondescript funeral. How would I give them what I owed?<br /><br />Now, there is something about watching the eggs go SPLAT against a wall. I don't know why exactly, but I have always been fascinated with this splatting of eggs. I think it has to do with the letting out of pent-up energy, matter which has hitherto been concealed. I figured that this would be the easiest and the best thing to do.<br /><br />But there was a problem. In the urban maze that our neighborhood was, there was no suitable wall on which to throw these eggs! :( If I did what I planned to near my house, there could be trouble... there were 4 eggs, not just one or two! <span style="font-style: italic;">Daytime: He's throwing rotten eggs! At my wall! Night-time: Who's throwing stuff at my wall, and at this unearthly hour!</span> There was also the risk of other sorts of tensions (communal?) as well...and, in any case, who knew what 15-month old eggs could contain!!!<br /><br />My friend was going to Chennai in his car today; I decided to tag along. There are some outback pockets on the highway, with lots of ovoid boulders. I wanted to throw the eggs against some of those boulders on the way. Eggs on egg-shaped rocks, one with the elements. He also supported the plan; I guess his interest was piqued by the prospective splat!<br /><div><br />On our way to Chennai, we identified the spot for the ceremony (there was a nice boulder at a turning) ; but we were in kind of a hurry, so we decided to do the honors on the way back (we were returning the same day) .<br /><br />However, during a stop-over on the highway, I took one of the eggs and threw it on the road. It cracked open. I saw that the white of the egg was all gone and only the yellow remained. The yolk looked funny, it becomes sort of a gel after 15 months, you see. And the stench of it, aaarghh!<br /><br />Our business of the day dragged on till evening and when we set back it was already dusk. We reached our chosen "funeral-spot" only much later. It was dark and there was heavy traffic, we could not stop! Well, when we got back to Bangalore, it was night and it was still unfinished business :(<br /><br />I ended up throwing the two of the remaining eggs into Ulsoor Lake. They made a splash when they landed in the water. Then I remembered that it was a splat that I had planned. I spotted a tree on the road and I threw the last remaining against the tree. And..I missed!<br /><br />Those eggs were definitely not well-done.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-84794363843379495322009-07-04T16:41:00.008+05:302009-07-27T21:52:29.180+05:30BeneMal Classification Of GamesI think our subconscious identification with the inherent symbolism in a game is an important factor in how much we enjoy watching it. Like George Orwell said, "<i>Sport is war, minus the shooting</i>". Somebody else dies, so you watch?<div><br /></div><div>Today I was watching a game of carroms in the recreational area during the lunch-break, and I was reminded of what a snooker commentator had said on TV a few months ago, when the player had pocketed a ball, "The ball has been released into gravity!" <div><br /></div><div>The free fall of the ball symbolizes a release from suffering, liberation. The ball proceeds into a different plane and we feel happy for it. This is also true when we watch a 100m sprint for example. While the sprint is on, the runners have to keep running (suffering)... up until they cross the finish line and they are released from the forced suffering.</div><div><br /></div><div>In games, as in life, there are rules and there are constraints. However, there is also an end to a game and we survive to reap the harvest, unlike in life. <i>Sport is life, plus a view into the aftermath.</i> This is what enchants us.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you look at a game from the perspective of a ball/piece, then games can be classified as:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1) Benevolent Games</b></div><div>In games like snooker and carroms, we try to release the balls from the forces of friction and collisions and boundaries of space. The balls are confined to the table/board and are subjected to forceful collisions (<i>ouch!</i>) and ultimately, whoever liberates the board from the pain of the rolling balls is the winner.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>2) Malevolent Games</b></div><div>In games like tennis and badminton, we try to keep the ball within the boundaries of the court for as long as possible. And while the ball is still in the court, we keep walloping it. It's almost as if we hate the ball, as soon it comes near us we hit it to the other side. Otherwise, if we allow the ball to continue in its trajectory and it is still in the boundary, we are penalized. Pure evil!<br /><br />A redeeming fact though, is that if we hit the ball such that the opponent can't return it, thereby becoming agents of liberation for the ball, we are rewarded with points!<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>3) BeneMal Games</b></div><div>These are games which symbolize the fight between Good And Evil. </div><div><br /></div><div>In a game like cricket, the batting side tries to put the ball outside the boundary while the fielding side aims to keep it in. Batting good, fielding evil? Well, Good and Evil are both subjective and relative. If you look at the game from a different perspective, the fielding side can be viewed as trying to put the batting side out of their suffering, caused by their desire to liberate the ball! :) </div><div><br /></div><div>Football too, both teams aim to liberate the ball from the confines of the field in their own way and believes the other team's way is evil. In the midst of this conflict though, the ball keeps getting kicked around! :)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">- Thomas Jay Cubb</span></div><div><br /></div></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-36227911271553966902009-07-03T15:21:00.007+05:302009-07-27T01:23:52.751+05:30Super Chef In ShantisagarI generally have my breakfast from the ShantiSagar near my office; on most days I have <i>rice-bath. </i> (For non-Bangaloreans, ShantiSagar is a chain of vegetarian joints and <i>rice-bath</i> is a generic term for any savoury boiled rice preparation mixed with a variety of vegetables/seasoning that can be had as breakfast; Bangaloreans, excuse my poor ignorant definitions :)<div><br /></div><div>Where I come from, we don't normally eat rice for breakfast. But what made me transcend my gastronomic upbringing was the tastiness and sheer variety that seemed to be on offer. Each day, there were two different types of rice-bath on offer - coconut-rice, tomato-rice, ghee-rice, vegetable-rice, aubergine-rice, pongal, biriyani, pulao, cabbage-rice, capsicum-rice...</div><div><br /></div><div>Some of these varieties like, for example, capsicum- and cabbage-rice I had not seen in other breakfast-joint elsewhere and hence I believed this to be<b> innovation at work.</b> Plus, whoever was making it was <b>enjoying his work</b> too; the preparation was sure to be tasty without being generic, satisfaction guaranteed!</div><div><br /></div><div>There seemed to be a <b>virtuoso chef </b>at work right in my neighbourhood ShantiSagar! And it seemed here, you could have your cake and eat it as well, it was <b>cheap </b>as well! Whether he really was a chef extraordinaire is moot, but for me the proof was in the pudding. :)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I thought a little more about this SuperChef and the life he was leading. Somebody so talented and obviously good at what he did, working at a generic food joint chain! His innovation and creativity would mostly be stifled here. <i>Hey, this is really good mate! Exquisite! But this is not rice-bath man, could you please make some rice-bath now please? </i></div><div><br /></div><div><i></i>The supervisor's perspective was logical as well: what was the point anyway? People came to ShantiSagar expecting rice-bath and not ratatouille or paella. A good ratatouille is a bad bisibelebath, and a paella is probably taboo for most of the customers. So SuperChef, his ultimate duty being to feed the clientele, would willingly submit and decide to be satisfied making innovative rice-baths.</div><div><br /></div><div>If his creativity was to be bottled, why was he hired then? Because the supervisor only checked for the minimum qualification - "does he make good rice-bath?" - and took any added skills as a <a href="http://incubbator.blogspot.com/2009/06/exploitation-classified.html">bonus freebie</a> thrown in for him. <i>Maybe he will invent a new kind of rice-bath and that will give us a competitive advantage! Who knows!</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Surely, SuperChef was not getting paid much either. (A plate of rice-bath is priced at Rs.16 at the restaurant.) Factor in (the mandatory and natural) capitalistic measures and other hierarchical/operational constraints. Probably peanuts, kind of like minimum wage.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why was my virtual hero doing it then? Why was he not running his own fine-dining restaurant or at least working at a five-star hotel? Probably he enjoyed what he was doing - making good food and people happy. Perhaps that's all he cared about. Or, maybe it could have been that he didn't know too much about other opportunities that existed elsewhere and was not convinced about his suitability/skills. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you decide to check out the rice-bath in the ShantiSagar near my office after reading this and find that it's not up to scratch, maybe it's because the SuperChef got bored with the "<span style="font-style: italic;">routine</span> innovation" or he got <span style="font-style: italic;">peer-pressured</span> in to normalcy. But I hope it's because he saw the light and quit!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>- Thomas Jay Cubb</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-12238386039854922612009-07-02T14:45:00.008+05:302009-07-27T00:18:04.954+05:30Perceived Utility FactorWhy do we do the work we do? The answer is simple, isn't it? What we are doing is useful to somebody or for something.<br /><br /><div>1. Everybody is always doing some thing or the other. (<i>I'm busy now, later man!</i>)</div><div>2. These things are useful. (<i>Aw, come on! Why would I do it otherwise?</i>)</div><div>3. Why isn't the world a better place than it is? (<i>Wait a minute, I didn't say anything about the world, did I?</i>) </div><div><br /></div><div>The simple answer was wrong, 2 is a lie. Not all work is useful; some lines of work can even be called destructive!...and <a href="http://incubbator.blogspot.com/2009/06/office-heat-engine.html">damping forces</a> (intrinsic inefficiency) are always in operation. But assuming that you are not evil and are not satisfied by the answers <i>Just for a living/I don't care/Because I have to</i>, why do <i>you </i>do it? </div><div><br /></div><div>We do things because of their <b>Utility Factor</b> - we <i><b>think </b></i>it is/will be useful for somebody or for something. The <b>Perceived Utility Factor (<i>PUF</i>)</b> of what you do gives you a sense of significance and purpose; it <i>puf</i>fs your ego up, so to say.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The higher the PUF, the happier you are. </b></div><div>So they tell you how every job has its own dignity and also how important what you are doing is (remember <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPS_report">TPS reports</a>!), and you are happy... to have made a difference but...</div><div><br /></div><div>There exists a <b>RUF</b> (Real Utility Factor) as well! No matter how significant <i>you </i>think your work is (and by extension, you), ultimately it is worth only so much in the real world! The RUF can be a real motivation dampener! <i>Reality, reality go away/Little Johnny wants to work</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>The disparity between the RUF and the PUF is what leads to dissatisfaction.</div><div><br /></div><div>The RUF will always be significantly smaller than the PUF. And that is the answer to why the world is not already a better place! :)</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>- Thomas Jay Cubb</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Asides</b></div><div><b>=======</b></div><div>1. The dual measure for this is the <b>Futility Index</b> (Thanks to my friend Ashish Chaterji for putting this succinctly). There are two variants for this as well - Real and Perceived. Frustration is caused when the Perceived Futility Index exceeds or equals the Real Futility Index.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>2. Satisfaction is a number! It is directly proportional to the ratio of the RUF to the PUF</div><div>The Satisfaction Index, SI = k* (RUF/PUF)</div><div>Employers need to ensure that SI never approaches k (that RUF/PUF always less than 1) because otherwise the employee will lose motivation. Sometimes they do this through promotions :)!</div><div><br /></div><div>More on these later.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-19761756674051969492009-07-01T16:26:00.010+05:302009-07-27T00:18:56.059+05:30Capture To FreeWhen I was in school, every day during the morning assembly, there used to be a section called "Thought For The Day" where somebody would read out a famous saying/proverb/thought. The attempt was to stimulate thinking on those lines (though nobody ever did!) among the students, at least for that day. <div><br /></div><div>If you subscribe to one of the many Quote For The Day or Word Of The Day mailers and then archive them for later reference<i> (I'll read them later)</i> you know what I am talking about. As we chug along down the tracks of life that have been laid down ahead of us, it would be good if we don't have just thoughts <b>for </b>the day, we should also try to have thoughts <b>of </b>the day.<div><div><br /></div><div>Thoughts are fleeting; they come and go, and thoughts occur to everybody. Often you will be doing something else when they come and you will put them off till later. <i>I'm doing this now, I can't act on that, not now. Later</i>. And then you forget. The thought is lost to you, and you will be left searching for it! <div><br /></div><div>If you are lucky, the thought will come back to you, and then what? Same story.<br /><br /></div><div>It is important to that thoughts don't always need to be acted on fully. Like a ghost haunts you till it is avenged, the thought floats around till you express it. Thoughts find an end in expression. Write it down or at least share it with a few friends. It does not matter even if it is not really significant or momentous; treat it like a child of your brain. An unexpressed thought is like an aborted foetus - you never know what it could grow into. </div><div><br /></div><div>Give it a chance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Capture the thought and set it free.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-90491654720733658142009-06-30T15:04:00.005+05:302009-07-15T15:11:28.876+05:30One Word Philosophy<div>In the Beginning is the Word!</div><div><br /></div><div>If a concept is succinctly expressible, then its power is increased manifold. Once you are able to freely think in terms of a concept, you can harness its meaning in what you do more easily. As the song from <i>The Sound Of Music</i> goes: when you know the words to sing, you can sing most anything. Similarly, for thought: only if you know the word for it, can you use it any way! ( Sing it! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>I once read somewhere that in Japanese, they have a single word to describe <b>a person who promises to be a great looker when seen from behind, but turns out to be quite the opposite when they turn around</b>. How many times has that happened to you? And thinking of the effort involved, not chosen to share it. For want of a word, bonding and shared chuckles were lost! :) See, what power of expression means! :) (Sorry, cannot quite recall the Japanese word, dementia excuse: it was a few years ago in <i>The Hindu</i>, I think)</div><div><br /></div><div>The Holy Books state that the name of God is equivalent to God itself. Christians and Jews even have a Commandment based on this: Thou shalt not take My Name in vain! Words enable us to recall the associated concept efficiently - to create an image in our minds. Indeed, this is what mantras and mnemonics are all about. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here are some words which by themselves, I believe, are powerful enough to considered philosophies. These are often expressed as interjections and ejaculations by the speaker unknowingly, so deeply are they embedded in the mind. They embody a way of life and sometimes, in my humble ignorant opinion, typify the users themselves!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><div>(Have desisted from citing examples of profane word philosophies. Everybody knows! )</div><div><br /></div></span></i></b></div><b><i>Maqtub </i></b>(Arabic, <i>It's written</i>)<div>We have tried our best, the rest is in God's hands. Or, Life is all about following the rules which have been written?</div><div><br /><div><b><i>Ashte </i></b>(Kannada, <i>That's all</i>)</div><div>It's no big deal (for me/us implied). Or, actually not much work involved?</div><div><br /><div><i><b>Chumma</b> </i>(Malayalam, <i>Just for kicks</i>)</div><div>Not everything we do is for a reason, you know? We just do things for the heck of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Please add to the list if you know any more.</div></div></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15821390.post-50335873587379328682009-06-29T15:29:00.007+05:302009-07-27T00:17:15.650+05:30Office Heat Engine<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><div style="border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; width: auto; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; text-align: left;"><div><div>The dictionary has it that an office is a "place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed". Do you <i>work </i>in an office or is it just a place you appear <i>busy (</i>place of <i>busi</i>ness<i>)</i>? Scott Adams, Dilbert and probably you as well might disagree, but work actually gets done in an office environment...sometimes! :) <div><br /></div><div>Even though it might seem like you have done nothing, you are exhausted by the end of a day in office, aren't you? The law of conservation of energy has it that your exhaustion means there is an expenditure of energy, and spent energy is equivalent to work done!!!<div><br /></div><div>An office, if considered as an entity, can be viewed as a place where energy is expended and work is done. Thus we can draw a direct parallel to a heat engine. Terms like burnout, efficiency, exhaust etc do not seem to be merely coincidental! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>From Wikipedia: <i>A heat engine is a physical or theoretical device that converts thermal energy (called heat) to mechanical output (called work) .</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The energy input for the office comes from the employees; they provide the heat-source for the office heat engine. The mechanical output (work) of the office may not often be directly measurable or tangible but it is sure to be there (where could it go? :)! The administrative machinery could be viewed as the valves, the rewards (monetary and other kinds) could be considered as lubricants, leave is maintenance and so on!</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, the process of energy-release from an employee is fraught with inefficiency, as any HR functionary would readily attest. The expenditure of energy or employee-combustion :) does not guarantee that work will be done - lack of concentration, time-wastage, necessary social interactions are all degrading factors as far as the efficiency of the office is concerned. There is a definite factor of probability involved.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Hence</span></span>, an office is a probabilistic heat engine!</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>- Thomas Jay Cubb</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Asides</b></div><div><b>----------</b></div><div>*Factories and production-houses are different from offices; here, the work done is more accurately and easily measurable</div><div><div>*Do the other laws of thermodynamics apply? </div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div>sonofdelphihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16533481679523391980noreply@blogger.com2