Captivity

Not interesting enough (in the begining). Definitely not enough eye candy (not for me at least). Rather predictable. The movie does get a bit better later on.

when the movie started off, I figured it would be something like Hostel or along those lines. but that was a lot more interesting..

If you have nothing else to do, then watch this. The second half is better.

Cheap Internet service

http://www.unitednetworks.com.kw/consu-internet.shtml

Dont think it gets cheaper than this

1 KD a month (that's for browsing. Can't download stuff using p2p applications)

But they do have other packages too, which are cheaper than what is being offered by other ISPs in Kuwait.

guess it's a limited time offer or something (don't really know. If someone is interested, call and find out and do let the others know as well)

President Evil

Jus had to share this.

hum padh rahe the khvaab ke purzon ko jod ke

Shahryar ...

hum padh rahe the khvaab ke purzon ko jod ke
aandhi ne ye tilism bhi rakh dalaa tod ke

aagaaz kyon kiya tha safar un khvaabon ka
pachhtaa rahe ho sabz zaminon ko chhod ke

ik buund zahar ke liye phailaa rahe ho haath
dekho kabhi khud apne badan ko nichod ke

kuch bhi nahin jo khvaab ki tarah dikhaai de
koi nahin jo hum ko jagaaye jhinjhod ke

in paaniyon se koi salaamat nahin gayaa
hai vaqt ab bhi kashtiyaan le jaao mod ke

Bush n Iraq - 2003 to .....

Yahoo Mail - the next step

Yahoo mail is out of Beta now.. and the next step is.... send SMS's from your email account (and receive replies to the text messages in the inbox itself). It is to be made available in a few weeks, but only for Canada, India, Philippines and the USA.

Some more features include - check maps, get directions, hotel and travel information, all from the email itself, without jumping screens.

Say someone writes an e-mail suggesting a trip to San Francisco and dinner at a specific restaurant. Put your mouse over the address, and a pop-up window emerges with tabs for maps, calendar and travel information

Full article - here

Fracture

Anthony Hopkins is fun to watch, although - don't know why he had to put up an Irish accent. Ryan Gosling's character kinda slows down things in the middle. The climax is a bit dragged too. But all in all, it's watchable and pretty decent performances from everyone.

Rosmund Pike's character wasn't really required in the movie.... and I am sure editing her out would've helped.

The movie could've been a lot more fun if it was paced up a little....

Iraq or US

chak de India

well... CHUCK IT.

Can't understand what about this movie is being appreciated. There is not one thing I can think off - that could be a positive for this movie. No .. SRK wasn't different. I was really hoping that I wouldn't see the same re-ACTIN ... err reactions.. but there it was, in the beginning itself.. the same look.. turn the neck, look behind.. one drop falls from the eye.. and some corny dialogue..

Talking about crappy dialogues -

"papa.. mujhe bhi gadaar dekhna hai" - WHO THE HELL TALKS LIKE THAT!!

Was in the theatre because my sister happens to be a huge fan of SRK. I was trying to be nice so decided to sit through, but couldn't take anymore of the trash and figured out that I can't be THAT NICE and walked out in the interval.

Folks watched the movie.. while I enjoyed a refreshing - and desperately needed - coffee at the Rio Cafe.

I might have stayed for the movie, but there was one line just before the interval that did it for me.

the dialogue was "humaari hockey mein chhake nahin hote"

You will have to watch that scene to figure out what was implied..

I wouldn't recommend this movie.. but lots of people think its a great movie.. (read the reviews online.. they say its a must watch).

guess I just have a very different view point of what should be categorised as a good movie.

Bush Presidency

Silverlight

Light up the web

Silverlight from Microsoft, makes FLASH look like trash.

Check out Tafiti .. it's a new search engine from Microsoft and it uses Silverlight (you will be required to install Silverlight.. and that's like less than 2 mb). Restart your browser and then, let Tafiti load up completely.

Have no idea - how good a search engine it is.. but mann the look is amazing.. tooo cool.

There are lots of other sites which are using Silverlight already. They have been show-cased on the Silverlight webpage.

In aankhon ki masti ke ...

Shahryaar ....

in aankhon ki masti ke - mastaane hazaaron hain
in aankhon se vaabastaa - afasaane hazaaron hain

ik tum hi nahin tanhaa - ulfat mein meri rusvaa
is shahar mein tum jaise - divaane hazaaron hain

ik sirf hum hi may ko - aankhon se pilaate hain
kahne ko to duniyaa mein - maikhaane hazaaron hain

is shamm-e-farozaa ko - aandhi se daraate ho
is shamm-e-farozaa ke = parvaane hazaaron hain

More Liquidity?

Just a point.

The other day, I had a rather interesting conversation with a close friend of mine. It started off with a simple statement, that some people are rude and unprofessional and they make people wait for hours inspite of scheduling an appointment.

Of course, like any other sensible individual, I completely agreed with that statement. The problem for me wasn't that statement, but an incident that was cited by my friend, with the intent of highlighting how inappropriate it is to make someone wait. Here is the incident:

Mr. Z - presently employed at XY co - had an interview at AB co.

the person at AB co. made Mr. Z wait for 2 hrs, inspite of scheduling an appointment for the interview. Mr. Z did not meet the requirements and hence was not hired by AB co.

On his return to XY co. he was handed his termination letter.

Now my good friend was (and actually still is) convinced that this happened because the person had been kept waiting.

My view on the matter is, Mr. Z deserved to be fired. I mean, here is a man who took an hour off from work, and did not return to work until after 2 hours. Unless it was an emergency, this is considered irresponsible behaviour. Giving an interview, in my opinion is NOT an emergency.

Yes he was kept waiting, but he knew that he was expected back at work in an hour. He should have reported back at work within the stipulated period. If he was going to be late - he should have at least informed his present employer.

I did mention these points to my friend, but for some reason, they didn't register for him.

Just thought id put it up here.. bas yuhin... time pass.

Indian Cricket League

The League is yet to play a match but they are already in talks with sponsors (Videocon, LG, Hutch, Reliance, Coke and Pepsi). Interesting.

Even more interesting is that the cost of advertising is 3/4th of the cost that is normally paid for an India cricket match (Rs 1-2 Lacs for a 10 second commercial spot).

The thing that remains to be seen is how will the BCCI react to this. Some people are of the opinion that the BCCI would impose bans on the players (the 44 indian players included in the ICL), and they will not be allowed to play for the indian national team.

I personally believe that if the BCCI were to take such a step, it would be suicidal.

There is no ban imposed when the players play domestic cricket or county cricket. The BCCI doesn't control either of them. Then how would the BCCI justify a ban on players participating in the ICL?

Secondly, most of the players included in the ICL (not all, but most), wouldn't have a chance in the BCCI team anyways. It's not because they lack calibre or anything like that, but just look at the names featured in the ICL. These players have been around for some time. If they haven't got a chance with the BCCI yet, it's highly unlikely that they would be considered in the foreseeable future either (just an opinion).

How the ICL will turn out, well that remains to be seen, but the idea is definitely worth a shot.

Thade Rahiyo

Sigh...

Aap ko dekh kar, dekhta rah gaya
Kya kahun.... aur kehne ko kya rah gayaa

Cache 22

kis-kis tarah se mujh ko na rusvaa kiya gayaa

Shahryar ...

Kis-kis tarah se mujh ko na rusvaa kiya gayaa
gairon kaa naam mere lahuu se likha gayaa

niklaa tha main sadaa-e-jaras kii talaash mein
bhuule se is sukuut ke seharaa mein aa gayaa

kyon aaj us kaa zikr mujhe khush na kar sakaa
kyon aaj us kaa naam mera dil dukhaa gayaa

is haadse ko sun ke karega yaqin koi
suraj ko ek jhonkaa havaa kaa bujha gayaa

I think i love my wife

Dumb movie, waste of time. hardly anything worth mentioning.

Its not like I ever did like Chris Rock, but then, I didn't exactly hate him either. I could tolerate him every once in a while for about 30 minutes or so. Couldn't manage to do that for this crap.

Don't watch. not worth the time.

Stem Cell Research - my views

Got started on this because of a post by Barry on his blog.

Every technology, old,new or upcoming - has been, is being and will be - subject to debates.

There are ways to make good use of it, there are ways to abuse it. It's not the particular technology that is to be blamed, but rather the people who decide how it is to be used.

For example - Ecstasy was initially intended to be an intermediate chemical used in the synthesis of a hydrastinine - a drug intended to control bleeding from wounds - (patented in 1914). Who knows, perhaps it could've also been used to treat psychological issues and would be the wonder drug being prescribed by psychiatrists.

The intent wasn't to make it an abusive drug.

When scientists did the research on Nuclear energy (Fission and Fusion reactions) the intent was to produce energy. How that energy is to be used - is a completely different matter.

Now, Stem Cell research or cloning or whatever - the positive implications are there and so are the negative.

I wouldn't want to see something like this shut down. Personally, I think - the world has a lot more immediate issues to worry about - than the potential harm that could be caused by Stem Cell research.. but that's just a personal opinion.

IT MAY HAVE MORE HARMFUL EFFECTS THAN WE THINK.. well that can be true for just about anything ..

About the moral or religious angle, well to each his own.

Messing with nature.. haa.. we do that everyday, don't we?

You think nature provides us with trees so we can cut them down and make paper? (just another way of looking at it)

The research doesn't centre around only cloning and designer babies, but also focuses on cloning organs (don't know if that is the right term).

A new liver to replace the messed up liver you have now (because you thought nature gave you booze to drink away and nature should take it's course and you decided not to mess with nature)

A new kidney .. perhaps a treatment for cancer.. leukaemia. Perhaps an effective cure for diabetes or Parkinson's..

Why does one take any medicines at all, why bother with any surgery at all?? why??
Why interfere with nature?
Why look for organ donors?
Why use vaccines for polio and stuff??
Why use a condom or other contraceptives and mess with nature??
Why try to enrich the soil?
Why develop (or try to develop) HYV (high yielding varieties) of crops?

It all depends on perceptions my friend.

what the future holds, only time will tell... but if we are to only think about the negatives of every new research program, then we would be stuck where we are now.

There is no such thing as RESEARCH EXCLUSIVELY FOR A GOOD CAUSE.

Everything GREAT doesn't necessarily have to be GOOD. Sadly the world and the minds of today (well majority at least) want to attain GREATNESS and not GOODNESS. (I am NOT sayin that Stem Cell research is not Good, but it definitely is GREAT... guess that largely depends on what one defines as GREAT and that too changes with time)

Research is research.. thats it. how the results are put to use in our world, depends on the individuals - depends on US......

One could use the research and the results to make a better world a safer world or a monstrous world.

The argument that it COULD cause more harm, or it COULD potentially be misused - WILL HOLD TRUE FOR EVERYTHING. (it actually does)

Arming Insurgents

Perfect Stranger.

I watched the movie for Halle Berry and Of course Bruce Willis.

Halle looks great and all that.. but the fact is.. she can't act (don't give me the look.. this is my opinion, and i will stick to it till her performance makes me change my mind).

Thriller - NO WAY..
Suspense - upto an extent, perhaps. but it definitely wasn't thrilling.

It's a relatively bad movie that is watchable, provided you don't have anything else to do. but this isn't one of those movies one would want to make time for (in my view).

Vista - updates available

Two updates for Vista have been made available by Microsoft. These are supposed to solve atleast some of the issues that the Vista users are facing.

Here are the links for the updates:

1) This update resolves some compatibility issues and reliability issues in Windows Vista. By applying this update, you can achieve better reliability and hardware compatibility in various scenarios.

2) This update resolves issues that may affect some Windows Vista-based computers. These issues have been reported by customers who are using the Error Reporting service or Microsoft Customer Support Services.

Nail the coffin ..

Swadeshi movement - my view

The other day a friend of mine (whose views are very enlightening and always interesting) came up with some statement which invariably led to me sharing my NOT SO POPULAR view on the Swadeshi movement.

Just thought I'd put up on my blog as well.. (well its my blog, it should have my views, right?)

IF YOU HAVE THE ALTERNATIVE..then go ahead and chuck away the imported stuff.. and harp on about BE INDIAN - BUY INDIAN..
IF YOU HAVE THE SETUP IN PLACE (a manufacturing plant or the likes).. please do chuck out all the imported crap and stop consuming foreign made goods.

There is absolutely nothing as gratifying as self sufficiency.

But if you chuck them out BEFORE.. AND THEN TRY TO ACHIEVE AN ALTERNATIVE OR THE SET-UP.. WELL THATS JUST ILL PLANNED AND STUPID..

There were people, merchants, shop keepers, businessmen etc whose lively-hood depended on this - importing foreign goods and selling them to the local population.

now there were OTHER individuals whose income depended directly on the income of THESE merchants. THESE people suffered. These were the individuals employed by the businesses, by the merchants, by the traders. The clerks, the people employed to man the shop and the accounts.

There was NOTHING right about the SWADESHI movement. Ill planned - ill conceived gimmick - which gained publicity thanks to the political figures involved.

Sadamaa to hai mujhe bhi ...

Qateel Shifai ...



Sadamaa to hai mujhe bhi - ki tujh se judaa hoon main
lekin ye sochta huun - ab tera kya hoon main

bikhraa padaa hai tere hi ghar mein tera vajuud
bekaar mahfilon mein - tujhe dhuundhta hoon main

main khudakashi ke jurm kaa kartaa hoon aitaraaf
apne badan ki qabr mein - kab se gadaa hoon main

kiss-kiss kaa naam lauun zabaan par ki tere saath
har roz ek shakhs nayaa - dekhtaa hoon main

naa jaane kiss adaa se liyaa tune mera naam
duniya samajh rahi hai - sab kuch tera hoon main

le mere tajurbon se sabak ae mere raqeeb
do chaar saal umr mein - tujh se badaa hoon main

jaagaa huaa zamir vo aainaa hai "qateel"
sone se pahle roz jise - dekhta hoon main

Korean Airlines - BEST ECONOMY CLASS

Wish the pic showed some more details... ahh well, either ways.

HERE is the article, which again - in my opinion - doesn't say much. Perhaps there are other news articles too, but this was the first one that popped up when I did the search.

Disturbia

How many of you have watched Hitchcock's movie The Rear Window? Now if you could get your hands on that one, it would be much better. Always better to watch the original classic before you watch a remake.

Comparing this to the original would be unfair, because - well honestly, how many people can match up to Hitchcock?

Continuing with THIS movie, well, there are some problems. Sarah Roemer, guess she is there just to provide some eye-candy, because honestly speaking, I didn't see the point of her character. She is good to look at, but a bit too young for my taste.

I really think the movie would've been better to watch if it was a bit scary, perhaps a bit more graphic. The thrill and the dead bodies and stuff - in my opinion - should've started earlier in the movie.

That said.. it isn't a complete waste of time. It's ok for a lazy weekend. But still, if you could get your hands on the REAR WINDOW.. then do watch that. now THAT'S how you make a movie.