L o r d R a j: February 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Idiotic Headline

The fact that Yogesh Darji (30) is a Class IX dropout has absolutely no significance to this story. This would be the same as taking note of the cellphone Darji used and typing out a headline 'iPhone user cheats bank of bla bla' Or say taking note of what his father did for a living and typing out 'Son of private contractor cheats bank of bla bla'.

The article penned by Mateen Hafeez is poorly drafted. A sentence in the opening paragraph states:

The accused, Yogesh Darji, and his accomplice opened an account in the name of the debt recovery tribunal (DRT), asked them to buy properties at lower prices through DRT auction and took demand drafts from them.

Asked 'them' …. from 'them' - Err.. 'them' WHO? Does them refer to DRT? Does them refer to the Bank? Neither of that makes sense but however that's what that sentence implies. Look at the screenshot. There is no mention that Darji and his buddy were approaching the general public and taking money from THEM. That is mentioned later in the 'article'.

Mateen Hafeez may nor may not be a Class IX dropout.. but he is a shit journalist / reporter. TOI should seriously consider outsourcing their operations to a more competent agency

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The Theory Of Everything

*Applause

Brilliant film. Excellent performances. Not a single frame was out of place or unnecessary.

Will be watching this again.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Boat Blowing Bullshit (UPDATED)

I am not going to bother with putting up the videos. Anyone who is interested in this story would have definitely watched the videos. Including the one that shows a burning boat in the water which SOMEHOW is supposed to serve as 'irrefutable proof' that the boat wasn't attacked or fired upon.

I would just like to highlight the obvious point that many people have missed to focus on. The point is - Either Loshali was lying when he said he ordered to Blow Off the boat (seriously, some effort in sentence formation would be appreciated. At least as a courtesy to your rank, if not to the English language) OR he was lying when he said that the occupants of the boat blew themselves up.

One way or the other - Loshali is lying. Questioning Loshali's statements, irrespective of whatever version of truth the government wants to subscribe to, does NOT and CAN NOT amount to treason. Simply put, here is someone who has been caught lying. One should not be accused of high treason or labelled a terror supporter simply for calling Loshali a liar.

Also, please note - UNCOVERING THE TRUTH isn't going to happen on an online debate or on some bloody news channel with the anchor barking at a panel of politicians. I believe it is a safe assumption that whatever bullshit the government puts out in connection with an encounter with international terrorists, will HAVE TO BE accepted as the truth. It is highly unlikely that any government is going to backtrack on an official statement no matter WHAT evidence may be presented. You can have your theories, but the official position is NOT going to be altered. So let's just drop it and stop wasting our time.

Dikhaawon pe mat jaao. Apni akal ladaao. Sigh… chutiyon ka desh.

UPDATE:

Coast Guard Officer Who Contradicted Government on Pak Boat Removed

That's all that needed to be done. There was no need for all this draamebaazi and releasing a video (that proves nothing). Ab yahi agar pehle kar dete tou shaayad thoda kam be-izzat hote. Sigh..

The Humbling | Birdman

Tried to sit through both these films. Just couldn't get interested enough. The Humbling was still watchable for a while, but then it just got too boring and I stopped caring about what's happening.

Birdman - I couldn't care less about what was happening with the characters (not a single one of them). Found it boring / idiotic from the start.

Guess this makes me a philistine. Sigh… oh well, shit happens.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Foxcatcher

Yawn…

Found it extremely boring. Just couldn't get interested enough. Didn't appeal to me at all and I didn't even bother to watch the entire film.

Welcome Back Modi PR Team

I am guessing it was the washout in Delhi that forced a reality check for BJP (in general) and Modi (specifically). Trying to shift the focus to Bedi (during the campaigning) was definitely a masterstroke to set up a convenient scapegoat in the event of defeat but… it didn't go EXACTLY as planned.

The PR Team seems to be back now and back in full force. Perhaps Modi had a chance of catching the footage of his own irresponsible blabberings and remarks (or in some cases, lack of remarks) and decided to recall the team. Time for Damage Control.

The first thing to go was that suit (THANK YOU). That along with other 'gifts' to be auctioned and proceeds to be used for one of Modi's MANY 'pet' projects (sometimes it's the bullet train, sometimes it's Ganga clean up, sometimes it's the Patel statue… damn… make up your fucking mind).

Then the team made sure that Modi appears at the right places and mouths the right phrases (even if he appears to be stating the obvious). Flurry of activity. Statements flowing from the salesman (trying WAY TOO HARD to portray himself as a statesman) on everything from reform to tolerance. Bla bla bla.

Hopefully, this lasts. Seriously. Desh ka kuchch ho na ho, it just isn't nice to see a head of state (any state) being an idiot.

It really isn't necessary for Modi (or any other PM) to actually DO SOMETHING. It is enough for the general public even if the PM simply APPEARS to be doing something (in the right direction).

Also read: Modi's Convenient New Religious Tolerance

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Kill The Messenger

This was a good watch.

Another well made film. Nothing over-the-top. Everything kept simple with no distractions.

Good performances turned in by the entire cast.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Leviathan

Beautiful film. Well made.

Dripping In Chocolate

Murder mystery. Good enough to watch. Climax was a bit of a let down, though.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Rewrite

It was nice. Nothing heavy. Watchable.

Ensures you have a smile on your face through most of the film.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Singularity / The Lovers

Unbelievable acting - That's NOT a compliment.

The story / plot is … crap. The only two actors who have bothered to put in SOME effort in this film are Atul Kulkarni and Tehmina Sunny.

The pathetic FORCED performance by the rest of the cast is made worse by the idiotic language / accents. For some reason, the Indian characters are speaking to each other in English (hilarious for most parts) and Josh Hartnett insists on commanding his men in Hindi (ridiculous, every time). Considering the men would have had SOME formal training, I don't believe it would be a stretch to show them understanding basic English commands.

There are a few Indian characters who do speak Hindi… and that isn't any better. In one particular sequence, an Indian character uses the word 'saala' to express his disappointment / frustration at not being able to capture/kill the queen (Not the Queen of England). Trust me, AT NO POINT- in the history of the Hindi language, was that word (or a similar meaning word) deemed sufficient to express failure / disappointment in an assignment of such magnitude.

Horrible film. Don't watch.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

…

HATE it when people walk around complaining 'There's no work. Nothing to do'.

Perhaps there actually isn't any work. May be it is just a slow day. There is also a possibility that you are not considered responsible enough to be tasked with an assignment that may be of some significance.

You blabbering away about not having anything to do just makes the department look bad (in case you happen to mouth this in the presence of senior management).

Another plausible explanation could be that whenever you have been assigned a task, you have complained that it is too much OR too complicated OR you have just done a really shitty job with it.

If you feel you are getting paid for doing nothing… SHUT UP about it and take your bloody pay-check. Be thankful that you have a 'proper' last name that allows you to remain employed. Most people would like to have a regular income without having to do anything. If this is happening to you, then it makes sense for others (who aren't getting this wonderful treatment) to complain and crib about you… but YOU complaining about it makes no bloody sense!

Don't like/need the extra/easy money? Don't take it. Feel free to resign. You aren't doing anyone a favour by sticking around. If you actually had the ability to think, you would realise that someone has done YOU a favour by allowing you to have the job in the first place.

India's GDP 'Improved'… *Chuckles

Taken at face value, India on Monday became the fastest growing major economy in the world after its statisticians changed the way they measure Asia's third-largest economy and showed it clocked faster growth than China in the December quarter.

It marks a dramatic turnaround for an economy that a fortnight ago was assumed to be struggling to gain momentum under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reform-minded government…

…The statistical recovery is in large measure due to changes both in the way authorities calculate gross domestic product (GDP) and the base year…

…The reading has left economists confounded as it is at odds with other indicators such as industrial production, trade and tax collection figures, which suggest the economy is still suffering from slack.

"The government has itself been saying that tax collections are slow due to a slowdown in the economy, but the other wing of the government is saying that GDP growth has been good," said A. Prasanna, economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd.

"That means either one part of the economy is not taxed or there is an issue with the data."

India now measures GDP by market prices instead of factor costs, to take into account gross value addition in goods and services as well as indirect taxes. The base year has been shifted to 2011/12 from 2004/05 earlier…

"NOTHING HAS CHANGED"

…"There is clearly the need to look at the credibility associated with these numbers," said Jyotinder Kaur, principal economist at HDFC Bank. "Nothing on the ground has substantially changed to show that we are out of the trenches."

Link

I have always maintained that just about ANY statistical figure (however ridiculous it may be) can be held as correct with an appropriate footnote in the respective report.

Revisions to the way India calculates its gross domestic product have raised reported growth rates but reduced the size of Asia's third-largest economy, creating uncertainty over the outlook for economic and monetary policy [Link].

Sigh… if a salesman starts to dictate how the account books are to be maintained… phir confusion hona tou swabhaavik hai. Let's hope the BRILLIANT MINDS engaged in this COOKING process can drum up some idiotic crap to make this nonsense a bit easier to swallow.

Dikhaawon pe mat jaao. APNI AKAL LADAAO.