…

Do NOT mistake our silence for lack of intelligence. Do NOT bark away nonsense and prove your ignorance.

Hum khamosh hain, isska matlab ye nahin ke kissi bhi chutiye ki koi bhi bundle explanation maan lenge.

Intaglio ‘Ink’

Firstly, there is no such thing as Intaglio INK. Intaglio is a printing technique and not PAINT or INK - Wiki Link

Dekho bhai, agar nahin pataa tou bakwaas na karo. Simple.

---

Then came the nonsense about the ‘turbo-electric effect’:

What is ‘turbo electric effect’? The term Turbo-electric by definition would mean using generators (usually electrical, but could be turbines as well) to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. It has NOTHING to do with transfer of your ‘intaglio ink’!

The ‘effect’ you COULD be talking about (probably) is called Triboelectric Effect (Wiki Link), and that too doesn’t really explain the fuck up of notes bleeding colour. Triboelectric changing to Turbo-electric could be a typo but it seems that almost EVERY newspaper managed to make the same typo.

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.

Dikhaawon pe mat jaao, apni akal ladaao.

Err

The image accompanying the article… Well, THAT is NOT Theresa May!

Duffer!

Don’t Breathe

Interesting film. Well paced. Enjoyed watching this one.

Not happy with the way it ended though. In my view, Rocky (Jane Levy) should’ve died (at least).

Save The Day

Shaikh Saahab Se Rasm-O-Raah Na Ki

Faiz Ahmed Faiz…

Shaikh saahab se rasm-o-raah na ki
Shukr hai zindagi tabaah na ki

Tujh ko dekha tou ser-e-chashm hue
Tujh ko chaahaa tou aur chaah na ki

Tere dast-e-sitam ka ajz nahin
Dil hi kaafir thaa jisne aah na ki

The shab-e-hijr kaam aur bahut
Hum ne fikr-e-dil-e-tabaah na ki

Kaun qaatil bachaa hai shahar mein 'faiz'
Jiss se yaaron ne rasm-o-raah na ki

Quick Reviews

Timeless

New series - Just watched the pilot episode. It should’ve been titled Senseless instead. Waste. Not going to bother.

---

Blacklist - Season 4

Watched 2 episodes of Season 4. Trash. Dumping the series now.

IndiGo Bars Kids Below 12 From Premium Seats

“

NEW DELHI: If you are flyingIndiGo with children under 12 years of age, then the extra leg room seats are out of bounds for you. The low cost carrier has termed seats in rows 1-4 and 11-14 as "quiet zones" and passengers travelling with young children, or unaccompanied minors, cannot pre-book them by paying extra for these premium seats.

Link

Excellent move! Of course, as with most brilliant ideas, there is an OUTRAGE from pretty much every corner. Sigh…

One somewhat legitimate ‘concern’ brought up: A senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said: "Won't premium row passengers be disturbed by children crying in rear rows? We will examine this policy of IndiGo."

Yes. It would be annoying and disturbing, but we can’t throw them off the plane, now can we? At least here is an attempt to make it a bit LESS disturbing. Are you incapable of understanding that?

Wish all the airlines would adopt a similar policy (and also introduce some sort of screening procedure before allowing one to book a business class / first class seat).

Rada – Banjo

People will listen to just about anything. Kuchch bhi kachra hit kara dete hain. Ghisa hai pita hai zamana…Bubblegum chaba ke hatana – What the…

I guess the tune / beat / rhythm is catchy… but I find it absolutely horrid.

The video is bad. Nargis ‘Duck-Face On A Stick’ Fakhri can NOT dance and SHOULD stop trying. She seems to be struggling even with swaying to the beat! Ritesh looks like shit, as always. Zero screen-presence.

The lyrics, penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya - are ghaati, except for a few lines:

Hey… dilon ke parindey udana. Suron ke patakhe chhudana….

….Dekho hunar ke heere, nikal ke bastiyon se aa gaye hain mehfilon ke manch pe
Neeche humare pairon ke aaj aasmaan hai, aasmaan hai

These lines are trash too, the only difference being that these aren’t ghaati trash.

Aur ye ghatiya ghaati gaana hit ho gaya (Seriously guys – fucked up taste). Laanat hai. Thu …

Narcos

Interesting series. Season 1 was way more entertaining. Season 2 – Watchable.

Two characters that I hated the most:

• Steve Murphy (played by Boyd Holbrook). Not sure if it was the character or the actor, that made me grind my teeth.
• Eduardo Sandoval (played by Manolo Cardona). Hated the character. Wanted to strangle him or at least slap him around.

In fact, in the entire series, there wasn’t a single cop character that I could like. Hated all of them – be it the American DEA agents or the CIA or the Ambassadors or the Colombian cops. I just couldn’t empathise with either their cause or their character(s).

The characters that I loved:

• Gustavo Gaviria (played by Juan Pablo Raba). Brilliant performance.
• Valeria Velez (played by Stephanie Sigman). Sigh… speechless.

1.5 Mil USD (Approx) For 10 Year Residency… in India!

“

The Union Cabinet decided to grant the residency status to foreigners if they invest Rs 10 crore over 18 months or Rs 25 crore over three years. The status will allow multiple entry to visitors for 10 years, which can be extended for another 10 years if the visitor does not receive adverse notice. No registration requirements would be mandated.

Link

The article goes on to say that this ‘scheme’ is not available to citizens of Pakistan and China.

So… err… who would find this scheme attractive? No, seriously… WHO? Bangladeshis? Srilankans? I am sure if an individual is able and willing to invest such an amount, then s/he would also have a working brain and common sense to opt for a better country.

If any individual does have that kind of money and is seeking Permanent Residency or business opportunities, wouldn’t s/he opt for Singapore instead (Works out to around 1.8 Mil USD for Singapore PR under their Global Investor Program)?

I am sure if one were to look around, there would be similar options in other countries as well (countries which are DEFINITELY better than India in terms of quality of life and economic opportunities).

If for any reason, one does want to set up a business in India (cheap labour or the wonderful corruption that allows one, with good connections, to get away with … well pretty much anything), then he will just set up his business or manufacturing unit in India any way! I doubt such individuals require the PR in India as an ‘incentive’.

Seriously yaar, kaunsa chutiya hai jo 1.5 million USD kharch kar ke INDIA mein rehna chaahega?

Pathankot Issue

“

NEW DELHI: A committee led by former home secretary Madhukar Gupta, which was set up following the Pathankot terror attack+ to look into security gaps on the India-Pakistan border, has submitted its report to the government and is learnt to have suggested use of technology and heightened vigil on riverine frontiers.

The committee is also learnt to have flagged gaps and vulnerability in border fencing. Home ministry sources said the committee, while suggesting use of scientific methods, also expressed displeasure over not installing laser walls in many infiltration-prone areas due to treacherous and marshy terrain.

Link

Thank you for that blinding glimpse of the obvious.

Why was there a need to form a committee? Any individual with basic common sense could’ve ‘flagged’ those gaps and made those suggestions even without the need of visiting the site!

I am sure the committee’s report is a huge binder with fancy jargon thrown in for the effect. It has to be. BUT if the above quoted text is all that was considered worthy of reporting, then it simply highlights the lack of substance in the committee’s report.

It is plausible that the KEY recommendations of the report were intentionally left unreported (in the interest of national security). In that case, this news article should’ve simply stated – Gupta Committee submits its findings to bla bla bla.

Money Monster

Not a bad film. Watchable. Enjoyable even.

Would have been even better if George Clooney’s ‘dancing’ sequences were edited out before the release.

Caitriona Balfe – Uff Zaalim!

A Hologram For The King

Yawn…

Rather disappointing.

14 Second Stare = Harassment

“

Excise commissioner Rishi Raj Singh was addressing a state-level empowerment programme for students at Kochi on Sunday when he told the participants that if a man annoyingly stares at a woman for 14 seconds a case can be registered against him. He also asked the girls and women to carry a knife or pepper spray in their handbags for self-defence.

Link

As much as I see the point of pepper spray etc… Well, in addition to a knife and/or pepper spray; the girls will also need to carry a stop-watch to determine conclusively if they have been a victim of harassment or not.

I am hoping that with reference to context, this 14 second statement was just a figure of speech and not intended to be taken literally.

Rishi Raj says if a MAN annoyingly stares at a WOMAN for 14 seconds. Just a few queries:

• Does the same apply if a man is staring annoyingly at another man? Or a woman is staring annoyingly at a man or another woman??
• Is it ok to be leching after someone up to 13 seconds?
• Does staring for 18 seconds amount to assault? Does staring for 22 seconds amount to rape?
• Who gets to decide what is annoying?
• Would this be applicable to the judging panel of a beauty pageant or similar situations?

Faaltu ki draamebaazi. Faaltu ke issues. Faaltu ki statements.

BlackBerry Venice – After The Last Update To The BB Apps

The BlackBerry Apps for the Venice/Android just got updated last week. It’s nice to see that the BlackBerry team is working on getting things sorted (for the few of us who need the handset to be more than just another Android toy).

Also, some promising news from the team working on the Hub - The option to SEND emails by using a PKB Shortcut (Finally!). Once available, one won’t be required to go all the way to the top of the screen to send a composed email (I am unable to understand why this ‘feature’ wasn’t there from the start).

The change log mentioned that the feature was already available in the last update, but after some clarification, it was confirmed that they are working on it and it should be available soon.

Has there been an improvement in the overall experience – YES! Definitely a significant improvement. When compared to other android devices, this one is definitely much better (in my view). That said, it still continues to be a very distant (and relatively incompetent) cousin when compared to the BB10 OS on the BB Classic.

UPDATE:

Another update to the BB Hub and…. Quick Send now works! Thank you!!

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Charlize Theron is HOT!

The film is… well… meh. Watchable, I guess.

This Is ‘News’?!?

How the fuck does this qualify as News … BREAKING News?! WTF is wrong with the world!?

Nevermind…

…

Doesn’t take much to amuse people these days. Sigh…

• Mail Your Friends the Universe With an Envelope Full of Constellations
• Watching These Toys Rhythmically Expand and Collapse Is the Most Relaxing Thing
• Your Brain Will Want to Watch This Impossible Bundle of Spinning Gears Forever
• Watching Toothbrushes Melt Is So Incredibly Satisfying
• Watch the Titanic Sink in Real Time

Kill me. Kill me, NOW!

…

People may be sensitive or insensitive. Remarks may be sensitive or insensitive. But when people start getting ‘outraged’ over a figure of speech, this ‘sensitivity’ thing becomes rather absurd.

It wasn’t too long ago when a major section of the Indian population laughed out loud while watching a sequence from the film 3 idiots (the sequence, later referred to as - Balatkaar Speech). This was somewhere in December 2009 (hasn’t been THAT long).

I am sure even at that point; there might have been some who believed this sequence was insensitive. Thankfully though, there wasn’t an ‘OUTRAGE’. There weren’t protests. There weren’t any summons to the script-writer by the NCW. Sigh… a time when there still was at least SOME semblance of common sense.

Try pulling off something like that TODAY!

People no longer seem to be able to distinguish between figures of speech, jokes or statements intended to be hurtful/insensitive/disrespectful.

It is expected of role models (rolls eyes) / public figures / senior officials to be careful/sensible and avoid the use of potentially offensive (politically incorrect) words/phrases. Fair enough. BUT is it too much to expect the general public to be sensible as well?!

For fuck sake… Dikhaawon pe mat jaao. Apni akal ladaao.

S.O.S - Portishead

ABBA’s S.O.S sounded great. This one… sounds better!

High Rise

Masterpiece!

Sienna Miller is … damn she’s hot! Now, with that out of the way…

I loved the film. Will try and get the book (I already have a huge list of To-Read Books. So this will have to wait a bit).

Impeccable production value. Direction is absolutely beautiful and the performances (barring one) are brilliant. Whoever decided to cast Jeremy Irons as Anthony Royal deserves a medal! Well done, mate!

As much as I enjoy watching James Purefoy being an arrogant snob, I couldn’t help feeling that his performance as John Pangbourne was hammed and didn’t blend well with the screenplay. Thankfully, that doesn’t take away too much from this otherwise perfect film.

…

 

I am not going to comment on the Khadi bit, but just wondering how come these people got away with using ‘Bombay’ instead of ‘Mumbai’. Hmmm.

Ramadan And Office Work

For a lot of people, reduced office hours during Ramadan is a welcome change.

For me (and perhaps a few others), it isn’t something that I look forward to. I still have the same amount of work (best case scenario) that needs to be completed in a shorter time-span. To make matters more frustrating, this time around the Quarter-end was during the month of Ramadan!

There were days when I didn’t have time even to check out the news feed! This was probably the first time that I paid my bills a day after receiving the notification!

Trip To B’bay

I did make a short trip to Bombay in June (Yes,  there was a need). There was a need of spending some time in sophisticated, civilised company. Thank you Surya.

It didn’t matter if it would be for a few hours or at most for a day. At times, one just needs to be able to have an intelligent conversation with a sensible individual. Personality traits that are becoming increasingly rare!

Barring the incident with the ill-mannered old hag on the plane, the trip was an absolute delight.

Wonderful company. Staying at The Leela (for me) just keeps getting better with every visit. Thank you Gerald.

Hilton Resort

Travelling for the holidays would be fun for a lot of people. Not for me. The thought of a crowded airport is absolutely revolting (and Kuwait airport is sure to be jam-packed during the holidays). I am not very fond of ‘people’ in general and travelling during holidays becomes a chore for me which I would prefer to avoid. I will travel (holiday or not) ONLY IF there is a need to.

So, instead of travelling, I decided to take a break in Kuwait itself. Figured my family deserved a break. So even though Eid holidays were spent at home, I did set up a break for the weekend preceeding the Eid holidays.

Had reserved the Royal Villa at the Hilton Resorts. Everything from the reservation to the check-out was seamless. The staff (reception, room-service, housekeeping, spa, Teatro) was polite and professional. The property itself was well-maintained and well stocked.

I was told that the food was delicious (I have absolutely no sense of taste when it comes to food). The only thing I can comment on (about the food) is that there was plenty to choose from.

In between splashing around in the pool and walking along the beach, I did manage to get in a few hours of work as well (someone has to pay the bills).

All in all, a good break.

Quick Reviews

Batman Vs Superman – This was bad. Really bad. An absolutely pointless plot-line and a horrible screenplay.

The Boss – Too loud for my taste.

Marauders – Started off rather well (barring the ‘fiddling with the smart-watch’ bits), but quickly deteriorated.

Azhar – Everything was fine except the female leads (they were absolutely horrid at accomplishing the very little that was expected of them) and the lawyer (sad performance).

Santa Banta Pvt Ltd – Barely tolerable.

Crimimal – RUBBISH!

Ghaatis On A Plane

Flew down to Bombay for the weekend. It was a good trip (will put up about that some other time).

First, let’s talk about the inconsiderate/ghaati/neech buddha-buddhi who were seated in front of me on KWI-BOM flight.

Buddha uncle was fine for most parts, except that he couldn’t get his buddhi to shut it. She was loud and yapped away insistently. As annoying as that was, it got worse as the flight progressed.

Reclining her chair all the way back - I am not suggesting that one shouldn’t recline the chair, but do glance back and just ask if the person seated behind you isn’t being inconvenienced. One of the advantages of travelling in business-class is that there is a reasonable amount of leg room. But that is no reason to forget basic courtesy.

A bit later, the stupid bitch knocked off her drink and somehow managed to spill it over my shoe. Now, accidents happen and I am sure this was unintentional, but basic courtesy dictates that the least the ghaati annoying couple could do was acknowledge the error and apologise.

Neither of them did. The bitch gets up (to go to the washroom and clean up) and looks right at me for a good 20 seconds as if debating whether she should apologise or not. The cunt decides that an apology is not necessary and walks away. In the meantime, the buddha uncle attempts to clean up his buddhi’s seat while she is away.

I was fuming and wanted to tell them that my shoes cost more than her air-fare and she should consider spending some time brushing up on basic manners and etiquettes.

I didn’t do any of that and I am still wondering if I should’ve.

When we landed at Bombay, the buddha-buddhi continued to be their idiotic selves, cutting through the immigration line and calmly walking to the front. It was somewhat satisfying when one of the airport personnel told them to get in the line.

Rocky Handsome

Boring film. Pathetic ‘acting’ by EVERYONE. Even the item songs lack the sizzle.

Don’t bother.

Gulf Bank’s New Online Interface

Annoying!

Pops up in full screen mode and the font size is GIGANTIC. Was this designed specifically for the visually impaired?! Seriously!

It’s going to take a while to get used to this.

MOC Payment Confirmation(s)

 

 

I paid the bill online and received 13 email confirmations from 9:13 to 9:20!

The Blacklist – Season 3

Done… finally.

Season 1 was a wonderful experience. After that, the series got more ridiculous and pointless with every episode.

Season 3 was absolutely terrible. If there is anything that could be termed ‘Special’ about the Special Task Force, then it would be that it’s a collection of the most helpless dumb cunts in the universe.

The ‘finale’ was unnecessarily dragged and pretty pointless (like the rest of the season). The ‘twist’ about dumb bitch Elizabeth Keen being alive hardly qualifies as a twist. For one, it was obvious. Secondly, one couldn’t care any less even if one tried.

The second ‘twist’ about Alexander Kirk being her father. Err… Ok, this wasn’t obvious or expected. But… I don’t see how that changes anything or how it matters or how it addresses everything that has been happening thoughout the series.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Glad this shit is over.

Stormageddon

This was bad.

Horrible film and the ‘acting’ made it unbearable. Pathetic performance by all the characters.

My First Rolex – The Hulk

Impulse purchase.

Still not sure if I like it or not. What I am sure of is - It will be a while (a long while) before I go shopping again.

London Has Fallen

A pointless, idiotic film. Horrible. Waste of time. Do NOT watch.

Why Morgan Freeman would agree to be part of such an idiotic film is beyond comprehension.

The Great Hunt – Robert Jordan

Thanks Surya…

 

Excellent read!

Was rather annoyed by the bits about the Seanchan. I don’t see why they were included in the plot line. Whatever they contribute to the story could have very easily been included in other ways without adding this irritating lot.

The bits with Selene ticked me off! I am not ticked off with Selene. I think she is absolutely wonderful (the description in the book weaves a very pretty picture in my head). What ticked me off is - It’s obvious who she is and for some idiotic reason, Rand can’t figure it out! Even if he can’t figure out who she is, it’s pretty obvious that she is bad news.

The rest of the book is extremely engaging. Will start Book 3 soon.

15 Year Old Shoots Himself While Taking Selfie

“

A 15-year-old boy who accidently shot himself through the head while taking a selfie with his father's revolver, died today at a hospital in Ludhiana.

Link

Some will blame the father. Some will blame the gun control laws. There will be some idiots blaming the government and/or the opposition. Well… blame whoever you want, it is not going to change what happened. Some may argue that assigning blame/responsibility correctly will ensure that such incidents don’t happen in the future.

Here is what I say:

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Too many idiots in the world as it is (take a look at the ‘FAIL’ videos on YouTube). One of them dying out is not a bad thing.

Sock Loss Index

“

Psychologist Simon Moore of behaviour change consultancy, Innovationbubble and statistician Geoff Ellis at Evolution, took various factors into account when developing their formula. These included the volume of laundry, number of people in a household and number of socks in a load.

They found there are many practical reasons for sock loss rather than supernatural disappearances or far-fetched explanations such as them being sucked into black holes, as proposed by famed physicist, Stephen Hawking as a joke.

The duo surveyed 2,000 people who were happy to air views about their dirty laundry to find out about their habits. 

…The formula, dubbed the 'Sock Loss Index,' is: (L(p x f) + C(t x s)) - (P x A).
In the formula, 'L' stands for 'laundry size' which is calculated by multiplying the number of people in the household (p) with the frequency of washes in a week (f).
'C' stands for the 'washing complexity.'
This includes how many types of wash (t) households do in a week (darks and whites) multiplied by the number of socks washed in a week (s).
'P', or 'positivity towards doing the laundry' is subtracted from the sum of 'L' and 'C'.

…The work was commissioned by Samsung to mark the launch of its new AddWash machine, which lets users put individual items into the drum mid-way through a wash through a special opening.

Link

Dumb cunts. Surely there must be some better way for a statistician or a psychologist to employ his/her time. If there isn’t, then they might as well kill themselves. Clearly they are leading a pointless purposeless existence.

And I really don’t see how the capability of add items mid-cycle can be ‘cited as a possible solution’ to this ‘problem’!

Now I want to kill myself for actually giving a thought about this idiotic ‘mystery’ and the rubbish ‘possible solution’! Aarrghh

Aligarh

A well made film. Well paced. Brilliant performances put in by everyone.

Manoj Bajpai – Zabardast performance!

Deadpool

Nothing great or memorable about it, but it was tolerable. Time pass.

Could’ve been a lot better.

Lucifer – Season 1

Done with Season 1.

Episode 3 was rubbish but the season did manage to pick up after that. It was fun. Plenty of wit. Excellent one-liners. Sure there is a bit of stupidity every once in a while, but that can be ignored.

Reasonable level of eye-candy.

Looking forward to Season 2.

Limitless – Season 1

Done with Season 1. Definitely watchable. For most parts, it was a fun watch. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to put up with Jennifer Carpenter (kept thinking about her super mopey character in Dexter), but as it turns out – she has done a reasonably good job with the character.

Surely there were some extremely idiotic bits in the show but thankfully not too many.

Waiting for Season 2.

Neerja

Horrible acting by just about every one!

The only actor who managed to deliver a reasonably good performance would be Yogendra Tiku. The rest of the cast is absolutely rubbish.

Waste of a good plot.

Fan

The film is simply a rehashed version of Darr. A senseless/pointless plot about obsession.

Giving credit where it’s due – This film wasn’t as intolerable as the usual SRK films are. That isn’t saying much but it is something.

Did I enjoy the film – No. I did enjoy watching Anjaam a lot more.

Could I sit through the film – Yes. I managed to sit through this shit without cringing and cursing as much as I normally do for SRK films.

Tumhaari Yaad Ke Jab Zakhm Bharne Lagte Hain

Faiz…

Tumhaari yaad ke jab zakhm bharne lagte hain,
Kissi bahaane tumhen yaad karne lagte hain.

Hadis-e-yaar ke unavaan nikharne lagte hain, 
Tou har harim mein gesuu sanvarne lagte hain.

Har ajnabi humen mahram dikhai deta hai,
Jo ab bhi teri gali-gali se guzarne lagte hain.

Sabaa se karte hain gurbat-nasib zikr-e-vatan,
To chashm-e-subah mein aansuu ubharne lagte hain.

Vo jab bhi karte hain is nutq-o-lab ki bakhiyaagari,
Fazaa mein aur bhi nagmen bikharne lagte hain.

Dar-e-qafas pe andhere ki muhar lagti hai,
Tou "faiz" dil mein sitaare utarne lagte hain.

Fitoor

A very bad adaptation of a wonderful book - Great Expectations.

Katrina Kaif looks pretty good and there are some bits which have been shot well, but on the whole… the film is too slow and is not nearly as interesting as the wonderful writing in the book.

Disappointing.

Airlift

It’s good in SOME parts (very few).

For most parts however, this was a boring film, badly directed with very bad acting by the cast.

The Night Manager

I haven’t read the book (and it will be a while before I get to it. I am still trying to make time for the WoT series), so I have no idea how the mini-series compares to the book.

Barring the first and the last episode (which were rubbish, to say the least), this six episode mini-series was watchable. 4 out of 6 - Not too bad. I want to read the book primarily to see how Episode 1 and 6 have been written in the book.

The bits with the enforcement agency trying to make a case were extremely irritating and should’ve been handled better.

Hugh Laurie as Richard Roper is absolutely brilliant! The character is witty, cool, calm, calculating and disturbingly sinister. Well performed.

Elizabeth Debicki as Jed… She looks amazing. I had to replay most of the frames she appeared in because the first time around I was simply staring at her.

Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine looks good. Speaks well. The character is… average. Tolerable for most parts. I do wish the director had informed Tom that Pine doesn’t have to do his ramp / model walk in every sequence. The gait looks completely out of place in some frames.

Olivia Colman as Angela Burr looks absolutely horrid. The accent/voice makes me want to mute the tele and the character is pathetic/sad/incompetent/dumb but manages to get extremely lucky with all the bits falling into place when needed.

I do wish there was more of Katherine Kelly though.

Bajirao Mastani

I have no idea how accurate it is because I am not at all familiar with the historical characters.

What I do know is that I enjoyed watching the film. Brilliant performances by all (I for one never expected Ranveer Singh to be capable of such a performance). The dialogues were pretty good as well and I will be watching this again.

That said, the film could’ve been better with fewer songs and less use of that screen splicing technique nonsense that seems to be catching up in Bollywood (The technicians clearly don’t know how to get it right, just yet).

The plot would be served a bit better if some bits were put in about the situation in Bundelkhand after Mastani’s departure. I mean… she is the king’s daughter. It did seem an oversight not to include a single sequence showing the concern of the king about his daughter’s plight/general wellbeing.

…

You would have to be a complete idiot if you didn’t already know that SE meant Special Edition.

You would have to be an idiotic cunt (with way too much time on your hands and too little intelligence) if ‘your thoughts were consumed by this single, nagging concern’.

Versailles – Season 1

Done with Season 1. Excellent! The show is well made and manages to retain interest.

My favourite characters:

Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan (Anna Brewster) – She has some of the best lines in the show. Not to mention – A delight to look at.

Fabien Marchal (Tygh Runyan) – Doubt anyone else can play this character with the same conviction and restraint. Most impressive.

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (Alexander Vlahos) – Witty. Rather refreshing.

The two characters that I did have a problem with:

Sophie (Maddison Jaizani) – Confused stupid cunt. Forever sad. Annoying.

Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine (Amira Casar) – In the beginning, she is just annoying. Later though, she plays the part of the conspiring bitch rather effectively. I just don’t like the way she looks in the show. I find her… untidy.

…

Saw this the other day on TOI [Link]. Impressive. Thought provoking.

How is this for a thought – Let’s see how much the government itself has allocated for expenses that could be put to better use:

• The Gujarat state government has made a provision of Rs100 crore for the Statue of Unity in the budget for 2012-13
• The Gujarat government’s 2014-15 budget also sanctioned Rs 500 crore for the Statue of Unity project
• Union Budget 2014-15: Rs 200 crore for Statue of Unity
• Maharashtra govt clears 100 crore for Shivaji statue

Nationalism

The idiotic articles that got me started with this post:

• 03-03-16 - Youth must be told to say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’: RSS chief
• 14-03-16 - I Won't Say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai': Asaduddin Owaisi To Mohan Bhagwat
• 16-03-16 - Anupam Kher: 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' only definition of nationalism
• 16-03-16 - MIM MLA suspended for not saying 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'
• 17-03-16 - Revoke citizenship, voting rights of those not chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’: Shiv Sena

I have plenty to say on this topic but will try to keep this brief (and attempt to keep it civil).

To start – Nationalism/Patriotism is a thought/feeling/emotion. Either you feel it or you don’t. It can not be / should not be forced. If one feels a sense of unconditional pride towards his/her nation - that is NOT going to change if some people don’t chant the slogans. Similarly, if one doesn’t feel that sense of pride, it’s not going to be instilled by chanting of slogans.

That said, if you do feel that sense of unconditional pride and wish to shout it out from roof tops, there is no reason why you shouldn’t. Just because some people don’t get it, doesn’t make it wrong. You have the right to do it. I may disagree with what you say, but I will always defend your right to say it ~ Voltaire.

However, what you do NOT have the right to is - FORCING this down someone’s throat and insisting on nonsense like a particular chant be made the ONLY DEFINITION of nationalism (and other such idiotic demands).

The same way that YOU have the right to do it, others also have the right NOT TO do it. Unconditional love can not be forced upon someone. Be it love for another person or love for an entire nation.

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There are a few of us who are unable to understand the logic of Patriotism. Perhaps we do not have the correct definition or simply lack the ability to comprehend the implication of the term.

Just because you are born with a particular nationality doesn’t necessarily make that country the best/greatest. Every country has its history/tradition/culture. It’s rather idiotic to say X country has the greatest culture/history/tradition simply because I am a national of country X.

In my view - Nationalism/Patriotism is no different from Communalism/Regionalism. It’s just on a wider/larger scale. At least a majority will agree that Communalism/Regionalism is NOT a good thing (especially for a big country with a diverse population). Rarely (if ever) has something good resulted from notions like X community is best/greatest (simply because I belong to X community) or X region is best/greatest (simply because I hail from X region).

How can one then expect something good to come out from an insistent argument that just because one belongs to X country, that makes it the BEST/GREATEST country and is a matter of PRIDE that MUST be harped on about or chanted for or whatever?! Greatness of any nation in this world is NOT going to depend on the nationality that YOU happen to be born with.

Earthfall

7 minutes - That’s how long I was able to tolerate the horrible acting/production value.

Trashed it immediately.

Lok Sabha Discusses Wikipedia

“

BJP MP Anju Bala stirred up the sedate Lok Sabha proceedings on Wednesday when she dramatically declared she had been pronounced dead on the internet. Bala said that not only had Wikipedia announced her as "expired'' in New Delhi on March 3 but had also informed that she had been married twice.

… law minister Sadananada Gowda, who was in the House at the time, hastily rose to assure the MPs that the government took the matter "seriously'' and action would be taken.

Link

The government takes Wikipedia seriously and assures to take action. This is back to Kapil Sibal’s time when the MPs got their panties in a twist over FaceBook posts/jokes and DEMANDED action / screening and fuck knows what not.

Next - The Lok Sabha will probably discuss Twitter feeds and Whatsapp forward messages!

24/7 Support For 12 Months

You wouldn’t need to offer a free 12 months 24/7 support and advertise it IF you put in the effort in making a device work the way it should!

The updates are making the device a bit more usable, yes… BUT it should be MUCH BETTER and it should’ve been that way from the start. When a user buys a device, he isn’t expecting to be part of your Beta Testing team!

Android nonsense and issues are not BB’s look out, I get that! But the BB apps made for Android by BB ARE BB’s responsibility.

It’s nice to see the team sorting out issues and giving the updates, but for someone who ended up paying close to USD 800, I really don’t want a test unit that I end up testing without being compensated for my efforts in identifying and reporting the issues.

Fuck ANDROID and IOS. A wonderful and superior OS in all likelihood is going to be discontinued because a bunch of lazy ass fuckers majority of cell phone users wanted a big ass screen to watch videos and play games (and probably shit loads of other things which I am incapable of comprehending). FUCK YOU… ALL OF YOU.

Now I have to get used to a mucked up cluttered messy shit Android (with a PKB) OR IOS that won’t ever have a PKB option.

Grrrrr.

Batmobile Cabin Bag

 

 

http://www.toy-people.com/?p=31866

It may be just for kids but… err… well… it’s sort of cool. I could use one of these. Wonder how bad it would be at Airport Security? But, this does seem like worth the hassle.

Now… WHY wouldn’t you make this a bit bigger? It may be fine for some short trips but they should make it in bigger sizes. Perhaps an entire luggage set. Make it a bit pricey so not everyone is off getting one of these.

Actually… scrap the idea of the luggage set. I doubt I would want to check-in my Batmobile luggage. Losing one of these would be most upsetting.

For The People Who Don’t Understand My Issues With The Android

Posted The Same on Crackberry as well. A few additions here.

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I do not want to download a third party APP (and tolerate the ads or pay for an ad free version or 'premium features') to do something that has been working seamlessly on something that MOST users insist is an 'inferior' OS / Device.

What a lot of people are failing to recognise (in my view) is - The functionality being requested here isn't something that was previously unavailable or something super complicated. The device was bought for the purpose of organising.

For example - When one is told that one would have to PAY for a File Manager APP, it may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people. However, for me (and perhaps a few others) it IS the thin end of the wedge.

Had there been no File Manager ever, perhaps one wouldn't mind paying for the convenience. Since there have been File Managers that have worked well, it does cause some discontentment.

Another example - Suppose you pay USD 6,000 for a limited edition Omega Seamaster, and then discover that you will have to pay another 2 Cents for the Minute Hand for it to tell time to the minute!

I hope you guys get this part - The issue is NOT the amount of money or the additional amount for the app. Just something to ponder over.

It's ok to disagree. Perhaps there is a new definition of Basic Functionality (or a shift in the implication of the term) that disregards Calendar, Contacts, File Managers etc (citing that plenty of options are available as apps) and focuses on Camera, Picture filters, Speaker quality and what not.

Some of us may not be comfortable with that shift and are just voicing it out. A lot of us just may NOT be comfortable with granting access of our data to a third party developer. It may be fine for the majority, but some may not feel comfortable with it. Some of us may not want to bastardise our device.

Finally - The requests/posts are made to bring the issues in the notice of the development team IN CASE BB/Android/BBPRIV Team COULD do something about it. They have listened to some of the requests in the past (BB10). They are working on a lot of our requests even now (for the Priv, with the updates coming in). Some have been ignored/completely forgotten (eg. Universal Dark Theme).

The purpose of voicing it out is JUST IN CASE if these could be addressed or solved by the BB Team itself. One can hope, right? Or do I need to download an APP for that as well?!

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Jaahil, Gawaar, Duffer, Chutiye bhare hue hain!

Spotlight

Nice film with reasonably good performances put in by almost everyone. A good watch.

Liev Schreiber – I usually do not enjoy watching this actor. This film was no exception. There was hardly anything for the character to do and whatever little there was, seemed rather lazy (in my view).

There was this part in the film that made me roll my eyes. The bit about taking the 6% statistic to be an absolute FACT because the researcher says it’s his estimate. I am not saying that the researcher’s study has no merit. I am simply saying that accepting an estimated statistic to be a fact without ANY investigation is … well that’s just stupid. Of course, the estimated percentage does hold true in the film, but it would’ve made a much better sequence IF the journalists did the leg-work / grunt work themselves and THEN used Richard Sipe’s work as support for their findings - As opposed to doing the reverse (which was done in the film).

For an investigator, it packs MORE of a punch if the facts/incidents are supported by a relevant research/study. NOT the other way around.

Also, the same bit of the film - It just seemed idiotic that they didn’t think of identifying the Sick Leave mentions in the directories at the very start of their investigation (it does seem like a logical and OBVIOUS course of action from just about ANY competent investigation team) and only came up with that idea after another chit chat session with Richard Sipe.

Barring that bit, the film was rather well-made.

WhatsApp To Discontinue Support For BB OS10

Well… FUCK YOU too!

My First Omega… And The Second

It had been about two weeks that I was considering getting myself another watch. Was getting tired of the Armanis and wanted something different.

I decided on getting myself the Seasmaster (Spectre Edition). It wasn’t available in Salhiya or at Hamra and I had pretty much dropped the idea when… I happened to pass by the Omega Boutique at Avenues.

There it was. Last piece. And I got it. A big THANK YOU to the Show Room Manager – Mr. Anil Kumar, for being so helpful.

Comes in the fancy box with an additional metal strap and all that. Although, I will be wearing it with the NATO strap (at least for a while).

While I was waiting for them to pack it up and do the routine paper-work (which would’ve taken about 10 minutes)… I wondered - How bad would it be if I got a SECOND Omega? Another big Thank You to Mr. Anil Kumar for helping me decide on the Aqua Terra.

 

Comes in another fancy box and additional fabric strap that matches the dial. I don’t think I will be using that fabric strap ever. This looks good with the metal strap.

Freedom 251

“

And just how does he bring down the cost to Rs 251, and also earn a profit? "Economies of scale gets it down to around Rs 1,200, and thereafter an online sales model cuts down marketing and sales expenses, giving us further savings," he says. And to this we will add marketing piggybacks from companies whose applications we load on the devices. We will save around Rs 300 per device more through this," Chadha says

Link

I am not a businessman / investment analyst but surely this doesn’t add up. I am well aware that marketing costs would add to the final cost of any product… BUT saying ‘no marketing and sales expense will bring down the cost of production’ IS ridiculous. Saving on marketing and sales expenses CAN NOT impact the cost of material required to manufacture the bloody phone! Yaar… bakwaas karne say pehle thoda soch liya karo!

Perhaps there are other ways that Ringing Bells have managed to lower the cost:

• Perhaps it’s a stolen shipment that is being re-branded/white-labelled (It is a possibility).
• Perhaps there is some ground breaking manufacturing / assembling technique that has been adopted which the company doesn’t wish to disclose.
• Perhaps it’s refurbished hardware / chipsets / handsets.
• Perhaps someone got lucky at bidding on some locker / storage facility and got boxes of chipsets / mobile phones.
• Perhaps it’s hardware with manufacturing defects / rejected units that have been acquired from the manufacturer.

Numerous possibilities. Several plausible scenarios. The part that is NOT plausible is – A saving on marketing/sales expense bringing down the cost of raw-material / production. That statement simply highlights that this ‘scheme’ is a scam.

That said - we don’t NEED more handsets or cheaper handsets. What we do need is reliable coverage for the existing handsets. Let’s get through that first. The world doesn’t need yet another cheap smartphone. We could do with smarter people though.

Dikhaawon pe mat jaao… apni akal ladaao.

The Eye Of The World – Robert Jordan

Thank you, Surya…

Excellent read. A gripping story with brilliant writing.

All the characters are well defined and the story does remind one of LOTR and GOT, at the same time manages to be a wonderfully unique experience.

Egwene and Nynaeve (in my view) need to be thrashed. Moiraine … sigh… Moiraine… well – Kya kahoon aur kehne ko kya reh gaya. Lan and Perrin are the type of characters that I like – the strong, silent type.

In the beginning of the book, where Rand saves Tam, that single incident makes Rand the hero for me. For the rest of the series, even if Rand were to do absolutely nothing or even destroy the world a million times over, it won’t change my view about him.

Now on to Book Two.

American Hero

Horrible. Annoying. Boring. Trash

Quick Reviews

Watchable.

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Stallone is absolutely brilliant!

Michael B Jordan… errr.. average.

Some sequences were irritating, but the film on the whole wasn’t too bad.

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Too slow for my liking.

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Johnny Depp is excellent!

The film COULD’VE been better, though.

Lucifer

I was really looking forward to this series. The pilot episode was absolutely brilliant!

Episode 2 was watchable. Episode 3 was RUBBISH! Horrible acting by EVERY ONE - Redaric Williams (playing Ty Huntler) managing to be the WORST of the lot.

Hope this gets better. It’s a brilliant concept that deserves significantly better treatment.

X-Files – Season 10

Disappointing. It looks like someone wanted to make a comedy spoof of the series.

Episode 3 and 4 were horrible.

WTF!

“

A goat arrested yesterday for raiding a senior bureaucrat's garden in Chhattisgarh was granted a bail today. Along with its owner, it has been booked under charges that carry a two to seven year prison term and a fine.

… Among the goat's criminal activities the police have listed grazing in the garden and eating plants and vegetables. They said the magistrate had called up senior police officers to complain about the errant animal.
Abdul Hassan, who faces charges of criminal trespass and mischief causing damage along with his goat, is now awaiting the court's decision this afternoon.

Link

There have been other ridiculous incidents similar to this:

• May 2015 - 'Spy' pigeon from Pakistan jailed in Pathankot
• Aug 2015 - Pet parrot ‘detained’ for abusing woman

And all these among headlines that state - Over 2 crore cases pending in lower courts: Government data

Waaah janaab!

At Least Proof The Headlines!