Chat

I am playing chess. A chat window pops up:

Friend (6:40:33 AM): hey
Friend (6:41:15 AM): you there?
Friend (6:41:42 AM): helllllooo
Friend (6:42:26 AM): HELLLLLLLOOOOOOOOO!!

I think of replying "enda mayiru kathra?", but I pause. I minimize the chat window and continue my game.

Suresh (7:10:53 PM): Sorry, I wasn't around when you messaged me earlier.
Friend appears to be offline and will receive your messages after signing in.

Terminology

Either choose the "both are acceptable" stance and move along or choose the 'right', although often archaic, version.
So there's a desi moron that I know who's constantly trying to outsmart me. His latest was this: "Suresh, it's not a rooter, but a rowter". Well, no, you nitwit. Rowter is a tool used in carpentry, rooter is the computer device you and I are referring to. idha naan sollala, Oxford dictionary solludhu, so indhaa kallu, oru oramaa poi mandaya odhachukko!

PS. We are, of course, talking about router.

Commentary

IPL: Mumbai Indians vs. Kings XI Punjab

Greg Chappell: Pathan to Uthappa. Uthappa swings, the ball hits the helmet. (Uthappa removes the helmet to adjust it.) Looks like the helmet has left its imprint on Uthappa's head...oh it's actually his haircut.

WTF: Cyber Crime?

Twenty-two-year old Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid was arrested by the cyber crime cell of Pune police last Friday from Gurgaon in Haryana for posting vulgar content about Congress president Sonia Gandhi on social networking site Orkut.

Vaid had posted the content in an Orkut community titled 'I hate Sonia Gandhi'.

Source

Vetti post-10

Some right wing extremists used to comment that the US should bomb the Mecca on its most populous day and put an end to a big percentage of their foes. I know, it's the most barbaric thing to say. Only mindless drunk men can think of such things.

I don't drink or do drugs. But I still think the theatres screening Kuruvi should be hit with tomahawk missiles when they are 'houseful'.

PS. I cannot honestly say that my emotions will be different if either of them actually happened.

Tamil politics: MGR, Hogenakkal etc.

I'm still not sure if I should publish this podcast. I have been "disrespectful" to many celebrities before, but I wonder what kind of people listen to that stuff and what's in store for me. A constant nag successfully made me moderate comments. I just hope that someone else doesn't make me change my phone number (I don't want to think about anything worse). Anyway, the title pretty much explains what the podcast is about. It has a lot of MGR bashing and some others.

Download mp3

Random Quote(2?)

Upper class culture cannot be conceded to the upper classes, because it is the toil and blood of the working classes that has made that culture at all possible.

Source

Random Quote

அசோகமித்திரன் கணையாழியில் 40 ஆண்டுகள் ஆசிரியர் பொறுப்பில் இருந்தவர். அதில்தான் 30 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு மேலாக சுஜாதா கடைசிப் பக்கங்களை எழுதினார். ஒரு வகையில் இருவரும் சகாக்கள். அப்படிப்பட்டவர் சுஜாதாவின் மரணத்திற்கு எழுதியிருக்கும் இரங்கல் கட்டுரை என்ன தெரியுமா ? " சுஜாதா எங்கள் வீட்டுக்கு வந்திருக்கிறார். அப்போது என்னிடம் ஒரு கேமரா இருந்தது. அந்தக் கேமராவில் நாங்கள் ஒரு போட்டோ எடுத்துக் கொண்டோம்." ஐயா , என்னை நம்புங்கள். அவ்வளவுதான் இரங்கல் கட்டுரை. இப்படி ஒரு இரங்கல் கட்டுரை வேறு எந்த எழுத்தாளருக்காகவும் , உலகில் வேறு எந்த மொழியிலும் எழுதப் பட்டிருக்காது என்று நினைக்கிறேன். இருக்கட்டும் , எனக்கும் ஒரு சந்தர்ப்பம் வராமலா போகப் போகிறது ? ' நான் அசோகமித்திரன் வீட்டுக்குப் போனேன். அவர் ஒரு பூனை வளர்த்தார். அது என்னைப் பார்த்து மியாவ் என்று சொன்னது. நானும் மியாவ் என்று அதனிடம் சொன்னேன். ' எழுதுகிறேனா இல்லையா என்று பாருங்கள் அசோகமித்திரன்.

Source

Headache

Act 1:
Three years ago, when I came here to study, I was one of the few international students that my department took in. I was also the only 'non-Chinese' student. Some might wonder what the Chinese are doing in sociology? Well, there's demography...and...well, there's demography. But the department made sure that students don't swim their way across either choosing just theory courses or methods courses -- some were mandatory. So whether they liked it or not, they had to take some theory courses and I often happened to be the only non-White student who spoke decent English.

A couple of them became good friends and they felt comfortable to discuss the readings with me (especially when they had to do presentations). Because it was their first year, their English was very hard to understand and making them understand what I was saying didn't seem any easier. Something that I cannot forget about those 2-3 hour conversations is the ensuing headache. It's not so much their accent or my frustration with "explaining things", it's the prolonged state of heightened concentration to hear every word (then match it with a word that made the best sense in that context and so forth). Any activity that requires you to have that kind of concentration for that kind of time is bound to have a bad side effect. Zoning out, like I used to do in schools and colleges, was not an option because it's a conversation that requires you to say more than "hmm, interesting", "that's so cool", "really? neat!" etc.

Anyway, eventually I was done with my coursework, they got better at their English and we moved on. I was more than relieved that the episode(s) was over.

Act 2:
When it's too cold to play anything outside, I just sit home and play chess, online. But I easily get suckered in those egomaniacal marathons that before you know, the room is no longer bright with sunlight. By now you've been staring into black and white squares and moving little pieces with absolute precision (at least as far as the physical motion is concerned) for hours together in a CRT monitor. This is the kind of thing that makes you wear glasses. But it has other effects on me as well: starting with the proverbial headache and then the annoying "I want to throw up" feeling. After all, it is one of "those" activities.

One of "those" days: it was last Saturday and I had been playing chess for at least 4 hours without moving an inch. I finally gather some "courage" and decide to break the cycle. I wanted to expose my eyes to wider boundaries and let my pupils relax. I tell myself, "ok, this is the last game. Get up even if you lose in 20 moves, I cannot take it anymore". Just then I hear someone knocking my door. I simply resign the game, get up and open the door. Wow, great! It's my new Chinese friend.

April 1

I don't really remember being all that creative to 'fool' someone on April the first. It's probably because I would get really annoyed after getting "fooled" by some retarded logic/process and I assumed mine wouldn't appear any better to others.

I did, however, very willingly take part in the no-nonsense ritual that was common in Dindigul and, based on some anecdotal knowledge, in few other cities (but Madras) -- splashing ink at your friends, cousins and at times, passers by in the street. Sometimes it also involved crushing tomatoes/bananas in the face. No, they don't just throw them at you; they get really close with absolute stealth and attack you from behind -- place the tomato at your face and squeeze the last drop of liquid down your eyes and nostrils. Usually there's someone to distract you, so it's a two men job (I don't really remember watching girls do this stuff).

The most irritating line we get to hear on April 1 is "annei, wheel suthudhu" from second and third grade students when we are pedaling in the hot sun. They all want to take part in this seemingly fun activity and want to feed their tiny, budding egos with being bold and clever. Little bastards.

Years have passed since then and there's not a lot of memories for me, for this day. Maybe where I lived in Madras had a lot to do with the dry spell since I left Dindigul. The schools were pretty lame too, there were no trees, no play grounds, just concrete pavements. Come to think of it, schools in Madras did not have the 'splash ink at the end of a major exam' ritual either.

PS. Try some of the featured videos in youtube (before April 2). They are all somewhat funny.

Socialistic nuisance

It's still winter here (mostly below zero), and I live in one of those buildings that has several individual apartments and just two 'main' entrances. It's safe to say that no one would want to open their windows any longer than 5 minutes (if they even thought about opening them). So smoking, in these months, becomes a very edgy subject in apartments where one of the two (or three) residents doesn't smoke. Even otherwise, I would imagine smokers themselves wouldn't want the stench to be absorbed by their clothes.

Whatever the case is, at any given time you'll find at least 4 to 5 people -- mostly men -- smoking right outside the 'main' door. And because of the continuous feed of the carcinogenic gas, the whole area -- the small room between the two doors, the mail box area, the lift area etc., -- reeks so much that one could almost faint (well, at least I feel like it). I wasn't going to ask them to stop smoking because they were well within their "rights". Besides, I don't exactly look like Shaquille O'Neal. So I just thought about it as I got into the elevator, "they have two choices: one is to smoke in their own apartments and give migraine to their room-mates, or put all the residents through a 'mild' headache for one or two minutes. hmmm, the guys outside must be socialists".

Of course, the third choice, if you have to mention, is to quit smoking altogether. But we don't want to go there, do we?

Vetti pride

Although I give rude replies to the comments that I get in my youtube 'channel' all the time, there are a few I don't 'approve' at all. To top it, I also send an annoying personal message to their inbox. And sometimes, I become so full of it that I post it someplace where I can look at it and go "cha, ennama think panraan?".

Comment:

the mere fact that u have uploaded a clip on a public domain, allows all of us, 2 say whatever we want. and like what u yourself have said "dont tell me, what 2 say or like".
so practise what you preach Mr MGR! bet u r not married! mm why should we b surprised!!

Reply:

About "freedom of expression":

Sure, it does allow us to say whatever we want. Only that I decide whether your nonsense will be posted in my channel. I'm not stopping your wimp-ass from uploading a video showing any part of you (or saying anything).

So there: your freedom of expression in my channel is under my control and I'm snipping it. Why? Because you are not worth it.
When you decide to make anything worthwhile in your channel and if I happen to comment on it, you may then want to reciprocate this arrogance. Until then, STFU. (And this is the last time I'm replying you.)

PS. This post may be a little contradictory to something that I might have said in the past, but what the hell?

Reaction

I was mildly shocked to read that actor Raguvaran died. I think I feel bad about it.

adhu seri

CNN-IBN

Face the Nation: Does India feel Tibet is no longer a cause worth fighting for?

On the panel of experts (our emphasis) to debate the issue were former president of the Samta Party and sympathizer of the Free Tibet Movement Jaya Jaitly, member of Free Tibet Movement Dawa Lokyitsang and Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

After some usual exchange of stupid ideas, it was time to witness a spectacle. Singhvi asked the anchor before launching his rhetoric, "[d]id the 'Tienanmen Square incident' take place in 1999?", for which she promptly replied, "yes". Having "confirmed" that "fact", he went on, "what did the NDA do when the Chinese government was killing all those people? naan ketkiren....". (Of course, I'm quoting roughly what he said.)

Why should one worry when we have such "experts" among us?

ek gaun mein

Vetti Post - 9

It was the summer holidays of the year 1993 and I used to listen to a comedy gig by 'Moorthi-Gopi' in a cassette player. It had a lot of actors (i.e. impersonated voices) put together in interesting scenarios. There was a very funny line that I can never forget. Scenario: All the actors are gathered in TN assembly as elected representatives (on both ruling and opposition sides). The speaker starts the day with 'thamizh thaai vaazthu'. Chorus: paandiyanin raajiyathil uiyyalaala (because, Rajini is the ruling party leader) Kamal: idhuva thamizh thaai vazthu? (and sings angrily) oru vaai kozhupedutha...thamizachi paal kudichavan da! Goundamani: yow! appa naanga mattum enna vellakarichi paalaya kudichu valandhom? What reminded me of this? I was browsing through the headlines and found that the Mumbai's IPL team has been named 'Mumbai Indians'. appo mathavan ellam Nepal'kaarana?

 

 

Found this

WTF?

In the match between India and Australia yesterday, there happened a fielding accident/incident involving Michael Clarke and Tendulkar. Basically, Clarke ran into Sachin and ended up dragging him down in the collision. Here's what Ravi Shastri had to say about it when they were showing it in the replay: "Clarke was going for the ball and ended up having something bigger in his hands". Just as he was saying that with a rather 'straight-faced tone', Clarke was seriously grappling with Sachin's buttocks in slow-motion. This is why cricket is worth watching with commentary on.

Ostracized solitude (in Tamil movies)

This podcast is a general commentary on how solitude/family life etc., have been dealt with in Tamil movies over the years. It threads itself loosely around the movie Pirivom Sandhippom's theme, but it's not a review of the movie. (Download mp3.)

Apology: I realized that I had used the filler "vandhuttu" excessively throughout the podcast. Excuse me for that.

Sabapathy

It's one of the funniest movies in Tamil. Even as a kid I laughed so hard when I first saw the movie, probably around 1990. I found the movie online and started watching it again. Among a lot of new surprises from my first time viewing, I picked up some ridiculously funny expressions. It's not just the comic timing, but the use of language, acting etc from a historical perspective. The movie is over half century old, you can see that a lot of things have changed since then. But some of the 'changes' catch you off guard. One of the parts that totally cracked me up was this (In case you don't have the time to watch it yourself):

There are two Sabapathys: the young 'master' and his slightly older servant. The servant is a bit of crackpot -- a bit more than the 'master'. Sabapathy and his mother visit the 'would be' bride's place with the servant accompanying them. They reach the place and as they get down from the car they hear someone dancing upstairs (bharathnatiyam it would seem). At this point the exchange goes:

Servant: amma, edho thevudiya kacheri nadakudhu
mother: edho vishesham pola irukku, nalla sagunam dhan

The word thevudiya--which is now more than derogatory and often bleeped--is used again, rather casually, in another scene that follows immediately. If you want to watch just this part, click on this link and slide it to 35 minutes. You can watch the entire movie from here.

Aside: The link between the word thevudiya and bharathnatiyam may be understood from this interesting post on the movie Arangetram.