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October 24, 2004

Happy Skidding on the festival weekend

On the roads of Chennai, if you get to travel on this Aayudha Pooja festival weekend, here’s wishing you happy skidding. Many of us who commute using a two wheelers and even three wheeling auto rickshaws get a chance to slew/skid because of those pulpy pumpkins broken on the middle of the roads.

Breaking pumpkins, is believed to rush out bad omen from shops, vehicles and whatever stuff you believe to be affected by that omen. On this auspicious weekend, most of the shops break pumpkins alongwith the burning camphor in the middle of the road just opposite to their shop. Hence dudes, if you drive around Chennai and don’t notice the large white pumpkins on the road, boom. Drive safe and no skidding.

Even after repeated advice of the metropolitan management and the traffic police of Chennai, this superstition continues. And it will go on until pumpkins and bad omen co-exist. Probably every Chennaite is aware of the pitious story of a couple who died because of this pumpkin skid, some years back. Vijay, had been on Radio Mirchi and adviced in chennai slang about avoiding such incidents. Who cares.

P.S : Thanks to Praveen for these links.
This is why Mani Ratnam is a professional’s professional. Hats off !!
Sharukh Khan talks tamil, again [after Hey Ram], for the dubbing of Swades in tamil as Desam.
October 22, 2004

Kiss Kisski Kismat

Mallika Sherawat, the controversial Khwaish girl, is running around publicizing her latest film Kis Kiski Kismat. Didn’t know if it was because of the movie name or something, the trailer was just filled with Kiss Kiss and Kiss. Hero’s Kismat.

BTW, on her Rediff chat, she sensationalises the movie Myth, in which she pairs with Jackie Chan. Also last night in the Zoom channel, she was talking about her latest movie. She said a song in Kis Kiski Kismat called Talk of the Town, was an Item Number. Also added that while making it, she was too inspired by that Item number. While they played the song it looked like a scaled down version of Hello Mister Ethirkatchi of Mani Ratnam‘s Iruvar. If you get to see that number, do let me know, what’s so inspiring about it.
October 22, 2004

Data and Metadata

David Weinberger writes about Data and Meta data in the Third Age of Order. Something that I found very profound.

There used to be a difference between data and metadata. Data was the suitcase and metadata was the name tag on it. Data was the folder and metadata was its label. Data was the contents of the book and metadata was the Dewey Decimal number on its spine. But, in the Third Age of Order, everything is becoming metadata.

Why does this matter? It changes the primary job of information architects. It makes stores of information more useful to users. It enables research that otherwise would be difficult, thus making our culture smarter overall. But, most interestingly (at least to me), this does the ol’ Einsteinian reverse flip to Aristotle. Aristotle assumed that of the 10 categories by which one could understand a thing, one must be primary: Where that thing fits into the tree of knowledge. So, you could say that Alcibiades is made of flesh or lived in Greece, but if you really want to understand him, you have to say that he is an animal of a particular kind. But, now that everything is metadata, no particular way of understanding something is any more inherently valuable than any other; it all depends on what you’re trying to do. The old framework of knowledge — and authority — are getting a pretty good shake.

Interested. Read More. Link via Rajesh Jain.
October 21, 2004

Questioning Sujatha on Science Fiction

A science fiction short story called Mudhivu[The End] by Writer Sujatha was published on Desikan’s blog. Interestingly, it has raised a wave of questions on how do we define science fiction.

Mudhivu was a short story which was left out in the Sujatha’s science fiction collection, Vingnana Chirukathaigal. The story by itself is a series of letter written by three different people, one being Writer Sujatha himself.

While, the format and the narrative style is typical of Sujatha’s style, the content might provoke you to ask the framework of science fiction. Sujatha doubles up and answers these questions in the story itself. Until finishing the entire story, don’t jump to conclusions, like me. I was able to see the science fiction in this normal story only when I finished it. It’s amazing.

Because of these various questions raised on science fiction’s grammar, Desikan is compiling a set of questions. So Sujatha will step into the blog scene and answer the questions related to science fiction posted by blog readers. By any chance, if you pondering on anything about science fiction, post them here by Saturday[23rd October]. This one is sure going to arouse interest around.
October 21, 2004

The long Navaratri festival

The long Navaratri festival weekend is here and is already promising to be fun. The Nobel Prize in Literature winner, V.S.Naipaul will be here in Landmark today for a book reading session of his latest book, The Magic Seeds. His visit to Bangalore Landmark store, yesterday, seems to have awed the Bangalore book lovers.

The Magic Seeds is set to be a sequel to his previous bestseller, Half a Life. Willie Chandran (who first appeared in Half a Life) continues his quest for purpose and a place that he can claim as his own.

Having read his path-breaking short story collection, In a Free State, very recently, I was interested to check-out the session. I am still not sure if I can make it. But I am hoping to. And if anyone makes it, do share the wit and images.

7G Rainbow Colony was out last week. Seems like Selvaraghavan has done it again in the box-office. 7GRC has recieved some rave reviews already, in the media. The word is spreading and the theatres are already crowded. Thanks to the curb on video piracy too. The tickets are sky rocketing. Getting tickets over the weekend is going to be tough. But thats the disporting thing in watching tamil movies on the opening weeks. I am going to make it.

Happy Skidding on the festival weekend

Kiss Kisski Kismat

Data and Metadata

Questioning Sujatha on Science Fiction

The long Navaratri festival