Beyonce wins the Song of the Year Grammy

As I said...

When the world is full of morons...

...its stupid to be sane!

To bridge the chasm

A very long time we needed the SarcMark. It is excrutiatingly difficult to write even slightly humorous mails without the fear of upsetting people. Writing masks the emotions of writer, and it is easy for the reader to misinterpret the message. After all, what we are asking him is to not intepret the message as it was written, but as it was intended. An intention is abstract, unquantifiable.

We can't get all uppity and say, "D'oh, the reader is a dumbass, and isn't getting the irony". Also, one might question, well, the old authors - of books and newspaper articles - didn't face the problem.

Well, that writing is completely different to email, or texting. Email and text can be one to many (where many can be privy to a barb sent to one). It might just be upsetting that the receiver to whom the sarcasm is intended gets it, but others cced in, don't and think that sender has actually insulted the receiver.

The sarmark eliminates that ambiguity. Great invention, I think.

Will I pay to download the SarcMark. No, I would rather insult people (Sarcmark here!)

India losing territory

Something that I always feared might be happening . China is encroaching on Indian territory without any firm challenge. They are drunk with power and have history behind them, and the Indian government lack will and courage to take on the mighty neighbours.

 
They will continue to claim more Indian territory and put Indian government on a diplomatic backfoot (if you are fighting for your terrirtory all the time, you dont really have time to look at their disputed territories and historical LOC issues). The people who will suffer are the native tribes, and long term, it will cause loss of control over the nearby areas that India continues to hold on.

 

 

Grammy Song of the Year 2010

Goes to Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it). Prediction.

In fact, going by the difference between a record and a song, I thought that it was the awesomest record (singing, music, production, mixing) but it is not nominated in that category.

The words to the song are alright, but thats not what makes the song special. The whole package (99% of it is Beyonce) is brilliant.

In case you haven't seen the song, its here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVEGfH4s5g&feature=related

Its the first song that my daughter 'tuned into'

There's more where that came from

I am one for predictions. And betting. I want to put my money where the mouth is. It also gets people who sound cock-sure to reevaluate their belief.

I get some right. Then gloat when I get it right. This is not a place to gloat about them.

I am going to make another one. And I will pray to God that it doesn't happen.

I predict that in the next year, there will be at least one significant terrorist attack in Mumbai. I don't want to measure the significance in terms of number of deaths. But its a terrorist attack, so we are looking at atleast 5 innocent people dead(one can never underestimate the impact that a single life lost has).

THis will happen because in the last year, the situation in Pakistan has worsened considerably. And our politicians, police, intelligence etc, have just found excuses and reasons for absolving any responsibility for the Siege of Bombay.

Read Outlook special issue special issue. The response on the other side has been really pedestrian - what is needed is new processes, much advanced training (not just new vests), and better communication between various teams. There should have been a coherent action plan to tackle this - as far as I know this is none.

People will die.

Nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi, gandi bhaasha nahi chalegi!!

Cross posted here.

Bound scripts, targeted audiences, massive publicity budgets, media tie-ups, and merchandising - Bollywood has indeed turned a corner in the noughties.

One clear sign of an increasing corporate hold over the film industry is the instillment of test screening. Good, bad? Well, definitely good for producers who want the film not to bomb for the lack of UAT and appeal to the widest audience possible. By the same token, bad for audiences with a keener palate.

Take the case of Ishqiya. During focus group screening, women squirmed and shifted in their seats. Indeed, they found it uncomfortable to watch. (give them cushions I say!)

Now, I wonder if Satya had been shown to such a focus group. Would Bhiku Mhatre saying "paagal" instead of "chutiya" conveyed the same nuance?

Ishqiya seems to be of a milieu where people swear to punctuate their sentences (the male protagonists are thieves, you ar*3$0735!). Indeed in my opinion, expletives qualify and elaborate the exclamation mark oh so wonderfully.

Why, oh, why, should we then curb the beauty of the rustic lingo?