LP: Live In Texas

Disclaimer: This is not a detached review for I am an LP fan, I just love every picosec of their's ... so dun expect anything critical from this ... and secondly I dun njoi music with dispicable stuff ... if you share the same do proceed ... and if you love profound lyrics then do trust me on it ...

in the making but just to be broken ...

To many music enthusiasts the name Linkin Park rings bells of alarm :( ... easily succumbing to the cynic in them blindly ... its their name that scares them right away ... okie yet another heavy-metal boy band ... I'v seen metallica, limpbizkit and deftones n all so whatz spl with these ... well I'd say these guys are the quintessential in their class ... purity defined ...

after taking the market by storm with their stonking debut album "Hybrid Theory" and a late followup "Meteora" ... the band has not pulled much ... in contrast to all the bands flooding the market with scores of albums every quarter ... these guys have sat down to bring in quality stuff ... at least with their 1st two ...

this album has nothing new but for some spectacular remixes bound to leave any LP fan stupefied ... so as such the audio-cd doesn't pack anything at all but the accompanying DVD does ... a must in every LP fans rack ... no spectacular stuff on stage ... but just to see the band sweat their lives to bring out a good performance ... so with metallica endorsement and invite the guys make it at houston and dallas ...

why my penchant for the band? to "Free My Mind" ... there are times when I got on a high and times when I hit a low ... and not a soul to reach r8 then for a solace ... thats how LP stuff helps me ... in quest for the momemt of calm when nothing at all goes in my mind ... to vent all the pressurized anger (I dun express my anger at people coz I get too stinging) ... n other time to calm me from excessive frivolity ...

I'll get started with the band (not its history) and my favourites ... buckle you seatbealt folks:

Chester Bennington: VOCALS

I'v known people who would give their life out to sing it perfect ... this guy is the pinnacle ... a strong vocalists who raised the bar of the band ... gentle yet aggressive is the operative clause ...

many dispise artists who sing such ... "jeez why scream like that" ... well if u share tempestuous moments as I do ... then u'd understand ... commensurate to my equanimity otherwise ...

just to mention ... hez got an amazing voice ... if u wud ... listen to him sing melodiously n u'll go bonkers @ his voice's caps ... right from grunt to a pleasing voice (not sweet though) ... and always in perfect control ...

n as for this concert ... he wud'av sweat proly 20 gallons ... no joke ... and hes changed from his blond hair as well ... n I love the red and green fiery tatoo in his arm emanating from his fist :) ... suave it is ... btw I like Graffitti as well :D


his passionate singing is what really enthralled me ... be it melodious ... or be it when he is air-borne ... or screaming with fire in his heart ... he is just goood ... n btw in normal outfit ... he actually looks geeky ...

Mr. Joseph Hanh : RECORDS / SAMPLING
"ladies and gentlemen, we'v got a very spl guest for you tonight ... I'd like to introduce ... Mr.Harrrnnnnnnnhhhhhh" ... where from my love goes ...

the virtuoso at the turn table ... he just rocks without cessasion ... I njoi gud techno stuff ... this guy makes amazingly non jarring techno music ...

extremely nimble ... u shud just see him play @ the turn table and the fervor with which it is done ... the ardor just makes sure it is the best ...



both the pure techno tracks - "Cure for the itch" and "Session" (sound track of Matrix Reloaded) are my favoutires ... but luks like the guyz got more interests as well



I find him as the coolest customer of the band and the gadgets he has and toys around with are nice ;) ... I esp like that touch sensitive keyboard instrument ... and the ting sound that it can make @ different freq ... sound like those chineese porcelain with water ...

meteora I presume had him work out a lot ... tho not very involved in creation of the songs ... his rendition of the composition is just F.A.B!!!

Rob Bourdon : DRUMS / BACKING VOCALS

he is the striker behind the amazing music ... giving it life with the moving rhythm ... the pauses ... and the silence before the strike ... just amazing ...

he proly one of the youngest and does pretty neat job ...

he's just cool without the usual drummers associated presumptuousness ... and tawry showdown ...

this guys got the right mix of all :) ...

n the best part was unlike the other instrumentalists who just break em after the show ... this guy just tosses the Drum Sticks as a souvenir for the lucky in the crowd ... now that a mark of respect for the instrument ... which unfortunately the other dont share ...

Mike Shinoda : EMCEE (??) / RAPPIST / BEATS / SAMPLING
hez Mr. RAP ... just amazing ... the best part of LP is the singing bouncing b/w chester and mike ... the interlacing of the rap and regular singing leaves the audience breathless ...

and no its not the regular rap ... its top notch ... and yes he does makes the rap moves but just those that match with Hanh's movements at his table ...

I hated rap in ALL ... until I listened to these guys ... realized how much tarnished was those rendered by the rest ...

If I really start digging into the spectacle of his work in the songs ... its gonna take me a long time so I'll stop here ... n just to mention .. hez behind a lot of concepts of the band ...

this guy redefines rap in a way ... I personally thank him for I'd have hated rap otherwise all along ... n I dun listen to anything but for mike's rap :D ... and of course it was around his house that LP grew from at its nascent stages ...

Brad Delson : GUITAR / BASS / BACKING VOCALS
Lead Guitar'ist ... hav't observed much of him on stage or on video ...

the grudging sounds he made in one of the remix in this album was fantastic ...

the sad part I should say was that he breaks the guitar at the end of the concert ... just as Hanh breaks the turn table :( ...

he's got a ruddy looks befitting a heavy metal band ... bridging the gap ...



I dun listen to much of guitar so I'll reserve from any comments on that ... guess he puts in quite a bit of improvisation with the compositions ... more of him on stage ...

one of the other starter's of the band along with Mike ...

Phoenix : BASS
he re-joined the LP band after their first album ... I dun know much about this person ... coz the music videos I'v seen are mostly from the 1st album ... and a few from the second where pretty much no one is discernable ...

from what I know hez been quite a bit into the making of their second album Meteora ...

hez not got the on stage charisma ... no wonder the camera did not concentrate much on him ... well for music artists their glamour and appeal to the public is vital ... hopefully he should catch those up from his peers ...

---

so apart from this what is the quality of the band? ... their "Hybrid Theory" released on oct 2000 was smashing ... earned em a huge fan base and 8x platinum ... as with any band their 1st album was years of work rendered at its best ... n for many such as I it was instant love ... n the best of all ... the guys r so principled that they decided to be sticklers of swear-free lyrics ... belive me they are one of the most versatile bands I'v seen to date ... neat, clean, gentle, aggressive, emotional, passionate, variegated music, layering and whot not ...

if you are one of those who love heavy-metal but find most of them abusive n all and it annuls the whole point of listening to music ... then this is definitely your piece of cake ... they get as hard as the best ... they get as soft as one could ... and to top it all, neat lyrics ... tho you might find the motif of many songs bit depressive ...

their "Meteora" album came after quite a while ... 3 years in the making ... released on march 2003 ... again with plenty of Smash-Hits ... personally excepting for maybe one track I luv'd all of theirs ... many of the songs underwent transformation, re-sampling, flipping em (backwards), cut em, pep up the beat period of the troup's initial pieces ... some made @ home, at their tour bus ... some songs lyrics free written (without the music in place) ... some songs took 6 years in the making from concept to realization

and to the best of my knowledge the guys have worked on the music and lyrics by self ... @ least till now ...

I have no more words to describe it ... "No one can simply be told what this music is about ... u have to feel it for yourself" is all I have to say ... an open mind and perspicacity to observe the beautiful patterns behind all the screams and seeming noise ... is all u need ... mind is amazing for it can find patterns even in so called noise (watch at a T.V. screen with static for a long time and u'll know what I mean) and obscurity ...

understanding LP is not that hard ... u just require a good acumen for music ... nuthin more ...

been compiling this in fits and starts for like 3 days ... think I'll take a short break from here ... do pour in your thoughts on this ...

Fortune Favours The Bold: ALEXANDER

okie ... me dun with the movie in 3 spells ... the trailers gave an awesome luk n feel of the movie ... and it is one of the movies that I missed in the theatres ... was not around home when it was released but nevertheless ... so with great anticipation I watched the movie carefully ...

1st impression is the best (or for the worst) ... the narration was as decrepit as the character delivering it ... Antony Hopkins was withered ... the makeup was conspicuous ... it didn't have the effect of an old man telling a story as much as I expected it ... the way he looked up to ALEX was not compelling ...

the movie did not arouse the same feeling as gladiator or troy did ... it felt more like a documentary on ALEX more so ... this movie was miserable where troy just lost its edge ... sound ... music can play with emotions greatly as in "The Beautiful Mind", "Gladiator", "Omen" and so many games that instigate fear ... the monotone of angelina - Mother of ALEX lost its appeal as the movie progressed ...

I wudn't call this movie for an entertainer ... for it dwells more into the darker side of ALEX's character than the bold part (which the actor cud not bring out just as in King Arthur - not a pint of majesty, and often was more wimpy than otherwise) ... maybe this was just set to dig the untold part of the story ...

but if ur looking to learn about the history then this movie is a good start ... never knew ALEX married an asian tribal girl nor his self-inflicted demise ... tho the fall of his conquest in India is well known ... Greek and Egyptian civilization appeal to me a lot n I will be biased bout em ... Greek esp for their swanky majestic names n their quests ... their philosophers socrates and aristotle ... n egyptian for their hieroglyphs :) n mystic ways of occult ...

the part where aristotle tuitions the young men of tomorrow ... was nice one ... I'd have njoi'd more of that ... these philosophers r amazing ... many of their musing comes right down until The Matrix :D ... n bout the Achilles and apollo (who help Paris bring down the hero) ... but unfortunately the same befalls ALEX as well (for his love with Hephaestion) ...

the scene where young alexander tames osephilis ... well I expected much more ... 1st hand it was too quick and then it was the music ... both didn't live up ... it could have been a great scene ... well short of a compelling one ...

n the fall of ALEX in india ... WOW that was nice ... the elephant and osephilis rising as they stand up on the hind legs ... very well done ... I have to give to that picturisation ... a bullet time shot kind'a stuff ... but the music was a miserable let down ...

colin farrel was not very befitting to the role ... I expected a more stout gait and attitude ... he tried to don it but :( ... personally I liked cleitis ... the gaunt luks befitting a warrior ... but that just how I wan't it ... for all we know maybe there was a much darker side to ALEX ... n how much he ran away from his mother all his life ... who was afraid of ALEX being more of philip ... while ALEX had his fear of being more of his mother ... only to realize he was both ... paving to his temporal dementia ...

the war over persia ... with the dust climbing up was done well, but for some reason was not easy to follow, the plot of the war ... as to whats goin on the scene ... after all movies are not bout obscurity ... I believe perfection does not have much room in this world ( I just read "Such Perfection" in Malgudi Days :D ) ...

angelina did well ... the accent was fitting the role ... n her vicious looks as always ;) ... at its best :)

val kilmer as philip got a descent job done ... again not as grunt in his gait ... something missing b/w his looks and his attitude ... but I liked his performance in the movie "At First Sight" a lot ... moments of poignancy can be well felt by the audience ...

so commin back to the movie ALEXANDER ... it wud be an enlightning experience for those who buy such ... n if u take interest with the greeks ... not a very good entertainer ... but its good to have occasional movies showing the other side of such people ...

updates on LP: Live at Texas up next ...

LEGO Crazy

okie I am star wars crazy ... n I luv LEGO's as much ... even those tiny one with nuthing more than 20/30 parts to make up swanky luk'n bikes n all ...

so this is my wish list ... pretty expensive huh ... well its just a wish ...

now that is the infamous Death Star II ... made up of just 3449 pieces :) ... n costs just $299 bucks ... so affordable ;) ...
now thats the classy Millenium Falcon ... Han Solo's ship ... also where Luks gets trained by ObiWan, with the blinding helmet to use the force ... also got the repute of having eluded the Star Destroyers and Tie Fighter Fleet umpteen times ... 985 pieces in the making ... n dead cheap @ just $99 only ...
oops I already mentionded the Star Destroyers ... 3104 bricks in the making ... well peanuts considering my pocket size ... a meager $299 ... huh c'mon guys dun u think that a lil too cheap ... :p

and these are the wings of the rebel fleet the X-Wing, the Y-Wing and the snow speeder ... the shape says it all ...
and of course the infamoue Tie-Fighter Fleet ... extremely maneuverable craft ... under command of the protogonist of the saga: Darth Vader ... always leaves a trail of destruction and rebel fighter swiveling into space ...

now comming to the characters as well ... therz Darth Vader and his tie fighter ... the Imperial Shuttle, Emperror in robes (his body guards in RED), vader and the clones ... and finally ... luke, R2D2, yoda in the marsh planet DagoBah ;) ...

so much to collect ... n my pockets if so full ... I can guy all of these r8 away ... only in my dreams ...

for those who thing ... "yennadhu idhu seeru pillai thanama" ... know what LEGO is a great way to improve creativity ... it trancends ages ... n to make a mention ... Standford has a lab dedicated to work with LEGO's RCX bricks ... serious stuff mind it ... I'v even seen a copier machine made in LEGO ... from the amusing to the cogent engineer in u ... it for all ...

Business Ethics

a representative from 'The Hindu' (a very prestigeous tabloid of great stature in india) goes home to home asking as to whether they subscribe for the hindu ...

a senior citizen who I revere for his uprightness, pragmatism and stands as an Idol just finished his morning recitals of ramayan n takes a break with some seasoned refreshments ... the young boy (frump proly for his economics) after some hicups mustered the words in english with lotsa deliberation ... his voice showed the earnestness with which he approached ...

to my great surprise the Sr. citizen retorts ... "yenna pa veenum" ... then he goes about asking as to what news paper is being subscribed at the house ... the young boy definitely expected a candid reply from this man who appeared to be the head of the family ... n so did I ...

much to my disappointment the old man with a grunt voice lied ... he subscribes for indian express (tho he has access to 'The Hindu' which is his fav ... from neighbours ... an agreement among appartment folks) ...

the boy with great scruple notes down the name and that we subscribe for it and leaves to the next door ... proly believing it ...

briefly following this I asked the old man ... the guy says he works for 'The Hindu' and maybe they are taking some survey .. so y did u lie ... n my voice was careful enuf not to be head by the guy upstars ... the old man was surprised @ my question n a shirk with a display of shame as well ... I was glad there was a iota of shame for having done it @ the very least ...

X-------- End of Story --------X

some time back there was a post here rambling about lack of business ethics ... for which, one dear sriman whet about to explain that there are no ethics in the business world ... I realized it ... but what are the repucussions ... what we saw above ... negligence and derision towards people who still try to make a this world a better place ...

reason? ... sales people who thrust products onto customers ... one day I was buzy @ office when a dame calls up urging me to take loan and a credit card ... my obstinateness drove her to the extent of beeseching n she finally gave up ... now thats what drives people away from even the earnest of salesmen ... likewise with mailing list which has profligated into spam mails ... some offers of relevance to me would simple get lost among the spam ...

no harm in being quixotic ... so just for a thought lets say that I toil to provide the best possible product/service to a band of customers ... my very purpose would be their satisfaction, contentment and smile if not appreciation ... now just as in above case if customers shoo me because he got irate by the other gadflies in the market ... I would loose my impetous to deliver quality stuff and resort to the ways of the world ... coz success in market is key to sustanence ...

there was a retrospection meeting at our organization ... I was reluctant to voice my opinion but after someone's incitement I put it up ... 15 or so points ... highest in number ... and I was earnest in my intensions when I put up each word of it ... there were at least 5 of em that I remember which were deemed as good observations (at the macro level) ... after reading em out it seemed that even though the institution brashed to achieve them ... even after bringing it up to their notice they just did not have any clue as to what to do about these ... this was the reason I was reluctant in the 1st place to voice ... it makes no difference ... but there was still little hope lurking in me ...

this is no different from the above incident ... for the attitude of the participants is just the same ... comming back to the practical aspect of things ...

the western world and better than them the once decrepit countries in asia which have flourished past this country which brags of being the largest mind power ... I'm sure such negligence was not entertained there ... definitely not prominent

amoung many people I'v met, I have seen most of em loose principles, and blaming the rut in which they live as the cause ... ending up with a simple life ... "a job gud enough to feed the libido in me ... get married to some gud luk'n damsel ... then deliver puppies ... n just live out a life ... I dun care bout the society that surrounds me ... " ... not a bit worried about the society in which we live in ... every individual owes a lot to the society which has provided them so much ... yet they decline from reciprocating their debt ... "naa pannaradhu nallai onnum maareeda poradhu illai" or "pannravan'a indha ulagam muttal akkidum" ...

what is a society - it is the morals, ethics and world bestowed to us by our previous generation ... ablution from all this saying there are no ethics ... now is this good ethics? dont we need gud ethics?

my first place of work ... TVS Electronics was headed by Gopal Srinivasan ... a 6 and half footer ... n very industrious ... very evident in his strident walk ... (compared that to the sloths that most s/w professional are ... even a walk to a cafeteria is a saunter ... disgusting entities) ... it was the only aspect of the company that I looked up to coz the lower ends of it didn't quite live up ... GS would go to any extent to take care of his valued employees ... not because he expected anything back from them (quite often the employees did not reciprocate it) ... but because he had good ethics ... he was principled

"If my manager is going to go berserk about me not getting the work done in time and not bother if I skipped to ensure the quality of the product and the process it is to pass through ... then I'd rather risk the quality and make my manager happy" ...

this is how much of work happens here ... and I dont want to generalize ... coz I believe and I know that there are plenty of places where this is not the case ...

prominence (mind my words I am not mentioning monopoly) of ethics would have given that survey chap with true information ... so much for the world we live in ...

candid candy

Pregnant Mom: "Kanna Unnaku kutti thambi pappa venuma?"
Prowling Eyes Kid: "Vennaaaaam" ... and shirks his head ...
Pregnant Mom: "appo thangachi pappa venuma?"
Prowling Eyes Kid: "Veennnam" ... and shirks his head again ...
Pregnant Mom: "pinna?"
Prowling Eyes Kid: with a brightly lit face "yennaku Naai Kutti veenum"

ha ha =)) ... now that was a really really gud one ... hmm an njoiable ad after quite a long time ... the last if I remember correct is the hutch ad (wherever u go our network follows ... I luv that dog)

courtesy: parry's confectionaries ... kudos parry!!!

IR Speaks'

I barged in to see the program mid-way ... it was a sun-tv production with IR on his Thiruvasagam ... got a glimpse of him @ work with the symphony and some of his personal experiences ... the following really caught my attention ...

many of us have heard of this quote "change is the only constant" ... many IR Fans are redefining this in a way ... one such expressed himself to IR saying ... "yengal vazkaiyil yevalavo maarugiradhu ... veelai ... eedam ... makkal ... nanbargal ... aanal ivai anaithayum kadandhu yegaludan ninradhu thangal iisai than" ... so true ... not sure how many of you have heard of the album "How To Name It?" ... its been there since I was a very very small kid ... savored by my previous generation ... and till date it still stupefies folks ... n if your a connoisseur of music u sure wud be ...

another quote by yet another fan of his - "yen thai thandha aravanaipai vida, yen thozil thandha inbathai vida, yen manaivi thantha adharavai vida, yenai saandror thantha anbai vida ... thagal iisai tharum inbam veru yengu ulladhu" ... hmm ... a bit of flattery I'd say but if it was said heartfelt then okey dokey ...

the best part of what he said was ... ppl keep saying that it wud be great to understand the verses of thiruvasagam being recited ... wud make more sense ... his explanation ... god transcends language, words, expressions, place and every such thing ... n when u listen to it what u feel @ your heart is what is being said ... likwise music transcends everything (I'd have rather had music 1st :D and thankfully it is not for me to say) ...

but I still feel his work - "How To Name It?" stands a class apart ... an all time soul raiser (from any mood that I am in) for me ... still pining for something that wud @ the least live up to it ... too much to ask?

A Proclamation of Apology

more often than not ... we fail to express our apologies when it is most appropriate ... I'm not talking bout the endless sorry(s) which we utter every day without realizing its meaning (coz we make the same err yet again n repeat the word) ... I'm talking bout those which will being back lost relationships ...

to many folks : crying, apologizing, parrying situations and such expressions of an individual are a sign of weakness ... it is a shame for them ... I can only express my pity @ such conceit ... they have lost an expression as they seek for an outward resilience which is not innate of em ... these are the people who choose to make the world happy by living up to them ... the world never will ... n so - the perdition of their quest ...

shedding a drop of tear for those whome you care / love ... sincerely apologizing to those whome matter the most ... parrying situations of politicking would be the sign of greatest strength in people ...

it was a retrospection hour @ wrk ... n amidst my fine observations on the project ... a word from my manager bout our PM ... came home n read this article (a must read for every indian) ...

I felt really ashamed to see a man of such stature bowing down to the nation ... n proud for the character he displayed to the nation ... I'v seen such incidences before in my personal life (which changed my perspective considerable) ... by expressing such a *sincere* apology the offending party is defeated @ their first step ... I'v used this and it works ... *sincere* is the operative word ...

in the name of ego / tit-for-tat / u first, n all ppl dun choose reconcilation ... to err and quarrel is human ... u might retort saying ... "yeah yeah I know" ... which doesn't have a meaning if you didn't preach it ...

today I learnt something for this man ... 1st my salutes to him ... n I should highlight this statement by him -
"Past cannot be undone but we have the option to build a better future"

reality bites ...

thoongaadhe thambi thoongaadhe ... sombeeri yenra peerai vangaadhe

had a small chit-chat lately n got to know some ppls sleeping habits ... it was a bit funny tho nuthin unusual ... thought I'll scribble bout that ... herz how it goes ...

Mr.Sleepy say's "Got work in the morning ... so wake me up by 7am ... konjam velai mudicutu office pooganum" ...

so the guy on duty to wake up starts @ 6:45 hoping for a better today -

GuyOnDuty: "SHIVAAAAAAAA time aachu yezundhuru"
Mr.Sleepy : ummmmmmmmmmmm

after 2 minutes

GuyOnDuty: "SHIVAAAAAAAA time aachu daaaaaaaaaa yezundhuru"
Mr.Sleepy : andhe fan'a anachutu pooooo

after 5 minutes

GuyOnDuty: "SHIVAAAAAAAA yezundhuka pooreeya illeya"
Mr.Sleepy : fan anachacha ... seri jennala tharandhu vei yezundhukkaren

after 5 minutes

GuyOnDuty: "dei time aaachu daaaaa"
Mr.Sleepy : rolls over out of the bedding, and says "tho yeuzndhukkaren"

yet another after 5 minutes

GuyOnDuty: "dei yezundhukka pooreeeya illeya"
Mr.Sleepy : "just oru 5 minutes snooze than ... yezundhuduven"

yet another after 10 minutes

GuyOnDuty: "dei office irukka illeya?"
Mr.Sleepy : "just oru twooooooooooooo minutes than ... plzzzzzzz"

after patient 10 minutes wait

GuyOnDuty: "DEIIIIIIIIIIIII YEZUNDHUDU DAAAAAAAAAA"
Mr.Sleepy : "ayoooooooo" ... wake up and sits closing his eyes ... as if meditating / making up his memo for the day :)

GuyOnDuty: thinks - abbada oru padiya yezundhan da kazudhai ... goes off duty for his errands
Mr.Sleepy : he already back in another weird'o position ... sound asleep ... zzzzzzzzzzzzz

after 15 mins ...

Mr.Sleepy : after a sudden jolt ... his internal bells clapper just struck ... "holy cows!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... I'm god damn late" ... checks up his watch and clock not believing either ... goes around shouting ... "yennadhu idhu ... oru manushana yezuparathuku kooda thoopu illai ... cha ... ungalale nan latu ..." n then of course the vetti office is back to sleep @ the office desk ... using his cubicle in true spirit's ...

ha ha now this is a daily scene @ a household ... reminds me of the character Chanlder Bing from the comedy show "F.R.I.E.N.D.S" ... ha ha n the theme song ... very nice ... hmm I miss that show .... been ages since I'v seen it ... thought I'll take some time off to quote it ... beautiful wordings ... all thanks to the "The Rembrandts"

So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year
But...

I'll be there for you (When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you (Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you ('cause you're there for me too)

Your still in bed at 10 and work begins at 8
You burned your breakfast so far things are going great
Your mother warned you there be days like these
But she didn't tell you when the world was brough down to your knees

No one could ever know me
No one could ever see me
Seems your the only one who knows
What it's like to be me
Some one to face the day with
Make it through all the mess with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst, my best with you, yeah.

It's like you're always stuck in second gear
and it hasn't been your day, your week, your month
or even your year, but

HeartBeat of the day

okie ... 4 months it has been ... the last was @ The Music Academy of April ... its been 4 months since then n it happens again ... not the festival but just the part that I missed and yearned to hav attended ... it was called "Thakka Dhimi Tha" ... so at my morning class in the course of a casual exchange I heard the name "Ghatam Karthick" ... n then I was on my toes ... got it confirmed 6pm - 7:30 ... amma dropped all her plans ... called up her friends n spread the news ... n then she joined me late ... very unusually I was late by 5 mins :( ... something else enraptured for moments ...


fortunately I didn't seem to hav missed anything ... I was there almost towards the start ... most of em as my guru proclaimed are thillanas that the troup played ... I had no clue as to what they were playing ...

the crew aboard "HeartBeat" (Experience The Heartbeat Online!!)-
Ghatam - S Karthick
Violin - Sri Embar Kannan
Mrudhangam - Sri Poongulam Seethuraman
Kanjeera - Sri Papanasam Govindarajan
Mandolin - U.P.Raju
Tabla/Morsin - Sri Sundar

for fledgelings as I ... the vivacity of the artists on stage ... the expression they don as they achieve the desired effect ... the *stage charisma* ... has a great effect ... every single member of this troup has that energy in em ... very notable are the mridangist, ghatam, violin (scores only 3rd ... if only it were Sri Chandrasekaran himself wud have turned otherwise), kanjeera and then Mr.Mandolin ...

now to the highlights ... the song was titled "Seven Butter" if I got it right ... not sure bout why the seven but they said its got somthing to do with the ghati ... n butter ... any guesses? ... Raagam: Vanaspathi ... ha ha ... composed by Kannan I presume ... the only piece that I find absolutely majestic next to one of my master's Amruthavarshini piece ... it was instant love ... n so was this ... the manganimity was astounding ... my guru seemed to have njoi'd it as much ... hope to get hold of this some time ... splendid ...

I didn't realize time pass by as the songs did ... n neither did I know what they were but njoi'd em all immensely ... more specifically the Violin :D ... sorry folks I hav a penchant for that instrument ... n this violin is spl ... take a careful look ...

now thats known as the "Silent Violin" ... coz it does not make the sound normally ... it look'd cool and fab so I check'd up ... well its electric it seems, and's worth 30 grand :-o thats all ... okie I'll keep my mouth shud n 4get bout it ... if only I cud ... @ 1st the luks were striking ... man!!! actually its got a menacing yet tame luk ;) ...

now that apart ... the interplay of mandolin and violin was astounding ... never heard that combo before but better than 2 violin's with their scales off is a violin and mandolin ... the change in scale can make wonders ... n it was ... very mesmerizing ...

n then another composition of Kannan in Raagam: SindhuBhairavi was again fabulous ... but then the trailing highlight was the medley ... now not many musicians would probably appreciate it ... but what the hell ... music is what is gud to hear ... so sticklers off now ... it was so well structured ... a classical piece ... a western classical piece ... and so on and so on ... to name a few ...

couple of pieces of Beethoven ... "Shakthi Sahita Ganapathim" ... yen another western classical , very well known but cudn't grab it ... next classical again n cudn't remember the name ... "Titan Music" ... "RaRa Veenu" ... a mozart piece ... Vande Maataram ( ARR Style ;) ) ... "Shamale Meenakshi" ... yen another patriotic song to close the Medley ...

immense njoi'ment it was ... its quite a talent to pick pieces the naturally flow from one to another without any alterations and gimmicks ... rendered very nicely ... to my taste it was ... n there was a luk mid'way from my guru ... well reminding me of our "Different Theme" ... ha ha ...

so what was this program all about ... well Rajesh Vaidhya seem to be getting a bit commercial ... hez got enough of mylapore crowd ... so wan't to captivate the mambalam crowd as well ... nice stunt with a performance on his electric veena ... the young group is ravaging to lure young talents ...

whatever be the motive ... it was a blast of a program ... blessed I am to have experienced it ... adios ...

The Pulsar Advantage

I am so fortunate that at least after a little over a year of having a PULSAR parked outside my room I'm enjoying every nanosecond with 'him' ... if u'v noticed I did't say a *she* coz it is a *he* ... its very common to give a feminine name to that which you love most ... after all we say "Mother India" ... all rivers go by feminine names ... and of course my little endearments (late Lilly, Dinku, Swarna ... :)


PULSAR was the order of the day when it came in ... I should curb my laziness which had me miss this fabulous vehicle for so long ... me not gonna get into the technical aspects but just the feel ... so let me cover some of the non-technical aspects ...

not too long ago in a city not too far away (kanchipuram where I studied) ... a then buddy of mine owned a CBZ ... the shear power and effortlessness of the vehicle was astounding ... thats when my penchant moved from sporty bikes to the ones on road ... I njoi'd being the pillion rider then ... it was su high that it gave an unobstructed view of whats upfront ... of course my buddy was mildly shorter than I ...

time passed ... n it was turn for BAJAJ ... "hamara Bajaj" - a name that inspires trust ... I read through some reviews on the vehicle as to its response and stuff ... the big news being the indigenous 150/180cc engines ... made the cost of such dreams plummet ... it was the perfect vehicle ... and the campaign "Definitely Male" was proly one of the most successful ad campaigns in recent times ... the test drivers feel of the vehicle fueled my interest many folds ... wish I'd get to a point where I can afford the time and resource to take the beasts on biking course's :) ...

what incited my penchant for the vehicle was their ads ... it was not an emotional ad ... unlike many which say its a family vehicle n all ... even CBZ for that matter ... with beautiful damsels taking the pillion rider seat (I'd have rather prefered one driving) ... one of pulsar's ad had just two audio tracks ... the roaring pulsar (with doppler effect) @ I presume the bombay-pune highway ... and then when the DTSi came in ... the stunt on the bridge where the guy @ high speed (doing a wheeling to begin with) steps on the disk brake ... lifts the rear wheels ... swings the vehicle and completes an about turn ... I'v done 180 and 360 spins on NFS Cars but on bikes :-o ... it was enchanting ... id u'd like to see what I mean check out some of thee pic's @ - BikePics - 2003 ... the stunt has since been what most pulsar'its have sought to do ...

thats when I lured dad into buying the macho vehicle ... he's got a stout gait and it beackoned he owned one ...

now to the best part of pulsar ... Weight Distribution ... it is proly the 1st vehicle to have an amazingly good vehicle distribution ... for even physicians prescribed the vehicled for folks with lower back problems (typical with kinetic owners) ... it supposed to give the drivers back perfect support n all ... that was my dads inclination ...

unfortunately I had not pick'd up riding bikes so ... I missed all the fun until now ... having to drive bout 20 kms a day kinetic was killing me ... so I moved in to tame pulsar ... ooops know to get used to *him* ... esp now that its been over 4 months think I can afford to be a bit more judgemental ...

handling is amazing ... the defacto disk brakes a must for this beast ... get a hang of it and you can do wonders ;) ... yeah folks the 180 degrees spin ;) ... 360 degrees to but thats for the pro's ...
the acceleration is very handy in city traffic ... if u'd got the guts ... the vehicle has earned it reputation and infamy (thnx to some addled drivers) on the roads ... tho a bit unwieldy it fun to sneak the vehicle through whatever gaps u can find ...

gears system ... one of the best I wud say ... best part u can easily move an still vehicle @ 2nd gear ... n with some deliberation @ 3rd too ... 2nd n 3rd gears just delivery the punch of power to get started ... once if 5th you feel like being in heaven ... I'v got a 150 and it goes amazingly smooth until 70kmph depending on usage ... after that the mild and high frequency vibration kicks in ... once this missing over head was the 6th gear ... 5th gear is so smooth that on long drives I often look for the 6th gear ... realizing this is it :( ... I'v know sports bike with upto 10 gears goin he smooth @ very low speeds ...

and then comes the biggest advangate ... the unwieldyness ... ironically even though I'm known for my frail gait I'v always handled some of the heaviest vehicles ... learned on kinetic (which is quite an unwieldy vehicle for a scooter) ... n learned biking on pulsar (which was one among the heaviest as well) ... I still remember even my dad struggles with pulsar dude many-a-times ... the vehicle being that heavy gains a lot'a momentum ... so on long stretched with signals I just got to cut the transmission and it just keeps goin ... on and on and on ... I just luv to do that ... ppl find it funny ... me driving pulsar ... not that I care ... just to mention ... being big is not all ... right techniques is all that matters ... but I am thinking of donning some flesh ... not for myself but pulsar ...

economy again is a good factor ... 500 bucks per month ... huge tank capacity (17 litres) ... fill in once and month through drive peacefully ... and the electronic start (which for some reason many call as auto start :-?) comes in handy during long waits @ the signals ...

now the downside ... being unwieldy the vehicle is hard to drive on marshy roads ... even esp driver's as my dad (who was a pro with KB100, until a fatal accident) says so ... the vehicle starts slipping n sliding on uneven roads owing to it weight ... n a lot ... driving into ambattur after rains is a nightmare ... and then the disk brakes - often a cause for fatal accidents ... esp the large tank as in my original pulsar is said to hit the groin ... and yes the vibrations which kick in a while ... I often touch 70 so its very noticeable ...

so why post from office all of a sudden ... 1st hand it was fun driving it down to office today ... amazing weather too ... and more than that a mallu folk who sits right next to me got a new "Royal Enfield Bullet" (and owns an electra back home) ... 350cc rock solid vehicle ... wah it was some sight and sound ... the signature sound knows as the "Bullet Thump" ... but I like "Thunderbird" more ... which is very striking ... these I'd say r the Harley equivalent out here ... its a pride to own one ... and on sunday morning I saw a groups of bikers take em out from tidel park away into ECR ... who call themselves Madras Bulls ... ha ha ... oh yeah they r ... R.Enfield patrons ... and then therz the pulsar club ...

my pulsar dude luks old and big tarnished ... so considering giving him a new look ... alloy wheels ... if some gud guys like DC are available for this dude then an artistic refurbishment too ... n I'd wudn't mind spending a fortune :) ...

adios ... b4 my boss starts eatin my head away ... more later ...

pattern's iin maayam

let it be tetris or sudoku ... it all just ur minds ability to see patterns ... today I managed to translate the rules of sudoku into a simple algo ... neat not tight tho ...

few spelling mistakes here n there in code screwed my happiness for days ... now its all over ... so it was arvind who was challenging my means ... it does sound convoluted ... but it was an alternate approach to what I do while solving it on paper ...

mind can look @ patterns superficially ... n predict the flow of certain problems as in sudoku ... the task of putting this into a diligents box piece of cake took quite some getting used to solving the problem ... n finding out what I see when I solve a problem ...

means ... divide and rule ... eliminate what can' be ... take one step @ a time ... n finally arvind had his HARD problem as a challenge ... 55 cells to be filled ... voila ... the moment I saw 55 moves it was clear the solution was there ... coz it never leaves the grid @ any point @ an invalid state ... if its in a stale mate it just gives up with empty cells ...

in the end ... the feeling ... :) ... ecstatic ... cud spend time optimizing it ... but is the time worth it ... nah ... its not my piece of research now ...

so now on it should just be 15 mins on paper per day with sudoku ... so much for the latest fad ...

[update 4-Aug 8:50pm] oops guess there something more to this ... jeez so close ... :(