When the clock gets to 12:00 !!

Its 01:32 am of 30^th Dec 2011, while the night would have just came alive for some the world is still fast asleep dreaming with closed eyes standing on a hill of the mountain of dreams of theirs, I stare at the blank screen of my computer trying to pen down a few nothings of the year that is just about be over giving way to the new beginnings and new resolutions from tomorrow.

Its freezing outside and the fog of this beautiful December night mesmerizes and wiles me to look back into 2011 ,wonder how the clock ticks away leaving memories of what went by & what is about to come. As I look into the past it brings back a lot from the memory lane, good & bad alike, with a smile on face realizing I lived another year of this beautiful life. Gazing at the fogginess of this beautiful night I realize the fog is almost like the New Year, sending chills through my spine, making me wonder what bolt from the blue lies ahead. Wish I could see through this foggy 2012 in the stillness of this cold night of 2011!

As I blink with puffy eyes and watch the clock ticking away second by second the rest of 2011 I whisper in the silence of this beautiful night………

A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 !!

Unveiled: "The Dark Night Rises "Teaser Poster

      

Click on Teaser Poster for full version

         Warner Bros Pictures has released the much awaited teaser poster for the last film in the Batman triology.Since the teaser for the The Dark Night had given a lot of hints with the batman logo used as Joker lips we can find a similar (creative and awesome designs) approach with this one too.. Well adding to the marketing campaign that Warner Bro’s has launched with release of the poster lets have a look at what insight can this toaster poster give us about the plot


The Logo:

The batman logo this time is in white over the Dark Gotham City. The whiteness of the logo is in stark contrast to ending of the last movie where batman ended as evil.This saviour whitey seems o convey the rise of batman from the ruins to save the Gotham city.

The Raining Boulders:

With the darkness swallowing the  city and the boulders raining from above it looks as if the Gotham City is in deep danger where none other than batman can be the savior. Hope batman doesn’t come wearing white pajamas outfit with so much darkness around ;-)

The Title:

The official title of the movie “The Dark Night Rises” doesn’t find a place on the poster instead you see the 2012 Summer release with a small web address. Is Nolan and team playing a guess game "Identify the movie by poster" ??For those who don’t know-The movie is set to be released on 20^th July 2012 (not in India only US and Canada)

The Ending:

Since last movie ended on a sad note for the chap/batman it looks like this time batman would sacrifice his life fighting the evil and would thus be established as a hero rather than like a villain of  The Dark Night. Peace (white) be upon him!!!

We all would agree that among the movies the Nolan has made Batman Series is the best and The Dark Night was an amazing sequel of Bat Begins. Those who liked The Dark Night and “why so serious?” (The joker punch) must be waiting for what seems to be a promising sequel “The Dark Night Rises”.

For those who don’t know- this would be the third and unfortunately the last of the Nolan’s batman Trilogy. If that comes as a surprise to you let me cool it off with some usual stuff-Bruce Wayne/The Batman will be the same Christian Bale and Bane-the psychotic enemy would be Tom Hardy (Remember!!! Inception!!!) and Anne Hathway as Selina Kyle.

Among all the predictions around the plot the best we can do is to wait till next summer to get another blockbuster from Nolan. May The Dark Night Rises like it rose the last time !!!

Trailer: The Dark night Rises

Bouncers - Best things in Cricket

I am 25 now and ever since I can remember the time immemorial , I’ve been a Cricket nut. Batting has always been my favorite but Bowling part is not without its attractions. Especially the good old “the Bouncer”.
A bouncer is a fast ball that is aimed at batsman’s chest and above portions of the body preferably the skull.
Historically it has been the most destructive weapon of the legendary pace bowlers of the past. It was used to fearsome perfection by giants bowling machines of West Indies and other great pacemen like Lillee , Thomson, Botham etc. Batsmen had to face these bowlers with a knowledge that any mistimed shot and they may end up in a Hospital. Micheal Holding , quarter of the West Indies bowling lineup of the 80’s was known as “ whispering death” and why he shouldn’t be . Imagine a smallish round object weighing around 200gms coming at a speed of 150-160 km/hr straight at your skull (sounds more guided missile to me ). Going by my ability at batting I will end up with multiple stitches (or serious brain damage) before I am even able to lift the Bat.
Watching Batsman avoiding the bouncer is also a great sight to watch. Ducking , stretching, hopping and doing all kinds of acrobatics to avoid contact with one nasty ball. Even though, because of helmets chances of serious injury are much less now, these beauties are still used as pscylogical weapon by pacemen to intimidate opposite batsmen. And injuries still happen. In the 2005 Ashes the towering English paceman Steve Harmison started the first test with a bouncer which rattled Aussie opener Mathew Hayden’s helmet and then injured the opposite Captain Ricky Ponting by a similar delivery which resulted nasty bruise and bleeding from his face. Those two balls probably set the tone for the unforgettable 2005 Ashes series.
Closer home us, the Indians are not very adept at playing short balls, Dravid’s an exception, and hence our batsmen are peppered with chest high bouncers when on tour to countries with fast pitches. In 1994 during West Indies tour of India during one Test Ambrose and Walsh terrorized Indian batsmen with a flurry of short balls and bouncers causing injuries to several batsmen. India lost that test. I don’t remember when and where that test was staged but I do remember that I was close to tears. Speaking of other awkward incidents involving Bouncers, Sachin Tendulkar, once on Australian tour was bowled a quite short pitched delivery by Glenn McGrath and he anticipating a bouncer completely tried to duck the high rising ball. But amusingly the ball did not bounce at all and struck Tendulkar on his shoulder who was crouching in front of wicket. Upon appeal, Umpire adjuged him Out “Shoulder before wicket”.
In the recent times Bouncers have lost a bit of charm because of helmets and more importantly to the increased use of Yorker balls which are completely opposite because they target toes of the batsmen. That may be because of the fact the Yorkers are more useful in taking the wickets which has been proved by phenomenal success of the greatest proponents of the art of Yorkers – the Waquar – Akram duo of Pakistan and more recently of Dale Steyn and Umar Gul. Another fact has also not helped and that is limiting the number of bouncers to 2 per over in Tests and 1 in ODI’s and T20’s. But no one can deny that nothing can match the “Awe” factor of a perfect bouncer and I hope these deliveries keep on continuing to enthrall the Cricket fans for generations to come….

Dialling a Pizza?? Grab a Vadapav !!

For some it is a snack, for some it is a meal and for others it is another piece of junk food but vada-pav has a special place in the appetite of every Indian whether rich or poor. The humble vada pav simple, tasty/spicy and of course cheap, available at every nook and corner selling for as little as 7 bucks (at least in surat) is savior of sort when you are hungry.

When I went to hostel I was like any other guy-had to leave home made food for the torturing food of hostel and finally when the torture exceeded all imaginations he looked up to road side kiosks/small restaurants for the evening snacks because they are the only place where you don’t burn a hole in the pocket. There on the same roadside, I used to see people eating the vadapav with sausage and the chilly. Initially it looked like something you must not ingest, and savoring its tantalizing flavors requires that you wilfully abandon all basic rules of gastronomy and hygiene. It was perhaps the least likely item I wanted to taste in my life but the Indian burger got me soon and it became a daily business to have bite of it with juice or coffee.

Theambience at a vadapav laari which no restaurant can provide is that you can find people of all sorts/strata of the society ranging from students to office goers biting into the piece of vada pav with “I’m loving it” faces. Soon I too became so obsessed with the ugly looking vadapav that even after getting a job vadapav easily found a special place in my evening snacks inspite of knowing that if I tell my folks that I eat a vadapav a day they are surely gonna kick my ass (no one can be as strict as the airforce/army parents when it comes to eating habits).

Though am going to leave Surat in some days for the dahi-parathas of Delhi but the evenings spent at the tea centre and the Vadapav laari at SVNIT are unforgettable, where along with friends eating vadapav, having a coffee with cigarette and watching pretty girls was always something more than fun.

No Pun intended: Marathi's are so fond of it that this year their State Finance Minister anounced to reduce the rate of tax on vada pav sold in restaurants to 5 per cent (from 12.5 per cent)..Please help this chap..do mumbaikars really eat vadapav at restaurants..may god help those who do..;-))

The Wish Coins

India is a place full of superstitions & inspite of modernization we still stick to the age old beliefs. It’s impious when you believe in India as growth engine to the world economy at one hand and at the other find people so grossly indulged in age old practices of spending money on deity’s. When u look at the contagion with which it has affected the people of India from rich to middle class to poor u can’t help itself giving it a thought.

There could be incidents when we all must have felt something of sort what I felt when I was travelling in train …For a particular time period which is like 60 to 70 seconds I see something really strange......Its the time when the train crosses over a river …

What’s so strange in that right??!! But when you see people of all kind from rich to poor,fatso's to slimmo's,aunties & uncles throwing coins in the river it does look strange..Its like "are they nuts"!!!

Each and every class of people do that, no matter whether they are highly educated or illiterate, its kind of mission for them. The moment train approaches a bridge over river the scene in the small compartment starts looking like of a circus with everyone having hands full of coins eagerly looking out of the window with a childish excitement, some smarter lot get ready in advance with a coin in the hand and others rush to find the lowest denomination coin from their pockets or wallets. Aiming between the pillars of the bridge they throw the coin down in river and fold their hands to get the blessings to fulfill their wishes.

 Is this way to wish something??Throwing coins in the river never makes sense to me…

It’s good to worship river as a God/Goddess if you believe in it, but money can’t buy god. It’s like you are paying your parents to take care of you and if it's about culture that’s not the only way to make a wish. Just folding hands with belief in thee is more apt than throwing coins, after all a river doesn't need money as a payback to whatever good it does for mankind.

What if coins were buoyant? If it would have been so imagine all the rivers covered up with a silver coat!!! Well, it reminds me the crow and water story…the story had a good ending, but if it happens here?? the bad ending of this story is not so far...!It may be blasphemous of me for whoever believes in throwing coins but if you are such a believer and do-gooder then save the coins in your pockets for the needy beggar on the next station. It may buy him a meal and get you the most precious & honest emotion exhibited by a human-the blessings.

Revolutions: Discerning the Blueprint

            A few days ago the hot news on every form of Media was Anna Hazare’s fast against the government policies, corruption and the lokpal bill. I thought this would be a failure as India’s middle class is always passive of corrupt politics unless their own interests are getting affected but the mass protests against the GOI shattered my belief. Recent Libian,Egyptian and ivory coast uprisings left me wondering how  a stable society can instantly be interrupted by revolution .It compelled me to look for the patterns all successful revolutions or uprisings had..

Types

When you look at the type of events shaping the Modern history the social movements can be categorized into two majors-(a) Reformative (b) Revolutionary. None of them are eternal; they have a life cycle of creation, growth, success/failures and eventual dissolution.

Dissatisfaction

You must be thinking poverty could be the reason because it is root cause of all the problems in the world, if this could be the reason then there would be revolutions all the time because most people in the world are poor. The main reason behind every revolution is the accumulating dissatisfaction among people over a period of time because of the bad socio-economic policies of the authoritarian or liberal societies.

Initiating Event

Every revolution needs a fueling moment; a spark to turn a million’s people discontent into a crowd on streets; an electrifying event that can fire up a public already deeply disillusioned with the system like the one Anna Hazare orchestrated in India, like the one Wael Ghonim pulled up in Egypt, the Tiananmen square for china, death of two students for Prague, mass incineration for Iran.

Participation

One of the major problems is to generate the spark and convince the people/ mass to the cause of revolution as everyone has a mentality of risk aversion. The rising popularity and widespread reach of social networking websites have played a big role in spreading & convincing the people to join a social movement but has also prompted governments like of China and Iran to enforce censorship of web and social networking sites.

Hijacking Important Places

Every revolution has gained momentum after hijacking of important places by mass protestors such as Tehrir Square in Egypt, Tiananmen Square in China,Jantar Mantar in India (Anna Baba’s fast).The ideology of movement gets associated with that particular place and has always helped in spreading the movement.

Success or failure

Every revolution comes to a point where either uprising topples the regime (success) or regime suppresses the uprising (failure) or the third way-negotiations, used in democracies where the movements are reformative and calls for a settlement. What collapses a regime is when insiders and men with guns turn against it, when the external pressure is in favour of change.

The recent "people power" revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and demonstrations led by Anna Hazare in India have shown complete or partial success. These revolutions followed large support of citizens, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with their governments.
 

It’s not easy to find a common pattern among all the revolutions but it can be noted that wherever the security forces and high profile citizens have shifted their loyalty to the mass movements the possibility of success has increased else if the senior officials and security forces think they have more to lose from the revolution than by defending the regime, then even the large scale protests have been crushed, Tiananmen square being the best example.

Nirvana Logo:Symbol of Grunge

We all must have at least listened to the famous song “Smells likes teen Spirit” which has been rated among top 100 greatest rock songs of all time by Rolling Stones and some must be even die hard fans of Kurt cobain/Nirvana Grunges but little may be known about the famous (or say “I think that its famous”) Nirvana Smiley-the one with the tongue out (a $3 sticker).

The Smiley has always been the perfect feelgood symbol of all times & dates back its origin to the era of 60’s when the first smiley face was adopted from a kids TV channel with a comic touch.When I see a smiley two pictures pop up-one the Forest Gump- Tom Hanks's mud-spattered T-shirt second the nirvana smiley logo of the official Nirvana Nevermind T-Shirt (you can buy one in $18).

So What was the Nirvana smiley which became a fad of such sort-Within a perfect circle, there is the simplest, most childlike depiction of a face: two vertical eyes made with cross and a large, upturned semi-circular mouth with tongue outside. Why he created it is known better to kurt himself as there are many theories behind it.

One of the most apt theory is that it is a picture of Axl rose Kurt Cobain drew during nevermind sessions and was used on the invitation for the never mind release party. The band mates just liked the smiley and started using it. Another story is that there was a popular place called 'The Acid House' which Kurt visited and they used a smiley as it's logo, that's where Nirvana got their idea for the modified smiley but the former explanation seems to be more justified than the latter because of numerous heated disputes that happened between Axl rose (lead vocalist of Gun’s N Roses) & Kurt Cobain after cobain declined twice to do the opening act for Gun’s N roses.

Some of the incidents which support it are like-At the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards Cobain's wife Courtney Love, jokingly asked Rose to be the godfather to their daughter, to which Axl replied "Why don't you shut your bitch up?" Kurt then allegedly turned to Courtney, and jokingly said "Shut up, bitch!" prompting an angry Rose to challenge Cobain to a fight, shout at him and call him a homosexual. Cobain later mocked the situation by saying "I couldn't help but laugh because I've never been in that kind of situation since the sixth grade."

Another comment which Cobain made was that one thing he likes about Gun’s N roses is that "They totally fuck things up and then they sit back and look at what they fucked up and then try to figure out how they can fix it, whereas we fuck things up and just dwell on it and make it even worse."

The incidents clearly point that the bands didn’t like each other & it was kurt’s stab to Axl as the smiley was like a mockery of Axl rose, something like the phrase in his suicide note "Better to burn out than fade away"

Though kurt didn’t live to see the craze of the logo or the famous Nirvana Smiley he drew, still after so many years the smiley smells like teen spirit on the Official Nirvana Tees & has become cult tattoo youngsters love to have.