The three things that get you most when it’s raining in Hyderabad are:
1) the sights: everything is wet, there are lots of puddles underneath and some streets are indistinguishable from whitewater rapids.
2) The sounds: apart from the rain, which can be deafening at times, there are plenty more honking horns, trilling bicycle bells, kids playing in the rain, parents yelling at their kids to NOT play in the rain, and the occasional sound of a large,mostly metal object on wheels that looks almost entirely unlike a car crashing into another.
3) The smells: you want a fucking trip? here’s the assortment: you get: the diesel fumes from various heavy vehicles including buses, small trucks, autorickshaws mixed in with the stench of lord-knows-how-many-days of public urination and rotting garbage mixed in with the scents of many many delicious deep-fried items being cooked in the corner and being eaten by kids whose parents are yet again yelling at them not to, the smells from the flower seller on the street corner, the wafting aromas of different dinners being prepared, coffees, soups, and other specialities involving cardamom, saffron, cinnamon, cloves, and many other spices.
The monsoons are great, but you have to get used to the REALLY highs consorting with the lowliest of lows.
Welllllll here’s the ultra-dramatic photo from the eclipse of today. the clouds kept threatening to ruin the day, but they didnt do too much in the end.
In other news, my eyes hate me, and have caused a headache
but sometimes you don’t realize that there may be a tsunami coming behind it
[...] Professor Nouriel Roubini of New York University, one of the first economists to warn of the dangers of the American house price boom, believes the number of people positively choosing to walk away is growing rapidly.
“This is becoming a tsunami of voluntary defaults,” Professor Roubini says.
“The losses for the financial system from people walking away could be of the order of one trillion dollars when the entire capital of the US banking system is only $1.3 trillion.
“You could have most of the US banking system wiped out, so this is a total disaster.”
time to start buying zippered mattresses folks!
From:
On Monday US trade official David Shark criticised India for rejecting the package and China for backing out of the terms it agreed to last week.
He accused them of being overly-protective towards their own farmers and failing to do enough to open their markets.
“Their actions have thrown the entire Doha round into the gravest jeopardy of its nearly seven-year life,” Mr Shark said.
now if that isn’t the funniest thing ever, i don’t know what is. oh wait.. i just have to read further:
France said the deal being worked out in Geneva was unacceptable, as it failed to show any real progress to protect European industrial interests in the face of emerging economies. The deal calls for cutting the limit on European farm subsidies by 80% and US payments by 70% to about $14.5bn (£7.25bn).
However, this would not mean the US would have to cut its actual spending on support to farmers, which totalled about $9bn last year.
now THAT’s genuine humour material
who would have guessed that Santa Claus is in reality a mass-murderer? and that he wears a straw fedora off duty?
in other news, i have no joy left and am considering jumping off this delightful place(not really, but i am feeling a little down)
sorry for another non-post, it’s been a draining kinda day.. but wordle makes up for it
if you have not yet seen the dark knight, go forth and add to warner bros’ kitty. it’s a superhero movie set entirely in the worlds of grey, as promised in ‘begins’. nolan brings the heavy, and pushes through enough action and blends in enough effects to keep you hooked throughout the movie.
So lately, I’ve been actually going to movies instead of watching them on the TV. One of the most-hyped and possibly most innovative mass-market Indian film of the year is called Dashavataram. The story is similar to something that Michael Bay would make, or at least as close as you can get in Indian cinema these days and it cost a boatload of money to make.
For the non-Indians/Hindus in the audience, the title Dashavataram literally means ‘10 Incarnations’ and is a reference to the mythological 10 incarnations of Vishnu. In the movie, it is Kamal Haasan who is playing 10 different characters including the the hero(an Indian biotech scientist in the USA), villain(an Ex-CIA hitman), a Japanese Sensei, a couple of (fictional)historical characters and even George W Bush. The movie is quite long by Hollywood standards, but about average for an Indian movie.
Let’s start with the low points:
1) 10 characters is too many. If not for the title, there would have been no need for 3 of the characters
2) Casting: Apart from Kamal, most everyone else puts in a disappointing performance
3) CGI/ VFX: Despite a huge budget, it was clearly not enough. Except for the first few minutes and then at the end, there is plenty of laxity in the effects department.
4) The Female lead: would have probably been better played by Kamal Hassan again.
5) The Violence: well, you may say, it’s an action film but I didn’t expect this quantity of violence and to be honest, gore, from the movie. But be warned there’s plenty.
Let’s get to the good stuff:
1) 10 characters, 1 guy: great concept, great execution(with the caveats mentioned above). I suggest you watch the movie solely for this performance.
2) Scripting/Screenwriting: Well done overall. The pacing is superb and the overall plot is well managed. Of course, there are some holes and some parts that require a mountain of salt to be swallowed(that’s a pun you’ll get if you watch the movie)
3) Did I mention Kamal Hassan’s excellent acting performance? It was really good.
4) The parts of the movie which attempt to perform social commentary are put together without going into a preachy mode.
5) Someone had to do it. The effort put into such a huge production(By indian standards) hopefully raises the bar for future action movies. This is a great relief since the other ‘hollywood-esque’ movie this year bombed miserably.
If it’s playing in a theater near you, do go watch it. It’s a great summer movie overall. I wouldn’t recommend taking your kids to it unless they’re at least 15-16 years old.
*DLDS = Day(s) Late, Dollar(s) Short
