Trivial courtesies

 Culture & Society, Football, Sport  2 Responses »
Dec 292006
 

The basic courtesies make sport not only pleasurable but possible. Without courtesies, however lame, however insincere, there is no sport. If sport wasn’t only a game, it wouldn’t be sport. We don’t pay good money to see two gangs of men who hate each other try to rip each other’s heads off; we pay to see them kick a bladder about and, by doing so, create mayhem and grace, fire and brimstone, triumph and disaster.

Sport matters more than ever before, in terms of money, prestige, size of audience. The stakes have never been higher. It is harder and harder for a professional athlete or coach to understand the great contradiction at the heart of sport: that sport matters only because it doesn’t matter, that sport requires heart-and-soul commitment to something that lacks all trace of life-and-death importance.

Why do players and managers shake hands before and after a game while they bay for blood in the meanwhile? In a stinging attack on José Mourinho, Simon Barnes (of The Times) explains the need for trivial, and often meaningless, courtesies, and how they make the world a much better place. One of the best sports pieces of the year!

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 2:10 pm

Will and Martin

 Cricket, People  1 Response »
Dec 282006
 

The Ashes is becoming more and more humiliating for England with every passing day. And two guys are doing their best to ensure it. Not McGrath and Warne, nor is it Ponting and Hussey.

Will Luke and Martin Williamson are the folks that commentate on Cricinfo.com during the Ashes, and their attack of England is scathing, but extremely humourous – in the Ted Corbett mode. Sample some from the closing day of the Boxing Day test…

We have had a couple of emails arguing that this is the worst England tail ever. I offer this as my suggestion that makes this tail look world class … Irani, Caddick, Mullally, Tufnell, Giddins

Pietersen is padded up…the rumour is that he’ll finally bat at No.4. The other rumour is he doesn’t want to…believe what you will

Right, get your coats – someone call a taxi. This will all be over rather shortly I fear

What a nut that was! Murali would’ve been proud. Prodigious movement. England aren’t yet cooked, but they’re in a hole approaching cavernous proportions…Pietersen storms off like a child who, forced to try something by his parents, fails and is about to launch into a burst of “I told you so …”

Several emailers have asked if the two sides are likely to play a Twenty20 match tomorrow if this game ends today, given that so many tickets have been sold. I think that there is more chance of Duncan Fletcher doing a naked lap of dishonour while singing The Sun Has Got His Hat On.

For the 43rd time this series Ian Botham, commenting on Stuart Clark, says “Well, he’s a clone of McGrath. But, I tell you – I wouldn’t mind a clone of McGrath in my team. Would you?”

Excellent ball that – late swing, too. For the optimists among you, England only trail by 152 (Flintoff had just got out. England were five down, and defeat was imminent)

Great work, guys! Just can’t wait for the fifth test!

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 3:11 pm

Like a Queen…

 Culture & Society, News, People  2 Responses »
Dec 272006
 

That Queen Elizabeth would podcast her Christmas message became a popular news story. However, the message itself was excellent. It combined the wisdom and the fears of a conservative family woman who has seen the world transform rapidly, mostly for the worse — terrorism, insecurity, the disintegration of the family. A short, but good read (link)…

I am reminded of a lady of about my age who was asked by an earnest, little granddaughter the other day: “Granny, can you remember the Stone Age?”

Whilst that may be going a bit far, the older generation are able to give a sense of context, as well as the wisdom of experience which can be invaluable.

Such advice and comfort are probably needed more often than younger people admit or older people recognise.

I hope that this is something that all of us, young or old, can reflect on at this special time of year.

Those who make a case for scrapping the royalty must take into account that the Queen does deliver her speeches well. Now, can Dubya do that?

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 11:01 am

Music review: Pokkiri

 Music, Tamil  15 Responses »
Dec 192006
 

Chanced to listen to the soundtrack of Pokkiri (Tamil) yesterday. Have been listening to it ever since. A friend tells me that some / most of the songs are carbon copies of the originalPokkiri Telugu soundtrack. Haven’t listened to them, so these tracks sound fresh to me. My thoughts on the album…

1. Dol Dol Thaan ( “Mirchi” Suchitra, Ranjith): Some kind of wild song, at least the lyrics are to that effect — “puli maanai vettai dhaan aadidume kaattil… maan puliyai vettai aadum idam kattil”. Suchi’s voice suits the tone of the song. This isn’t the kind we would classify peppy (as most songs of this type are), slow in fact, but the beats are excellent, and you’d find yourself foot-tapping instantly. The way the male voice blends in the “aayla aayla adi aariyamaala…” refrain is the highlight of the song.

2. Aadungada (Naveen): If this isn’t the introduction song for Vijay, then we should all surrender our Ph.Ds in Tamil movies. The song starts with the kind of beat we’ve grown accustomed to since Podhuvaaga En Manasu Thangam (Murattu Kaalai). The lyric has all the elements of an intro song for Vijay — some random advice about mothers, love, work ethic etc. Nothing new, good nevertheless.

3. Nee Mutham Ondru Koduththaal (Ranjith, “Mirchi” Suchitra): An inexpensive alternative to your next aerobics album. Probably the only melody in the whole album; at least, this is what you’d label a melody in a soundtrack that is for the best part anything but. The lyrics, I couldn’t understand much, but the lyricist seems to get into some infinite loop about Tamil every so often. The remixed version doesn’t sound much different either. But hey, doesn’t the song remind you of “mere sapno ki rani, kab aayagi tu?”

4. Maambazhamaam (Shankar Mahadevan, Ganga): So Mani Sharma had to give Shankar Mahadevan a song, and couldn’t find anything better… Okayish, if you like inane, pointless stuff, or if you’re a member of Vijay’s fanatics club, but otherwise a skip-me track.

5. En Chella Peru Apple ( “Mirchi” Suchitra, A.V. Ramanan): On listening to this song, a friend asked me if Mani Sharma composed music for the Madhavan-starrer Jay Jay. This song reminds you rather too easily of the “May Maasam” song (yeah, the one about Reema Sen’s electoral rights). I wish Mani had given A.V. Ramanan something better. This is probably the intro song for Asin… so in the movie hall, you might not want to miss it; otherwise, move on!

6. Vasantha Mullai (Rahul Nambiyar, Krishnamurthy): The pick of the album. Even as you read the name of track, you know it is a remix of the old favourite from Saarangadhara. But it isn’t a straight remix (if some such term exists). The song starts on some kind of “nakkal” music, which would make you chuckle about the way most old songs open. The beats are awesome, another foot-tapping number… it is hard to see how you might not like it. The nakkal extends to the lyrics as well — “kaadhal enbathu aandhaiyai pole, night muzhuvathum muzhikkum… kamban veettu naayai pole, kavidhayaa adhu koraikkum!” This is one for your Top 10 list!

7. Pokkiri – Theme: A let-down, considering that the track opens with a lot of promise, but then some unintelligible sounds and lyrics creep in, destroying the effect. Someone tell me why should a theme song have a 30-second refrain, “Soap maari… soap maari” or something like that.

Overall verdict: Very good, if not excellent; go for it; good work by Mani Sharma… you can expect the movie to have an extended run just for the soundtrack!

You can listen to all the songs online at MusicIndiaOnline > Pokkiri.

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 7:28 pm

Apple’s big gamble

 Tech  4 Responses »
Dec 192006
 

Question: Which product has spawned fan groups, blogs, forums, design reviews, product reviews, specs, development roadmaps etc, even before anyone knows if it is in development at all?

Answer: The Apple iPhone.

There have been rumours and rumours, to the extent that all of us believe that the marriage between the iPod and the phone is underway. These rumours had gathered a lot of weight after Kevin Rose (of Digg fame) revealed that the device would be unveiled at MacWorld.

Many blogs give out their own version of how the iPhone would look. You should take a look at the Apple iPhone concept blog, which has collected numerous such designs…

Prospective design of Apple iPhoneProspective design of Apple iPhone (2)Prospective design of Apple iPhone (3)Prospective design of Apple iPhone (4)

And so when news of the iPhone release came yesterday, it is only logical to expect, despite the anticipation, that it was all too sudden. The surprise though was that the iPhone wasn’t released by Apple, but by Cisco Systems. Cisco had, a few years ago, bought out a company that had registered the iPhone brand. News is that the Cisco / Linksys iPhone series offers users the ability to make calls through Skype (and probably other providers of Internet telephony).

So much for the iPhone then! But we can expect Apple to come up with another cool name. Anything other than Zune should sound cool, right?

Whatever the name, there are doubts if Apple can pull off another marketing coup that catapulted the iPod to stardom. Whereas the market for digital music players was new when the iPod was first launched, and is now being controlled by Apple still, the mobile phone market is crowded with well-established players. Names like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG and SonyEricsson won’t be easy scalps for Apple.

Moreover these companies have now realised the craze for music and are in the process of enhancing the music-playing capabilities of their phones. It is not uncommon to come across phones with more than 2GB of space for storing music – decent enough to please a good portion of the crowd. Considering also that such phones cost just about the same as an iPod, it would to tough to push through a similar device that is more expensive (rumours are that the Apple iPhone is expected to priced at around 300 to 500 dollars).

The designs are cool, but it looks like the odds are stacked against Apple. But we never know, Apple can pull off another big gamble still!

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 10:16 am

Iraq and Philippines

 News  8 Responses »
Dec 182006
 

The Hindu carries an interesting article (reprinted from The Guardian, UK) by Daniel Whitaker that compares the Iraq invasion to the American occupation of the Philippines a century ago. Mr. Whitaker bemoans the fact the US overlooked a parallel in history…

…the Americans had not done their research on the people, nor did they have any detailed plans of how to administer the country. The U.S. organised elections, but was disappointed with the politicians who emerged. It spent millions of dollars improving infrastructure, but won over few hearts and minds.

Back home, enthusiasm for the war eroded. Celebrities and intellectuals voiced opposition. Even big U.S. businesses that were close to the White House started to lose faith in the supposed commercial opportunities the occupation might offer. Eventually this was reflected in the polls and by 1912 the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, ending years of Republican domination.

But shouldn’t Mr. Whitaker have written this four years ago?

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 11:49 am

Champions League draws

 Football  9 Responses »
Dec 152006
 

Couldn’t be better for a United fan, as the Reds draw Lille, probably the easiest opponents. At least considering that Man U could have been drawn against Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Roma, Lille look like godsend. I think United lost against Lille away last year, but this time, Sir Alex’s men should master the French job with ease.

Probably the most mouth-watering tie is Liverpool v/s Barcelona (of course, any game featuring Barca is worth watching). Barcelona should welcome back Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi from the treatment room. I’ll put my money on the Catalans to win this.

Chelsea have a relatively easy draw against Mourinho’s former club, FC Porto. Celtic play out-of-form AC Milan, while the other Milanese team, Inter have been drawn against old foes Valencia.

Arsenal have been handed a tough fixture against PSV Eindhoven, while Real Madrid have a really tough tie against Bayern Munich, the Germans having probably the stingiest defence in Europe. French champions Lyon will have to do battle with Totti’s Roma.

I predict Man U, Barca, Chelsea, Milan, Inter, Arsenal, Bayern and Lyon to make it to the quarterfinals. The last-16 will be played on Feb 20/21 and March 6/7.

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 5:04 pm

Compassion and incompetence

 Miscellaneous  4 Responses »
Dec 042006
 

You’ve surely received this mail previously, haven’t you? Many times everyday…

Recently, in Bangalore, a young girl was being treated for a heart ailment. She was responding well to treatment, until…

 

Doctors realised that there were fluctuations in the life support system. And after prolonged fluctuations, the device collapsed, taking the girl’s life.

 

It was found later that the culprit behind this tragic incident was a mobile phone user who was using his hand phone too close to the Critical Care Unit. The signals from the mobile phone interfered with the life support system, leading to the crash and ultimately to the girl’s death.

 

Be compassionate. Do not use mobile phones in hospitals, petrol bunks and aircrafts.

I do not know how much truth there is in the above email, but the logic sounds appalling. The real culprit is the company that designed and fabricated the life support device. The company should be sued for incompetence.

Is it not possible to design a device as critical as this in a way as to not interfere with civilian frequencies? Surely operating frequencies of devices can be pegged higher than those used by personal electronic devices. What next? The device crashed because a local FM radio station beamed its broadcasts at a frequency that interefered with the device’s operation? Someone was talking inside the operation theater and the device collapsed because the operating frequency was within the audible range?

E-mails like the one above play with our conscience by turning needlessly imperative: “Be compassionate” , “Have a heart” and the like. Compassion, yes. We should be “pro-life” at least within the hospital. But then that shouldn’t be driven because of incompetence.

P.S.: As an aside, has anyone found out whether the phone user in question was related to the girl, and was actually trying to arrange for blood, finances, etc?

 Posted by Vijay Narayanan at 5:40 pm
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