Vijay Narayanan on June 30th, 2008

I am of the opinion that an actor, however much talented he might be, must be an egomaniac if he makes a movie just to beat an existing record for the maximum number of on-screen roles. But then, most actors are egomaniacs. In fact, most people are egotists, so there isn’t anything wrong in a [...]

Continue reading about Kamal, Vaali, Rajni, Vairamuthu…

Vijay Narayanan on June 28th, 2008

Of all the comments that I have come across concerning Dasavathaaram, this one was the best. The sentence in bold was ROTFL-ly funny.
From Shrinivas’ Seven Point Someone:
“The idol that is drowned in the sea along with Rangarajan in 12th century by Chozha king results in a fault being developed at the bottom of the ocean [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 27th, 2008

It was from a friend’s status message on Google Talk (“Chennaiyil oru bhookamba kaalam”) that I came to know that Chennai had felt the aftershocks of an earthquake that rocked the Andamans. Was glad to know that there was no damage reported to either life or property.
This is the fouth reported earthquake to hit Chennai [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 27th, 2008

Yesterday, as I was heading to work in the morning, I was waiting at the intersection of two busy streets sandwiched amidst a group of 20 other people, for the signal to indicate “Walk”.
Suddenly, at the next light, a couple of cars came to a screeching halt and all of us turned to our right [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 26th, 2008

Ever since I used a Kindle a couple of months ago, I have been meaning to write a post about it. But as with such “meaning to write” topics, this one never took off.
Seth Godin, marketing guru, has a fabulous post about the Kindle, and analyzes the product from different perspectives. A highly recommended read.

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Vijay Narayanan on June 21st, 2008

Some people, in fact, most people delight themselves by employing confounding jargon from time to time. Legal-ese and business-ese rhyme with disease and not without reason!
In a funny turn of events, British authorities have been warned against using words like synergies, stakeholders and sustainable communities because such terms confuse people. (To be honest, I don’t [...]

Continue reading about King’s English, please

Vijay Narayanan on June 21st, 2008

A story I tell often.
There was this old rabbi somewhere in Russia, who would visit a synagogue near the town square every morning. Not a day had he skipped this routine. A policeman patroling the square did not like Jews, and he hated the sight of the rabbi passing him each morning. He wanted to [...]

Continue reading about “I don’t know.”

Vijay Narayanan on June 21st, 2008

A short while ago, I spotted a firefly (Tamil: minmini) outside my window. I don’t remember when last I saw a firefly; 15 years ago, maybe.
Almost instinctively, I started humming “indha minminikku kaNNil oru minnal vandhadhu.” (video)

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Vijay Narayanan on June 19th, 2008

Yesterday, President Bush issued a statement that Congress should lift the ban on offshore oil drilling off the US coastline. The best reason he could think of for this was the 4-dollar-a-gallon gas. Immediately, Senator McCain, who is increasingly looking like George Dubya Bush the Third, concurred with the President and thought offshore drilling is [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 17th, 2008

… is a company sans pareil. (Here’s one reason why.)

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Vijay Narayanan on June 17th, 2008

Today I heard someone talk about preserving the history and heritage of towns and cities. During this, he referred to the city of Chester, Pennsylvania. The city, it seems, had a historic sign (now taken down, sadly) which read “What Chester makes makes Chester.” Which quote bowled the listeners over.
This set met thinking on a [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 15th, 2008

Oregon has a city called Salem. Just came to know that there is also a Madras in Oregon. Now looking to see if there is a Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli or Rameswaram.

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Vijay Narayanan on June 14th, 2008

Vaazhthugal is the stupidest movie ever made. EVER!

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Vijay Narayanan on June 10th, 2008

Only in Philadelphia… will the trains run 15 minutes late on a clear, even hot summer evening in June, due to “weather-related” problems!

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Vijay Narayanan on June 6th, 2008

Image via WikipediaAs we all know, Hillary Clinton will suspend her campaign tomorrow, and will endorse Senator Obama. I was wondering what she will say tomorrow, considering she has been bitter especially over the past few months.
I am not going to write out an entire speech here, but going by the way she has plugged for [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 4th, 2008

Image via WikipediaCarlo Ancelotti has, according to reports, rejected an offer to manage Chelsea Football Club. The offer is known to be in the range of 6 million pounds a year, effectively double his current contract with AC Milan.
Ancelotti’s snub reveals the extent to which top managers in Europe think unfavorably of the Chelsea job. In terms [...]

Continue reading about The poisoned chalice

Vijay Narayanan on June 3rd, 2008

Image by jurvetson via FlickrSenator Barack Obama has some bad news. It is rumored that Hillary Clinton wants to be his running mate.
Many pundits have been of the opinion that Clinton would not seek to be Obama’s Vice President, and that she would rather aspire for a bigger, more powerful role in the Senate. Some [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 3rd, 2008

Suryan FM 93.5 is streaming their Chennai radio programs live online. Just go to their website, register for free and start listening (kELunga, kELunga, kEttukittE irunga!).
I had already written about Aahaa FM which streams live online.
In case you are interested in the URL for the streams:

Aahaa FM — mms://74.54.85.4/AahaaFM or rtsp://74.54.85.4/AahaaFM
Suriyan FM — mms://66.180.172.26/suryanFMchennai or [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on June 1st, 2008

Of the four (Tamil) movies that I have watched this year, this is definitely the most entertaining. Well, what can I say? Genelia D’Souza for President!
After watching the movie, I was discussing it with a friend. He had heard that it was a remake, so he asked me if I knew if it was so. [...]

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