Posts
All that was to be done was to copy a couple of folders containing a few files of coding(used to solve Equations of State if you are wondering) and adapt them for my use. But Vista had other plans.
Indexing is a very useful tool, no doubt, because it scans the contents of every folder you open and keeps it ready in case you search for a file later on. I have no problems with that. But what I noticed and confirmed with Googling is that it indexes while we are doing work also - in other words unlike other indexing software it does not index only when the system is idle.
So when I copied the folder from the usb stick to my laptop and opened it, Vista started indexing. It started and wouldn't finish, going on forever. I agree the problem could be with only folders containing some files of coding or dat files, but even then, it's an unnecessary pain. Now since the previous day was snow day and continuous lab was essentially cancelled, prof had some time - but time is not worth wasting. But hey - Vista's got all the time in the world.
Prof gave up after the folders hang. He told me to fix it. I remembered coming across an option to turn off indexing, so I right clicked the folder on one higher level and unchecked the indexing. Done, I thought.
So we opened it again, but no avail. The green bar would start its pilgrimage across the address bar. Now his laptop specifically runs XP - I mean specifically because Vista had already fallen out of his favour. So he gave the laptop to me to fix it once and for all.
Control Panel had an Indexing Option icon, I recalled. Unselected all the folders there. No effect.
Googled and with that help went to Start Menu Search>Services>Windows Search>Properties. Stopped search and Disabled it. Nope. Looks like Indexing was on a war path to reaching its goal no matter what.
Now my patience was running out. Wasn't that supposed to fix the problem? Isn't that why those options are provided?
I tried Starting and Stopping in the Options again, toggling it. I tried after switching UAC back on(User Account Control -yeah I had killed that a long time - and you should too. It too is in the Control Panel). I tried the Services panel again. Na.
And did I mention all the time wasted while CPU usage reached 100% and I had to wait for Ctrl-Alt-Del to take effect and then wait till Task Manager appeared and then kill Explorer... Oh, by the way, I had to kill explorer every time I tested it.
Finally I realised I could stop indexing C drive itself. It said, OK, I will do it for you. And took 20 minutes to apply the 'no-indexing' policy to all the folders in it, which is basically all my files.
Thankfully at the end of the day after time spent with no progress, thankfully the necessary folders did not crash and some copying and modifying was done though incomplete. Yet, I may be overlooking something here, the green bar still races through the address bar for some folders.
That's it, Vista has ultimately lost the last few scraps of respect I had gathered for it inspite of its early debacles, for hindering productivity and frustrating prof to the point of anger. In the process it got a few choice words for Microsoft and Bill Gates and his 'one step back' software too. Windows 7 better be really special and cheap for Vista users, Mr. Gates. Ballmer is in, but Gates is responsible for this.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
How spammers know email id is legit: Embedded images
I never anticipated this, I am embarrassed not to have seen through it.
Spam, if you open them, inspite of them going to your spam folder, sometimes contain embedded images. Gmail blocks these and instead has a link 'Display images from...'. But I never realised that out of curiosity, whenever I viewed those images, I was telling spammers to spam me more.
Turns out, when the image(which is stored on his server) is viewed, it flags my email address - saying I open spam email and will do so in the future. Moreover, since the time the image is accessed - since it is from an external server - will show not only that you opened the email but also when you opened the email.
This is also why I have recieved newsletters and promos with a few images here and there - they are validating the emails on their list, giving them valuable information as to what time of the day their emails are being read, and also the IP addresses of their readers - giving them a geographical distribution.
Such a simple 'hack' has a lot of potential uses. You can send an email with an embedded image - and using the imgae logs you can show the person opened the email with an intention to read it, as this post shows. I was searching for stuff related to Google talk and this post caught my attention. As he also mentions, it delivers your IP address... So you can potentially know where your friend who has gone into hiding is reading his emails from(or which end proxy he is using). Or if the email is being misused by someone else. Of course, this is with the assumption that he choses to display the images in Gmail or is using some other mail provider automatically showing embedded images.
I am considering not allowing images on the one or two useless newsletters I get and never opening spam again.
Spam, if you open them, inspite of them going to your spam folder, sometimes contain embedded images. Gmail blocks these and instead has a link 'Display images from...'. But I never realised that out of curiosity, whenever I viewed those images, I was telling spammers to spam me more.
Turns out, when the image(which is stored on his server) is viewed, it flags my email address - saying I open spam email and will do so in the future. Moreover, since the time the image is accessed - since it is from an external server - will show not only that you opened the email but also when you opened the email.
This is also why I have recieved newsletters and promos with a few images here and there - they are validating the emails on their list, giving them valuable information as to what time of the day their emails are being read, and also the IP addresses of their readers - giving them a geographical distribution.
Such a simple 'hack' has a lot of potential uses. You can send an email with an embedded image - and using the imgae logs you can show the person opened the email with an intention to read it, as this post shows. I was searching for stuff related to Google talk and this post caught my attention. As he also mentions, it delivers your IP address... So you can potentially know where your friend who has gone into hiding is reading his emails from(or which end proxy he is using). Or if the email is being misused by someone else. Of course, this is with the assumption that he choses to display the images in Gmail or is using some other mail provider automatically showing embedded images.
I am considering not allowing images on the one or two useless newsletters I get and never opening spam again.
Friday, January 23, 2009
PPAB wants all flights grounded
The People for Proper Attitude to Birds wants all US continental flights scheduled between November and February grounded. In a press release issued this morning, a spokesman for the group said this was the only way to ensure that Geese in migration are not affected in any way.
This extreme step was necessary days after a flock of geese died after striking a US passenger flight, the spokesman said. The exact number of deaths is not yet known; the group has recruited about 150 volunteers to validate their migratory observations to get a conclusive estimate. They are awaiting data from their personnel who monitor such migration 24 hours a day. No persons lost their lives, however.
The scientific branch of the PPAB has also swung into action, looking into special carbon nano-fibre suits, which can be put on gooslings, and will increase in size with them. These suits will offer Geese higher manoueverability in a shorter time, helping them avoid planes better, the PPAB was quoted from their website. All aircraft should be grounded atleast while these special suits are rolled out, the spokesman added.
The NTSB and FAA had no comment on this issue.
The PPAB is a very vocal pro-bird group which guard the lives of birds all over the country. Their most recent case was their demand for a special overpass in rural areas to allow for chickens to cross the road without drivers constantly asking them why they were crossing.
\This post has been labeled faux and is a fascination by the author of the overtly moronic demands made by real groups.
This extreme step was necessary days after a flock of geese died after striking a US passenger flight, the spokesman said. The exact number of deaths is not yet known; the group has recruited about 150 volunteers to validate their migratory observations to get a conclusive estimate. They are awaiting data from their personnel who monitor such migration 24 hours a day. No persons lost their lives, however.
The scientific branch of the PPAB has also swung into action, looking into special carbon nano-fibre suits, which can be put on gooslings, and will increase in size with them. These suits will offer Geese higher manoueverability in a shorter time, helping them avoid planes better, the PPAB was quoted from their website. All aircraft should be grounded atleast while these special suits are rolled out, the spokesman added.
The NTSB and FAA had no comment on this issue.
The PPAB is a very vocal pro-bird group which guard the lives of birds all over the country. Their most recent case was their demand for a special overpass in rural areas to allow for chickens to cross the road without drivers constantly asking them why they were crossing.
\This post has been labeled faux and is a fascination by the author of the overtly moronic demands made by real groups.
Delhi-6 music by ARR
Masakali is brilliant - especially the opening tune. The male voice fits the setting beautifully. Everytime I listen to it I feel like dancing but end up twitching mimicking dancing. So chirpy.
Dil Gira Dafatan is the offset un-ringtonable soothing melody identifiable only if both voice and music are combined, which will become the breakout tune for the movie.
Rappy Delhi 6(the song)'s French rap is a rehash from Aye Bachchu from the Hindi Ghajini, so if ever I listen to it it will be with a feeling of conviction.
Bhor Bhaye seems to be purposely made for a one generation-removed dance setting.
Genda Phool sounds like a folk song set to modern beats, it would have been a trance song if it had been slower.
Aarti is a bhakti chant; Arziyan is a Sufi chant I guess, whose beginning is like Khwaja from Jodha Akbar.
Rehna Tu makes you ponder into the far depths of your soul trying to make sense of life. The Doordarshan-theme-like inset towards the end of the song is interesting.
The promos look inviting; Abhishek seems to deliver a natural and outgoing performance. Sonam Kapoor looks pretty good but will have to wait for the film to judge her acting. The movie looks like a page out of a guy's stay in the pot pourri of Delhi city, with a romantic touch. A must watch, at least for the music. And Abhishek. And Sonam.
It better be good!
Dil Gira Dafatan is the offset un-ringtonable soothing melody identifiable only if both voice and music are combined, which will become the breakout tune for the movie.
Rappy Delhi 6(the song)'s French rap is a rehash from Aye Bachchu from the Hindi Ghajini, so if ever I listen to it it will be with a feeling of conviction.
Bhor Bhaye seems to be purposely made for a one generation-removed dance setting.
Genda Phool sounds like a folk song set to modern beats, it would have been a trance song if it had been slower.
Aarti is a bhakti chant; Arziyan is a Sufi chant I guess, whose beginning is like Khwaja from Jodha Akbar.
Rehna Tu makes you ponder into the far depths of your soul trying to make sense of life. The Doordarshan-theme-like inset towards the end of the song is interesting.
The promos look inviting; Abhishek seems to deliver a natural and outgoing performance. Sonam Kapoor looks pretty good but will have to wait for the film to judge her acting. The movie looks like a page out of a guy's stay in the pot pourri of Delhi city, with a romantic touch. A must watch, at least for the music. And Abhishek. And Sonam.
It better be good!
Friday, January 16, 2009
What does -23 deg C feel like?
What does sub 20 degrees Celcius weather feel? So far the lowest I had encountered while outdoors was a measly -10, so it was exciting to experience lower temperatures.
You feel like coughing after your first couple of breaths as you step outside; the lungs need a few seconds of cold air to adjust.
Whatever mucus you have in your nostrils hardens, as you inhale, you have to expand your nostrils by force to avoid the clumped feeling. It is similar to stretching your hand after leaving a layer of Fevicol for 5 minutes.
The clothes for temperatures no lower than -10 C will seem insufficient by the end of the 10 minute walk to the unviersity. One more set(after inner wear, shirt, winter jacket with hood, first pant and jeans, half-work style gloves and ear warmers) should do.
The ends of your fingers, though inside gloves, will feel as numb as a piece of wood, if not inside kept inside pockets.
Of course, there's usually snow around. All of it. Whatever came down will remain, unless on private or university-public property which will be cleared for people to use. Less used sidewalks will be fluffy and ankle deep for you to step in for a late morning workout. A couple of days later, the latter mentioned snow gets compacted - sometimes into ice - for a great free lesson in skating. Walking on a thin layer of snow is somewhat akin to walking on sand - a grinding effect - the sand/snow gets pushed back as you back.
What if you want to walk in even deeper snow? Like calf-deep? I love doing it - but there's only one problem. The boots I wear are upto my ankles, but in deeper snow, as I put my foot down, the jeans lift up - and as I bring my foot back up snow enters the shoe - resulting in a momentary cool feeling. If it weren't for this, I would be walking all the way in the snow.
Then there is wind chill - which is basically the effect of higher wind speed resulting in lower 'feels like' temperatures than the above mentioned air temperatures. So -23 deg C was the air temperature; wind chill, which is the temperature the skin feels it to be, must have been around -30 deg C.
Indoors, you cannot risk turning off heaters - or a higher temperature will have to be set on the thermostat - or left on for longer at lower levels - in spite of the blanket-comforter combo.
A beard(hard luck, ladies) is most welcome, if you ask me, to help in insulating my so-so handsome face, much to the chagrin of my dad.
Well, all this will be forgotten when I get to the lab-room and get easy in the 'room temperature'. New tourist destination to add to my wishlist: Minnesota/Canada in the dead of winter.
You feel like coughing after your first couple of breaths as you step outside; the lungs need a few seconds of cold air to adjust.
Whatever mucus you have in your nostrils hardens, as you inhale, you have to expand your nostrils by force to avoid the clumped feeling. It is similar to stretching your hand after leaving a layer of Fevicol for 5 minutes.
The clothes for temperatures no lower than -10 C will seem insufficient by the end of the 10 minute walk to the unviersity. One more set(after inner wear, shirt, winter jacket with hood, first pant and jeans, half-work style gloves and ear warmers) should do.
The ends of your fingers, though inside gloves, will feel as numb as a piece of wood, if not inside kept inside pockets.
Of course, there's usually snow around. All of it. Whatever came down will remain, unless on private or university-public property which will be cleared for people to use. Less used sidewalks will be fluffy and ankle deep for you to step in for a late morning workout. A couple of days later, the latter mentioned snow gets compacted - sometimes into ice - for a great free lesson in skating. Walking on a thin layer of snow is somewhat akin to walking on sand - a grinding effect - the sand/snow gets pushed back as you back.
What if you want to walk in even deeper snow? Like calf-deep? I love doing it - but there's only one problem. The boots I wear are upto my ankles, but in deeper snow, as I put my foot down, the jeans lift up - and as I bring my foot back up snow enters the shoe - resulting in a momentary cool feeling. If it weren't for this, I would be walking all the way in the snow.
Then there is wind chill - which is basically the effect of higher wind speed resulting in lower 'feels like' temperatures than the above mentioned air temperatures. So -23 deg C was the air temperature; wind chill, which is the temperature the skin feels it to be, must have been around -30 deg C.
Indoors, you cannot risk turning off heaters - or a higher temperature will have to be set on the thermostat - or left on for longer at lower levels - in spite of the blanket-comforter combo.
A beard(hard luck, ladies) is most welcome, if you ask me, to help in insulating my so-so handsome face, much to the chagrin of my dad.
Well, all this will be forgotten when I get to the lab-room and get easy in the 'room temperature'. New tourist destination to add to my wishlist: Minnesota/Canada in the dead of winter.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire: a comment
In short: Minute details from the film(which itself I do not find to be anything more than ordinary) follow.
First off, Slumdog Millioaire getting so much fame is something like the themes of Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko and Bowling for Columbine all rolled into one and showcased as being American : I will agree with greatbong that all the wrong that could be depicted has been shown on film. I do not dispute the occurence of such events; I am merely concerned that, as Blany suggested, such a film was made to win an award by showing what others can make fun of in another country.
The storyline wherein the past and the present are shown one after the other and merged at a point keeps one interested. It was very very odd for all the actors to speak in English. I would have enjoyed the film better had they spoke in Hindi itself, that would have given a darker appeal to some scenes.
Couldn't they find anyone who spoke with an Indian accent?
Salim's character I find very disturbing: he is a very close friend of Jamal, he chases him away to keep the girl to himself, he accepts him again, takes the girl away from him and finally decides to reunite them. Looks like the scriptwriter needed a crazy guy to fill in the holes in the movie.
In the gameshow, the options to the first question featured, to be really perfect, were all wrong. One of the options should have been "Satyameva Jayate" because that is what it actually says on the emblem, notwithstanding that any other Sanskrit options would be very awkward.
Regarding what Lord Rama holds in his right hand, the option 'bow and arrow', I thought, should have been just 'bow', as it does not make much sense to hold both in the same hand. But to my astonishment all the pictures from Google Images show the bow in Lord Rama's left hand. What gives? So the right answer to the question is: Lord Rama holds nothing in his right hand, in most depictions.
Who is on the $100 bill? I knew it wasn't George Washington because he is on the the $1 bill, but I'm embarrassed to say I wasn't sure. As I've mentioned here, that is because $100 bills are not much in local circulation(hello, credit cards).
The numbering is Western rather than Indian(millions instead of lakhs). Obviously tailored for the foreign audience, but retaining the Indian format would have enhanced the Indian-ness.
I honestly believe the question for Rs.2,500,000(Colt) and the final question(Three Musketeers) were not worth that much at all. The questions were too cheap.
Anil Kapoor makes jokes about call centres like getting enormous bills, obviously the jokes are to make the average Englishman in the theatre go "Yes, yes how true."
This report claiming the film is out and out British doesn't make me very comfortable. The scene where Jamal, Latika and Javed are together(dishwasher) is a sham. Javed asks for a 'sandwich', she puts butter on bread, you can see a mustard bottle in the fridge. A gangster asking for a sandwich? Bull sh&t. And since Javed already indicated his averseness to the show, why was it playing in his room(when he finds out Latika has run away)?
As far as I can recall Kaun Banega Crorepati never aired during the day. Maybe in a parallel universe in which a gangster eats sandwiches and money is counted in millions KBC did air repeats in the day. Some clarification: In the western versions of KBC, once a contestant says "Final answer", the host 'locks' in the answer, unlike the Indian version where Amitabh or SRK would confirm 'lock kar diya jaye?' before proceeding.
How and why(who ordered it rather) Jamal is taken into custody, how he is released without the public asking questions, how Jamal was fresh as ever for his second appearance - scant explanations are offered.
The scene where Jamal shows the German tourists around the Taj in the guise of a guide is hilarious. A hotel, swimming pool, traffic, pileups.....
I did not find the BG score to be phenomenal, I would rate Guru or AKK(Ayutha Ezhuthu) or Kandukondain Kandukondain or Minsara Kanavu to be better than this film, but maybe the implication is that A R Rahman underperforming is sufficient for him to win foreign awards!
Fact: Freida Pinto can't dance.
Anil Kapoor deserves every bit of his National Award, but please, the humble man Amitabh Bachan would never ever make fun of anyone because of their background.
The child actors must be commended for an excellent real-life renderring.
All in all, I did not find Slumdog to be special; it is certainly well made with a plethora of 'Bollywood elements' and that is why I didn't like it. Maybe it is a case of how everyone else except Kazakhs like Borat.
First off, Slumdog Millioaire getting so much fame is something like the themes of Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko and Bowling for Columbine all rolled into one and showcased as being American : I will agree with greatbong that all the wrong that could be depicted has been shown on film. I do not dispute the occurence of such events; I am merely concerned that, as Blany suggested, such a film was made to win an award by showing what others can make fun of in another country.
The storyline wherein the past and the present are shown one after the other and merged at a point keeps one interested. It was very very odd for all the actors to speak in English. I would have enjoyed the film better had they spoke in Hindi itself, that would have given a darker appeal to some scenes.
Couldn't they find anyone who spoke with an Indian accent?
Salim's character I find very disturbing: he is a very close friend of Jamal, he chases him away to keep the girl to himself, he accepts him again, takes the girl away from him and finally decides to reunite them. Looks like the scriptwriter needed a crazy guy to fill in the holes in the movie.
In the gameshow, the options to the first question featured, to be really perfect, were all wrong. One of the options should have been "Satyameva Jayate" because that is what it actually says on the emblem, notwithstanding that any other Sanskrit options would be very awkward.
Regarding what Lord Rama holds in his right hand, the option 'bow and arrow', I thought, should have been just 'bow', as it does not make much sense to hold both in the same hand. But to my astonishment all the pictures from Google Images show the bow in Lord Rama's left hand. What gives? So the right answer to the question is: Lord Rama holds nothing in his right hand, in most depictions.
Who is on the $100 bill? I knew it wasn't George Washington because he is on the the $1 bill, but I'm embarrassed to say I wasn't sure. As I've mentioned here, that is because $100 bills are not much in local circulation(hello, credit cards).
The numbering is Western rather than Indian(millions instead of lakhs). Obviously tailored for the foreign audience, but retaining the Indian format would have enhanced the Indian-ness.
I honestly believe the question for Rs.2,500,000(Colt) and the final question(Three Musketeers) were not worth that much at all. The questions were too cheap.
Anil Kapoor makes jokes about call centres like getting enormous bills, obviously the jokes are to make the average Englishman in the theatre go "Yes, yes how true."
This report claiming the film is out and out British doesn't make me very comfortable. The scene where Jamal, Latika and Javed are together(dishwasher) is a sham. Javed asks for a 'sandwich', she puts butter on bread, you can see a mustard bottle in the fridge. A gangster asking for a sandwich? Bull sh&t. And since Javed already indicated his averseness to the show, why was it playing in his room(when he finds out Latika has run away)?
As far as I can recall Kaun Banega Crorepati never aired during the day. Maybe in a parallel universe in which a gangster eats sandwiches and money is counted in millions KBC did air repeats in the day. Some clarification: In the western versions of KBC, once a contestant says "Final answer", the host 'locks' in the answer, unlike the Indian version where Amitabh or SRK would confirm 'lock kar diya jaye?' before proceeding.
How and why(who ordered it rather) Jamal is taken into custody, how he is released without the public asking questions, how Jamal was fresh as ever for his second appearance - scant explanations are offered.
The scene where Jamal shows the German tourists around the Taj in the guise of a guide is hilarious. A hotel, swimming pool, traffic, pileups.....
I did not find the BG score to be phenomenal, I would rate Guru or AKK(Ayutha Ezhuthu) or Kandukondain Kandukondain or Minsara Kanavu to be better than this film, but maybe the implication is that A R Rahman underperforming is sufficient for him to win foreign awards!
Fact: Freida Pinto can't dance.
Anil Kapoor deserves every bit of his National Award, but please, the humble man Amitabh Bachan would never ever make fun of anyone because of their background.
The child actors must be commended for an excellent real-life renderring.
All in all, I did not find Slumdog to be special; it is certainly well made with a plethora of 'Bollywood elements' and that is why I didn't like it. Maybe it is a case of how everyone else except Kazakhs like Borat.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Indian Cinema better clean up its act
After the wins at the Golden Globes and potential Oscar awards for the Indian part of Slumdog Millionaire including A R Rahman(pronounced Rehman you western dumbos), it's finally time for Indian cinema to straighten up itself.
Otherwise, it's going to be a financial apocalypse. Examples galore.
'Aascar' Ravichandran had to change his prior name and the company logo after the Oscar guys threatened to sue. Karan Johar was sued in London(when he visited there) for using a piece of music without permission in the mega flop K3G(did anyone even watch that film?).
Hollywood will not hesitate to sue for copyright at the drop of a hat, notwithstanding the cases already being brought up by some Indian contributors claiming credit for their content.
Film songs and storylines have long been lifted at an impulse, the most recent being Ghajini. Is the story so different that Murugadoss can deny it having no similarity whatsoever? The likes of Anu Malik, Pritam, SA Rajkumar, Devi Sri Prasad better be careful whose music they wish to put in films, it better be their own.
Already this victory is being heralded as being one for Bollywood; sadly in India we recognise Bollywood as being only the Hindi film industry.
I would be really happy if regional language films (Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada) are also recognised(atleast the good ones). Mainstream Hindi is not the only place movies are being made; alternative films and other language films mentioned are way better than the KKKKKKaran Johar and Yash Raj run of the mill commercial noise.
Well, 'Indian' movies now will make people notice and atleast give a moment of thought toward non-English material.
Hindi, Tamil and Telugu cinema have always had the money; the Indian diaspora abroad ensure the commercial success of these films(Sivaji The Boss made it to the Top Ten in the UK). Now these films as well as well made material, those worthy of awards, will get more showings and, hopefully more awards.
I can see a future where an imitation movie will be sued right of its skin and quality movies start coming up.
Here is something to ponder about: online site Behindwoods, which mainly focuses on the Tamil film industry and occasionally on Hindi, released the Top Ten movies for Hindi for 2008, which was compiled with user feedback. I wonder if it is how it reflects the taste of non-Hindi viewers or an all-India audience, only 2 or 3 in that list were 'commercial'. All the others were sleeper or critical hits. That says a lot. Viewers appreciate good content. Eating bitter gourd with sugar doesn't make the taste very sweet - you can still notice the bitterness. An increasingly urban audience is willing to watch a well made film with hardly any stalwarts.
And that is how I like it.
Otherwise, it's going to be a financial apocalypse. Examples galore.
'Aascar' Ravichandran had to change his prior name and the company logo after the Oscar guys threatened to sue. Karan Johar was sued in London(when he visited there) for using a piece of music without permission in the mega flop K3G(did anyone even watch that film?).
Hollywood will not hesitate to sue for copyright at the drop of a hat, notwithstanding the cases already being brought up by some Indian contributors claiming credit for their content.
Film songs and storylines have long been lifted at an impulse, the most recent being Ghajini. Is the story so different that Murugadoss can deny it having no similarity whatsoever? The likes of Anu Malik, Pritam, SA Rajkumar, Devi Sri Prasad better be careful whose music they wish to put in films, it better be their own.
Already this victory is being heralded as being one for Bollywood; sadly in India we recognise Bollywood as being only the Hindi film industry.
I would be really happy if regional language films (Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada) are also recognised(atleast the good ones). Mainstream Hindi is not the only place movies are being made; alternative films and other language films mentioned are way better than the KKKKKKaran Johar and Yash Raj run of the mill commercial noise.
Well, 'Indian' movies now will make people notice and atleast give a moment of thought toward non-English material.
Hindi, Tamil and Telugu cinema have always had the money; the Indian diaspora abroad ensure the commercial success of these films(Sivaji The Boss made it to the Top Ten in the UK). Now these films as well as well made material, those worthy of awards, will get more showings and, hopefully more awards.
I can see a future where an imitation movie will be sued right of its skin and quality movies start coming up.
Here is something to ponder about: online site Behindwoods, which mainly focuses on the Tamil film industry and occasionally on Hindi, released the Top Ten movies for Hindi for 2008, which was compiled with user feedback. I wonder if it is how it reflects the taste of non-Hindi viewers or an all-India audience, only 2 or 3 in that list were 'commercial'. All the others were sleeper or critical hits. That says a lot. Viewers appreciate good content. Eating bitter gourd with sugar doesn't make the taste very sweet - you can still notice the bitterness. An increasingly urban audience is willing to watch a well made film with hardly any stalwarts.
And that is how I like it.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Satyam scam: what was PwC's role?
With all the Satyam mess yet to be fully sorted out, my concerns are directed towards PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditing firm hired by them. Inasmuch the fault lies with the top brass for trying to cook books, it is another thing for the entrusted watchdogs to fail in their duty.
An accounting failure can mean one of two things: either PwC was hand in hand with Satyam or whatever documents provided to them were false and forged by Satyam honchos themselves. Either way, PwC failed miserably in it's duties. But if there was some sort of forgery then more than 2-3 people would have to be involved, going against the logic suggested by Ramalinga Raju that not many on the board knew the truth.
Several articles claim that DSP Merrill Lynch found out immediately(they were apparently approached for help with a merger) that there were serious accounting issues, while PwC found out nothing for years.
It could well and truly be a mirror of Enron, which brought down top dog Arthur Andersen. As the linked articles suggest, US law firms will make hay flaying both Satyam and PwC. It might well be the end of PwC, who I know even handle the Academy Awards(sending out the ballots, counting the votes and ensuring noone knows the results until the envelope is opened on stage).
At the same time, the plight of employees and shareholders is much harder to come to terms with because of a more personal note, with friends sharing their concerns for their friends.
This mega fiasco has sent the markets tumbling and shows that the horizon is dark: Indian companies will be taken on with suspicion and no doubt put to more hardship to seal the deal. To think of it, even the World Bank have been made to wear a dunce's cap: they severed their relation with Satyam only recently; I wonder what the bigger story behind that is.
On a different note, profitability alone... should not be the goal.
An accounting failure can mean one of two things: either PwC was hand in hand with Satyam or whatever documents provided to them were false and forged by Satyam honchos themselves. Either way, PwC failed miserably in it's duties. But if there was some sort of forgery then more than 2-3 people would have to be involved, going against the logic suggested by Ramalinga Raju that not many on the board knew the truth.
Several articles claim that DSP Merrill Lynch found out immediately(they were apparently approached for help with a merger) that there were serious accounting issues, while PwC found out nothing for years.
It could well and truly be a mirror of Enron, which brought down top dog Arthur Andersen. As the linked articles suggest, US law firms will make hay flaying both Satyam and PwC. It might well be the end of PwC, who I know even handle the Academy Awards(sending out the ballots, counting the votes and ensuring noone knows the results until the envelope is opened on stage).
At the same time, the plight of employees and shareholders is much harder to come to terms with because of a more personal note, with friends sharing their concerns for their friends.
This mega fiasco has sent the markets tumbling and shows that the horizon is dark: Indian companies will be taken on with suspicion and no doubt put to more hardship to seal the deal. To think of it, even the World Bank have been made to wear a dunce's cap: they severed their relation with Satyam only recently; I wonder what the bigger story behind that is.
On a different note, profitability alone... should not be the goal.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
New year with a bang
In short: welcoming the new year with fireworks.
The only person around wasn't feeling well, and since I'm a teetotaler and couldn't find anyone else who was interested in some party around town, the fireworks were all that I had to keep contempt with.
After a late chat with Bala and Kanna, and confirming the others weren't coming, I set off in the sub-zero temperature to the Shrank parking deck, walking across the ice crusted parking lot. Climbing the flight of stairs got me to the top most deck and there were only 3 cars, compared to the full deck for 4th of July.
I was 6 minutes early and took a few empty shots, and was hande a confettin horn by one of the persons gathered on the deck.
The countdown started(there was a party at Lock 3) and just a bit prematurely, with one second remaining, the first firework was lit. And so I welcomed the New Year with a wild scream.
I proceeded to take about 170 pics, in Fireworks mode(I wasn't bothered at the moment to see the difference with the other modes), clicking as fast as the photos were saved.
I had to remove a glove to operate the camera, and my hand FROZE(I think the temperature was -10C). Next time I have to wear thinner gloves or think of a stop-gap measure so that my hand doesn't get so cold.
Some pictures came out fuzzy when Nag called to wish me, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was a fireworks display at Akron(he was in Columbus).
One of the others mentioned that they should've parked at Polsky, which was closer, but I wonder if the pictures would have been better. They would sure have been bigger(no need to zoom). Polsky's parking deck was pretty full, as we could see.
To be honest looking at the screen I couldn't watch the full splendour of the fireworks. Anyhow I was happy with how the pictures turned out. It was a very colourful entry into the new year, the loud bangs sure woke me up to think how the new year should be better than the previous.
Next time I will drag someone along to take video while I take photos. Should be fun comparing the two.
On a lighter note, I wish I could travel across time zones and join the new year parties and become ecstatic many times over - two times is possible, I guess three may be possible with a private jet.
Happy new year, everyone.
The only person around wasn't feeling well, and since I'm a teetotaler and couldn't find anyone else who was interested in some party around town, the fireworks were all that I had to keep contempt with.
After a late chat with Bala and Kanna, and confirming the others weren't coming, I set off in the sub-zero temperature to the Shrank parking deck, walking across the ice crusted parking lot. Climbing the flight of stairs got me to the top most deck and there were only 3 cars, compared to the full deck for 4th of July.
I was 6 minutes early and took a few empty shots, and was hande a confettin horn by one of the persons gathered on the deck.
The countdown started(there was a party at Lock 3) and just a bit prematurely, with one second remaining, the first firework was lit. And so I welcomed the New Year with a wild scream.
I proceeded to take about 170 pics, in Fireworks mode(I wasn't bothered at the moment to see the difference with the other modes), clicking as fast as the photos were saved.
I had to remove a glove to operate the camera, and my hand FROZE(I think the temperature was -10C). Next time I have to wear thinner gloves or think of a stop-gap measure so that my hand doesn't get so cold.
Some pictures came out fuzzy when Nag called to wish me, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was a fireworks display at Akron(he was in Columbus).
One of the others mentioned that they should've parked at Polsky, which was closer, but I wonder if the pictures would have been better. They would sure have been bigger(no need to zoom). Polsky's parking deck was pretty full, as we could see.
To be honest looking at the screen I couldn't watch the full splendour of the fireworks. Anyhow I was happy with how the pictures turned out. It was a very colourful entry into the new year, the loud bangs sure woke me up to think how the new year should be better than the previous.
Next time I will drag someone along to take video while I take photos. Should be fun comparing the two.
On a lighter note, I wish I could travel across time zones and join the new year parties and become ecstatic many times over - two times is possible, I guess three may be possible with a private jet.
Happy new year, everyone.
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