Just another blog?

It all started with a humbling message on MSN saying that my blog was a lot of fun. This was particularly pleasing as just a week ago, a 'friend' had made a joke about me being one of those 'bloggers'. That friend, it came to light, had gone through every one of my posts dutifully before doing the decent thing of commenting about it. Whatever dude!

Anyway, this person who was appreciative, gave me the link to this other blog - http://sidin.blogspot.com

Hilarious! Very funny! I was actually laughing out loud! I did not of course stop with reading the blog.

Odd things catch my eye - there was a link to this wonderful (sarcastic) article at http://history.eserver.org/ghandi-nobody-knows.txt as one of his 'must reads'. I decided not to judge the blogger on this though.

The article was wonderful because it so defines objective thinking - by showing what is not. As a fierce free-thinker, and a consequent free-speaker, and as a further consequence, an open-minded listener, I decided to give the article a fair hearing. I did make it half way through. No doubt a neo-imperialist Jew in America feels pissed at the beatification of Gandhi, but this guy was just wrong-in-the-head.

By blogging about it, may be I am unnecessarily giving publicity to such bull shit, but I doubt anyone would get far with it. I was finding it hard to point my finger though as to what was specifically wrong with this guy. That he hates the Hindu peoples (and their Muslim brethren) and their non-existent values and the country that symbolises that humbuggery which is India is so obvious that it was almost pointless for him to back himself with 'analysis'. But, to pass off a drunken rant as an intellectual historical analysis is pushing the limit. To refer to himself as impartial was criminal!

Here is a sample of his 'objectivity' - "I cannot imagine an impartial person studying the subject without concluding that concern for Indian religious minorities was one of the principal reasons Britain stayed in India as long as it did." How fucking patronising!

Look at this one for a first hand sampling of distorting historic incidents to suit one's preconceived interpretation - "when Gandhi's wife lay dying of pneumonia and British doctors insisted that a shot of penicillin would save her, Gandhi refused to have this alien medicine injected in her body and simply let her die. (It must be noted that when Gandhi contracted malaria shortly afterward he accepted for himself the alien medicine quinine, and that when he had appendicitis he allowed British doctors to perform on him the alien outrage of an appendectomy.)"

Firstly, Gandhi did not refuse the treatment but his wife did, and not for being alien (could have been an added incentive though!). It was because penicillin was a fungal product and for an orthodox Gujju it was equivalent to meat. Gandhi had no qualms about alien medicine, in fact he was a medical corps cadet during the Boer War.

Gandhi was not perfect, in fact, we dont claim he is the tenth incarnation of Vishnu or the like. And India stands guilty of pushing his image to boost its credibility as a nation, but that is only as unfair as the West considering itself the safeguard of freedoms and civilization, based on circumstantial evidence that it had been the first to develop modern free institutions. A nation has no duty to be consistent to its beliefs, and for this prick to pass India's caste system as proof that India is not a moral nation is as stupid as saying that slavery disproves America's tradition of liberty. (Actually, it does but thats not the point.)

Gandhi was not perfect, but he was the closest big name we got to being perfect in the twentieth century. Not because he showed us the best way of living, but as a person, he was awe-inspiring and humbling. And I hate some bugger telling me why he thinks Gandhi is over-rated.

By the way, the Sidin guy is hilariously funny. Did I say that before?

RdB is impressive, refreshingly different - it could be mainly Rahman's music which was almost path-breaking. But, though it overwhelmed the other aspects of the movie, the movie in it self was rather a unique product.

Acting was of a high quality - Aamir was extra-ordinary, but you come to expect it from him. Since Lagaan, his penchant for perfection has been obvious. But, there were other stand-out performers too - particularly Atul Kulkarni and Sharman Joshi.

Siddharth was the best though. Of course, this has been his trademark character since Boys and Ayutha Ezhuthu, nevertheless his comfort for the role is awesome.

The second half and particularly latter part suffered from the endemic problems in many Indian movies - too much happens, and the care and detail that was shown for the earlier half is suddenly conspicous by its absence later.

Nevertheless, it is a top-notch movie. I would rate it as good as AE was, though they have different core audience. Some sweet moments -

1. The picturisation during the songs was cool, but 'Rang de Basanti' was great.

2. The Radio jockey announcing that they will take a break to play a song, and having 'Roobaro' was Ha Ha funny. But, then there were many such funny moments in the movie (like the one where drunk Aamir talks about 'pissing in the present')

3. What surprised me was how they got the whole bunch of kids to react before the camera with just the right amount of over-reacting and just the right amount of rhetoric. It looked real and that is a great great piece of direction.

The Oscars have never meant anything great to me. Except a couple of times. In the days of DD, when I heard 'Thevar Magan' was nominated, I was hoping to hear from someone if it did win (Thevar Magan was only sent to the Oscars).

Then, 'Lagaan' made the nominations list and one Sunday morning I sat and watched the whole show. Only to almost not notice that in a fraction of a second, Lagaan was announced, it lost and was forgotten. The Oscars did not make sense - I realised it did not mean anything to me. Not because Lagaan did not win - 'No man's Land' which eventually won was a way better movie.

Since then, I have grown up to appreciate the English-language movie industry wholesomely - and I no longer waste my mental energy for example contrasting English and Tamil movie industries. I treat them as two different art-forms, and if we still insist on comparing, Hollywood is a millenium ahead. They make crap too but their above-average ones, and particularly their best, define excellence in human performance.

Now, I can appreciate a lot of movies in a great depth - mainly because I have seen lots more now. I was pleasantly shocked when I could notice Spielberg's genius in the form of lighting effects in 'Munich'. And I am still able to enjoy movies without getting too artsy! All movies dont have to be great, some can just be fun.

This year's Oscars interest me greatly. Jon Stewart will be the highlight - he is an awesome entertainer.

Of course, there are some brilliant movies, nominees and the general quality of produce from Hollywood is up a few notches. I have still not seen them all - particularly, am yet to overcome my 'homophobia' to go and watch 'Brokeback ...'

Despite that I am going to have a little fun predicting the awards. Of course, I dont care who the Academy actually awards - this is just how it would have happened in my world. I may/may not award movies that I have not watched (which I will mark with an asterisk).

only some of the awards ....

Actor in a Leading Role - David Strathairn, Good Night & Good Luck* I have great expectations for this movie, and in keeping with that I will give Strathairn the award.

Actor in a Supporting Role - Matt Dillon, Crash Supposedly, William Hurt just appears for fifteen mins in 'A History of Violence' - it would be interesting to see him win though!

Actress in a Leading Role - Charlize Theron, North Country Havent seen any of these movies, but I would be OK with anyone but Judi Dench. Come on, stop this obsession with the mountains and other things that ancient.

Actress in a Supporting Role - Rachel Weisz, Constant Gardner She must have been good - I have read quite a bit on her performance. Plus, I love her greatly.

Animated Feature - Wallace and Gromit 'Cos this will be the only one I will watch.

Art Direction - King Kong Between it and Harry Potter (the nominees I have seen), it wins
hands down. But, Memoirs might just win it in real life.

Directing - Munich Come on! Let us give Spielberg some more credit for the movie. Some scenes may have been over-done, but it was reasonably intelligent entertainer. And well directed!

Music (Score) - Got to hear them all first. Not Munich definitely - not at all original.

Music (Song) - In the Deep, Crash. I know I enjoyed it, but don't remember it! Who cares, you can question my decisions!

Best Picture - Crash I recently read an article that rubbished the movie. I agree with the article's points and yet I give it the best picture. Thats how much I like it.

Visual Effects - Tie between King Kong and War of the Worlds Both had problems - King Kong had unnecessary variety of mysterious characters. But, the tribal village and the high sea scenes were spectacular. War of the Worlds had a masterly touch but failed with the all too familiar picturising of the aliens.

Writing: Adapted Screenplay - Munich Just classy. PLO and 'ETA' in the same safe-house was the high point.

Writing: Original Screenplay - Crash. Slightly more classy than even Munich. Irony was just overflowing. Dialogues were fabulous.

My supervisor Vincent is not in today!

I had mistaken his 'Tees and Bermuda' attire and his liberal, friendly European-ness for a blank-check to come late (not to mention the continuously cheerful 'Good Mornings' every time I tested the waters by coming late). Then yesterday in his equally cheerful, friendly, Belgian accent he told me that "one-hour late was not nice" - he added "maybe you can make it up by staying in after hours, but coming on-time is preferable." (please remember the Belge accent while reading it).

I meekly told him something about three buses missing me when in fact I had chased the first bus that refused to take me in till the next bus stop and got in (I was impressed by my own tenacity!)

Now when I came in 'only' fifteen mins late today to show my apologetic attitude, he is not in! Am I disappointed? Nay! I started with a great willingness to get started on work on my own
immediately, but what with Jeremy on the HPLC machine, it was fate telling me to do something else. I still dint give up and tried some research papers, sleeping in the 'Break-out Area' (BTI-talk for pantry!) and some free 'make-it-urself' coffee. I eventually settled on blogs and all the holy stuff that accompanies them. Before I got started on this post, I was busy leaving 'longer-than-the-post' comments on other blogs and even emailed a couple of friends for their blog URLs (Google Blog Search failed me). Particular motivation was provided by my own abysmal, 'as-usual-long' blog entry yesterday - the one with NUS and Chemistry in its title!

Of course, the inserted picture is mis-guiding, but thats only to make this entry a bit more
colourful and also to may be invite some 'e-Jihad' (To believers: I am honestly kidding here - I
would be wrecked by any hacking as I am quite un-savvy with computers, viruses and stuff!). Nevertheless, this whole topic of Islam, Cartoons and Free Speech is going to make one long article on my other blog.

Considering the length of anything that I type - even my name is quite long if you notice - I
have decided to channelize some energy in the near future into my other blog
(brahminical.blogspot.com). Having already decreed that its very mission is to be long-winded, it will probably save me from defacing this blog (I actually liked my early articles here, and what people thought of it). Let me make clear that whatever we claim in our mission statements, the ultimate purpose of a blog is to seek attention, and occasionally some approval.

It might be a bit 'loser'ly, but I have always been an unabashed conversationalist in the real world (as against the e-world), however 'infamous' my conversations' are. In fact I know that deep down those who make fun of my love to talk actually like what I got to say (please dont correct me if I am wrong!). In fact, one guy while in the middle of doing the 'hip' thing of making fun of my long stories, referred to me as the 'Seinfeld of NTU'. Now, is that a compliment or what?

My previous blog-post had turned out bad (did I say that once before? I am sorry, I lose track sometimes!) but I am quite satisfied with what I have here. In fact I had even taken a break for lunch (where my colleagues seemed to enjoy my theories on the languages of the world!) half-way through this post. A comment would be welcome though.

Like my supervisor would say, " That wut bi gut!"

Note: Am experimenting on a blog entry variety that assumes everyone who reads knows everything I know - will be fun to see how much people understand.

1) NUS Blood Donation

Had joined my colleagues to participate in a blood donation drive in NUS, partly because it was time since I last did it anyway and partly because it was a nice opportunity to cut a few hours from work (the rigours of which is part II of this blog entry).

NUS - have been there many times. First when my bro was a student. That was when I made up my mind that I was coming to Singapore to study come what may. Many more times since I came to Singapore, albeit a NTU student already.

Today it struck me how I felt so bad that I dint study there. Especially since the reasons why I chose the other university were completely applicable in NUS. Especially since the reason I rejected NUS was because they had not offered me the scholarship before NTU's 'we need you badly' offer. Especially since it looked a place far more representative of those aspects of Singapore that I prefer - far more liberal people, better aesthetics, access to city, and a good bioengineering school!

I started taking comfort from the fact that PGP needed a paint and the toilets were not as clean as NTU's - in fact as Jagdish said, 'NTU's toilets are clean to a fault, the cleanest in the world'. Will rigorously try for the Singapore exchange program in my final year. That way I would have seen both unis and that would remove all the uneasiness in my mind.

BTW the blood donation went well!

2) Chemistry

My IA work is now hitting hard - here I am in charge of experiments to be designed and done as I please. The lab is a nice place but it is kinda overwhelming when I have to deal with both glass jars and bench solutions on one hand and 'High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (SEC) coupled with Static Light Scattering, UV Spectrometer and RI detector (with computer softwares)' on the other hand.

At one point I needed to make a simple buffer solution of Citric Acid and Sodium Citrate (pH 5.5). Only to find out that I dint remember the equations not that they helped when I got them. Citric Acid is a multi-protic acid with all three pKa values close by. No clear points of inflexion and no way to blindly use Henderson-Hasselbach equation.

Now thats the kind of challenge that Vikram Balasubramanian, International Chem Olympiad Silver Medalist would have loved and cracked. Instead, I meekly inserted a pH meter once in a while and kept adding NaOH till I got to 5.5 (5.52 actually). At one point I actually choked when I heard the word 'equivalence point' - I got nostalgic about those days when words like this were my staple diet, and scared about now where I cant figure out how to deal with them.

Academia is a hard world - especially there is no coming back if you left its shores once.

3) Other such things

Had a horrible debating session yesterday. I almost wanted to cry and give up - surprising self-realisation that I gave a shit about how good I was at this thing.

After three years of this shit, I still dont know how to structure a speech, pick a clear coherent winning stance. Especially when it was supposed to be a 'Juniors' vs 'Seniors' debate. The Juniors got rave reviews for an 'awesome case' and 'great speeches'. Sushil even managed to see strategy in what they said - good for them!

But, he squarely put the blame on me. He said I screwed up! Amber's average speech was seen now in the light of having to repair the self-destruct effects of my speech. My reply - was flatly rejected as 'new-matter reply'. Amber was even credited for making fun of my bad speech as damage control (he says he did no such thing and I know that).

The sad thing is most of what was said about my speeches was true - and I felt quite good when I actually gave them. Scary! Talk about hoping to win an international tournament in the next few months!!

http://boards.charlierose.com/board/topic.asp?pg=1&ti=16148&ri=267394

It has an online version of the article I mentioned in my previous post. May not be the whole version I think.

That's the name of an article by Owen Harries - maybe it is because I am not that well read, this struck me as one of the best pieces of intelligent non-fiction writing. The central theme of the article is the concept that how most intellectuals who are too caught up in the present and with ideologies that they have already subscribed to often predict very wrongly.

There is a whole range of bewildering such events in the near-past, including the end of wars around 1910, the demise of capitalism after the Great Depression, the victory of the Soviet in the Cold War and not-so-long-ago 'The End of History' by Fukuyama! He gives insights into why well-meaning intelligent individuals do this borrowing ideas from George Orwell and common sense.

What struck a chord with me was one paragraph where he points out about more often than not intellectuals are (in the real world) useless who hardly do things on the ground. And how they treat people like Eisenhower (who actually planned and executed the Normandy landing) as if they were idiots.

Even under intoxication, I will no longer refer to myself as an intellectual (or aspiring one) - now it sounds like a damning label. The article was published first in 'The American Interest' and is not available online. It also appeared in the last few pages of The Straits Times on the 27th January, 2006.

Do tell me if you can find an online copy.

PS - Refrain reading anything from Jeff Jacoby (writes for IHT, Boston Globe). If you need convincing, try http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/26/opinion/edjacoby.php

Also, this guy Howard W French's http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/15/news/letter.php though I must concede he is better at politico-economic matters. This one is just plain rubbish. Not that I have seen Memoirs or that I disagree with his facts.