Switch to a Mac

This was something I was planning to do for a long time, ever since I saw the first mac (or rather the second in an absolute sense) at my friend's place. He had a beautiful while Macbook, and I wanted one right then. The first one was an older iMac that I saw when I was a kid. The graphics on that system were way better than the PC-XT and PC-AT systems I used to play with, but I was still a kid and any kind of Macs were just beyond me at that time.

I have been following the Mac community ever since, and even though I initially thought they were a set of snobs who want to be in a clique, proud of the money they spend on gadgets, interacting with them changed my opinion on them. I realized they were a set of people who have taken a brave step forward exploring other operating systems, and actually found one that was better than the other one, and stuck to it. They don't stop there, but are eager to let their friends see the benefits of using one of those, and give a whole-hearted suggestion to pick one up when they can. I promised to that friend of mine that my next laptop is going to be a Mac, but I never thought that it would happen so fast.

I got hooked to the iPhone when it came in. iPhone was so revolutionary at that time that I didn't hesitate much to empty my wallet to get one. And I never had to look back. The iPhone has its quirks, but it's just a gift from tomorrow that you happened to see today. Using the phone and interacting with it helped me improve my understanding towards how Macs are designed, and why their hardware and software is a serious contender to the more ubiquitous PCs.

Then Apple released the Macbook Air. I wasn't sure if this ultra-light notebook was the thing for me. But after a few days of deep thought, I decided I will go for it. I got one after a lot of fist-fighting, and after paying quite a premium, and there's no looking back.

I'm in love for the second time.

Negative publicity from non-users

I have been following the technology sector, and especially the gadget sector pretty intently for the past few months. The recent past has seen more than the usual number of technological breakthroughs, not just in terms of coming up with new gagets, but with the way these new gadgets have raised the bar on how these devices interact with humans.

The iPhone, for example, did really re-invent the phone. It doesn't mean that they have found a way to place a call to a person who doesn't own a phone, but that the phone is no longer just a pure old phone to their owners. These new generation of phones can do a lot more than making calls. 

The GPS market has been buzzing with newer inventions. GPS devices coming into phones, GPS devices playing music, GPS devices calling out street names etc.

Along with every blessing, there comes a bane. And the bane of the recent up-trend of technology is the number of people forwarding negative publicity. People begin rating products just looking at it on a website, just reading the technical-specifications. I've read a report saying that more than 90% of the people commenting and rating a product do not actually own it.

It's good if they give an honest rating. But most of the people who aren't in a position to buy one, invent these depressing ways of finding reasons not to like the product. They actually like it, and want to buy it, but they just can't, because they probably have something similar that works, or because just cannot afford one. They do not stop there and go on with their life. They instead start defaming the product saying it doesn't have this, it doesn't do that, so I hate it. And I do not want you to get it either. The people who actually own it write good and honest reviews about it, or just stay out of the whole mess.

So, a novice comes in looking for a product, runs into a good product, reads the negative publicity and stays away from it, and picks another product not meant for him. His decision was based on the views of the majority, who never owned the product he's interested in.

So, to you all readers out there. Do not rely on reviews too much. Do not base your decisions on someone else's opinion unless you personally know him or you're sure he owns a product, and is trying to warn you against committing the same mistake.

And to all those who post reviews on a product. If you do not own a product, ask questions about it in forums. If you own a product, post an honest review about it, if you please. And answer questions in the forum if that's your kind of thing. Do not go around badmouthing products you do not own. Keep your gadget world clean, and encourage good products with good reviews. Because the more you encourage a product, the better it gets.

Go ahead, explore the gadget world, and have fun. Lots of fun.

New York City - a microcosm of the Universe

New York City has been eluding me for a while, and I finally cought hold of it during the Thanksgiving weekend. I have been thinking about posting something on this for quite some time now, but I haven't got a clue on where to start, and how to go about describing my experiences. But I have realized that if I keep waiting for the best idea, I will probably never be able to do it. So, here it goes.

By New York City, I just mean the Manhattan area. The first thing that catches your attention is the clear difference between people who have come to visit NYC and people who stay, live and work there. The best place to catch this difference is probably at the Times Square. People who live and work in NY might not hit the Times Square in the first place, but if they have to go through Times Square, they do not look around much, walk straight and fast, and probably take the stairs down to the nearest subway. Visitors go around Times Square with their jaws half-dropped, eyes half-popped, and walk around aimlessly, blocking others' way on the footpath, and flashing their cameras around, not knowing that flash cannot be used to capture night landscapes.

Another aspect you'll notice is the variety of ethnicity. You find people from all over the world. Its probably like a good stamp or coin collection, where the collector tries to ensure you have as much variety as possible. People representing differnt nations, speaking entirely different languages, come from all over the world, but all enchanted the same way experiencing the city.

I liked the way the subways serve to take people around the city. The subway system is easy to follow, tickets are easy to procure, the waiting time at the stations is pretty less, and its definitely a very convenient way to go around. I never felt the need for a car when I was going around in Manhattan. You just buy a day-pass and keep hitting the subways.

I will have to mention about the crowds. I never thought that Thanksgiving was such a touristy time. I thought I will not find any Americans around, as they would all have gone to their grandmothers' to enjoy a big lunch and a get-together. But the crowds proved otherwise. Do you know it took me two full hours of waiting in the queue before I could reach the top of the Empire State Building? I could get to the sanctum sanctorium in Tirumala in less time than that, shelling out much lesser in terms of money.

And then the sights and sounds. I don't think we'll have any other place in the world where you feel the roar of the trains going under the road, smell fresh hot-dogs and hear a guitar strumming a few feet away, and a tourist shouting in some unrecognizable language, all at the same time, and at the same place!

One part I missed was the night-life. I spent only one evening in the city, and was so tired by night, that I had to call it a day and settle down in my room. I am sure it would have been awesome if I could have a couple of drinks at some nice pub, but then I have to ask the locals for directions, so I don't pop into some gay bar of some sort.

Other than all this, the visit to NYC went pretty eventless, like getting to see the Statue of Liberty etc. (Of course the Statue of Liberty was something I really wanted to see, but it doesn't count when I compare it to the other experiences I had).

New York City is indeed a microcosm of the Universe. Yes, not just the world, coz it's not that difficult to spot a couple of aliens from our neighbouring solar systems if you watch closely enough. I would also like to visit London, because I feel both these cities are pretty similar in terms of the diversity of visitors, the underground trains, and both represent the best in terms of being cultural hubs in their own right. Another compelling point pulling me towards London is the fact that a lot of good friends of mine seem to be hovering around there.

I look forward to visiting the NYC again, as I haven't had enough of it yet.

Starbucks logo

My love for the coffee at the Cafe Coffee Day back in India has transitioned into love for Starbucks here in the US. Even though I have a cup of coffee every morning, the special cup of Latte at Starbucks stays close to my heart, and I look forward to slurping my latte over the weekend.

Now, I am speaking the truth when I say that my love for Starbucks has nothing to do with their logo. When I initially looked at the Starbucks logo, I thought it was a young girl holding a couple of big fish in her hands. Damn my over-simplifying innocence.

Here's the inside story of the logo. The truth is plain and simple. The logo is of a mermaid spreading her legs to you, inviting you to have fun with her. I wish I never knew. I wish I never visited this site.

But they have sanitised the logo over time to come up with this very innocent-looking picture. I accept I was fooled. But does that affect my love for their coffee in any way? Nope. I like their coffee, and I like their current logo. If someone asks me what the logo represents, I would still tell them that its a little girl holding up a couple of fish in her hand.

This world is a crazy place.

The Little League Parade

Williamsport is a small town, and it compares to an average district headquarters in India. Yet, it holds this major event called Little League Baseball World Series every year. This is a baseball tournaments for teenagers, and most of the baseball playing countries are well represented. Since this is an international event, this little town braces for the impact. It gets its limelight in the form of press visibility etc.

This tournament was kicked off at a gala parade on the 16th of August. It was a fun evening, where most of the people from town landed on a narrow but long street to welcome the little-leaguers. Here are some photos i had taken of this occasion. Just wanted to share them.

First came in the Rolls Royces of the town. Is this a Rolls Royce?

There were several bands playing, and several teams of girls waving flags around. It was a lot of fun to see mothers holding their young kids close to them, afraid that one of the flags might hit their precious child.

This is one of the photos I had taken that day. I was trying to capture a moving object in low light. So, the shutter was left open, but I panned the camera to follow the person, adorned with shiny silver foil all over him and this is what I ended up getting. Do you like it?

And then of course, the fireworks.

Yet anothere iPhone post on the Internet

I've fallen in love

I've fallen in love for the first time

And this time I know it's for real

I've fallen in love, yeah God knows,

God knows I've fallen in love

- From Queen's "I want to break free"

Yet another material gadget love. You can bet I had a crush on every revolutionary gadget in the market. But this time, it was different, its Love.

The difference was that I was just so obsessed with this thing that I went ahead and brought it home, paying up 600 of the most valuable bucks.

Where does that take me? I'm happy. I am happy the beast of phones is in my hand. This is not like one of those other smart-phones which bites more than it can chew, and then hangs in there, half dead. This is a very capable smart-phone, does a lot of things, and does it in style.

I am not saying that this is perfect - there is no such thing as perfection in this world. Its almost there. I don't have reasons explaining why it is almost perfect. It should be looking perfect to be because I am in love with it.

Bose Companion 2 Series II speaker review

I set out to buy speakers to help me relax at home. My first choice would have been a 2.1 system. But since I am put up in a hotel room, a 2.1 system would prove heavy on my floor-space. So, instead I started to look out for good 2.0 systems.

After a lot of research, I ended up with two options - Bose Companion 2 Series II and Klipsch Promedia 2.0. The Klipsch ones had excellent reviews all over the place. The bose speakers were rather new and haven't yet received a professional review anywhere. My deciding factor was the size. I wanted the smallest of the speakers without a compromise on sound quality. The klipsch speakers were larger than the Bose. So, I had to choose Bose. I didn't get to listen to Klipsch Promedia 2.0 anywhere, so I can't do a comparison. On the other hand, I did get to hear Klipsch Promedia 2.1 before and they're exceptionally good. I would prefer them to any Bose system if I was OK with a 2.1 system.

I had heard Bose Companion 2 (the older ones) at a Bose store, and didn't like them much, as they sounded tinny. A lot of screeching sound, and a lack of bass. But I found Series II to be much better. Thanks to Bose for overcoming this problem even if that needed an increase in the size of the speakers ever so slightly.

Now that I had only one option, I went ahead and brought these speakers home. Needless to say that these speakers were really good. I could hear the player's fingers rubbing against the guitar wires and all.

I listen to a lot of Rock, Jazz and Classical. The sound is really balanced, and reproduces bass, mid-tone and treble on more or less equal footage. I believe the bass and treble are amplified a little more. Maybe that's a decision Bose have taken to "define" their desktop speakers.

The advantage Bose has to other speakers of the same class, is the digital circuitry they probably use to enhance the sound to bring in increased stereo separation and roominess to the sound. The sound coming out is definitely more pleasing to the ears, and feels room-filling. You wouldn't get this experience with speakers from other brands, however faithful they are in reproducing sound as exactly as recorded.

Now, an advantage that's almost a disadvantage. These speakers are so accurate in reproducing the sound that you cannot forgive playing mp3s at low bitrates. You need mp3s to be coded at least at 128kbps for the sound to be acceptable. I rip my music at VBR 192-320kbps and I find it hard to differentiate between the original CD and the mp3, So, never over-compress your music.

Now, two clear disadvantages. The first is that these speakers are built to aim their best sound at the person sitting at the desktop. The sound fills the room, but you lose out on the spaciousness. The stereo separation is good at 6-10 feet away, but the spaciousness is lost. So, these speakers do have a sweet-spot, and that is a chair right next to the desktop. I wish Bose provided swivel stands, so that I could point my speakers at my couch and still get the best from the speakers.

Disadvantage 2. I have played at least 200 tracks by now. The sound reproduction was near perfect, except for one track. I was playing a classical track "Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica" - Scherzo: Allegro Vivace". This is an mp3 that has been shipped along with Windows Vista. Somewhere in the middle of the track, when a trumpet is played at a particular note, the right speaker gives a buzz. It means that I hit the natural frequency of the right speaker, and that resulted in resonance. I totally understand every object has its own natural frequency and you can't help it if you make a sound matching their natural frequency. But I am disappointed Bose didn't build it tight enough to avoid the buzz. I am not sure if this a defect in the speaker. But I can't return these speakers showing that the speakers buzz in only one track out of 200 tracks.

That's about it. The speakers are almost the best you could get in a 2.0 to my knowledge. The only contendor would be the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 2.0 and if you have enough desk-space and don't need them to be as portable, you could as well go for the Klipsch. But you mght miss upon the spacious-feel circuitry that Bose uses.

I give it a 4/5.

Advantages
* Good balance in sound. Enough bass.
* TrueSpace technology
* small size - almost portable

Disadvantages
* Speakers aimed at the desktop user.
* Buzz playing a particular track (not sure if this is a defect)
* Sometimes, the bass feels excessive.

Amazing Western Classical concert

It hasn't been even a week, and I was still trying to chew the cud reminiscing the good time I had at the bluegrass concert, when I heard of a western classical concert being held at the same venue. I decided to take the plunge, not because I am a serious fan of western classical instrumental music, but because I have cherished the dream of seeing, or rather listening to a live western classical orchestral concert for a long time.

The concert was on last Tuesday, and was being conducted by the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra. They performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 and Mahler Symphony 4. The former featured Beethoven's virtuoso piano composition played by Timothy LeVan and the latter had a soprano voice rendition by Kaitlyn Lusk.

The concert was top-notch. I don’t mind using the word ‘impeccable’ here, as me, a person who doesn’t know anything about western classical music, am too far from nit-picking their performance. The only gripe is with the seating position. Not able to spend too much on the ticket, I gave in to the $14 ticket, and was ushered to the balcony, about 500 feet away from the stage. And to my dismay, I realized they do not use any loud speaker system, and we had to depend upon the acoustics of the theatre to hear anything. I could hear most of it, but the volume was a tad too low for my comfort. Because of the low volume, I didn’t have the feeling of being part of the whole ambience. I felt thrown out. But otherwise, the clarity was excellent, and I could hear every little note played by every instrument.

Now I’d like to talk about a few things here. I discovered that arts like classical music get the recognition they deserve here in the US. People here know the importance of taking the culture forward through to the next generation. I saw so many kids and young crowd at the concert. Parents here do a commendable job trying to get their kids interested in classical music. I do not see that happening in India. Back in India, a local orchestra trained in classical music wouldn’t dare to hold a concert in a theatre with a capacity of 3000. You would probably see 300 enthusiasts there, out of which 270 would be aged 60 and above.

The second point is here now. This is, after all, a symphony group of a small town. Williamsport is not a big city like Philadelphia or Boston. It makes sense to understand that big cities have cultural societies that are nurtured by a large community. But I was really taken aback by the professionalism with which the show was run in such a small town. I was truly amazed at the quality of the performance, the costumes, the theatre, the audience, in fact, everything present there was top-notch. Such a measure of quality, that is hard to expect at a concert by a local group supported by a small community, in a small town.

Another very interesting thing that I observed here is the kind of silence people maintain here when the performance is on. The entire theatre, filled with about 2000 people, just goes dead silent, except for the odd cough or sneeze from some corner of the theatre. And when such a sneeze does come in, it reverberates along the entire theatre. I can very clearly hear and distinguish even the sound of a plastic wrapper that rattled far across the theatre. Now, it is time for an astonishing discovery. None, I say again, none of the mobile phones in the theatre ever made a sound for the whole duration of the concert. Will this ever be possible in India?

Bluegrass bonanza

"There are two types of people in the world, those who love Bluegrass and those who don't know it yet." - some bluegrass fan

This seems to be the philosophy of a band called "The Backwaters Experiment", a bluegrass band playing today at the Bullfrog in Williamsport. I find it hard to disagree, and this is why.

We had been to a St.Patty's day bluegrass gathering today held at the local community arts centre. This concert featured several local bands that played bluegrass.

Before I move on to the musicians, let me talk about Bluegress. Bluegrass is one of the genres of American music that features acoustic instrumentation with roots in traditional irish and scottish music. They feature all sorts of acoustic instruments like guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, bass, dobro etc., and the music is typically lively, fast and foot-tap-inducing and enjoyable.

There were several bands that played today. I couldn't listen to all of them - I had to come away. I did listen to three bands - the Lockport Drifters, Stained grass window and the Hillbilly Gypsies. They were really good.

The Lockport Drifters started out with a bang. The music was lively and entertaining. Everyone played good, but a special mention goes to Lucy McLaughlin who played the Mandolin. The way she played the mandolin was just amazing. She would step into an interlude, and take the crowd away to a different world.

Then played the Stained Grass Window. This was the band that we were looking for, coz one of the members of the band, Ken Shafranko, who plays the dobro, or the resophonic guitar. They played well. We know Ken at work, a guy full of enthusiasm, and a lot of witty laughables up his sleeve. He invited us to the concert, and that's how we were there. This band played an instrumental number to start with, and then spread out. I liked the way Ken sang "If I were a suoerman...". The band was pretty enhanting, but I thought they lost a bit of attention from the audience when they played a couple of sorrowful numbers, which didn't fit into the joyfull mood of the spectators, even though they were good. You could listen to a couple of numbers from this band here.

Then played the Hillbilly Gypsies. Wow... weren't they a treat to watch and listen! Theirs was a unique performance. They were a band of 5 musicians, but played with a single mike. The players that need to perform at a particular moment would come forward and perform. Then, immediately, they withdraw and make room for the one to perform next. These guys play fast, and you your foot wouldn't stop tapping. They're a fun to watch, and received such a royal encore that they had to return back and play an extra number to pacify the crowds.

I couldn't catch the rest of the evening as I had to come back. But I guess everyone there had a great time enjoying the music.

Bluegrass is a type of music that appeals to young and old, and is like a tradition that needs to be preserved, like the classical music in India. Tbe younger generation must wait for a minute and listen to this genre before they get overwhelmed with the electronics of contemporary rock.

Bullfrog Brewery

I've heard that Bullfrog Brewery is renowned all over North-East USA for its local brews - mostly ales and beers. And it happens to be right here in Williamsport. Locals seem to like its ambience a lot, and they often play live music. So, I've decided to check out the place over a weekend, and I did check the place out the last weekend.

The image on the right is one of the photos I have clicked there, and I like it. Hope you like it too.

The place is about a five-minute walk from where I stay, and I went there with my friend at about 9pm last Saturday. The place was pretty packed-up, and we were ushered to a small table next to a window.

The whole area had the usual pubish look to it, and the colour resembled a mix of red wine and beer. Unfortunately, I am not the best person to judge the food here, as I am a vegetarian, and the menu is very limited to vegetarians. Thank God they had an appetizer and an entree for vegetarians. The appetizer was good and filling, but the entree, which was made of pasta, was pretty bland. See the photo of the appetizer I ordered here. The photo is not good, but I guess, you will like the starter if you see it yourself. The starter tasted more like a very bland mexican salsa.

Now, we had to order some beer. Yes, this place is famous for its beer, but I never liked it. I have had a couple of sips before, and I always wondered how people liked beers so much. I've ordered some Red Inspiration here, and the situation was no different. I didn't like it much. But I guess beer lovers would have been absolutely fascinated by the poor drink.

Then came the part I liked the most. Live music performance. This was by a blues trio called "Blind Chitlin Kahunas". One played an electric guitar, the second played a bass guitar, and the third played drums. The electric guitarist was named Chris Bovard I guess, and he's the best guitarist I have seen. He's even better than Susmit Sen of Indian Ocean. Well, I shouldn't actually compare them. Both of them are the emperors of their own genre.

The music went on from 10pm to 12pm with a 10-minute break in between for beer. Of all the aspects of this place, the live band was the best.

Remember, this is a subjective review of a person who neither likes beers nor dark pubs. So, take it with a pinch of salt and a shot of vodka.

As white as driven snow

Every blog has its day. Today is this blog's day, and so this blog is being revived to its original glory. Better late than never. This blog smiles at every reader who considered this blog dead. This blog rised from its apparent grave.

While the blog was busy in its deathbead trying to decide whether or not to die, I was busy playing with my life. Yes, my life has taken a major turn, or rather I've turned my life around. I had blissfully positioned myself in the laid back city of Hyderabad (laid back in every sense except for its traffice sense) and suddenly I find myself in some remote town of Pennsylvania. How did that happen? Well, all that (hi)story is not worth studying. As per my policy, there's nothing you can do with History. So, leave it at that.

Now, I believe this town has a lot in store for me to see, do and experience. Let me describe the first of such experiences. Its the snow. I saw it snowing for the first time in my life. Yes, when I had been to Shimla, I could have a glimpse of snowy mountains from quite a distance, and we did play with some stagnant ice at a picnic spot. But here, it was real snow, and atleast 18 inches of snow, as pure as it falls, all of it in a span of two days.

When it snows, a dreamland opens up in front of your eyes. Everything is pure white, and the entire ambience lightens up your heart. Its probably like the feel you get after you've quickly gulped in multiple of shots of vodka. You forget all your worries and concerns, and smile at the beauty of life for a couple of minutes. I stare into the white snowland that has enveloped my vision, and drink in the spectacle, and then someone taps on my shoulder and reminds me that it's time to reach office.

A sweltering day in December

Yesterday was the first weekend in December. I really love the month of December, especially for the weather it brings. Its "December time" for us at office when most of the clients go to sleep, and the workload is at its lowest in the year. December's also the time when it starts snowing across the world, and all I need is nice music, a bean bag, closed eyes and a smile on my face to dream of the first snowfall in Hyderabad.

Let my dreams be as far-fetched as possible, but it really felt my dream was farther fetched yesterday. I had been out with my mom to take care of some shopping chores, and I needed some money. So, I drove to the nearest ICICI ATM. To my dismay, there was a queue of atleast 30 people waiting for their turn in front of the ATM. ICICI did their best by providing 4 ATM machines inside the ATM bay, but it took me nearly 15 minutes of waiting in the queue and under the hot sun.

That brings me to the subject of my blog. Why is the sun so hot in December? Global warming? Naah! Its probably the air-conditioning at office to which I got used to. But then I saw a street-dog digging itself into a pile of sand near a house under construction. I'm sure it was feeling the heat too. (Well I leave it to the user to take the correct meaning of heat here). I wished I was lying there too, digging my hands and feet into the wet sand, and cooling myself off.

I really love Hyderabad for its climate, even if it can get unbearably hot in summer. The air generally is extremely dry, and how much ever you sweat, its going to get evaporated soon. But it gets tough when it is hot, as it will sap all the energy in you. Standing in the hot sun for 15 minutes took its toll on me, and I had to sleep for more than 4 hours towards the evening to recover from the ordeal.

And it did not end there. I had a headache late in the night. I'm feeling better now, but the weekend is almost over, and I'm still trying to get into the weekend mood here. So, after I post this blog, I'll switch on some nice jazz, slump into my bean bag, close my eyes and smile.

Pandora continues to surprise me, and continues to take me into a wonderland, if I decide to lay in my bean-bag and doze off. The sun continues to blaze, but I don't care.

Weekend downtime

What do you do in the weekend? I call it the "weekend downtime" where you do some maintenance activities to refresh yourself and ensure smooth running for the rest of the week. The way I do it is by listening to a lot of music. Had splurged on audio CDs recently, and there's quite a lot of collection in my hand right now. So, What I'll do now is to post one-paragraph reviews about each of them.

John McLaughlin Trio - Que Alegria
Had bought this quite a while ago, when I started to get to know John McLaughlin through my favourite band Shakti. The reason I got attracted to this album, apart from John McLaughlin himself, is because it featured Trilok Gurtu, a famous jazz percussionist. The tracks in this album were pure jazz stuff. I know I'll love it very soon, but unfortunately, I'm still not into the whole jazz genre yet. I'm still in the middle of traversing through instrumental fusion and jazz. I don't like this album a lot yet, it'll have to wait.

John McLaughlin - Friday Night in San Francisco
This is one really amazing album featuring John McLaughlin with another great guitarist Paco De Lucia. John McLaughlin is agressive and shows his explosive qualities in here, producing a lot of fireworks, and Paco De Lucia bridges the explosion with a very sweet, soothing and sonorous acoustic guitar notes. Paco De Lucia is so good that I started listening to him on Pandora. And by the way, several guitar enthusiasts rate this as the best acoustic guitar live performance ever.

Shakti & John McLaughlin - All the hits
This is a money-saver definitive collection 3-CD pack from Sony Music. The 3-CDs are the best albums ever to be released by Shakti in their prime period. They are Natural Elements, A handful of Beauty and John McLaughlin and Shakti. I'm proud of this collection and I listen to this very often. Even though I had access to almost all the mp3s featured in here, I went ahead and bought the original CDs. The beauty of mp3s is that they act like teasers. When you listen to an mp3 and you like the tracks, you should buy the original CD to give the artists the appreciation they deserve. This CD collection is really value for money.

Paco De Lucia - Gold
I've got used to listening to Paco De Lucia's smooth acoustic guitar in pandora, and I loved almost every track he made. This motivated me to try some CD of his. I was strolling through the aisles of the local Music World and hit upon this CD. I used up my HSBC's credit-card points to buy this CD. This is a 2-CD collection and has 25 tracks of solo acoustic guitar. This probably falls in flamenco genre. The music is very rhythmic, and light. Amazing album.

Pure Silk
Happened to know that this music band was performing in Hyderabad from my friend and we had to scramble to ITC to get the tickets. We finally got the tickets after a huge adventure. Anyways, the concert wasn't that great because of of several issues, but for me, the band was an instant hit. I just loved the way Shankar played with music, and how Sivamani enjoyed getting his hands dirty with all his signature sound-ware (I keep wondering how he manages his inventory when he flies from city to city... Or does he have a full set of his ware in every city?). There were Louis Banks, Carl Peters too, but they never made an impact as their instruments were hardly audible. This Pure Silk album is a recording of their live performance at a music concert in London in the year 2000 (They performed better in London than in Hyderabad). The music is lively, modern, urban jazz. A very good find and I'm fond of it.

So, what do you think of it?

Pandora

I'm proud to introduce you all to pandora. This place is a treasure trove for music lovers. I have been listening to it for over 2 months now. There was a time when I thought I knew what I liked, and that I have a defined sense of musical taste and that I have had the privilege of being able to hear the best musicians this world had to offer. This site reminded me of the "frog in the well" tale.

Yes, its true. There's a "lot" of music out there. Lots of top quality music. The popular music is just the tip of the iceberg, or probably the layer of dust over a precious stone. I was amazed to look at the collection it has, and I realize I need to write about it, as I have marked pandora as an important friend that has entered my life at a good time.

Here's how you go

• Register for it. Its free, from money-mongers and spam.


• Choose an artist or album or song and create a station with this simple search criteria.


• Pandora will dish out music for you, that closely matches the musical criteria of the artist / song / album that you wanted.


• Listen to the music dished out patiently. Rate it religiously.


• Keep building 3-4 stations of your favourites. Whenever you find a very interesting piece, bookmark it, go back and start researching about it.


• If you fall in love with an album / artist / track, go buy the album, as a token of appreciation to the artist who has created it.

Here are some of the good points of this site I have noted till date.

• Introduces you to a lot of work out there in the wide world.


• Has an uncanny ability to "read your mind" and to present music that's an exact match for your taste.


• You end up knowing a lot more performers than you initially knew, and your music collection grows, you enjoy a wider spectrum of music, and you end up re-defining your faviourites


• Quality of music is high (almost CD quality) - good stereo, and good bass (they seem to run their music into an equivalizer that make the music more pleasing.


• The quality of their collection is really good. None of the song they dish out is "bad".

Some of the things that I do not like about Pandora

• No indian classical collection etc. So, you get to know only about western and world music


• When you choose an artist, the first song that they play often tend to be of some other artist, whose musical qualities match the artist you asked for. This might not go well with a lot of people.


• Your inputs are absolutely necessary if you want to end up with the music you like. (I'm not sure if this is a disadvantage).


• Not meant for very casual music listeners, who just want to listen to songs they like. This is more for people who are interested in exploring new music.


• The collection still needs a lot of content. You can't say that "everything under the sun is available here."

The bottom line - the intelligence built into the system works so well that it can read yout mind. You just need to talk to it truthfully. Over a month's time, Pandora figured out what I lile. and 9 out of 10 times, I end up liking the song it plays.

Have fun.

Dor - My Review

I am not a great fan of the mainstream movies produced from either hollywood or tollywood. I might watch them and go back home happily if I am satisfied with their "entertainment value". Otherwise, my way of looking at a movie is slightly off-beat. I appreciate the visuals, sound and technique a lot more than the characters and the glamour attached to them.

Now that my evaluation criteria is set, this movie scores a 10/10 in all areas except one. Let me talk about the "one" aspect that scores low. This really is a one-and-a-half hour film, and its very unfortunate that it was stretched for more than 2 hours. Not that it ever made me feel that I'm being strangled in a movie theatre, but it actually makes you drop off from the canvas occasionally, and start thinking about the popcorn that's melting in your neighbour's mouth. I don't "like" to take my eyes out of the screen even for a second when I'm watching a movie, and this movie doesn't "glue" my eyes to the screen 100% of the time.

But even in cases where I tend to sit back and relax in a "slow moving" situation, I keep marvelling at the visuals on the 70mm screen. A very scrisp camera-work. And the music is brilliant, and never for a second makes you feel that you're listening to some boring folk number.

Rajasthan looks so beautiful in this movie and I had an intense feeling to book a ticket to Rajasthan tour immediately. The golden sand and the brick red costumes left a mark in my heart, and I will definitely cherish a chance to feel the sand enveloping my bare feet.

The background score is brilliant, and so are the song tracks. Deep in meaning, and strong on melody, these tunes will stay in my heart for a long time to come. I will need to look out for more of his work. The CD seems to contain a purcussion composition from Trilok Gurtu, who's a brilliant percussionist. I guess I'll buy the CD soon.

Stepping back and looking at the movie as a whole, I believe the "key factor" of this movie is the narration. The story is about a woman going on a search for another grieving woman to ask her forgiveness for a sin that's not committed, and it doesn't sound interesting to me as is. But the way it was narrated is astounding. If you ask me, the story, by itself, is bland. But the way the characters relate to human values is amazing. And if it wasn't for Nagesh Kukunoor, this story wouldn't have made it to a silver screen, and even if it were, there wouldn't be any takers.

This movie is indeed a bold step in the right direction for the sensual cinema. The package attracts city multiplex frequenters, and the rest of India would ignore it. But Nagesh now has the backing of his "loyal" fans, and I'm sure we promise to watch every movie he makes, Nagesh is among the very few currently in this industry who has the guts to avoid all "run-off-the-mill" tricks, and still still win success, love and huge fan following.

If you haven't watched this movie, go watch it. Be a proud to be able to be present in a time when Nagesh shows off his magic. And go visit Rajasthan if you can.

The resurrection

Looks like promises are malevolent to the promiser. Here’s why. You tend to keep up to your promise, only till you actually make the promise. Here’s an example that has “not” happened with me, but I’m hoping to go through it some part of my life. You love the girl from the abyss of your heart till you actually commit the rest of the life with her. Right?

The example that happened with me is this blog. I had promised I’ll put in a lot of content about Vizag and it unfortunately never happens. So, here readers! I declare that I’m breaking this promise, in an attempt to resurrect the blog. I give up. I can’t write about the Rishikonda beach now that the experience is buried in sediments worth six months deep. Not totally unlike wine, old experiences rot. But we need to take it as one of life’s paradoxes that people don’t like all things to rot. So, time to throw the rotten experience out of the window. But the experience, when I went through it, was worth a lifetime.

Here I am, blabbering away, and that makes me feel good.

What have I been doing in the past 6 months? Well, I went on a world tour, with the most beautiful damsel the Almighty has ever cared to create. Put in more comprehensible language, I was asleep and I was dreaming wild.

License to Spam

AOL has a good spam filter. Most of the spam that gets spewed out, is trashed automatically by the spam filter. Now, AOL and other mail service providers get a new idea to make more money at the espense of their subscribers. To sell spamming licenses.

If you are a spammer and you're concerned about the low number of mails that are making it to real inboxes, and can spare some money to ensure more hits, here's a way out. Pay AOL and they will guarantee that your mail gets to the inbox of their subscribers. Sooner or later, you'll have to live with the "licensed" spam, or you'll have to deal with the head-ache of designing your own spam filters.

1. Instead of cribbing, let me give a better idea.
2. The spam filters will still be there, trashing the regular spam.
3. There will be a set of "spammers" allowed, who can buy licenses at a premium after providing enough justification on how their spam improves the world. When providing license, they should be classified into a certain group - sex, health, financial help, shopping etc.
4. The subsrcibers should have an option to choose to get mails from a classified set of spammers in one of the topics above. For receiving spam, the subscribers should get paid a small part of the royalty that the service providers earn for delivering spam.

This way

• The spammers are happy their spam is reaching their destination.
• The serivice provider is happy earning more revenues from the spammers
• The subscribers are happy as they get spam that interests them, and also earn money for inviting spam.

What say?

Mumbai Magic

Here's another one that shows the Gateway of India in the foreground and the majestic Taj Mahal hotel on the background. When people visit Mumbai, they're attracted to the Gateway of India, but I marvel at the Taj.

I've modified the colour balance a bit to give a old-timers' feeling to the photograph, but the boats in the front seem to betray the idea. The modified picture looks far better than the original, so I decided to display it.

Paint the turban red

This man didn't know I was photographing him. And I am pretty sure he doesn't know his photo is on the internet. He was on the platform when we were in a train that goes to Mumbai. I was lucky my camera was with me and that the camera was on. He was not there posing for a long time. If I didn't click when I caught a glimpse, I would have missed the chance of adding such a wonderful photo to my "I shot it" collection.

I am eager to take more of such shots. Wish me good luck.

Einstein and Violin

Another of Einstein's photographs in my collection. Something that connects to me.

Someone said Einstein might not have come up with the theory of relativity if he didn't play the violin. I have no idea how far that is true, but I did learn that Einstein drew his creative inspiration from Mozart and Bach.

But I can definitely tell you that playing a violin does make you feel really good about yourself. Its like driving your Harley Davidson minus the adrenalin rush minus the inevitable risk.

Learning a musical instrument is always fun if you like listening to music. Even getting a few notes correctly brings a smile to your face. But violin is not for the occasional fun-seekers. You gotta be extremely serious about your practice and the initial depression will soon fade away once the initial sqeaks slowly turn into more meaningful notes. For beginners, I'd confidently recommend a key-board. Go play it away.