I love blogger. I like wordpress, but blogger is way better for me.
Now, tumblr seems to be amazing. I'm moving to tumblr. Please follow me there. Also coloris is a cool app.
Jan 10, 2012
Jan 7, 2012
Them Pretentious Basterds Magazine
Nov 30, 2011
Kolaveri and the changing Indian identity
I don't think Kolaveri went viral just because it is a catchy song and it talks about something everyone can relate to. Yes, that is true, but I have a hypothesis beyond that.
Kolaveri going viral is a signal that our identity as Indians, and our popular culture, is changing.
It's no news that we are not satisfied with the movies being made in the country. You have a few good movies here and there, but really now, the premises of some of the so called 'different' movies are shit.
We've seen situations in movies that are more likely to happen 'in 80's Hollywood' as APAD put it. Liberties that our film makers take on setting and plot devices are sometimes so improbable in the country that you think 'No, that would never happen in my town.' Probably the reason why so many Bollywood movies are set outside the country.
Slowly however, our expectations and therefore our movies, have been changing. The colonial hangover is slowly starting to lift. The latest wave in Tamil cinema, which I think started with Sethu, lays emphasis on the Tamil identity. Movies started coming out which were inspired by world cinema, but were original and appreciated by the Internet generation.
There is a lot more moving around these days for education and for work. People from around the country are meeting each other and understanding more and more about the old unity in diversity cliche. You've all see the North Indian vs South Indian fights online, haven't you? I think it's a positive sign. It's always a positive sign when conflicts that have been hidden under the surface are dug out for discussion.
The Dewarists is another example of this new identity that we are fashioning for ourselves. I've always thought English rock in the country is pathetic and useless. I knew very little about the folk scene and music apart from the movies, but I'm changing my mind now. It's not all fake accents and Pink Floyd worship, is it. There is a lot of mind-blowing talent out there.
What is happening now is that popular art is identifying the different cultures in the country and giving us an identity that we can love. We are becoming proud of being Indians again, slowly losing the insecurity that perhaps our culture is no good enough. What is a cultural identity but a collective idealisation of a society and its times?
To quote Kamal Haasan, "The more ethnic you become, the more universal you become."
And what does Kolaveri have to do with all this?
Well, first, it's English, so everyone on the internet understands it, but it's as local as you can get with the language. The beat is kuthu, and I'm sure the rhythm inclined friends of yours will be able to play it on a bench in class. The situation is typical of small town college heart breaks and Dhanush looks like someone you could hang out with in a tea kadai. Do you see now? It's as universally Indian as it can get.
Plus, it isn't sung by some professional singer with carnatic or hindustani nuances your friend tells you that you don't get because you're not trained in music. It doesn't have classical tamil or weird urdu words you don't understand. It's direct, fun, danceable and is the only song in recent memory that everyone can sing along to, even if they've just heard it once.
Whatever it is, I have a feeling we're going to look back one day, when we are proud enough of our collective identity and finally over the colonial hangover, and say. "Macha, I think it started sometime around Kolaveri."
Nov 29, 2011
The Absence of Change
No one has change.
As the bus conductors, shop keepers, auto drivers and anyone else who runs a business where the ticket size is below debit-card-swipe level will tell you when you hand them a fifty, they don't have change.
This lack of change has forced me to create a credit account with my favorite tea shop. I give them fifties and ask them to subtract whenever I visit. It's fine with tea shops, but the problem is really with bus conductors.
Imagine this. It's your lucky day, you pushed and shoved and got a window seat on the bus back home, you're happily humming along to 'Jing jikka' from someone's phone, the conductor squeezes through the crowd and gets to you and you give him ten rupees.
First, he'll ask you for twelve more rupees, because, well Amma's raised the rates hasn't she? And when you give him a twenty, he'll happily tell you, with more zen than the kid from the matrix, there is no change.
Then, you'll tell him you don't have change either and then he'll point to the board that says "Please tender exact change" and question your education. He'll blame you, and you'll blame him and one of you will lose a few rupees. No, no, you'll lose a few rupees.
But hey, at least you're not stuck at a toll gate.
As the bus conductors, shop keepers, auto drivers and anyone else who runs a business where the ticket size is below debit-card-swipe level will tell you when you hand them a fifty, they don't have change.
This lack of change has forced me to create a credit account with my favorite tea shop. I give them fifties and ask them to subtract whenever I visit. It's fine with tea shops, but the problem is really with bus conductors.
Imagine this. It's your lucky day, you pushed and shoved and got a window seat on the bus back home, you're happily humming along to 'Jing jikka' from someone's phone, the conductor squeezes through the crowd and gets to you and you give him ten rupees.
First, he'll ask you for twelve more rupees, because, well Amma's raised the rates hasn't she? And when you give him a twenty, he'll happily tell you, with more zen than the kid from the matrix, there is no change.
Then, you'll tell him you don't have change either and then he'll point to the board that says "Please tender exact change" and question your education. He'll blame you, and you'll blame him and one of you will lose a few rupees. No, no, you'll lose a few rupees.
But hey, at least you're not stuck at a toll gate.
Nov 5, 2011
David Mamet's 3 Rules of Drama
Nov 4, 2011
Open Letter to the News Media
You are boring. You take no effort to make news interesting. You make no effort to actually cause change.
If you assume more responsibility. You will enjoy more goodwill and power. You will be able to make more money too.
We don't need you to teach us morals. We need you to present the facts clearly and simply and then streamline debates of opinion.
We want facts and numbers and evidence and we want them in an interesting format. Use info-graphics. Use simple language. We don't understand what these politicians are saying to each other. We don't know legal terms. Hell, we don't even know what the law says. Explain to us like we are children with ADD, because we are.
Analyse what impacts this will have. Open up your content. Let more people write for you. Keep at an issue until the government does something. For example, post a page with a picture of potholes on the street with a caption reading "Fuck You Government". And then do it everyday for 2 years. If nothing changes, buy billboards and put the pictures there. With the caption. In the biggest font size you can afford. We'll pay for it.
Organize news in a much more efficient way. I'd like a contents page on my newspaper. I'd like to decide what is important on my own. I don't need you to make some headlines bigger and some headlines smaller.
Oh and celebrity gossip. We know it's all paid or made up. Stop treating us like idiots, okay?
Ask more questions. No one is going to get hurt if you ask an idiotic question. These politicians should be terrified of press meets. Don't just go there and copy down what they are saying. Even if they don't want you to ask, ask. Get kicked out of there, I don't care. Publish your questions in the article. Instigate the government. Make them go mad. Say everything you want to say.
Take the centenary library issue for example. I don't see anyone asking if the building is suited for being turned into a hospital. I like the idea of a hospital, but if this is just so Jaya can take her revenge, it's pointless. And everyone knows it's Jaya taking revenge.
The media should do something. You can ask people to come and stand there in front of the library building can't you? You can organize agitations, can't you? You're supposed to be the voice that calls out to us, wakes us from our slumber and makes us change, even if we don't want to. You're supposed to be the voice of reason. Not the voice of the beggar asking for more ad revenue.
Be open with us man. We're all in this together, you know. Be honest. Use swear words in your opinion pages but don't mix your opinions in your news. Take real effort to cause change. Be interesting. Adapt to new technologies. Use your common sense.
Stop competing for revenue. Start competing for glory. And we'll stand with you.
If you assume more responsibility. You will enjoy more goodwill and power. You will be able to make more money too.
We don't need you to teach us morals. We need you to present the facts clearly and simply and then streamline debates of opinion.
We want facts and numbers and evidence and we want them in an interesting format. Use info-graphics. Use simple language. We don't understand what these politicians are saying to each other. We don't know legal terms. Hell, we don't even know what the law says. Explain to us like we are children with ADD, because we are.
Analyse what impacts this will have. Open up your content. Let more people write for you. Keep at an issue until the government does something. For example, post a page with a picture of potholes on the street with a caption reading "Fuck You Government". And then do it everyday for 2 years. If nothing changes, buy billboards and put the pictures there. With the caption. In the biggest font size you can afford. We'll pay for it.
Organize news in a much more efficient way. I'd like a contents page on my newspaper. I'd like to decide what is important on my own. I don't need you to make some headlines bigger and some headlines smaller.
Oh and celebrity gossip. We know it's all paid or made up. Stop treating us like idiots, okay?
Ask more questions. No one is going to get hurt if you ask an idiotic question. These politicians should be terrified of press meets. Don't just go there and copy down what they are saying. Even if they don't want you to ask, ask. Get kicked out of there, I don't care. Publish your questions in the article. Instigate the government. Make them go mad. Say everything you want to say.
Take the centenary library issue for example. I don't see anyone asking if the building is suited for being turned into a hospital. I like the idea of a hospital, but if this is just so Jaya can take her revenge, it's pointless. And everyone knows it's Jaya taking revenge.
The media should do something. You can ask people to come and stand there in front of the library building can't you? You can organize agitations, can't you? You're supposed to be the voice that calls out to us, wakes us from our slumber and makes us change, even if we don't want to. You're supposed to be the voice of reason. Not the voice of the beggar asking for more ad revenue.
Be open with us man. We're all in this together, you know. Be honest. Use swear words in your opinion pages but don't mix your opinions in your news. Take real effort to cause change. Be interesting. Adapt to new technologies. Use your common sense.
Stop competing for revenue. Start competing for glory. And we'll stand with you.
Oct 23, 2011
Book Lovers' Program for Schools
Naresh from ilovereadin' is taking over the BLPS. This is going to be fun! Here's a letter he sent me with, asking me to forward it to my friends:
Hello.
My name is Naresh and I run a start up called The Book Lovers Program for Schools (BLPS) based out of IIT Madras, Chennai.
What is BLPS?
At BLPS, we try to promote better Communication, Comprehension, and Creative Thinking among kids through books and reading, through story telling sessions, games and activities during the library period in schools.
How many schools are you working with?
We are currently working with two schools - PS Senior Sec School, Mylapore, Chennai (into our 2nd year) and Riverside Public School, a residential school in Kotagiri (near Ooty).
And what have you achieved so far?
Our statistics say that we have managed to increase book borrowals from 12-15% (typical in any school library) to 80% in the last academic year. That means nearly 25 kids in a class of 30 read everyday. And the amazing thing is that these children perform well in other subjects like Math & Science too.
Hmmm... So what next?
We at BLPS believe that we have developed something of immense potential. We are planning to scale up operations from 2 schools in Tamil Nadu to at least 200 schools all over India.
What exactly do you do at the BLPS?
- We make lesson plans for classes 1st - 8th standard based on popular books and children's literature (Eg, books by Roald Dahl, Dr.Seuss, Malgudi Days, Jungle Book, Harry Potter etc) with interesting activities based on these books (storytelling, mime, designing a book cover, debates, discussions, writing exercises etc)
- We also equip the English Teachers in schools to handle these classes themselves.
- We work closely with all existing curriculums - Matriculation, CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE etc in developing modules suited for the school environment.
so BLPS = Lesson plans + teacher training
So why are you telling me all this?
Because I need your help in putting together a team of a) Content Developers - people to make these lesson modules, who love books and children; who are comfortable with English, and the Internet. b) Business Developers - to handle sales and marketing of BLPS - would be required to interact with a lot of schools, and teachers - should be good at convincing people.
So are you looking for part timers/volunteers?
No, these are full time jobs, and I have funding so we can definitely pay market rate according to your talent and skill.
Tell me again, why exactly are you doing this?
We believe that this is an earnest effort to change the face of education in India. Hopefully, as we grow, we will be able to promote regional languages and other subjects as well as a part of our company resulting in a holistic education program which would benefit children from all walks of life, all around the nation.
What else can I do to help?
If it is possible you can put me in touch with schools and school teachers, other academic institutions, people who work in education etc. You can help me contact the schools you studied in. Or you can simply spread the word about the Book Lovers' Program for Schools.
Please feel free to mail me or call me (phone no at end of email) and I would love to discuss the program in detail.
Regards,
Naresh
nareshram121@gmail.com
(099623 64521)
My name is Naresh and I run a start up called The Book Lovers Program for Schools (BLPS) based out of IIT Madras, Chennai.
What is BLPS?
At BLPS, we try to promote better Communication, Comprehension, and Creative Thinking among kids through books and reading, through story telling sessions, games and activities during the library period in schools.
How many schools are you working with?
We are currently working with two schools - PS Senior Sec School, Mylapore, Chennai (into our 2nd year) and Riverside Public School, a residential school in Kotagiri (near Ooty).
And what have you achieved so far?
Our statistics say that we have managed to increase book borrowals from 12-15% (typical in any school library) to 80% in the last academic year. That means nearly 25 kids in a class of 30 read everyday. And the amazing thing is that these children perform well in other subjects like Math & Science too.
Hmmm... So what next?
We at BLPS believe that we have developed something of immense potential. We are planning to scale up operations from 2 schools in Tamil Nadu to at least 200 schools all over India.
What exactly do you do at the BLPS?
- We make lesson plans for classes 1st - 8th standard based on popular books and children's literature (Eg, books by Roald Dahl, Dr.Seuss, Malgudi Days, Jungle Book, Harry Potter etc) with interesting activities based on these books (storytelling, mime, designing a book cover, debates, discussions, writing exercises etc)
- We also equip the English Teachers in schools to handle these classes themselves.
- We work closely with all existing curriculums - Matriculation, CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE etc in developing modules suited for the school environment.
so BLPS = Lesson plans + teacher training
So why are you telling me all this?
Because I need your help in putting together a team of a) Content Developers - people to make these lesson modules, who love books and children; who are comfortable with English, and the Internet. b) Business Developers - to handle sales and marketing of BLPS - would be required to interact with a lot of schools, and teachers - should be good at convincing people.
So are you looking for part timers/volunteers?
No, these are full time jobs, and I have funding so we can definitely pay market rate according to your talent and skill.
Tell me again, why exactly are you doing this?
We believe that this is an earnest effort to change the face of education in India. Hopefully, as we grow, we will be able to promote regional languages and other subjects as well as a part of our company resulting in a holistic education program which would benefit children from all walks of life, all around the nation.
What else can I do to help?
If it is possible you can put me in touch with schools and school teachers, other academic institutions, people who work in education etc. You can help me contact the schools you studied in. Or you can simply spread the word about the Book Lovers' Program for Schools.
Please feel free to mail me or call me (phone no at end of email) and I would love to discuss the program in detail.
Regards,
Naresh
nareshram121@gmail.com
(099623 64521)
Oct 22, 2011
Template Tweaking
Everyone who's seen me writing a blog post knows that I obsess with the template of my blog. I like the simplicity of editing things in Blogger as opposed to Wordpress which I feel is terribly complicated and very rigid for someone who doesn't know CSS or HTML.
So I've been tweaking templates for ages and today I present to you my current template, which I must say is the one I love the most of all the templates I've created. The look is inspired by a lot of blogs and website but I should mention indi.ca (the grey bg image) and A.Aronsson's weBOLLog (the font, the size etc)
 |
| I'm too lazy to take another screenshot and do the Inception effect |
A lot of Googling went into it. Yes, yes, someone with CSS knowledge could have done it quite easily. I will learn CSS one day, and then I shall take over the world of template creation.
As of now, that is a screenshot in case I change the design the next 10 minutes. And here is the xml I downloaded to back-up the template.
Oct 21, 2011
Sexy Tiny Girl
Into the mike, to the assembly hall full of half-pant boys and pinafore girls, he says the following.
"Our leader says, 'I shall sing and you shall sing along.' Remember children, we must always obey our leader, because if we do not obey our leader, we are in disagreement with God. If we make God angry, he'll fire Santa Clause. You don't want Santa to lose his job, do you?"
The boys are fiddling with the lint in their pockets. The girls are wiping runny noses with their hankies.
He is interrupted at this moment in his inspiring morning speech by a tiny, springy girl. He bends down to listen to her, away from the mike. He thinks to himself that she will grow up to be a very attractive lady. He thinks to himself, she is hot as it were. She whispers something in his ears. The erection dies. "What?" he says. "Yes? Are you certain?" he is terrified.
The boys and the girls are waiting for him to come back to finish his lecture so they can go to class and sit down. Their legs hurt.
He rushes off stage, biting his fingernails. There is a collective 'tch' sound. The boys and girls are upset with the delay. The tiny girl on the stage smiles at her new-found audience. A few of this audience smile back. The girl motions the stage hand to adjust the mike to her level. The stage hand looks around and because there are no adults whose authority he can act upon, chooses to act on the instructions of this tiny girl. He sets the mike to her level.
She shouts into the mike now. "Attention." The lint picking stops and the hands hang stiffly. The noses run as the hankies hang on. Even the stage hand stands straight in a spurt of enthusiasm.
The tiny girls commands them again. "We are going to sing the national anthem." She starts singing. The band pick up after the first bar. The boys and the girls begin to sing along. The anthem ends. The kick drum's last thump is a present reverberation, when...
He rushes like a mad man towards the stage, flailing his arms, baring his teeth. The stage hand's legs shiver and he runs off the stage and out the auditorium. Some of the boys are waiting for a stand-at-ease. The others are stamping out at the lines of ants. Some of the girls wonder why he is rushing like that to the stage, the rest are looking at their finger nails. The tiny girl looks at him, his rage, his arms spinning like Popeye's pre-punch fist circles. She chuckles, laughs, holds onto her stomach, curls into a ball, falls on the floor, twists, turns, gasps for breadth, coughs, laughs again. He is almost at the stage stairs now. The boy and the girls are all paying attention to the tiny girl and the man. The man leaps into the air, his leg aimed at the top most step. The girls starts singing the national anthem again.
He has no choice now but to freeze into attention at the top of the stairs. He sings along. The anthem ends. He's gasping for breadth. The tiny girls holds back her laughter, runs up to him, punches his balls before he understands what is happening, and runs away. He curls on the podium, in terrible, terrible pain.
The half-pant boys and the pinafore girls are seated on the auditorium floor watching him.
"Our leader says, 'I shall sing and you shall sing along.' Remember children, we must always obey our leader, because if we do not obey our leader, we are in disagreement with God. If we make God angry, he'll fire Santa Clause. You don't want Santa to lose his job, do you?"
The boys are fiddling with the lint in their pockets. The girls are wiping runny noses with their hankies.
He is interrupted at this moment in his inspiring morning speech by a tiny, springy girl. He bends down to listen to her, away from the mike. He thinks to himself that she will grow up to be a very attractive lady. He thinks to himself, she is hot as it were. She whispers something in his ears. The erection dies. "What?" he says. "Yes? Are you certain?" he is terrified.
The boys and the girls are waiting for him to come back to finish his lecture so they can go to class and sit down. Their legs hurt.
He rushes off stage, biting his fingernails. There is a collective 'tch' sound. The boys and girls are upset with the delay. The tiny girl on the stage smiles at her new-found audience. A few of this audience smile back. The girl motions the stage hand to adjust the mike to her level. The stage hand looks around and because there are no adults whose authority he can act upon, chooses to act on the instructions of this tiny girl. He sets the mike to her level.
She shouts into the mike now. "Attention." The lint picking stops and the hands hang stiffly. The noses run as the hankies hang on. Even the stage hand stands straight in a spurt of enthusiasm.
The tiny girls commands them again. "We are going to sing the national anthem." She starts singing. The band pick up after the first bar. The boys and the girls begin to sing along. The anthem ends. The kick drum's last thump is a present reverberation, when...
He rushes like a mad man towards the stage, flailing his arms, baring his teeth. The stage hand's legs shiver and he runs off the stage and out the auditorium. Some of the boys are waiting for a stand-at-ease. The others are stamping out at the lines of ants. Some of the girls wonder why he is rushing like that to the stage, the rest are looking at their finger nails. The tiny girl looks at him, his rage, his arms spinning like Popeye's pre-punch fist circles. She chuckles, laughs, holds onto her stomach, curls into a ball, falls on the floor, twists, turns, gasps for breadth, coughs, laughs again. He is almost at the stage stairs now. The boy and the girls are all paying attention to the tiny girl and the man. The man leaps into the air, his leg aimed at the top most step. The girls starts singing the national anthem again.
He has no choice now but to freeze into attention at the top of the stairs. He sings along. The anthem ends. He's gasping for breadth. The tiny girls holds back her laughter, runs up to him, punches his balls before he understands what is happening, and runs away. He curls on the podium, in terrible, terrible pain.
The half-pant boys and the pinafore girls are seated on the auditorium floor watching him.
Oct 20, 2011
Definition
All problems faced by human beings are human problems. Problems caused by expectations, aspirations, ignorance, laziness to think, emotions, conflict of opinions and so on.
It is surprising how all of these problems are caused by one process of thought. Definition. What do I mean by definition?
Definition is the process by which a person converts his or her understanding ( which is the combination of ideas and knowledge) into a form that can be conveyed to other people with words.
The problem with this definition of definition and the problem with all definition is that words fail to capture every subtle connotation of understanding. The solution to this seems simple enough, right? Explain with more words and take more time to explain, what you understand. The problem here is most of us don't know how much we know and most of us are not craftsmen of language.
What do we do?
There are many ways to look at this problem. You can look at it as a lack in clarity of the understanding. That is to say, the understanding that must be defined is not clearly thought out. The understanding is not completely understood. This is the one way to look at the problem of definition.
The second way to look at it is to see it as a problem in conveying the information. The form in which the definition is presented is not good enough.
So the obvious solution would be, for the first problem, to come to a better understanding. To think out clearly. There are a lot of ways to think clearly, the best of these is to write or speak what you are thinking and the conversations that you have will clear your head, and offer your new insights. That is - collect more feedback before defining.
The solution to the second problem, the problem of relay, is to present the incidents and the processes that culminated in your understanding (the understanding you want to define) and let the people you want to convey the definition to figure things out themselves. In other words, to let people experience viscerally the truths and assumptions on which you've based your understanding. In this way, you are not preaching but letting the understanding transfer via empathy and emotions instead of words. This is the crux of all storytelling.
If you've been following my argument carefully, you'd have noticed that both the problems I've identified are on the assumption that the process of definition itself is a good idea, and that it need not be challenged. This is not true of this idea, or of any idea in this world. What we know to be true today, will change with more information and a better understanding will arise. This argument is only a speaking-out-loud exercise to understand the process of definition better. You'd also have noticed that both the solutions I've presented bypass the actual process of defining things in stone.
This is as it should be, because definition is the root cause of all problems. In the next essay, I will explain why I say that.
It is surprising how all of these problems are caused by one process of thought. Definition. What do I mean by definition?
Definition is the process by which a person converts his or her understanding ( which is the combination of ideas and knowledge) into a form that can be conveyed to other people with words.
The problem with this definition of definition and the problem with all definition is that words fail to capture every subtle connotation of understanding. The solution to this seems simple enough, right? Explain with more words and take more time to explain, what you understand. The problem here is most of us don't know how much we know and most of us are not craftsmen of language.
There are many ways to look at this problem. You can look at it as a lack in clarity of the understanding. That is to say, the understanding that must be defined is not clearly thought out. The understanding is not completely understood. This is the one way to look at the problem of definition.
The second way to look at it is to see it as a problem in conveying the information. The form in which the definition is presented is not good enough.
So the obvious solution would be, for the first problem, to come to a better understanding. To think out clearly. There are a lot of ways to think clearly, the best of these is to write or speak what you are thinking and the conversations that you have will clear your head, and offer your new insights. That is - collect more feedback before defining.
The solution to the second problem, the problem of relay, is to present the incidents and the processes that culminated in your understanding (the understanding you want to define) and let the people you want to convey the definition to figure things out themselves. In other words, to let people experience viscerally the truths and assumptions on which you've based your understanding. In this way, you are not preaching but letting the understanding transfer via empathy and emotions instead of words. This is the crux of all storytelling.
If you've been following my argument carefully, you'd have noticed that both the problems I've identified are on the assumption that the process of definition itself is a good idea, and that it need not be challenged. This is not true of this idea, or of any idea in this world. What we know to be true today, will change with more information and a better understanding will arise. This argument is only a speaking-out-loud exercise to understand the process of definition better. You'd also have noticed that both the solutions I've presented bypass the actual process of defining things in stone.
This is as it should be, because definition is the root cause of all problems. In the next essay, I will explain why I say that.