Musings

"Design is a passion and Performance is a thriller"

2008-11-05T05:41:00.003-06:00

Hmmm.. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the line..

Seems to be out of place, doesn’t it ? But that’s the new thing our latest gold winning Olympian is mouthing these days; when he promotes the new Samsung TV..

“Performance is a thriller" .. Couldn’t they make something a bit more meaningful and appealing..Maybe if “Performance is a thrill” it would have sounded better. Don’t know .. tried both options in MS Word’s spell check and nope.. no wriggly lines appeared. So they both seem to pass on that criteria.

Anyways the “thrill” thingy just did not cut it for me.. Guess I will have to just stick with my plain old “Sense and Simplicity”.. Tough luck Mr. Bindra :)

Disconnected Elevators

2008-03-19T11:51:00.007-05:00

We have two elevators in our apt building. One's a small passenger; complete with a nice mirror where you can preen yourself for a min before stepping out and the other is a bare bones freight elevator. Both face one another. Now I have seen elevators where if they are adjacent to one another they can coordinate with one another and given a passenger request only one of them will service that call. But somehow it does not work with elevators which are on opposite walls. Does not make sense, does it? Just because they are not side by side does not mean that they should be incapable of talking to one another. I have seen this plenty of times. Early morning when people are always in a hurry, they will press both the down buttons. After that both the elevators will stop at all the floors while coming down. Now if they had just noticed that one of them is already servicing the request, the other one needn't have done that completely useless trip..It is anyways going to be always behind the first one as it still has to stop at all the floors where it's service has been requested..

Anyways. hopefully someone from the elevator business does come up with a solution to this. Will surely save some electricity.. and more importantly some swear words from the person who barely missed the first elevator and has to come down on the second :)

nobody's perfect!

2008-02-09T12:59:00.003-06:00

There is a new channel on air from UTV called 'World Movies'.. Shows cinema from all over the world. The movies are not dubbed but are instead shown with subtitles. somehow dubbing kills the entire movie.. Sometimes while fiddling with the remote , I have seen Rambo uttering dialogues in shudh hindi. looks horrible to say the least. Anyways the channel is on air for about a weeek now and my weekends could not have gone any better.. They have a marked preference to spanish dramas.. Maybe they will move to other genres but right now it's all cool with me..

Watched one tonight called 'Nobody's perfect!'.. It's a story about three friends who are disabled in one way or the other.. One of them is blind, the other deaf while the last one doesn't have a leg.. The blind dude is getting married the next day and this is their last night where they plan to raise hell around town.. They decide to go for a movie and while trying to park in a disabled spot they find that there is a car parked out there which does not have a sticker.. They block that vehicle, call in for a tow truck and soon enough a pretty young thing comes in and asks them to move their car.. When they tell her that she has parked in a disabled spot and she seems to be perfectly fine, she retorts that she does have a disability.. but she does not have a sticker to prove it.

She goes on to say that she does not have any taste buds on her tongue.. when one of them says that is no disability .. She replies 'how would it feel if you never found out what food tastes like.. you cannot differentiate between salt and sour.. everything tastes just the same.. nobody ever likes my cooking.. don't you think that's a disability !!'. pretty interesting huh!

A strange morning incident :)

2008-02-07T22:43:00.002-06:00

You know what… subah subah as usual I woke up in a daze..thinking why do I have to go to the stupid office again.. Can I work from home? Abhi bathroom ke andar jaa rahe the ki got a call from the main gate.. ‘sir.. koi flowers lekar banda aaya hai’..

Apun ekdum hil gaye.. soche kahaan jaaye.. should I go to the loo or should I pick up the flowers.. Upar se who is sending mom flowers and all.. mom getting flowers..hmmm.. does dad know about it..

maine bola ‘aane do.. Dekhte hain kaun mai-ka-laal mere mom ko flowers de raha hai’.. So the delivery guy started the climb up to my apt.. I wrapped a towel around meself and stood near the door all ready to face him. Bathroom jaana hai jaldi.. I am shuffling from one feet to the other, but guess what.. I am still up for the fight . Can’t hit the dude who is sending flowers to my mom.. but I sure can poke his delivery guy in the eye..

Now the delivery guy is atleast twice my size.. Had expected a pint sized nepali dude but this one was straight from bheema’s clan.. So said a meek hi to him.. He thrusted me the flowers on one hand, a rectangular white box which seemed to have a cake on the other.. He had a card too which I am sure he wanted to staple on my forehead .. But anyways he seemed to take pity on my early morning state and said ‘sign karo’.. So I signed as quickly as I can, wrote all my phone numbers and gave him the slip back..

Phir waapas aakar dekha ki card mein likha hain ‘Happy birthday kaku’ J.. Aur to aur opened the box. Card is for me so the cake box should be in all probability belong to me too.. Khola to dekha ki usme bhi likha hai ‘Happy Birthday Kaku!!!’.. Yippeee!!! Felt all happy.. Free cake and cards on a day which is NOT even my birthday!!. Guess today is one lucky day. Aisa rahega to birthday mein I will get some more goodies..

Anyways flowers were cool (mom calls them kochu flowers) and that cake was awesome too.. Thanks Aaoochoo!!

Proposal prices

2008-01-23T22:40:00.001-06:00

We have a MS team in Pune too.. Recently they put up a telecom proposal for an African client wherein the total cost including s/w and h/w comes to a cool 6 million USD .. In addition to that MS is also there.. they will ask for consulting charges on top of that.. So you can safely assume that the project cost will be in the range of 15 million USD.. now they want a bakra from our team to go out there and present it.. According to them, they don’t have the bandwith for that. Buggers!!. Anyways one of my colleagues has been chosen as the bakra.. So I was just telling this to him over lunch..

You finish the ppt and then this is what happens…

Client:: “15 million, you say, eh?”

Ravi:: “yeah, that’s how much it adds up to.. This is a big thing.. best solution, latest technology, full SOA implementation and we will give an extended warranty period of 1 year”

Client :: “ yeah but..”

Ravi:: “ We can reduce on some offshore level 3 support prices. But that’s a later discussion”

Client:: “yeah but..”

Ravi:: “ OK.. Will give some discount on the volumes we generate for your new engagements too”

Client:: “yeah but..”

Ravi:: “ No buts..We are a level 5 company and we have MS overseeing us.. So you wouldn’t… “

Client:: “hold on damn it!!.. Let me finish!! Do you know what is my country’s GDP ?”

Ravi (very meekly…):: “nope”

Client:: “yeah, that’s what.. Our GDP numbers are lesser than your proposal cost. So you better run the country for sometime.. Fill in the country’s coffers and then come back.. Hell, we will even make you our President for sometime !!”

Didn't come out so well in the written format. It was much better when I had told it to him L

Bye!!

chekhov's short novels

2008-01-06T10:13:00.001-06:00

Took it off from one of my friend's bookshelves about a month back and have been religiously plodding through it for sometime now. I haven't read much of the Russians so thought this will be a welcome break from my regular Indian author reading material.. The setting of the stories are a bit archaic at times, but somehow the description of the land, the environment and settings are extraordinarily vivid in this translated text.. Morning bus journeys, flat steppes showing the vastness of the landscape, Russian peasant life with all it's tidings form a majority of the stories. Couple of them relate to the city gentry with it's usual pretentiousness and obsequious behavior to the higher social classes. In short life in general.. An interesting read :)

Cricket -- The old and the new

2007-12-09T00:38:00.000-06:00

Two different channels.. Two different cricket formats..one carrying on with a tradition which is as old as the game and the other a breakaway league where has beens and relative unknowns are trying to slug it out and entertain a non existent crowd...Somehow I am still not comfortable with the new big bang approach to cricket.. It's more like if I don't get a hindi movie ticket what is my next option.. Head right away to the cricket ground and get entertained by a slug fest..

Twenty20 reminds me more of a WWE event.. Maybe cricket is also headed the wrestling way.. Market it more like an entertainment option than an actual sport..Do we really see any class or finesse out there in Twenty20..? Will we ever create any memories out of these games..? We will all remember Laxman's heroic knock at the Edens and Ganguly's sublime touch on the offside in the current test match at Bangalore.. But in the new format will we ever reminisce such stories.. No doubt we are the current T20 world champs, but.. somehow I feel a test series victory against Australia will be more meaningful than that championship trophy..

Maybe I should be more in tune with the times, but having a bowl out to decide on the outcome of a contest does tend to marginalise the importance of the sport.. Don't you think so?

Reliving Malgudi..

2007-10-21T13:22:00.001-05:00

"Ta na na tana nana na..Ta na na tana nana na".. A simple melody without words but it was just enough to remind us that it's Wednesday night and Malgudi days is on air. Starting with the music and then with the cartoons, the serial used to evoke such an immense feeling of joy within us that you would willingly cut down on your evening dose of cricket and finish your homework before hand rather than miss it for some reason. Maybe it was the stories or maybe it was the way it was told.. it was something we could all relate to. Swami with his cricket and schoolwork, friends and his school masters.. The stories were set in a different era but still it had that unusual charm and freshness that could transcend time and space. Moreover it portrayed South India at it's best..Traditional brahmin people with the sacred ash smeared on their foreheads, pretty girls with jasmine flowers in their long hair,filter coffee, the concept of tiffin with steaming hot idlis and sambar and then those temples..the entire package was simply irresistible to us living in Delhi.

Went this weekend to forum with some friends and as usual found myself gravitating towards Landmark.. Got tonnes of books to read at home but still could not resist picking up "Swami and Friends". Maybe it reminds me of a bygone era when things were so much simpler or maybe it reminds me of my childhood.. those distant strains still continue to haunt me .."Ta na na tana nana na..Ta na na tana nana na" :)

Cardamom coffee

2007-02-03T12:12:00.000-06:00

Chennai is hot and muggy. That's the best way to describe the place. The place literally saps the strength out of you. Anyway after a long wandering day in the open, we went to a quiet mediterranean restaurant for lunch. The fare was decent but I didn't have much of an appetite.. Me was more interested in gulping down glasses of cold water trying to rehydrate myself. The restaurant had these huge hookahs which were available for those who had the exotic bend of mind. But instead of trying to do the twin tasks of gurgling and looking clever at the same time, we decided to go for some Cardamom Coffee. Now we all make masala tea at some point of time or the other but somehow the very act of besmirching coffee with spices did sound sacrilegious to me. The menu called it Lebanese though I am not sure how cardamom went to Beirut of all places. Maybe it did go through some ancient spice route or maybe the stuff was just made up to hook up gullible guys like us.. But anyway since we were in the adventurous mood, we tried it.. and guess what.. it actually tasted pretty good. A bit on the weaker side perhaps but it certainly had a nice aroma to it. Should try it at home sometime :)

Morning

2006-01-25T00:15:00.000-06:00

It's early morning at 8:15 and you are just about to leave for the day. The carpet cleaning guy in the lobby says hello as he does everyday, and you give him your usual taciturn nod. It's amazing when you realize that you have seen this same guy wishing you well every day for the past two years; and yet you do not even know his name. Sometimes he is the only person whom you talk to on weekends when spoken words are at a premium and still..
There are doughnuts and coffee near the check drop-in box. You are not supposed to take the coffee and return back to your apartment. Somehow.. that unwritten rule put me off that coffee. I don't even know if that coffee is any good. Better than my office swill or worse.. Anyway holding a plastic cup with bare hands in this weather isn't actually fun.. I lost my gloves a long time back.
The centerpiece table has a vase of new flowers. Fresh birds of paradise flown in from California, Hawaii or some other warm place. They look nice.. Reminds you of actual birds flying around during springtime.

There is a big line of cabs waiting to be called by the doorman. Big low-riding sedans with odd colors.. Yellows, bright oranges, offwhites and green. All of them look dirty with snow hanging from the undercarriage and white chemical stain marks all around..The lake looks calm but bleak.. Grey undertones because of the clouds above.. Ever notice the trees after a snowstorm.. All of them will have snow only on one side. The other side won't even have a trace of white. It's as if somebody has painted a shadow on the tree, only in this case the shadow is white.

P.S. This post is not yet complete.. Will try and clean/finish it up sometime later.

The bridge of San Luis Rey

2006-01-23T22:52:00.000-06:00

This pullitzer fiction winner is a novella by Thornton Wilder which tries to answer a perennial question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Is it because we live in a dystopian society where good is always rewarded by something horrific or is this just another way to test our spirit and faith in a divine entity. Five people fall down to their death when a rickety old bridge falls down in a mountain pass over Lima. This singular event captures the imagination of a young friar named Brother Juniper who wants to prove that this is not just an accident but has some divine logic behind it. The story weaves around the friar building character studies of each of the five victims to find out patterns which might have led them to this unfortunate accident. As expected, the brother fails to find any and the church views the book as heretical for even conjuring up the audacity to question God's will.. Ultimately in a twist of fate both the friar and his creation are both burnt at the stake in the Lima's town center. An interesting but philosophical read :)

New Year Resolutions

2006-01-01T23:31:00.000-06:00

Just one.. Seek change

Chai

2005-12-09T23:38:00.000-06:00

I was reading Kerouac the other day, and this is what his buddhist friend tells him about the oriental passion for tea ..

"...The first sip is joy the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy."

Tea is more than just a passion to us Orientals. It's more of a culture, a tradition, a part of your life.. Starting from the college days when you used to cut classes and sit in the canteen for hours over "Cutting Chai" , to those beautiful rainy afternoons when you can warm your hands over a hot cup of tea and bread samosas, tea permeates our entire desi existence.. It's like a lubricant oiling away the hinges in our lives especially those who work in our sarkari offices.. Couple of rupees given as "Chai Paani" and things mysteriously fall in place. Lost files suddenly reappear and the ever-elusive Babu suddenly appears on his desk to sign his autograph..

In our homes tea is more than just another drink.. Even with the proliferation of bottled water and cokes in our homes today, a hot cup of tea at the end of the day is something we all look forward to. Mebbe it is something to do with how everyone has his own special method of preparing this brew.. There are some people who can literally butcher it, while there are others who can make it divine, divine enough to write/recite haikus about.. as Kerouac's friend does above..

Anyway enjoy your cup.. Here is a nice article I found on CNN/Travel about chinese teahouses. Enjoy..

www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/12/07/
chinese.teahouse.ap/index.html

Jingle Bells

2005-12-06T21:23:00.000-06:00

A cool variation to the classic Jingle Bells.. Bart's favorite christmas song.

Jingle Bells
Batman smells
Robin laid an egg
Batmobile lost its wheel
And the Joker got away - hey!

SouthSide

2005-12-05T22:26:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since I posted something.. Things were kinda uncertain for some time and that's one thing I truly hate.. Not knowing what's around the corner.. I am a control freak in that sense. I know I should just try to let things be, but...

We saw the real south side of Chicago last weekend. See, we had to go to this store and since we didn't have a car, the only way was to take the train to the 47th street and then take the bus from there.. It's amazing how things change in just a short 20 min train ride.. Here I am living in Downtown Chicago; a bright gaily lit place with high rises, expensive malls and coffee stores on every corner, and just a few minutes from this enchanted place lies a place which seems to be just forsaken.. Boarded up windows and doors, people huddling for some warmth and I don't know.. there was just this tremendous feeling of despondency which seemed all-pervasive. Unless you have seen it, you wouldn't believe that this was America..I have seen poor places but this was simply not expected in this rich country.. More than the abject desolation, it was the feeling of hopelessness, a feeling that nothing good is ever going to happen here. Ever noticed how we tend to remember all good things and try to forget what is not to our liking.. In that sense, I think most people have just forgotten that such places still exist in the US.

Anyway, we didn't stay long in this place.. We were kinda anxious to get out of that place ASAP.. Seemed we were the only outsiders in that place. We took the bus to our destination, did our shopping, and came back home. But this time, we took another route to come home.. It was a bit longer, but we just couldn't do the same route again.

Kerouac on Writing

2005-11-29T17:30:00.000-06:00

"Remember above all things, Kid, that to write is not difficult, not painful, that it comes out of you with ease, that you can whip up a little tale in no time, that when you are sincere about it, that when you want to impress a truth, it is not difficult, not painful, but easy, graceful, full of smooth power, as if you were a writing machine with a store of literature that is boundless, enormous, endless, and rich."

New books

2005-10-13T20:53:00.000-05:00

Started on Toni Morrison's "Beloved" and Garcia Marquez's "100 Years of Solitude".

Travels with Charley - In search of America

2005-10-13T20:33:00.000-05:00

I finished Steinbeck's travelogue last weekend.. The book is called "Travels with Charley - In search of America" and describes his experiences during his later years when he felt he needed to rediscover America again. Charley is his French poodle of advanced years who gives him company during this trip which he undertakes on a custom built camper. The camper is called "Rocinante" and the name is emblazoned in a Spanish font on its side. Actually, Steinbeck considered this trip to be some sort of adventure/quest and styled it on Cervantes' Don Quixote. So Rocinante, his camper is his new world steed while Charley is supposed to be his serf, Sancho Panza. Interesting right ?

Digressing from Steinbeck, have you ever noticed how people name their vehicles when they are making life altering trips. Che covered South America in "La Ponderosa" while Steinbeck drives the "Rocinante". I wonder what I will ride on when I make mine :) . It can be anything as long as it sounds cool..

Anyway, the book is more than just a simple travelogue of his journey. Maybe because Steinbeck never goes to any of the regular places.. He wants to meet the America which is never in the news. A place which has been forgotten and out of the regular way, a place which has not been cast out of a regular plastic and concrete mould, a place which still breathes, though fitfully as it is slowly strangled by the ever increasing reach of the big cities.

Actually, I think that Steinbeck was kinda intimidated by the big megapolises. He races through them with Charley as if he is afraid of losing his identity out there and deliberately plots routes which tend to avoid them.. Invariably he gets lost and he actually likes getting lost. In this sense he lets you on to his secret.. You see, the best way to start a conversation with someone is to approach the person and ask for directions. I don't know how it is with human psychology but if you ask a person for directions, he/she will usually go out of the way to help you out. And once you have an opening, it is usually up to you how you want to proceed further..

So in this repect, the book is more more about the people he meets along this trip. There are Maine cops who are taciturn and believe that brevity of speech shows character, and there are people who are so open that you feel that you know them intimately though you have met them just some moments ago. Then there are those lifeless people who are the very worst. Steinbeck calls them people who "Suck the life out of a room once they enter" and whom you should avoid as much as possible.

The trip happens during the hunting season. A season, when the regular American alpha-male gets his kicks out of killing deer or any animal resembling a deer using his latest high powered hunting weapon. Though Steinbeck doesn't disapprove of hunting in principle, he gets downright angry with the average hunter who is so pumped up on booze, the latest gadgetry and his buddies that he fails to realize the tremendous killing power in his hands. We hear stories where a farmer tired of these annual nimrods, paints the word "COW" on the sides of his animals but is still disadvantaged.. Things take a comic turn when Steinbeck actually proceeds to tie a white flag on Charley's tail when he has to make his usual rounds..

Steinbeck covers a lot of other topics in this book including the deep rooted racism down south and his Monterey/Salinas homecoming among other things.. I wanted to put something along those lines but this post is becoming too verbose for my own liking.. I think I will just end it here.. Hopefully you can get your hands on the book and enjoy it yourselves..

The White Sox go to ALCS

2005-10-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

Things are finally looking up for Chicago on the sports front.. After 87 long years, the White Sox successfully reached the ALCS (American League Championship Series) when they beat Boston in three straight games.. Just imagine.. 87 years without a playoff series win.. It's like a lost generation in itself..Baseball is damn boring when compared to football or any other active sport, but it has such a rich and varied history that you just can help following it.. You have all sorts of superstitions and curses going on starting from non-grata goats to the bambino curse.. Then there are people like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Shoeless Joe Jackson. Legends in their own right with their individual quirks and heady statistics, that still inspire people to love this game.. I can take the legend bit, but I think all these stupid curses are somewhat over the top. Most probably they are made up by the sports writers/commentators when they are bored stiff with the ongoing game.. Anything to pass the time and make baseball more intriguing for us..

In any case, the Chicago White Sox finally made it this year where they are playing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Quite a mouthful, isn't it. Chicago going to the playoffs is a great thing and believe me I am no party pooper, but there are two things which have always rankled me during the playoff season and since this is my blog I would just pour it out here.

One is the destiny stuff. It's like "This is our year. BELIEVE. " etc.. Dude, *exasperated look* your team wins because they played better than the others.The playoffs are not a round robin grade school affair where you are awarded for your effort and every team gets to win after a couple of years.. Just because you haven't won in 80 odd years does not make your quest any more special.

Another sore point: When you see the most ardent skeptics turn around to become the most vociferous of supporters.. It's like a sports chameleon changing color.. From Cubby Blue to Black and White.. It's so sudden that it hits you like a fist.. Here is this guy who a couple of days back never set his foot south of Roosevelt and now he is singing paeans in praise of the southsiders.. Amazing.. just amazing!!

Sinatra

2005-10-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

I started listening to Sinatra and he is simply SUBLIME.. Every word sung distinctly in a perfect clear voice. He has the unique quality of singing even the most mushy words with such velveteen smoothness; it's no wonder the ladies used to go gaga on him.. Take away the jazz background and you will find his voice even more irresistible..

Here are the lyrics for "Fly me to the moon"

Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words hold my hand
In other words darling kiss me

Fill my life with song
And let me sing forevermore
You are all I hope for
All I worship and adore
In other words please be true
In other words I love you

Fall Colors - Timeshare on Leaves

2005-09-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

I don't know what this blog will be about. This is very unlike me because everytime I post something, it's usually a long drawn thought out thing. That's why they are so infrequent.. But today I want to write something but I don't have anything new to talk about.. This post will just be a result of throwing some words in the air.. Maybe they will stick together and form something on their own. You never know..

The weather's started to change here in Chicago. It's almost fall and the dog days of summer are getting shorter day by day. There are new serials on air. Nip/Tuck and Desperate Housewives will soon rule the spot currently held by Rescue Me and whatever they were showing on ABC. It's getting progressively nippier and we are planning a trip up north to Door County, WI to see the annual fall colors.

I like the fall better than spring. Though spring is a warm and welcome change from the blustery cold weather we have over here, it still doesn't compare to what fall has to offer. During Spring you just have one color - Green but Fall offers you an entire range of colors. It starts with the leaves turing yellow-orange, then to the fiery red and then finally settling down to the somber earthy hues.. In between there are colors that you can't even name. They show up vibrantly for a brief instant of time, and then they are replaced by their close cousins. It's as if they run a timeshare on the leaves. Come in, show yourself to the world and then let yourself out. I wonder where these colors go once their short lease runs out ?

The first time I had seen these colors, it was four years ago. I had come just come in from Bangalore and we made this trip to Virginia Beach in cold november. On the way we stopped at Colonial Williamsburg. There was this small tree in the parking lot and it was flaming red. I had a red Adidas sweatshirt and three of us took pics with the red tree and that sweatshirt. Man that was ages ago but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. It was simply awesome.

To help make this annual trip more worth our time and money, every state's DNR (Department of Natural Resources) runs a weekly fall report where they give the fall color level on a percentage basis. So if it is 10% only some of the trees have started coloring but if it's closer to 80-90% you must try to make the trip as soon as possible to see the colors at their very best. For Door County, it still shows up as 20-30 % so we still have a couple of weeks before we make our journey. Will post some pics if they turn out OK.

Sometimes the very act of throwing out some words does turn up into something worth posting. Will try to remember that in the future :) Enjoy!!

Scream!!

2005-09-14T14:45:00.000-05:00

I saw two beautiful German movies last weekend. One was "Run Lola Run" while the other was "The Tin Drum" based on Gunter Grass' novel. Incidentally the main characters had one thing in common. They could both scream, and scream they did.. While one of them wins at Russian Roulette by twisting metal with her lung power, the other perfects it to an art form which he employs to entertain Nazi officers.

Coincidental maybe, entertaining certainly!!

Succulent weekend

2005-08-29T01:42:00.000-05:00

Well, it's happened again..One more weekend came up and passed by and I didn't do anything of note.. Sometimes it makes me wonder.. Are weekends supposed to be like this only? Laze around, cook food, gorge myself and watch the stupid CRT the entire day. Is this the best possible use of this free time. Shouldn't I be doing something a bit more constructive..

Another consequence of this slothful lifestyle.. I can't sleep on Monday mornings. I know I have to get up in the morning and go to work but still sleep eludes me.. It's like my body telling me.. "You don't need any more rest. What do you need sleep for.. You didn't do anything today".

Anyway, we went to a Meijer store on Saturday.. I guess it's pronounced "mei-her" though I am not certain.. They had these small cacti and succulents growing there and I picked two small succulents for myself. They are in these small pots about two inches in diameter and they look pretty neat.. One of the plants has thick gummi bear like leaves while the other one has flat leaves which open up in threes.

Actually both of them look downright appetizing.. But don't worry I won't be eating them. But you never know.. If they don't start growing new leaves pretty soon, I just might start on them. Watch out chhotu bamboo tree...You haven't grown more than 2 cms in the past year..You don't want to make that trip to my cutting board now, do you ? :)

Lambeau Field

2005-08-08T20:34:00.000-05:00

Finally went to Green Bay on Friday to see the Packers and Brett Favre. We started around 2:00 but the traffic was horrible on I-94. So we only made it by 6:00. The scrimmage with the Bills started at 7:00. I wanted to see some real hot stuff from Brett and the Packers but they didn't look that good. The Bills looked much better prepared and the usual ebullient crowd wasn't really cheering that loud when the Packer offense was on the field. The Pack defense still looks shaky as before and the Bills QBs found the end zone rather easily. Since this was a practice scrimmage, tackling was line/thud (don't know what that term means) to avoid injuries. I just had to admire the restraint shown by the defensive players when they got close to the QuarterBack.. I am sure they would have loved to give it to the QBs.. Reminded me of that old Coors Twins commercial
"I love quarterbacks eating dirt
Pom-poms and short skirts"

Anyway this might be the last Favre season so hopefully he will pick it up during the regular games. Actually at end of the game the presenters were trying to shove the new rookie QB to the forefront but with the usual cliches he tried to be modest. "Brett's Team, Brett's field. I am just taking it one practice at a time. blah blah".

One amazing thing, we didn't see a single other desi group in the crowd. Not even the American born!! It was like you go to a rock concert you will find a usual sprinkling of desis here and there but none in this event.. That was like totally unexpected..

Anyway it was fun throughout. But we need to go to a real football game. Now that would be something!!

Chicago Bears Family night

2005-08-05T00:22:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Bears had a public practice session today.. After nearly four years I finally saw the insides of a football field .. Tickets to regular season games are so expensive that normal junta like me can't really afford them.. So went with some friends to their family night in Soldier Field. It was pretty good with the actual practice runs and all but we forgot to take a camera. Anyway I never post pictures in my blog so it doesn't really matter.

Actually the ground doesn't look that big in real life and the players aren't that huge.. In that respect it was kind of a letdown.. Mebbe I have grown so used to TV which builds up on player's profiles that I fail to realize that players are not demigods but just normal people like you and me.

BTW, we are going to Green Bay tomorrow to see the Packers practice in Lambeau field. I won't forget my camera this time :)

Manners of Dying

2005-07-30T14:44:00.000-05:00

I know the topic sounds morbid but just think about it.. Why do we find Death so disturbing? I got hooked on to this new Japanese author name Haruki Murakami and he paints an entirely different picture. It's more like a comforting deep sleep, the kind where you can literally cut yourself off from this present world and lose yourself. It's as if you are in this dream; all alone in a green meadow, billowy clouds overhead and you have nothing to worry about.

I know I sound pesimisstic but isn't life just a ratrace where you are always trying to outdo either yourself or some other wannabe. Compared to this, isn't the picture of death I painted above always a better option. :)

A Stream of Consciousness

2005-07-29T20:42:00.000-05:00

Read this phrase the other day on Wikipedia and it's got me hooked.. In layman terms, what this means is that you put your thoughts,feelings on paper/music/canvas whatever; without thinking about the structure surrounding our creation. For example while writing I may write whatever comes to my mind without worrying about the words, punctuations, grammar etc.. You are supposed to get so high that you do not worry about the trivialities surrounding your work. Just put it out as some volcano spewing out lava and be done with it.. You can always come back later and polish it further..

Just remember that whatever you create should be original and heartfelt. Only then can you create something exciting and beautiful. Also unless you are a genius like Mozart this stream is not going to be self sustaining..Like all streams it has to come out from a source. And in this case, the source is the sum total of time and your experiences. Yup, time and experience that's the magic mantra.. Kerouac (More on him later) is supposed to have written his legendary "On the Road" in just three weeks. In his case his source was his wanderings with Neal and other beatniks which lasted for more than six years. It's only that in those 3 weeks he sat down and wrote out everything he wanted to say..

Indianapolis Grand Prix

2005-07-28T20:06:00.000-05:00

I was fascinated with F1 ever since I first saw it on Cable Television back home. The fast cars, Schumacher and Hakkinen slugging it out on the track and the exciting locations, it was simply awesome. So when I came to Chicago in 2004 feb, I thought I should see the USGP. Unfortunately couldn't do this last year. Don't remember why. This year I was supposed to leave in May so I didn't buy tix for this June 16 event. But somethin' else turned up and I had to extend my lease for another year. So when one of my Milwaukee friends said that he had a spare ticket I jumped at the idea. Went with my roommate to MKE by train, picked up a car and then headed south to Indy.
People may call it a fiasco/disgrace of a race with only 6 cars racing, but I would take it any day. No doubt if Michelin had raced that day, it would have been better but Schumie won and apna Narain got some cool driver points.. Watchin' Schumie in his red car, zooming past just a couple of feet away from me.. That was like a dream come true. Got a nice checkered Ferrari flag by the way.. My room is looking crazy. I have a Ferrari flag,a Simpsons poster, a Kramer poster and a flower sketch up on my studio walls. Neat huh!.

Che on a T-shirt

2005-07-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted something. I don't know if I was busy or just plain lazy but I am back.. Hopefully I will put a good end to my long hiatus.

The movie "Motorcycle Diaries" reminded me of one thing I had read long ago. The reason young people were infatuated with Socialism is their desire to believe in something.. Youth and desire to change the world, that's a dangerous combination. It's only later that they realize that the idea behind socialism is so profound that it can be implemented only in an utopian world..Can a human being with all his/her shortcomings really put his community/society above himself at all times?
It was foolish to believe that humans can implement Socialism in this world without actually coercing people but atleast they had something to believe in.

But not today's young generation.. For them Che can only be a nice cool fashion symbol which you can wear on your T-shirt. It doesn't even matter what he stood and died for..It's hip, it's GAP and my dad can afford it.. Do I need anything else..

The MotorCycle Diaries

2005-05-16T23:26:00.000-05:00

Watched this movie the other night and liked it immensely. Gael Garcia Bernal has some real talent. I could have just said Gael or Bernal but I chose to put in the full name. I like the way it rolls out of your tongue...

Running along Lake Michigan

2005-05-07T00:04:00.000-05:00

Usually I run on a treadmill. But for the last two days, I have been running outside along the lakefront and frankly it feels awesome. The first time it was pretty late, about 9 at night and the view of downtown from the Adler planetarium steps was just amazing. All the buildings lighted up with a perfect clear sky and a calm lake. You couldn't have asked for anything better.

But it's not always so good. Today it was windy and I had to put in double the effort while running against it. One more thing. You cannot decipher your pace or the distance you actually ran..The treadmill gives you instant info on all these parameters with a workout summary at the end which you can brag about later. I might miss on my workout bragging rights :( but I guess I will go with the lakefront from now on..

Journal of a Novel part 1

2005-05-05T23:26:00.000-05:00

Started on Steinbeck's "Journal of a Novel - The East of Eden letters". The book is actually a compilation of letters which Steinbeck used to write every day to his publisher friend Pascal Covici while he was working on "East of Eden". Incidentally Pascal Covici(Pat) had given Steinbeck a large blue notebook to write his new novel. Steinbeck chose to write the novel only on the right hand page and used the left hand pages to write long letters for his friend. In that sense, the left hand pages was more like a bullpen for him where he used to practice before actually penning down his thoughts on the right hand pages. The letters offer a rare glimpse inside the mind of Steinbeck. His writing, his health, children are all mentioned though the real personal stuff have not been published. In one section he even mentions about the make and model of pencils he is using to write..
Normally I read books pretty quickly but this one is so deep (for lack of a better word) and has so many ideas floating around that I have to literally read a page two or three times to finally grasp it all. For example this is what Steinbeck writes about the creative process.

"The craft or art of writing is the clumsy attempt to find symbols for the wordlessness. In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable. And sometimes if he is very fortunate and the time is right, a very little of what he is trying to do trickles through - not ever much. And if he is a writer wise enough to know it can't be done, then he is not a writer at all. A good writer always works as the impossible. There is another kind who pulls in his horizons, drops his mind as one lowers rifle sights. And giving up the impossible he gives up writing. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, this has not happened to me. The same blinding effort, the straining and puffing go on in me. And always I hope that a little trickles through. This urge dies hard"

All this huffing and puffing comes from this guy who used to write upwards of 4000 words a day. Actually Steinbeck will never be considered as having the greatest talent but when it comes to hardwork, discipline and putting in long hours to create an absolute gem; he will be hard to beat.

BEAUTY and PRETTY

2005-05-04T00:11:00.000-05:00

This is a new twist to an old cliche which I heard on Nip/Tuck.

This blind but otherwise hot girl comes to the clinic and asks the two doctors to change whatever they don't like about her. See in most cases, it is the other way round in which the patient tells the doctors but in this case as the girl is totally blind, she wants the doctors' opinion. To this Troy feeling sorry for her says that she shouldn't worry about changing herself as "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder". To this the girl replies. "No doctor, PRETTY is in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty lies in the SOUL of the beholder".

Neat isn't it ??

The big Kahuna

2005-04-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

Started watching this movie tonight and had to pause it to blog this down. Three guys (Kevin Spacey, Danny Devito and Peter Facinelli) are industrial lubricant salesmen(of all things!!) trying to get a new big account whose president they nickname as EL GRANDE KAHUNA. Spacey and Devito are oldtimers who have seen the sales bullsh*t for a long time while Facinelli is a relative newcomer. They get a hospitality suite on the 16th floor of a hotel in Wichita where they are trying to
rope in the BIG Kahuna..
Devito reads Penthouse the entire time while they are waiting whereas Spacey barrels the greenhorn Facinelli with his nonstop views on life and the sales industry.
Coupled with the fact that Facinelli is a shy religious kind of guy things get really interesting.. Some amazing dialogues in the movie..

Facinelli talking to Spacey : How long have you two guys known each other?

Spacey replies : Well that depends on what you mean. In geologic times we just met. However in dog years, we go way back..

Need to get back to the movie now..

Comparing art forms..

2005-04-01T22:53:00.000-06:00

I was reading this somewhere about how to compare between different creative art forms. For example, let's suppose I have a story to tell. Now this story can be
1. Written out by a writer.
2. Sketched on a canvas by an artist.
3. An actor/actress may play it out.
4. A composer can create a symphony which tells the story.
If we assume that all these creations are able to successfully accomplish the objective of rendering my story, then how do we decide which is the superior art form. Do we compare based on the number of audio/visual senses used or the ease of use of the artform?

Mystic Masseur

2005-03-29T21:50:00.000-06:00

Finally finished Naipaul's Mystic Masseur.. This was Naipaul's first book and wasn't as gloomy/despondent as his later works. Actually it was outright hilarious at some parts.

Death of a Salesman

2005-03-25T12:50:00.000-06:00

Woke up again at 6:00 A.M. today. Dunno why ?? Since the sunrise
thingy was not possible today (grey skies and sleet pouring outside),
I decided to finish Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". Was pretty
thought provoking.. Makes you wonder what you are doing with your
life.
BTW, I finished Miller's "View from a bridge" y'day nite. I like short
plays. You can finish them pretty quickly :)

The best thing about cartoons

2005-03-23T00:37:00.000-06:00

You know what is the best thing about cartoons? The characters never age. Ten years from now Homer will still be the same middle aged balding fool while Maggie will still be using her pacifier. We grow old, marry, have kids and do all that stuff which life forces us to do but the kid inside us can always come back to them. Isn’t that great?

Blogger Anxiety

2005-03-23T00:05:00.000-06:00

The first comment on my posting and it feels really good. All those days of frequently checking in to see if someone has commented on something is finally over. Actually, I learnt today that they have coined a new term for this kinda situation: blogger anxiety. Anyhoo I am not suffering any more. Thanks Pete..

Dire Straits

2005-03-13T22:32:00.000-06:00

Heard Dire Straits for the first time the other day and I really liked them. kinda of the slow rock variety, very mellow and subdued, totally different from the traditional rock groups. Incidentally, their "sultans of swing" reminded me of the Pulp Fiction Dance number played out by Travolta and Thurman :). Pretty neat.

blisters :-(

2005-03-09T23:55:00.000-06:00

I got blisters on my feet today.. Don't know if I am overdoing it or Mebbe I need to get better shoes. There was an edition of Chicago Athlete in my gym and it had a review of all the latest running shoes. Need to scan that again
Other than that, I have lots of reading to catch up with. Naipaul's mystic masseur is still staring at me.

Run, Lola Run

2005-03-07T20:37:00.000-06:00

I am up to 6K now. Though my pace sucks (still at a measly 10 min mile), I am atleast running over 5K for the last two weeks.. Don't know if I will be able to run a decent 10K at some point in the future.

Budweiser ads

2005-03-06T23:26:00.000-06:00

Budweiser's gone "retro". Their recent ads are actually reruns of old ads which they had aired eons ago. Isn't it ironic to note that they claim to serve the freshest beer(if you can call that swill) in US but they have to rerun musty old ads.
Guess their ad agency can't think of any more fart lighting jokes..

Apple Shuffle

2005-02-26T01:17:00.000-06:00

After a wait of nearly a month, I finally laid hands on my own shuffle. Even though, it's puny memory space of 512 megs pales in comparison to other jukeboxes available in the market, it was a good buy considering my small music collection and relative ease of use.
There was one funny thing I noticed on the back of that little thingy. "Designed in California. Made in China". Guess being designed in USA isn't good enough, it has to be designed in "California". I don't understand the public's fixation with the word California. Recently I noticed a truck with the legend "California Closets". C'mon it's just a simple space arrangement system for disorganized people who either buy too much and/or cannot distinguish between what is useful and what is junk. Are we really that superficial ?

Naipaul's "The mystic masseur"

2005-02-26T01:11:00.000-06:00

Now reading "The mystic masseur" by V.S. Naipaul. A good read so far

The heart is a lonely hunter - by Carson McCullers

2005-02-19T19:17:00.000-06:00

This book was recommended in Oprah's book club.

McCullers wrote this book when she was just twenty three and it is said to have immediately put her in the category of other great american authors like Hemingway and Faulkner. Her portrayal of race relations in the deep south; the pathos and loneliness in her characters and the
overall feeling of crushed dreams and hopes is simply extraordinary.
The story revolves around a group of people living in this small industrial town in the Carolinas who find solace and comfort not with one another but with a deaf and dumb mute(Singer). The mute can read their lips so that they can talk with him but even greater is his capacity to really relate to what they are trying to say. Most of them are sad/despondent with failed dreams, lost spouses and no/little hopes and are looking for a friend who can understand them and confide with.
There is this young girl,Mick who is interested in music. She is really a tomboy who has just grown up to discover that she is really a girl and can't fight out with guys anymore. Since they do not have a radio, she wanders around town in the rich parts just to hear some music.She wants to compose music and tries to even make a violin out of a broken ukulele and some strings but the instrument does not work out. She composes new tunes in her head and wants to write them out but cannot do so because she does not have a formal music education.

An old african american doctor; Copeland wants to uplift his people from their bad situation but cannot do so because of his people's inability to think big or better for themselves. The idea of being inferior to the white race is so deeply ingrained in their minds that they have accepted it as a fact and do not want to challenge it.The story comes to a point where the doctor's son is tortured in a prison camp and his legs have to be amputated but still the community does not want to antagonize the whites... The whole thing is kind of depressing at this
point.
A well educated but alcoholic communist Blount comes into town and starts working at the local fair where the mill workers come at night for entertainment. He tries to start some kind of a workers movement but again is met with distrust and suspicion.
The mute becomes a good friend to all these troubled people but the unfortunate thing is that he can never talk to them. He used to have a deaf dumb companion with whom he used to talk incessantly but his companion had to be sent to a mental institution. Singer visits his
friend Antonopoulous every six months bringing him gifts and talks about his new friends back home. Once when Singer goes to visit his friend, he finds that he is no more.He is so heartbroken that he comes back into town and shoots himself. Things turn to the worse for his friends who are left with no one with whom they can share their troubles and loneliness. Finally all of them either drift away or grudgingly accept their lonely existence.

Kadambari by Tagore

2005-02-02T23:41:00.000-06:00

A compilation of poems in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore dedicated to his sister-in-law (kadambari devi) . The poems are a treat for everyone.
Satyajit Ray captures their relationship beautifully in his movie "Charulata".

sunrise

2005-02-02T23:20:00.000-06:00

I have a great view of Lake Michigan from my apt where I have been
living for about an year. But the sad thing is I never saw the sun rise
from the lake. I am a late riser and never got a chance to view one. Today I
woke up at 6:00 and saw my first one and it was beautiful.
Surprisingly, the entire thing happens in less that 15 minutes. The
entire display of colors from pale grey to bright red and finally the
brilliant blue is simply ethereal.

Time Of Your Life

2005-02-02T22:50:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite songs

Artists > Green Day > Good Riddance (time Of Your Life)

Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs
And still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf of
Good health and good time
Tattoos of memories
And dead skin on trial
For what it's worth
It was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

Coetzee's Disgrace

2005-02-02T22:43:00.000-06:00

Now reading J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace".

song meanings

2005-02-02T22:25:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered what the lyrics of your favorite songs really
meant? Check out http://www.songmeanings.net for some gr8 stuff.

"The heart is a lonely hunter"

2005-01-18T23:26:00.000-06:00

Currently reading "The heart is a lonely hunter" by Carson McCullers.

I never thought I would ever say this but this excellent book was recommended by Oprah in her book club. Puts her in an entirely new light.

Steinbeck's "Burning Bright"

2005-01-04T23:00:00.000-06:00

Steinbeck's "Burning Bright"

What is sin? Is it something which just defies conventional beliefs
and thinking. Is the sin justified if it's main purpose was to provide
happiness to your loved one ?

This is the basis of Steinbeck's play script like novel "Burning Bright"

Watch PBS

2005-01-04T18:31:00.000-06:00

There is a new show premiering on PBS called "Do you speak American".
Explores the diversity of the English language as spoken in the
various regions of America. From the strict Puritanical Pilgrim's
English in New England to the twang in Arkansas, this 3 hour
documentary premiering on Jan 5th 2005 should be a treat for the avid
linguaphile.

For more details visit http://www.pbs.org/

Support Public Television.

WIKIPEDIA

2005-01-04T17:27:00.000-06:00

WIKIPEDIA (http://www.wikipedia.com) :: Another example of the fact that people are inherently good and would try to help out in some way or other. Some great stuff out there. Even their coverage of the latest Tsunami disaster was better than the major news sites.

Nobel Prize in Literature Winners 2003-1901

2004-06-17T17:38:00.000-05:00

2003
JOHN MAXWELL COETZEE who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider

2002
IMRE KERTÉSZ for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history

2001
V. S. NAIPAUL for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.

2000
GAO XINGJIAN for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity, which has opened new paths for the Chinese novel and drama.

1999
GUNTER GRASS whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history.

1998
JOSE SARAMAGO who with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality.

1997
DARIO FO who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden.

1996
WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality.

1995
SEAMUS HEANEY for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past.

1994
KENZABURO OE who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today.

1993
TONI MORRISON who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality.

1992
DEREK WALCOTT for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural commitment.

1991
NADINE GORDIMER who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity.

1990
OCTAVIO PAZ for impassioned writing with wide horizons, characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity.

1989
CAMILO JOSÉ CELA for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability.

1988
NAGUIB MAHFOUZ who, through works rich in nuance-now clearsightedly realistic, now evocatively ambigous-has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind.

1987
JOSEPH BRODSKY for an all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity.

1986
WOLE SOYINKA who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence.

1985
CLAUDE SIMON who in his novel combines the poet's and the painter's creativeness with a deepened awareness of time in the depiction of the human condition.

1984
JAROSLAV SEIFERT for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides a liberating image of the indomitable spirit and versatility of man.

1983
SIR WILLIAM GOLDING for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today.

1982
GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts.

1981
ELIAS CANETTI for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power.

1980
CZESLAW MILOSZ who with uncompromising clear-sightedness voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts.

1979
ODYSSEUS ELYTIS (pen-name of ODYSSEUS ALEPOUDHELIS ), for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear-sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness.

1978
ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life.

1977
VICENTE ALEIXANDRE for a creative poetic writing which illuminates man's condition in the cosmos and in present-day society, at the same time representing the great renewal of the traditions of Spanish poetry beween the wars.

1976
SAUL BELLOW for the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work.

1975
EUGENIO MONTALE for his distinctive poetry which, with great artistic sensitivity, has interpreted human values under the sign of an outlook on life with no illusions.

1974
The prize was divided equally between:

EYVIND JOHNSON for a narrative art, farseeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom.

HARRY MARTINSON for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos.

1973
PATRICK WHITE for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature.

1972
HEINRICH BÖLL for his writing which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature.

1971
PABLO NERUDA for a poetry that with the action of an elemental force brings alive a continent's destiny and dreams.

1970
ALEKSANDR ISAEVICH SOLZHENITSYN for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature.

1969
SAMUEL BECKETT for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation.

1968
YASUNARI KAWABATA for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind.

1967
MIGUEL ANGEL ASTURIAS for his vivid literary achievement, deep-rooted in the national traits and traditions of Indian peoples of Latin America.

1966
The prize was divided equally between:

SHMUEL YOSEF AGNON for his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people.

NELLY SACHS for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength.

1965
MICHAIL ALEKSANDROVICH SHOLOKHOV for the artistic power and integrity with which, in his epic of the Don, he has given expression to a historic phase in the life of the Russian people.

1964
JEAN-PAUL SARTRE for his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, has exerted a farreaching influence on our age. (Declined the prize.)

1963
GIORGOS SEFERIS (pen-name of GIORGOS SEFERIADIS ), for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture.

1962
JOHN STEINBECK for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception.

1961
IVO ANDRI´C for the epic force with which he has traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from the history of his country.

1960
SAINT-JOHN PERSE (pen-name of ALEXIS LÉGER ), for the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time.

1959
SALVATORE QUASIMODO for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times.

1958
BORIS LEONIDOVICH PASTERNAK for his important achievement both in contemporary lyrical poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic tradition. (Accepted first, later caused by the authorities of his country to decline the prize.)

1957
ALBERT CAMUS for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times.

1956
JUAN RAMÓN JIMÉNEZ for his lyrical poetry, which in Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistical purity.

1955
HALLDÓR KILJAN LAXNESS for his vivid epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland.

1954
ERNEST MILLER HEMINGWAY for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea ,and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style.

1953
SIR WINSTON LEONARD SPENCER CHURCHILL for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.

1952
FRANÇOIS MAURIAC for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life.

1951
PÄR FABIAN LAGERKVIST for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers to the eternal questions confronting mankind.

1950
EARL BERTRAND ARTHUR WILLIAM RUSSELL in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.

1949
WILLIAM FAULKNER for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.

1948
THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry.

1947
ANDRÉ PAUL GUILLAUME GIDE for his comprehensive and artistically significant writings, in which human problems and conditions have been presented with a fearless love of truth and keen psychological insight.

1946
HERMANN HESSE for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humaitarian ideals and high qualities of style.

1945
GABRIELA MISTRAL (pen-name of LUCILA GODOY Y ALCA-YAGA ), for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world.

1944
JOHANNES VILHELM JENSEN for the rare strength and fertility of his poetic imagination with which is combined an intellectual curiosity of wide scope and a bold, freshly creative style.

1943-1940
The prize money was allocated to the Main Fund (1/3) and to the Special Fund (2/3) of this prize section.

1939
FRANS EEMIL SILLANPÄÄ for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature.

1938
PEARL BUCK (pen-name of PEARL WALSH née SYDENSTRICKER ), for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces.

1937
ROGER MARTIN DU GARD for the artistic power and truth with which he has depicted human conflict as well as some fundamental aspects of contemporary life in his novelcycle Les Thibault.

1936
EUGENE GLADSTONE O'NEILL for the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of tragedy.

1935
The prize money was allocated to the Main Fund (1/3) and to the Special Fund (2/3) of this prize section.

1934
LUIGI PIRANDELLO for his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art.

1933
IVAN ALEKSEYEVICH BUNIN for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing.

1932
JOHN GALSWORTHY for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsythe Saga.

1931
ERIK AXEL KARLFELDT The poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt.

1930
SINCLAIR LEWIS for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters.

1929
THOMAS MANN principially for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature.

1928
SIGRID UNDSET principially for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages.

1927
HENRI BERGSON in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brillant skill with which they have been presented.

1926
GRAZIA DELEDDA (pen-name of GRAZIA MADESANI née DELEDDA) , for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general.

1925
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty.

1924
WLADYSLAW STANISLAW REYMONT (pen-name of REYMENT ), for his great national epic, The Peasants.

1923
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.

1922
JACINTO BENAVENTE for the happy manner in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of the Spanish drama.

1921
ANATOLE FRANCE (pen-name of JACQUES ANATOLE THIBAULT ), in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament.

1920
KNUT PEDERSEN HAMSUN for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil.

1919
CARL FRIEDRICH GEORG SPITTELER in special appreciation of his epic, Olympian Spring.

1918
The prize money for 1918 was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1917
The prize was divided equally between:

KARL ADOLPH GJELLERUP for his varied and rich poetry, which is inspired by lofty ideals.

HENRIK PONTOPPIDAN for his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark.

1916
CARL GUSTAF VERNER VON HEIDENSTAM in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature.

1915
ROMAIN ROLLAND as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary production and to the sympathy and love of truth with which he has described different types of human beings.

1914
The prize money for 1914 was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1913
RABINDRANATH TAGORE because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with comsummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West.

1912
GERHART JOHANN ROBERT HAUPTMANN primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art.

1911
COUNT MAURICE (MOORIS) POLIDORE MARIE BERNHARD MAETERLINCK , in appreciation of his manysided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers' own feelings and stimulate their imaginations.

1910
PAUL JOHANN LUDWIG HEYSE as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories.

1909
SELMA OTTILIA LOVISA LAGERLÖF in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings.

1908
RUDOLF CHRISTOPH EUCKEN in recognition of his earnest search for truth, his penetrating power of thought, his wide range of vision, and the warmth and strength in presentation with which in his numerous works he has vindicated and developed an idealistic philosophy of life.

1907
RUDYARD KIPLING in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author.

1906
GIOSUÈ CARDUCCI not only in consideration of his deep learning and critical research, but above all as a tribute to the creative energy, freshness of style, and lyrical force which characterize his poetic masterpieces.

1905
HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ because of his outstanding merits as an epic writer.

1904
The prize was divided equally between:

FRÉDÉRIC MISTRAL in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects the natural scenery and native spirit of his people, and, in addition, his significant work as a Provençal philologist.

JOSÉ ECHEGARAY Y EIZAGUIRRE in recognition of the numerous and brilliant compositions which, in an individual and original manner, have revived the great traditions of the Spanish drama.

1903
BJØRNSTJERNE MARTINUS BJØRNSON as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit.

1902
CHRISTIAN MATTHIAS THEODOR MOMMSEN the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work, A history of Rome.

1901
SULLY PRUDHOMME (pen-name of RENÉ FRANÇOIS ARMAND ), in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualitites of both heart and intellect.

Pulitzer Fiction List

2004-06-17T17:26:00.000-05:00

Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction

http://www.pulitzer.org/

YR TITLE AUTHOR
2003 Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
2002 Empire Falls Richard Russo
2001 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon
2000 Interpreter of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri
1999 The Hours Michael Cunningham
1998 American pastoral Philip Roth
1997 Martin Dressler Steven Millhauser
1996 Independence Day Richard Ford
1995 The Stone Diaries Carol Shields
1994 The Shipping News E. Annie Proulx
1993 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain: Stories Robert Olen Butler
1992 A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley
1991 Rabbit at Rest John Updike
1990 The Mambo Kings Play Oscar Hijuelos
1989 Breathing Lessons Anne Tyler
1988 Beloved Toni Morrison
1987 A Summons to Memphis Peter Hillsman Taylor
1986 Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry
1985 Foreign Affairs Alison Lurie
1984 Ironweed William J. Kennedy
1983 The Color Purple Alice Walker
1982 Rabbit is Rich John Updike
1981 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole
1980 The Executioner's Song Norman Mailer
1979 The Stories of John Cheever John Cheever
1978 Elbow Room James Alan McPherson
1976 Humboldt's Gift Saul Bellow
1975 The Killer Angels Michael Shaara
1973 The Optimist's Daughter Eudora Welty
1972 Angle Of Repose Wallace Earle Stegner
1970 Collected Stories of Jean Stafford Jean Stafford
1969 House Made of Dawn N. Scott Momaday
1968 The Confessions of Nat Turner William Styron
1967 The Fixer Bernard Malamud
1966 Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter
1965 The Keepers of the House Shirley Ann Grau
1963 The Reivers William Faulkner
1962 The Edge of Sadness Edwin O'Connor
1961 To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee
1960 Advise and Consent Allen Drury
1959 The Travels of Jaimie Robert Lewis Taylor
1958 A Death in the Family James Agee
1956 Andersonville MacKinlay Kantor
1955 A Fable William Faulkner
1953 The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway
1952 The Caine Mutiny Herman Wouk
1951 The Town Conrad Richter
1950 The Way West A.B. Guthrie, Jr.
1949 Guard of Honor James Gould Cozzens
1948 Tales of the South Pacific James A. Michener
1947 All The King's Men Robert Penn Warren
1945 A Bell for Adano John Hersey
1944 Journey in the Dark Martin Flavin
1943 Dragon's Teeth Upton Sinclair
1942 In This Our Life Ellen Glasgow
1940 The Grapes Of Wrath John Steinbeck
1939 The Yearling Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1938 The Late George Apley John P. Marquand
1937 Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell
1936 Honey in the Horn Harold L. Davis
1935 Now in November Josephine W. Johnson
1934 Lamb in His Bosom Caroline Miller
1933 The Store T. S. Stribling
1932 The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck
1931 Years of Grace Margaret Ayer Barnes
1930 Laughing Boy Oliver LA Farge
1929 Scarlet Sister Mary Julia M. Peterkin
1928 Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder
1927 Early Autumn Louis Bromfield
1926 Arrowsmith Sinclair Lewis
1925 So Big Edna Ferber
1924 The Able McLaughlins Margaret Wilson
1923 One of Ours Willa Cather
1922 Alice Adams Booth Tarkington
1921 The Age Of Innocence Edith Wharton
1919 The Magnificent Ambersons Booth Tarkington
1918 His Family Ernest Poole

Napaland

2004-06-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

Saturday June 12th 2004 8:20 P.M.

Napaland

Hiya Matt::
How's life treating you? As for me I am bored to death.. I have been watching TV for a couple of hours and it hasn't gotten any better. Guess network TV programs don't mature with age as fine wine..

Speaking of wine, I was in San Francisco last week on my vacation and as expected we went to the famous Napa & Sonoma valleys to see their famous vineyards. Now is Homer a wine connoisseur? We all know that he likes his six pack but really I haven't seen him drinking wine. The only time I saw him drinking wine is the episode in which he once goes to a Parisian restaurant wearing a stupid cap which the French usually wear and exclaims something like this.. 'Marge, I like it here. I can eat and drink all I want and be a perfect slob, but I am not criticized for now I am GOURMAND". Great going dude!!

So now back to America's answer to French Champagne --> Napa and Sonoma valleys. Now we all know that if you go there you have to take a wine tour at one of the vineyards. Now my question is why all vineyards have their own individual wine tours. Do they really have something which distinguishes them from their neighbors? Apart from their individual small historical background (who bought from whom in which year and what price), winemaking from one vineyard does not differ much from the other. I know there are lots of scientific details but the vanilla version given to the common people goes like this..

1. Plant the vines. Remember to have good stock so that you get a good quality crop once the vines start bearing grapes.
2. When the grapes are mature, give a call to the border authorities to allow in a couple of cheap mexican labor to hand pick those grapes. You wouldn't want to get your hands dirty, would you? And machines are not that useful as they can't distinguish between good and bad clusters. Also you can charge a premium price when you say that the grape's been handpicked. Personal touch eh..
3. Once they have been picked take them to the processing plant. Remove all stalks and other foreign material.
4. Crush the grapes. If you want white wine remove the skins.
5. Put it in steel containers with yeast at a very low temperature and let time and nature do their magic.
6. After fermentation store them in the wooden barrels to mature.
7. After maturation for a couple of years, blend it, bottle it and you are on your way..

So the question I have for these vineyard owners is this. Why can't you guys create a common welcome center somewhere in your respective valleys where you have a common tour. Hell you can even charge a common sum say $20 for that and get even richer. People will pay that amount to get the common first hand experience without experiencing the agony of thinking that they missed out on a better tour in some other vineyard. You can have fine dining, wine tasting, designer boutique shops and a kids adventure dome/petting zoo. You see an entire package for a family get together.

Individual wineries can still continue to have their specialized tours and gourmet dining/wine tasting for the discerning connoisseur and remember it is fashionable to be a connoisseur :-).

My first blog and Matt

2004-06-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

Saturday June 12th 2004,

Yesterday I made my first blog. Wonder how the word blog was first coined. So start up Google and search for "Define: Blog" and here is a sample from one of the results :

From "Web log." A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger."

So blog is just some kind of journal I keep on the web so that everyone can come and look at my depressing thoughts when they have nothing better to do. C'mon guys don't you have something better to do. Go on.. The weather is great outside. Enjoy life!!!

Got a question with the guys who came up with the word 'blog'. What if I don't actually publish my thoughts on the web. What if I am dumb f*** who just types all this stuff but doesn't anyone else to see it. Is there some kind of a private weblog? I can always store them in my private hard disk, but I don't want to waste my precious hard disk space. Go on call me cheap but that's the way I am. I am also posting it in a free blogger space, ain't I ? Will the word blog still apply as I am not PUBLISHING it for anyone other than me. Can I call it a Digital LOG or DLOG. Heck I will call it "DIALOG". But isn't that name in this context an irony in itself. For a dialog you need two people. But I am the only one doing all the talking/typing :-(. Hell I will just imagine that the other guy is the listening kind of guy and doesn't talk much.

Now that's a good idea. Why don't I name this guy. Now why should it be a guy ? It can be an animal/bird/any fictitious living/nonliving spirit like the fictititious kangaroo used by the small girl in the movie 'Chocolat'. What was the kangaroo's name ? F1 google. By the way, was she schizophrenic? Now you would say that she was a kid and kids have great imagination and blah blah blah. But really had she been a little older, you wouldn't have thought that her pet kangaroo is cute and would have called her a freak fit for the asylum. (John Nash/ A Beautiful Mind)

You know what I will call the other guy. I will call him Matt after Matt Groening the Simpsons creator. That guy really had loads of imagination/creativity. But more on him later.

Ok now that I have decided to call you Matt. Let's get started.