Rant 41: TV, Entertainment and Prosperity

I finally have a form of entertainment at my house apart from the big line of books on the maddeningly low shelf space. A TV.
Don't get me wrong.
I may not be as huge a fan of books as some of my more stiff-lipped friends who love invoking Arundhati Roy and sometimes obscure south-Indian authors just to sound smart, but I do enjoy picking up autobiographies, run-of-the-mill college type comedies (aka 5.someone types), a few action thrillers and - of late - some political ones, every now and then.
However, if you ever stepped into my current dwelling, you would realise that there can be two possible consequences of reading too many books in the kind of "scene" there is: A low power, orangey-yellowey, depressing little night light.
Consequence 1: I go half-blind
and 2: I kill myself.
So in order to avoid both (more so for No.2 I guess) I pestered my folks to finance a TV. And finance they did. Coercion, thy name in my book is whining...
Enter a Phillips 21".
I will refrain from saying too much about the cable connection. Sufficeth to say, Consequence No 1 (see above) has a chance of befalling me yet.
So to talk about the actual TV viewing...
I'd been desperate to catch some EPL action and lo and behold, the first thing I see on ESPN is the EPL highlights show, with Manu's match against Wigan (a 5-0 thrashing to get my grin going). Having filled up on EPL, topped with a healthy dose of SportsCenter, I began my second favourite pastime on TV, channel surfing. Even though the set has a lag time from the moment you press the +/- sign to when it actually changes, wherin the audio stops half a second before change, surfing on it is quite enjoyable. Not least if I end up on a boring saas-bahu show. There is nothing more satisfying than cutting off audio for a woman just about to embark on a marathon of emotional dialogues, not to mention the dramatic soundtrack with pointless extreme close-up zoom-ins and zoom-outs.
However, the icing on the cake was this tele-shopping type sales pitch I saw on some random 24 hour news channel (and you wonder where all the breaking news ideas come from???)
The sales person was a "real" sadhu, complete with braided hair, and through elaborate gestures, he explained how the

SHIV SHAKTHI KAVACH could eliminate all bad influences in your life; bad neighbours, somebody who wanted to cause you harm, swine flu, aids and other horrifying elements. All you had to do was BUY the Kavach and wear it. And in the true spirit of Teleshopping, a free gift was available to the first 100 or so callers: a gold sticker to hang on your house's doorstep to ward off all evil.

Thank you TV industry for making possible rib-crushing laughter without the need for THC!

Rant 40: Wheels of the Enfield

Seen at an Enfield garage in New Delhi

Rant 38: One Hundred and One Animals

give or take about 20....

This Animal Care Trust (Shelter) is located in a place called Shakthinagar, not very far from where I live.
Vinod, who resembles a wise-old grandfather in the number of stories he has on Mangalore, had the contact for this place. A lawyer and 4-5 helpers, charged with the most enviable task; taking care of close to a 100 dogs and cats, plus cows, turtles etc. and mani interresting furri animals (to quote a lovely monty python movie...typos intended)

Upon reaching..we found

Dogs........and Cats

We did the traditional coo-chee-cooing...some held on to theirs right till the end

Some were curious themselves...while others were just plain shy

The helpers

and their leader


Some got a bit naughty towards the end


and they also do...


***

Rant 36: The best corporation in the world

Okay, so after hours of contemplation, I have reached the conclusion that
a) Never start with 20 kilo weights after a month long break from working out
and...
b) the best corporation in the world is...Religion Inc.
Taking in astronomical sums of money each year as capital and registering super-normal rises in year-on-year profits, the corp has literally grown from scratch to one of the biggest oligarchs in the history of human habitation on the Earth.
Right from its humble beginnings in the stone age, it started with initial fixed assets (capital) of goats, sheep, cows and other animals (otherwise called sacrifices). As time progressed, some of its public shareholders decided that they wanted more control over the enterprise and thus began formulating company policies.
At all points, these policies were dictated to a single public shareholder by the company executives. Those execs with many hands (and many lives as well) preferred to remain above the cloud levels and communicate through various avatars in their earthly escapades, most avatars being animal forms.
Execs who actually dared to show their true faces on the Earth, quickly learnt to avoid that approach, as reports were reaching the boardroom that the public shareholders loved playing Crucifixion.
The company policies were written into various forms for easier understanding amongst the masses. Some execs added a bit of sado-masochist porn in, while others preferred a good dose of good-old blood and gore. All in all, it was a good book...or so it seems.
In time, the public shareholders became even more demanding. So the execs decided to sell off their majority shares and head off on a long vacation. The public shareholders decided to branch out the company and formed different sub-divisions. The strange thing was (as is with companies owned by Rupert Murdoch) that even though the sub-divisions were meant to pour "profits" into the same parent company, the publicly seen methods of obtaining those incomes violated various ethical norms, not least in the corporate battles between the sub-divisions themselves.
However, the company knew that no matter how many mass killings, suicides, pollution, they would always emerge victorious in the eyes of their shareholders because of their one TRUMP card...
The simple phrase : "It's my religious belief"
Working even more effectively than a full blown cruciatus curse, this single phrase has guaranteed that critics of any kind, will tip-toe respectfully away from any debate on the company's policies.
Thus, the wisest investment in these dark times is perhaps Religion Inc.

S.O.T.O. Rants is in no way affiliated with and does not endorse the beliefs and policies of Religon Inc. Purchase of mutual funds, shares and debentures are subject to market risks (Earthquakes, tsunamis, global warming, famines). Please read the offer document carefully before investing.

Rant 35 : A call to arms

During college, what began as mere curiosity during high school, emerged as a continual rant against 'THE MAN' …the government or let’s say civil rule in general. (hell you can call it Life in general...but time constraints prevent such an exhaustive post)
Enter the documentary phase (currently ongoing). Various movies, comprising earth-shattering revelations (not to mention the bible’s own "happy ending" to life), drove metaphorical rods through my skull.
"The Bush administration was behind 9/11? Saddam was a kindly gentleman? Hitler was a CIA agent? McDonald’s is the world’s next superpower? Jenna from those porn flicks is a dude?"
(Ok, I made up that last one…but you get the idea right?)

Then of course I met others in college who had well reasoned arguments (and who were definitely much better read than I) about how our own government was brutally oppressing sections of the populations who had no other choice but to take up arms. This relatively new aspect has kind of troubled me for a while now.
A few months since leaving college, I’ve been having discussions with a friend. Both of us have our qualms against THE MAN, yet in the true spirit of Free Thinking, we find ourselves opposed on certain counts.
I happened to mention that as a patriotic Indian (for the land, maybe not the government) I would probably answer a call to arms if war broke out (I might add, only if my country is NOT the aggressor). Her reply began a discussion on borders and an attack on the concept of state etc. How they were western ideals and that India had just been a massive piece of land with no real borders till the British colonized us.
I just put forth, "But we have borders now. It’s the present I’m concerned about. You want to tell all the countries to get rid of borders? Who is going to listen?"
She continued, "Governments go to war…not nations. Why do you want to take up arms, kill or get killed for a government?"
Yes, why would I…or why should I? My answer is no, I will not kill and try my best not to BE killed in a war of aggression. BUT, if my country is being attacked, which effectively means some assholes in a different country decided, all humans were not equal or that my countrymen deserved to die for governmental faults (otherwise called Failing Diplomatic tactics), then YES, I will answer the people’s call to resist.
In this context I am referring to a democratic (people) government’s call to a war of defense.
(the friend again) "If you run away from a war zone in order to survive, you’re not being a coward, you’re being clever."
OK…so if my area (my town, city, country whatever) is being attacked and Mothers, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters are being killed, I should act "clever" and get the hell out of there? No, I’m sorry. Maybe you can try telling that to the guy from the Tiannamen-Square Tank incident.
I know I can’t do much for the thousands dying due to poverty everyday, but I fight my own war of defense in this regard as well. How is it any different for war time? people die during war as they die during peace...
The uprising against the NAZIs in the Warsaw ghetto is CHOSEN to be remembered, while the NAZI crimes are chosen to be pushed to the very back of our minds.
There is a reason for this...I'm sure someday me and that friend of mine will figure it out.
I sincerely hope, however, that we never see eye to eye...

Rant 34: Checking out Chikmagalur

So after weeks of mind-boggling work (minus one saturday @ the beach) I finally got a chance to unwind fully...that means absolutely NO work at all. Dont talk about work, dont think about work, dont come near me with work...
2 colleagues from the office plus a mutual friend of theirs and of course yours truly headed out on a one day getaway to chikmagalur (the name basically implies small = chik mangalore)

to start off...

an almost brand new Innova, courtesy Bobby (the mutual friend)...his life philosophy being Work hard, Relax harder...
the rest i say is in the pics...

We four...our one trip was a sight to behold

(R2L- Yashpal, Vinod, Bobby and Me)

Let the road trip begin I say

Night modes

What were you thinking???

Big Boss cold drink factory

Mullayyangiri....the tallest hill in karnataka at 1930 metres....and this is the scene there

Posing for cows.............and for a hilly stretch of road
and to top it off...

Chikmaglur city....the view from (almost) the top

Rant 33: Ullalla - la -la ole oh

I had not been on a photography expedition on my own for quite a while, ever since I took up my job in Mangalore here. Hence, the first Saturday that I got free, I headed off to a nice and quiet beach about 8 kms from the main city, called Ullalla (apologies if I got the spelling wrong).
It was raining a fair bit. The usual kind of irritating drizzle that is perhaps characteristic of this place. However, upon reaching this beach, the power of the sea literally took my breath away. And I must say, the sea was pretty rough. Brown-coloured, huge waves; tempting you to challenge them (either with a surfboard or in a pair of swimming trunks).
sadly, I was not in the mood to have my camera etc stolen while I took on this awesome force of nature....
regardless, My camera and I managed to enjoy ourselves
Enjoy the pics!

Ullalla beach

Solitude

This person was a huge help for me. He pointed out some nice locations for taking shots, and even advised me not venture into certain areas which were either slippery or generally dangerous. His smile was particularly infectious, which was what I tried capturing.

Oh and btw...he lacked the ability to speak.


CROWS...ATTENTION!!

Youth Power in politics...never mess with them, seriously!

dry one moment......................................drenched the next

(and that includes the photographer as well!!)

No comments....

like a candle in the wind eh?
Not much of a comparison there

Human power.............................................Nature's Power
Whose side are you on???