Wednesday, July 30, 2008

XKCD.COM

Witty and poignant. Check out xkcd. A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

 
  
  

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Heroes interpreted.

The time has come, to talk of many thing. Of capes, and pandas, and flying bums; of maniacs and kings. And why Darkseid never sleeps; and whether bats have wings.

The post, obviously, has been inspired by watching three superhero movies in quick succession; Kung Fu Panda, Hancock and The Dark Knight. Okay okay, so you say Kung Fu Panda is NOT a superhero as such. Do I even care?

So lets start off with Hancock. A great premise and reasonable acting ruined by a lousy script. Not even Charlize was able to save this. Will plays it too emotional to be really funny, and where oh where are the impressive villains? A gay guy with a hook for a hand? That's the baddie? Please. The movie gets over before it begins. Do not watch it. Not even if guys with hook hands turn you on. Coz' you can find stuff on the internet that'll satisfy THAT fetish. Rule 34, baby.



http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/posters/hancock/hancock1_large.jpg


Kung Fu panda is cool. He can do the Wushi finger hold AND make a mean noodle soup. But that doesn't mean I like being compared with him. The NERVE of some people... Anyhoo, this is another movie which starts before it begins. The Bad Guy is whipped in one round with Po. The hero does not lose the first round only to return for round two, having finally learnt the meaning of 'heart'. And it doesn't really give me a good cartoon babe to fixate on (can anyone say Jasmine?).

But the movie is fun all the same; full of laughs and morals. And in the end, the audience learns that the secret to avoiding paralysing kung fu attacks is in developing an insulating layer of fat. And isn't that what really matters?

http://www.filmpeek.net/userimages/kungfupanda.jpg

And finally, the movie of the year; The Dark Knight. Now I don't want to wax loquacious, but what a flick. They've finally tried to reach what I have visualised as the ultimate Batman film. That's right, in my head I'm an Oscar winning film director. And Batman will be my masterpiece. So starting with the premise that this film is awesome, crap-yo-pants fantastic, lets begin to tear it down. Christian Bale.... nope, Bale is NOT my Batman. He's too small, not brooding enough. Batman is a physical presence. He looms out from shadows. His cape falls over his shoulders to the ground; covering his suit; hiding it's outlines. His mask is not an oversize helmet covering most of his face, but thinner, smoother, showing his jawline. And his voice is not a rough rasp, but smooth and deep and full of hidden menace.
Galeria de Batman


Has Ledger beaten Nicholson in his portrayal of the Joker? Who can say. Nicholson was an impressive joker, and combined with Burton's genius was whimsical, mad and deadly. Ledger's just creepy. Okay; subtract the 'just'. He brings creepy to a whole new level; a psychopathic mass-murdering level. And he's brilliant at it. They've interpreted the madness of the joker wonderfully well in the movie. He's in control of the situation the whole time, playing Gordon and Wayne like marionettes. And like the comics, the interplay between the Batman and Joker is wonderfully scripted. One gets the feel that the Joker defines himself by the existence of the Batman.

Finally, Gotham. Chicago does provide a good substitute, and plays off well against Nolan's storytelling style, but I would expect Gotham to be more... er... Gothic. More dark, more gargoyled and gloomy.

But hey! You can't have everything! A few things they DO get right is the twisted relationship between the bat and the joker, emphasis on the dark knight as a detective, and the deliberate concealment of Chief Gordon's daughter, Barbara. And we all know who SHE is.

Watch out for more heroes, including the eagerly anticipated Watchmen and the second celluloid version of the seminal Mike Mignola's Hellboy.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Sanity revoked

Okay... drop everything. Do yourself a favour. Go to the theatre and watch The Dark Knight. Immediately. Now. Do it.

The Dark Knight

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Visitor Locations

Well, in a very polite mail Clustrmaps informed me that a year has passed since I had installed it on my blog, and they had archived my map and replaced it with a fresh one (on the right). I was quite proud of the old one; it showed hits from almost every country 'cept a few in Africa and round Russia Well, its on to bigger and better thing; and I hope you guys will help me populate the new map even better.

Here's what the old one looked like -

http://www3.clustrmaps.com/stats/history/lifeofviren.blogspot.com--2007-07-11_to_2008-07-12.jpg

Friday, July 11, 2008

Finally...


How to configure EDGE on the iPhone


Configuration November 5th, 2007





I will show you how to configure iPhone for EDGE on any network - especially on India’s Bharti Airtel and Vodafone GSM networks.


  1. Tap on Settings on your iPhone
  2. Then General -> Network -> EDGE -> APN
  3. For Bharti Airtel Mobile Office EDGE connection -> Type airtelgprs.com as the APN
  4. For Vodafone EDGE connection -> Type www as the APN
  5. For both Airtel and Vodafone EDGE connections leave the Username and Password empty

Now your Safari and YouTube should be working!

And for more tips of a similar nature, head off to iphonetipz

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

The Real World.

Whoever told you that a long vacation refreshes, relaxes and get's you ready for work is a dirty stinking liar. After being pampered, fed and generally coddled for two and a half weeks at home, returning to work is like emerging for a warm, cushioned womb into a dismal dystopian reality. Not that its not warm here.. oh no! Delhi's burning heat of June may be over, but the weather here has unleashed a new weapon in it's arsenal - humidity. The air is so sodden, so damp, that goldfish would probably find it salubrious. Any small exertion and you're pouring out streams of sweat and gasping with your mouth; much like afore-mentioned goldfish. Contrast that with my home in Coimbatore where an air conditioner is never required.


Add to this the tedium of office. My cubicle, which was chosen carefully for its solitude and distance from everyone, has been filled to the brim by sincere hard working drones. The person next to me, so awed by his manager, reads out lines of code to himself in a semi-panicked mutter which does much to drive away all my peace of mind.

And of course, in Delhi I am at the whims and fancies of outdoor food. Whereas at home, I am secure in the knowledge that all I have to do is turn up at the dining table at prescribed intervals and be fed; in Delhi every meal takes at least 15 minutes of keen descisions. Do I eat or skip? Do I subject my stomach to the tortures of the cafeteria, or do I venture out in the broiling sun to eat at a resteraunt? Will a bowl of musceli stave the ravening pangs of hunger or should I go whole hog on that cheese burst pizza and pay for my indulgence with guilt ridden sleepless nights? Decisions, decisions...