Everyone is excited about the new Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace", that released last week in the US. Everyone that is, except me. We went out for dinner last weekend and ran into some friends who were going to go watch this "movie event". The discussion automatically turned to whether the movie was watchable or not and what stunts there would be in the movie and which of the wonderful technological advances shown in the movie were actually accessible to the common man. All wonderful bond traits and things to discuss about any Bond movie from any era. I enthusiastically joined in... until the discussion turned to who made a better Bond, Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig. Everyone agreed Daniel Craig was good, maybe not as much eye candy as Pierce Brosnan, but not bad on the eyes either, except me who has taken a weird aversion to him. I don't know what it is about some people that turns you off instantly. For eg., there is nothing wrong with Daniel Craig (atleast acc to popular opinion). He's a fairly decent actor who's no worse than the other male stars out there, he's not very bad-looking, a lot of people consider him very handsome, and intellectually, I know he does a decent Bond. I mean, you can't do worse than Timothy Dalton, in any case, right? So my brain tells me there's nothing to hate about him, cause the emotion I have is stronger than mere dislike, its not as strong as hate maybe, but its definitely getting up there. I pray I don't smack his face if ever I run into him somewhere (highly unlikely, so I'm safe there!).
I read somewhere that babies have a built-in evolutionary way of telling if someone is good-looking... they look for symmetry in the features and the expression in people's eyes. As far as symmetry goes, I can understand if the mathematical part of your brain likes that, and therefore if a face is completely unsymmetrical, we call that bad-looking. That makes perfect sense. So does the idea that the expression in a person's eyes appeals to your instincts or your emotions and you like people who smile with their eyes or dislike those who glare at you. But as far as actors are concerned, their every expression goes through a gamut of people, from the casting director to the cameraman to the editor before it winds up in your face, so why should this highly filtered input not cause anything but admiration. It mystifies me what exactly it is about certain faces that you like instantly (I guess we call it "clicking with someone") and what about other people drives you to violence unnecessarily. :)
For now, it remains a chemical imbalance in my brain that causes me to dislike actors like Daniel Craig and Raveena Tandon at first sight, without even considering their body of work. I guess I will cave under pressure and curiosity and end up watching "QofS" someday, but I donot believe I will enjoy the actor much.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Politics and election coverage
Its currently election season at its peak in the USofA. Which means no matter what channel you turn to, you get bombarded with local and national ads as to which candidate is suitable (mostly which one is unsuitable) to govern you and your family and friends. I have nothing against that, tis the season to be campaigning. This piece is about the viewers of said programs.
We have cable at home, which means we can watch the same ad on a 100 different channels, as well as dish tv, which means we can figure out whats happening in India too on the political scene. Among this vast array of choices, at any given time, there are dozens of channels NOT playing political ads or (more annoying to me) political discussions about these ads and the candidates. Programs that follow said candidates through every piece of dialogue, every speech and every interview, and believe you me, they do a lot of all of these.
With all the choices we have to watch something other than politics, guess what we end up watching every single day for hours at a time? Yepp, election coverage! For some reason, the average middle-class indian feels an almost impossible-to-deny urge to be informed of the political process of the country they reside in. I say this admiringly, cause there is nothing better than being informed of the situation around you. However, the level of information we need and the amount of information gathering that takes place is completely disproportional. For eg., for me, knowing which candidates are vying for which post and what their basic beliefs are is enough information. Takes one half-hour to an hour each day, if that. So why do we watch TV coverage of these candidates for 3-4 hours everyday? There's no new information coming in, usually the same speeches are recycled, and the polls change constantly as to which states will vote for which candidates or which county will vote which way. My motto is wait for the final results, cause everything else is just conjecture. but apparently, there are millions of people out there who spend tons of time talking about, discussing, arguing and impossibly enough, watching this conjecturing (sic?). It totally baffles me. I'm just glad election is tomorrow, so we finally get to put the guesswork to rest. But then, there's the post-election coverage and the wisdom of hindsight that gets doled out by the same channels in abundance. So we're looking forward to another couple of months or so of TV watching, discussions, arguments and political information being bandied about in the family room.
And why am I being a bad citizen by not following the election coverage 24 hours a day? Precisely because I'm not... a citizen, that is. All this political coverage is being followed in a household with three adults and a baby, none of whom are eligible to vote. I dread to think of the time when we will be, and the amount of TV watching that will be awaiting us before we feel ready to cast our all-important vote.
We have cable at home, which means we can watch the same ad on a 100 different channels, as well as dish tv, which means we can figure out whats happening in India too on the political scene. Among this vast array of choices, at any given time, there are dozens of channels NOT playing political ads or (more annoying to me) political discussions about these ads and the candidates. Programs that follow said candidates through every piece of dialogue, every speech and every interview, and believe you me, they do a lot of all of these.
With all the choices we have to watch something other than politics, guess what we end up watching every single day for hours at a time? Yepp, election coverage! For some reason, the average middle-class indian feels an almost impossible-to-deny urge to be informed of the political process of the country they reside in. I say this admiringly, cause there is nothing better than being informed of the situation around you. However, the level of information we need and the amount of information gathering that takes place is completely disproportional. For eg., for me, knowing which candidates are vying for which post and what their basic beliefs are is enough information. Takes one half-hour to an hour each day, if that. So why do we watch TV coverage of these candidates for 3-4 hours everyday? There's no new information coming in, usually the same speeches are recycled, and the polls change constantly as to which states will vote for which candidates or which county will vote which way. My motto is wait for the final results, cause everything else is just conjecture. but apparently, there are millions of people out there who spend tons of time talking about, discussing, arguing and impossibly enough, watching this conjecturing (sic?). It totally baffles me. I'm just glad election is tomorrow, so we finally get to put the guesswork to rest. But then, there's the post-election coverage and the wisdom of hindsight that gets doled out by the same channels in abundance. So we're looking forward to another couple of months or so of TV watching, discussions, arguments and political information being bandied about in the family room.
And why am I being a bad citizen by not following the election coverage 24 hours a day? Precisely because I'm not... a citizen, that is. All this political coverage is being followed in a household with three adults and a baby, none of whom are eligible to vote. I dread to think of the time when we will be, and the amount of TV watching that will be awaiting us before we feel ready to cast our all-important vote.
Friday, October 24, 2008
India Rising?
Watched this documentary the other day, called "India Rising"
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/425/index.html...
It basically talks about the rising middle class in India and how consumerism is getting more and more rampant. Since it was from the American perspective, they added the reactions of a couple of americans who wondered how the global consumer goods demand will change because of these newly added users who have the money to spend and the will to keep spending it, causing rising prices for the rest of the world to deal with.
I had mixed feelings after I saw this piece. First the positive ones...
I'm really glad to hear about the advances the middle class in India has made in such a short time, thanks to the whole outsourcing idea and the surging BPO industry. People have more money and the will to spend it today instead of saving for the future like generations before us did. They're also exposed to a lot more consumer goods, whether its electronics, packaged foods, lifestyle providers, or just housing. People are going for bigger, better, healthier and have finally "arrived" on the global market. It makes me proud as an Indian to see these changes, and happy for me to know that we're considered equals by the more developed nations across the world... atleast in this category.
Now the negative feelings...
As a middle-class consumer, I resent being one among a billion, it was much better being one among 750 million. On a larger scale, it pains me to see that consumerism is on the rise, bringing with it the requisite lifestyle changes that is altering the face of middle-class India as I lived it during my formative years. Everyone has a cellphone that they don't mind spending Rs.15,000 on, they have two-wheelers and cars to replace their bicycles and scooters, they vacation in bangkok and singapore and thailand instead of goa and ooty and matheran. And when they get there, they go to retreats and spas instead of such-and-such uncle and such-and-such aunty's house. And I'm just talking of the college-going crowd, cause thats the demographic I was familiar with then and am learning about now through various cousins, nieces and nephews. And this is all because the "Americans" live like this. It hurts me to think that the american lifestyle is considered the superior one, the one to aspire to, as if there was something inherently wrong with the life we led for generations and centuries before the americans even came on the scene.
now for the hypocritical feelings...
I moved to the USofA almost a decade ago for the same reasons I outlined above... among other things. The chance for a "good life", the opportunity to work at a career I really like, the materialistic things I want and the independence to pursue all of these without the hurdles of social or familial pressures. But I'm more Indian now than I ever was when I lived in India (more in another blog on this one). But living here, I share the american feeling of "how will my lifestyle change if there is more consumer demand from India and China?". Sounds mean of me, right? but its true. The things I could easily get here (a house with stuff in it, a job, a car, etc.) will get more and more expensive if people back home start demanding the same things and then, where will I be? Considering the world is getting smaller and smaller with each passing day, will my competition go from being Indians (during college) to Americans (grad school and the job market) to everyone now(read Indians and Chinese)? Thats a scary thought, since I know first-hand how persistent and competitive the asians can be... I'm one of them, aren't I? So, in the global arena of fighting for goods and services, the Asians have a much better chance of winning, even if it is just due to numbers.
now for the relief...
I can always move back and get the best of both worlds. If there's going to be no difference in the lifestyles of India and the US, maybe its time to reevaluate what I came here for, and whether moving back home would mean no compromises too, along with an enhanced family life. I can get a similar job, a similar house, the same car, probably the same neighbours and friends, and all the same choices I make in my everyday life (I'm ignoring the commute for now). Atleast I'll be competing on home-turf. Win-win, right?
I just feel bad for the Americans who don't have that choice. :P
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/425/index.html...
It basically talks about the rising middle class in India and how consumerism is getting more and more rampant. Since it was from the American perspective, they added the reactions of a couple of americans who wondered how the global consumer goods demand will change because of these newly added users who have the money to spend and the will to keep spending it, causing rising prices for the rest of the world to deal with.
I had mixed feelings after I saw this piece. First the positive ones...
I'm really glad to hear about the advances the middle class in India has made in such a short time, thanks to the whole outsourcing idea and the surging BPO industry. People have more money and the will to spend it today instead of saving for the future like generations before us did. They're also exposed to a lot more consumer goods, whether its electronics, packaged foods, lifestyle providers, or just housing. People are going for bigger, better, healthier and have finally "arrived" on the global market. It makes me proud as an Indian to see these changes, and happy for me to know that we're considered equals by the more developed nations across the world... atleast in this category.
Now the negative feelings...
As a middle-class consumer, I resent being one among a billion, it was much better being one among 750 million. On a larger scale, it pains me to see that consumerism is on the rise, bringing with it the requisite lifestyle changes that is altering the face of middle-class India as I lived it during my formative years. Everyone has a cellphone that they don't mind spending Rs.15,000 on, they have two-wheelers and cars to replace their bicycles and scooters, they vacation in bangkok and singapore and thailand instead of goa and ooty and matheran. And when they get there, they go to retreats and spas instead of such-and-such uncle and such-and-such aunty's house. And I'm just talking of the college-going crowd, cause thats the demographic I was familiar with then and am learning about now through various cousins, nieces and nephews. And this is all because the "Americans" live like this. It hurts me to think that the american lifestyle is considered the superior one, the one to aspire to, as if there was something inherently wrong with the life we led for generations and centuries before the americans even came on the scene.
now for the hypocritical feelings...
I moved to the USofA almost a decade ago for the same reasons I outlined above... among other things. The chance for a "good life", the opportunity to work at a career I really like, the materialistic things I want and the independence to pursue all of these without the hurdles of social or familial pressures. But I'm more Indian now than I ever was when I lived in India (more in another blog on this one). But living here, I share the american feeling of "how will my lifestyle change if there is more consumer demand from India and China?". Sounds mean of me, right? but its true. The things I could easily get here (a house with stuff in it, a job, a car, etc.) will get more and more expensive if people back home start demanding the same things and then, where will I be? Considering the world is getting smaller and smaller with each passing day, will my competition go from being Indians (during college) to Americans (grad school and the job market) to everyone now(read Indians and Chinese)? Thats a scary thought, since I know first-hand how persistent and competitive the asians can be... I'm one of them, aren't I? So, in the global arena of fighting for goods and services, the Asians have a much better chance of winning, even if it is just due to numbers.
now for the relief...
I can always move back and get the best of both worlds. If there's going to be no difference in the lifestyles of India and the US, maybe its time to reevaluate what I came here for, and whether moving back home would mean no compromises too, along with an enhanced family life. I can get a similar job, a similar house, the same car, probably the same neighbours and friends, and all the same choices I make in my everyday life (I'm ignoring the commute for now). Atleast I'll be competing on home-turf. Win-win, right?
I just feel bad for the Americans who don't have that choice. :P
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Lonely at work!
Walked to the canteen to get my lunch today and asked them to put it in a box to take with me. So continues another day of lunch at my desk. This is the third company I've worked for, since I had to leave grad school (they call it graduation!), and at the first two places, I made friends from the girls/guys around me within the first week itself. So lunch was a social affair where I could relax during a day of work and enjoy some good-natured banter along with the requisite tuna sandwich. At this new place, however, its been two months and even though I've made friends, the prevalent tone during lunch is, "am busy/having a meeting/have to get a presentation made, etc., having lunch at my desk". For those annoying readers who think I might be a pest and am being avoided by these people, YOU'RE WRONG! They really do have lunch at their desk. go figure!
I'm missing the camaraderie, the banter, the "friends" you can make just by sharing a meal together a few days a week. This is a large facility, and there are tons of lunch partners everywhere, people I see in the canteen on a semi-regular basis, who sit together, laugh/smile, eat and seem to repeat the experience every day, except not with me. Walking up to some of these people and asking to join them seems like a good idea when I'm heading out, but once there, the coccoon of familiarity all of them enclose themselves in, seems difficult to breach. There's also the social inertia and the personal fear of being considered a loser. So I haven't brought myself to take that step yet.
Every day noon rolls around, and I dread having to make the solitary walk to the canteen, grab a box and ask for my food "to go". Sigh!
I'm missing the camaraderie, the banter, the "friends" you can make just by sharing a meal together a few days a week. This is a large facility, and there are tons of lunch partners everywhere, people I see in the canteen on a semi-regular basis, who sit together, laugh/smile, eat and seem to repeat the experience every day, except not with me. Walking up to some of these people and asking to join them seems like a good idea when I'm heading out, but once there, the coccoon of familiarity all of them enclose themselves in, seems difficult to breach. There's also the social inertia and the personal fear of being considered a loser. So I haven't brought myself to take that step yet.
Every day noon rolls around, and I dread having to make the solitary walk to the canteen, grab a box and ask for my food "to go". Sigh!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sleep deprived!
Welcome to my blog! This is my first attempt at getting people to listen voluntarily to me. Hopefully, some of you might return. This is meant as an arena for me to vent about anything and pretty much everything. As people keep telling me, I have no dearth of subjects on which I can monologue. So here goes...
Didn't get enough sleep last night, not through any exciting event that would've let me write interesting stuff here, but mostly because i was being a conscientious parent and had to soothe my kid through an ear infection. Consequence - my entire day has been slightly foggy, and I've found my mind wandering in weird directions. Its like living in water... wonder if merpeople feel like this all the time. I pity people with allergies, cause I'm sure they experience this every allergy season. But I believe I had intelligent conversations with people around me today, and for the life of me, i cannot recall what they were. I make it a rule during days like these not to send out too many emails for fear of one of them coming back to haunt me later. As a new parent, I'm seeing a lot of days that begin and end exactly this way. So I guess people with allergies make great parents cause they're prepared for foggy days. They should make a pill for sleep-deprivation, since they already have most of the symptoms covered by other pills anyway. Imagine the sales to new parents, globetrotters, businesspeople, party animals, etc.
I know thats not a great way to begin a blog, especially since a lot of you might not want to return if I continue in this vein, but I think venting on the net doesn't require a degree in journalism to begin with (thats for serious work that actually gets paid), and if my grammar is good, the read might not be too bad. what say?
Besides, some days I usually have tons of interesting things to say, and nobody to say them to. So I might as well chat with completely anonymous strangers as with uninterested, harried coworkers or family members. So this blog begins...As the name goes, Kuch Bhi!
Didn't get enough sleep last night, not through any exciting event that would've let me write interesting stuff here, but mostly because i was being a conscientious parent and had to soothe my kid through an ear infection. Consequence - my entire day has been slightly foggy, and I've found my mind wandering in weird directions. Its like living in water... wonder if merpeople feel like this all the time. I pity people with allergies, cause I'm sure they experience this every allergy season. But I believe I had intelligent conversations with people around me today, and for the life of me, i cannot recall what they were. I make it a rule during days like these not to send out too many emails for fear of one of them coming back to haunt me later. As a new parent, I'm seeing a lot of days that begin and end exactly this way. So I guess people with allergies make great parents cause they're prepared for foggy days. They should make a pill for sleep-deprivation, since they already have most of the symptoms covered by other pills anyway. Imagine the sales to new parents, globetrotters, businesspeople, party animals, etc.
I know thats not a great way to begin a blog, especially since a lot of you might not want to return if I continue in this vein, but I think venting on the net doesn't require a degree in journalism to begin with (thats for serious work that actually gets paid), and if my grammar is good, the read might not be too bad. what say?
Besides, some days I usually have tons of interesting things to say, and nobody to say them to. So I might as well chat with completely anonymous strangers as with uninterested, harried coworkers or family members. So this blog begins...As the name goes, Kuch Bhi!
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