Toe Knee Unplugged

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Losing sleep over Apple's iPhone 3G

I am not crazy about cellphones. So when I was asked to cover the midnight launch of the Apple iPhone 3G in India, it didn’t really seem worth sacrificing my sleep.

I walked half-heartedly to the Vodafone store in nearby Connaught Place, hoping to see frenzied youngsters jostling for vantage position outside its shutters.

I had read horror stories of people abroad queuing up 60 hours ahead of schedule for a chance to buy the iPhone first.

For more, click here

Monday, August 11, 2008

Jesus played cricket? It's an Olympic campaign

No, I really don't think Jesus Christ played cricket as a child as some media reports would have us believe.

That seems more like a conspiracy, to establish cricket as the game played by the saviour of the world -- and then use it to squeeze cricket into the next Olympics.

I am not complaining though coz India has a good chance of winning a medal in cricket.

But if you ask me, Jesus would have been a sure winner in the walking on water category, if that ever becomes an Olympic sport.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Surviving Delhi Bus Rapid Transit Corridor III

Want to irritate me? You can show me the Delhi government ad on television that lists the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor project as one of its achievements.

Just because it's disappeared from the front pages of newspapers doesn't mean commuters are now in some sort of heaven. They are just resigned to the fact that there's no getting away with the bottlenecks at Chirag Dilli and Archana crossings.

The time taken is the same but the hot May sun is no longer beating down on motorcyclists and cars.

When you are waiting in the BRT line in August, the rain splashes down, dribbling down the car's windscreen and you can sit back and relax, armed with the knowledge that the car in front won't move another inch anytime soon.

Yes, the rain gods had pity on Delhi's hapless BRT commuters -- making that interminable wait at least tolerable.

But that doesn't make the corridor project a success. Hindustan Times claims people are adjusting to BRT, that Delhi has learnt to live with it. They should have asked me, I guess. Or anybody who goes through the BRT corridor day after day, month after month.

What worries me is this Times of India article, which says the Delhi government is planning more BRT stretches. It seems Sheila Dikshit hasn't learnt her lesson yet. Does she really want to lose the next election?

If only she had spent a few extra crores and extended the Delhi Metro till Khanpur. People would have been singing her praises. Alas! Each commuter on the corridor has only curses to offer.

My colleagues don't believe me. They feel I use BRT as an excuse.

"How bad could it be?" they ask.

"Travel down the corridor and you will see," I reply.

Unfortunately, they don't live anywhere near the BRT. And they will never experience the torture. After all, the rains will go away soon, the sun will come out and the commuters will sweat again -- and their murmurs would grow louder and louder still.

ALSO READ
Surviving Delhi's Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Part I
Surviving Delhi's Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Part II

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Amit Varma in race for Asian Literary Prize

Fellow blogger Amit Varma of India Uncut fame is turning novelist. And possibly a prize-winning one at that.

The Man Asian Literary Prize is an annual award for an "Asian novel unpublished in English". And this year their longlist includes Varma's debut novel "My Friend, Sancho".

The largest single group of submissions for the Man Asian Literary Prize was from India -- accounting for around half of the 21 books in the longlist.

These will be whittled down to a shortlist in October this year while the winner will be crowned at a ceremony in Hong Kong the following month.

"My Friend, Sancho" is set in Mumbai. Abir Ganguly, a young journalist on the crime beat, is asked by his editor to write a profile of Mohammad Iqbal, the victim of a police encounter. In the course of writing about another man’s life, his own is transformed. The reason is Iqbal's daughter, Muneeza – or Sancho, as her father used to call her.

Varma is busy finishing his novel-in-progress (which made the longlist on the basis of its first three chapters) and India's most famous blogger may not get enough time to work on the India Uncut blog, which is usually updated several times a day.

In a post on Tuesday, Varma wrote he needs "to submit my entire manuscript by August 1 to remain in contention for the prize, and I’m not quite done with it yet. Thus, for the next few days, I take a break from India Uncut."

Which is bad news for all those addicted to daily updates from India Uncut on Bollywood, media WTFs, 'where our taxes go' and Indian cows.

But here's hoping for some good news on the famous-blogger-turning-prize-winning-novelist front.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Osian's Cinefan Film Festival 2008 Awards

ASIAN AND ARAB COMPETITION
Best Film - Tokyo Sonata by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Best Director - Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Three Monkeys
Best Actor - Ammor Hakkar in The Yellow House
Best Actress - Hiam Abbas and Rona Laipaz-Michael in Lemon Tree
Special Jury Award - Salt of This Sea by Annamarie Jacir

FIRST FEATURES AWARD
Confessional by Ruel Dahis Antipuesto and Jerrold Viacrucis Tarog

INDIAN COMPETITION
Best Film - Gulabi Talkies by Girish Kasaravalli
Best Director - Remo D'Souza for A Story of the Red Hills
Best Actor - Rajat Kapur for The Prisoner and Govind Namdeo for Kabootar
Best Actress - Umashree for Gulabi Talkies

IN-TOLERANCE AWARD
Hidden Faces by Handan Ipekci

NETPAC AWARD
Bioscope by K.M. Madhusudhanan

FIPRESCI AWARD
Ramchand Pakistani by Mehreen Jabbar and Salt Of This Sea by Annemarie Jacir

AUDIENCE AWARD
The Band’s Visit by Eran Kolirin

(Official website)

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Death of a Poet - Palash Kumar

Palash died in a car accident this weekend.

Were the following lines, penned by this poet, to prove prophetic?

And thus ended the cycle of pain and love,
He walked away with a baggage of longings --
--- which refuse to fade
She walked away with a look in her eyes,
And a prayer on her face

Listen to his story, his Guftagu, in a silent place - his world, his blog, a place where Palash lives on, in words etched for eternity. Read on

The best of August 2008 blog mela
	Asal Tamil Penn
	Lucifer House Inc
	Twisted DNA
	Toddyshop
	IndieQuill
	Anjali
	Jabberwock
	Great Bong
	Mudra Mehta
	Gawker
	None of them were that good

pollcode.com free polls

The best of July 2008 blog mela
	Twisted DNA
	Nomad
	Bikerdude
	Silverine
	Mama Says So
	Jabberwock
	Idea-smithy
	18,000 RPM
	Madhusudan Katti
	YOnEarthNot
	None of them were that good

pollcode.com free polls

The best of June 2008 blog mela
	Bikerdude
	Purple Cow
	Zigzackly
	India Uncut
	Mudra Mehta
	Idea-smithy
	Stupendous Man
	Jabberwock
	Twisted DNA
	Krish Ashok
	None were that good

pollcode.com free polls

Toe Knee Unplugged

Thursday, September 18, 2008

August 2008 Blog Mela