Usual Suspects of the Maestro

Alright, I am not committing a sacrilege here, for coming up with a list of the best songs of the Maestro in a single CD is nothing but that. But I am still committing it, with a silly excuse to justify it. So, picture this scenario - you have your extensive collection of the Maestro CDs in your car. But right now, you are at your friend's place for a long weekend and you have a rental car. You guys are ready to start for a road trip but wait, you do not have a Maestro CD collection in your car. For me, there can never be a road trip without a Maestro CD in my car. So, get where I am going to. This situation is where this list will come in very handy. You got to get started on your trip and only have a few minutes left which means you have time to write only one CD. (It goes without saying that the rental car does not have an auxiliary input which rules out plugging your iPod in) This situation warrants a list like this, which will save the trouble of going through your overwhelming collection of the Maestro's 800+ albums. This is one such list where when each song starts playing, you will start running out of adjectives in praising the genius of the Maestro. And this situation BTW is something that I have faced numerous times (and I am sure some of you might have faced it as well) and that is the very reason I wanted to come up with this list.

As always, I have my own pre-set conditions in arriving at this list.

1) The songs should fit in a 80 min CD.
2) No album can have more than 1 song.
3) The list shall not contain a song from a movie that was released after 1990.
4) The list shall not contain a song from a movie that was released prior to 1980.

En Iniya Pon Nilaave from Moodu Pani
Edho mogam from Kozhi Koovudhu
Idhu Oru ponmaalai from Nizhalgal
Ilaiya Nilaa from Payanangal Mudivadhillai
Keeravaani from Paadum Paravaigal
Kodiyile Malligappoo from Kadalora Kavidhaigal
Mandram vandha from Mouna Raagam
Naan thedum from Dharma Pathini
Pani Vizhum Malarvanam from Ninaivellaam Nithya
Poojaikkketha poovidhu from Neethaana Andha Kuyil
Poove Sempoove from Solla Thudikkudhu Manasu
Raja Raja Chozhan from Rettai Vaal Kuruvi
Thendral vandhu ennai thodum from Thendrale Ennai Thodu
Enna satham indha neram from Punnagai Mannan
Thulli ezhundhadhu paattu from Geethanjali
Pothi vacha malliga mottu from Mann Vaasanai

So, there goes the proverbial drop in the ocean, IMO. How will your drop from the Maestro's ocean look like?

Difference a question mark can make

Rediff is one site which is going from bad to worse, day after day. When you look up the site, it literally takes a while for you to identify actual news articles & links, amidst the deluge of online ads scattered all over the real estate. They come up with intelligent ways to increase the hit rate for certain pages and the screen-shots below just goes on to show the cunning strategy behind the same.

On the home page, you have a link that says "Rajni to join Tussads", on seeing which anybody (both fans and the general reading public alike) would click just bcos of the fact that it would be a huge news if that were to happen. And then when you go to the actual page, a question mark pops up from nowhere at the end of the title of the article. Just goes to show to what length these guys go to drive traffic to their site. Got to give it to these guys, though, for being so clever and deceptive...

Weekend Movies - Ammuvaagiya Naan & HNRAI

Ammuvaagiya Naan - Parthiban is one actor I admire (in fact, he is my favorite actor right after Thalaivar) and so I look forward to all his movies, even the ones he does not direct. And all the decent reviews that this movie got only made me more curious. While I was done watching it, I have to say that the movie did not let me down/ disappoint and kind of/ sort of lived up to the expectations that I had. If I were to describe the thoughts that came to my mind while watching the movie, it would be these 2 words - inconsistency and predictability. Inconsistent in the way the characters behaved during the course of the movie and predictable in the way the movie ended. The Parthiban that is introduced to us in a TV interview (eerily similar to the Madhavan character of Kannathil Muthamittaal) is not the Parthiban we get to see in the later portions of the movie. The heroine's performance & characterisation again was inconsistent. She definitely has done exceedingly well for a debutant and she is beautiful in a curious way (I have to borrow what my friend said about the way she looks - she does look like Meena and Isha Gopikkar rolled into one. I do agree with my friend's observation) Parthiban was his usual self, with his matter-of-fact, no non-sense and not-going-overboard acting. Music by Sabesh Murali was a highlight, both the songs and the re-recording. Overall, definitely an one-time watch movie and one of the good (as in utterly bad, bad, good, better and best) movies of the year.

Hey Nee Romba Azhagaa Irukka - This is one Vasanth movie that I had missed out on, during the time it was released few years ago. But have read some good reviews about the movie, though the movie itself was a flop. And Vasanth is one director whom I hold in very high regard and 2 of his movies - Keladi Kanmani & Rhythm - would find their place in my list of all-time favorite movies. But when I was done watching this movie, I was left ruing my decision to watch the movie and more importantly, the lofty perch on which I had placed Vasanth all these years came down crushing. I could rightaway say that this was easily Vasanth's worst movie ever (except Poovellaam Kaettu Paar, another movie that I have not seen). I mean, there was nothing in the movie that would make you think it was a Vasanth movie. Just bcos the theme the movie handles is different doesn't mean that we should appreciate the silly and totally ridiculous way the theme was conveyed. It all started with the casting - when you have Shaam doing the role of guy who is cool and mature, there can only be one thing in store for the audience - disaster. Add the completely unexpressive and totally artifical Jaya Ray to the equation, you have the perfect recipe for disaster. Fortunately for us, Sneha was there but even she could only hold the movie to only a certain extent. The other thing that stood out badly was the songs picturization, something I think Vasanth is as good as the best in the business. When it comes to innovation in songs picturization, not even a Mani Rathnam can hold an umbrella to vasanth and that is why when I saw some of the songs being picturized the way they were (ridiculous would be an understatement), my disappointment only doubled. Vivek was the other person who brought some relief from the totally stupid proceedings. Overall, a movie I still can not believe was made by Vasanth.

Sachin's last innings at Wankhede

Last hurrah
Tendulkar is always received with reverence here at the Wankhede Stadium - although even he cops a fair share of abuse from the infamous North Stand - but today was special in many ways. Not only was it likely to be Tendulkar's last international at the ground - it's set to be refurbished and will only be used for an international next in 2011 for the final of the World Cup - but it was exactly twenty years ago to the day when Tendulkar did duty here as a ball boy, returning the ball to the players from the ropes in an India-Zimbabwe match. Only 26,863 international runs have flowed from his bat since. Not bad, for a ball boy.

Reproduced from here. Instantly felt goosebumps on reading this and didn't want to miss out on posting it here.

BTW, what a victory the Indians just carved out!! I guess, Murali Karthik & Uthappa have sealed their places in the team for a long time to come, something they both fully deserve. The fact that the Australians fielded their best XI for this game should put all those "this came in a dead rubber" critics to rest. I was immediately reminded of that miracle victory that the local boys - Kumble & Srinath - pulled off, in 1996 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. And now for the eerie resemblance to that game - it was a 2 wicket victory too, like this one and more importantly, the 9th wicket partnership in both the games yielded the same - 52 runs. Wow!! What a coincidence....

Afghan Golf Course

I am surprised that the Bush administration hasn't claimed this (establishing a golf course in Afghanistan) as another of their success stories. Afghan golf course - what an oxymoron!!!

Weekend Hikes - Rachel lake

Date: July 29, 2007
Close By: Snoqualmie Pass, WA

Directions: From Seattle, drive East on I-90 and take exit 62. Turn left, following the signs for Lake Kachess Campground. After five miles on FS Road 49, turn on left on FS Road 4930, and follow about four miles to the trailhead parking lot. Around a quarter mile into the FS 4930 road, there is a fork. Take a right on that fork.

Things to remember: The hike started off in a rather steep way and after the initial ascent, the next 2-3 miles are mostly on level grounds. It was almost like a stroll in the park, kind of hike. But the trail passes through so much bushes which will have you keep your hands looking heaven wards. At the 3 mile point is when the trail gets to business. I had read before that the last mile of this hike is famously called the Mile From Hell. The reason was quite simple - during the first 3 miles of the hike, the elevation gained is a meager 700 feet and it is in the last 1 mile that the remaining 1300 feet of elevation is gained. The last mile was easily the toughest that I have ever encountered in my short hiking experience. Not only was it steep, but the trail too was ill-maintained with ourselves getting lost atleast a couple of times. The last mile is almost like climbing stairs, only that the stairs were made of the roots of the huge trees. Throughout the last mile, the longest stretch where we encountered flat terrain was probably 10 feet. At times, we were looking at nearly 40 degree slope. But the good news is that the lake is absolutely worth the tough hike. It is so pristine, calm and bcos of the tough hike, borrowing an often used phrase, it was not crowded at the top. It starting getting cold a bit (temperatures would have been in the high 40s) and as the clouds started engulfing the lake, it was as beautiful a sight one can get.

Distance (RT): 8 miles
Time (RT): 5 hours, including 30 mins at the lake
Elevation: 2000 feet
Difficulty Level: 3.25

Here are some pictures from the hike: