the telegu superstar from Texas ...

the legend of X

X is a friend on mine whose identity I am suppressing out of request. X went home to India and his parents promptly tried to get him married. I recently heard his story - a tale of extraordinary trials and tribulations and a lesson on how the indomitable human spirit was able to overcome great adversity to come out victorious.
X managed to successfully dodge the bullet this time by adroitly setting ridiculous prerequisites for his prospective fiancee. His ideal soulmate would have been a divorced alcoholic who's overarching hobby in life was watching movies. Needless to say, this somewhat reduced the size of his eligible population, and he was able to escape from India unscathed and unattached.
I will continue to watch his future adventures with great interest and will report as much of them as I can.

A worthy cause

I wanted to use this post to talk about Vishnu and his crusade to raise more funds for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research by biking ridiculous distances across the state of Virginia.
MS is a disease the affects the central nervous system and could result in severe pain and disability in people affected. More about this in the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis
Vishnu is trying to raise money for MS research by riding a road bike across 150-odd miles (he will probably abuse me for approximating this number, he probably knows the distance down to a millimeter) I strongly encourage all readers to donate using the link below. The National MS Society, which sponsors this event, is fairly efficient at using donations (~15% is used for operating expenses, the law recommends <35%) and uses money to fund research and support groups. Please mention my name in the donations so that I can gloat on how this blog did something useful for once.
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=1879196&pg=personal&fr_id=2692

what our readers say

I have decided to dedicate this post to reader feedback. I am always glad to hear back from you guys and decided to post the comments with my take on each. For those of you who read Bill Simmons' column in ESPN Page 2, this should be quite familiar.
Vishnu from Richmond says "come on! the post is not interesting :( who the hell wants to know about the who.." . A very fair and valid point. The Who is probably a speck in the larger scheme of things, but one thing I should point out is that just to be faithful to the blog title, I have to post something about the Who. Also, since I've always wanted more people to experience the Who, this blog presents the perfect chance to publicise this cause without being the asshole who is always making you listen to "his favorite band".
Anand from Oakland writes "gud one abt the who in ur blog. liked it". Thanks Anand for your comments. I will try to follow up with more posts after your encouraging feedback. It is also to be noted that Swaminathan (who calls himself Sam Nathan now) impressed boss and coworkers alike with the best of the Who mp3 collection he copied from me. Just goes to show that the Who can help you build street cred in some quarters.
Harsha from Richmond says "In any case if the number of words in my comments start catching up with the number of words in your blog, you should think of newer and more relevant topics to blog about. I hope you are thinking about some serious writing and not making the comments the big part of your blog.
As for you doing something good, I am waiting to see the funny side of you. It must be really good since you actually feel it could be a great part of you. When will it be that your every day life is comedic enough and for whom will it be comedic?"
There seems to be an urgent need in my readers for my views on "relevant" topics and "comedic" writing. Harsha has no doubt tapped in to the zeitgeist of my readership in insisting that I talk about subjects that are closer to the hearts of my audience. Based on what I know of my friends, who I constantly badger into reading these posts", here is a list of what they'll want me to post about :
1. Porn
2. Something making fun of myself
3. Gossip about self and friends
4. Global warming
I won't post about 1 here, I do 2 anyways and I don't have anything complimentary to start 3. The next post will be "my" controversial views on global warming.
Sudhin from Plano has the last word " So; u too entered this space...". I think that says it all.

an interesting contrast

Snippets from some Who songs ...
Here is a dismal section from "Had Enough" from the album"Who are you?" This song was written by John Entwistle
"I'm gettin' sick of this universe
Ain't gonna get better; it's gonna get worse
And the world's gonna sink with the weight of the human race
Hate and fear in every face
I'm gettin' ready and I've packed my case
If you find somewhere better, can you save my place?"

Here is another misanthropic song from Entwistle in the same album.
" We hum the same old lines to a different crowd
And everybody wants to cheer it
We run on endless time to reach a higher cloud
But we never ever seem to get near it"

On a more cheery note, from Pete Townshend in "The Who sell out" ...
"We try harder and harder, tryin' to get our way
But it's a long, long wait until Judgement Day
So settle your affairs and take your time
'Cause everything in the world is yours and mine"

From "Who's Next" with cheerful yet savage cynicism. Though Pete Townshend says he wrote it more as an introspective song about blind faith. "Won't get fooled again" is the epitome of rock music in my opinion. Catchy hook, great music, angry lyrics and above all, berserk drumwork.

"I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss"

Keith Moon is the best rock drummer of all time. Not necessarily the most skilled or musically advanced. He had a way of doing something unique to each song that very few drummers pull off. Most other drummers are usually subservient to the guitarist, taking 30-second soloes here and there to "do their thing" and playing timekeeper for the rest of the songs. But not Moon. He played the drum like a lead instrument, and had a superb bass player who helped him pull this off! Townshend, who was a brilliant guitarist himself, had to take a back seat in performing so that the band could stick together. By the band's own own accounts, this was not easy.

Why 42?

I am going to attempt a couple of posts today to settle some outstanding questions around the origins of the blog titles.
42 - Is the answer to life, the universe and everything (Hitchikers guide to the galaxy)
The Who - The best rock band ever. Redefined rock in music, songwriting and sheer showmanship
South Park - One of the few TV series that pokes fun at anyone and anything, a list that includes such illustrious names as mel gibson, tom cruise, rob reiner and hilary clinton and otherwise taboo topics like kids dying, child molestation, scientology and adam sandler movies.
The meaning of life -In the misguided moment when I titled the blog, I had the pretentious notion of musing on the meaning of life online, somewhat like solving a huge crossword puzzle clue-by-clue. This idea was quickly abandoned because :
- My readership is NOT interested in sharing thoughts on my musings with me. In fact, not too put too fine a point on it, they are not interested in even reading my musings.
- I have no real inclination to document online the aimless drifting trajectory my life is on currently. This could expose me to the derision of many more people than are openly contemptuous of me now
As always, I welcome comments. I am still waiting for Anand to transcribe KD's story so that the world can finally hear his version of things. More on this shortly.

carpe noctem

Some links that have helped me procrastinate away my life. The internet truly can put your life on hold.

Columnists : Dave Barry -- Herald.com
One of the most funny writers alive. Love his annual christmas gift guide. He makes fun of everything, but most particularly, the awesomely wacky state of florida and city of miami

Something Awful - The Internet Makes You Stupid
The answer to : What do you get when the most jobless, cynical and sarcastic people in the world combine in one location? Check out the movie reviews and "Dr. Thorpe's" commentaries on recent music.

The next post will be about my florida excursion and the tragic yet inspiring story of one man that we were privileged to be witnesses to. KD's story. Watch this space.

journey into the cold northeast

Went on a road trip to New York city and CT last week. It turned out to be an interesting experience. I "studied" in UConn for more than 2 years and had immense amounts of fun there. UConn has a fairly small community of indians and a diverse student body with people from every corner of the world. As in almost every university that I have heard about, people are more welcoming towards new people and friendlier in general. Something for everyone from anime buffs to DnD geeks to the club-and-bar types.
Richmond is a wholly different experience for me because I don't personally know what goes on apart from the club-and-bar partying scene (not that I know a lot about that) Everyone I know seems to be struggling with the same college-to-work transition. It really doesn't help that 80% of the people at work are married, happily devoted to their families and not much else.
Back to the trip. The idea was to go on a road trip back to CT and catch up with friends there. And get to finally party in NYC after planning many abortive ventures. Phase 1 of partying went very well, had an expensive blast in a club called Pacha in Manhattan until 5:30 in the morning. Awesome babes, nice scene and decent music (richmond has "clubs" which play country music. i kid you not)
Phase 2 in Storrs didn't go as I expected. I had gone in expecting a full-blown party scene somewhat similar to what we had left behind. No such luck. We did get together for drinks but the wild revelry we had indulged in for years was clearly not the thing to do any more. It ended up being a moderately sober gathering, though it was fun to discuss world politics and other random topics with 6 other at 4 AM again. Like I said, interesting but unexpected.
What should I do next?

dammit

As I kind of expected, the pompous post below drew the ire of many. So much for that style of writing. I don't think (the few) people who come to my blog come looking for literary entertainment anyway. Guess I'll have to figure out what this is about as I keep writing. One thing I do better than anything else (not saying much there) is making fun of everyone and everything.My everyday life should be comedic fodder enough. Ah well, lets see how things pan out.

42?

42. The answer to life, the universe and everything. That is if you know the question.
I haven't updated this blog in a while for a good reason. I didn't know what to write. The first few posts are tricky because that sets the tone for the rest, and sets people's expectations. So I thought long and hard for about 15 seconds, and decided I couldn't come up with a single theme. What is a "theme", you ask. A theme, in my opinion, is an overall description of your style of writing. Most blogs I have seen fall into 5 broad categories for themes :

1. Experiential: "Yesterday I went out with a couple of friends. We had an interesting conversation about retirement, and then it struck me ...and so on"
2. Descriptive: "I was walking back to my apartment when it started to drizzle. Rain fell in small drops that really didn't leave a stain on the ground. Wonder if people's lives have the same impact in the larger scheme of things"
3. Journals : "Woke up today and really didn't feel like going out in the rain. Lazed around for a little bit and assembled the surround speaker system that had been in its box for weeks. Cleaned home a little bit"
4. Hobby displays: "Here is a photo I took of a flower using a Nikon 450Z Telephoto lens and 334 ms exposure and so on." The internet has enough hi-res images of sunsets and daffodils already and I don't plan to inflict any more on my kind readers.
   
5. There are, of course, many commercial-ish blogs that dispense news, information and, since this is the internet, porn.
   

I digress. In trying to analyze this problem, I looked at the pros and cons of each option:

1.Experiential:

• Pros - Get my friends to read and hence boost viewership.
  
• Cons - My life doesn't supply enough interesting and publishable material
  

2. Descriptive

• Pros - Chicks apparently dig this. I recently found that a guy actually hooked up with a female fan of his blog. This will show off the sensitive and dreamy side of my character.
  
• Cons - I need to grow a sensitive side first. Stop to smell the flowers, so to speak.
  

3. Journals

• Pros: Easy to write, plentiful material. Can finally use the internet to wallow in self pity
• Cons: Boring

4. Hobby displays

• Pros: Can help attract like-minded people from all over the world. In theory, there should be plentiful material
• Cons: My divers jack-of-all-trades approach doesn't lend well to writing deeply about any particular hobby

5. I will not post porn here.No. The other 2 things people can get from anywhere in the internet.

This just struck me. According to orkut, I have 158 friends now. If I create 10 posts a month and "persuade" all of my friends to read each one, that could translate to 1500 views a month or 18000 hits a year, not counting friends of friends etc. Pretty massive castle in the air right there.

More on which of these options I choose in my next post. Also, please, please leave comments. Even if I don't know you at all. It is really awesome if someone reads this without being guilted into it by me.

Why?

When news got out that I was going to start a blog, there were 2 raging questions among all of my friends - "1.Why?" and "2.What can we do to stop this?". Let me answer them in turn, and I know you all are more interested in No. 2.
1. Why? - Of late it has struck me that I am doing almost nothing creative beyond putting together presentations intended to persuade or educate in 10 minutes. The intent of these creations is to break down a complex idea into bite-sized chunks that the audience can digest in a single meeting. This mode of communication often requires one to become accustomed to giving up detail and accuracy for the sake of brevity and clarity. I am seriously scared that more of this could cause me to lose the feeble grasp I have on written communication. Hence the blog.
2.What can we do to stop this? - Pretty much nothing. This thing is bound to self-destruct when faced by the indomitable power of my laziness anyway, so I wouldn't bother if I were you.

I am pretty much undecided on what I will post as of now, so feel free to post comments and feedback, critical or otherwise.

A worthy standard ...

While it would have been nice to start this blog with something original, just couldn't pass up the chance to open with a bang. I will try to get more of my creations into this soon. Until then, you'll have to settle for the immeasurably superior work of Mr. Kipling.

[IF]

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling