One small question, can I vote for Barack Obama?

Funny cartoon i found in Time Magazine

The entire world is talking about him. Let me just say this. If i had a vote in the US, i am gonna vote for this guy. I have no relation whatsoever, i dont live in the same country as he is and pretty much dont like the country and its policies, but i can swear it, if i had a vote, i will most certainly vote for him.

I pretty much spent the last 5 hours watching various debates that i missed to see and also the speeches in the Democratic National Convention by various Democratic Party Speakers, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, and of course Barack Obama. And also watched all the TV ads by John McCain.

As Bill Clinton said, "the heat in this election is so high, that i think it even contributed for the Global Warming". I am really looking forward to all the presidential debates. Past few weeks, John McCain have been hitting hard on Barack Obama on his various policies and his lack of experience. But this DNC looks like a twist. It shows that Barack Obama is ready to take on McCain and his complaints about Obama. That is a great start.

See this fairly lengthy article in International Herald Tribune about the speech of Barack Obama and what the future holds for the Democratic Party. The Speech by Barack Obama was just brilliant. "An Economy that honors dignity" is a dream. Which is currently a dream in all the countries around the world. The first part of a 5 part video is here. Watch the first and you will certainly watch all the 5. But i recommend the last part and so i have embedded the video here.
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And also the speech by Bill Clinton, was amazing. "We have to show the power of our example, rather than the example of our power". At one point in time, Bill Clinton said something good about Obama and the crowd started chanting, "Yes, we can. Yes, we can"(Obama's party slogan). He immediately stopped them and said, "Yes, you can. But first, you gotta elect him". Great timing. I have pretty much watched all the videos of his speeches in youtube. He is most certainly one of the greatest American presidents( just for one min here, forget Monica Lewinsky). The first part of the three part video of his speech is here.

If you wanna check out various policies of Barack Obama, visit his Scribd page. If you dont know what Scribd is, it is the youtube of documents. Anyways, i also saw few ads by John McCain team and all the recent ones show Hillary Clinton saying something bad about Obama. Are you confused why people in the same party say bad things about each other? If yes, then welcome to American Politics. Hillary started lots of issues to beat Obama to win the Democratic nomination, and sadly the Republicans are using that against Obama now. See the video below and you can see why Obama didn't select Clinton as his Vice President. This should hurt anyone's feelings. Hillary said it once and McCain is now using it against Obama. It is definitely a little bit funny.
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Biggest minus for Obama is his lack of experience and lets hope Joe Biden helps him with that. Biggest minus for McCain is his association with Bush and his policies.

Bush and McCain.
(This picture makes me laugh every single time. Sorry cant help it)

Before the debates, there is one other thing that i am really really looking forward to. I am waiting to see Bush and McCain in the same stage, in the forthcoming Republican national convention. Gotta wait and see what President Bush is gonna say about McCain. And what McCain is gonna say about Bush.

Is America helping Afghanistan?

"If there is no law, and the government does not listen to people's complaints, then it is better to go back to the Taliban era. At least then we had justice." - Sister of a 11 year old child who have been raped in Afghanistan.

I am not a huge fan of American policies. During the past 7 years after 9/11 attacks, America literally stopped investing in herself and started attacking all the other countries. They have spent a trillion dollar in both the wars. And what have they achieved? Nothing. They have ruined the development within their country and also ruined the lives of various other countries, including Afghanistan or Iraq. I am not saying, the Afghans and Iraqis had a prosperous living before America entered their life. But at least they had a secure life. When America created a political vacuum in both the countries by removing Taliban and Saddam, the vacuum was filled by bad people. And that is the reason for this political failure. Read this article in "Time" Magazine, about child rape in Afghanistan and i am sure everyone will share my opinion.

American might be a world superpower, they might have the world's best army, navy, etc, etc, buts lets face it, they dont have the resources, to restore order in a country. They can march in and remove the Talibans and Saddam in a week, but they just cant restore order in a country. That is a tremendous task and America has failed in both these countries. They have to realize the entire world economy is swirling around theirs and should become more responsible. The lack of this realization is the reason why people are even talking about the emergence of another Super power.

The Civil Engineers society of America have calculated that the American government has to spend one trillion more dollars in the next 5 years to update the infrsturcture in America. Because there are nearly 10000 bridges in the US, that needs some kind of patch work to be done or all the bridges will become unusable in 10 years. Now, can you see the where the trillion dollars went? The tallest and attractive buildings are not in the US anymore. Can you see why the government was not able to upgrade the technology and infrastucteure in the country? They were concentrating completely in wars and the affected people are not just Americans. I hope atleast the next president will realize this.

Reflections on Olympics 2008

Today the Beijing Olympics officially comes to an end. This was a good Olympics. With 40 billion dollar budget, this is the most costliest Olympics. I read somewhere that the Chinese government has already did break even on the spending for the Olympics games. That is just brilliant.

I went to Beijing during the last year december, as a part of an "Exchange" program between Peking University and NUS. It was a good experience. I was the only non-chinese guy. I din understand a single word of Chinese. And the Chinese din understand a single word of English. It was a good experience.

" I WAS THERE "

(Can you see the "Birds nest" and the "The National Aquatics Center" in the background ?)

In all the meetings with the professors from Peking university and from the meetings with few beijing based companies, (Lenovo, Sohu, Aigo, etc) one thing was clear to me. The ambitions of the country was high. They had huge hopes for Olympics and they were looking to expliot all the opportunities to take their companies global. If you can remember, Olympics in Japan paved way for all the Japanese companies to go global and that is why their economy became strong. The chinese were also looking to do that. That was the first thing in Agenda.

The dominance of Chinese in this olympics is discussed a lot. Check this article, in the Washinton Post. The article titled "The Real China threat" addresses their dominance and what it means to the rest of the world and how their policies contradict that of the United States. Talkin about the dominance, read this article in Newsweek magazine, about "The post-American World". Pretty interesting.

One take-home point is, this olympics is seen as the beginning of the end of America and beginning of another era of Chinese Dominance in the world history. Lets see.

This olympics was good olympics for India too. We won 3 medals. Read this article in Newyork times, that made my blood boil. They call india as the "mysteriously nonathletic nation". That is kinda demeaning. But i hate to agree, that is the truth. Cricket is not a athletic game. You need more stamina to play soccer or Tennis compared to Cricket. (One thing that makes me laugh is, Beach volleyball is in Olympics, but not Cricket. Sorry Cricket fans)

The opening ceremony was just brilliant. If you missed it, see these photo galleries in "Time" website. Pretty good collection of pictures.

But few really bad things happened in this Olympics. First the lip-sync. say whatever you want, nationalism, Olympic spirit, but that issue doesn't look good in the eyes of the world. Similarly the fake fireworks issue. It just shows their desperation to make the opening ceremony into a big hit. Above all is the Gymnastics issue. I don't know if anyone can prove it, or if it is true, but that really gave a bad impression to China. It raises a question as to whether china won all the gold in the same way. Obviously that is not the case, but i cant help asking that question.

Anyhow, today is the olympics closing ceremony. Am eagarly waiting to see that live in Channel 5.

4 oranges for 100 billion...4 oranges for 100 billion...

People in India are always complaining. Always whining about something. But look at Zimbabwe, inflation is only 2.2 million percent and people dont call for a Trust vote. Communists should see and learn from this fantastically stable south African nation.

Read the "Economic Times" article here.

Zimbabwe dollar

"Boom-De-Yada Boom-De-yada"

I saw this really good ad by "Discovery Channel" in GV Max the other day, when i went to watch "The Dark Knight". Check this out. Really awesome. The song got stuck in my head and i was singing it all day. Well, if i were given the job of editing this ad, i would have added one more line after "The World is just Awesome" and it would say, "Mend your ways, or it is no more". Pay attention to "Boom-De-Yada" said by Stephen Hawkings computer.

The Dark Knight

I am a huge fan of batman. All the other super heroes are not as good as batman. Lets face it, Spiderman is just some mutant combination. Superman is some extra terrestrial living being. Batman is the real hero. (Believe it or not, i have 8 GB worth of Batman episodes in my PC. Ya, it does sound childish, but i don't care.)

I have always loved the batman series. If you consider all the villains faced by comic superheroes, the villains that Batman face are far more creepy and dangerous (If you watch Spiderman series, you can recall that all the villains that spidey face are from other planets or some mutant lizards or some lousy sand man) On the other hand, see the villains that batman face. Joker for example. There is no better villain than this character. Purely psychotic with a criminal master mind. Best villain ever.

I went to the movie, "The Dark Knight" today. Imagine the following scenario. The movie is over. People are just sitting in the theater silently watching the credits roll. Spellbound. Totally stunned by the movie. That is how powerful this one is. Of all the movies, that Nolan has directed, I would say, this is five times as good as "Batman begins". Three times as good as Prestige" and two times as good as "Memento"

Fantastic screenplay. Honestly, a superhero movie cannot get better than this. Nolan has lived up to the title name. The movie is completely dark. The mere darkness adds a thrill to the movie. The special effects are fantastic. That too, to watch in GV Max is a great experience. If Bourne Ultimatum can get two Oscar for sound effects, then this movie should definitely get one for the Back Ground score alone.

Above all, the performance by Heath Ledger as Joker is just marvelous. He should get an Oscar for this. I wish he was alive to act as Joker in forth coming movies. His death is a real loss. (And only now i feel it. Damn !) The way they ended the movie gives me a clue that there is surely going to be a third part to this and Joker will be atleast one of the villains in the third part, even though he might not be the only villain. If that happens, the guy who is going to act as Joker got big shoes to fill in. The expectations will obviously be higher in the next part.

This is just not the same superhero movie that you watch in every summer. This one is a lot more than that. They have really put in so much thought into the screenplay and characterization.

Really imagine a world where a masked guy just comes in the night and kills bad guys. This will trigger a bit of heroism and will lead to series of "Copy Cat" issues and this has been clearly portrayed in this movie. Also the inner thought process of Batman has been made clear in this one. The Batman character is getting an uplift by directors like Christopher Nolan. Now Batman is getting a lot more gadgets like Bond, something different when compared to normal comics. These kind of evolutionary changes are attempted in this movie.

Overall, fantastic performance. Wonderfully made. One advice though. Please watch in theaters. Dont just watch it in your laptop and say "Ya. Ok. The movie was good. But i really cant understand what the fuss is all about" (Most of my friends said this after watching 300 in a 14" laptop screen)

Read "Time" Magazine review here.

Kuselan songs

Kuselan

Kuselan – Superstar’s next movie. It is a remake of “Katha parayum pol”. It is a block buster movie in Kerala with Mr. Mammotty as lead actor. I really like Mammotty a lot. He is a very good actor. A sensible actor. But anyways, this post is about Superstar Rajnikanth.

Rajnikanth is one of the most recognized people in Tamil Nadu. One of the very few people respected by even the notorious Indian newspapers. Sincere and hard working person, as widely said in the film industry. People always say that he is too old to sing duet with some young heroine. But I don’t think so. Cinema is a business. Trying to make it into an art is a tough job that only people like KamalHaasan try to do. But at the end of the day, Cinema is all about business. And that is not a bad thing. If you think it that way, then no matter how old the product is, as long as it has a selling point, then there is no reason why the business world should not use it.

Rajni has some kinda magic. I dont know what he does. But people go crazy when they see him on screen. I saw the movie Sivaji (first day) in chennai Albert theatre. Oh my God. You have no idea. I would compare Rajni's karizma to Barack Obama.

If you take into account all the prosperous years for the Tamil Movie industry, Rajnikanth would have made a movie in that year. I am not implying that Rajni makes Tamil Filmdom into a success. I am just implying that there is a positive correlation. When Rajni is starring in a movie, he really does give a lotta confidence to the Tamil industry.

Kuselan Songs are out. I heard the songs. Songs are good. No complaints. GV Prakash has done a good job. I think I have heard few tunes before, but let’s give it up. Good work by this young music director. That guy is younger than me. But he is the music director for Rajnikanth movie. It is really an achievement.

But one thing I hate about the songs is the Lyrics. It is pure praise of Rajni. Every song somehow implies that he is THE star. You know, Rajni movies always have these kinds of lyrics. But this movie seems to be an over-dosage. If you think about it, director Shankar also used similar strategies in Sivaji. But he used in a very subtle way. But Kuselan is a bit too much. In this movie, Rajni acts as himself. Maybe that can explain why they were bold enough to use lyrics like this. Hear the “Cinema cinema” song sung by Shankar Mahadevan…Really really too much. Also the "Om zaarare" song. I presume, while writing this song the song writers forgot all the tamil words. So used all Rajni's previous movies to help them complete the song. I really pity the writers. I really hate the lyrics, but if u see my winamp playlist and iTunes playlist, these two songs top the list in "Most played items". Following lyrics from "Cinema" song.

அண்ணன் தொட்டா விரல் தான் பட்டா
தவிடு கூட தங்கம் ஆகும்
அண்ணன் நடிச்ச படத்த போட்ட
வருஷம் பூர வசூல் ஆகும்
superstarum சூரியனும் தான்
உலகம் சுற்றி ஒளிர்வது உண்டு
இந்த பெருமை அண்ணனை தவிர
இங்கே எந்த மனிதருகுண்டு தமிழா !

This verse reminds me of Election season. I dont know about Chennai. But in places like pudukkottai, before elections lotta funny things happen. The politicians will hire some lady who will sing in a man's voice. Then they will take a hit song, and change the verse of the song, prasing the political party head. And they will sing in open jeep. It was like the most fun i have had hearing a song. Kuselan is kinda same. (Sorry Rajni fans)

they obviously got carried away by the success in Sivaji. If this movie fails miserably in Tamilnadu, then Rajni is in for a big time embarassment. (For people who say, "Are you crazy? how will rajni movie become a flop?", i would like to remind BABA)

To me, Rajni doesnt look like a guy, who will force the directors to add these kind of lyrics into the movie. (One other Tamil Actor, forces all his directors to add these kind of lyrics, etc in the movies. You know who that actor is) I think Rajni is surrounded by opportunistic people. By all this means, these people are seeking his blessing to succeed in the film industry. Really sad.

In general, lyrics could have been better. But no complaints about music. I am a bit worried about the movie. I read the story of the original Kerala movie. It was really moving. (I am searching for the original movie. Gotta see that one before seeing Kuselan) But I am worried that Rajni’s fan following will force him to change the story, which will just replace the true story with lousy Heroism. Frankly the songs have not proved me wrong. July 25th is the release it seems. Lets wait and see.

KamalHaasan in Dasavatharam - 2

My previous post KamalHaasan in Dasavatharam - 1

Dear Mr. kamal,

How many times should we make it clear to you? We have said it directly (by not watching Anbesivam) and indirectly (by making Thirupachi a big hit), that we, tamilians, hate good, thought provoking and intelligent movies. Why cant you take the hint? I am seriously disappointed. Next time, just make a movie, like thirupachi. All bullshit and no storyline. That is when you can make your movie a hit. That is when tamil people will acknowledge that you are a star. Please dont over think and give us some good movie like Dasavatharam. We plainly hate good movies. And tell the truth, did you honestly believe we, tamilians, will get the concept behind "chaos theory" ?

Yours truly,
Tamil Nadu.

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Dasavatharam Review:

Easily the best movie this summer. First of all, i was right. 10 different roles is just a selling point. It is a desperate measure inserted in the movie to make it more interesting. And frankly few make-ups were pathetic. Gotta agree that. But the amount of hardwork gone into every part of the movie is just fantastic. Kamal just steals the show. Fantastic performance.

The best part about the movie is the Screenplay. Amazing screenplay. This guy is a genius. It is really hard to write a screenplay for such a story line. Kamal has used the chaos theory perfectly in the screenplay. There is a bit of everything in the movie. There is a bit of god belief, Atheism, Communialism, politics, etc, etc. There are no loose ends. The screenplay is just that perfect.

Background music could have been better. Make-ups could have been better. They could have avoided the scene in which Mr. Karunanidhi praise kamal for saving the world. Asin's character "Andal" behaves like a small kid. That could have been better. But so far this movie is the best with respect to special effects in Tamil Cinema. (Maybe "Robot" will take this spot in the future. But gotta wait and see).

I thought only English movies are going to be better this summer and franly i thought Dasavatharam cannot be that great. But i am so wrong. This movie is better than "Indiana Jones and the crystal skull".

Hats off Mr. Kamal, for the good screenplay and good storyline with lots of messages.

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Anada Vikatan has given Dasavatharam 43 upon 100:

How can they give "Dasavatharam" 43 out of 100, while giving "Santhosh Subramaniam" 44 ? I used to like this magazine a lot. But now, i think it is getting worse. And i feel bad for it.

I Hate Facebook !!

Facebook is actually a very good tool. I should not deny that. Few predict that Facebook will become an Online Operating System in few years. People have already started creating applications for Facebook and it is actually a module in NUS. Google is chasing facebook in all ways possible. Their Orkut business is not doing that great. So they introduced the "Google Friend Connect" to remove Facebook from the picture. But to me it seems they are not going to be successful in that venture as well.

Inspite of all the craze, i hate facebook. There are few reasons though.

1. Facebook wont allow me to use S Sathappan as my name. It forces me to use my full name.

2. Even if i enter my full name (Sathappan Sathappan), it says, "Repetition not allowed". (Facebook has strict rules about the name that you use for your profile. I think they are trying to make it professional.) So if you check my facebook account, my name is "Sathappan Sathapan"

My profile

Book Review - Freakonomics

This is a very famous book. Most people would have already read it. So if i write a review, it makes no sense. But the book is really good. As always, it is "New York Times" Best seller.

One thing i really like about this book is the way the author has related irrelevant things and finally made a beautiful sense out of it. Do you think there is a relation between Abortion and Crime Rates? There is a stunning relation. Read the book and you will find out how.

Of all the chapters, my favorite is the chapter about Drug lords, crime rates, etc. It is all explained in a economist point of view. Definitely worth a read.