SandeepMeher.com

Moving to my new site SandeepMeher.com and try regular updates - this one had a last update on 5/Feb/07 - that is sad.

Cornwall + Eden Project

See more photos on my flickr page.

No score for 5 wickets

Check http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/india/engine/match/263125.html

Mumbai were 0 for 5 wickets down in the 2nd innings against Baroda in Ranji Trophy - 2nd Semi Final and still managed to win :-)

Not even extras scored during the fall of those 5 wickets.

Mumbai 2nd innings      R  M  B
SO Kukreja  c Pawar b IK Pathan  0  3  4
W Jaffer  c Shah b Patel    0  10  6
HN Shah  c Parab b IK Pathan  0  11  6
AA Muzumdar  lbw b Patel    0  10  2
R Sharma  lbw b IK Pathan  0  1  1

Fall of wickets:
 1-0 (Kukreja, 0.4 ov), 
 2-0 (Jaffer, 1.6 ov), 
 3-0 (Shah, 2.4 ov), 
 4-0 (Sharma, 2.5 ov), 
 5-0 (Muzumdar, 3.2 ov)

A rose on fire

Angel

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

Lighthouse

Me Maazaa

Am I not a man and a brother?

Well definitely not brother. There will always be difference between one human being and other. One person will always feel the others are inferior in some way or other (power, money, colour, caste, religion and if one is short on these, there are always morals to compare). It is the difference between people which actually translates into a parameter of comparison. Is there a place in the world where one can avoid this? Possibly no, everybody has to live with it.

I am watching Dom Jolly's Happy Hour on Sky One - and can feel the ridicule for whatever is different. Dom and Pete, looking for booze in and around the temples of Hampi, were purely offensive (atleast to Indians?). Of course, they did not think so.

On the BBC News at Ten, a news story to find out the cost of translation services for immigrants - the story ends in Brick Lane.

The title of this post is a very famous slogan representing the campaign against the slave trade.

Smirnoff - Ice and Fire

A photographic experiment...

Mummy Pappa in UK

Mummy Pappa and my car

Mummy Pappa arrived in UK for the first time. Photos to be found here ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandy_meher/

Pitch Black, Solaris ...

Saw both these movies last week. I am not a big fan of sci-fi movies (hmm... I enjoy Matrix, Star Trek a lot - but I am sure that does not make me a sci-fi fan). But I liked both.

Pitch Black is like many of the space travel/sci-fi movies where a spaceship crashes or gets lost and then the crew/passenger tries to fight aliens. A few of them indeed deserve to die and some do not deserve, but still die and some who are supposed to save the remaining and do that eventually. Pitch Black has similar bits but it is different on many points, too. There is an alien here, but the powers have been balanced in an interesting manner. Without Pitch Black, the aliens are powerless, rather highly vulnerable. Watch it if you get a chance.

Solaris is based on a Russian story and you can make it out by the pace of the movie. No that is not a negative comment - the movie moves very slowly but that gives the viewer a lot to think about what's happening and believe me I cannot write a lot about it. The whole story is based on an almost abandoned spaceship where a doctor (George Clooney) goes to find out what's happening and, of course, gets involved in the happenings. This one is unmissable.

Trying my hand(s) at the Piano

Found lots of Hindi film music notations on the web. But it would be great if somebody could give me some links to Marathi song notations.

Back on the blog

... settled in the new place after a long time and hope to start blogging regularly.

What is in a name?

Some discussion about Apple
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9. What kind of name is Gundeep anyway? Can anyone with a name like that be trusted? I don't think so.

Posted at 11:38AM on Jun 3rd 2006 by Rob

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11. quote[What kind of name is Gundeep anyway? Can anyone with a name like that be trusted? I don't think so.]quote

Well, it certainly better then "Rob," a word that as a verb denotes thievery.

As an aside, it is a Punjabi word

Posted at 11:52AM on Jun 3rd 2006 by Gandhi

... :-)

Web 2.0

The dot com era is making a comeback. Last time it was e-commerce, this time the buzzwords are social bookmarking, tagging, folksonomy, rss, rich user interfaces, wikis, and, of course, blogs.

Tim O'Reilly's What is Web 2.0 and Wkipedia article Web 2.0 are good starting points to understand this phenomenon.

As expected, Google and Yahoo are the big players in this game. But the innovation is oft led by start-ups which are then bought by these big companies. Try searching for "Google buys" and "Yahoo buys" in news search and you will get the point.

Flickr and Google Maps are often cited as examples of the rich user experiences. And they also known for their extensibility by providing API's(Google APIs and Yahoo Developer Network) for other developers.

Some of the names which are oft repeated in Web 2.0 articles and discussions are:
- http://del.icio.us/
- http://www.digg.com/
- http://www.technorati.com/
I am still trying to understand what these ideas are meant to deliver.

Also, if you are a Yahoo user, try the My Web 2.0 Beta(I think it is based on http://del.icio.us/, which it bought in Dec-05). And Google members can check orkut.

We all are affected, directly or indirectly, by these waves of technological changes and it would be interesting to see how long Web 2.0 lasts and what if finally evolves into.

Btw, don't forget to check the Webby Awards 2006.

Posting in देवनागरी

A lot of bloggers are posting in देवनागरी - मराठी and हिंदी. Some of which I had stumbled upon:
मराठी साहित्य (Marathi Literature)
॥ उगाच उवाच ॥
Chayachitrakar - छायाचित्रकार

Superman - First Issue (1938)

Unbelievable. http://dixi.blogter.com/?post_id=45670

Chaplin

IMDB Plot Outline for Richard Attenborough's Chaplin - A film about the troubled and controversial life of the master comedy filmmaker.

After watching the movie, I disagree with the above - Chaplin's life was neither troubled nor controversial, as compared with so many from the entertainment industry. In the film, Robert Downey Jr. has done justice to his role as the great filmmaker. Anthony Hopkins plays the narrator.

Chaplin comes out to be a genius not only in filmmaking but also in managing his money (there is a reference where he says that he had sold all of his stock before the Wall Street crashed next year), managing the entertainment industry politics, managing his many affairs (he married four times and fathered 11 children), and managing his life. Born a British Jew, immigrated to USA, he refused to take up American citizenship and finally left the country in 1952 and settled down to a quiet and peaceful life in Switzerland. I didn't know anything other than his great movies - The Kid, Modern Times, Gold Rush, The Dictator among so many others. And this movie tells you what happened behind the scenes and much more.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

NFAK is one of my favourite artists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusrat_Fateh_Ali_Khan
The range of music he has produced is immense - he has fused his qawwali with different genres and produced some mesmerising tunes. Here are few of my favourites (not in any particular order - but yes, the first two are special):

1. Tumhain Dillagi Bhool Jani
2. The Face Of Love (Dead Man Walking)
   
3. Tere Bin Nahi Lagda
4. Tu Mera Dil, Tu Meri Jaan
   
5. Yeh Shaam Phir Nahi Aayegi
   
6. Piya Re, Piya Re
   
7. Mere Haath Me Tera Haath
   
8. Mera Gam Aur Meri Har Khushi
9. Pyar Ka Diya
10. Aey Jaaneman
    
11. Ishq Da Rutba
    
12. Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
13. Afreen Afreen
14. Allah Hoo Allah Hoo
15. Tanhai
16. Tum To Na Aaye
17. Ab Kiya Soche
18. Shaman Paiyan
19. Soona Soona Din Lagta Hai
20. Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai
21. Allah, Mohammed, Char, Yaar

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

contrary to what i mentioned in one of the previous posts, 'a fine balance' is not just about a parsi (yes the first 100 pages or so were). it is an anthology depicting the lives of different people in india who finally converge in mumbai. mistry tries to touch upon many of the ills that the indian society has faced and for a long time. though some (including me) may find that it is a one sided view.
the novel is grim. it shows despair, kindles hope, and then pushes the characters in a hole. and these fluctuations in the fortunes of the characters takes the reader for a ride.
i am half way through the novel and would come up with a detailed review as soon as i complete it.