Chennai Super Kings /Dhoni Sucks

We are well in the middle of much hyped IPL-2 in South Africa. Any ardent fan of this form of the game will testify that this year's IPL is just a shadow of last year's great tournament. Since I come form Tamilnadu, Chennai Super Kings was my preferred team over the others(till today's match). Chennai has already completed 4 games and about to finish their 5th Game today(against Deccan Chargers). To me this team appears to be one of the most confused group besides the Bangalore Royal Challengers.Captaincy of Dhoni seems appalling, especially with his final eleven selection. He just don't want to try native chennai players(just wants to keep his close buddies and poorly performing Joginder sharma and Parthiv patel at any cost). Chennai team has got one of the worst opening bowling combination which consistently leaks lots of crucial runs(acknowledged by Dhoni himself). The batting order is also not great with very the weird line up. Hard hitting players like Albie and Oram are left with few balls to play whereas uninspiring players like Parthiv and to a certain extent dhoni(yes, dhoni)are keep on batting higher the order to waste so many deliveries.The way the guys are playing I would not be surprised if my team e finishes bottom out of 8 teams in the tournament.

Chennai Super Suckers would have been apt name for this inept team

Airtel Broadband Sucks (also Rocks)

I always liked the Airtel Broadband services for its network quality and stability(and not to forget its wonderful customer service). But unfortunately the same can't be said about Airtel these days. It looks as if they are trying their level best to get a name similar to Tata Indicom(known for poor quality connections and service + Remember,Airtel Fair Usage Policy). It's been 3 days since I complained to the Customer Care guys at Bangalore regarding my connection problems with Airtel Broadband, I am yet to get my problem solved. First of the many service engineers I met from Airtel in the last 3 days told my Modem was the problem and needed to be replaced(which he did promptly). But it did not help the cause, so I have to log another complaint with CC. Since I live in Power-Cut's own country(Kerala), I needed the service guys to be at my flat well before the scheduled Power cuts in my area(which i stressed to the CC guys). Once again my bad luck played a trick, the Technical Guys came exactly during the power cut(i was told earlier that they should be at my place 2 hours prior to the power cut)So no possibility of troubleshooting my Airtel connection. This 3rd day in waiting from my side for some sort of solution my Airtel woes, still technical guys are at large no where to be found(in another 40 minutes i should have my regular power cut)this means I am not going to have working broadband connection for another two days(tomorrow is Good Friday so no chance for servicing from Airtel)

Happy Now Airtel-u suckerz(also rockerz)

(Update:At last my Airtel Broadband started working again, thanks to the technician Pankaj from Bihar(Airtel) he did the rewiring for my connection that solved the problem.Thanks Airtel fellas)

Ayan -Tamil Movie Review

After a long gap i went to watch a Tamil Movie in Theater(due to insistence of my friend Ganesan). Since my friend is a big fan of Actress Tamannah, he took me to a Tamil Movie 'Ayan'(means unmatchable)which stars his favorite actress. Ayan was released just 3 days ago in Kerala/Tamilnadu + going to a movie on Sunday evening means we had to face big opening weekend crowd. We successfully passed the crowd and got the ticket for Balcony in black(paid 100 bucks each for the ticket of 50 bucks).

Ayan has got a done and dusted plot with lots of illogical scenarios, nothing special to write home about. But still i would like to give a summary about the story. The story takes place in Chennai's Sowcarpet(area where one can find lots of Immigrant North Indians, in particular Marwaris) between two rival gangs in smuggling/piracy activities. Both gangs tries to outsmart each other and who wins at the last is the story.One gang is lead by Dass(actor Prabhu,looks very tired throughout the movie)a former associate of Nemitchand and current leader in Video Piracy and Diamond/Gold Smuggling in Chennai. He is ably assisted by Deva(Actor Surya) an M.Sc.Computer Science graduate with penchant for Illegal activities done in right way.The rival Gang is lead by Kamalesh(Actor Akashdeep,irritating throughout the movie)the son of Nemitchand. Kamalesh is ready to go any level to beat the crap out of Dass's gang(in particular Deva) which means smuggling Narcotics(illegal drugs) and having his mole in Dass's Gang. Deva has a friend called Chitti(played by TV Actor Jagan,in a nice comic role)with an important twist at the half way stage.There are other characters also in the movie, like Yamuna(actress Tamannah,in a stupidly sketched role)the lover of Deva and sister of Chitti,Deva's Mother(TV Actress Renuka, Dsss's Deaf Side Kick Dilli(Actor Karunaas, wasted character), Customs Officer Parthiban(Actor Ponvannan in a dignified role).Item dance by Koena is utter waste, she looks wooden with her facial expression and song appears out of place.

Music in the movie tests viewer's patience, most of them comes at awkward situations(every time a song starts people in the theater walks off for a cigarette or urinals) and sounds rehashing of Harris Jayaraj's older themes.Less said is better about the Background score.Screenplay is haphazard.

Cinematography and Surya are the only saving grace in this K.V.Anand Nightmare. Seeing the trend in Tamilnadu these days, all the movies distributed/produced by Sun Pictures has got absolute beating from the reviewers but almost all of them are also critic proof at the box office. This means public like these kind of mindless plot with grandeur more than good ones with stories and nice screenplay.

Looking at the good cast and a visionary cameraman turned director this movie had one would have hoped for much better final result.But what we get is a clichéd story line and screen play. After a decent action thriller Kanaa Kandaen Director K.V.Anand has given us a Perarsu kinda masala flick with lots of style but no substance.

Let's for hope a better script next time from the talented cameramen(K.V.Anand)

Baali's rating **/5

Real Me

It's been a while since i updated my Orkut/Facebook pages. So I decided to update it today with details which resembles more of real me rather than the fake one I've been trying to pretend for a long time. It took some time (approximately 2 years) for me to understand how these so called social networking websites works.

The concept of people from different parts of the world with different backgrounds, cultures and social strata forming various communities(localized/general) to discuss n number of things and forming networks is indeed a great idea. This gives a chance for someone to express their thoughts, who otherwise may not have done (or) afraid to do so in public.

In a way, these sites are kind of starters for amateur bloggers like me. But to get most out of these sites, one needs to be more closer to the reality than trying to be something else(which is what I was doing till recently). I usually used to paint myself as a great fella with loads and loads of talents(self proclaimed) which is exact opposite of what I really am. I feel there is no need to show everything rosy in a picture.I am not a super hero type or boy charming. I am just another ordinary guy that one can meet in every walk of life. I too have my share of Bad(?) habits, Fear, Problems and Weaknesses like any one else in this planet.But it does not make me feel any lesser than the others.So why should i try to project myself into something which i really not. My current profile in Orkut/Facebook more likely to have more pessimistic tone about me than my previous ones but i am not afraid/ashamed to be myself & This is Real Me.

Philips DVP3166

I have been using Philips DVP3166 for the past 1 and half years.I bought it for Rs 3500 from Vellore. I have purchased this over the others mainly due to its Divx Compatibility and USB connectivity option.

On the Plus Side it does what it supposed to do that is to play commonly used Video and Audio formats without any hiccups

So far i have tested it with following formats and it works perfect for me

In Video

Divx-Home theater profile(As well as custom without changing the resolution), both avi as well as divx extension upto Divx 6.8.5 revision. I tried the bitrate upto 4000 kbits and maximum single file size 2.16 GB without Q-Pel and GMC.

Xvid-Simple to Advanced Simple Profile in avi extension(better to use DX50 Fourcc code instead of Xvid)without Q-Pel and GMC(rest same as Divx)

MPEG-4 file made with MPEG-4 using FFDShow VFW enocder(Not Xvid/Div3)

To my surprsie all these 3 formats plays well in both .MP4 extension as well as the traditional .Avi

MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 in .MPG or .MPEG extension(Main/Std Profile)

DVD Format .VOB(Main profile)

In Audio

MP3(CBR/VBR),M4A / AAC(HE/LE),WAV,AC3,WMA(upto WMA 9)

Photos-JPEG

Through USB almost all the above are playable but there is one limitation though. I have tried with various Capacity Thumb drives and USB hard disks and file system. This machine recognizes only Hard Disk under 40 GB in FAT/FAT32 file system.Both USB 1.1, 2.0 are recognized.

On Minus side it has the following drawbacks

Up conversion of SD into HD not possible,the user interface is very limited and sluggish.It has no amplifier in it in case one want to use this with a home theater system. Also,there is no firmware update available (since its launch in 2007) for this model from Philips.

But still its a great little (cheap) dvd player weighing less than 2 Kgs with a sleek/stylish design and works perfectly for most of the common media formats.

Baali's Rating ****/5

Return of The Prodigy

I love listening to Electronic Music,in particular the ones with hard beats in it. The Prodigy is one of the very few Hard Techno bands(still making studio albums) I've been following for years. Recently(after 4 years hibernation)the band released their 5th Studio Album Invaders Must Die(late February 2009). As a devoted Electronic Music + The Prodigy fan, i had my ears on this new album as early as possible. I am happy to say that the guys from Essex,London did not disappoint me(in fact they sound better than ever).

This is what Album Contains (i have got standard edition-no bonus tracks in this list)

1. Invaders Must Die – Title track of the album, sounds very energetic and gives the feel of high octane action packed riding. IMO Best Track of the Album.

2. Omen – I didn't like it very much(many Prodigy Fans might disagree with me), to a certain extent it is a bit let down.This sounds very much of a mishmash of their old singles.

3. Thunder – This one is much better with its repeated THUNDER chanting(still not up to the Prodigy's mark)

4. Colours – It's an Okay track with lots of Synth (more of a retro feel)

5. Take Me to the Hospital – I like this track, the bass and synth used here gives me the feeling of Humans attacked by Robots(kinda transformers scenario)

6. Warrior's Dance – Slowly starting with super heavy dancing vibe in the middle, lead by a female voice(attractive)

7. Run with the Wolves – Grrrr.Not good

8. Omen Reprise – Not much of a difference from its original version

9. World's on Fire – I like this as well. It uses beautiful fast hum by a female voice (Rave nostalgia) with WORLD'S ON FIRE chant by a male and has got nice rhythm + Synth

10. Piranha – Groovy start with heavy beats and Gothic feeling

11. Stand Up – Psychedelic Finishing with a feel for Melody, nice ending

Overall i think this album will please most of the hardcore fans of The Prodigy, even new listeners to this Genre also might like it in parts. As with many of The Prodigy's Albums, the songs contains superfluous words. But who cares for the lyric in a Hard beat electronic music as long as it got the best beat to mouth along with.

The album trying to deviate itself from the Band's previous ones(i mean tries to compete/match with the rival Genres of the current music trend)and to a certain degree it succeeds in doing that.

I would strongly recommend this album for anyone who likes to listen good electronic music post 2000, especially for those who wants heavy beats(with good rhythm) in it.

Baali's Rating - ***/5

My Favt Free Applications for Windows

(Disclaimer: I am not a geek, but i love to meddle with my Laptop's software whenever its possible for finding the best possible combination of tools for my requirements. The list i am providing here is just my personal opinion, it may or may not be the best solution in its concerned category.)

Following is the list of software i use frequently in my Vista Ultimate. I prefer using Open Source & Free Softwares hence most of applications in my list is somewhat related to open source or free software.

Firefox + Add Ons / Opera - For Web browsing

Foobar2000 + Add ons - For Audio Playback

MPC-HC + Haali's Matroska Splitter - For Video Playback

UTorrent - For P2P

Peerguardian - For P2P Protection

7Zip - For Compression

Skype - For Video Chat

GoogleTalk - For Voice Chat

Avast Home Edition - For Anti Virus

IrfanView + Plugins - For Image Viewing

Orbit Downloader - For Download Management

GIMP/Paint.Net - For Photo Editing

Blender - For 3D Creation

Inkscape - For Vector Graphics

Scribus - For Desktop Publishing

CDBurnerXP / ImgBurn - For Burning CD/DVD

CCleaner - For System Optimization

OpenOffice.org - An alternative to MS Office Suite

Foxit Reader - An alternative to Acrobat Reader

LAME ACM /AC3 ACM /FLAC - For Audio Encoding

Xvid /X264 + MeGUI - For Video Encoding

VirtualDub + Avisynth + Plugins - For Video Editing

MP3Tag - For Tagging Various Audio Formats

NotePad++ - For source code editing and enhanced Notepad Features

(There are some more tools i use which i have not mentioned here)

Have you seen Santa Sangre?

What is 'Surrealism'?

Sur - re - al - ism (n.) -(often l.c.) a style of art and literature developed principally in the 20th century, stressing the subconscious or non rational significance of imagery arrived at by automatism or the exploitation of chance effects, unexpected juxtapositions, etc.


Santa sangre - Means Holy Blood, this was my first experience with Director Alejandro Jodorowsky (and surrealism in cinema), tells the story of an young man named Fenix confined in a mental asylum with tragic past. Events of the past and present from his life is slowly revealed in a dream like manner with more gruesomeness. The film contains some real weird visualizations with lesser explanation (e.g.Elephant scavengers at City Dump). As with many of Jodorowsky's films, we get to see many freaky looking people (e.g. cross dressed wrestler, midgets etc.) for variety of characters.

On the Acting Front everyone in the film does a fantastic job but in particular Blanca Guerra owns big time as a Religious Fanatic 'Concha', a leader of heretic church Santa Sangre and the armless controlling mother of Fenix. Alma, mute girlfriend of Fenix does a good job as does the Orgo (Knife Thrower) father of Fenix.

This film has got one of the best background score of Jodorowsky's work(by Simon Boswell), with beautiful artistic camera work (by Daniele Nannuzzi) complimenting the slow paced but gritty story line.

In a way this movie ignited my interest in Surrealism & Weird Artistry.