2009 February | inderSTADT

February, 2009

Time and Timing (Again)

The great Tamil movie actor/comedian, Nagesh, was asked in one of his interviews how he would categorize the world of successful comedians. Pat came his reply, which is as follows:

There are those whose time is good and then there are those whose timing is good ;=)

Nagesh was one of the blessed few whose time and timing were both good. He was arguably the closest India had to Jerry Lewis, who coincidentally himself received a special Oscar only couple of days back. One of the few that Slumdog Millionaire missed!

Nagesh passed away recently. Kollywood and his fans – I am one of them – will definitely and dearly miss him. God bless his soul.

tEch kNOwMAD — No Comments
22
Feb 09

Catch it while you can!

Came across this FREE online service – CatchYouTube – that converts any YouTube video into your choice of A/V media formats, ranging from simple .MP3 audio to specific video formats such as .MP4 and .FLV. See screenshot below. The UI is dead simple and straightforward. Quality of converted files very acceptable. Importantly, there is NO SOFTWARE (this I value a lot) to download and install!

My primary use case is to get the audio track of some of the videos posted online on YouTube. See my post – janani ninnuvinA – for an example of a YouTube video and the converted audio (.MP3) file.

The CatchYouTube service is also accessible through URLs: catch-video.com and catchvideo.net.

If at all there is a gripe, it is the (un)reliable online availability of this site. I have noticed the service to be down or unreachable from time to time. Also, not sure how long this service will last before it “vanishes” like the so many cool ones I have seen in the past do for a variety of reasons. So catch your YouTube video while you can and while this service lasts!

Vetti Peichu — No Comments
20
Feb 09

Breathe, what’s in your wallet?

Today, I found this small cut-out (picture insert below) that I had been carrying in my wallet all these years. It was safely sandwiched and hidden between my seldom-used AAA and State ID cards. I must have been carrying this on me the last 6 years or more and if memory serves me right I came across this “nugget” in some Yoga magazine that I had received as part of a free trial subscription.

The inhale-hold-exhale-hold patterns shown below is quite useful. Personally, the 6-4-6-1 from below or a 4-4-6-2 (although it is from a different source) helps me much .

Hope you find your own pattern that is helpful to you, works best for your rhythm and goals.

Also, what’s in your wallet? Dig and discover! You might be surprised (hopefully, not shocked) by the “nugget” that you find hidden there.

Note | Image Credits:

Brain/breathing image (yellow&black) sourced from HealthJockey.com
Breath Ratio Chart from some Yoga-zine. Possibly, the Yoga magazine
If you don’t get the “what’s in your wallet?” reference, see this CapitalOne video commercial

Jambajaar Talkies / Vetti Peichu — No Comments
16
Feb 09

Lathika and the Lingo Kid

Slumdog Millionaire seems to be the flavor of the season (2008-09). I am writing this post after seeing the Slumdog movie. And, am reminded of Lathika’s character. See inserted picture here. Do you see any resemblance between this child-woman and the toddler she is carrying? Also, the child-woman (waif) seems to be fairly good looking too. Wonder what her story is and how she has come to this state. To those that might question how slum kids could end up as good looking as Freida Pinto, this waif is but one example.

Co-existence of slumdogs and millionaires is quite the reality in India. The dichotomy can inure you to hardships, disturb you to be angry or dig deep or just simply make you aware and appreciate the Joie de vivre. And, yes, from time to time, there are the slumdog fairytales in real life too.

Took this picture from inside my car as we were waiting at the lights by Tharamani and Velachery. Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Below is an example of what a gifted street kid (Ravi) can pick up by way of skills. I had seen the first video below couple of years back and was humbled and inspired by Ravi. The second video, which tracks down Ravi after 3-years of the first one, shows a glimpse of him playing the “Tour Guide”. And, this is what this Curry Bear blog post is mainly talking about.

Once again, thanks to a “westerner” for making this video and piggybacking on the Slumdog wave to popularize this kid. And, back-off (from Danny Boyle) .. all those guardians of Desi pride, who got “hurt” that India was not portrayed in a dignified manner. I will save (my) reasoning to this remark to a later post. Until then, let this slumdog kid (Ravi) inspire you to revisit and expand your own realms of possibilities ..

Lingo Kid – Beginnings