Strawberry Fields

by sunil on May 14, 2012

It seems like light years away. You listen to the radio late in the night, trying to memorise the dozen causes of cardiac failure. Yes, the last but the not the least Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Has a ring to it, doesn’t it, you ask yourself gazing at the two words.

Somewhere between Sarcoidosis and Lupus , Strawberry Fields comes on. That unique voice of John Lennon. Amidst the principles of the treatment of cardiac failure, you lose yourself in a reverie. How would the real Strawberry Fields look?

It must be something, you wonder.

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Now, You pass Strawberry Fields everyday. Sometimes even twice in a day. And all you have on your mind is – a goddamn policy document.

The inevitable corruption of imagination by experience.

Death by life.

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PLU Numbers

by sunil on April 25, 2012

Your might have noticed tiny stickers bearing numbers on fruits and vegetables sold in the supermarkets. What I didn’t know until today was that the PLU ( Price Look Up) numbers for fruits and vegetables are actually coded to indicate the type of origin of the produce.

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Apparently PLUs are usually 4 or 5 digits. 4 digits indicate that it is a conventional produce, 5 digits starting with the number 9 means it’s an organic produce while 5 digits starting with the number 8 means it’s a genetically modified produce.

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So well, there , you know whom to remember next time you notice those tiny stickers on apples and courgettes.

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On Jobs & Jobs

April 18, 2012

I know, I know gallons of ink have been spilled on Steve Jobs over the last year or so. But these two articles I found particularly interesting. They are quite lengthy so do grab a drink or two : First is Morozov on Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, Apple’s idea of perfection as an [...]

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The strange case of Indian Integration

April 14, 2012

Just stumbled on to this video today. For those who don’t know Shillong Chamber Choir hail from Shillong, Meghalaya , a remote town in North Eastern India. In this video, they are recording a song in Malayalam – the language of Kerala , the southern most county in India. A thousand miles, cultures, customs and [...]

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Ruth Barcan Marcus

April 1, 2012

Because, it seems in our age one has to pay to remember her.

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The Wall

March 9, 2012

So Dravid hangs his boots. Blessed talent that was coupled with incredible diligence. Perhaps technically the most correct of all of the current crop, he was a typical South Indian – almost afraid to make choices as an individual ( even in personal life, and as a captain) – a skill that came in handy [...]

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Hannibal Opening..

January 28, 2012

For a long time, I had admired the art and the beauty of the opening scene of Hannibal. The most impressive thing about the now famous sequence is the amazing number of cameras used, complemented with its fast-cut editing. Even after many years of wondering I wasn’t able to say for sure how many cameras [...]

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Travel Journalism in India

January 24, 2012

As many of you know, I am looking for travel mags available on India. I don’t mean the new guidebook for the first time traveller to India ( for which one doesn’t need to look any further than the Lonely Planet India), but magazines and periodicals dealing with the more interior, perhaps even obscure India. [...]

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The England in Samir Nasri video :

January 12, 2012

This video of Samir Nasri being taunted,  ( ?) abused ,  in many ways , represents the England one knows about ( only) by living here. Firstly, you wouldn’t expect such a video to come out of anywhere else. For, one – you would never come across a celebrity driving his own car  i.e without bodyguards, [...]

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On Gods….

January 6, 2012

I must admit my interest in cricket has been reduced to watching highlights on YouTube after a match of significance. I guess that’s primarily because of lack of time and me having my energy fragmented into other interests. But I am aware I fall outside the statistical normal. If the intensity and sheer passion evident [...]

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On Hitch, and Atheism

December 16, 2011

Hitchens: As Rushdie said, an important voice – but as a generation, if at all we have to learn anything, any least thing from Hitchens’ war against religion – it is that, no matter how gifted you are, no matter how fluent and sharp you are, you can’t out-think or argue-out a religion. No matter [...]

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Why this Kolaveri Di?

November 19, 2011

A leisurely Saturday after a long time. Lots of letter writing and mails await but not before this.  Got sent this video as the flavour of the month in Chennai, a song making waves. It’s quite catchy and I guess it is exactly what gets classified as ‘street’ in the first world. The song is [...]

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French Passions : Geoff Dyer on Camus

November 3, 2011

Wanted to share this lovely video on Camus by Geoff Dyer.   Very impressed with how Dyer draws parallels between his own background and Camus’. This is an example of a very insightful, genial discussion, or rather how they should be organized and managed. Loved the host Gaby Wood, who was apt and well informed. [...]

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