How nerdy I am

Sometimes you just gotta take these random quizzes you keep getting in email...

mixup@bbc

Guy Kewney - a white, bearded technology expert, leading IT journalist, was supposed to be interviewed regarding the Apple vs Beatles branding case last week by BBC news live.

The broadcast assistant went down to reception and called his name out - to which this guy in the clip guy responded. He was the taxi man waiting to take Guy after the interview back to London (and so responded when he heard his booking's name).

Guy Kewney was in reception sitting also, but hadn't heard his name called. Imagine his surprise when he saw the black french taxi man up on the television monitors, live on the news, being interviewed as him!

The taximan's surprise is evident in the clip, but you gotta hand it to this guy, he kept his cool and answered the questions. His expression when the interview starts is priceless!

RDB

This post is in response to this critique by greatbong - one of the more prolific bloggers in blogosphere

I agree with GB that the emotion of being a catalyst in social change evoked by RDB was ephemeral. I also agree that there were huge plot holes - unreal lathi charge, unreal shooting inside the radio station, unbelievable comments on TV by the minister after Madhavan’s character died, extreme reaction of the gang by killing the minister. I would pan Aamir and Rakeysh for claiming this movie as the anthem for the youth.

In spite of this, I liked this movie. Fun. Timepass. One-liners that had me laughing all the way. “Talli ho kar girne se samjhi humne gravity, ishq ka practical kiya tab aayi clarity”, “Kam se kam aazaadi vaali to sukhi ke liye chhod do”.


What I really liked about it was its portrayal of the generation without a purpose, without a belief system. Quoting from Bluffmater (another timepass movie I liked recently), “Har insaan ki zindagi mein ek cheez honi chahiye jiske liye woh kuchh bhi kar sakta ho”, this generation is lacking that one purpose. They are easily impressionable. MTV impressed them and they took on doing wheelies with sexy bikes. When they found something they felt strongly about, they were helpless and directionless. The freedom fighters impressed them, they thought they had found role models and decided on a stupid revolt.

The gang in this movie are not heroes. Sukhi is pulled in their stupid schemes because of peer pressure. He is no hero. DJ is a self-admitted loser. Karan is the cynic, the introvert armchair critic with an opinion about everything but no actions, self-immersed in the meaningless current moment, enjoying his booze and friends (the character I see in most people, including myself, in most comments here). Alex in The Clockwork Orange was not the hero. He was a satire on the western youth immersed in sex, violence and drugs. This gang is a satire on the impressionable DCH generation that in spite of dying for their purpose did not achieve anything. (Btw, not comparing the quality of movie RDB to Clockwork Orange.)

For people who like V for Vendetta and not RDB, because V for Vendetta exaggerations were justified by their portayal in the backdrop of autocratic regime and RDB showed present, *imagine* RDB happened in a India 50 years from now, where the regime was more autocratic than you can digest now, the youth was even more directionless and the above plot holes were a possibility. (Aweful movie V for Vendetta, btw - spoilt a perfect story by hammering the same point again and again. Read the Vendetta book. Much better it is.) RDB at least left room for discussion.

Comedy @white house

On my routine visit to slashdot I came across this today. At the annual white house correspondence dinner, Stephen Colbert roasted the president.

Here is the video and here. Here is the transcript. It is hilarious! Must see/read.

I am sure this routine would have been approved by president's staff and I was pleasantly surprised with what made the final show. The NSA wiretapping, Fox News, Dick Cheney shooting and most of all, the president's gut feel - nothing was spared.

Also check out Dubya and his alter ego at the same function here. Must hand this one to Georgie boy - fun it was.

Reading more about it, I came to know a comedy routine is a regular fixture at this event. Here is George Dubya taking a dig at Bush-isms at the 2001 annual dinner. Here is the first lady at the 2005 dinner talking about how she happened to marry the president in spite of being the kind of girl who spent 12 hours a day in the library.

Apparently JFK and Clinton used to do pretty funny routines themselves at these dinners (haven't found much of that so far).

I was thinking if Indian politicians (and public!) will digest the leaders doing such routines on national tv. I am not sure. Leaders back home are more reverand, and I believe will not make fun of themselves (not intentionally, I mean :D). It is left to the jesters. Shekhar Suman is the only one that comes to mind (he started out good, but grew way sad in a couple of years, IMO). I'd be surprised to see him do his Atal Behari routine standing 10 feet from Atal.

Not in Amrika apparently..Another one of those idiosyncracies that make you wonder about another dimension where we are different cultarally.

Disclaimers:
1. Not judging any culture here. Just observing the difference.
2. Please correct me if things are different - have been out of touch with desi tv for about 4 years now.