It | Ain't | Like | That | Anymore

Solitude

2012-02-29T21:50:00.000+05:30

A 12 year old Highland Park single malt in your hand, a dog at your feet and absolute quiet except for the gentle, rhythmic whirring of the ceiling fan. Sometimes you only need the simplest things to keep you happy. Now if only the two ladies in my life were here with me, it'd be perfect!

The Joy of Music

2012-02-18T21:19:00.001+05:30

So, I'm sitting in my den, my man cave and listening to The Civil Wars, Dire Straits, Gillian Welch and many others. There is such joy that music holds for me. The money spent on this stereo rig was a right investment and I love every minute I spend listening to it.

Alone on VDay

2012-02-15T10:28:00.002+05:30

I had to spend Valentine's Day with Scooty since Uma and Rika were at my mum's. Scooty loves chicken and porn and so do I. We had a great night.

Puppy Rescue

2012-02-13T16:47:00.001+05:30

I rescued this poor fellow on Saturday night from the bushes near the main gate of my apartment. He was mewling for mommy/food and even though my wife was initially hesitant about me bringing in a stray, she finally consented. He stayed with us overnight, lapping up diluted milk and soft bread.

I called CUPA the next day to take him away. Scooty was quite upset the whole time. The little one mostly just slept. CUPA sent their ambulance at night and took him away. I hope their vets can clean him up since he had a lot of ticks and fleas.

I think we got him out of the house just in time. I was beginning to get attached to him and I barely spent any time with him.

So cute.

Phew! Online again!

2012-02-09T22:37:00.000+05:30

My BSNL internet connection is finally up and running. Yay!

We're almost settled in to our new home now. I hope to have some pics from the party I've planned for Saturday.

I'll also have a news round-up soon.

Restaurant review: Dosas and Curries

2012-02-02T14:57:00.001+05:30

Lunch today was at the newly opened Dosas and Curries in the Park Square mall in ITPL. Following is a quick review.

Ambiance / Decor: 2 out of 5

The place looks like any other mall eatery. It is simple and clean. The hand wash area was almost spotless.

Nothing unpleasant about the place. Plus point is that there is no loud music. In fact, there's no music at all.

Service: 4 out of 5

There were two managers at hand who were polite and helpful. The servers were OK. They definitely need to communicate better. One big con was that the waiter was smelling of sweat which is never a good thing.

That aside, the service was as good as it's going to get at a mall restaurant.

Food and Drinks: 4.5 out of 5

This is the best part. The menu here consists mostly of South Indian dishes. I love the fact that the choices are fresh. There are a lot of unique nonveg dishes from all over Kerala, TN, Andhra and Karnataka. There was even a Goan prawn curry.

We sampled some kothu parota, Kerala fish curry and the Goan prawns. The food was flavourful, fresh and served piping hot! The sodas we ordered were ice cold. The portions are good. One feels well fed but not stuffed.

The variety of interesting dishes means that this is a place we will be visiting often.

Reviving the blog

2012-02-01T15:37:00.001+05:30

It's been more than a year since I posted on my blog. However, I now have a smartphone which means I can blog on-the-fly. I plan to blog religiously. I have said this before too!

One Day in Old Bangalore

2010-03-18T21:14:00.000+05:30

Sat 13 Mar 10

A warm sunny day. Temperature is in the low thirties. I leave home at
about 10:30 AM, on my way to meet Sandman. We've planned a trip to SP
Road to purchase some electronics. We're also hoping to audition some
speakers at hifi showrooms Wharfedale and ProFx before ending the day at
the Windsor Pub in Vasanth Nagar.

I ended up reaching Barton Center, our agreed rendezvous point only
around 12 PM. I'd had to walk from Lifestyle all the way to Barton
Center. Since it almost lunch time already, we dropped our original plan
of lunch at Miller's and headed towards Empire on Church St instead.
Ordered a full grill chicken with some Kerala parota. I had forgotten
why Empire is one of the favorite haunts of young and old Bangaloreans
alike - the chicken was delicious and tender while the parota was fresh
and crisp! It was a delicious meal!

Well-fed, we caught an auto and headed to SP Road. Finished up with our
shopping, we decided to dump the stuff at Sandman's before going to the
hifi showrooms. However, Sandman's car had developed a technical snag
earlier in the day so we ended up at the Ford dealership to pick up his
car before going home.

We freshened up and moved out. Ate some ice-cream at Naturals near
Commercial St. Fresh and home-made ice-cream in unusual flavors - yum!
After, Vector Systems on Brigade was our first destination. The showroom
is manned by a 60-something aunty who was at least 30 years too
out-of-date for the job. She had absolutely NO idea what we were talking
about and called a dude who was equally clueless. The audition selection
was about 5 CDs full of Kenny G and club music mp3s burnt onto CDs. When
asked whether they expected people to spend lakhs of rupees on expensive
equipment based on mp3 output, they just shrugged out of sheer
ignorance. The prices quoted for the speakers were also inflated. Quite
a bit.

Since we were just wasting time, we decided to leave and head to ProFx
instead. That experience was no better since the particular speakers
that Sandman wanted me to audition sounded like crap on their setup.
Upset that I was not blown away the he had been when he heard the
speakers at his friend's place, he took me to meet his friend and decide
for myself. Smart move. His friend's stereo setup is truly awesome and
we spent way too much time listening to some beautiful Mark Knopfler and
Norah Jones music.

We were very delayed by the time we said our goodbyes and left from
Sandman's friend's place. Draculaboy was getting upset since he was
holding a table for four at the Windsor by himself. The pub is great!
It's small, cozy and brightly lit, very different from the dark and
brooding stereotypes that pepper Bangalore. The service is good and the
beer is fresh but the very best thing about it is the lip-smacking food!

Everything, from starters to main course is great and the food
complements the cold, fresh draught really well! The music selection,
which is played a little loud, is very good.

The crowd at the pub is fair balance of all people. I saw families with
kids, old couples as well as young boys and girls. The atmosphere is
really wonderful and if you're a cricket freak, they even have a TV for
you to catch the IPL action.

Overall, it was a wonderful albeit a little tiring day. I had a relaxed
taxi ride back from the Windsor to Whitefield, casually conversing with
the driver and was in bed before midnight. If only Bangalore could go back 10 years!

Szechwan Court - Restaurant Review

2010-01-27T20:12:00.003+05:30

8:13PM, Bangalore

Chad treated Uma and me to some delicious Chinese cuisine at Szechwan Court at The Oberoi, MG Road. Here is a quick review of the place.

Decor and ambiance - 2/5

I associate Chinese restaurants with being exotic and unfortunately, Szechwan Court really disappoints in this aspect. It has a very minimalist decor, more suitable for a contemporary restaurant. Also, I personally prefer a slightly dark and cosy setting and found the restaurant very bright lit. The music is typical instrumental Chinese restaurant music, which is forgettable.

Service - 3.5/5

The waiters were warm and friendly but I thought they could have run a tighter ship. Particularly when they brought us our appetizers before the cocktails.

Beverages - 2.5/5

Surprisingly, the cocktails were very average and I'll go as far as to say that I've had better at rock pubs in Bangalore, which are traditionally beer havens. My order of a dirty martini turned out to be a dry martini, which was what it said on the menu. However, being a 5 star hotel, they should've made me a dirty martini or at the very least informed me of its unavailability. Uma found her Mojito and MaiTai to be quite well made. Chad stuck with Tiger beer and I joined him after the martini.

Food - 4.75/5

All faults aside, the food at Szechwan Court is heavenly! By far the most delicious Chinese I have ever sampled. We started with soft-shell crabs, a fried corn dish, a chicken with dry chillies and scallions and some vegetarian wantons. All of these were very well done. So much so that we ordered another round of the soft-shell crabs since they were outstanding!

Main course consisted of a baby corn dish for Uma while Chad and I split some tenderloin in black pepper sauce and prawns in XO sauce along with some braised noodles. The tenderloin was nearly perfect. The prawns were good but overshadowed by the tenderloin and the crabs.

We ended our wonderful meal with an almond and fig tart and a sticky chocolate pudding with ice-cream, both of which were again very well done.

One point to note is that presentation of the food was very simple, unlike say, Toscanos.

One last gripe we had was that we were informed that we would have to finish our drinks by 11:30PM after which they would have to clear them away. Honestly!

Overall, the food was out of this world and every Chinese food-lover should definitely try this place. It is super expensive but I didn't care!

IPL Madness

2010-01-23T10:42:00.002+05:30

10:43AM, Bangalore

Will Pakistan's politicians and cricket stars please shut the hell up? You are a bunch of hypocritical nutters who don't deserve a chance to even set foot in our country, let alone play in the IPL. I am really happy that no Pakistani players were picked by any team this year and I hope that Pakistan boycotts the IPL permanently.

What is the deal with "we will pay you back in the same coin"? You don't have anything that we need so there is no chance of any payback. What are you going to do? Not allow Indian players in your "virtual" cricket league? Oh right, I forgot. You'll "pay" us back by sending more terrorists, from your PTL.

Idiots.

Chocolate Martini Recipe

2010-01-23T10:10:00.004+05:30

10:11AM, Bangalore

I made some delicious chocolate martinis yesterday and thought I'll document the process. The ingredients you will need are:

1. 60 ml Absolut/Belvedere vodka
2. 45 ml Kahlua liquer
3. 15 ml Myers Jamaican rum
4. 15 ml instant coffee concoction
5. 2 tbsp Baskin Robbins chocolate ice-cream, melted
6. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup for decoration
7. Lots of ice
8. A blender

All these ingredients are easily available in Bangalore.

The process is as follows:

1. Add a few ice-cubes to the blender and churn a couple of times to create a soft, almost powdery base.
2. Drop in the other ingredients. Add in lesser Kahlua and coffee concoction if you prefer a more chocolatey taste.
3. Churn for 5-10 seconds.
4. Line your chosen glasses with chocolate syrup.

5. Pour in the drink and serve!

A couple of variations including rimming the glass with powdered sugar and adding a melted bar of chocolate to the mix to thicken it further. I haven't tried these yet but I'm sure they are delicious. The splash of rum is added only to add a little flavor and can be left out if you don't like the taste of rum.

That's it!

Solar Eclipse Silliness

2010-01-17T20:56:00.003+05:30

8:56PM, Bangalore

So, the annular eclipse that happened recently created hysteria in India. Funny, people have such strong yet archaic beliefs in this country. They'll get up really early and take a shower and have a bite to eat since you cannot do that during the eclipse. They also don't travel during the phenomenon so people either reach early or late for their appointments.

Best part - schools and even some offices give the day off to people to shield them from the eclipse! Children are encouraged to stay indoors and not venture outside. What kind of a day off is that?!

Scientists had to eat biscuits at a public gathering to dispel fears about consumption of food during the eclipse. I'd like to witness the next eclipse to see how much of an effect that had. I'm guessing not too much.

I know we have a great and very old culture but I wish we'd move forward from silly beliefs and embrace some common sense as well.

Walking is Dangerous

2009-12-27T09:07:00.003+05:30

9:10AM, Bangalore

I was reading an article today about how two beat cops stopped and fined a techie for walking "late" at night (2:30AM). He was returning from a movie and had dropped of his friend to her house and was walking over to his. Am I to understand that we're not even allowed to be outside late at night? I can understand all the drunken-driving and large groups being rowdy bits but a guy peacefully walking by himself? What sort of risk did he pose?

Speaking of walking, I walked from my place to Knightsbridge and noticed a ton of garbage at the side of the road. Usually, I am cocooned in the ignorant safety of my car and I was walking on a sidewalk after a really long time. I, like most people in this country, was desensitized to all the garbage strewn all around but this walk was a real shocker. It wasn't just regular garbage either. There were heaping piles of medical garbage too - gauze, bandages, face-masks, syringes etc. Made me shudder. Also made me understand why people walk on the road instead of the sidewalks and why the expats keep talking about the amount of shit on the streets. They've not been here long enough I guess.

Reccomended listening - Walk by Pantera

2009-12-25T14:59:00.002+05:30

3:00PM, Bangalore

It's been forever since I posted on my blog. It isn't because there has not been enough stuff happening in my life, rather I've been lazy about sharing.

A recap then:

1. My dear friend Erik V has left DWA to join Paprikaas as HoP. I wish him all the best. A lot of people were sad that he left but I see it as a good thing. Better to have him stay back in India with his wonderful family for another year than to have him return to Portland, Oregon like he wanted to. EV - We are yet to drink many a Blue together, sir.

2. Another dear friend and my mentor, Greg J, has left Bangalore and is returning to DWA, GLD. He will be sorely missed. A perfectionist and a metal-head - truly an awesome combination.

3. Yet another very dear friend, John F, has left India and is returning to PDI, SF. He was one of the first expats to arrive in Bangalore and was (and still is) a good friend who I will miss a lot.

4. I'm a bachelor for a few days while Uma visits her parents and beloved pooch Scamper. I had to do the dishes today as well as put out the clothes after washing. I haven't yet taken out the garbage and I'm beat. I dont know how she does it but I'm glad she does. I miss her.

Yearning for the Old Days

2008-12-22T18:01:00.003+05:30

6:02 PM, Bangalore

I am on holiday, which means that I get to stay at home all day by myself while my wife goes to work. With my parents being out of town, I have no one to spend time with but myself, which as you will see, is annoying.

Being alone led me to being pensive. A recent event (Read here: My experience with Royal Enfield) fueled my thoughts further and I've come to realize that the olden days were better. This new day and age, with life blitzing along at a thousand miles per hour, puts into perspective, how much better life used to be.

Take shopping for instance. In case you managed to read the article posted above, you will see that new-age retail has successfully replaced and at the same time destroyed the art of buying and selling. In years past, a shop-keeper welcomed you into his store and tried his best to ensure that you had a pleasant and happy shopping experience. A Bata dealer would try his hardest to dissuade you from visiting Lakhani. He would offer you tea or cool drinks. He would show you more footwear than you cared for. He would smile.

Today, you walk into a MEGA shopping mall, walk about aimlessly to the tune of weird music, a genre which can best be described as mall-music, pick up the items you need and go home. Is it functional? Yes. Is it fun? Certainly not.

The reason behind all this is simple. Earlier, a shop-keeper and his employees' wages depended on sales. Which meant that each customer was important to them. Now, a salesman could care two hoots about you, since he is assured his pay packet at the end of the month. With regard to incident with Royal Enfield, this is very true.

All is not lost though. The charm of shopping still lives on, albeit only in a few pockets on the country. Karol Bagh in New Delhi for instance, where I had the absolute pleasure of doing my wedding shopping (yes, I am a guy and I said that). We were welcomed to every store with open arms and smile. By the end of the day, we were tired but very very happy! I could have possibly purchased most of the same stuff in a mall, without having to go from store to store, in air-conditioned style. Would it have left me with wonderful memories though? I doubt it.

This trend has crept into other facets of life as well. The small things which used to bring so much pleasure have been replaced by efficient, practical and mind-numbingly boring things. Television, for instance. The old days, we used to wait for the "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast" song from the film Mohra to show up on the telly on a weekly songs countdown program so that we could turn up the sound and dance along with Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon. Now, a new song comes along and you hear it so many times in a day that if the song is released in the morning, you hate it by evening. Will that song go on to become a classic? Never.

Communication has reached an offensive stage where you are reachable in seconds no matter where you go. I yearn for the days before the cell phone and email was invented, so I could use a rotary style phone to call people, after 11PM to save on STD charges and enjoy it, rather than be able to call them up at any given moment. Again, is it convenient? Yes. Fun? NO.

I am reminded of a line from the film The Shawshank Redemption, where a man released after 50 years in prison, upon laying eyes on the world outside says: "Seems to me the world went and got itself into one big hurry" or something like that and it rings so true.

I wish the world would slow down. I'm 26 and I have too many worries. I need to buy a house. Start a family. Move up in my job. Earn more so I can spend more time and money in a mall. The list goes on. I want it all to go away. I want my peace. I looked up at the sky today and it was a wonderful, deep shade of blue, a color I had never seen it be before. I want more time to experience these little beauties of the world.

I sometimes do wish I had been born in the different time. A time when people traveled far and slow. A time when we had time for ourselves and for others. A time long gone.

See, I told you it would be annoying.

A Sad Farewell...

2008-12-11T11:39:00.002+05:30

11:44AM, Bangalore

Last night we had a small get-together to bid farewell to Erik Mattson, our guru and mentor for about four months at DWI. I'm truly sad to see him go. Erik is a wonderful person. a great resource and a brilliant writer.

We will all miss his great sense of humour.

I hope to see him again, in India or elsewhere, and also wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

My First Thanksgiving!

2008-11-30T10:43:00.002+05:30

Erik and Helen had us over for a great Thanksgiving day at their beautiful villa in Whitefield. It was a perfect day for a picnic, the sun was out, blue skies and a cool breeze! Almost the entire DWA family was there and it was to be a fun and eventful day!

Beer and cocktails flowed freely, there was amazing food and snacks, a variety of sports were being played by children of all ages, people were taking PK's new Bullet for test rides; all in all a great day! Things got really interesting when the caterer managed to spill some fuel and set Helen's drawing room on fire! Fortunately, I was at hand to turn saviour and rescued the home and the party! My extinguisher of choice - a 2L bottle of Sprite! No bakwaas!

The turkey dinner, catered by my favorite Bangalore restaurant, The Only Place on Museum Road, was delicious! It was the first time I had an authentic Thanksgiving turkey and I loved it!

Unfortunately, Uma could only join us at around 7PM after work, by which time most people were really tired from all the volleyball and were ready to head home.

I had a great day, thanks to the efforts put in by Helen and Erik, so a big Thank You! goes out to them! I'm really looking forward to other holiday celebrations in a similar fashion, especially Holi!

Three Sheets to the Wind

2008-11-08T13:53:00.003+05:30

1:56PM, Bangalore

What a night! Not that my friends and I need much reason to have a party but two birthdays are more than enough reason to have an absolute bender! The venue was J's beautiful home and the guest list was a cultural mix of Americans, Frenchies and of course, Indians! Most of us were DWA employees with spouses. MP was brave enough to bring his 1 year old son. Start them off early is what I always say.

Soumi wanted a Black Bucket party. I was designated barkeep. A high level meeting was called and Soumi, J and I agreed that my version of Long Islands were in order for the night. Soumi promptly forgot to bring a bucket so the party quickly morphed to a steel jug do. Not one to back away from such trivial setbacks, I set upon creating my masterpiece. We had already sourced many bottles of white spirits - namely Smirnoff vodka, Blue Riband gin and Bacardi Blanca rum. Add to that some Sweet and Sour and Triple Sec as mixers and a splash of Coke and there it was.

Things started well. I'm not sure how well they ended. All I know is, everyone loved to hate me at the party. They swore it was a great cocktail, but the wise ones (who have, at some point in their lives, had too much drink and turned their intestines inside out in the loo) knew that the cocktail was potent. It reminded me of a cocktail I once had called an Arrowhead. A cute pink looking thing in a small martini glass. Thinking nothing of it I gulped two or three down and was out like the proverbial light. This Long Island reminded me of the Arrowhead in some ways.

As the party progressed people started dancing. That soon went away, and was replaced by what can best be described as a preparations for a tribal war. In the mini-garden out back, EV was trying to pick fights and wrestle with anyone who dared challenge him. That didn't last too long either when some of the guys decided to tag-team him. It wasn't pretty.

Pizzas were ordered for dinner while my cocktail and the beers continued to flow freely. The more people drank the more they continued their love-hate relationship with me. I'm not new to this feeling though. Last time I went drinking with Tim and Don, I managed to get happy hours extended at my local watering hole to 11PM. They thought I was their hero and Tiger flowed freely. Come monday, they both stand in front of my desk, with pure hatred in their bleary eyes. Both were fuming about how much they hated me and my awful friends who extend happy hours at my every whim. I think this hatred stems from the fact that I don't get hungover even after a night of madness and so don't end up having a morning-after breakfast consisting of Tylenols or Asprins.

Don went away to California but Tim stayed back and after his display last night, he obviously hasn't learnt from his past mistakes.

All in all a good night out. We got back home past two am and my poor wife had work the next day. I hope everyone enjoyed the party and my abomination. Thank yous are in order to Mira, Soumi, Uma and J for the arrangements. For those who found it difficult, remember to drink lots of water and keep nibbling while you drink.

I'm sure two days will be enough for people to recover. I'm looking forward to the next party. I've been planning a little something-something with Tequila too.

Lighting 101 - Tutorial -The Importance of Form

2008-10-09T11:04:00.011+05:30

First, I want to mention that this tutorial is purely theoretical. My intention is not to show how to light an object in Maya or Max or anything of the sort. There are already many tutorials and books about that out there.

Rather, I want to emphasize the thought process an artist needs to put into his image before, during and after he completes it (or thinks he has completed it).
In the first part of that process, I am going to discuss form and its importance in what an artist is trying to achieve.

Let's begin at the basic premise - what is form? To put it simply, form is the shape and size of an object as portrayed by light. In the case of solid objects which are not being transformed, the shape and size remains constant over time. However, their form may appear to be different based on the qualities of light shining on them. This can be a crucial factor when lighting. An artist must ensure he does justice to the object and brings out the most flattering form.

A good example to understand the point illustrated above is to think of the differences between mainstream porn and erotic photography. While eroticism tries to indulge the mind with striking and unusual play of light, pornography is more "in your face" in terms of imagery (or lack of it).

Now that we understand what form is, we must dwell on its importance to a picture. Based on the requirements of the image and the artist, form is what determines what emotional reaction is evoked from a viewer. Is the picture of a gorgeous woman? An evil murderer?

Each of these, though dependent on other qualities of light as well, is primarily reliant on the form being portrayed correctly to induce the correct rejoinder from an audience. If the beauty is lit from underneath with dark overtones, will she come across as a damsel or a demon? The latter, likely. If the killer is lit with Rembrandt lighting and lots of soft fill, will he send a chill down your spine? Definitely not.

The better an artist understands the form of his subject with respect to his circumstance, before he even starts actual work on the image; the more likely he is to be satisfied with what he achieves at the end. Notice that we are not disputing the absolute form, only its relativity with respect to the terms that an artist limits himself to when he creates art. Not all flat form is ugly and not always is contrast desirable as described in the above examples.

While the native shape and design of an object is the major contributor to its form, its surface properties and material properties also play an important role. A strong texture, translucence (sub-surface scattering of light) etc can play a key role in determining form.

An aspect to consider is how to bring in all this thought process when one is working in a production environment with a deadline to consider. Obviously, time is a luxury that cannot be spent in thought, rather in action.

Here, the trick lies in practicing the art of seeing. Observation is a virtue that all artists will do well to abide by. One must make an effort to scrutinize everything one comes across in day to day life. Look around yourself in the washroom, your office cabin, your kitchen, your car, everywhere. Understand how light affects form of objects and then try to reproduce the same from memory when working. Not only will this ensure that your work progresses efficiently, but will also improve the quality of the work since you are putting in something extra that you have learned.

An excellent instance of this is light reflectance; or what is called specularity in the CG world. In real life there is no specular component, only light reflecting off of surfaces. Noticing the play of light as it moves over and off an object in reality can help you nail the position, strength and character of a specular hit in your CG shot.

That about sums up my discourse on form. Remember to observe everything in your surroundings to learn how light affects form and how you can incorporate that into your work, whether it’s a personal piece or a production shot.
Do get in touch with me with questions and/or comments.

Of Chicken Curry and John McClane...

2008-09-15T19:50:00.002+05:30

7:58 PM, Bangalore

Last week was wonderful. I finally worked up the courage to cook chicken at home and decided to try my hand at some chicken curry. There's this lady called Meenakshi over at HookedOnHeat and she has some of the best Indian recipes around. Really simple and delicious!

Things started out in a fun way as I left the chicken out on the counter to thaw only to read online after a while that its the worst possible thing I could have done short of murder. Apparently I had provided bacteria a fertile breeding ground by leaving the chicken out and would probably repent for this sin. I rushed about to rescue the situation - by thawing the chicken in cold water. Now that things were back to normal I went ahead and created my masterpiece. Have to admit it tasted lovely once it was done! Don't really know if it was my ego or my taste buds. :)

Also, managed to lay my hands on the Die Hard quadrilogy! It was awesome fun reliving the maverick moments of John McClane as he single-handedly hands out large portions of whoop-ass to the baddies! Yippie Kay Yay Motherfucker! I really think Die Hard 2 has one of the best climax sequences of all action flicks!

Theo, a friend and fellow animator over at DreamWorks has promised to get me GTA4 for my PS3 tomorrow! I've been dying to play it!

The only downer this week was that we lost to Liverpool. Of all godforsaken teams to lose to. With an own goal to boot! We played awful football. That's all I have to say about that. Dismayed as I am, I feel Villareal had better watch out.

Also, there are a lot of things in life that I want to buy so if anyone has a million odd dollars lying about that they're looking to get off their hands, no questions asked - I'm your man.

Recommended Listenting - Be Somebody - 3 Doors Down

News Roundup

2008-08-29T19:24:00.003+05:30

7:36PM, Bangalore

The past couple of weeks have been quite eventful - we returned from a fun vacation in Thailand, had a minor flooding incident at home, got a new PS3 from my wife, got her a new scooter, broke a toe-nail and worked on my first DW project!

Pattaya's Walker's Street is a must-visit destination for all sorts of tourists, more so for young men wanting to get laid (for a price of course!) with its myriad collection of a go-go clubs, strip bars, roadside cafes, street performers and a genial holiday mood prevalent throughout.

I loved the signs on hotels proclaiming rooms were available for "short-stay (2 hours)"!
I loved the big bikes available for rent!
I loved the cute Thai girls!
I loved the prices of clothes and shoes!
I loved seeing a Lamborghini parked next to a McLaren SLR in a dingy garage on a lowly side-street!
I loved the Italian food (yes, you read that right)!
I loved the way Thai people call 15 "one-tee-five"!
I loved the way a calculator was used as a bargaining communication tool!

I hated the hot and humid weather.
I hated the grasshoppers, bugs, slimy worms and other equally gross stuff available as fried snacks. Yech!

Bangkok was primarily our destination for shopping. We just roamed around aimlessly; never realised it could be so much fun! Experienced shopping from both ends of the "hipness" spectrum - visited massive malls adorned with Prada, Giordano, Versace and the like and also shopped along the street markets which were reminiscent of home.

Couple of days after returning home, we had a burst pipe in our home, leaving Uma and me in ankle-deep water. Fortunately, nothing major was damaged. Except a carpet. And a mattress. The house did end up getting spring-cleaned in the aftermath!

On our first anniversary, she got me a PS3 while I got her a scooter (disc brake and all!). Now I dont have to drop her off on saturdays anymore - instead I can play video games!
While unpacking the damn thing I managed to stub my toe against some furniture and ripped a toe-nail half off! Highly unpleasant experience - I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
I will recommend buying a full HD LCD TV and watching Blu-ray movies on it through a PS3. Very pleasant indeed!

Finally, got to work on some stuff at work that'll actually be used. Can't really disclose details but it was really satisfying to stop practising and actually start working! Hope to see it in India to earn boasting rights!

History is Made!

2008-08-13T22:48:00.006+05:30

10:50PM. Bangalore

India have rewritten history books with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over defending champions Tajikistan in the AFC Challenge Cup 2008 at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi in what is being hailed as the golden hour of Indian Football.

A goal from captain Baichung Bhutia and a brilliant hat-trick by local boy Sunil Chhetri sealed a glorious win for the men in blue. Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev scored a consolation goal for the Tajiks.

The win came in some style, with India scoring three goals within the first 22 minutes to put the match to bed. Both teams played a solid attacking game with plenty of chances on and off target and three shots finding the woodwork. There was never a dull moment in the game as the first goal, which initially seemed to have come under controversial circumstances, proved to be a shot in the arm for the Tajiks.

After the whirlwind first half in which Chhetri scored twice, Bhutia once and Fatkhuloev brought one back, the Tajiks continued to pile on the pressure to keep the game interesting right till the 75th minute, when Chhetri put away his third and India's fourth goal and finished the game off.

The match was a hard-fought affair with a few edgy moments - Bhutia was elbowed in the teeth and had to be taken off with a bloodied face. However, the Uzbekistani referee Valentin Kovalenko had a flawless game and ensured that the football remained free-flowing, opting to use a stern word rather than a card in most cases.

The quality of football at display was decidedly lower than what is displayed by higher-ranked and better teams from Europe and rest of the world. Nonetheless, as a contest it was top-notch - great footballing moments in an exciting match. The goals were all quality affairs, reminiscent of some scored in the best leagues in the world.

India have now qualified for the Asian Cup Finals to be held in Qatar in 2011 alongwith Tajikistan and DPR North Korea, who finished third in the tournament. Indian coach, former Fulham player Bob Houghton, has an excellent record with the men in blue with 29 matches and 15 wins. This is his second major trophy with India after the victory in the Nehru Cup in Aug last year.

It's celebration time once again for football in India. The Indian cricket team have been thrashed in Sri Lanka and this victory should bring to the forefront, new sporting heroes for youngsters in the country, the likes of Bhutia, Chhetri, Dias, Pal and more.

New Look!

2008-08-13T10:34:00.003+05:30

10:34AM. Bangalore

I've updated the site to have a wider view and better color harmony. Big thanks to Derek Anderson for his help!

If anyone has any inputs about this please let me know and I'll see if I can change things.

Manchester United vs Portsmouth : FA Community Shield

2008-08-11T09:48:00.004+05:30

9:48AM. Bangalore

Last night United took on Portsmouth in the most uninteresting match on the English football calendar: the FA Community Shield at Wembley.

Nonetheless, the chance to watch United in action again after a long layoff since the end of last season was a welcome change!

United won the match 3-1 on penalties after creating a slew chances. No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson is looking out for a striker. With all due respect to other Portsmouth players, it has to be said that the match was more like David James v United! The man was inspirational and single-handedly kept Pompey in the hunt for well over 90 mins.

Portsmouth seemed to have understood what it takes to keep United at bay. This match was reminiscent of the FA Cup match last season at Old Trafford where United must have created at least 20 chances and still managed to lose.

Fletcher and Nani were brilliant in mid-field along with Tevez delivering another monster performance. The defence was hardly troubled and it was good to see Gary Neville back after forever. Nani's play reminded me of Ronaldo's game 4-5 years ago when he had joined United and I'm relishing the prospect of Nani blossoming into a more mature and controlled player in the weeks to come.

Frasier Campbell got a run-out and looked promising as well. Hopefully youngsters will find a way into United's first team starting lineup for a few games this season to showcase their talent.

The match was by no means United's best performance but a win and an unbeaten pre-season will help the team's confidence with 5 days to go to for the Premier League start. United take on Newcastle on 17th Aug. If last year was anything to go by, expect a flood of goals from Man Utd!

News Roundup

2008-08-09T17:43:00.003+05:30

5:48PM. Bangalore

Cristiano Ronaldo is staying at United. I am glad that saga is over. A visit to the dentist is less painful than watching players and clubs hold each other hostage. Still, I feel Ronaldo will not be the same player he was the past two seasons. Hope United bring in Benzema or Berbatov at the least to bolster the weak strike-force.

I'm waiting for Diwali to buy a new motorcycle. I've always loved bikes and cannot wait to get my hands on a new one! Wife wants a scooterette but that has never stopped me before. Probably cause I never had a wife before. No, honest. Had almost decided on the new Apache RTR FI but then heard that TVS is bringing out a new bike this Diwali called the Menace! If the new Apache is anything to go by, the Menace will be a beast and a looker!

Vacation time! The wife and I will be off to Thailand for a vacation next week! She needs it more than I do, seeing how my life has been a vacation since the end of May when I joined DreamWorks. However, things are looking brilliant on the job-end, what with new CP work headed our way. I've been out of production too long and am looking forward to the new challenges.

More after the break.
Recommended Listening : All Fall Down - One Republic

We're Now Open!

2008-07-28T17:12:00.002+05:30

5:14PM, Bangalore

The offices of DreamWorks Animation India were officially opened today! The entire team of the Indian, French and American artists and managers were present. There was a sumptuous breakfast followed by speeches by Joe Aguilar and Erik Vignau. The day was ended with a traditional ceremony to bless the facility and bring us good luck for the future.

We have some outbound training and orientation programs planned for the rest of week and should start on some production by the beginning of next week.

Why Everyone Needs a 5 Day Week

2008-07-20T13:11:00.004+05:30

1:13 PM. Bangalore

Yesterday, my loving wife took our car to the office. I have Saturdays off and she doesn't. On her way out after work she managed to have the car befriend a pillar in the car park. Now the car needs a new door and a paint job. This is why I feel Paprikaas should have a 5-day week.

Poor thing though, felt so guilty that she cried her eyes out. So I had to console her. With Dominos pizza and lots of coke. The drink. Not blow. Though I'm sure that would've worked better.

In any case, she's fine and that's all that matters.

Why Mallus Rock 01

2008-07-11T20:46:00.003+05:30

A lot of people would probably have heard this before but its too good to pass up!

Anyone know who sang it?

Photos Now Online

2008-07-09T21:34:00.002+05:30

All the photos from my trip to the US for training with DreamWorks are now available from the right navigation bar. Comments are welcome!

Kung Fu Panda in Theaters July 11

2008-07-08T15:13:00.008+05:30

Paramount Pictures is releasing DreamWorks Animation's latest CG feature Kung Fu Panda in theaters across India on 11 Jul.

The movie is a must watch for families as well as for kung fu lovers! It combines world-class animation with stunning visuals and a great story to create an entertaining film for viewers of all ages.

One of DreamWorks' best films to date, KFP features the voices of Jack Black as Po the Panda, Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Jackie Chan as Monkey, Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu and Ian McShane as Tai Lung.

More info and trailers - http://www.kungfupanda.com/

The Return

2008-07-08T10:12:00.002+05:30

10:13 AM. Bangalore, India

Back in India.

It is raining!

The flight back was a culmination of disasters. First, we got seats in the tail. Which means that the damn plane vibrates even when it's stationary. Secondly, the in-flight entertainment system died at London. So all we had to look at was an image of clouds. For 9 hrs. Third, the wonderful airline food. Vivek heard the host say fish fry (We were both conjuring up images of large pieces of juicy, sumptuous fish, bathed in the freshest curd, marinated in mysterious spices from the coasts, fried to a crispy brown perfection) when it really was fish pie (Fish in muck). Gross.

Fortunately, he and I figured out why this was happening to us; so that our warm beds would feel more comfortable, our TV would be more entertaining and most importantly, the wife's cooking would taste like food for the Gods. And it did.

Have a couple of days to un-jet-lag before we hit Linux again. Advanced, no less. Cannot wait to get started on actual work.

Recommended listening : Fake It - Seether

Beginning

2008-07-05T13:48:00.001+05:30

1:18 AM. Los Angeles, California.

First post.

I am an animator. A lighter specifically. I work for DreamWorks.

Just spent 6 weeks at Glendale, CA training with a group of great people up at DreamWorks Animation SKG. Tomorrow, I have a 22 hour flight back to Bangalore, India that I am really not looking forward to. First time in my life I will spend an entire Sunday cooped up in an aircraft.

The US is much more pleasant than the media back home makes it out to be. Not everyone here is a war-mongering, blood-thirsty maniac wanting to bomb the next country they find back to the Stone Age. People are really friendly and helpful.

Went to the 4th of Jul celebrations. Fireworks by Marina Del Ray were amazing.

Can't wait to get back to India though. Miss my wife, family and friends. Miss the great food! Miss driving on the left.

I hope it's raining.

That's it for me for now. See you on the other side of the world.

Recommended listening : It Ain't Like That Anymore -Alice in Chains