Vemana's media journal

Posting my thoughts on music, movies, TV, books, et al. What am I consuming, and loving.

[vemana]

Back. For good.

Now that I know that Tumblr is in the safe hands of Automattic, I know this place has a long future and some exciting new things. No better company to run this amazing site. 

What am I watching these days?

The Office (US) finally! What an amazing show! Been a big fan of Parks and Rec for a while and this is a great show in a different direction. I know this is the one that paved the path for the awesoness Michael Schur has been bringing to us over the last decade. 

I am almost done with 3 season and it’s been so much fun so far. Yet, I still cringe (max) when Michael Scott does what he does best. 

Also watching the Ashes. That last hour of the 3rd test match in Headingly was the most harrowing thing as as Australian Cricket fan. But more importantly it was one of the fantastic hour of cricket I have seen. Up there with WC2019 final and Aus/SA WC99 SF. Ben Stokes is not just legendary. He is already a legend. Stokes bowling in the at second innings was also quite something. Australian attack was breathing fire in the first innings and I love that Test cricket has been so edge of the seat. 

In a mostly bowlers’ Ashes this year Steven Smith has been a Man who fell to Earth - in a league completely apart from all other batsmen. Marnus Labuschagne have been splendid too. Can’t wait to see them work their magic together. 

That’s it for now.

[vemana]

All back for good posts are bad omens. Or rather effective return preventers. They almost always further posts from appearing for a sufficient period.

[vemana]

Back. For good.

Now that I know that Tumblr is in the safe hands of Automattic, I know this place has a long future and some exciting new things. No better company to run this amazing site. 

What am I watching these days?

The Office (US) finally! What an amazing show! Been a big fan of Parks and Rec for a while and this is a great show in a different direction. I know this is the one that paved the path for the awesoness Michael Schur has been bringing to us over the last decade. 

I am almost done with 3 season and it’s been so much fun so far. Yet, I still cringe (max) when Michael Scott does what he does best. 

Also watching the Ashes. That last hour of the 3rd test match in Headingly was the most harrowing thing as as Australian Cricket fan. But more importantly it was one of the fantastic hour of cricket I have seen. Up there with WC2019 final and Aus/SA WC99 SF. Ben Stokes is not just legendary. He is already a legend. Stokes bowling in the at second innings was also quite something. Australian attack was breathing fire in the first innings and I love that Test cricket has been so edge of the seat. 

In a mostly bowlers’ Ashes this year Steven Smith has been a Man who fell to Earth - in a league completely apart from all other batsmen. Marnus Labuschagne have been splendid too. Can’t wait to see them work their magic together. 

That’s it for now.

[vemana]

(http://spoti.fi/2nkHh5U on Spotify or http://bit.ly/2mU7Ax2 on Youtube )

New Playlist!

[vemana]

So... I am aiming to make a playlist every month from the new (and good) music I find. Here is the first one. Let me know how you like it.

[vemana]

Ready Player One aka 80s Love Fest

I had just finished Neuromancer and was contemplating on the profound impact it had on the times to come. Or shaped them. This book is the exact opposite. It is a clear result of a fascination of one man with one decade. It is a great work of storytelling which is takes fanboy-ness to an EPIC level and serves it with a side of techno-dystopian caution. 

Set three decades away in a world succumbed to its energy thirst, over population, wealth inequality and techno media addiction, Ready Player One plays out mostly around a MMORPG like Open Universe on the lines of Second Life and No Man's Sky. The latter is a game releasing next month and has 18 quintillion planets. Can't avoid referring to Neuromancer once again for obvious reasons. Both have young protagonists juggling real life and cyber glory in a world in which the virtual dominates the real.

Ernest Cline's freshman attempt at writing a novel, doesnt sound anything like it. His characters are fleshed out slowly, deliberately and well. He limits the characters and settings he uses but runs wild with the pop cultural references, which form the soul of this book. The movies, the early game consoles (like Atari 2600) and the video games that ran on them along with other media and nostalgia delivery devices like music, tv shows are thoroughly exploited to deliver an 80′s love fest. At the beginning, I was wary of this being yet another book which ignores socio-economic realities and delivers a message of honor and passion as a path of greatness. Fortunately Cline does a good job of weaving in a modicum of realism into the world while delivering not very implicit warnings of technoaddiction. This does play out as 80′s high school movie filled with optimism and cheesiness at the end, appropriately. 

I cant remember the last time I had this much fun while reading a book. It was gripping stuff and the language used and narrative beats have been well programmed. Last time I tore through a book this quickly was when I was reading The Martian, which had its dull parts but this one almost has none. I don't think it is literary genius but just brilliant pacing. It plays out like one epic RPG on a PS4 (like an Uncharted) cutting to story sequences in between and resuming to the game play other wise. It is a book about a game within a game, which plays out like a game. I began reading this book in audiobook format. Will Wheaton's (who is also mentioned in the book) narration was really well done. But then I switched to an ebook to cover ground faster. This whole review must sound as if I am gushing. Yes, I am. This is definitely a must read for pop culture aficionados. Others might not find the same kind of joy. 

This book, like The Martian, is almost its own screenplay. I am worried however that Steven Spielberg, also an 80′s genius, hasn’t made a good movie since The Minority Report/Catch Me If you Can. This book has the pace of those movies but I am afraid Steven Spielberg will let that go and instead resort to the sappy/preachy way he makes movies these days (eg: Bridge of Spies and Lincoln, which was such a bore!). I know it is too late now but the best person to direct this would have been Edgar Wright. He made Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Game Over.

[vemana]

This is gold. This spoof has more brains than all the ones it makes fun of put together. Also it is very well written, even the obligatory “subscribe please” part.

[vemana]

#SeeThis: You can fast forward through this or let it play on a big screen in the background as you get on with your life. But you gotta see (bits of) this. Extra Vehicular Activity aboard the ISS. (via EVAGo Pro : NASA : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive)

[vemana]

Top Gear As Is

Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended. He had come to the brink of this many times before but this time they actually did it. Whatever the issues behind the scenes might be, they don’t concern me. What I like is the show, Top Gear, as Is.

Before I go on, I need to state that I love cars and not just the Top Gear kind which are mostly wildly expensive and out of my range, ever. I believe in a car future (driverless cars and all) and would like to see many more shows on cars especially those which think on a larger scale from public policy to public transportation too. Yes, eco feminism is a great stance for a show and I agree there needs to be one. But it doesn’t have to be and I believe mustn’t be Top Gear.

The thing is Top Gear is not really a car show. It is a comedy show about 3 old pals with different temperaments doing crazy things, around the world and on their test track, in cars. Cars are frankly just a premise for an otherwise reality show about exotic automobiles and places. Do you think Top Gear would be as great if they replace it with 3 other blokes? No! Top Gear is a worldwide phenomenon since it is silly, crass, over the top and mindless fun. The people who watch it know and respectfully disagree on most issues but they still love the show. It is not that hard actually since Top Gear is like Two and Half Men for cars, but only much, much funnier (obviously Clarkson is the boy here). It was frankly funnier than The Big Bang Theory at its peak. Oh wait while we are at it, can we make that show politically correct too? I don’t like their portrayal of geeks and waitresses. 

In the name of political correctness don’t stifle fun or creativity. Yes, I know they say the foulest things, the audience knows it and often the hosts themselves acknowledge it too. There are other shows like Fifth Gear which talks about sensible stuff, real life and so on. Leave Top Gear be.

p.s: I am not really sure what the ‘fracas’ behind the scenes was. If Jeremy did behave unprofessionally, he should be treated/fined/suspended as any other BBC employee/host/star. My concern is here about all those shouts about changing the show.

[vemana]

Rewire our brains

This Internet era of information explosion and ubiquity will end up upending the way we deal with information. In the long run it will rewire our brains and modify our genes over the next few hundred years.

How asphyxiating will be 'network unavailable' will be for a youth of the 3014? Will he survive the system error?

Will that be enough to eliminate the species? Or will we develop the art of being comfortable in our skin without being wrapped my electromagnetic waves?

[vemana]

This song is stuck like gum on my shoe. But in a good way. Pharell William's Happy is no undiscovered gem. It was featured on the Despicable Me 2 OST.

It is a genuinely happy song. The video, the tune, the lyrics are all happy, happy, happy... I dont know how can one not fall in love with it. 

On top of this well made song, they made a lovely project 24hoursofhappy for it. The video embedded above is an edit of 24 hours of this song putting people in happy jives. They call it the first ever 24 hour music video, but I think the beauty of it is in the execution on the site http://24hoursofhappy.com. Whatever time you visit it, there is someone dancing to the beat. Dont like the one dancing, just hit next or back and the next person appears while the song continues without jumping back to the start. 

Also Pharell Williams makes the visit to dance to it, every hour. Wish more songs were made creative projects like this. 

[vemana]

Love this ad by Johnny Walker featuring Jenson Button. Nothing new here but very well executed. It has a lot of repeat value and love the score. Apparently it has been around for a while. I just discovered it over the weekend through a youtube ad. 

[vemana]

'The Fragile' is one of the most underrated albums of all time. Nine Inch Nails is an epic act and I must say ironically it has a very calming effect on me. 

Must check out the albums of Closer and With Teeth. They are brilliant. I am off to listen to their latest album 'Hesitation Marks'

[vemana]

Clinton Cerejo is back on Coke Studio with an amazing medley of songs. The episodes with AR Rehman and Ram Sampath were good. This was amazing. Check out the others in this playlist.

Really looking forward to the Amit Trivedi episode. 

[vemana]

BBC is the new HBO. Putting out quality drama, all year round. And lots of it.  This is an amazing trailer of their lineup. 

Everyone watches Sherlock. Doctor Who is breaking into mainstream big time! The Hour was good as long as it lasted. But it is not just about the Series. It is about their movie length episodes of mini series with fascinating subjects, greats cast and thrilling storytelling.  

Cant wait to watch Peter Capaldi (the next doctor) in the Musketeers

I am going to make an effort to watch all the line up. What about you?

[petercapaldy]

[vemana]

The twelve doctors!

[vemana]

(via Amusing Ourselves to Death: Huxley vs Orwell | High Existence)

[vemana]

Shaair ie Monica Dogra on a Dualist Inquiry track.

Dualist Inquiry has been my favourite find of recent time. The EP's Dualism and Doppelganger were just wow