We Get the Massage


Ego Massage. That's what most traditions are about. From ragging to hazing to initiations and lots of more complex rituals and traditions. Its because someone gets to feel important at that time. The origin or the nature of the act is lost to everyone. The primary motive is forgotten and the act itself becomes a twisted perversion, a baseless caricature of itself.

Take club initiations or ragging for instance. What were rituals to select appropriateness of candidature or a mode of interaction and getting settled in now become a source of fun and ego massage for the people who hold what the deem is a form of power over the powerless. It's about reassuring themselves about their importance.

That is what most often happens in the name of traditions. People obeying like sheep to mindless rituals because they are too stupid to rebel or think differently or simply too afraid. And then they get in that position of power sometime or the other and exploit that same fear or stupidity in others. The never ending circle - Fear, Stupidity and Payback doing their three way tango for all of eternity.


2010 OUT....ONWARD TO 1111 (1/1/2011)

ExpressionLESS


expressionism is everything. People have half a thought in their heads and they don't let it simmer, let it form properly. It's immediately a Facebook Update. Or a MySpace tagline. Or
a messenger status. Whatever happened to thinking things over? The urge to make themselves be heard is becoming everything. No one wants to weigh the pros and cons or let the thought mature into something better into something more beautiful. Imagine if that is what poets did. Weird couplets and lazy limericks would be all that we ever had. And we would have no epics or sagas or novels. Just simple short stories at best. People no longer realise the beauty of letting an idea take root and germinate, grow and expand and finally turn into a well formed observation.

There are deeper things at work. There are actions and consequences and motivations and the parallel impacts and tangential implications and millions of other things to consider. Often if we ruminate we find our opinion changing or it undergoes metamorphosis into something entirely different. But we never stop and consider. Hence we enter the age of minor witticisms but nothing that is deep or thought provoking.

Review: PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME


So yeah, yet another video game franchise has been adapted to the cinema. Well, the writers didnt want to be boxed in with an already vast storyline so they decided to go their own way. Wait, what? so the story is not the game fans are familiar with? and you cannot control the characters with ur keyboard/mouse or console? So what's in it for the game fans? Just the name I'm afraid. Unless they find Jake Gyllenhaal's bare torso appealing.

So we have the name. And to justify it there has to be ancient persia and a prince. I like the touch that the prince was an orphan adopted by the king. But thats shades of Alladin. And not to mention the pet thing that everyone wants to draw parallels to these days. The American Imperialistic stance. Mostly its done covertly or subtly with glimpses here and there. But here it is in your face. Sample this: Attack on a small neutral kingdom under the guise of mass weapons being forged there. Sound familiar? Or someone moving away to set up illegal industry to evade taxes. And then being lured to help with promise of tax free gold. Too much I tell you. Maybe they should have saved some of it for the sequels.

Now we know that wise characters in fantasy are supposed to speak with a british accent. Apparently it gives the procceedings a touch of class. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gandalf etc. But the street orphan and the princes and outlaws ...in fact, almost everyone here sporting a British accent? What were they thinking? Maybe they thought it would make it a touch more persian. Thank God they didnt throw in carpets galore. If theyre already speaking English, authenticity is pretty much out of the window. Might as well carry on with an american accent. It's truly infuriating to see Jake struggle through a British accent. And as if to encroach a bit on
another popular Ubisoft franchise Assassin's Creed they even threw in Hassassin's for good measure. Anachronistically and with completely misplaced origins of course. At the pace with which the secondary characters start winding up dead you can pretty much surmise what is going to happen in the end.

I will give the makers brownie points for not trying to foist digital 3D on us for a change. The visuals are nice, its an enjoyable ride. For those who consider themselves intellectuals but are pathetic enough to derive their intellectual stimulation exclusively through works of fiction and cinematic works, too bad. Go read a really deep and meaningful comic book I guess. Those who live their life, have a life and are looking for some entertainment - I guess it could be worth a watch.

A tip: Do not sit next to crazed teenage girls. They will ooh and aaah, pretend to be disgusted at the kissing scenes. Wince and tut loudly at even PG rated violence. In fact, for once I found myself siding with the hecklers who ended up hecking these two irritating girls I was unfortunate enough to be seated next to.

How to Meet an Alien Contingent

Patriotism. A fervor of nationalistic pride that drives us to make our country better than the rest. Yeah, right. Advancement and betterment is the last thing on our minds. Certainly not through our actions. It is as absurd as supporting a sports team because it belongs to a particular place or region. When was the last time any of the jingoistic people contributed positively or constructively towards improving conditions in their country? Politicians of course promote this tendency. For some, it is only regional politics that gives them any value. That particular region, that small piece of land is what they associate their identity with. All their power is derived from that.

Being born in a place is not a concious decision. We do not choose our place of birth. Do we ever stop and think what makes our land more special than any other? We feel that ours is the best. And somewhere someone else feels the same about his own piece. Can both be right? The philosophy that would better suit is MY PIECE OF LAND SHOULD BE THE BEST. But that would involve taking a look at the flaws and working towards rectifying them. And that is altoghether too much work. So we adapt easily to the philosophy of mindless unquestioning jingoism. The very notion that you could appreciate some other place or something that was a part of what can be considered a 'rival' nation is unacceptable, sacrilege. Unpatriotic. We hate having things thrust upon them. Even the concept of religion is questioned by people and not just accepted wholeheartedly without question. We pick and choose everything. Life has become more and more like a supermarket. But anything that appeals to the bestial nature, the more basic of instincts can overrule reason. Religion is still that for some people. Jingoism is that mantra for many people.

And everything at our convinience mind you. We would not support a Dempo or a Mohun Bagan Bengal. It has to be Manchester United (I certainly do) or an Arsenal or a Barcelona. But anything where India has a competent chance we have to support India. Cricket for example. We are hypocritical enough to still keep calling hockey our national game. And of course cricket isnt a game here. Its a religion. You have to support the national team of course. After all they were born where you were. Merit be damned. Sport fanatics are not about merit. Its mindless animalistic jingoism.

We talk about globalisation, about world becoming a global village. And on the other hand we cannot get beyond regional differences let alone national ones. Support your national team. Of course my country is the best. I am blind to all its flaws even as I tout historic gloriousness as if they were my own achievements. The only way to categorically analyse is to look objectively. And jingoism is hardly objective.


We look for extraterrestial life. We fervently search for signs of intelligence life elsewhere. An important point to note about most science fiction epics. In the future when we do make first contact, the world is conviniently under a global unified leadership. Even the several worlds of star wars have single leaderships. Just saying. Can we honestly persent a globalised unified face? If an alien contingent were to present itself would we be able to greet it unanimously? Improbable I think. We would be squabbling over who gets to garland them. Who gets to welcome them. And if Lalit Modi has his way, there would be a bidding war over who gets to be part of the delegation. We might be successful in our quest for intelligence life on other planets. The unfortunate aliens who would meet us would sadly be disappointed on that count.

What would it take to unite us beyond petty differences? Sadly a bigger problem. Maybe an alien invasion? And uniting in face of bigger problems is always temporary. Actively working to make something worth being proud of. To be able to make an honest assessment without letting reason being obscured and then working to remove the flaws. Or am I being too optimistic?