Great Snakes!

A Tintin movie we will be graced with soon. Exciting stuff! We have had a few Asterix movies over the years. The last one being Asterix and the Vikings which was released in April last year (based on Asterix and the Normans). Not sure if the movie (which is animated - good old 2D animation at that - no Cars and The Invincibles jazz) did well. Haven't seen any traces of the movie here although the hardback comicbook with the same title is widely available. Search on the web doesn't show up many favourable reviews for the movie. The last live Asterix movie was released in 2002 - Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. Sony Pix recently screened the movie on cable TV. I somehow wasn't able watch the movie even for a little while since I didn't like it at all. No offence to Gerard Depardieu, he may be a wonderful actor but he is no Underzo's Obelix. Often when comic book characters transcend to the movies, it can affect the man in the comic. I now can't picture the face of Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne as they are in the Marvel or DC Comics. The faces of Toby Maguire and Christian Bale cloud the mind. Maybe I liked the Batman and Spiderman movies because the real heros - Batman and Spiderman are defined more by the costumes (which are portrayed pretty well in the movies) they wear and not by their alter egos - Parker and Wayne. But show me a Gerard Depardieu with a wig in a blue and white striped pants - I won't see Obelix because an Obelix without the large nose, the exaggerated slipped chest, huge arms, the bright yellow pigtails is not Obelix - all I will see is a large French actor.

What I am trying to come to is that I am really happy that the Tintin trilogy (Yes! Three movies. The first one is to be directed by Spielberg, the second by Peter Jackman) will be animated movies. That is a good thing. Movies like Finding Nemo, Shrek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are testament to the huge advances made in computer animation and it's application to movies. I feel that there is a high chance that the magic of the Herge characters will be captured on the big screen. Time will tell but I have my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, if you think you know your Tintin covers, grab a pencil and take the quiz. Cheating encouraged. Any opportunity to grab a Tintin is not to be squandered.

1. On which cover(s) can we not see Tintin's face?
2. On which cover(s) can we not see Snowy?
3. Which cover(s) depict a land vehicle?
4. Which cover(s) contain examples of foreign writing?
5. Which cover(s) are set inside, as opposed to outdoors?
6. On which cover(s) do the Thompsons appear?
7. Which cover depicts a moment that comes earliest in the story?
8. Which cover depicts a moment that comes latest in the story?
9. Which cover depicts a moment that does not appear in the story at all?
10.On which cover(s) is Tintin the only live human?

The answers are posted in the comments section.

All 10 correct - You are a Thundering Typhoon
More than 8 correct - You are a Blue Blistering Barnacle
More than 5 correct - You are a Cachinnating Cockatoo
More than 3 correct - You are a Jellied Eel!
More than 1 correct - You are a Duck-billed Platypus
1 correct - You are a Macrocephalic Baboon
None correct - You are a Guano-gatherer

Questions taken from this Tintin site. Has some great articles.

Remembering Baba

I searched the net for the lyrics of Baba Sehgal's Thanda Thanda Paani. The search coughed up many many links for mp3 downloads, but I could discern no sites that would have the lyrics. The song is mentioned in many blogs though - testament to the many Baba Sehgal lovers out there. Yes, we are not alone! I also dare to think there will be a pattern to it - most of the Baba fans would have been born in the late 70s or the early 80s - making them between 10 to 18 years of age when Baba burst on the scene with Dil Dhadke (Pooja Bedi - If you though she was hot in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar you haven't seen her in Baba's video) and Thanda Thanda Paani. I don't think people any younger or older than 10 and 18 resp in the early 90s would have been in the right frame of mind to like / appreciate his songs. The adoloscent psyche - always wanting something new and different, something that doesn't follow the rules, something unique. They got it in Baba' songs which were Wacky but Witty, Boorish but Brilliant.

I used to impress my friends with my rendition of Thanda Thanda Paani - I knew the lyrics by heart. I remember feeling so smug about it. During the tape recorder and pre-Google days, finding out the lyrics was either very tedious and time consuming (play-strain ears-rewind-play-make assumptions) or very expensive (Archies used to sell Lyrics books! The best Love songs compilation, The best Rock songs, whatever). I didn't get much pocket money so it was no mean achievement that I could sing quite a few of Baba's songs. [I don't mean to brag but I also knew Snow and MC Shan's Informer word for word - Inforrrmer, you no say blah blah blah a licky boom boom down!].

This is what I remember of the Thanda Thanda Paani song lyrics. I am going to search for the cassette today and hope that I find it and hope even more that it still plays. I have a feeling that I have missed out a few lines - a refresh would do no harm - in fact I think it will be refreshing!

Thanda Thanda Paani (Baba Sehgal) (1992)

Mai five star hotel pehli baar gaya Maine dekha paani se bhara swimming pool Aaya manager Bola baithiye please sir sir sir aap ki seva mai main haazir hu kuch farmaaiye boliye kya aap ko chahiye?

Thanda Thanda Paani
Thanda Thanda Paani

Mere saron mei tha dard Haan bhukar one oh one Mujhe khani thi one goli Maine bola you are very jolly manager Kuch uncha sunthe hain aap Maine maanga nahi khana tandoori Mujhe lagte ho languri Sorry sir Main naya hoon employee Mujhe naukri na bhayee Phir bhi karoonga boliye boliye Kya aap ko chahiye

Thanda Thanda Paani
Thanda Thanda Paani

Waiter bhi aaya Aur cold drink laya Mera sar chakraya Mein bola Bhaya kya laya aur chilya Call the president Staff ghabraya jab president aaya Mera man machala Dekha soni kudi laal sariwali aage khadi hai madam

Boliye aap ne kyon bulwaya mujhe Kya problem hai sir Kuch nahi kuch nahi Yeh to chalta rehta hai bus yun hi Nahi nahi sir Hum hotel ki taraf se aapse maafi maangte hain Confession bhi karte hain Kya aap ko chahiye

Thanda Thanda Paani
Thanda Thanda Paani

Paani maine piya aur bola shukriya Madam ne bhi kaha aate rahiyega Hamari is bhool ko bhool jaayega Tab tata maine kiya aur Wada bhi kiya Phir nikla hotel se Thinking madam madam Thinking madam madam

Dhyaan mujhe aaya ki maine poocha nahi naam Maine chi chi chi chi poocha nahi naam Arey bhool gaya main kyon Bhool gaya main kyon Maine ek ladki ka naam nahi poocha ra ra ra riba bari riba bari baa

Dubara gaya hotel seedhe madam ka president room aur chilaya Madam aapka naam kya hai Madam ne bhi dekha mere maathe ka pasina Boli naam bhi bataongi pehle kuch lenge aap

Thanda Thanda Paani
Thanda Thanda Paani

Yo man let's get out of here. Word to your mother.

One Track Mind

I always have a tough time explaining to my wife why I like Lego Trains. I guess it's because Lego trains tantalize the standard male brain. The link doesn't seem to be valid anymore but I have a saved copy of the article.

My sons and I saw a wonderland the other day, an eye-popping place where tiny trains snaked around scale-model skyscrapers and silos, steeples and suspension bridges.

And everything was made of Lego blocks.

"This is so cool," enthused 8-year-old Jake, as his little brother Luke let out a yelp.

My wife's reaction, though, was a bit more reserved at the National Train Show, held over the weekend in Philadelphia.

"What is it about the male mind?" asked Julie -- sadly, not for the first time.

Now, in fairness, she enjoyed the show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center -- especially the 8,000-square-foot Lego landscape, made of more than 2 million plastic pieces.

I mean, who can resist the lure of Legomotives as they chug past a hobbyist's painstaking version of downtown Columbus, Ohio, or an almost-8-foot model of a Detroit high-rise?

And you have to admire the architectural daring that adorns an office building's roof with a little plastic sniper -- who's about to be netted by Spiderman.

"I didn't know you could do that with Legos," my wife allowed at one point.

But I could hear the sentiment left unsaid:

"Or why you'd want to."

And at that point, she didn't even know about the guy who spent $17,000 to create a building out of Lego blocks in a particularly hard-to-find color.

The crowd was mostly male, of course, and mesmerized by a show that marketed tiny palm trees, rubber rocks and something called Goo Gone to help clean your tracks.

Hey, you can't spell locomotive without loco.

A spokeswoman for the National Model Railroad Association, the show's nonprofit sponsor, had a theory.

"It's primarily engines," said Mary Sudasassi. "That kind of thing appeals to men -- anything that has a motor and a cool sound. And I think it has a lot to do with fathers handing it down to their sons."

As the mothers look on, bewildered.

Lego railroads have gathered steam in the past decade, said Steve Barile of Portland, Ore., president of the International Lego Train Club Organization.

"Our club numbers keep increasing worldwide," said Barile, whose group has about 340 members in 34 organizations. (My favorite club is Michiana, which was made by snapping southern Michigan onto northern Indiana.)

These guys, and a few women, spend lots of time and money on their hobby -- and they follow some strict rules.

"We don't glue or paint anything and we don't cut the pieces," said Paul Janssen, 38, of Dublin, Ohio, a Lego modeler who is an assistant professor of cardiovascular physiology at Ohio State University. "That's part of the challenge."

"Some people have money and space, so they'll store their buildings," added Janssen, whose name tag is made of multi-colored Legos. "Others just tear them down and build something else."

Oh, there's one more explanation for all this -- from my wife.

"The trains go around in circles and they spin their wheels a lot," she observed after we had been gawking for more than hour. "And they have lots of near-misses and occasional derailments -- just like you."

Wow. She finally gets it.

Tombe weds Rose

One of the most emailed and read articles on the BBC website.

24 February 2006 The Wedding

03 May 2007 The Funeral

04 May 2007 The Obituary

Blaaze of Glory

There's a song by Blaaze feat Kalyani called Ban the Police doing the rounds on a few music channels. The song is about the corrupt police and mentions the controversial criminal trials of recent times - Jessica Lal, Bilkis Bano, Gujarat riots etc. Is always heartening when music talks about sensitive topics, touches upon social issues. Have always believed that music is not just limited to making people tap their feet, it is a powerful medium to spread information, awareness, emotions. It is sad that in this country, music is ruled by the movies (Will limit myself to the popular music scene - ghazals, religious songs we shall not touch upon here). The evidence is in the successes of Sunita Rao, Baba Seghal, Remo Fernandes which are absolutely nothing compared to that of the Mangeshkar sisters, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Udit Narayan.

Remo is probably known more for the title song of the movie Jalwa and Humma Humma (Bombay) than any of his other efforts. His other efforts include his anti-drugs album Pack That Smack (1986 - didn't know of it either till I looked up Wiki) and also the 1992 Politicians Don't Know to Rock'n'Roll. I think I remember the cover vividly - Remo in a dhoti and topi with an electric guitar. The songs in the album were about the communal violence, politics and AIDS. Everybody wants to uuungh without the fear of AIDS went one song. The lyrics are probably funny bordering on silly but the intent is beyond reproach. Remo didn't want his songs to just sound good, he wanted them mean to something as well. By the way, he received a Padma Shri (The award is fourth in the hierarchy of civilian awards in India after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan) for Art this year. (Lata Mangeshkar happens to be a Bharat Ratna (2002) and a Padma Bhushan (1999) awardee).

I hope Blaaze's new song gets lots of airtime on the music channels. It is a good song and I want lots of people to listen to it and like it. He also sang the rap song in the Bunty and Bubli movie and is a playback singer for the soundtrack of the new Rajnikant movie - Sivaji:The Boss. He has stated in an interview that his first foray into Bollywood was the East or West song from Judwa for which he did not get any credit. So this man is not new to the Indi-music scene.

Indipop (non-filmi music) is important because it offers an outlet for songs that don't fit in movies. It offers scope to artists to sing about life, problems, people, politics, poetry, philosophy, love without having to confirm to the plot of a movie or be bound by the confines of a movie script. Hindi movie songs are invariably about festivals, friendship, betrayal, happiness, sorrow or are meaningless. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Kajrare and the Dhoom Machale but I probably wouldn't listen to them a year from now.

Nazia Hasan and Alisha Chinai sowed the seeds for Indipop in the 80s - IndiPakPop would be more accurate since Nazia was from Pakistan but doesn't matter since she was such a big hit here too. Music composer / producer Biddu had a large part to play in the career of these women. Nazia Hasan with Disco Diwane and Alisha with Babydoll.

Indipop bloomed in the 90s with Sharon Prabhakar, Usha Utthup, Lucky Ali (Sunoh), Baba Sehgal (Thanda Thanda Paani - masterpiece!), Shweta Shetty (Johnny Joker!), Daler Mehndi (Bolo Tara Rara - awesome), Sunita Rao, Shaan and Sagarika. These guys took Indipop higher. The introduction of cable TV and MTv helped.

But the 21st century has been so disappointing. The rules of Indipop for this century have been the 3 Rs - Raunchy video, bhangRa, Remix. An Indipop song had to be one or even better all of the three. In fact it's now more about the videos than the songs. In recent times, Indipop has been making famous the people in the music videos and not the person behind the voice - Deepal Shaw, Rakhi Sawant, Meghna Naidu, Mumait Khan, Shefali Zariwala, Negar Khan. I am ashamed to say that I think that I can probably name more models in music videos than the Indipop groups - Euphoria, Bombay Vikings, Bally Sagoo, Indian Ocean, ... (need help here!)

What I am trying to say is that Indipop sees to have stagnated and is going backwards. It's hard to put up a brave front or be optimistic when the success formula seems to be as simple as getting pretty women to dance to just about any song in a pub, in a tub, in the jungle, in the office, at home, in a car wash, in a disco, on a tree and just about wherever possible. Occasionally artists like Blaaze with his Ban the Police, A R Rehman with Pray for me brother offer some hope that Indipop will be revived but its a cruel and one sided battle that these guys are fighting.

I am not a betting man and even if i were one I wouldn't wager that the revival is going to happen any time soon.

The Long and Short of It

Embarassing stuff this is. More so since it has been on the BBC's Most Emailed / Most Read articles for the last three days. All the Brits are probably having a good snigger or two over their evening Earl Grays. Going back to the article - two questions immediately popped to the distraught mind - Surely 1200 men do not a nation make, and what if it's true? Statistical analysis are prone to errors aren't they especially when with such a small number, such large inferences are derived! Or are the Indians really not cut out to international standards.

If you, dear reader, haven't visited the link yet, I shall try and get the gist of it in the next few sentences. The title of the BBC article reads "Condoms 'too big' for Indian men". I think that one sentence is enough for the gist after all. On to the substance then. 1200 men from various classes, religions, villages, cities were checked for length and breadth and it seems that they didn't set no statisticians pen on fire. The failure rate for condoms (falling off/tearing) in India is high - one in five times (Where do they get this kind of information?!!). And that custom-made condoms (read smaller) should be introduced since those made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men.

The Ego has crash landed...

Now I don't know how these 1200 men volunteered for the survey. I wouldn't take it too kindly if a chappie with a measuring tape came up to me and asked me drop everything and raise it so that he can then measure it. So firstly, I am not too sure of the kinda men who were actually measured. No self-respecting, virile and well endowed Indian male would have stood for such nonsense - a bunch of wusses these surveyors must have run into and cowed them into standing in front of the tape. Moving on to the next possible flaw in the survey. The measurements need to happen when the thingy is at its best - that would have called for the volunteers to get it to the maximum. Now that would take some stimulation. How can I be sure that the surveyors had high quality material with them to get the volunteer's blood flowing. Was the erotic stuff textual or was it visual? Did it take into account the participant of the survey's individual taste and kinks? I dont't think so. So the chances are that due to the lack of good infrastructure the most of the 1200 men didn't get it to their maximum. I mean there is the real large probability that they could have stuck a better pose and raked up a couple of more centimetres on the ruler if they were shown their favourite porn star in action. Finally, onto the actual process of measurement. The article mentions that the measurements done were accurate to the last millimetre. I remember my Physics teacher telling the class long ago that the instrument that is the daddy of all measuring tools is vernier callipers - it takes it down to the millimetre and more. Since the survey claims to have been very precise with the readings I assume that this would have been their tool of choice. One thing I vividly remember about the contraption was that it was extremely cold - steely and very very cold. It also had a couple of sharp points. Now when I imagine the cold steel with the pointy things taking readings I can't help but feel that it would most certainly have had a damping effect on the poor soul that is being measured. Kinda like the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. If the calliper touches, it would shrink, if the calliper doesn't touch, reading would be inaccurate. Either way, it points to more skew in the conclusions drawn.

These are the three compelling arguments I have in defence of the slandered Indian male.

Excerpts from the article

But Indian men need not be concerned about measuring up internationally according to Sunil Mehra, the former editor of the Indian version of the men's magazine Maxim. "It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters," he said.

"From our population, the evidence is Indians are doing pretty well.

"With apologies to the poet Alexander Pope, you could say, for inches and centimetres, let fools contend."

On a not so relevant note, I must mention that the survey was done in Delhi. (I live in Bombay by the way)

Poxy Pixels Turn Pricey

The chap who made a million dollars by selling a million pixels at a dollar each as advertising space on a website is at it again. (All the ads contain links to websites.) This time though each pixel is going to cost two dollars. The minimum cost of an advert is 200 dollars (the minimum that one needs to pay - for a space of 10 x 10 pixels). One dollar goes into Alex Tew's kitty and one gets added to a pot which when will finally be handed over to a lucky surfer. One month after the final pixel is sold one advertisment from the page will be randomly chosen and another draw will determine one surfer who had clicked on the chosen advert - the surfer gets a million dollars. I was wondering how the site administrator would know who clicked on which advert. It turns out that you need to create an id on the site and then login before setting off on the clicking spree to increase your chances of winning the jackspot. However you are allowed to click on only a maximum of 10 ads a day. The new site has sold around 75000 pixels so far.
I spent some time going though many of the adverts put up on the original page - most of the adverts are for online gambling sites, there are quite a few dating / networking sites, there are sites that have aped the idea (this site was launched on 11 Jan 2006 and has sold around 200 thousand pixels so far, 800 thousand more to go), adverts for medicinal cures for hairloss, organ enlargement and so on. Advertisement of pornographic sites is not allowed though (like they need any you may say eh!). At the end of it, I really don't think there were any sites except for the Internet Yellow Pages) which seemed useful or were of interest. (The site still gets 7000 hits a day and at it's peak it used to get around a million hits a day!). The point is, the site made money only because of the novelty of the whole thing, because Alex thought of something noone else in the world had thought about. Grudging envy - my feelings on Mr Alex Tew - the 21 year old who made his million bucks in 5 months - purely on the strength of an idea. I wish him luck on his new Pixelotto venture.
Are ideas spontaneous or is motivation needed for an idea to germinate? (Alex needed money for his education and was thinking of ways to make some). When was the last time I thought of something innovative that at least made me feel good even if it didn't make me any money...I don't know. Imagination - I need to work on it.

Base Bose

The time once came when I decided to move on from Sony HiFi systems and set up a home theatre. I had procured an amplifier and a dvd player. I had to go speaker shopping. I grew up hearing a lot about these amazingly small speakers that belt out awesome sound. So the first in the list of probable speakers was Bose. Have you ever visited a Bose showroom? If not I heartily recommend that you make a beeline to the nearest store this weekend when time permits. It makes for a nice experience. I have been to showrooms here in Bombay quite a few times. It never fails to give me a kick. Before proceeding I must state that I have nothing against the salespeople there. They are smart and very friendy. They can also without fail keep smiling for ten minutes without a shortening of the arc which stretches from ear to ear. The demo usually takes around five minutes and is done in batches of five - for the home theatre demo they will normally play the horses scene from Fellowship Of The Ring - Lovely Liv being pursued by the wicked wraiths or the Quidditch cup clip from Harry Potter. They will pause twice in between the demo and ask you to pay special attention to the sound coming from all corners of the room and how crisp the chants of limpid eyed Liv sound. They say it with such vehemence - it is as if till now all you were doing is staring at luscious Liv and trying to listen to the hum of the air conditioner and not paying any attention at all to the speakers. And when the scene is over with a florish he or she will without fail ask you "Wasn't that wonderful!?". They make you feel as if they had just put on a magic show or performed a small miracle. (If you stand up and applaud they will probably take a bow).
Then when you ask them for the specifications of the speakers they reply that Bose doesn't believe in putting numbers to their speakers. No sir. Impedence, sensitivity, frequency response, crossover frequency is all classified information and would be of no use to the customer. We are to let only our ears do the judging when buying Bose. The first time they said that to me I couldn't believe anyone selling speakers can say that to a customer. Yes, the ears have the maximum say in the decision to decide on a particular speaker but the specifications add greatly to the judgement. Any questions on technical details are just not encouraged or met with vague answers. It was apparant that the guys at Bose are not very interested in selling just the speakers. What they want for you to do is to buy their whole system - all the jewel cubes, the media center and the bulky Acoustimass module. The product line is called Lifestyle. That says a lot to me. The reason I became anti-Bose is not because of the quality of their products (which is really good) nor the fact that they have serious competitors (there are many), it is because of their marketing strategy - "Don't question us. Just buy our product". It is not about music, It is about "Lifestyle". They want you to buy Bose, not speakers. It didn't sell to me.

What's in a Name

This is with regards to a post I had put up sometime ago - Unravelling the Womb. This was done with the intention of following it up with another explaning the reason for posting a wierd drawing with the curious title. The time has come.

I was reading up on paintings and downloaded random works of a few famous artists. The names of some of them struck me. They ranged from the very simple to the highly abstract. It set me thinking as to how much thought does a painter have to put into naming his creation. How pertinent is the title of a painting or sculpture for an artist. It looks like the title assumes different levels of importance for different artists. It must have been a very easy task for some - One of Renoir's painting shows a girl with a watering can standing in a garden. Renoir called the painting A Girl with a Watering Can (1876) - it can't get simpler than that. Thoreau would have been mighty pleased with Renoir.

Dali takes it to the other extreme - The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954). It is tough to conjure up a picture on hearing the title. It is equally tough to make any sense of it on having a look at it too. It has a fish, lots of bricks, a couple of leafless trees, watches that seem to be melting with the hands floating over them. It seems that to Dali this painting symbolises "the psychological effect that the advent of the atomic bomb had on humanity"!!! (Wiki's my source) I bet you a million bucks that there was no way you would have come up with that unless you had heard or read about it.

The point is that the title can be very straightforward in many cases and it can often be vague with no obvious connect to the painting. Does a seemingly cyyptic title enhance the appeal of the painting by making the viewer try and think about what was going through the artist's mind when he was creating the work of art? I think it does. The average man would walk past Renoir's painting thinking Aaah, girl with the watering can, how sweet, those are very pretty colours. The same man will stop for more than a while at the Dali trying to figure out what the boxes and the jellyfish have to do with memory and disintegration.

Another enigmatic one is Paul Gauguin's painting that is called Where Do We Come From, What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897) Bill Watterson's Calvin had a very ready answer to Gauguin's queries. "I came from my room, I'm a kid with big plans, and I'm going outside!". Gauguin would not have agreed. His masterpiece portrays more profound thoughts. Gauguin's thoughts on the whole of humanity. The characters in the painting depict different stages of life. The painting is to be "read" from the right to left, starting with birth and ending with death and beyond.

I think artists stopped being concerned with just the composition, form and colours. They wanted their paintings to have a character that was an extension of the artist themselves, wanted the painting to portray opinions and philosophy. The titles have thus kept getting more obscure with time (or so I feel).

Painting Eras of the last century and a quarter - Impressionism giving way to the Post Impressionist period followed by the Expression, Abstraction, and Fantasy and then Surrealism.

Monet (1840-1926) - Water Lily Pond (1899), Impression: Sunrise (1872) (Impressionist)

Renoir (1841-1919) - Girl With a Hoop (1885), On The Terrace (1881), Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876) (Impressionist)

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) - The Yellow Christ (1889), The Spirit of the Dead Keeps Watch (1892) (Post Impressionist)

Van Gogh (1853-1890) - The Potato Eaters (1885), Still Life with Absinthe (1887) (Post Impressionist)

Dali (1904-1989) - The Persistence of Memory (1931), Soft Construction With Boiled Beans (1936), The Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937), Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944) (Surrealist)

Calling a rose a rose is not going to raise any eyebrows. Calling it Layers of Love on Thorns might add a new dimension to it.

When I Grow Up

Yesterday's paper had an article on Neil Patrik Harris. He has announced that he is gay. His lover is a fellow actor of name David Burtka. Seems they have acted together in the sitcom that Harris is currently starring in, How I Met Your Mother. It was strange - the emotions that coursed through me when assimilating the news on Harris. It has been well over 12 years since all ties between him and me were severed. I am talking about Doogie Howser M.D. It used to be one of my favourite serials when I was in school and Harris played the young doctor who juggles work and adolescence. It had things that are the worries of any teenager - peer pressure, girls, best friends, sports, unravelling life. Was easy putting myself in his shoes (although he was a practising doctor and I was struggling with high school). Then I went to college, Doogie Howser dropped off my radar. Now suddenly Doogie is back and he's back to say that he's gay. I was certainly surprised. Doogie had a steady and sweet girlfriend called Wanda! I also haven't met anyone who is gay so my impression is only that which is stereotyped and somehow Doogie doesn't confirm to that. It all just goes to show how much one tends to associate the actors to the roles they portray on screen.

The article also made me look up on what Fred Savage is doing nowadays. This dude played Kevin Arnold in Wonder Years. I liked this serial more than Doogie Howser M.D. Kevin was the more realistic sort - has a hard time in school, gets bullied, doesn't score wonderful grades, not great at sports. As with Doogie I lost all contact via the TV with Kevin once I moved to college and I missed the last few seasons. In real life, it turns out that Fred later graduated from Stanford, is married to a Jennifer Stone, became a father in Aug 2006, is working on a serial called Crumbs. His girlfriend in Wonder Years Winne Cooper was played by Danica McKellar who has majored in Mathematics and has a theorem to her name now! She has also written and directed two short films.

The place that these serials held was what Friends replaced once I grew up. I can't help wishing that Harris and Savage hadn't grown up with me - Doogie Howser and Kevin Arnold just aren't the same people anymore.

On a different note, the last lines of the final Wonder Years episode pretty much sums up the feelings that most of us have about the time gone by...

Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house like a lot of other houses, a yard like a lot of other yards, on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back, with wonder.

You can leave your Hat on...

Was watching Nelly Furtado's recent videos the other day and was pretty amazed to see the changes in the once like-a-bird girl. It was not too long ago she was wondering where her home is, where her soul is. She said her love was true and her love was rare and that she was a bird who'll fly away. Her latest album is called Loose! That sets the tone for the songs. She is a Man Eater who will make you work more, spend more, buy cars, fall hard on love. Then in the next song she says that she's a Promiscuous Girl and tells the promiscuous boy (who claims to know what the promiscuous girl wants and that he has what pg needs) that she's all his and asks what's he waiting for?! *wipes sweat off brow* Phew. Its getting hot in here Nelly. She had certainly put in more thought into the lyrics of the songs (I'm like a bird, Turn off the light, Powerless) in her first two albums (Whoa Nelly, Folklore) but I am not complaining. Loose is cool. Loose is good.

Cristina Aguilera - She was a genie in a bottle and if you wanted to be with her you had to rub her the right way! Suggestive? - certainly, Risque? - I don't think so. Then she came out with the album Stripped. If the title left some scope for imagination the first video removed all doubts - lets get Dirrty - and she wasnt talking about rolling in the mud. She came in for heavy criticism - unjustified I feel. The lady dares to bare, why should anyone care?

Lets not forget Britney Spears. The chaste schoolgirl-like Spears stuck to the good girl image for quite a while, a lot longer than the other ladies who have featured on this post. When she said "Ooops! I did it again" she made it clear what 'it' was. 'It' was just playing with hearts and getting lost in the game. No ambiguity a la Meatloaf and his doing anything for love but not that. Stronger, Lucky, Born to Make You Happy, Crazy - wholesome family pop - dad, mom, daughter, son can all sing and dance along together. Then there was I'm a slave 4 U. Family dancing and singing turned a tad uncomfortable. She followed it up with Toxic, Breathe on Me, Touch My Hand. She kissed Madonna on stage during a gig. It was time for the family dancing and singing together to stop. Dad returns to Jim Reeves, mom to Cliff Richard, sis and bro take the cd to their friends place.

I have to mention Mariah Carey. This was probably the first transformation I took notice of. Hero, Emotions, Dreamlover - songs that you listen to and at the end of which you want to pick her up and be all protective and caring and feel all macho. She also did Christmas carols. Just when you think that she's just that kind of gal mom's discerning eye would be appreciative of, she comes out with the album Butterfly. Honey - it's first single. High high heels, short short skirt, small small top. Mom meeting Mariah was one meeting hastily struck off the calendar. Nice doey eyed Carey dropped clothes at the same time that she claims to have got total creative control over her music. I heartily agree, partly because the songs too were good. The new image however was there to stay. The later albums never had Mariah dancing by the brook in flower filled fields - Dreamlover was a thing of the past.

Four singers who left behind their Miss Goody Two Shoes image and opted for a more sexy and naughty look. Good girls go to heaven, but the bad girls go everywhere?

Painter Man - Deux

From the BBC website

A US casino mogul has pulled out of a deal to sell his Picasso painting for a record $139m (£74m) after accidentally elbowing a hole in the middle.

Mr Wynn, known for gesturing with hands while speaking, was showing the painting at his office at Wynn Las Vegas when he struck it with his right elbow, spokeswoman Denise Randazzo said.

Director and screenwriter Nora Ephron was at the incident and wrote about it on a blog site.

She said Mr Wynn raised his hand then "at that moment, his elbow crashed backward right through the canvas. There was a terrible noise".

"Smack in the middle... was a black hole the size of a silver dollar. 'Look what I've done' he said. 'Thank goodness it was me.'"

Wynn had bought the painting for 48 million dollars in 1997. Had this deal gone through this would have become the most expensive painting ever sold, surpassing the 135 million dollars paid for Gustav Klimt's Adele Bloch-Bauer I in July this year. Now this dude is a billionaire and it seems he has quite an art collection. He paid 17.4 million dollars for a Cézanne self-portrait and 23.5 million dollars for a Renoir in May 2003. He hangs these paintings in his casinos. He is an art collector. Does it automatically mean he is an art lover?

Given the prices it seems pretty hard for an art lover to be an art collector and does the vice versa can hold true? Is it hard for an art collector to be an art lover? Surely I feel. Wynn is careless enough to damage a 75 year old masterpiece when showing it off and all he has to say is 'Look what I've done' - Even if he were a very stoic person I think that's too nonchalant an exclamation from someone who has just irrevocably damaged an irreplaceable and priceless piece of art. Surely the gravity of the situation calls for some display of emotion? I would expect an art lover to show remorse and maybe great anger, not a 'Look what I've done'. I would expect someone to say that when he punches a hole in the cookie jar not in a Picasso. But then Wynn is an art collector.

Gel

This one's for my girl.

Color me any color.
Speak to me in tongues and share.
Tell me how you'd love to hate me.
Tell me how you'd love to care.
Well I just want to shake us up.

Lets mingle
And make it well.
Come together now.
Yeah lets gel.

Clothe me in any fashion.
Glitter to so mundane.
Tell me how you'd love to change me.
Tell me I can stay the same.
I just want to shake us up.

Well lets bungle
And live to tell
How we came together.
Yeah how we gelled.

Collective Soul - 7even Year Itch

Highly recommended album. The best of Collective Soul - Shine, December, The World I know, Gel - all in one lovely cd. Yeah, I still buy audio cds. I have never managed to like or get myself to like mp3- in spite of the pull of sound economics - 100+ songs on a 20 rupee disc. I have tried but all my mp3 cds lie dusty and unused. There is something about getting the originals - the recording quality, the album art, the song listing on the back, the easy browsing between songs. I am not talking mobile listening - the ipod scores over the discman humungously. When at home I like my music on cds. It's funny but I dont feel the same way about books or dvds. Cheap and pirated ones cheer me up any day. I don't get the same pangs of guilt when I pick up Lost or Friends DVDs from the street for a meagre sum. I paid as much for my Collective Soul album as I paid for all the seasons of Lost on DVDs. If you ask me, I think it was a fair deal.

Two of a Kind

I have always loved bands like Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Janis Joplin, Bangles, Cranberries. I think it's something to do with the women in the bands - they were very spunky and gutsy.

Two ladies burst into the music scene in 1995. Both of them were lead singers of their bands. Their music a blend of hip-hop, techno, rock and blues. They were both very pretty. They were also very good songwriters. I am talking about Gwen Stefani and Shirley Manson, of bands No Doubt and Garbage.

The two were very different too. Garbage had a dark, doleful sound to them with songs like Stupid Girl, I Think I Am Paranoid, Queer. Manson also looked that way - with all the dark eyeliner around the melancholic eyes (She had a very troubled childhood it seems - something about being skinny and having no confidence).

No Doubt was more chirpy sounding with Just a Girl, Sunday Morning (Though there was underlying sadness in a couple of their songs of the breakup of a seven year relationship between Gwen and Tony Kanal - the band's bassist - most audible in the song Don't Speak). Their videos also were bright and colourful with Gwen in trackpants or lively frocks.

Spiderwebs was the first No Doubt song I heard and Happy When it Rains formed my introduction to Garbage. Somehow I have always associated one with the other since the very first time I heard them - like Tom and Jerry - You can't think of Tom without Jerry intruding your thoughts and vice versa.

Garbage had two successful albums - Garbage and Version 2.0. I liked both equally but I tend to lean towards their second album. I feel that the band were at the top of their form then. Garbage's drummer Butch Vig is also a record producer and was behind Nirvana's Nevermind success! He has also produced albums for Smashing Pumpkins and Soul Asylum (Runaway Train!) among others. He was also the one who spotted and inducted Manson into the band. Garbage came out with the title song for the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. Their later albums didn't go down well with me. I didn't like the songs too much and more importantly Manson had her hair sheared and dyed. That was such a bummer. I hear that Manson might come out with a solo album soon. I hope she lets her hair grow back by then.

No Doubt did extremely well with Tragic Kingdom and Rock Steady. Their second album Return of Saturn did ok (Gwen turned thirty that year. The planet Saturn takes thirty years to complete one revolution around the sun - thats heavy trivia!). Gwen was well known for the way she carried herself, for the clothes she wore, for style. She popularised the bindhi. She wears one in most of her videos. She came out with her solo album in 2004 - Love, Angel, Music, Baby. The songs are nice (Hollaback Girl, Cool) but I like her more for her No Doubt days - before her L.A.M.B clothing line and fashion dolls days. Seems that the band might get together and come out with an album next year. I can't wait to lay my ears on it.

Been a while since I have been able to do any associating - at least not pairing that happens subconsciously. Alanis Morisette and Sheryl Crow? Madonna and Kylie? Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey? Can't think of any in this century - Avril Lavinge and Pink maybe? None of them match up to Manson and Gwen, not for me.

Painter Man

Why would one buy a painting? To adorn the walls of a house so that home looks better? Because one loves paintings just like someone else likes music? To cover the broken plaster? Because one's brother painted it? Because one is cultured? I can try and maybe eventually relate to all these. The tricky question is how much would I be willing to pay for one...


The most expensive painting ever sold was for $135 million - Portrait of Adele Bloch - Bauer painted by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. Paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso sell for upwards of 60 million dollars. The Mona Lisa may be worth more than 700 million dollars (so Wikipedia says)! There may be hundreds of paintings in the ten million dollars range? Highly possible.

I have to admit, though I have tried, I have never understood why someone would pay so much for a painting. Is it because they have tons of cash lying around and don't know what to do with it? Does looking at a picture indeed provide so much pleasure or satisfaction? Or it the pride that comes in owning something that absolutely noone else in the world has ?

(Is there any other collector's item in the world other than paintings / sculptures that is absolutely unique - coins, stamps are not. Books (original manuscripts) I consider different. A book, unlike a painting, can be duplicated since the essence is in the text not in what kind of paper, font, pen or ink the text was written with. Ming vases? Am not sure but I don't think so).

If someone had only(!?) 100 million dollars with him would he spend all his money to buy a couple Renoirs or Monets and live the rest of his life in penury? Can someone want a painting that bad? Can someone love a painting that much? I am not sure that any of the current Rembrandt or Salvador Dali owners would fall into that category and somehow I cannot picture anyone doing that.

Ego - We don't need Ayn Rand's Anthem to tell us about it. It is one of man's best and worst trait. To have something that noone else has - that would certainly feed the big E. I find this very believable. And I certainly wouldn't think it bad if someone bought an expensive painting just for the pride in being it's owner.

Does looking at the painting provide a subliminal or a spiritual experience? From my experience at the Louvre, I don't think so - at least not for the average man. All everyone wanted to do was rush to where the Mona Lisa was and click as many pictures as they could of her. I was actually expecting a sombre atmosphere with people gaping at the lady in awe and the lady smiling back at them. Instead there I was, blinded by all the camera flashes and found myself elbowing and avoiding elbows to get anywhere close to the picture. I don't think I was able to look at it for more than 15 seconds and I hadn't stopped e and avoiding e during those 15 seconds either. Maybe there were no real art lovers there. Maybe I can never look at a painting with an art lover's eyes and mind. So I can't answer this one. But I certainly would like to think that this plays the biggest role in someone paying a ton of money and picking up a painting.

Whatever be the real reason, I am sure there are enough and more people in the world who will keep the Christie's and Sotheby's very happy in the ages to come.

[Boney M didn't predict a rosy life for the painter man and they may have been right. The most expensive paintings today are those whose creators are long dead.]

Why I like the BBC

The BBC site has live coverage (more of a list of frequent updates) of most sporting events - football, tennis, cricket. It has been the source at office to keep abreast of the scores. Not just because we can't access the sites like cricinfo, rediff cricket etc from office since they have been blocked, it's also because it's fun.

Snippets from the site reporting on the happenings during the second ODI between England and Pakistan being played at Lord's.

1143: Here come the umps. Interesting decision from upstairs - the game has been shortened. By two overs. That's right - it's now 49 overs per side. No way we could have squeezed in an extra 12 balls, old boy - simply impossible. Why, it would have taken a good six minutes.

Someone in a position of influence has been reading these updates - they've now cut the overs per side to 46. Good work, bigwigs.

2nd over: The ball is moving around like a ping-pong ball in a gale. Mohammad Asif has Ian Bell and Trescothick edging into their pads, and the only runs come from hurried singles.

1207: A heavy shower, this one. Every brolly in the house is up. The forecast isn't great for the next few hours either, but we'll keep everything crossed. Except eyes. Otherwise I'll end up typing phrases like this: jdd odfofere, dhepvpbt eiwza.

1235: Still raining. If you've got any urgent odd-jobs to do - de-scaling the kettle, cutting back your toe-nails, phoning your aunt to thank her for the card she sent on your birthday - now might be a good time to get cracking.

1245: Two of the six covers are off! Aunt Veronica will have to wait - we're suddenly looking at a re-start in about 15 minutes time.

8th over: WICKET Trescothick c Younis b Asif 6
It was only a matter of time, and not very much time at that - Trescothick drives wildly at Asif and edges straight to second slip. His feet finally move, but only to take him back to the pavillion.

The blokes there have a wry sense of humour.

Unravelling the Womb

Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young

There is this song that I have heard on the radio many a times. The lyrics always made me smile. I was never able to catch the name of the song or of the artist. I finally saw the video on TV yesterday. The song is called Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)!

The lyrics of the song is actually picked up from an essay that was written by Mary Schmich which appeared in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997. The title of the essay is the title of this post. Doesn't seem to have a very high opinion of youth, this Mary (Another Mary! The exclamation in reference to my previous post).

In 1999, the essay was read out by Australian actor Lee Perry to soft music and backing vocals and that's how the song was born. The song is credited to the Australian film director, Baz Luhrmann, who among others has to his credits the movies Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge (2001).

Lyrics

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.

There's Something About Mary

I hate anything that is ambiguous. I can't handle doubt. I like things spelled out. I like all the angles to be brought to closure in a logical way at some time or the other, before or at the end. Don't get me wrong, I love suspense but it has to be suspense that ends. It can't be left hanging. It can be a book, it can be a movie. There can be numerous threads that weave the story. In the end all the threads need to be tied up. I hate it if any are left dangling. I am ok if there are minor side stories or characters that retain an air of mystery even after the saga is complete but if the central theme is not explained throughly or if the hero of the story never ever leaves clues about the motives for his actions then I am left with a sour taste in the mouth. The suspense, it's like a lemon - sucking on one is no great fun but if one precedes it with a shot of tequilla and some salt the feeling is alltogether different, to say the least. tequilla - story, salt - the protagonist, lemon - suspense - the mix has to be correct to get the right package, to make one feel good.

Now we come across mystery books and movies all the time but then occasionally there are these songs we chance upon that ask one to do a lot of guessing.

I'd do anything for love (But I won't do that) - Bat Out Of Hell II:Back Into Hell (1993)

Our man Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday) has claimed he would do anything for love except that. He may be a bat out of hell but what on good old Earth is "that"?! The debates raged. The imaginations went wild. Conclusions were reached but they fail to satify everyone. I am one of the not-satisfied people. Loose ends all around as far as I am concerned.
The title apart, the video was great - a beauty and the beast kinda thing, and whatta beauty. The video featured Dana Patrick who lip synched the female vocals (Lorraine Crosby was the actual singer if thats of any help). Dana also appeared in the video of the song I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth). He does has a way with song titles!

Can I Touch you...There - Greatest Hits 1985-1995 (1995)

Michael Bolton croons and asks if he can touch. Where, throwing caution to the wind, you may ask and he says there, deep inside. *sigh* I really don't want to try and get into what was in Mr Bolton's head. Its a good song and the video is very pretty. Again we have a case where the man doesn't make clear what he wants to say and that weighs on my mind.

Hazard - Rush Street (1991)

Richard Marx talks of a small village in Nebraska. There was this girl called Mary and this nameless young man. Noone in the village liked the man except Mary. They took walks by the river and she loved to watch the sun go down. Thats all plain sailing. You would expect young men and women to do some walking and watching. The song goes downhill from there. Mary disappears and the police accuse the man of foul play. The dude claims he doesn't know where Mary went. Now if she went walking all alone then why does he say that he left her by the river?! Did they go to the river together and then Mary went on walking and he came back? Why would he do that?! The police have a right to be pissed. Now I love this song, I really do, but theres just way too much lemon and way too little tequilla. The sour taste is strong.

The River - The River (1980)

Another melancholic song about another nameless man and another (we presume) Mary - and there's another river involved. Sweet. They did diving in the river, no sun gazing for this couple. Mr Bruce Springsteen delivers a lovely soulful song nevertheless. By the way, the boss' next album was called Nebraska. Mary, nameless man, river, Nebraska - I guess Richard grew up listening to a lot of Springsteen.

We have moved away from ambiguity in songs to another theme just as complex. Mary. I wonder what it is about Marys and rivers that make the young men sad. I must say that she finds her way into quite a few songs. A quick search revealed the following.

Proud Mary - Tina Turner
Mary Mary Mary - The Monkees
Mary Mary - Run DMC
Mary - Scissor Sisters
Mary - Sarah Mclachlan

From nursery rhymes to songs, Mary continues to befuddle.

Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.

Right Ho, Ms Croft

I have just completed Tomb Raider Legend on the Playstation. Feeling immensely smug about it. There are not many games I have managed to take to the end. This one I did. Maybe it was an easy game to beat, maybe all the walkthroughs and strategy guides I downloaded from the net helped, maybe I couldn't get enough of Lara - maybe it's just all the above.
People can smirk all they want but yes I do get a kick out of controlling Ms Croft - she is a very pretty woman, is British, happens to be very intelligent, is as acrobatic as a chimp and has the curves one would love to slip and slide on. A lot of people think of Angelina Jolie when someone says Tomb Raider. I think that's sad. The virtual Ms Croft has an identity of her own. The first Tomb Raider movie came out in 2001 whereas the game was released in 1997. If one did have to pick a real life Lara Croft, AJ does pass the first and the last test with flying colours, we can forgive her for not speaking with the British accent and I don't know her well enough to comment on the other two. It seems that the other contenders for the role in the movie were Demi Moore, Linsey Dawn McKenzie (some UK nude model!), Elizabeth Hurley and Anna Nicole Smith. All in all, I feel that AJ was a good choice for the film.


On your left ladies and gentlemen is Karima Adebibe, the official model for Tom Raider Legend. I don't mind her starring in the next Tomb Raider movie, not one bit. She is no stranger to cinema either. She made her debut in 2004. She was a sacrificial maiden in the movie Alien vs Predator. She can move on. A big step up in screen presence and role it may be, but am sure with some effort, she can now be the one making all the sacrifices to an Inca god (The Tomb Raider games have had Lara doing her thing all over the world - Peru, Egypt, China, Tibet, Venice, India, Antartica, Cambodia, Russia, Ireland, New York, Rome, Paris, Japan, Prague, Nepal, Bolivia, Ghana, England, Kazakhstan)

Lara has undergone many changes to her appearance in the course of each release of the game (There have been 7 games so far and I dont think we have seen the end yet. Tomb Raider Legend ends with Lara finding out that her mother may not be dead yet. Am sure Lara will be packing her guns pretty soon and carrying on with the search). The changes have been made right from her ponytail to other parts that must have involved adding and removing silicon. Come to think of it, the real life Pam Anderson has a lot in common with the virtual Lara Croft. Anyways, I think the developers have got it just right. She looks gorgeous in Tomb Raider Legend.

The game apart from jumping across precipices, operating levers, dodging boulders, shooting and slashing bad guys, solving puzzles, wrestling jaguars, swinging on ropes also involves unlocking different costumes for Lara. How exciting is that! She has a variety of colours for the classic costume, ripped evening gowns (ripped so that it doesn't hinder her somersaulting), winter suit, biker gear (she rides a Ducati in the game), catsuit, snowsuit and a sport costume. There is also a swimsuit (choice of black and white) that can be unlocked but it requires one to finish the game completely - beating all the levels in a stipulated time, collecting all the rewards - basically would mean spending many many more hours on the game. (No, I don't have pictures of Lara in the swimsuit) (That's right. I haven't unlocked the costume) (No, I don't plan to) (Yes, I would love to but I dont have the time) (Yeah, Have searched the net but couldn't find the pictures. Do let me know if you run into them.)

Moving on, the enterprising chaps at Playboy have stripped a few virtual heroines for their magazine! Thats how popular these ladies of the gaming world are. Listing some of the hotties who made it to the magazine.

Indigo Prophecy's Carla Valenti
Darkwatch's Cassidy
Darkwatch's Tala
50 Cent: Bulletproof's Alexa

I haven't played any of the above games, yet. Maybe I'll just pick up that edition of Playboy (Oct 2005!) and save all the time.