.sparkymat
adventure park
Posted on July 26th, 2010 ~ 10:06:06 AM
Tagged as childhood personal photos |
3 Comments »
Adventure park. One of my favourite places to go, when I was a kid. Though designed more like a training course at a boot camp, the place still fascinated and enthrilled me, my brother and my cousins. Later, it fell into disrepute and ill-use. Yesterday, I visited it again, after almost 15 or 20 years. Glad to see that the place is maintained decently (more or less). Have taken some pics. Posting them below (click on the images for the bigger version).
Trivia: The climax of the movie “Manu Uncle” was shot here.
The entrance to Adventure Park
The skating rink!
The tunnels! We used to have races through these.
The rope wall (or its remains, to be accurate)
The jumper (:P) . There was a rope ladder behind this to climb up and then jump down to each level.
The mangroves that border the park
Sigh.. Adventure Park..
blog moved
Posted on July 26th, 2010 ~ 12:11:10 AM
Tagged as meta |
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I have moved the blog to http://www.sparkymat.net .
kireedom
Posted on July 25th, 2010 ~ 06:28:53 PM
Tagged as malayalam movies personal |
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For a change, they are playing a good movie on the bus. Kireedom (‘Crown’ in Malayalam) is one of my favourite movies of all times. Both Mohanlal and Thilakan are scintilating in this movie. Sadly, the sequel was disappointing.
Some of my favourite Malayalam movies are: Nadodikaattu, Manichithrathazhu, Kireedom, Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu. Is it a coincidence that all of them are Lalettan movies?
india and child prodigies
Posted on July 14th, 2010 ~ 08:16:14 AM
Tagged as genius india musings prodigy |
4 Comments »
India has always had a fascination with child prodigies. Child prodigies are “discovered” in India with surprising regularity. Yet, our country is still languishing in the shallow end of the innovation pool. Every time a child prodigy is “found”, the news is spattered all over the media, people rush to recognize and honour him/her, and a week later, life is back to where it always was. Matters have become so bad, that we have some taking advantage of this (the Tathagat Avtar Tulsi – DST affair, though his recent appointment as IIT professor confuses me).
Child prodigies are typically noted for achieving in their childhood, that which others take longer to achieve (we often hear of child prodigies becoming doctors, research fellows, animators, etc.). Everyone rushes to congratulate them, shower them with awards and possibly grants, and then, they are forgotten except by their social circle (or bloggers researching them to write such articles). Why are they not nurtured into true geniuses who can help forge a better tomorrow? Is India incapable of such support? If it is, where are the successful scientists and mathematicians who were discovered as child prodigies?
A quick scan on the net showed ONE child prodigy who has grown up into an adult prodigy, and that too, in the last century. Of course, I am talking about Srinivasa Ramanujan, a child prodigy who had gone beyond what many adults had achieved (discovering theorems when he was still 12) and who went on to contribute significant advancements to mathematics. From what the media proclaims, India has never had a dearth of geniuses. Then, why are we no longer competitive with the rest of the world? Where are the geniuses?
hero
Posted on July 4th, 2010 ~ 10:06:44 PM
Tagged as fantasy fiction hero superhero |
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I have always had a fascination with tales of people with abilities beyond that of an ordinary human being. Teleportation, tissue regeneration, human flight, invincibility, telekinesis. All these are abilities mankind has always desired, dreamt of, obsessed about. It fascinates me greatly to see how someone, who is more than human, thinks, how they see themselves, how they see others. However, that is not the most important reason why I love tales of magic and superheroes. The tales that stay with you, the well-written ones, are not those which focus on the superhuman, but on the human. Tales which focus on how these fictional abilities and skills are offset against human nature, offering a brighter and more varied canvas on which to highlight the fact that the triumph of human nature is to overcome our basic instincts and strive for good in the world. This is why some of my favourite characters in many stories, are not the so-called extraordinary people who can fly, jump high, or dodge bullets, but the ones who through courage, dedication and perseverance show us, the best of humanity. This is why I will always remember Samwise Gamgee more than I will remember Aragorn or Gandalf or Frodo. Heroes who are revered not because they are superhuman, but because they are human, the very best of.
P.S: I know Samwise Gamgee is not technically a man (human) but a Hobbit, but the point still stands.
P.P.S: Sam over Frodo! Batman over Superman! Rorschach over Doctor Manhattan! Nathan Petrelli over Peter Petrelli!
madman with a box
Posted on July 1st, 2010 ~ 04:12:55 PM
Tagged as cybermen dalek doctorwho fiction sciencefiction tardis |
5 Comments »
The Doctor. The “madman with a box”. I have known and loved Doctor Who stories since I was 12. Here is a brief overview on the Who-niverse, for those not in the know.
The Doctor
The 11 Doctors
The Doctor is a time-travelling, (seemingly) immortal alien. He belongs to a race called the Time Lords, who originated on the planet Gallifrey. The Time Lords were the first race to master Time Travel. However, taking into consideration the moral complexities of travelling through time, they swore to observe only, and never interfere with the natural flow of history. The Doctor is a renegade Time Lord who stole a TARDIS (read below) and ran off to explore time and space, frequently getting involved with and altering the flow of history. Thus, the Doctor is typically seen as a miscreant and a fugitive, though in times of need, the Time Lords have turned to him for help, and he even became the President of the Time Lords once.
The Doctor displays intelligence greater than the average Time Lord, and far greater than most other sentient species. His vast knowledge, his race’s unique perception of the time stream, his Machiavellian intellect, all enable him to out-maneuver his adversaries, and resolve catastrophic incidents, often with relative ease.
Time Lords, when mortally wounded, can regenerate their physical essence into a new body (which affects their personality as well). The Doctor has been mortally wounded 10 times over the long history of the show, and hence, has had 11 different bodies/personas. Each persona is usually referred to by the number, i.e. the fifth Doctor, the eleventh Doctor, etc. However, the person, his memories, his base personality, remains the same.
It should be noted that “Doctor” is not the Doctor’s actual name, but a pseudonym of his own choosing. The Doctor’s real name is a secret he closely guards, and known only to a handful of people. The mystery surrounding the name (which is referred to in the title ‘Doctor Who?’) and the manner in which the Doctor hides it, indicates that there could possibly be some terrible secret behind his name.
TARDIS
TARDIS
TARDIS (or T.A.R.D.I.S – Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) is the primary vehicle of time travel for the Time Lords. TARDIS are not purely mechanical, and are “grown” by the Time Lords, achieving a certain level of sentience. A newly-grown TARDIS must be imprinted with the bio-signature of a Time Lord to become fully functional. The TARDIS can travel in time and space. As a defense mechanism, the TARDIS can alter its external appearance to match the surroundings. Thus, often, its seen as bigger on the inside than on the outside. Additionally, TARDISes employ a “perception filter” which causes people nearby to not pay attention to it (unless they know its a TARDIS and its hiding there).
The Doctor’s TARDIS had its chameleon circuits damaged when in early 20th century England, where police phone boxes were common. Thus, the Doctor’s TARDIS was stuck with the exterior of a police phone box. After several attempts to repair it (over time), the Doctor gives up, claiming he’s grown fond of the exterior.
The Sonic Screwdriver
Sonic Screwdriver
The Sonic Screwdriver is the only tool that the Doctor ever carries, a multi-functional device that can open locks, alter or even disable technology based constructs. More recently, the Eleventh Doctor also uses the new Sonic Screwdriver to detect and measure various objects/media.
Daleks
Dalek
The Daleks are the arch-enemies of the Time Lords. Daleks were mutated descendants of the Kaled race of humanoids, created by the chief Kaled scientist, Davros. Little more than cerebral globs with tentacles, Daleks are encased in a technologically advanced battle armor (which resembles a salt/pepper shaker 
) which has a high power forcefield as well as offensive weaponry.
Daleks, apart from Time Lords, were the only major civilization to have full-fledged time travel. This brought them into conflict with the Time Lords, who though normally pacifistic, were no less advanced in technology or weaponry. Daleks have a strong, hierarchy-based society with little individualism. Daleks display extreme prejudice to all other forms of life, and will immediately attempt to “exterminate” other life forms. This, coupled with their time travel, often brought them into conflict with the Time Lords, especially the Doctor, who also actively travels through time, fighting Daleks and other villains.
Despite their seemigly brutish and military nature, Daleks are extremely intelligent and rely on logic rather than emotion. Their intelligence and inventive genius is the reason they were able to match the technological prowess of the Time Lords, whose race have been around since the birth of the Universe.
The Doctor has been, on multiple occasions, successful in thwarting the plans of Dalek conquests, usually opposing them alone, without the might of the Time Lord empire behind him. This has led the Daleks to fear the Doctor, so far as to bestow on him the monikers of ‘The Oncoming Storm’ and the ‘Destroyer of Worlds’.
Cybermen
Cybus Cyberman
The Cybermen are a race of cyborgs, originating from the planet Mondas, who implanted themselves with more and more technology, thus ending up as a cyborg race. Like the Daleks, they valued logic over emotion, and went so far as to purge all emotions (through inhibitor circuits). Cybermen, being biologically similar to humans, also assimilated humans and convert them into Cybermen.
In the new series, Cybermen are created on a parallel version of earth, and manage to enter the mainstream version through a rift in time and space. Similar to the original Cybermen, the new Cybermen are referred to as Cybus Cybermen (by the community) due to them being created by Cybus Corporation.
The Cybermen have a long standing rivalry with Daleks, having encountered them several times. In the new series, when the Cybus Cybermen meet the Daleks, a hilarious stand-off ensues, which I can’t help quoting here.
Dalek: Identify yourself!Cybermen: You will identify first!Dalek: State you designation!Cybermen: You will identify first!Dalek: IDENTIFY!(Mickey Smith: It’s like Stephen Hawking meets the speaking clock.)Cybermen: That is illogical. You will modify.Dalek: Daleks do not take orders.Cybermen: You have been identified as Daleks.Dalek: Outline resembles the inferior species known as Cybermen!Cyberman: Our technology is compatiable; although your design is less elegant.Dalek: Daleks have no concept of elegance!Cyberman: This is obvious.…..Cyberman: Daleks and cybermen; together we can upgrade the universe.Dalek: You propose an alliance?Cyberman: That is correct.Dalek: Request denied!Cyberman: Hostile elements will be deleted.[The cybermen fire; but their weapons have no effect]Dalek: EXTERMINATE![The dalek returns fire; killing the cybermen]Cyber Leader: Daleks, be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen.Dalek Leader: This is not war – this is pest control!Cyber Leader: We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?Dalek Leader: Four.Cyber Leader: You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?Dalek Leader: We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek! You’re superior in only one respect.Cyber Leader: What is that?Dalek Leader: You are better at dying. Raise communications barrier!
The Weeping Angels
A Weeping Angel
the technology twilight
Posted on July 1st, 2010 ~ 12:19:36 AM
Tagged as fiction iphone opinion technology twilight |
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A strange thought came to me this evening. Two things I dislike, one in the literary world, and one in the technology world, seem to have a lot of parallels between them.
One is a phone, all nice and sparkly, the best looking one. A phone which called itself a smartphone and the whole world took its word for granted, despite the fact that it didn’t possess any of the characteristics of a proper smartphone (running 3rd party applications, multitasking, copy-paste, MMS, etc. etc.).
The other is about a guy, all nice and sparkly, the best looking one. A guy who called himself a vampire and the whole world took his word for granted, despite the fact that he didn’t possess any of the characteristics of a proper vampire (drinking blood, no reflection or shadow, vulnerable to sunshine, garlic, silver, etc. etc.).
Just a thought.
P.S: I don’t really dislike the iPhone. Just how the company (and its CEO) behaves. However, I do dislike the fact that people are ok with it being feature-deficient as long as it looks pretty and smooth.
P.P.S: I haven’t really read Twilight. The synopsis gave me a headache and scared me off from reading the book.
P.P.P.S: I really hate Twilight.
P.P.P.P.S: Really, really…