The end of the year signals a time to reflect. The perfect opportunity presented itself recently, when a colleague was bidding adieu after 5 years. There seemed to be no better venue than Monkey Bar, which was itself in the last week of its operations. Our group was mixed – early and mid thirties to early forties – and we talked about life in Bangalore, kids or not, and where we planned to settle after work. When I said that I was considering Cochin, at least a couple of my colleagues wondered if I would be able to adapt. I explained that the biggest joys in my life, in addition to reading and travel, were Malayalam movies and porotta-beef, that I wear the mundu a lot at home, and nostalgia or not, my mind often wanders the roads of my hometown. (more…)
Month: December 2019
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The Andromeda Strain
Michael Crichton
I am quite a bit late to the Crichton book party. For me, his name has always been associated with Jurassic Park (as a movie) and now I find that quite surprising! It took a combination of Westworld (the current series version) and a couple of “science fiction you must read” lists to get this book into my shelf.
I really liked the premise. When one thinks of an extra terrestrial “invasion”, the usual suspects are a highly advanced species arriving in spaceships. But this book shows that first contact could actually be anything. In this case, it is less the physics of space travel, and more biology. As one character explains, any form of radiation would lose its potency over space, but a living cell can retain its characteristics if it is made with that end in mind.
It all begins in Piedmont, Arizona, a small town where a probe has crash-landed. The probe is part of
Project Scoop, whose objective is to collect organisms from the fringes of space for study. The fear of contamination by returning space probes has also led to the formation of Wildfire, a team that can handle a contingency at a specially created facility.The team is called upon to handle exactly that when something starts killing off humans in seconds. The characters who make up the team are not completely fleshed out beyond their professions, but have enough details to take them beyond names and roles. The underground facility that the team operates in is thought through in great detail and has a part to play in the climax.
This is one of his earlier works and is quite an engaging thriller. The number of days I took to finish it is a testament to that. The pace really quickens towards the end and gives it an edge-of-the-seat feel even though the narration indicates clearly that humanity will survive. But anyway, that does not really take away from the gripping story.
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EDGE – Infusion Bar & Kitchen
A long time ago, when I was still confused between a Tom Yum and a Tom Kha, we visited On the Edge in Barton Centre, had a meal for all of Rs.950, and loved it. Time, as it is wont to do, flies. 8 years later, the place is now ASEAN – On the Edge, and a version of it has opened in Whitefield. Edge – Infusion Bar & Kitchen.
The building (Miraya Rose) houses Ebony and Toscano in addition to Edge. And what’s more, there’s Daily Sushi, Cafe Noir and a Starbucks and Frozen Bottle in the same compound! Edge sits above the other two, and in a relatively small area, manages a bunch of seating options – high bar stools, a lounge section outside and casual seating inside. The decor and ambiance has a touch of class – special mention for the cutlery.
We visited a fortnight after they opened for business, and found the place quite empty. While we were there, less than three tables were occupied. Not that we minded!
There were plenty of cocktail options, but only a few based on dark rum/whiskey. So I went with an Old Fashioned, though I don’t trust places which call it Old Fashion! D asked for what I called a dirty sounding drink – Porntini, but it was a harmless concoction of vodka, vermouth and vanilla. The drinks, despite the names, were quite good.
We first tried the Togarashi Chicken Stick – wonton crusted, Togarashi seasoning and Sichuan chilli flavours. The potato spirals were a nice touch. The flavours worked well and the crust and the spiral added an excellent texture. The Chakori Murgh Tikka was next, the yellow chilli gave it a mildly spicy flavour which made it a good companion for the drinks.
For mains, we asked for the All Meat Cajun Jambalaya. It had chicken and sausages (the shrimp was excluded on request) and was served with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Great flavours, and surprisingly filling despite the seemingly small portion size.
The playlist had a good lounge vibe, and the service was friendly. The bill came to a little over Rs.2200.
Edge Infusion Bar & Kitchen, Miraya Rose, 66/2, Siddapura, Varthur Road, Whitefield Ph: 47483026
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Nike: Big shoes to fill
It has been just over a year since Nike celebrated the 30th anniversary of its “Just Do It” campaign with a series of ads, featuring athletes including Colin Kaepernick, and triggered a controversy. I wrote then, about Nike’s “skin in the game” approach to brand messaging, and argued that it was perfectly placed to polarise and reap dividends in a world of attention-scarcity. But..
Woke might make you broke!
One year later, a (rightfully) sharp post on Pando alerted me to how the NBA got embroiled in the Hong Kong protests conversation, thanks to Daryl Morey, General Manager for the Houston Rockets tweeting his support. China vs NBA resulted. The NBA apologised. Nike pulled its Houston Rockets merchandise from five stores in Beijing and Shanghai (via). It didn’t stop there. LeBron James, refusing to be left out, waded in by stating that Morey was misinformed. Thanks to Nike’s $1 billion lifetime association with LeBron, that dragged the brand further into it. As per USA Today Nike’s business in China from June 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019 is upwards of $6 billion, and has doubled in the last 5 years, while remaining flat in the US. The stakes are high. (more…)
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The Paper Menagerie
Ken Liu
What is with these Chinese (/origin) writers? Ted Chiang’s “Stories of Your Life and Others” was the best collection of speculative fiction I had read. Then there was Liu Cixin’s “The Three Body Problem” trilogy that had a fantastic story arc even while retaining scientific accuracy. And now, Ken Liu, who had translated Liu Cixin’s work into English, and has also credited Ted Chiang as an inspiration for the last story in this book.
All fiction, the author says in the preface, is about prizing the logic of metaphors over reality, which is irreducibly random and senseless. This is what I would call the DNA of the book, and teasing out the metaphors in some of the stories is what I considered the most exciting part of reading this book. Also mentioned in the preface is the author’s perspective that he does not pay attention to the distinction between fantasy and science fiction or genres in general, and a few stories serve as excellent examples. Good Hunting could be steampunk and fantasy, The Waves would be science fiction and fantasy, The Man who ended history could be historical fiction and science fiction. The genre is rendered irrelevant in the larger scheme of things. Everything is speculative fiction. (more…)
