Author: manuscrypts

  • Your next avatar

    There was a good debate at Slate on how far (if at all) we should go in augmenting what we have been biologically endowed with. I’d noted earlier the three tracks of speciation, and how we are already on two of the tracks. (prosthesis and cell/tissue engineering) The debate introduced me to the word ‘transhumanism’, and its proponents believe that nature has done all it can do in terms of human evolution, and we should now take the ownership of driving our evolution forward. The opposing view (that’s not religion based) is that by manipulating all this, we might lose track of ‘being human’. There is a middle path that advocates augmentation to the “species’ typical best”, so that everyone would be ‘maximum humans’.

    One of the conclusions of this debate is that it will happen to us slowly. This is one of the fears I’d expressed in that earlier post – that we won’t realise when it happens to us. One of my other fears on account of increasing lifespans is the economics of it all, again something I’d written earlier. In yet another post, I’d wondered if we would speciate on the basis of whether we want to keep up with the information deluge or not. Those who choose to, would most likely need augmentation of the mind.

    ‘Evolution on Steroids’ is the theme of this article in BBC News (via Vedant), in which Prof. Church would now like to write/edit DNA, now that we have started reading it, with devices that will monitor internal and external environments, warn us, and then change our body accordingly. It’s probably an inevitable reality, with the only real question being ‘when’ and not ‘if’.

    ‘The Cyborg in us all‘ is another excellent read, this time from the NYT, in which I learned of scientists who are working on controlling computers via thoughts. In one of computer engineer Schalk’s experiments, on the effect of Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall – Part 1” on human brains, a particular brain created a model of what it expected to hear, after the music had been switched off in between. What the guys are really working towards though, are neurons and language – eg. thinking ‘cat’ and the image popping up on screen. Towards the end of the article, there is the NeuralPhone – which lets you pick a name from the phone contact list, telepathically.

    That brings me back to the Slate article which mentions this argument against trashumanism -increased lifespans would cause us to be more fearful, because we have more to lose. That would cause us to opt for “safe but shallow digital experiences, leading to long, ultimately empty lives”. This debate on enhanced and extended humanity reminded me of a post by Scott Adams, in which he writes about programmable avatars, which over time, would pick up our preferences and memories so well that they could live on as us even after we die, thereby extending our mortal lives into the infinite. And in ‘Hitchhiker’ style, he wonders if this has already happened. We are avatars of those who came before us – a premise not dissimilar to one I had reached via a different path. So much for humanity, and the debate about it. 🙂

    until next time, Google Human+

  • Winter Moon

    Dean Koontz

    I was quite surprised that the book was published in 1994. I expected a much earlier date, judging by the work. Its not really bad, but it doesn’t have that gripping quality of Koontz’ later works, of which I’m a big fan. That’s when I got to know that this was first published as ‘Invasion’ in 1975 under the pseudonym Aaron Wolfe.

    The book initially follows two stories in parallel – Jack McGarvey, a cop, and his family in Los Angeles, and Eduardo Fernandez, Jack’s deceased partner’s father, who lives in a ranch in Montana.

    Jack is recuperating from an incident involving a drug-crazed Hollywood director, who opens fire on innocent people, in a service station. Jack ends up having to kill him, and lands himself in the hospital for several months.

    Meanwhile, at the ranch, Eduardo notices bizarre phenomena among the animals around, and realises that there is a mysterious alien force involved.

    Though the book does feature the Koontz trademarks – dog, single kid, quotes from the (then) non existent ‘The Book of Counted Sorrows’, it semmed to be more a Stephen King approach than the later works of Dean Koontz.

    Not really a bad read, but there are definitely better Koontz creations out there.

  • Act of Life

    Prithviraj (for those who might not know) is God’s Own Controversy’s Child, though the title has other strong contenders like Kochi Tuskers, and its star Sreesanth, and Ranjini Haridas, the compere who defies comparison. Prithviraj also stars in movies while he’s not busy adding credentials to the title. As you must have noticed from the last line, he’s a person who manages to polarise public opinion. 🙂

    Since any further commentary in this direction would have the potential to ignite a troll war, let’s get to the point of the post. Hailing from a family that can’t get more filmi (late father was a popular actor and Kerala’s own angry young man in his era, mother is an actress, brother is an actor and sister-in-law is an actress too), Prithviraj can usually be found within a few metres of the spotlight, if not in it. His interviews are a lot of fun. Reasonably well read, from what I can gather, highly opinionated, and oblivious of tact as a concept (something he himself acknowledges), he either makes intelligent conversation or tries to play footsie with his running mouth. (most recent example) Entertaining either way, and so I make it a point to watch his interviews.

    Thanks to our original underworld hero Mahabali almost being forgotten at Onam, and Prithviraj playing an underworld don in his Onam release, all the channels queued up to interview him. As always, they provided lots of fodder for hilarity. But the one on Kairali TV (I think) happened to be an interesting conversation, also thanks to the interviewer. Something that the actor said about working with Mani Ratnam in ‘Ravanan‘ caught my attention.

    Apparently, Mani Ratnam manages to identify and understand an actor’s comfort zones within a couple of days. He then proceeds to put them in situations they would find uncomfortable. His reasoning is that he doesn’t want their acting to be affected by their conditioning or them to fall back on the learning from earlier characters they have essayed. I thought that was a really smart way to bring some freshness to even the most veteran of actors. Wonder if Prithviraj gained this insight himself, or the director told him.

    But it leads back to a life lesson on conditioning. The routines, the benchmarks, peer pressure and the other daily grind machinations force us back to our conditioning. I know (subjective) from experience how difficult it is to look past the attitudes and responses that smack of conditioning. I have found it difficult to sustain whatever levels of objectivity I might have built up over a period of time. Even when I disrupted a routine, the disruption became a routine. It is as though the equilibrium is always a comfort zone.

    What is a measure of the mettle of an actor? Is it the way he manages to make a done-to-death character come alive or is it how he handles a completely new character convincingly? I guess you’d say both. Unfortunately, I don’t think ‘both’ is an option when you apply this measure to how one lives a life. You’d have to choose one role and play it really well, isn’t it? Life is the movie, there are no re-takes, and getting out of the character is a really difficult thing to do.

    until next time, roled into one.

  • Biryani Pundits

    Sometime back, while on a Natural Ice Creams (map) expedition in Koramangala, we found that an iconic Koramangala food spot had gone missing – Sonakshi Sharma’s Family Restaurant. In its place was Biryani Pundits. Though we did visit soon after, missing out on the Biryani among other small things, I decided to wait for an official review in Bangalore Mirror before I published it here.

    It’s located in Koramangala 1st Block, near Sichuan. Usually it’s easier to park in Indiranagar and take an auto, but you can try your luck in one of the side lanes. You’ll have to climb a flight of narrow stairs to get to the seating area.

    Take a look at the menu on Zomato. If you’re up to it, you can mix and match with the Chettinad, Tandoori, North Indian, and Biryani that’s available. There are also value-for-money priced, ‘legit’ combinations available. As you’ll notice, the menu doesn’t have a starter section, but there are more than enough items in the ‘Fry’ ‘Tandoori’, and ‘Daily Specials’ section that can serve the purpose quite well. In fact, with Quail 65, Prawn Sukka, Crab Soup, Fish Cutlets etc listed among the day’s specials, there was much lip smacking. Unfortunately, none of the items in that section were available, and that left about a dozen ‘Fry’ and a few Tandoori options.

    The Chicken 65 was the pick of the starters, boneless, succulent and quite spicy thanks to a chilli paste. The Lamb Liver Liver Fry was just a shade below, and though the masala couldn’t be termed spicy, it had a flavourful zing to it, helped by the green chillies. The Pundits Special Chicken just about passed muster with a masala that seemed to be a ‘ghee roast’ wannabe, but without the ghee or the texture. The Paneer Chilly turned out to be a disappointment and the least spicy, with the Paneer in a guest appearance and corn flour and capsicums hogging the limelight. Though the chicken was tender, the Chicken Tikka Boneless was quite bland, despite peppery attempts.

    The Chicken Wheat Parotta Koththu is quite famous as a street food and Biryani Pundits does a good job with it, not being stingy with the chicken, and with a slightly spicy and consistent masala featuring ginger garlic, chilli and turmeric flavours. The Lamb version was not so fortunate with the masala, as some portions were too salty. But here too, it needs to be mentioned that there was an ample proportion of meat. One of the drawbacks of an enthusiastic service was that they brought the entire set of dishes at the same time, despite the order having things like appams , Wheat Parottas and Biryani, which really need to be served hot. I expected the egg appam to have an unbroken yolk, but that was not to be. However, it did a good job otherwise, making a good combination with the Lamb Curry , which was the only item that redeemed the main course. The meat was tender and juicy and the gravy, while not overly spicy, had a piquancy about it that made it a favourite. The Chicken Pepper Masala was a also quite a dud, with no sign of the pepper. The Wheat Kerala Parotta obviously lacks the fluffiness of its maida counterpart, but is still a safe bet. The same can’t be said of the Veg Lbabdar, which somehow tasted all wrong. An extremely dominant tangy flavour made the dish quite unpalatable. Much was expected from the Special dosa, priced higher than the egg appam, but it was just a roast dosa, which could barely hold on to its crispiness. But the biggest disappointment was the Pundits Special Chicken Biryani, special because it used kababs, but the masala made only a fleeting appearance. Also mildly irritating was having to ask for the raita and the brinjal chutney that were supposed to be given along with the dish. And when they did appear, it didn’t make much of a difference either. The other disappointing aspect was the non availability of dishes. To feature items like ‘Lamb Head Masala’ and ‘Quail Biryani’ on the menu and not have it is gross injustice, and enough to convert carnivores into cannibals.

    The menu does not have a dedicated section for desserts either, and our only hope was the ‘traditional sweet’ promised with the biryani. That turned out to be another item we had to ask for, and when it did arrive, the jamun was a tad too sweet and syrupy.

    For a restaurant that has Biryani in its name, Biryani Pundits have quite a way to go before their offering delivers some dum.  Some of their dishes are quite good, but the unavailability of items doesn’t really help their cause.

    Biryani Pundits, No:1018, 1st Main, 80 feet Road, Koramangala. Ph: 8880050001

  • Timestamps

    Thanks to the weird processes of online tax filing, I had to go to a real post office sometime back, and realised that I hadn’t visited one in at least 8 years! That’s the time we have been in Bangalore. I clearly remember frequenting the one near home in Cochin, and the one in Goa, housed within the GIM building. But 8 years is a long time. The Rs.5/ Rajiv Gandhi stamp was something I’d never seen before and told me how out of touch I was.

    Like many others, I too used to list ‘collecting stamps’ as a hobby. I remember the last time I was in Cochin, I fished out the briefcase that has been the caretaker of my stamp collection for many many years now. The collection had a much humbler residence in its early days, when I was in school. I only realised later that Dad had an interest too and can now imagine how horrified he must have been when he found that foreign stamps could be bought from stationery stores. Fake stuff, but good enough for ‘exchanges’ at school.

    The circular Singapore one, triangles, ‘diamonds’, Malaysian butterflies. There was even a ‘3D’ one, from Bhutan apparently! The circle, a few triangles and the butterflies were original, I think. 🙂 Later, a grand uncle, who could actually lay claim to serious philately gave me his entire collection which included a lot of first day covers and half/1 anna (currency not hazare) envelopes. Priceless stuff!

    That’s around the time when dad gave me the briefcase, though I can’t remember why. It used to be the one he carried to office, and was special because it had a number lock! Yes, it was fancy then. Along with albums, the entire collection had a new home. After a few years, it was ignored, thanks to the many other interests that made their way into life. Many years later, I chanced upon the briefcase, and realised I had forgotten the code! I somehow remembered it, but became paranoid about it and gave the briefcase a makeover, one that can now be described as a Ghajini theme. All over its wonderful brown exterior, the number now exists – in various sizes and colours, courtesy the magic of permanent markers!

    And that’s how I found it in the room, coated with a layer of dust, and safe behind a bookshelf, housing those tiny pieces of paper that allowed messages to travel over distances. Mobiles, email, social networks and evolution of self and others, all have contributed to the demise of a snail mail culture that included among other things, pen friends and chain mails, a glimpse of the person through his/her handwriting and the sheer joy of a mail waiting for you when you reach home.

    And with that, perhaps a related hobby is also forced to breathe its last. This generation will probably be among the last to know of post offices and a hobby called philately. I wonder what the legacy of the stamp collection is. Maybe the briefcase is just like the other baggage that I own, a friend who reminds me of an earlier era, whose story and context end with me.

    until next time, a briefcase history