Sugar for the Brain !
Evolution is such an amazing concept, that its implications are often unfathomable from a distance. Its only with a bit of science that we realize the beauty of the logic behind this most controversial process ever described.
There was once a universe without life. And within this world was a multitude of atoms in clusters of various sizes, strewed all across eternity. Expanding into empty space these clusters did not have anyway to relate to reality, other than the most passive way of just existing. In this world came an extraordinary event. And everything changed after that singular event. No its wasn’t the Big Bang – it was a chance coming together of several atoms in a way that they could replicate their existence from the matter strewn around them. And from there came life …
Life is about organization. It is an example of how from inanimate pieces of matter a pattern of immense value can suddenly come to existence. But the story of evolution is not about the birth of life. Its about what happened after that !
As life “evolved” it got better and better at its inherent objective – to exist. So the permutations and combinations continued till there were multicellular organisms and even then it did not stop. On top of this pile of multicellular organisms evolved another layer of life – it was called consciousness. This was by far the most interesting development from the beginning of time. Conscious life is different from bacteria or other forms of life. Conscious life is a layer of abstraction (to use a technical term). But why is this layer of abstraction exciting ?
To answer that question one needs to understand the “organization” called life. Up until conscious life arrived on the planet everything existed as an experiment. Patterns of DNA competed with each other to be the most successful at continuing to exist. But once there is consciousness the rules change. Now any pattern can become the more “successful” provided it is “valuable” for the conscious life forms. The stage is set for the arrival of the “experimenters” ! Initially this must have been a hindrance to life itself – as the under developed conscious life forms may have actually selected harmful DNA patterns in their naiveté. But as the consciousness evolved so did its alignment with the process of evolution itself.
We have over time learned to select the most correct patterns that help us preserve life. An example of this is the recent world frenzy about global warming. As our science has improved so has our ability to compute future possibilities. In the multitude of outcomes that can result from our present behavior, we have learned to select those outcomes that keep us “safe” from”harm”. In other words we have selected those strategies that give us the best chance to continue existing. Finally our brain has come a full circle.
Consciousness
But is conscious evolution better than the passive one ? It is a question that will be answered in another few hundred years. Passive evolution has happened over eons. Time has been merciful at least on earth. We have been spared calamitous ends by sheer chance ! However conscious evolution will not require as much time. We have already seen how over the past few centuries our abilities have grown exponentially with respect to the passive evolutionary process. It is not far fetched to believe that in another hundred years or so we may be able to “simulate” evolutionary cycles and produce “jumps” in evolution itself. We may be in fact learn to make better versions of ourselves. As well as better versions of organized and “conscious” matter. My belief is that our conscious selection procedures will extend till we manage to create “artificial” intelligence. And after that we may have to just sit down and watch !
For all of you wondering about the title of this post … do you know what is the sugar for your brain ? Sugar is a source of carbohydrates and carbohydrates are the central energy source for most life. Therefore we are “programmed” to like sugar. You will rarely find an individual who hates sugar . Almost no one will turn up their nose in disgust after consuming some sugar ! That is because sugar has a hardwire to our brain. The set of events that happen after we consume sugar release pleasure chemicals like dopamine in the brain. This release can also be achieved by “doing” things like copulation and a multitude of other activities which may have (as yet) unexplained reasons for having a positive impact on our longevity. But these are the passive evolutionary “wires” in our brain. There is another set of wires which are more “active”. These are the learned behaviors. We can program ourselves to please ourselves when we do a certain activity. So for a baby a bungy-jump may be positively scary, but not for the seasoned jumper. The seasoned adventure freak has programmed himself to get a dopamine rush every time he jumps off a high perch. Some of it may be a case of passive evolution at work ( he may have got some “adventure” genes which make him like jumping so much). But most of it is learned behavior. You have only to see the smile on his face when others are cheering “bravo” around him to understand how potent our “conscious” evolution is.
So lets the ask the question to ourselves as a community – what do we want to be the “sugar for our collective brain” ? This question may actually hold the key to unlock our ability to exist as conscious beings beyond the limits specified by the physics of our world !
Drifting !
Drifting
Its the art of sleeping while attending a boring lecture. You require a thick pair of glasses and loads of wrist strength. The central idea is to hold up your head in the “interested” posture while sleeping behind your thick spectacles !
If you did not understand the above, do not drift away. Instead consider these very delectable definitions of drifting from the Modern Racer website
1) Kansei Drift- this is performed at race speeds, when entering a high speed corner a driver lifts his foot off the throttle to induce a mild over steer and then balances the drift through steering and throttle motions. Note that the car that is being used for this style of drift should be a neutral balanced car therefore the over steer will induce itself. If the car plows through any turn this technique will not work.
2) Braking drift- this is performed by trail braking into a corner, then loss of grip is obtained and then balance through steering and throttle motions. Note that this is mainly for medium to low speed corners.
3) Faint Drift- this is performed by rocking the car towards the outside of a turn and then using the rebound of grip to throw the car into the normal cornering direction. Note that this is heavy rally racing technique used to change vehicle attitudes during cornering, mainly tight mountain corners.
4) Clutch Kick- this is performed by depressing the clutch pedal on approach or during a mild drift, then pop the clutch to give a sudden jolt through the driveline to upset rear traction.
5) Shift Lock- this is performed by letting the revs drop on downshift into a corner and then releasing the clutch to put stress on the driveline to slow the rear tires inducing over steer. This is like pulling the E-brake through a turn – note that this should be performed in the wet to minimize damage to the driveline, etc.
6) E-Brake Drift- this technique is very basic, pull the E-Brake or (side brake) to induce rear traction loss and balance drift through steering and throttle play. Note that this can also be used to correct errors or fine tune drift angles.
7) Dirt Drop Drift- this is performed by dropping the rear tires off the road into the dirt to maintain or gain drift angle without losing power or speed and to set up for the next turn. Note that this technique is very useful for low horsepower cars.
Jump Drift- in this technique the rear tire on the inside of a turn or apex is bounced over a curb to lose traction resulting in oversteer.
9) Long Slide Drift- this is done by pulling the E-brake through a strait to start a high angel drift and to hold this to set up for the turn ahead. Note that this can only be done at high speed.
10) Swaying Drift- this is a slow side-to-side faint like drift where the rear end sways back and forth down a strait.
11) FF Drift- or front wheel drive drift. The E-brake as well as steering and braking techniques must be used to balance the car through a corner. Note that the E-brake is the main technique used to balance the drift.
12) Power Over- this performed when entering a corner and using full throttle to produce heavy oversteer (tail slide) through the turn. Note that you need horsepower to make this happen.
The seasoned racer will probably take home a lot from the above list. As an Indian I think this list is incomplete. It does not have the most important type of drifting available for use in India ! It comes it at number 13, but that number kind of symbolizes the implications of this drift.
13) Indian Drift- this is performed when trying to overtake a vehicle in front of you from the wrong side. As you approach the slowest vehicle on the slowest lane at high speed you suddenly steer towards the faster lane (in front of the vehicle you are overtaking). The only requirements for this is shear b***s and a government may care attitude !
Indian Drift
This drift is used as often as the communal toilet. Almost everybody on the road has used this for a variety of reasons. They range from the plane old “I can drive faster” to the very esoteric “I needed to take a head shot at the driver ahead”. The reason for many roadkill cases can be traced to the implementation of this drift in difficult and crowded environments by claustrophobic and under-trained village lads posing as experienced drivers.
Ghajini – Can half sleeves be rolled up ?
If I ever met the director of this movie – I would ask – How can you roll up half sleeved shirts ?
Another question that needs to be asked is, how in gods name could he take a brilliant movie like Memento and convert it to such trash ? If Christopher Nolan sees this version, he will probably tear his hair out in one nice curvaceous line !
I always have high expectations from an Amir Khan movie. Something in his acting makes me feel good about watching him. His eyes are evocative and his manners on screen are honed and perfected to suit the role. And I must say even in this movie he tries his best to be guy defined by the story. Only the story got too contorted by this imbecile director form the south of India.
The movie begins well and shows an ultra angry Amir Khan whooping some really bad asses. Phenomenal strength is depicted in his small body ! We see Amir thowing this monster like he was a bag of cotton ! The tap dripping blood at the end of the plumbing inside his stomach is something to watch out for. At this point I was getting heated up for some in your face action !
Jiah Khan is the bimbette doctor who looks like in need of psychiatric help more than Amir. She seems to have such a vacuum in her upper chamber that the average grey matter in the scenes containing her drop to near zero. She wants to pursue this case of the curious man with the line across his ahead !
Her meeting with Amir is well depicted and was the last part o the movie that I felt interested enough to watch. After this the “tamil movie onslaught” started in full force. The heroine is a plump girl who over acts all the time ! I felt I had suddenly started watching a street play ! Even more hilarious was the scene where Amir walks out of a private plane with his half sleeves rolled up to reveal his newly acquired biceps.
After a few moments of overacting from Asin (or whatever her name is) I was sure that this was a movie that I did not want to watch. The next best option was to go out and get drunk with my cousin who had hosted a party that night. (I should thank god for having mercy for my soul). After a few drinks I had almost forgotten the one hour of torture that I had to endure before walking out ! By today its almost a blurry memory and hopefully by next week I will be rid of all memories of this most abysmal Amitr movie in recent times !
My advice – If you like Rajnikant style fantasies – then go watch Rajnikant ! The guy has built his reputation in this genre. Amir on the other hand looks like a petulant child with some brawn thrown in. What a waste of talent. I wish that our directors can copy movies better in the future …I never expect them to be original anyway !
Oh Customer … are you right ?
The customer is right … or is he ?
To examine a question like the above one has to distance oneself from the word “customer” and derive the real meaning behind the word. Customer in essence defines a person who needs to be convinced that you are the person he/she needs to trust, to get some service/product at the “right” price and quality. The word “right” may mean a variety of things in this context – but most often it means the “best possible” .
This definition was very true during the “good old days”. People first trusted a service/product provider and if their trust was justified they landed up trusting the person even more. Hence we had a “big family” scenario. In such scenarios the roles of the participants are not defined by “career choice” or “core competency” or “at the right place and time” phenomena. The different people in such a setup, do various things depending on necessity and proximity/familiarity with the person who requires the deliverable.
However today’s technology has made us able to abstract the service from the service providers. So now we have the service – provided by various people who come and go based on their free will. Now this is a wonderful change in the business concept. We have immense flexibility at the personal as well at the professional level – to choose
a) what we do for a living
b) where we take our “business”
c) friends – who may not necessarily be involved in our workspace
This concept is driving world economies now. The best example is the chinese economy where the “person” is a number in the “system”. A machine who has to put in X hours of work for the Y amount payed. This concept is the cornerstone of all aggressive economies !
However as almost everyone today realizes – this method is not the best when it comes to forming meaningful bonds with other people around us. This method is great for making the “numbers” and the “cash”, but when it comes to the question of sustaining the human psyche in a healthy manner – this method has failed most miserably. Part of this failure is due to one important deficiency in this system. This system is unable to record “traits” (or the “personal touch” ). The customer comes away from every deal none the wiser about the intentions of the service/product provider. This leads to a lot of people with “bad intentions” getting away with the “good business”. The honest person has no motivation to stay honest – since his honesty is most often neither seen or appreciated by the people he is dealing with. This leads to a society that is morally bankrupt at every level.
However there is a way out in all this mess. And that way would include helping this system record the “personal touches” in the business. We do not have to go back to those days of limited productivity just to “know” the people who are working with us. We can in fact leverage our current technologies to maintain distributed but interconnected databases which have “ratings” and feedback provided by people, about any person in the database. This database should be openly accessible and every person shall have freedom to provide his “opinion” about any other person and see all other opinions about other people. Also these databases should record the nature of the transaction/deal (but not the transaction itself ) in the context of which the opinion is provided. Recording the actual transaction with all details may not be in the interest of maintaining one’s privacy from prying eyes ! Thus to prevent the “user” from getting demotivated (to provide a “feedback”) – we will have to forgo recording the details of every transactions.
Feedback please !
I personally believe that this will anyway come to happen in the near future. Even in our present we have many such databases, but they lack the “freedom” in viewership and authorship. Wikipidea is open to all but alas it records only facts ! The key to improved efficiencies in the future lies in our acknowledgment that people are indeed the most important block of any business and need to be “heard”. Technology can support any system – and corrupt systems along with their technology can only bring the whole of our civilization down ! Lets make the right choice while the going is still good !
Research in India ! …. Part 1
Sometimes you get this wonderful opportunity to do “worthwhile” research in India. The word worthwhile is used in quotes to bring out the weight behind the word when used in the context of Indian research. In most Indian institutions research is done like a stage play. There are various actors, and a vast array of “technology” which forms the backdrop to the action. In this setting the actors go through the motions while making sure that the performance is believable and the output has enough quality to not be disregarded.
Research and Development !
You see in India we do not really believe in research. We believe in working and getting salaries. Open ended research is a huge load on our feeble brains ! So to mitigate this problem we like little monkeys imitate the “practices” from our western friends. We set up emails, we do meetings, we buy black berries ( not the edible variety ), we buy “servers” and we generally go about disseminating textbook information in baritone voices so that the listener may be brainwashed into believing that all the research we are doing is worthwhile and unique !
Into this soup, did I decide to dive in ! And oh what fun we had … but wait, let me tell you from the beginning ! The beginning as always is a meeting. Here the participants of the research are made to sit through a long lecture about the “workings” of the place. Each person tries to demonstrate to the best of his ability the justification for him being in the group ! Then they critically examine each other, trying to figure out “why that guy is not suitable for this project” …
So let me start with our first meeting. To give a brief ( but obfuscated) background of this research – its a project from some very noble “european guys” sitting in some European countries. Well they always seem to be doing “good research” so any project originating there has “good research” written all over it ! And for monkeys like us in India – its quite a boon to get assigned some task where there is a little bit of bandwidth. So these two facts make this project a really excellent one. Coming back to the meeting – we were seated in an office. The chief researcher who is also a professor began with some bad news. Okay … I can hear all of you saying “Already !”. To understand the bad news one has to examine the “history”. When this project was initially proposed to the “european guys” they were super glad ! All sorts of things were proposed to be done. (Maybe even a trip to the moon – just kidding). After the proposal was accepted the budget requirements were sent . The project was for three years and a per year cost was calculated. However when the project got approved the duration remained three years but the money given was that same number calculated and mentioned – the cost for one year ! Apparently it was a glitch in the “system”. Apparently those guys have a system that does not understand Indian numbers !
Well the project had to be re-evaluated. We cannot go and tell those “european guys” that – hey your system screwed up guys. No No. We had to now rephrase the project so that the work was less. Interesting sub parts were found and deemed essential. These were reset as the priorities for the project. So now we had a “reduced” project. This was duly conveyed to “those guys” and they understood the “problem”.
To continue with the meeting – well the above facts were reiterated and the participants advised that – well we do not have enough money. Moreover the educational institution under whose roof we are to do the project has its own set of rules ! It cannot allow a pay of more than a certain amount for a certain “qualification”. So great – we get even less ! Also theres no money for “servers” so we have to pinch one from another project. Hey life doesn’t get better than this – does it ?
At this point a little background about the participants is necessary. Apart from the Chief Researcher there are four other participants. One of these guys is a poor research fellow – whose research will be used for the algorithm ( since this is mostly computational research – it becomes super easy to rip the guy !) . Now this guy doesn’t get paid. That is because he is already getting some peanuts else where ( in the form scholarship money for his Phd). If he were to take some money then (according to the institute rules) he would also have to relinquish the Phd scholarship ! Super ! The next guys is me – a semi engineer cum scientist who has some interest in bioinformatics. I get paid a “salary” which looks more like a stipend. The third player is an ambitious “student” who wants to get “a Phd”. So he works for half the peanuts that I work for ! And lastly is the “mediator”. He’s the guy who is giving the money – well actually he just delivers the cheques and makes sure the “formalities” are being done ! He also knows “those guys” and has to answer for the project to “them”.
So now the mediator rose to the occasion and said – well this was one huge opportunity ! Here we were a bunch of monkeys – getting some peanuts for “doing our own thing”. We have to impress “them” – he said. So its was imperative that we fill out a work time-sheet which showed that we were appearing on the horizon regularly. Also we had to show how many hours we were spending on “various” aspects of the project. In effect giving us the daily roster that they usually hand out to prison inmates on work detail ! He also emphasized that the reduced money was not “their” problem so we should never utter these words in front of them ! In fact he gave us clear instructions to communicate only through him. Perhaps he was afraid that he would get caught going to Maldives on project money ! (again – just kidding!)
I decided to put a small question at this juncture – I asked him if knew of any “commercial” use of this research. (to clarify the situation here – the project was always deemed to be Open Source and under the usual “free for all” rigmarole !) He said that there were interested parties who knew how to get some commercial mileage out of this ! Wow ! So now we know why “they” are being so “good” and giving us “all this money” to have “our” way in this research. That cleared the air a lot and we all looked much relieved. The “ambitious student” also put in his two comments all the while smiling with gusto ! The next question about this projects was about the peanuts (again initiated by me) . So did he ( the mediator) think that the peanuts given for this research were indeed small and bad quality ? Well, he said, there was massive value to be obtained ! We could get to know “those guys” – who are really good at research ! However we could not talk to them directly – and no – we could not ask for other projects or go on any other project on request.
The chief researcher also wanted to add that although the project had been “reduced” she could not “stop us” from doing more ! So that we could get even more value from this project ? I almost wondered aloud !
Well its like a telling a parrot in a bird-cage – “You can be stuck here all your life and imagine that you can fly !”. We were all convinced that there was indeed a lot of “value” to be obtained from this project ! Now lets revise the list of implications
- The project was for three years with the money of one year
- There was no money to buy equipment
- Daily in/out routine had to be mentioned and recorded – for “their’ benefit.
- We could not talk to “them” directly
- The fact there was only peanuts to be had was not “their’ problem.
- The “ambitious student” would get no salary at the end of two years.( He asked about the “three” years mentioned on the project – and was duly informed by the mediator that the last year was for “workshops”.)
- We were to impress “them” by showing our hard work and dedication.
- Teamwork in an exemplary form had to exist between all of us – so that we could all sit down together every day morning and catch the peanuts thrown at us.
The monkey is me !
The above were the broad implications of the meeting. It ended with samosas and tea. The “office karamchari” had to wait overtime and do some “paperwork” while the researchers were finding ways to get “value” from the research. The mediator was on the back-foot at the end warding of questions with solid blocks with the bat (like in cricket). The chief researcher decided to check mail. Monkeys like me decided to go home and ponder. The Phd student whose research we were ripping sat all the while notebook and pencil in hand wondering why the discussion never bordered on the technical ! The “ambitious student” got bowled over by the mediators “accent” and indeed felt there was immense value to be gained from this research !
After leaving the meeting hall – I went over to the “Server” room. there were two Sun workstations sitting pretty among a whole multitude of Dell machines. Apparently these had 32GB RAM ( GB does not stand for Great Britain any more) and “immense” amount of computational power ! Costing at over 4 lac rupees it was a dream machine ! So I naturally asked the admin chap – can I work on these ? Alas he said – there is no operating system on these ! Cool ! 8 lac rupees sitting pretty just for eye candy ! I told him he should have bought a plasma screen with a DVD player – it would have “served” us better !
The heart of a terrorist …
Terror !
The Mumbai terror attacks has been a wake-up call for the whole of India. It showed us our vulnerabilities in the most unflattering light. All of India was glued to the TV, waiting for the next development. It had over a few days become the national obsession. Emotions of various hues were displayed by our news channels. Everyone who was anyone spoke about it and showed fear, sorrow, anger and all the variety of reactions that define us humans.
The Pakistani government and media spoke and so did their Indian counterparts. The US and European Union countries had something to say also. The only ones who did not speak were the terrorists. They were nameless , faceless , speechless icons of evil. They were not a bunch of people with guns – rather they were symbolic of terror and their individual identities merged to become the “enemy”.
But what about them as individuals. Everyone among us knows about the making of terrorists. We know the dirty money that funds it. We know the religions that enshrine it. We know the people who are using it. We also know the people who are being used. However we actually don’t know about the people who work for peanuts and give up their lives in a futile attempt to glorify their religion.
Can someone live with the thought of killing so many innocents ? How as a human does a person reconcile himself to killing un-armed screaming innocent people ? What is that “pressure release valve” in their brains that malfunctions ? And what is the cause for so much pressure to build up that there is finally no choice but to blow up in self-annihilation ? Is it this anticipated guilt of killing innocents – that makes them wish to die ?
These questions need to be studied and satisfactory descriptions of the “terrorist brain” has to be solidified. Terrorism like any other career has a certain stereotype as its requirement. Social evolution will eventually club the “likely candidates” into the “proper religion/creed” so that they can give vent to their need for violence. A while back warring armies liked such a stereotype – the type who would give up their lives killing un-related individuals. The reason was “noble” – it was for the motherland.
Now we don’t have as many wars – and in any case the fatalities are minimized as far as possible. So where did that stereotype go after the war ? They started fighting smaller battles, for lesser reasons. Until up came a religion-based fanatical-tribal faction that had the right “job atmosphere”. They provided a reason to the warring individual and the warring individual found the justification necessary to be free from the guilt emanating from his actions.
What is sad however is how the media and the people in general comprehend this “individual”. There is no attempt to understand the mind that becomes a terrorist. They are nameless – and now even religionless – because their religious leaders have disowned them ! So what are they ? What part of the brain is built differently that such an individual can overcome such deep emotions as compassion and sympathy ? What is this psychosis ? Can it not be a form of mental disease – maybe even treatable ? Maybe some people are genetically geared towards violence – we know from our history that they were a highly necessary group of people not a long time ago (from the beginning of the first war ever fought by man !).
Every war has “collateral damage”. Mistakes that are at that point not too costly. Maybe a 100 innocents get killed while a bombing mission goes off-target by a few miles ! There are apologies extended by the errant army and the matter is forgotten. But the hidden cost of such mistakes is huge – its called terrorism ! These emotionally scarred innocent survivors built the most unbeatable mental defense system ever invented by man – the will to die ! A person willing to die cannot be reasoned with. Death is the end of any individual – and the love of it frees the soul from mortal fears. All our societies and systems are built on the premise that we will help each other survive. But what if we give sufficient reason to a person to make him wish to die ? He cannot fit in anymore – he becomes the outsider – the terrorist. A very ironical question that may be asked at this point is – can terrorists be terrorized into submission ?
The roots of terrorism cannot be found in religion. It is not in the “training camps”. Its not in the religious institutions where fanaticism is fanned into the populace. Its is not in the ideologue. Its not inside any country or in any society. The roots of terrorism are in two important facts that we haven’t analyzed sufficiently.
a) Our need for people willing to die for “sufficient reason” while killing the unknown enemy.
b) Our callousness in fighting our wars – where we neglect to heal the innocents who have suffered the emotional damage.
Without understanding the ramifications of the above we can never hope to solve the “terrorist problem”. We will keep fighting these “terrorists” as their brethren get further scarred and hence become more of the same. The society as a whole has to heal before “terrorism” goes away. And stupid wars fought for stupid reasons will make it much worse than it already is. I hope that in our future we are better aware if this reality and make amends for the millions of innocents killed in ideological wars.
Tricky tricky traitor !
The recent spate of spy movies was getting a little repetitive if you ask me. So I decided to watch Traitor expecting that it will be another round of hideouts, terrorists and corrupt intelligence officials. My apprehension was that the plot will be clichéd, and the characters will be copies of the standard stereotypes.
However once in a while we come across a genre rejuvenating movie. Traitor takes the theme of a spy and his affiliations to a new level. Don Cheadle as the Traitor is one of the best and honest depictions of a spy I have ever seen. The movie is not about the black or the white. Its about the gray area in the middle.
The reason for the word honest (above) are many. For once we get to see the childhood of a traitor (albeit briefly). We also see the day to day mental torment which a spy has to suffer to reach his goals. The villains are not really the “bad guys” – they are a shade darker than the good guys. In fact one of the “bad guys” actually turns out to be an ironic hero in the end. There is a sort of dark realistic satire in this movie. As if the scriptwriter/director wanted to tell you something more than just the story.
The cinematography is stark and real – no frills but the straight scenes with a little bit of the excellent camera placement. The settings are well depicted – especially the ones in the open dessert prison. The characters are filmed with stabilized shoulder mounted cameras. So there’s a feel of you actually being there in the scene along with the other characters !
The sound track is a little techno sometimes – but pleasantly so. Inter spaced with this is a little bit of the old world Arabic, Egyptian and African riffs. A very pleasant sort of throbbing music that never distracts from the scene but manages to set the pace of the movie all the while.
Don Cheadle turns out a performance of a lifetime. A Muslim spy who is by his nationality (US) forced to side with the Americans. He is torn between his allegiance to his country and the sympathy he feels for the “terrorists”. A true believer in Islam – he depicts the picture of a man with a conscience, who knows what his actions amount to and is willing to take the responsibility arising of it.
Guy Pearce ( from Memento) plays the tenacious but suave FBI agent. He knows his job and in typical American style wants to do things Now ! Throughout the movie their characters follow parallel paths, crossing each other only thrice – and in very brief but telling fashion.
The other notable character is the good “bad guy” (played by Said Taghmaoui) with whom Don Cheadle has to hang around. This character (as with all the characters…) is excellently defined – showing the heart of a terrorist who has an inkling that his path is not about true Islam. To be honest the audience might feel like sympathising with him in the end ( if they are not careful …) .
Alyy Khan (oh yes ! There are two Indian actors here ! Maybe more – but I could identify two ..) is exceptionally believable as the suave plotter who his determined to cause a dent to the American psyche. He portrays a devious man who has got a logical mind with an evil heart.
And finally the plot. Its got a dose of the twists and turns ( which is not at all unusual for a spy movie). But the this time the plot follows the characters and their different trysts rather than the hard facts. Quite the opposite of a documentary … the director concentrates on the soul rather than the “truth”. As i said before – the movie and the plot is about the gray area between black and white. The plot is nonetheless riveting – never bogged down with any overtly emotional scenes.
Overall a commendable movie from Jeffrey Nachmanoff ( who also does the screenplay and script – well almost the guy who is trying to talk to the audience through this movie !). Ashok Amritraj also has his finger in this pie. Somehow I like the movies that have his name in the credit roll at the end. The only downside I could find were the two dimensional depictions of the terrorist “bombers”.
I suggest not wasting this movie with your beer soaked buddies. Head out to the theater with some contemplative company and enjoy this very immaculate depiction of a spy and his exciting but miserable life …
Liam Neeson takes it ALL
There are a few people in this world who can get pissed off and then cause a carnage single handedly. Liam Neeson in “Taken” is one of them.
The story begins slowly with scenes of an estranged father trying to come to terms with this alienation from his daughter. Liam Neeson is an ex-CIA agent whose specialty was “prevention”. While “preventing” he lost his family to some rich bloke who pays more attention and money to his ex-wife and daughter. Having established the relationships, the audience is shown some absurd trip that his daughter has planned and which he squarely objects to. As our luck would have it – the daughter takes the trip, and we get to see an awesome trip of gore and bloodshed.
The movie has an absurd quality at times – scenes like some stalker attacking a singer back stage is quite a cliché. Also the bad guys seem to have all the guns but no shooting skills. They miss Liam all the time ! Famke as the high profile mother does her bit but is barely convincing – not because of her acting which is okay, but because the script fails to give a solid feel to her character. For most of the movie she looks like an extra. Also the image of the “crooked arab sheikh wanting to fornicate with kidnapped white girls” is a bit over used already to give any extra fillip to the storyline.
The best part about the movie is Liam – and he does a good job of showing a concerned father who will go to any lengths to get his daughter back. He doesn’t look like he is “acting” at all. Its some times so real that you feel sorry for the guy when he gets knocked down once. Liam also has this very earthy quality about him – a raw screen presence that does not need glamorous settings to grip your attention. For his age he does the action sequences exceptionally well !
About the action sequences – they were a revelation really. Jason Bourne could take a few tips from Liam. The pace is fast and the action is filmed in constricted places. All manner of props are used to take down the bad guys. It almost feels like you are in the same room and the next piece of furniture is gonna hit you square on the jaw. Liam shows off his reflexes and presence of mind – and makes it quite believable at that.
Maggie Grace as the bird-brained daughter (its not surprising that she wants to be a singer !) is average at best. She shows fright well on her face but the other emotions seem pasted on. Also her character in the movie is like that of her screen mother – extra. Somehow I wished they had shown a more gritty daughter given the fact that the father shows such presence of mind – perhaps a lesson in genetics might do the script -writer some good. Or maybe she got it all from her mom – who knows !
The movie shows a multitude of decrepit rooms filled with drugged (American ?) teenagers waiting to get auctioned off. In reality I guess any criminal activity of such proportions would get the attention of George Bush who would order a “nucalear” strike ! The sheikh at the end is a little comical – holding a knife to ward off a guy who just beat the s**t out of twenty or more hardcore thugs with UZIs. The cinematography is great – no rolling hills and valleys – but well placed cameras and good editing. The script is a little shallow to begin with but is a non-issue towards the end. Paris is not shown as the land of art – but rather full of refugees waiting to kidnap and sell single nubile women from the US of A. The music is non-intrusive and complements the action well.
To sum up – a great action flick to watch from the unlikliest of actors – Liam Neeson ( yeah the same guy from Schindlers List !). The story never bores you and in the end you do feel that his daughter’s freedom is hard won. If you can excuse the american arrogance of treating all non-americans as vile insects, and the lack of satire or irony (except a small interrogation scene) – you will fully enjoy watching the “baap” of Jason Bourne !
A quantum of soul-less …
Theres one thing that Austin Powers should realize … he aint nothing without James Bond.
However this fact has apparently escaped the most unexpected of people – the makers of the latest Bond flick. No doubt its very real and you can almost feel the shrapnel in your face, but some of the unreal magic is lost in the process. Its like a very real story waiting for the bit of the magic that usually came packaged with the previous line of movies.
- Bond Movie Digested !!
Casino Royale still remains a high point in the franchise. And for good reason also. Firstly there was the new Bond. So we got to see the “new” grimace of pain. We saw the “new” passion to follow people in the French style of parkour. We saw a “new” love story involving our man and a very “modern” depiction of a Bond woman. But apart from the “newness” there was a sense of realism in the movie. A subtle moving away from the gadgets to the raw sex-appeal of sweat, blood and devious espionage.
Quantum of Solace moves on the same trajectory but the story is not as tight and the music is a little frayed. Although we see a return to some “advanced” gadgetry, the effort to retain the isolation of Bond from technical excesses is evident in the movie. We usually see Bond in the thick of things with just a high-tech cellphone. While most of the funky stuff remains in M’s office.
It begins a little too fast and stays that way for most of the movie. Alicia Keys is a letdown with the opening song – trying to pull out octaves like Sheryl Crow or Shirley Bassey, but only managing a weak croak in the end. And the opening car chase (although filmed in great realism) is just too arduous to begin with. Well we all know that espionage is hard work – but we like to see our Bond using a bit of his noodle to get things done. Realism doesn’t have to mean bone-headedness.
The rest of the story is a little “unexplained” but still bearable. The famous Bond Villain is also more real – like our hero. He doesn’t have a facial tick or a funky island with lasers all around. He is an everyday weasel who made it big by selling his friends on the way. Well so much for that ultimate villain we keep waiting to see every time.
The movie saver is Olga as the new Bond girl … no wait … the she-Bond. She is not a sex kitten or some lethal arm candy for the Bond Villain. Shes just a woman who wants to get some personal joy in killing a parallel character in the movie. I say parallel because the character of the General (wanting to become the Ruler) is exactly like that. I cannot really understand why he was very important in the scheme of things and I presume the director also felt the same way. That is probably the reason why he put in a two dimentional character to complement the main villain.
To come back to the character of Olga – it is at the least very refreshing to see a Bond girl having an obsession other than Bond. And she does justice to the role as well, painting the nuanced picture of a determined woman who doesn’t mind being vulnerable. For his part, Craig also has immense screen presence and those beady expressive eyes. He is more like a reluctant hero, carrying out the dirty work in spite of his personal loss. And as usual he is good at the “physicals” – running and jumping around so much that I was having difficulty imagining how he “could not sleep” in that bar room scene with another parallel character. This guy gets murdered in the end, but not before giving a good “the last words before dying” routine. The audience is shown a soft Bond who hugs a close friend (wasn’t he responsible for his love’s death in the previous flick ?) as he is dying on a deserted city street. Aint that sweet ?
All in all an average Bond movie. Not because Craig is unbelievable. Or Olga in the new she-Bond avatar. But because the action set pieces seem to have been added only for effect and the music fails to impress. A realistic story which like reality seems quite boring in the end.
Lets applaud Craig and Olga and throw out the script writer. Also the crew needs to do some magic to get Bond’s mojo back into him. Alicia Keys singing symbolises the movie – tried hard but failed to impress !
Limmericks – In the Style of Ogden Nash
The first one is about stocks and market turmoil
“I put money in your stocks
And now my a** is in the docks”
Said the investor with a shudder
To the petulant Lehman Brother.
This one kind of gets my frustration out with Delhi traffic
Oh Dilli wala why do you hurry ?
You turn the roads to chicken curry !
One day when your car runs into a wall,
I’ll open the door and kick your ba** !
Who can ever forget her ?
Mamta Banerjee sat in Singur,
Behaving like a stupid boor …
While corporate CEOs take a call,
And stop investing in Bengal.
Traffic Signals are for the feint hearted !!
Our traffic signal has no flaw
Except for the errant autorikshaw.
He will go whatever the light
Always ready to pick a fight.
One day we’ll beat him till he’s raw,
Until he understands the law.
