One Legged Stance

Stepping out for some chores one fine day, something grabbed my attention. It spotted a pigeon  sitting on a window frame. Nothing worth noticing, i thought. But then I had to turn my head once again as I felt  there was something was strange about that lone bird. It was a quite day and my presence, to that bird, was noticeable as I was on the stairs right in front on it. But it seemed calm and unfeathered by any human presence. Not that pigeons care. They are in the bottom of my birds list as a nuisance more than anything else. They are stubborn, unskilled and uncaring for their own kind. All they seem to do is mate, poop and occupy concrete spots they can claim and fight over. And yes, they are damn noisy. 

Entire Pink Floyd Collection for free streaming

Pink Floyd

For all those who love Pink Floyd, here is another online streaming site which offers almost the entire catalog for free streaming. The songs are in 128Kbps quality which is quite decent for the ears.

One of the greatest bands in the world that has captured my imagination since childhood, Pink Floyd has been innovative, imaginative and progressive in the way they have expressed their stories in musical expression to the world.

What I loved about bands like them are that they do not conform nor try to fit into any specific genre. Its music, its expressed from the heart and with a passion. And passion is what to feel when you listen to their albums. Yes, I love listening to an album, not just a song. Thats a musical experience that I feel is missing from most artist albums now a days.

Decoding Brain Damage

Found this video of Roger Waters explaining the thought behind the song 'Brain Damage', a song from the Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd.

"Brain Damage" looks at a mental illness resulting from the elevation of fame and success above the needs of the self; in particular, the line "and if the band you're in starts playing different tunes" reflects the mental breakdown of former band-mate Syd Barrett. [Wiki]

Roger explains how the song beginning got inspired by a thought. Though not explained in the video, the song does reflect on Syd's mental illness. Its amazing how the band reflect on it in this epic song from one of the greatest albums of all time. 

The Richard Parker In Us

Life Of Pi directed by Ang Lee

This is not a movie review. I would like to tell this in the beginning as I don't like to opinionate on movies. Not that its bad or anything, its just that my views are just one of the perspectives amongst thousands that might be out there. And yet, some other person with a completely different sensibility might just not conform to any of those views and end up loving or hating the movie.

I loved the movie 'Life of Pi' for one simple reason. It has so many layers, interpretations and complexities that I was completely awestruck by it. It looks like a simple story of a boy named Pi and his coming of age tale which unfolds in a rather extraordinary circumstances. But as you move higher in the layers or interpretation of the story, that you realize that it starts getting philosophical and spiritual. That's when it hit me as to  why this movie and the book on which its based is so damn good.

Finding the best deals online, in India

We seek sale like flies. Don't we?

I have been looking around for good deals lately for purchasing a DSLR. Frankly, Indian e-Commerce industry has a lot more to do before it can be safely considered as the best place for deals. Even then, the prices are quite competitive when you are hunting for specific goods, say electronic.

I wanted a site or some source that would let me know the best places to get the elusive deal for the product I wanted to buy. I came across three alternatives. Google.com, Junglee.com and pricedealsindia.com. Interestingly enough, we still do not have a comprehensive site that would offer all kinds of products with their available pricing for purchase online. The industry is far from attaining any kind of maturity at this stage. Hopefully, things would improve. Anyways, back to my DSLR hunt.

Buying a DSLR with a Pro Body or a Pro Lens?

There are a lot of amateurs like me who want to get into photography with DSLR cameras. Some have a lot of money to splurge and afford the latest and the most advanced DSLR's. Other, like me, think ten times or perhaps a hundred times before even making a decision to go ahead and buy a DSLR. For folks who fall in the later category, the burning question is how to manage the spending and make an optimum choice.

"Do I buy a high end DSLR and work with the cheapest deal on a lens in the remaining money? or, do I buy a basic amateur DSLR and invest in a good quality lens?"

Life in a frame - Skyfall

I was travelling to Mumbai on a flight that took me to the sky with a magical view. What was even more exciting was the fact that I could take some of this beauty as a memory with me back home.

All I could think of was 'Skyfall' 

Got this beautiful view captured on my Nokia E71. I was quite surprised to see the blues that got captured in this picture. No polarizer filter or Photoshop effect, just a simple camera phone, that too with a not so good camera.

The way the clouds were spread over the sky, it felt like heaven. "Somewhere out there must be a gate to the other world", I thought. "Can't believe we live on such a wonderful world." 

Analog lamp for a digital view

I have a six year old point Sony W100 shoot camera. This Diwali, I got interested in attempting an bokeh shot with this camera and this is what I got. Quite proud of it as the visual had significance and interpretation for me. I would like to share it with you all.

A deeya (lamp) lit during the festival of Diwali in India

Looks like a iPhone 5, will buy.

Read a tweet by Stephen Fry and it mention about adding something to ones gadget collection. There was a link to this suggestion too. What it lead to was truly baffling, real, funny and plausible. In fact, it was.

Have a look at this.

Tweet by Stephen Fry

And this is the gadget of desire.

Bit like a iPhone 5

Search for similar websites online

Discover alternative websites on SimilarSiteSerch.com

Your like to buy gifts online but do not know of any site to browse through. Not worries, there is a site which will tell you sites that might have what you are looking for. Check out SimilarSiteSearch.com.

The results are not local or regional but it provides a good list of sites that you can look through and decide on.

I was hunting for sites similar to Pinterest and was amazed to find 50 odd sites with design concept similar to Pinterest.

Check it out and happy surfing. 

Mixtape - Spooktastic (8Tracks)

Found this interesting MixTape on 8Tracks. A good collection of dubstep, electronic and house music to kick start a good party.

SPOOKTASTIC from UnstUnstUnst on 8tracks Radio.

Maxthon, my internet surfing gear

Getting a smooth browsing experience on a 64Bit OS with Maxthon

Sending hours on the internet, one might take the browser for granted, or perhaps not. Well, I took it for granted since I had a choice among the best out there - Chrome, Firefox, Opera, IE (I would be play safe and mention version 9 here). Safety was always a 'be cautious' approach for me since non of the browsers truly are safe. As long as you drift around the Internet in safe waters, you will be alright.

Ableton Live 9 is coming soon!

New Ableton Live 9 and Ableton Push 

And guess what? there is a new gadget coming soon to ride this monster too.


Ableton live is one of the most innovative DAW (Digital audio Workstation) software's available in the market. What makes it unique is the ability to compose tracks and create clip launch scenes which can be use for live performances.

I am a Ableton fan and use it as a hobby. The recent update that Ableton has come out with is something worth talking about.

Albeton Live 9 and Push. Ableton Live 9 will be released soon and as an introductory offer, they are providing a discount on Live 8 with a free upgrade to Live 9. That's something.

And to add to it, Albeton is introducing Push, a Albeton controller, in collaboration with Akai Pro, that allows a musician the ability to use Live 9 without having to touch the laptop and completely focusing on the music production process. We earlier had Akai Pro APC 40 to do that, but the Push takes it to a whole new level.

Here is the video of the launch event.

The Offer by Ableton

Ableton is providing a 25% discount on Ableton Live 8 with a free update to Ableton 9 when it gets launched. That's fantastic for those who always wanted Live 8. Existing owners of Live Lite or earlier versions of Live will be eligible for further discounts and lower upgrade cost which brings down the cost considerably. You would have to login to your Ableton account to check for the applicable discounts.

Early opinion of Push

I saw the demo video of Push which Ableton has shared from one of its launch video. Its quite complex and if you are a novice user or someone new to Ableton, you might want to stick to APC 40's or Novation Launchpads for the time being. A more advanced user with exceptional skills in using Ableton would benefit from Push and its got (what I believe) a sharp learning curve. Missing knobs make it very pressy (sorry for the lack of better word). But then, its just an observation. Its still a awesome device.

The ultimate VideoBomb/Troll that would crack you up

YouTube is know for their freaky recommendations. I was surfing the site and at the end of a certain video, I was recommended a video which was titled "CRAZYSHIT - Best Videobomb Behind Reporter Ever". Oh, I recollect, I was watching another video reporter video bombed at the recent CNN live coverage of hurricane Sandy battering New York city.

Just when I though the Americans were nuts, the Scottish outdid them. LOL!  

First is the American CNN footage.

And now, the BBC footage from Scotland.

Joe Biden's Greatest Hits

I came across this article some time back on HuffingtonPost.com which was to do with the usual US (and as a matter of fact, International Politics) of picking on your opponents words to to attack them. It may be something they said without thinking of the consequence or perhaps their words were taken out of context or its was just plain old tit-for-tat politics to keep the voters occupied with the inconsequential aspects of the governance or government. This time it was Joe Biden who said something to which the Republicans were having a field day blasting off a salvo of criticism at him.

As one scrolls down the article, there is something of a surprise that one encounters. 'The Greatest Hits of Joe Biden'. What? Is it really?

There is a playlist of songs created on Spotify which are a humorous take on Joe Biden's gaffe prone speeches and perhaps public interaction spells.

Here is the first politically humorous playlist (which I ever encountered) for your listening pleasure.

Hey Boy!

My first attempt at drawing with my new Wacom Bamboo Tablet. I love this tablet as a beginner. I migh probably do a quick overview on it in my future post. For now, this is what I could come up with in a 2 min sketch with Bamboo and Adobe Photoshop.

Hey Boy! (A digital sketch)

 PS: I user a crumpled paper texture in the background which I found on the internet.

Mixtape - Foreign Beggars Collection

Been looking at a lot of music listening sites online and I must say, they are all with their very own unique flavors. But the one that I am hooked on to is 8Tracks. Its simple, elegant and addictive. People share their collections by creating a playlist of online songs or uploading their own mp3's to the site. Most of the collections are well crafted and made with a lot of passion, I believe. It encouraged me to make on of my own. Been listening to this band for quite some time. So I though of making my very first collection of my favorite songs from them. They are called the Foreign Beggars.

Here is my first collection on 8Tracks.com. 

Foreign Beggars Collection from nagwekar on 8tracks Radio.

MixTape - All Time Greatest and Favourites!

I heard this playlist on 8Tracks.com and simply loved it. Had to favourite it asap. Not sure how long this playlist is but I don't care as as its simple awesome and it just won't end. One comment has mentioned it to be more than 8+ hours long. WoopWoop!!

Thanks to 'Liusiok' for sharing this amazing collection.

All time greatest and favourites! Highly recommended. from Liusiok on 8tracks Radio.

Apple trolling Samsung

I was going through the pics I had snapped on my mobile recently and came across a picture with a rather funny scenario. I took a snap of the Samsung SIII that we had procured for device testing in our office. I took the snap with my Nokia E71 phone.

When I saw the pic, I was in splits. There was a iPad in the backdrop. So the scenario is that A Nokia phone is clicking a Samsung product and an Apple device is trolling the shot. LOL!

Here it is, the magical moment. Added a little bit of humor to it.

Wonder what Samsung S3 must be thinking.

Got a troll comment? Share it with me. A little bit of humor does no harm as we anyways are mute spectators to this fiasco.

Music Discovery on YouTube

Did you know that YouTube has a music discovery feature that allows user to generate a playlist of music videos?

No?

Search your favorite artist or song to create a playlist.

Try this out.

Step 1: Go to www.youtube.com/disco

Step 2: Type the name of the artist or song that you like.

Step 3: Sit back and enjoy YouTube's playlist of music videos :)

Quote for thought

There's no certainty - only opportunity.

[Unknown]

"If you like the quote, do share it with other. Tweet it, blog it, speak about it, do anything that would make it meaningful or at least try and be meaningful to others. Just remember not to quote it for the sake of being 'interesting'. I don't think the person who said it, meant it to be just a mundane set of coherent words.


Quotes live on because they are powerful and help us make sense of our actions, situations, decisions and sometimes our life at large." 

. 

Why I love my iBall Slide Android 2.3 tablet

When everyone is talking about the fastest and the most badass tablets on earth, here I am raving about a Rs12000 tablet. We are currently at a point when quadcore tablets would become a norm of some sort. But my needs are very basic and I need something that would suffice what I really, really need.

So what  do I need?

• I want a device that disconnects me from power chords. And any other cords, for that matter.
• Keeps me mobile even when I am accessing digital information.
• Gives me internet on the go.
• Pocketable and easy to carry. And not a pain to handle.

What do I want to to do with it?

• Surf in internet, access mails and chat.
• Access some social apps.
• Read some books and play some music.
• Watch videos and movies.

All dream ports that you want in your tablet.

Without going through the BS of how I bought this device, here is why I bought one.

Pros

• Surprisingly, a very responsive screen
• Good display quality
• Access to USB port and SD card slot.
• 7 inch screen (very convenient)
• Decent audio speakers onboard.
• And most importantly, Price point

Some cons that I will have to live with.

Cons

• No sim card slot, but there is provision for a 3G dongle through USB port.
• Android 2.3. Already ICS (4.0) is coming in all new devices.
• 720p playback. Which is half HD.
• A bit chunky and not that stylish.
• Confusing button structure.
• Need to purchase a mini to regular HDMI cable.

USP

• Low cost means I don’t have to be extra protective about the device. Yet it is sturdy enough for a little rough handling.
• Preloaded apps to manage unnecessary background apps. I hate android for allowing apps to activate on their own. There is a limited provision to set apps not to do so.
• USB port can take 32Gb and the SDcard slot can take another 32GB. Inbuilt space is 8GB. So a total of 72Gb can be played with at any given point. That's awesome!
• A hard boot always comes handy. Though I never really have had to use it yet.
• iBall has done a very limited customization. But they sure come handy and I thank them for that. Especially the ESTask Manager and ES File Explorer app.

So there you are. A short and to-the-point reason for my choice. The only thing you need to be prepared to do is swallow your pride when someone next to you is on a Samsung Galaxy Tab or a iPad 2 and you are with this gear.

It’s ok, you made a smart move and are not a show-off  :) 

Cheers!

Quote for thought

When you rise in life,

Your friends know who you are.

When you fall down,

You know who are your friends. 
[Unknown]

"If you like the quote, do share it with other. Tweet it, blog it, speak about it, do anything that would make it meaningful or at least try and be meaningful to others. Just remember not to quote it for the sake of being 'interesting'. I don't think the person who said it, meant it to be just a mundane set of coherent words.


Quotes live on because they are powerful and help us make sense of our actions, situations, decisions and sometimes our life at large." 

Loki takes on the Avengers

Iron Man takes on Loki. 

Avengers - the movie, has been promoted with a lot of hype and tease. First, the short super Bowl commercial and then the full trailer that showed the star cast. Just when the fans thought they had got all the excitement they could have asked for, before the actual release of the movie, along came the second trailer.

What made this one interesting was the fact that very limited footage of the earlier trailer was used and some new drama and a load of action was put in to make this a jaw dropping and freakingly awesome trailer from the Marvel team. One could see the tension as the group gets formed for the first time in its history. The conflicts, fights and finally the coming together of Marvels finest and the best.

Hulk is being kept form being showcased a lot as he is the ultimate and the most powerful Avenger and the fans are dying to get a glimpse of him in action. What better than to show sneak peek of the green monster and his mentions by his buddies.

The image above has a dialog taking place between Loki, the bad guy, and Iron Man. Just this make me itch to see the green guy smash though Loki's army.

Then the after though set in ... what would Hulk think if he over heard Ironman say this. Probably jump in joy. The poor soul seriously needs a few smiles for sure.

 

Quote for thought

When I practice, I am a philosopher, 
When I teach, I am a scientist, 
When I demonstrate, I am an artist.
B.K.S. Iyengar

"If you like the quote, do share it with other. Tweet it, blog it, speak about it, do anything that would make it meaningful or at least try and be meaningful to others. Just remember not to quote it for the sake of being 'interesting'. I don't think the person who said it, meant it to be just a mundane set of coherent words.


Quotes live on because they are powerful and help us make sense of our actions, situations, decisions and sometimes our life at large." 

Life though a lens: Believe

You can anchor to any faith that can keep you afloat.

You don't have to be a believer to get the message.

I was traveling to work when I spotted this signboard under a flyover on the expressway. What I loved about this message was that it was simple, unpretentious and claiming no sponsorship. I saw a message that reminded me to love life and not to get pulled down by worries or sorrows as time heals with a little faith by your side. Anything that can ground you to your belief and helps you carry forward with joy, love and giving can not be bound to a religious belief and ignored for its substance.

Thank you, who ever you are. Really appreciate the effort to break our stream of distraction with a thought filled interruption.

Quote for thought

Be yourself; everyone else is taken. 
- Oscar Wilde.

"If you like the quote, do share it with other. Tweet it, blog it, speak about it, do anything that would make it meaningful or at least try and be meaningful to others. Just remember not to quote it for the sake of being 'interesting'. I don't think the person who said it, meant it to be just a mundane set of coherent words.


Quotes live on because they are powerful and help us make sense of our actions, situations, decisions and sometimes our life at large."