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