Into The Coven

May the Music Never Stop

2010-11-25T15:26:00.001-08:00

Through this humble piece I would like to pay tribute to the various musicians who have touched my heart with their craft, those who have so often picked me up from the depths of my own despair when I needed picking up, those who have made my day so often when I get to discern a shade of their music I hadn’t before, those who have accompanied me in the years through my journeys as constant friends, those whose music acts as a portal to parts of my life often better than my own waking memory….I could go on and on, but I’m woefully bad with words, so I’d instead like to quote the words of a wise man who said that music is the closest one gets to comprehend the uncomprehendable, or something to that effect…

…to James Hetfield and the boys at Metallica, for exposing me to a brave new world, for making music which causes the blood to rush to your head, a music so heartfelt, sincere and raw that at times it made the hair on my thirteen year old self’s arms stand on end…

…to King Diamond and his cohorts at Mercyful Fate and his own band, for pushing the limits of the human voice, for songs that through their macabre content and excellent individual musicianship aroused in me emotions and fears that never fail to tingle even to this day when I play them back…

…to Bruce Dickinson and the others at Iron Maidens for making you forget your worries for a few minutes, for making you pump your fists in the air and bang your head to the galloping, hypnotic thump of the bass and shout along with him…

…to Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai for opening my eyes to what could be achieved on an instrument and saying through their guitars what words never could...

…to Tom Araya and the guys at Slayer, for showing my fifteen year old self new expressions of aggression, for scaring the stuffing out of me with songs so fast and evil…

…to Roger Waters and David Gilmour for crafting songs that elevated you to new heights, and words that made you view the world in a new light, and Syd (RIP) for never failing to surprise you when you least expect it…

…to Mikael Akerfeldt and the musicians at Opeth for their ability, through their music, to control my mood better than I ever could…

…to Steven Wilson, for his crystalline guitar sound and intricately layered songs that make you close your eyes and forget everything else, for making music that enhances any activity while it plays in the background, like writing this piece…

…you may get old, people may forget you, play down your achievements, or say that your time is past, but there is no denying that you changed the world, and in the eyes of a lost, confused boy, you will always be young and ever shining. May the music never stop.

Victor Wooten, live in Chennai

2010-04-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

One of the most eagerly awaited shows in Chennai, it promised a night of unbounded music featuring world famous Jazz bassist Victor Wooten, the famous Prasanna on guitars, Dr Karthick on Ghatam and Bangalore Amrit on the Khanjira. Swarnabhoomi academy of music (SAM), the organizers, couldn’t have chosen a better venue than the luxurious Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Auditorium.

The show started with a video and presentation on the recently concluded weeklong music workshop by SAM, but it was only when the ensemble walked on stage that the audience came to life. Prasanna took the lead (in more ways than one) by “saying a few words in G major” through some carnatic infused playing which quickly changed style to jazz. Wooten soon stepped in with a bass solo featuring tricks from his massive bag like taps, harmonics, and other devices to thrill the audience. Prasanna then announced that the song was called “Garuda” which would be a part of his soon to be released album. At this point I realised that the show would primarily feature Prasanna’s songs with Wooten’s bass as an accompaniment, not the other way around, as I had initially hoped. But it had to be this way, as Wooten’s songs were not written with Indian instruments in mind.

The next song started with a chugging, bluesy riff by Prasanna accompanied by some superb percussion, while Wooten was content with staying in the background. It has to be said that an important part of the bassist’s repertoire is to be able to back a guitarist in a song, and Wooten did that with style, often matching the guitars note for note. Prasanna, meanwhile, turned up the distortion and continued to solo on with added effects, often with both his feet on distortion pedals! I must mention, however, that his stage act was quite rigid (despite his best efforts), unlike the cool flamboyance of Wooten. His guitar playing, however has come a long way from his purely carnatic-inspired initial days, and now features elements of Jazz and Blues, while maintaining a Carnatic core. This is evident from the songs in his album ‘Be the Change (BTC)’, which was being sold outside the venue. Wooten soon took over, with another slap bass solo, and this soon grew into a full scale Jugalbandi between him and the percussionists. It was an eye (and ear) opener to see the bass guitar being used as a percussive instrument!

The next song was ‘Ragabop’ from BTC, which started off with a fast guitar and bass jam between Prasanna and Wooten. Initially carnatic in nature, these bits alternated with breakdowns of a dissonant, jazzy character, the kind of musical terrain where Wooten tends to reign supreme. On the whole, this song was essentially a jugalbandi between the two frontmen. What followed was ‘Ta Ka Ka Ki Ta Blues’, also from BTC. This was a guitar driven song, bluesy in character, with some Indian bits thrown into the solos. Wooten and the percussionists gave support to Prasanna who was clearly the ‘lead’ musician now. I could sense that the crown wanted to see more of Wooten taking centerstage, but that was not to be, at least immediately. Prasanna promised the audience that we would get to see more of the percussionists and Wooten take up the stage after a short break.

What immediately followed the break was a demonstration of Wooten’s genius, where he showed us the various ways in which he could stretch the bass guitar to produce sounds normally not heard from it. The segment he played incorporated bass harmonics, pinches, slap, fingerpicking, strumming and a great deal of stage prescence! Wooten fans from the audience, meanwhile, kept shouting for him to play ‘Amazing grace’ and were soon rewarded. His own rendition of this classic featured both the ‘lead’ (played using harmonics) and the bass rhythm simultaneously, something I haven’t seen done before. Spellbinding!

Prasanna and the others then walked on stage, and quickly broke into a jam. Prasanna led the music, again, soloing on the wah-wah pedal, while the others gave good support. This song, we learned later was ‘Kalyani Connection’ from BTC. Another guitar driven jam followed, but some technical glitches prevented the guitar sound from being heard for a short while. The other musicians stepped to keep the flow going. Prasanna then entered into a Jugalbandi with the percussionists, but it may have lacked some of the freshness and flair of Wooten’s earlier jugalbandi with them. Prasanna then shouted out the words from Marley’s ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ to keep the audience interested, and this section was quite entertaining.

Immediately after, the percussionists took over, and played long alternating ‘solos’ between them. The audience loved it. There is something about percussion that appeals to one’s baser musical sense, especially one’s instinctive sense of rhythm and groove, and I couldn’t keep my hands from playing along to the beats of the Ghatam and the Khanjira. Wooten displayed a child-like curiosity during the proceedings, and was clearly in awe of these Indian instruments and their exponents.

One could sense that the ‘end’ was nearing, and when Prasanna and Wooten took their places for one last jam, the audience were expecting something special. What instead followed was another guitar driven, part-carnatic, part-western jam, where we perhaps saw less of Wooten (and more of Prasanna!) than we wanted. Nevertheless, the song, called ‘Potbelly Blues’ from Prasanna’s ‘Electric Ganeshaland’ was entertaining. What was missing, much to the audience’s chagrin, was another Wooten bass solo!

After that last jam, the audience started getting up to leave, when Prasanna came back on stage and started lecturing on how people in India are afraid to take up music seriously, even as a hobby, that Bollywood has monopolized our musical expression, and that SAM was now offering us a chance to follow our passion under the guidance of musicians like Wooten and himself. All of this was, of course, true, but I do not think that many of us were in the mood for a lecture (especially one that seemed suspiciously promotional), with the consequence that his words were largely unheeded, and the show ended on a slightly bitter, anticlimactic note.

All said and done, it was a show that will be remembered for a long time by the attendees, for the sheer genius of the musicians, who were not afraid to improvise on the spot, experiment between various genres of music and push the envelope even further for fusion artistes around the world.

JRO 2009

2009-07-08T22:37:00.001-07:00

The time was 5 pm, July 4. The second evening of the eleventh edition of Chennai’s annual rock fest JRO or June Rock Out (yes, it’s the wrong month!) kicked off at the scheduled time. Calling itself India’s only ‘responsible rock’ event, it strongly forbade liquor and cigarettes among the bands and audience, and supported various NGOs with the proceeds from the ticket sales. The venue was excellent – an amphitheater (Bucks Theater) in the vast YMCA sports campus in the heart of the city. The long path to the venue had banners of the event organiser Unwind Center and the various charitable organisations supported by the event. The entry was priced at a modest Rs. 200 for the evening. With an interesting line-up of bands covering many genres, both local and outstation, it promised to be a memorable evening. Bands from Mumbai and Delhi, though, were conspicuous by their absence.

Jazz-Rock band Touch Wood and Funk band Public Issue, both local, were the first acts of the day. Public Issue interestingly began with a tribute to the recently departed Michael Jackson.

Nu-Metal act Crimson Wood from Trivandrum was up next. Their music was heavy and the band was tight, and their songs were quite varied within their sub-genre. I liked the vocals on their last song, which had elements of rap blended with a groovy metal riff. The medium sized crowd enjoyed the show, which was slowly warming up with more people filling the arena. No one looked up at the sky, though, which was quickly filling with dark clouds. By the time the next band started their set, it was pouring fast and fat.

The second band was Scrat, a local band quite popular with the crowd. Like the previous band, they were city winners and zonal finalists at the CRI last year. They were, according to me, the best non-professional act of the day. Their music was everything from grunge to blues - think Superfuzz. The songs were well mixed up in terms of tempo and breakdowns, and the tunes were upbeat and fast paced, with flashes of guitar, bass and drum brilliance. The frontman Sriram had the drenched crowd moving with his skill and enthusiasm. The band’s songs were well recognized by many of those present and a few of them were singing the choruses out loud. While it is difficult to recall one song over the other, I really enjoyed ‘Adrenaline’, and their cover of the Porcupine Tree song “Open Car’.

The third band was Bangalore band (and CRI finalists), Bleed. Their music could be called Nu-metal/screamo, and there were many fans of that genre present. Armed with a punk look (and some clichéd one-liners!) they managed to impress the crowd. ‘My Game’ was aggressive, and their heavy metal cover of ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ was quite good. Then, they made a musical U-turn by calling on stage one Andrew Kenny on acoustic guitar and vocals, and they quickly started playing emo rock ballads and covers of bands like Dashboard Confessional (‘Vindicated’). They may have pulled it off smoothly, but why play only covers at a stage like that?

They were followed by local favourites Blood and Iron. One of the older bands in the scene, they are credited with being the first metal band from the city to have released an album a few years back. They were selling copies of their second album ‘Dynamite World’ at the venue (priced at Rs 120/-, for those interested). They were quite a sight to look at – the guitarists had flowing long hair, open shirts and mean-looking V-guitars, and all the six band members were clad in black. They played Melodic/Power metal, really akin to Scandinavian band Norther. The vocalist’s strong voice (and sense of humour!), and the galloping keyboard-and-guitar riffs went down well with the crowd, and soon there was a good mosh pit going. The loudest members in the crowd were promised free CDs by the band, and one fan even went on stage headbanging, and pulled off some crowd-surfing! But it was the keyboard that was the backbone of most of their songs, and there were moments of brilliance. Their songs were well recognized too, and one was compelled to shout the choruses out loud. Noteworthy songs were ‘In Darkness’ and ‘Altar’.

Another CRI finalist band, Abraxas from Pune, was next. After an unusually long sound check, they finally kicked off hard and fast. Staying true to their genre of Melodic/Metalcore, their songs had clean, moody intros followed by grinding riffs and harsh vocals. But the occasional guitar solos were soulful and melodic and stood out in the songs. The moshing in the crowd continued. By now, the arena was nearly full of people waiting to see the headliners Motherjane. They had to wait a while, though.

Motherjane, riding high since the online release of ‘Maktub, gave a sublime performance. For the hour or so that they played, with their typical half-face paint, they simply wowed the crowd. Baiju on lead guitars was especially good, and the night ended with a touch of sophistication it may have lacked till then. ‘Chase the Sun’ was the highlight of their show, if you ask me. A great all round performance by the headliners is the best way for any show to end, and this was no different.

Zero Order Phase (2008)

2009-04-26T14:26:00.001-07:00

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This is the first solo album released by Speed/Thrash Metal band Nevermore’s guitarist Jeff Loomis, and in my opinion, a must have for any fan of instrumental metal. Loomis has cited Jason Becker and Marty Friedman as influences, and this album lives up to its expectations (it even has a cool, Sci-fi inspired album cover) without getting bogged down in neo-classical technicalities. The musical style is broadly faithful to that of Nevermore, so fans of that band will take to this album quite well. Released just a few months after his bandmate Warrel Dane released his solo album, Loomis plays guitar and bass on Zero Order Phase, with former Nevermore member Mark Arrington on drums.

A complete album, it includes fast tracks filled with face melters (‘Jato Unit’, ‘Devil theory’, ‘Race against Disaster’), slower, more melodic tracks (‘Azure Haze’, ’Sacristy’) and the odd Neo classical inspired track (‘Miles of Machines’). The more memorable songs are the ones where the absence of a vocalist is not felt. While all the songs are enjoyable, there are parts which sound like overstretched solos from a Nevermore song. There is tons of shredding going on here, but it is well-balanced among tastefully-arranged riffing and atmospherics as well as actual melodic playing that is soulful as well as technically able. Keeping the listener’s attention from wandering during the entire 50 plus minutes of a solo guitar album is quite an achievement, and this album grows on me everytime I listen to it.

My favourite song here, ‘Jato Unit’ is a lightning fast, twin guitar attack with guest guitarist Ron Jarzombek of Watchtower trading solos with Loomis with dizzying pace. The song plays like an extended thrash metal solo with neo-classical bits that leave the listener stupefied. Another beautiful track, ‘Cashmere Shiv’ features ominous atmospheric parts, soulful soloing by Loomis and Pat O’Brien of Cannibal Corpse, an Indian-fusion sounding bass solo by Jazz musician Michael Manring, and a fretless guitar solo by the producer Neil Kernon. ‘Miles of Machines’ is a shreddy, fast paced track that reminds one of Yngwie minus the excessive classical parts, demonstrating Loomis’s range as a guitar player. The rhythm guitar work is also commendable, with frequent changes of pace that keep the listeners on the edge.

The production is crystal clear and very tight, with a downside being that the drums sound very programmed (which they are not). I also thought that the bass was rather subdued in most parts. On the whole, there is nothing very different or mind blowing about this album, just some very good instrumental metal. In my opinion, it cements Loomis as a guitar virtuoso well on his way to becoming a contemporary guitar ‘god’, which many people lament the absence of.

- Siddharth R

Jimmy and me

2009-03-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

It was a good Apogee, with me keeping BOB in the batch (credit to Vivek on a great quiz), and coming second in a few other quizzes (credit to Jha and Roy on coming first in them)...a good time to make an exit from quizzing, I guess.

Jimmy Wales's lecture was articulate and funny, but it seemed like he was only here to drum up publicity for his latest venture, Wikia. Anyway, I (along with a couple of others - Kaul and Rukku) accosted him backstage as he was leaving the stage, and after saying a few words about how Wikipedia has really helped our 'Quizzing Club' here, I managed to get a photo with him...or rather, in the same frame as him:

Fresh Offerings

2009-03-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

This post is about the latest releases of two old bands and how and why I enjoyed them.

AC/DC's latest release 'Black Ice' surpassed all my expectations. Not because it's anything new or path breaking but simply because it isn't. I'm no fan of these ancient Aussies, but it's refreshing to hear something raw and primal, a blast from the past, in this age of post-progressive technical metal and whatnot. These guys haven't changed anything from their old winning formula - it's balls-out rock and roll. I recommend 'Big Jack' and 'Black Ice' as enjoyable tracks.

REM's latest offering 'Accelerate' is another refresher. Again, I wasn't a big fan of these guys except for a few notable tracks here and there, but this album is fun to listen to. Songs like 'Horse to water' and 'I'm gonna DJ' are fast paced and groovy, and if one pays a little attention to the lyrics, are also strongly defensive in their tone, almost as if Stipe is sending out a message out to his detractors, who were only too happy to write the band off. it's good to know that these guys, plagued with break-ups and and bandmates giving up and quitting in the past, have come out with a fast paced, quality record to win over a new generation of fans.

Peace.

Indigo Children

2009-03-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Indigo Children, (formerly The Superfuzz) are today one of Delhi's best rock bands. They may not be easy to classify, but they are great to just listen to. With the inclusion of two talented musicians at the top of their game, guitarist Rahul Sainani of Joint Family and drummer Sahil Mendiratta of Inherited Curse, and the return of frontman Sanchal Malhar from Music School in New Zealand has completed a near superband lineup.

The music has transformed from its simplistic White Stripey garage blues to a complex, multi-layered sound with twin guitar melodies and killer drum fills. They effortlessly cover electronica bands like Sade, thanks to the great musical sense of the drummer, and their extempore jams on stage are insane. But the one thing they haven't lost or changed is the energy with which they play their music. I saw them live recently at the CRI Chandigarh zonals which they headlined, and they stole the show away from the contesting bands that played before them. The highlight of their setlist was "Sing for me", an intense song with an awesome chorus. The crowd, populated mostly by drunks, was spellbound.

Having bagged studio slots with Yashraj studios (one of four bands from the country to do so), they are in the process of releasing several songs on an album. Keep checking their myspace page to stay updated(http://www.myspace.com/indigochildrenmusic).

Here's to these future stars, and my favourite Delhi band. This is an interview I conducted over email with the band's bassist Nikhil Rufus, a few months back for Split Magazine (but eventually wasn't published).

1) You guys have been together for quite a while now. How did it all start?

It all started when sanchal joined school. We are from St.Columba's. We started playing inter school competitions. When we finished school, we decided to keep on playing as a band.

2) When and why did you drop the 'bigmuff' out of your name? Because I remember the band as Superfuzz Bigmuff when you played at Rocktaves a couple of years back.

The 'bigmuff' was dropped because we thought it was very cheesy. Also we dint want to get sued by Mudhoney. It was dropped just before we played GIR.

3) How far do you think you're inspired by Nirvana and Jack White? Is constantly being compared to them a drag?

We were heavily influenced by Nirvana and The White Stripes. Nirvana is one of mine and sanchal's favorite band. We are big fans of Dave Grohl's drumming. Obviously our songs had a vibe similar to theirs because as kids we were listening to them. Being compared to them was initially quite irritating, but we've moved on from such petty issues.

4) What genre do you think your music fits into?

We as a band do not like to categorize our music. We simply like to call it Rock n' Roll.

5) You've been touring all over the country recently. How were you received at the various cities you've played at? And what's it like to play at college fests?

We've been received quite well in all the cities that we have played in. I remember the gig in Someplace Else, Kolkata, we took 5 minutes to reach the stage from the entry of the pub because there were so many people in there. College fests are more exciting because there are more people who come to watch you.

6) Lastly, what did it feel like after the Launchpad victory, and the chance to play at HRC NY?

It felt really good after the launchpad victory because we guys had practiced our asses off for it! It was a very satisfying feeling as we had worked really really hard. Our HRC New York gig is scheduled for March next (this) year.

Cheers and stay heavy
Siddharth

Kolkata and the days following

2009-02-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

The Xavier's Quizzing and Debating festival was quite an experience. Attracting participants from all over the country with it's outlandish claims of prizes of 1.2 Lakhs+, the teams were in for a rude surprise when they found that the prizes were slashed to around a tenth.

Nevertheless there were a few character-building positives to be gained from the trip:

1) Never doubt the ability of arts and commerce students to throw a good party even at short notice.

2) If there's a steady demand for Old Monk at the bar table, be sure that engg. students are around.

3) Look a little closely at pedestrians in Kolkata, and notice the extra finger burning in their hands.

4) Never complicate your return trip like by going to another intermediate station to catch a train unless absolutely necessary.

5) Next time you're in Kolkata on a Saturday night, do head over to Someplace Else in the Park Hotel to hear Hip Pocket play. Killer blues in a chilled out place. And you would have probably at least heard of Oly's.

6) Kol is also one of the few places where one can use all possible modes of transport in a single day.

(Here's the winning scorecard...the finals were quite close really..credit to AEC Guwahati, NUJS and Presidency for some good quizzing)

Siddharth

Enjoy the Silence

2008-10-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

One of the most addictive tracks I've ever heard, Enjoy the Silence from Depeche Mode's Violator album (also featuring Personal Jesus, covered later by Marilyn Manson) simply blows my mind away every time i hear it...and the cover by the grindcore band It Dies Today is equally impressive. The main verse of "All i ever wanted, all i ever needed, is here in my arms| words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm" is one that will stick in your head for a while.

It was a good Oasis...made better by the fact that Lounge Piranha comprehensively showed everyone, including hopefully the great organising team, that sophistication and musical sense goes way farther than playing to the crowds....eat your hearts out all you jukebox lovers!

Stop this Rot!

2008-10-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

A lot has been said in the past few weeks about how Oasis, my college cultural fest should function and how it isn't living up to all it can be. Here's me two penny worth. Writing about what could be my last Oasis, i see students putting in the usual "enthu" for their clubs and departments. These people, especially the juniors, have a right to know about how the fest that they work for functions and is run.

As someone who's been and still is involved in the fest , i feel that the main problem is in how the "Stuccans" run the it. Instead of working for the students of the college, they stab them in the back with sub-standard planning and ham handed decisions. They act like nothing better than inflated air bags. As if being a "Stuccan" is a rare honour.

My personal grudge is in how my club, ARBITS is treated every year. Our work, as defined in the Oasis charter, is to "do what the Stuccans ask us to do". Without knowing the amount of effort and enthusiasm involved, we are written off and given a bad deal. From calling and conforming the professional rock acts (or being asked to cancel our band a week before the fest to save up money for the "bigger" pop acts) to allotting the prize money for our event Rocktaves we are, in lay terms, royally screwed over. In the second aspect we are not alone, and every club that organises events has valid complaints about the prize money. Even approaching and talking to sponsors for our event is frowned upon, like it is against the fest itself. It isn't seen as something the overall fest could benefit from. Like all clubs, we dont have a say in what sponsors are approached for our own events. EVen after our event is sold to a sponsor, a small fraction of the deal sum trickles in for the event itself. We are simply losing out to other colleges who can better motivate participants for their events with bigger prizes. The IIT-K rock show, which almost coincides with ours promises 4 lacs in prizes. Instead of countering them and going all out to attract better bands, we are content with insignificant improvements in our own prizes. And "professionalism" is a word freely thrown around these days by the stuccans. As someone who also travels around a bit participating in quizzes, i know how much of an incentive attractive prizes are. Its so easy now for a college to buy its fest a reputation. No one goes to fests for the "prestige" anymore. But our Stuccans dont realise that. Our fest made its name when all college fests across the country were broke, and ours stood out because of its high quality student run events .

Its not that we dont get enough money from the sponsors. Its just badly used. The professional pop artistes who are called are the biggest drain on the cash pool. We simply cannot compete with the IITs in calling bigger bands. Performers like KK and Lucky Ali play to arena crowds and hence charge a lot. Even smaller colleges in cities get good, mid-priced artictes who deliver good shows but are minus the glam and the fame. We can learn from them. The money that goes into these channels can be used to increase the prizes for the events, and also bring down the prof. ticket prices. Its the events that lend character to a fest, not the professional performers. Now, most of the events have our own students winning them, only because of a lack of competition. As usual, the isolation of Pilani is blamed for the lack of a suitable turnout. The prof. shows should expose the public to new artistes and areas in music. The assumption that the stuccans make is that since the tickets get sold anyway (the people that stay back for the fest don't have much of a choice), its ok to charge them exorbitant prices for artistes that they listen to everyday. Its all about generating revenue, not the music. The biggest losers are the English rock artistes. A common complaint against is that we get heavy metal artistes who only we listen to. What utter nonsense. The last time a proper metal act came here was three years back. Since the english bands cost a fraction what the mainstream popo acts do, its is assumed that they wont attract an audience or that their standard is lower. Catering to the lowest common level dosent always work. There is absolutely no sophistication in the way the fest functions now, right from the bands to the events, and Oasis is in real danger of losing its character. Again, seeing the tickets sell is the only thing that matters, and its easy for the organizers to pat themselves on the back each year after the fest is over.

Its time to stop the rot from spreading. From demanding greater accountability from the stuccans to turning out and discussing issues of real importance (not petty squabbles) at the review meetings, its time the average BITSian stands up for what is his as much as anyone elses's - his own college fest.

Mumbai meri jaan

2008-07-15T04:13:00.000-07:00

Pool in bandra, Quiz at Khar, Beach resort at Arnala, meal with friends at Pali hill, show at Andheri or HRC, Worli, etc. , are fun to go to but they take hours of traveling by the local trains, and thats one thing I've become quite good at. Balancing schedules and peak hours, changing trains and stations have become second nature now, not something I've really wanted. Oh well..

The works

2008-07-09T06:25:00.000-07:00

July 8, 2008

"The works", a Mumbai band just under a year old, gave a solid performance at the venue mentioned (Fun Republic Mall, Andheri W). The place was good, a restro-bar themed like a European inn.

The performance was energetic, and the band is tight. Their song selection could improve, though. They played what a 80's jukebox would. Agreed, they were catering to a non-musical crowd, but they could definetly move beyond the standard stuff. The band is fronted by Mihir (a "musicman"), someone who keeps himself (and the audience) on their feet, and moved around the venue among the crowd with ease. The lead guitarist is good, and didn't go overboard with his stage act. The show started an hour behind schedule and ended at 12.

Anxiety started to build up as i reached the station only at 12:40, thanks to the lax bus services at that time (cant blame them) and took the 12:50 to Dadar. By the time i reached there, my worst fears had come true. The central line had shut down for the night. To cut a long story short, after using all the survival instincts at my disposal, i trooped home at 3 am. Not a bad night's work.

Sid

Life At PRL

2008-06-30T03:21:00.000-07:00

I'm into my last two days in Ahmedabad. Life at PRL has been good. I've just finished giving my final presentation of my project "Extreme Value Statistics in Atomic Eigenvectors", and i must say now that i enjoyed working here. Hopefully the comin months should see the scientists here (Dilip Angom and M.S.Santhanam, now in Pune) continuing the work on this topic, and a paper or two published. The overall treatment of the trainees has been excellent, and we were allowed to use all the facilities available to the researchers and PhD students. I'll definetly miss the unlimited printing access and the fast internet speeds (those hours of youtube!). I also am thankful for the oppurtunity to learn and use MATLAB and improve my coding skills in general, though i may not get to use it anywhere in the future.

This brings me to life at PRL, and research institutuions in general. As was pointed out by Dr. Singhvi before the final presentation, being a scientist is a thrill that few get to enjoy. You're shielded from the hustle and bustle of the outside world, and work on an exotic concept safe in your ivory towers. You're basically getting paid for pursuing a hobby, a passion. While i agree with this, its a very idealistic picture. The years one spends pursuing a PhD and a post-doctoral research is a major deterrent. And yes, the money is not good. Notwithstanding the frequent foriegn trips and conferences one gets to go on, life as a researcher requires a lot of patience, so I feel. And i have a pretty good idea by now.

"Physicists settle down late. If you want to settle down fast, marry early, and enjoy life, its not for you". So said my guide, Dr. Dilip Angom, a smart, young-ish chap, real fun to work with. He's abroad now, addressing a conference on many body calculations in atomic physics in Seattle. All the best to him.

Life here is laid back, to say the least. Long term deadlines are all that one worries about. The frequent tea breaks, the mess-type breakfasts and lunches and the 5 day weeks give me the impression that these people really love the settled environment of a place of learning. The extensive library, well stocked with magazines and journals (and books) is a place you can get lost in. Indeed, the relaxed, entertaining discussions that i've had with the theoretical physicists here are worth remembering. The scholarly charm of the place is what attracts people here. One can imagine what spending years here would be like.

What i've also learnt is that this place inevitably functions like a govt. institution, where things move at their own pace. One can hear the employees indulging in idle chat long after the lunch is over - "Kemcho, Kedar bhai!"

Ahmedabad itself, as i found it, is a neat little city. Not a real bustling place, things here seem orderly. A real vegetarian's paradise, dont expect to find a KFC here. The roads are good, and the place isn't very crowded. I'll miss the city too. The past 45 odd days have been time well spent, so i think.

Siddharth

Hands off my language!

2008-06-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a toast to the English Language.
I'm what linguists call a "non-native speaker", and it is true, technically. But in all other respects, I contest that. I love the language, in all it's oddities, exceptions in grammar and difficult spellings and pronunciations. In fact, these are the very things I love about it. This Anglo-Saxon language, with its cold Germanic and Norse roots, has in my heart a place dearer than my own tropical, native tongue. Agreed, I'm no expert. I'm as prone to simple errors of mis-pronunciation and spelling as the next guy. But I think in this language, swear in this language, and even dream in it. That, according to accepted scientific theories, cannot happen, as one is always conditioned to dream in his native tongue. Nope, not me.
It seems odd, even to me, that today I have decided to register some sort of protest (i'll start with this post) against the manhandling of "my" language by the various other "non-native speakers" around the world. Why should I stand up for this language, the relic of my country's colonial past? I'm as uncomfortable understanding the accents and pronunciations of the "native" speakers, whether they are English, Scottish, American, Australian or Canadian, as anyone else from my background.
But an article in New Scientist magazine (29 March 2008) I was recently reading shocked, and surprised me. It says that the "non-native speakers" are hastening the transformation of the English Language into various dialects which will eventually be unintelligible to speakers of other dialects. Examples are Singaporean English (a bastard mixture of English, Tamil and Malay), Pidgin and Creole, and our very own Hinglish. The article also says that these peoples add native words into the mixture, and, more disturbingly, fail to correct their mis-pronunciations as long as they deal only with each other. Examples of this we can see in our own day to day lives. The "th" sounds in "the", and "thin" are losing out in many places to "d" and "z", "friend" becomes "frien", "succeed" becomes "suss-see", etc. Also, mass nouns like "information" and "furniture" are carelessly being pluraled as "informations" and "furnitures", and this is increasingly becoming accepted. Also, as English reaches out to more and more people, irregular varbs tend to become regularised. Example - "wed", whose past tense "wedded" is now accepted, though "wed" is its past tense form. Our own Hinglish puts me to shame sometimes. Agreed, Hindi-Urdu has been a major contributor to the English language, but the Hinglish thats spoken on the streets here is quite repulsive to me. I dont need to go into the examples of that, I hope.
Ok, fine, I'm a heartless purist. I'd rather hear the Metallica originals than the orchestrated versions of the S&M. But the point here is that I think we're losing something that cant be restored. In another century, the English spoken around the world will be vastly different. But thankfully, I'm not the only lamenting it.

Sid

Daman Diaries

2008-06-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

Daman, (nearest town Vapi, Gujarat, half an hour away), is a nice little Union Territory 6 hours from Ahmedabad. Easily accesible by all means of transport (especially rail, as Vapi lies on the regular Mumbai-Surat-Ahmedabad line), this place is worth a visit if you've exhausted all the standard places of interset in and around Mumbai, or if you stay in Ahmedabad or Baroda, which means you have nowhere else to go.

The first thing that stands out about this place is that every second shop, literally, sells booze. Every restaurant is a restaurant-and-bar, and the wine shops are inescapable. They almost invite you to step up and have a cold one for the road. Which is not a bad idea, cause the weather's muggier than one can tolerate.

In case i didn't mention it so far, this place is on the coast, and has a couple of decent beaches. The first of these, Devka , is 10 minutes away from the main town,Moti Daman, and is full of beachside hotels and expensive restaurants. This is, in fact the reason most people go to Devka, and the beach dosent get very crowded. A bit rocky at places, and the sand quite dark, it may not be the most attractive beach you'll ever see.

A note of caution: Travel with gujjus like I did. The more, the better. The hunt for cheap hotel accomodation took the better part of the forenoon the first day. At the end of it, I had given up and was ready to stay anyhere. Thats where the my companions took over and continued the search. We started hunting at Devka and quickly realised that that was the upmarket part of town. Back in the main town, the costs were much lower and after some serious hunting, we found a real good hotel room, comfortable and cheap. Hotel Gurukripa it was called, and here comes the best part: it had a midnight menu with room delivery (and 'wine', obvously), which went well with our plans for that night.

The other popular beach, Jampor beach, is farther away from the town but should not be missed. The road to it from the town passes over a bridge which was rebuilt only recently after getting knocked down in a storm a few years back, and dosent allow any motor vehicles over it except two wheelers. This means that the quickest way to get to Jampor is to walk to the bridge from the town and take a rickshaw after that. But i strongly recommend walking all the way. On the other side of the bridge lies Daman Fort, and cannot be enjoyed in any way other than by walking through it. More on the fort in a while. After the fort the road passes through a rustic expanse of small houses, palm trees and more wine shops. Now around 5 kms. away, it took half an hour to walk to Jampor, and the walk itself was quite pleasant, except in the hot afternoon, and that was when we did it.

Oh well, you can't do everything right. But you can have fun while not doing it. And thats what we did. The walk was long, but we got to go to the un-crowded part of the beach, away from the people and the wine shops. This would be a good time to introduce another peculiarity of the Daman beaches. In most beach resorts, you time your visit to the beach depending on whether it's hot outside or if it is populated by those worth watching. But here, you go depending on the tides. And the tides here are crazy. In the afternoons, the water recedes so far back that you can barely see it. Nah, just kidding. But recede it does. The deeper we went into the water, the more it kept receding. After an hour of chasing the tide and ingesting salt water, we got up to leave. The beach was long and good, and the sand was nice and fine. And not black.

Now hot and hungry as hell, we went to the more crowded parts for a place to grub, and saw that there was only one hotel. Only one hotel in that whole stretch, and as monopoly rules, the lesser said the better. Back in the town, we found a good restaurant, called Nana's close to our hotel. Good food, good range of cocktails and decent amience. A bit stiff on the wallet, but we didnt really care. trudging back to the room, we crashed like trees, Timberrrr! We got up a few hours later but were too lazy to go anywhere just then. The TV came to our rescue. Still later, we decided to sample the 'nightlife'.

Daman visibly improves in the night. The weather finally tolerable, with the sea breeze and all, the roads were crowded with shoppers, revellers and weirdly dressed men in unmentionable professions. Armed with my second wind that day, I get my lazy fellow travellers to walk a bit, and walk we did, all the way to Devka. The journey was good, this time, and walking on the beach, with the water in a spate of high tide and the sky full of stars was more than worth it. Later, we headed back to the town to grub some more, and were happy to find that the area around our hotel was full of decent eateries. A good meal later, we stockedp on supplies for the night. Again, enough said.

The 'morning' after was uneventful. Arguments over where to go next and the TV ,(the right combination of trip-wasters) took up whatever was left of it. Lunchtime came to the rescue, and matters of the stomach took priority. We would have made Pavlov proud. Anyway, the restaurant attached to our hotel, Daman Delite was really good, and like our lunch the previous day, left us quite empty of wallet. With only a couple of hours to spend before our train, we walked to the bridge not far from the town. Instead of walking over it, we decided to enjoy a touristey boat ferry to the other side. The fort handsomely overlooked that channel, the purpose for which it was built.

Here's a short history: captured from the local ruler by the Portuguese, they strengthened it and held onto it till independence. The inside of the fort was like a piece of history come alive. The churches and memorials were very well preserved, and the ancestral houses were quaint and attractive. The fort itself enclosed a little town, and we felt real stupid for not spending more time over it. A lighthouse at the top tier of the fort overlooks the entire seaface of Moti Daman, where the Daman Ganga river empties into the sea. after taking in the view for some time, we head over to the church. A textbook baroque Portuguese specimen, it was large and well preserved.

Then came the time to leave. A rickshaw back to Vapi railway station takes around half an hour and 20 bucks per head, and that was what we used.
Almost like a little Goad all in itself, Daman is, as i mentioned, a neat little place worth a visit. Nuff said.

Sid

\mm/

2008-05-29T22:32:00.001-07:00

The Greatest Movie ever made

2008-05-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

The year: 1972. The scene: Afternoon tea in Fuld Hall at the Institute for Advanced Study. The camera pans around the Common Room, passing by several Princetonians in tweeds and corduroys, then zooms in on Hugh Montgomery, boyish Midwestern number theorist with sideburns. He has just been introduced to Freeman Dyson, dapper British physicist.

Dyson: So tell me, Montgomery, what have you been up to?

Montgomery: Well, lately I've been looking into the distribution of the zeros of the Riemann zeta function.

Dyson: Yes? And?

Montgomery: It seems the two-point correlations go as.... (turning to write on a nearby blackboard):

Dyson: Extraordinary! Do you realize that's the pair-correlation function for the eigenvalues of a random Hermitian matrix? It's also a model of the energy levels in a heavy nucleus—say U-238.

I present this anecdote in cinematic form because I expect to see it on the big screen someday, now that mathematicians outgun cowboys and secret agents at the box office. Besides, the screenplay genre gives me license to dramatize and embellish a little. By the time the movie opens at your local multiplex, the script doctors will have taken further liberties with the facts. For example, the equation for nuclear energy levels will have become the secret formula of the atomic bomb.

Random Matrix Theory Rules!

(Courtesy:American Scientist)

Some Reviews

2008-05-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

It's 6:30 pm and I have nothing to do.
This isn't a normal holiday, and I find myself into my second week in Ahmedabad, interning in PRL. More on that later.
Just to keep the blog ball rolling, i'm reviewing two albums by two lesser known bands that have realy impressed me.
The first is Amorphis's Am Universum. While die-hard fans of the band's conventional Finnish Death Metal Style would disagree with me, I think this (and to a lesser extent, Tuonela, their previous album, from which this is like a step forward) is their best ever, simply because this stands out from all the other albums of the genre released by them. This is probably the closest metal has come to being psychedelic. The moody atmosphere created by the keyboards and the mellowed down guitars (but still heavy at the right places), and most importantly, the clean, soulful vocals and the occasional sax solo instantly went down well with me. Sadly, the band returned to a heavier, metal-oriented sound after this album. A semi-experimental album, it is a solid block of music and the listener can go from song to song without losing anything of the general mood of the album.
The second album is Pagan's Mind's Enigmatic Calling. This progressive metal band from Norway, with its science and fantasy themed music has often been called an old Dream Theater clone. While that is debatable, that shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying their music. Filled with catchy heavy riffs and attractive keyboard interludes, it is indeed worth enjoying. While the riffs are undoubtedly heavy, that word can't be used to characterise their music. Progressive would be the most apt, with a touch of studio-introduced processing and a clearly discernable scandinavian quality to it, that sets it apart from DT. The vocals, though raw at places, clearly has an epic quality to it, and the solos are just fantastic. Indeed, though the average song length might be around 7 to 8 minutes, their songs just don't drag on and on. And no over the top guitar antics that sometimes turns you off. All said and done, a great album to own
Enough said.
Sid \m/

Descent

2008-02-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

I know i don't have a life...it's just that i can't prove it mathematically...yet.

Stay tuned for more updates as physics eats into my being...

Strange Frequencies - 2

2008-02-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

[Wrote this in 10 mins while high...attempt #4 for CF...have actually stopped caring...
Another tribute to the twin gods of Asimov - Clarke]

What is the craziest you have done?
I'd say it was the time when i acheived the ultimate triumph over my fellow men.

I write this as the civilisation slowly dies and as men everywhere lose themselves to a force i have unleashed upon them.I was born totally tone deaf,lacking relative pitch, the ability to discriminate between musical notes, and i was always made conscious of this fact.My normal hearing is perfectly normal, but my inability to enjoy music really hurt, especially when i see others around me doing so.I always hated them for it.
Strangely i was always drawn to the branch of bio-acoustics, a new branch of science which studies the effects of sound waves on the human physiology, and of which i am now, unarguably the greatest scientist.
I closely studied why only a small fraction of songs become so popular among the masses and whether sounds of certain frequencies affect the brain differently.I studied the frequency profiles of most of the popular tunes and rhythms of the present day and probed them for patterns and other distinguishable features.
What i discovered was astounding.It seems that every song that was ever popular shared a characteristic pattern of a certain family of frequencies.This is something most of you would find ridiculously obvious, and some who would find it just ridiculous.But this is such a taken for granted assumption that precious little work was ever done on it.Before me, that is.
In a few months i had created what could be described as the greatest song ever.THE greatest ever.By putting together the most optimum mix of the frequencies of the family in the pattern i just mentioned, i created something that will ring in a man's brain for ever, a tune so good that it rings for ever in one's head, paralysing the brain into inactivity for good.
After that, it was just a simple of matter of getting a few microphones to transmit the song as a discrete digital signal to various broadcast receivers around the world, and now you probably know what i'm getting at.

The Future of Space Travel

2007-10-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

This is one area which never fails to keep me thinking - how is mankind supposed to traverse the vast interstellar distances when it takes pathbreaking satellites like Voyager 2 many months to reach the outer planets of our own Solar System?

Well, the answer is here, albeit in a highly theoretical, neglected branch of physics, something most people take for granted (this is by no means new stuff - work on developing this began way back in the '60's)
The concept of an 'inertialess drive' - i.e. a propulsion system that acts on every atom of a body so that no strains are produced when it accelerates - was probably invented by the master of the 'Space Opera', E.E. Smith, in the 1930s. It is not as improbable as it sounds - because a gravitational field acts in precisely this manner.
If you fall freely near the Earth (neglecting the effects of air resistance) you will increase speed by just under ten metres per second, every second. Yet you will feel weightless - there will be no sense of acceleration, even though your velocity is increasing by one kilometre a second, every minute and a half!
And this would still be true if you were falling in Jupiter's gravity (just over two-and-a-half times Earth's) or even the enormously more powerful field of a white dwarf or neutron star (millions or billions of times greater). You would feel nothing, even if you had approached the velocity of light from a standing start in a matter of minutes. However, if you were foolish enough to get within a few radii of the attracting object, its field would no longer be uniform over
the whole length of your body, and tidal forces would soon tear you to pieces.
An 'inertialess drive', which would act exactly like a controllable gravity field, had never been discussed seriously outside the pages of science fiction until very recently. But in 1994 three American physicists did exactly this, developing some ideas of the great Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov.
'Inertia as a Zero-Point Field Lorentz Force' by B. Haisch, A. Rueda & H. F. Puthoff (Physics Review A, February 1994) may one day be regarded as a landmarkpaper. It addresses a problem so fundamental that it is normally taken for granted, with a that's-just-the way-the-universe-is-made shrug of the shoulders.
Their provisional answer depends on the astonishing - and outside the physicists' ivory towers - little-known fact that so-called 'empty' space is actually a cauldron of seething energies - the Zero-Point Field. HR&P suggest that both inertia and gravitation are electromagnetic phenomena, resulting from interaction with this field. There have been countless attempts, going all the way back to Faraday, to link gravity and magnetism, and although many experimenters have claimed success, none of their results has ever been verified. However, if HR&P's theory can be proved, it opens up the prospect - however remote - of anti-gravity, 'space drives' and the even more fantastic possibility of controlling inertia.
This could lead to some interesting situations: if you gave someone the gentlest touch, they would promptly disappear at thousands of kilometres an hour, until they bounced off the other side of the room a fraction of a millisecond later.
The good news is that traffic accidents would be virtually impossible; automobiles - and passengers - could collide harmlessly at any speed. The 'weightlessness' which we now take for granted in space missions - and which millions of tourists will be enjoying in the next century - would have seemed like magic to our grandparents. But the abolition - or merely the reduction - of inertia is quite another matter, and may be completely impossible.* But it's a nice thought, for it could provide the equivalent of 'teleportation': you could travel anywhere (at least on Earth) almost instantaneously. Frankly, I don't know how Interstellar Space travel could manage without it...

Also, soon to be written - a science fiction story (by me, of course) featuring this landmark new theory...keep checking this blog for it.

Cheers
Sid

The monster list of Metal Links \m/

2007-09-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

My first post this semester...dedicated to metalheads everywhere!
If you are one who has exhausted his collection of music and wants to increase it or just wants to read up some interesting stuff about new bands, this is the right place, for, i present to you a list of links that will be of infinite help in this regard. Each of these are authentic, working links, and i have visited them all...that answers the question about what i do with all my time i suppose....
A good internet connection is advised for most of the sites...so stay up late in your hostel rooms if you intend to download off 'em...
Here they are:
(Credit to a certain Yashwant K for collecting them...)

Blog pages dedicated to metal:
http://asabay.blogspot.com/
http://alejandrojeldres.blogspot.com/
http://blackmetalwarez.blogspot.com/
http://brutalblogmp3.blogspot.com/
http://deathmetalinvasion.blogspot.com/
http://www.doom-or-be-doomed.blogspot.com/
http://download-full-metal-albums.blogspot.com/
http://grimdepot.blogspot.com/
http://loadown.blogspot.com/
http://www.maurocksinamorata.blogspot.com/
http://metal-tomb.blogspot.com/
http://metal--head.blogspot.com/
http://metaldlz.blogspot.com/
http://metalmusicforever.blogspot.com/
http://mp34all.blogspot.com/
http://smetal.blogspot.com/
http://takemurarock.blogspot.com/
http://the-well-of-souls.blogspot.com/
http://themetalarchive.blogspot.com/
http://theultimatemetal.blogspot.com/
http://undead666.blogspot.com/
http://classicdeathmetal.blogspot.com/
http://www.whiplash-full-metal-albums.blogspot.com/
http://rockshot.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_rockshot_archive.html
http://empeethreeindex.blogspot.com/

Great sites to download off!
(Most of these are underground russian or european sites...so they may not be in English!)
http://kot.spb.ru/mp3/2774/
http://metalmp3.zip.net/
http://www.geocities.com/greenplasticgrass/full.html#crip01
http://www.angelfire.com/music6/www.evonetwork.com/
http://www.mp3passion.net
http://www.mp3real.ru
http://www.51mpc.com/share.htm
http://xpeh.harddays.net/
http://www.mediaportal.ru/category/mp3/
http://www.angernet.org/
http://www.kohit.net/
http://www.files.lt/
http://www.phazemp3.com/
http://www.free.of.pl/s/sidis/full_allbums.htm
http://musica.mustdie.ru/
http://www.zonaunderground.com/

Some places to download our own Indian rock from:
http://split-magazine.com/downloads/
http://www.blackstratblues.com/

(phew)
That's all folks!

A bright and shiny future

2007-04-06T00:52:00.001-07:00

Another CF story that didn't make it. Looks like Science fiction does not sell anymore.
Written at the start of the sem, I didn't think it was good enough to be posted here...but what the heck...here it is anyway.

The earth was past it's prime.
Located in the outer edge of the galaxy, it's intelligent inhabitants didn't develop contacts with other intelligences which

were concentrated around the galactic center and hence didnt benefit from the sharing of technology and trade that occurred between these worlds.
Within the first millennium of the technological revolution, all the resources on earth were used up.The desperate adoption of nuclear power by the ruling business companies (the nation had become obselete in a globalised world)of the planet had streched the inevitable total energy crunch by only a few centuries before all the fissionable material had been used up.An ever increasing population had driven the beings to dwell in underground cities, and adopt yeast and plankton and similar microbe-derived products as staple foods.Soon all the worlds population was concentrated in 200-odd cities and the open spaces were kept aside for growing and harvesting.But the planet was doomed to a bleak future and no amount or research and development of new technology could change the future.

A few thousand years later, a lone scout ship of the galactic confederation(GC) was searching in the neighborhood for harvestable resources like iridium and other fissionable heavy metals.The GC was a loose agency that was responsible for governing the various planets and colonies of the 50 odd intelligences of the central galaxy region.it was composed of the heads of the various intelligences, each in charge of a stellar cluster and so on.Each intelligence controlled many star clusters and the planets in them, until the race for planets among them had ended and boundaries were drawn up.

This scout detected the signs of intelligence in this part of the galaxy (concentrated in a single solar system, to be more precise) and reported it to the GC.The Gc soon sent a peace-cum-reconnaissance there.It consisted of two members,one each of the dominant races of the galaxy.
One was a Gly being (named after its home planet)and was a highly dexterous being,having 7 independently movable appendages on its body(2 were artificial,i.e. not originally characteristic of the species but due to genetic engineering, all Glys born had these 2 extra limbs to be put to use).Its physical abilities were offset by its lack of intelligence, though (the Glys were the last of the races to reach the level of technological advancement that all races now had).
Another was a Gaian matrix organism.It was a slow moving but highly complex and intelligent organism.Ever since all Gaians had,after a century of planetwide debate some three thousand years ago decide to merge all their individual consciousnesses into a single, mother unit, all Gaians were part of this giant organism.After this, the Gaians had become the most advanced race of the galaxy.
The GC ship navigated the solar system in a few minutes, studying the extent of intelligent prescence there.It soon zeroed in on the home planet, which was the third from the star.The beings, they found, had established remote bases on the moon orbiting the planet and on the planets before and after itself from the sun, but no major settlements on either.
After some preliminary study, they landed on the planet, surprised at not being stopped or intercepted.The planet was barren and brown to look at under the acidic clouds that thickly enveloped it.On the whole, they decided, it was an uninteresting planet to look at.They landed their ship on a random sandy place on the northern hemisphere. Again surprised at not encountering any moving life forms on disembarking, they carefully proceeded in a northerly direction.The Gly creature had a breathing apparatus supplying it the thick greenish gas that it breathed.The Gaian had no use of any such appratus as it was only a remote outpost of the overall intelligence that was it's race, and did not need to breathe to sustain itself.
Soon they discovered a largish city of brown buildings randomly oriented and distributed with respect to each other.Detecting no organism more intelligent than some clusters of anaerobic bacteria here and there, they proceeded faster.Unlike most settlements of that planet, it seemed to be mostly overground.During the detailed exploration of the city thay found many large laboratories where chemicals were manipulated,labs where lifeless electronic robots had been created and tested and facilities for nuclear research, and facilities for a large number of other scientific studies.In addition they found many empty rooms(buildings and buildings of them....living quarters, they assumed), rooms with many semi decomposed books with leaves of a carbon-based compound that broke away under their touch and filled with words in a script they didn't know.

They worked out that the planet had been sans intelligent life for at least four thousand years.They also worked out the age of the age of the civilization that created the city to be eight thousand years.

They also spent a sorry, pitiful minute thinking of the fate of the beings who created the city...

On the way back to their ship, they unearthed a metal structure inscribed with large letters of the script alien to them....they decided to take it back and study it. The words were - WELCOME TO BITS PILANI.

Cricketophobia

2007-03-31T00:39:00.001-07:00

I'm not much of a cricket fan, and i havent followed the game ever since i stepped into college, but i do have a vague idea of what went on this World Cup, especially with the Indian team.
Here is my version of what happened, through the eyes of an enthusiastic fan.Enjoy.

Jeetan was a harmless, average little man, with an above average love for cricket. But the events of the World Cup disappointed him so much that he severed all his emotional ties to the game, hence my using the past tense here.

Anyway, at the beginning of the tourney, he decided to make it a cup to remember for himself. Since it was above his means to go to the Caribbean, he decided to hold a party every time India played a match.

Before one such match, he had to take a bathroom break, much against his wishes, as India was batting first. Just as he saw the openers walk onto the ground on his TV, he left the room hurriedly.
Ten minutes later, he enters the room again, only to see his friends with their mouths open, and two men in blue walk off the pitch.

"What's the matter, guys? A drinks break so soon into the match?"
"No. You just missed the Indian innings. It's over".

Poor Jeetan. He couldn't stomach anything that day. His only moment of excitement was on seeing a figure of 100 runs against Agarkar's name, only to find out that those were his bowling figures. What made him feel even worse was the commercial that followed the match with all the men in blue proudly drinking their favourite cola, just after thrashing a team dressed in green (you know who).
Incidentally, a similar fan in Pakistan, just after witnessing his team's demise in a match that very day, was feeling a lot like Jeetan on seeing his men in green drinking their favourite cola (the same one), just after thrashing a team dressed in blue (no guesses again!).

Jeetan was not one to give up hope so soon, though. India still had a fighting chance, he thought, and his sentiment was echoed by numerous columnists in every Indian daily (who were just paid to do so, and who wisely liquidated all their bets on the team quicker than you can say "double standards!"). Bowlers from minnow teams who would go on to take his wicket in their next match against India still insisted Sachin was the best in the world, and Dhoni still had a street named after him in Ranchi, though his house was not so respectfully treated by irate fans.

The next match was slightly different, as the most proficient display of footwork by the Indian batsmen was not the walk back to the pavilion. As the opponents were minnows, playing their first cup, the batsmen were quick to notch up the runs and the bowlers the wickets, as they improved their career stats. After all, they serve as the best arguments in their favour as the postmortem on an eventual cup exit will be performed.

Jeetan was much happier, and even purchased several items of team merchandise like posters, and ambitious companies decided to launch new lines of player "action figures".It was a field day for cricket columnists, team selectors (who abandon "prodigies" with wilful abandon...remember Parthiv Patel? The poor chap who missed his boards for the team, and who is now left with a luxury condo in Amby valley and little else...), priests and cola sellers.
The party mood lasted till the next match, and was immediately followed by one of somberness and frustration of equal magnitude.
The outlook was very bleak, as our team was beaten to a shade of blue to match their uniform. In fact, normally amiable, straight minded fans descended into sarcasm so unlike them, as they jokingly remarked that an Indian version of a hat-trick should a scoring of three runs in three balls!

The earth was a much warmer place that night as bonfires of team posters rose high into the sky, as virtual smoke signals between towns and cities.
The only thing that took the fans' minds away from team-bashing was Pakistan bashing, as news of Bob Woolmer's suspicious "death" reached them. Soon, everyone was talking about the ISI's and the Taliban's alleged influence in the Pakistan team, and comparing the lengths of the players' beards. In fact, people went so far as to speculate on Yousuf's decision to convert and couldn't help feeling that Kaneria was next. The murderer was one in the team, they said unanimously.
"Our fans are much more civilized", they announced.This, however did not stop them having murderous plans for the Indian team.

In the middle of all this, Jeetan was standing somberly on his terrace, not caring about what people said. But something inside him did crack, as he awoke the next day, feeling as indifferent about Indian cricket as he did about his mother-in-law. The severing, which i mentioned before, was complete.

DISCLAIMER: I am an ardent cricket fan at heart (especially of the galli variety), albeit an out of touch one, but the victory or loss of our team does not affect my outlook on the game. I am proud of the stalwarts produced by our country, as proud as i am of those produced by any other.
Lets go ahead and enjoy the cup!

Strange Frequency

2007-02-26T05:39:00.000-08:00

I wrote this story in one hour flat one random night for CF...hope it makes the cut.The title is STRANGE FREQUENCY, as the story is inspired from the HBO movie-series of that name.

Enjoy!

It was late, yet 15-year old Matt was wide awake. He kept looking at the calendar on his bedside table. The clock read 11:59 pm. In a minute, the next day would begin. That day would be December 8, 2007.The third death anniversary of Dimebag Darrell, one of the foremost metal and shred guitarists of his day. On that day 3 years ago, Dime was shot dead by a crazed fan, Nathan Gale along with three others during a concert in a club. The reason for the murder was, police gathered, that the killer loved Dime too much. Tragic.

The clock struck midnight, and Matt turned off the light.He tried to go to sleep, but couldn’t. He thought about his life. Matt was a seemingly normal kid, who liked his sports and rock-n-roll music. However, he kept his love for Dimebag and Pantera secret, at least from his conservative parents.It was a real pity, he thought, that he discovered Pantera long after they broke up and Dime was dead. And there was nothing he could do to change it. What he really wanted was to attend a Pantera concert, but that was not possible anymore.

In the morning, he got ready to go to school as always, but he had other plans for the day. Instead of taking the bus to school at the bus stand, he took a bus to an amphitheatre outside his town, to attend a Dimebag tribute concert, with a friend. The day went well. His friend, Andy wasn’t a real fan of Pantera, but he went with Matt as he was his friend, and because it seemed "cool".

"Damn good show, man”, Andy said at the end of the show.

"Yeah.I really liked the third band”, Matt said.

"So, do you wanna head back home, or wanna to make this a day to really remember?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that”, said Andy, pointing to a bar.

"No, man. You know i don’t drink or go to such places. My parents would kill me--"

"Your parents would kill you if they found out were here", said Andy. “C’mon, give it a try".

Andy was a kid with no scruples. He had tried everything, whatever seemed "cool" to him. Matt reluctantly agreed to go to the bar with him.

The bar was filled with dangerous looking people, bearded and long haired metalheads, and hot yet nasty looking chicks. They scared Matt, but he went in anyway. Andy ordered a couple of beers, and was looking around with surprise and awe. Matt fixed his gaze to the bar table, and waited for the drinks. The people around noticed his discomfort, and tried to put him at ease.

"How you doin, kid?"

"You alright?"

The men tried to start a conversation with him, and he obliged. Soon, they were talking on a variety of issues. The beer made him feel better, and he was enjoying himself. Then one of the men offered him his drink, and he took it. It was real strong stuff, and Matt felt his stomach heaving. But he finished the drink offered to him.

It was getting late, and time to go. Andy and him bade the guys’ farewell and got onto a bus. Soon Matt developed a splitting headache on the bus. It kept getting worse, and he started seeing things, like blurry visions.

The visions showed him in first-person view in an arena full of people.

However, it ended then, and all he was left with was a headache which he felt would split his head open. Andy was psyched out, seeing Matt writhe and groan in pain. However, Matt was fine once he reached home. In fact, it was like the pain thing never happened. To his parents, he had just returned from a normal school day.

One would be mistaken to think that Matt never touched alcohol again. On the contrary, he was hooked onto it. His school performance dipped, and he became somewhat of a recluse at school. He started attending more rock concerts and drinking heavily in the company of fans at pubs. His parents, however knew nothing of all this. On occasions, when he over-indulged himself with alcohol, the visions returned.

In them, he was in an arena full of people, and was moving towards the stage, his hand clutching something in his jacket-pocket, but he didn’t know what.

He didn’t want to find out, either. The only result of all this was that he started drinking more and more, and was taking Andy down this path with him too.

One day, after a particularly rambunctious concert, followed by copious amounts of drink, he was returning with Andy and some other friends back home in a jeep, when the headaches returned, worse than ever. He was moaning and writhing and squirming like a worm in pain. His friends were clueless and terrified. They didn’t know what to do and all they could do was watch. His visions were back.

He was in the arena moving towards the stage. He could now recognize the music. It was Damageplan playing. Then he, in the vision looks up and sees a banner which said ALROSA VILLA. In another banner it said DAMAGEPLAN LIVE IN CONCERT, COLUMBUS OHIO, 2004.

Then all he saw was blackness.

When he awoke, he was back in his room, in bed. His parents (who thought he had gone to see a baseball game) were by his bedside.

"Thank god you're alright."

"What happened, son? Did you get hurt really badly during the game? We checked you for injuries but couldn’t find any. So we didn’t call the doctor. We thought all you needed was rest. Andy and the others were really helpful. Do thank them for us, son."

"Thanks dad, I'm ok.I guess i was just tired."

Later, after his parents had left, Matt started thinking of his visions. Alrosa Villa, Columbus, Ohio. He had heard of the place somewhere, but couldn’t remember where. Then it hit him. Alrosa villa was where Dimebag was shot dead! He confirmed this fact soon afterwards. So he was seeing visions of Dimebag's death, through the eyes of someone present there. But this didn’t make sense to him. His idea of visions was that they predict the future, not show the past. So these were not ordinary visions. Then a thought crept into his head. He immediately dismissed it as crazy, but it persisted long enough to make him think about it.

What if, through the person he was in the vision, he could prevent the killer from carrying out the diabolical deed? He would change history then, for the better! He was excited about this idea, and did not consider the many loose ends in it. Heck, the whole idea was itself a loose end, a fantasy. But Matt did not care.

In order to get into the vision, he had to first get high on booze or something similar. Even the thought of the headache did not deter him. He then went to Andy's place and told him everything.

"Crazy, man! What’s happened to you? I liked the plain old you. Man, you're insane"

Matt had expected such a reaction. But he persisted.

"Andy, I need you to help me. I need to get high!"

After repeated requests he managed to get Andy on his side.

"I need to get really high to do what i plan to do. I need more than booze can offer. I need dope”, Matt said.

"Man, if we're caught we'll both be up to our heads in it".

"Don’t worry. We won’t be caught."

They headed to the house of one of their pals who lived in town. He was part of the group they traveled with to shows and concerts, and was at around 7-8 years older than them. They reached his house and knocked.

"Hey guys. What are you doin here?” he asked.

"Dude, I need your help. It may seem crazy to you, so I'll cut the story. I need dope”, Matt said.

The older friend was speechless for a while, and then he said, in a voice devoid of friendship.

"Cant do it. You’re too young. Is this a joke?"

"What if we pay for it? We're dead serious".

"The risks involved are too high"

"Please, man. Just a one-time favour".

The older friend finally gave in.He gave them some dope in a McDonald’s packet and let them out through the back door of his house.

"Now listen carefully”, he said. "Dont overdo it, and wait for the effect to hit you. It’s not instantaneous".

He then banged the door shut.

They then ran back to Matt's garage (the car wasn’t there as his parents were out).Matt then followed all the instructions given to him by the older friend and waited.

It then hit him like a hurricane uprooting a tree. The headache phase lasted only a few seconds, and he was in the vision, at the part where the last one ended.

It was clearer than before, like he was living in a movie. There’s no time to lose, he thought. I must act fast. He looked around in the heaving crowd, looking for someone who looked like the killer, Nathan Gale. He cursed himself for not finding out how he looked. He was frantic, and was sweating even though it was really cold. He then reached the stage without realizing it, and saw Dimebag on stage, playing one of his trademark guitar solos. Then, to his absolute shock, he took out a gun from his jacket pocket (so that was what he had been clutching all along), and points it at Dimebag. Each second seemed an hour, as he pumped him with five bullets straight in the head. He then turned and shot all those who came rushing up to him from the crowd, taking the lives of three others, and wounding two more. Then, in agonizing detail, he saw a police officer brandish his service shotgun and shoot at him. Two shells straight in the face.

The vision ended abruptly, and Matt was sweating as if it was midsummer. He could not cope with what he had just seen.

HE HAD SHOT DEAD DIMEBAG DARRELL!

Was such a thing possible? He was sure it wasn’t a dream, as there were details which he never knew, and which exactly matched the police investigation report of the shootout. Whatever it was one thing he was sure of. Life will never be the same again.

That was the last sane thought Matt Thompson ever had.

It was just as they had said - the killer loved Dimebag too much. Tragic.

Loonies in leather

2007-02-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

Heres more stuff on eccentric metal band members...this post is long overdue...the inspiration for this post is Disaster Area, the loony rockers in the Doug Adams laugh riot H2G2.
These are little known bands with little known members...hence their antics are little known too.

The Boston based Grindcore band diecast recently "lost" its drummer; heres how:drummer Jason Costa snuck "off onto a bus in the middle of the night without explanation or warning". The reason was due to an argument with the other members over Brendan Fraser's acting skills.

In 1982, having repeatedly been thrown fake animals on stage by fans, Ozzy osborne bit into the head of a bat onstage, and was required to receive a series of rabies vaccination injections as a preventative measure against the disease. Ozzy said he thought that it was a rubber one thrown at him by a crowd member.

Back in 1982 Ozzy Osbourne was on tour in San Antonio. While there, he took the opportunity to don one of his wife's dresses, stumble over to the Alamo, and urinate on the side of it. Ever since then the number 666 has slowly been forming on the front of the building, gradually becoming more distinct.(woah!!)

Tankard is a speed/thrash-metal band from Frankfurt, Germany, founded in 1982. After losing their guitarist because of their image as a bunch of drunks, they moved on to issue their first record in 1986. From that point on, the band has continuously made songs and records in the same style they started out with - fast metal songs in honor of alcohol. Thus they claim to have invented a new genre called "alcoholic metal". Tankard are self-proclaimed "Kings of Beer".

Will put up more stuff as i come across it.
Stay heavy
Sid

Cold

2007-01-12T11:54:00.001-08:00

brr....death by freezing is one of my greatest fears (the greatest one being spiders!)....it dosent seem so improbable now.

As Will Durant noted in his masterpiece "History of man", civilisation has always been an interlude between the Ice ages...looks like global warming may have arrived just in time to save us.

Prison break

2007-01-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

Ahh! This is one show that i can go on and on about.The touching tale of looking out for your loved ones, your family and friends in this sordid world of evil government secret agents is sure to be a hit among audiences. It also helps that the show is jam packed with good ol' Hollywood style action, drama and suspense.
i think what the audiences will appreciate is the sacrifices the Burrows family makes to uncover the truth behind the framing of Lincoln.The side characters and accomplices too have an important part to play in the plot, and they are not treated as fillers or mere tools in the hands of the main protagonists.Their stories recsue the show from becoming a one-dimensional narrative and a one-man show.
The attention to detail is mesmerising.No loose ends in the story are left out.
The story itself is unique.The efoorts of one man to rescue his brother from the Death penalty by breaking him out of a high secuity prison is both unique in its own way and not too far out to be unreasonable or unrealistic. But the methods used by the man (Michael Scofield) are brilliant and gives the show an element of surprise and mystery....you're left guessing what he comes up with next.
Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield essays his role with a cool confidence that stands out in a show full of emotions running high....yes he has been criticised for looking like hes always scanning the surroundings...but thats what he does most of the time, at least in the first season.The others too fit their roles perfectly...my favourite being "t-bag", an easily dislikeable (yes, thats why hes a great actor) scumbag. And, i have to mention it, the actresses are very good (looking) too.
Theres too much to say here...so ill cut it short from now on.
One shouldnt get attached to the characters too much...one that seems likeable one episode might just show an unsavoury side of him/her the next episode, or just simply die! Yes, the show is full of good people dying(being killed, rather) suddenly by the bad guys.
the show also demonstrates the hardships of prison life (heck, no one expects it to be a picnic) and the intricacies in it.
Ok, ive said enough. But if i havent motiveted you enough to get the show by any means possible an start watching it pronto, ive not said enough.Or ive failed.

Sid

Angela!

2007-01-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

The frontman of one of the best Swedish melodic death metal bands,Arch enemy, is a woman - Angela Gossow!
This chick reportedly swept the floor with the others who had auditioned for the position in the band.So all those who think Amy Lee is the face of females in rock music, think again. Gossow is one of the best vocalists in the business and a babe!
If you do get your hands on an Arch enemy Cd, go ahead and buy it-its definetly worth it. Yes, it will be hard to beleive that the harsh vocals are sung by a female, but let it pass.Just enjoy the music.
I didnt believe it too.But the moment it sunk in, i finally believed in the possibility of females being as capable as men....and so will you.

Stay heavy
Sid

Mayhem

2006-12-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

Mayhem is probably THE weirdest band that ever existed....here are some reasons why...i just thought it would be interesting reading material; (all the stuff here is sourced from Wikipedia)

(Mayhem is an influential black metal band formed in 1981 in Oslo. Much controversy has followed the various murders,suicides and other forms of violence that have surrounded the band since its inception.
Mayhem's Classic Line-up had the metal titans (stage names:) Necrobutcher,Euronymous,Dead and Hellhammer.It maintained the usual death metal obsessions in gore and violence,and more sinister and nihilistic preoccupations.)

Euronymous owned a record label and wanted the outlet to look like "...like a black church in the future. We've thought about having total darkness inside, so that people would have to carry torches to be able to see the records."(hmm...occult)

Dead, as suggested by his stage name, was melancholic by nature and fascinated by death, decay, and darkness.According to some friend, "He (Dead) wasn't a guy you could know very well. I think even the other guys in Mayhem didn't know him very well. He was hard to get close to. I met him two weeks before he died. I'd met him maybe six to eight times, all in all. He had lots of weird ideas. I remember (Euronymous) was talking about him and said he did not have any humour. He did, but it was very obscure. Honestly, I don't think he was enjoying living in this world." (weird...)
Dead had, over time, carefully cultivated a notoriety for strange behavior; once burying a set of clothes underground for weeks so that he could later wear the decaying rags onstage. He had kept a rotting raven in a plastic bag so better to "inhale the scent of death" before going on stage. Such morbid fascinations and antics further developed Mayhem's progressing musical atmosphere, and by this point the band's lyrics had moved increasingly toward Satanism, darkness, depression and evil. A focal point of gigs at this time was the planting of pigs heads on stakes, center stage, and Dead cutting himself with a knife.(weirder....)
By April 1991, Dead was dead, aged 22, having suffered a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head and several lacerations to the wrists, inflicted by a hunting knife he had bought that day. Dead committed suicide in a house he was sharing in Kråkstad with the other members of the band, and left a note asking that they "Excuse all the blood, Cheers." although other members of the band claimed it was more extensive, it also said "the knife was too dull to finish the job so i had to use the shotgun" Euronymous was first to discover the body, and took a series of polaroids of the corpse, some of which were later used as cover art for their bootleg album.
According to Occultus, who briefly took position as vocalist after Dead's suicide: "He (Dead) didn't see himself as human; he saw himself as a creature from another world. He said he had many visions that his blood has frozen in his veins, that he was dead. That is the reason he took that name. He knew he would die.." (that takes the cake, if you ask me....)
Euronymous took pieces of Dead's brain and made a stew, in which he put ham, frozen vegetables, and pepper. "He'd always said he wanted to eat flesh, so he figured this was an easy way." Euronymous also claimed to have collected and forged fragments of Dead's skull into necklaces, sending pieces to those he felt 'worthy'.(ewww....)

Euronymous was next in line to die.He was brutally stabbed by the then bassist to whom he owed a lot a money.The autopsy revealed that Euronymous suffered twenty-three stab wounds: two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back. However, the bassist claimed that Euronymous fell onto pieces of broken glass from a lamp shade broken in the ruckus, which he says, attributed to the multiple puncture wounds. (you dont say?!)

They split in 1994...and reunited a few years later with the surviving members and some new ones...but its the 'classic' Mayhem that fans remember the most.

The new Mayhem was just as weird, though.
In 2004, Maniac(the vocalist) was forced out of the band. Stage fright had lead to both dependence on alcohol and reluctance to tour, which frustrated his bandmates. It is rumored that Necrobutcher signaled his departure from Mayhem by kicking him down a flight of stairs, after Maniac had gotten drunk before a gig and been unable to remember the lyrics.(tee hee)

By now most of you would have a fixed idea of what Mayhem's music sounds like...but I really enjoy it...ass kickin stuff \m/..do listen to it if you do get a chance to.

Stay heavy
sid

Holocaust

2006-12-26T04:19:00.000-08:00

SACSAYHUAMAN,PERU,present day

A ruined city.No one from any of the ages known to us ever saw Sacsayhuaman when it was not in ruins.
A fantastic fortress bulit with monolithic rocks weighing more than 100 tons each and having terrace walls 1500 ft. long and 54 ft wide.
The mind boggles when one tries to comprehend these facts.But what will take one's breath away is a little distance away from the fortress.Here we are confronted with a block with an estimated weight of 20,000 tons.This single stone block is the size of a four-storey house and is impeccably dressed in the most craftmanslike way.To make the solution of the puzzle even more difficult the whole monstrous block stands on its head.
Who can imagine that human hands and human endeavour excavated, transported and dressed this block? What power overturned it? What titanic forces were at work here? Its a pity, one thinks, that the technology of these peoples is lost forever.

BUT IS IT?

What one dosent realise, or dosent want to realise is that this city was built, when humans everywhere else were still in caves, by the most advanced peoples the world will ever see, and with the aid of extra-terrestrial intelligence.They dealt with aliens like a nation today deals with another.They traded materials and exchanged technologies.In gratitude for their aid, the people of Sacsayhuaman regarded the aliens as gods.This is why archaeologists today find Sacsayhuaman and the neighbouring towns like Tiahuanaco filled with gigantic buildings inscribed with images of "gods" in flying chariots and dressed in what even a layman would describe as a space-suit.Its a pity these "archaeologists" chooses to close their mind to the truth.But mankind would pay dearly for their closed-mindedness.
The gods had built the first airfield in the history of the world for their use, not far from Sacsayhuaman.The airfield was located in the Palpa valley in the ancient city of Nazca, high in the Peruvian Andes.An aerial view of the valley shows gigantic lines, laid out geometrically,some of which run parallel and some of which intersect.
The archaeologists call them ancient roads.How preposterous!

But something went wrong in the ancient city of Sacsayhuaman.The gods stopped coming.The people's anxiety grew with each passing year that the gods did not show up.The temples were crowded and the priests called for greater piety and sacrifice from the people.But the gods still did not come.But what came was a message from them.It said that the "gods" would appear in exactly ten thousand years.The people were disheartened.They couldnt wait that long.And Sacsayhuaman fell into decay soon after.The sad people abandoned their glorious city and dispersed, and soon died out.

All but one, that is.A priest decided that it would be worth the wait to show his descendants the splendour of the gods.And belonging to the most empowered caste of the city, he had access to all the technology and knowledge of the gods.And he passed them on to his only son.
And so it continued, long after the rest of his peoples had died out.

Soon the rest of mankind emerged from its sleep and began to conquer the world.But it would never see the glories of Sacsayhuaman other than in a state of decay.

LIMA, PERU,present day

Pablo was one of the leading astronomers of Peru.He was also rich, way richer than one expect his job to make him.This perplexed the authorities, and they were dissatisfied with his his explanation that he had inherited his wealth.But it was true.
He owned an observatory high in the andes mountains above Cuzco, not far from Sacsayhuaman.It was equipped with the most advanced instruments money can buy.But money cant buy everything.The USA, and a few EU nations owned some highly advanced microwave radio satellite telescopes.These were not for sale,however, as they can be used for spying and related activities.Having unsuccesfully pleaded for their purchase through the Peruvian government, Pablo proceeded to visit these countries and plead personally for them.After visiting the capitals of all the countries owning them, he returned angrily to Peru.They had refused to sell it.

Immediately after his return, these cities were struck by the deadliest earthquakes ever known to strike.

Pablo's anxiety and frustration increased in the coming months.He scanned the heavens like a madman, without rest for days on end.
These months also saw a tremendous, unnatural increase in the number and intensity of natural disasters in the various parts of the world.

Then one fine day, he abandoned whatever he had been doing and went to Nazca.And there he waited patiently.
The day was a special one.It was the day the gods had promised the people of Sacsayhuaman that they would return.And Pablo, descendant of the high priest of Sacsayhuaman waited for them.

The gods never did come that day.And Pablo knew that it was futile to wait any longer, for the gods would never make a promise they couldnt keep unless something had gone horribly wrong in their scheme.The frustration of a countless generations enveloped him.All the hardships endured by his forefathers in preserving and propagating the power and technology of Sacsayhuaman had now gone in vain.
Because of his lineage, the ancient power that had moved the monoliths flowed through him.And when angry, he couldnt help using it.

Pablo was very angry now.He was so angry he wanted to end his life, and take as many other men with him as possible.
The earth shook and waves of energy radiated through the ground from where he stood.
Nothing ever grew in that place again, and a desert drier than the Atacama was born.

Insanity

2006-12-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

An evening just like any other.
Nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to meet.No friends,no family, just a deadbeat job in a dark factory,a tiny flat,a couch and a tv set.
I guess being the only man in a canning factory surrounded by machines can make a person a bit of an oddball .
My schedule is designed to minimise interaction with other people.I check into my factory at 9 every morning and work there till 8 in the evening as a machinist, then return to my flat. I use the back alleys filled with garbage and rats no one uses.I see few other people in the day.My neighbours stay clear of me, my landlord has no reason to see me as i pay the rent on time.I hate going to the supermarket every month to stock up on groceries.
I feel uncomfortable around people.
I'm completely self sufficient, a product of today's impersonal, machinistic world.
And then the world changed around me.

This is how it happened:

The news channels were blaring it out - unusual solar surface disturbances propogating through space to the earth.One glance at the sun would tell you something was not right.More than half the surface area was covered with sunspots and it was actually viewable with the naked eye.
I couldnt care less.The window blinds were drawn and my flat was dim and cut off from it all as always.My routine didnt change.
What i didnt realise was that the world was dying.
I went about my job as usual, not realising that a slow poison was building up in the minds of men.Other men.Scientists told people not to panic, but to no avail.There was a tenfold increase in crime.The morgues and asylums were bursting.
But the greatest disaster known to man hadnt struck fully yet.
I was safely esconsed in my flat in my crumbling apartment block and didnt care about what was happening.To my defence, i didnt really know what was happening.I never watched the news on the tube.The tv programs were still running and that was all i needed to know.
A week of worldwide hysteria later, the tv suddenly blacked out.The lights went out.The water stopped running in the taps.The next day, the machines in the factory werent running.
There were NO people to be seen, but i didnt think much of it then.I'll live it out, i thought.My supply of food will last another week.then ill step out and find out whats going on, thought i.
a week later, the situation hadnt improved.It had degenerated beyond repair.
I first went to the supermarket, but all i found there was a burnt-up building.Everything seemed to be either burning,burnt or abandoned.I went along the road, confused.Then i heard it.It sounded like a beast trying to talk in the tongue of man.A blood-chilling sound.
Looking behind, i saw a man.He was ragged looking, had a club in his hand and was coming to eat me.I tried to talk to him but all i got was a blow to my head.Reeling, i fell over a sleeping man on the pavement.A corpse.I took up a stick and finished off the madman with a few blows.He was weak and starving, i realised.I also realised that it was unusual that he was the first person i had seen in around a month.He was also the last living person i was to see.

I followed the main road and became aware of an odd odour in the air.I followed it.It led to a football field.A football field covered with rotting corpses.Later i would find more corpses in playing fields and parks all over the city.Then i understood.
In the past few weeks, men, driven like moths to a light, had congregated in all available open spaces.Mindless carnage followed.No one survived.
The same pattern had played out in all the cities of the world.
The madness from space had poisoned the minds of men and claimed them all.
I was the last one alive in the city.
For all i cared,i was the last one alive in the world.

2006-12-18T10:40:00.000-08:00

here are some random bands whose music i've been listening to in the recent past:

timeless miracle
the haunted
fear factory
my dying bride
tankard
norther
ill nino
king crimson
dimmu borgir
force of evil (no one rocks like them scandinavians....)

and loads of other stuff.....

Just mentioned it as i have nothing else to say....for now
What a great start to my blog...