Radio City In Hyderabad?

For the past few days, there has been a quiet buzz going around that Radio City – which, arguably, is one of the best FM Stations out there – has started operation in Hyderabad. I have seen atleast one print ad and a few messages on message boards. But apart from that there was no inkling about the station having gone on air. But today, I happened to hear it! Radio City is testing the airwaves, so it seems and was definitely on air for quite some time. It broadcasts on the 106.4 Mhz frequency and as Asiawaves puts it, the 106.4 Mhz bandwidth is eserved for Radio City and the status is shown as "Reported Testing,May 2006" :)

I haven't been able to find the Radio City webpage though! I remember that they used to  syndicated through Indya.com sometime ago but now the site doesn't feature there :( . So looks like we've to wait some more days before we can say for sure that Radio City has indeed kicked off operations in Hyderabad! Until then…keep tuning to 106.4 Mhz and try to catch'em in action!

Windows Vista™

Microsoft Vista

Having nothing better to do after a wholesome lunch, I was idly browsing around the WWW when I happened to visit the Microsoft website and noticed this interesting tidbit:

Windows Vista Beta 2 is now available for IT professionals and developers with MSDN and TechNet subscriptions. In the coming weeks, Microsoft will start the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program (CPP) for developers and IT professionals who are not members of the subscription services.

The Windows Vista CPP will also be available to technology enthusiasts that want to install and test a copy of Windows Vista Beta 2. You can get a head start on your Windows Vista CPP preparation by visiting the Get Ready section of this site and downloading the Windows Vista Product Guide (60 MB Word doc).

MSDN is the Microsoft Developer Network – the portion of Microsoft responsible for managing the firm's relationship with developers; whereas TechNet is a platform that delivers comprehensive, no-nonsense technical resources that help IT professionals efficiently evaluate, deploy and support Microsoft solutions.

Now I am not a member of either but wouldn't mind being one ;) …Not that its a piece O' cake but let's not dwell on that matter! So I shall patiently wait till the much-awaited and much-delayed Vista makes it onto any of moi co-workers workstations or elsewhere. Enthu people can however check its features at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/

New Television

Moi Philips 21

Moi world just got wierder! That iz since i gotta new window-to-da-world! Ok. Enough of cliches & innuendoes…..the fact of the matter is that i bought a new Television for our room, over the weekend. I had this niggling idea in moi brain ever since I moved out but it could be fructified only now. After considering LG, Samsung and even Sony, I went for the tried & trusted brand of Philips. The Model I purchased was the 21PT2125/9 which was a 21" Real Flat model. It set me back by quite a few bucks……around nine thousand to be precise :( Features:

Better quality images that reveal more detail

  • Real Flat picture tube technology brings you lifelike images
  • Crystal Clear improves picture depth
  • Eye-Fi improves the picture whatever the source

Crisp and Clear sound
Eco AV stereo
Designed for your convenience

  • Enjoy natural full-screen images expanded on a 4×3 screen
  • Smart Picture and Smart Sound to personalise your viewing.

Specifications:

Picture/Display
Aspect ratio : 4:3
Diagonal screen size (inch) : 21 inch
Diagonal screen size (metric) : 55 cm
Visible diagonal screen size : 51 cm
Display screen type : Real Flat picture tube
Picture enhancement : Contrast Plus, Active Control, Color Temperature Adjustment, Dynamic Noise Reduction
Picture processing : 50 Hz

Sound
Output power (RMS) : 2 x 5W

Loudspeakers
Built-in speakers : 2

Convenience
Ease of Installation : Fine Tuning
Ease of Use : Auto Volume Leveller (AVL), Smart Picture Control
Remote control type : RCLA015
Screen Format Adjustments : 4:3, 4:3 expand
Clock : On/Off event timer, Sleep Timer

Tuner/Reception/Transmission
Tuner bands : UVSH
TV system : PAL B/G
Video Playback : NTSC, PAL
Aerial Input : 75 ohm coaxial (IEC75)
Tuner Display : PLL
Number of Preset Channels : 200

Connectivity
Other connections : Monitor out
AV 1 : CVBS in
Front / Side connections : Headphone out

Power
Power consumption : 60W +/- 10% W
Standby power consumption : < 1W
Mains power : AC 140-276V, 50/60Hz

Dimensions
Product weight : 25 kg
Weight incl. Packaging : 30 kg

Now I can merrily watch my fav sports like Formula One, Soccer – even though the Leagues have all ended, there's still the Soccer World Cup,Tennis (The French Open's goin' on) and a li'l bit of cricket! I shall also endeavour to catch up with all those episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S I've missed out on! Not to mention the countless movies on HBO, Star Movies & AXN! And can music be far behind…….CHannel [V], MTV, Vh1 all beckon!!! Life's gonna be rosy again….well, atleast between 9 PM and 9 AM :mrgreen:

Monaco Grand Prix – Sunday Race

Monaco Grand Prix Podium finishersRound 8 of the Formula One Grand Prix was held in the Principality of Monaco and boy oh boy! it was one helluva race weekend. The Saturday Qualifying threw up lotsa controversies as Michael Schumacher – who had set the fastest time until then – inexplicably stalled on the Rascasse hairpin turn with only few minutes to go; thus robbing late runners such as world champion Fernando Alonso to set a lap time. The accusations flew thick and fast that Michael had deliberately cheated to gain pole position as it is a known fact that overtaking on the racetrack was well-nigh impossible at Monaco. After a lengthy inquiry into the incident, FIA stripped Michael off his pole position and demoted him to the back of the grid. Thus, Fernando Alonso started the Monaco Grand Prix from pole…and went onto win the race!

Alonso lead from the front and drove an impeccable race to finish atop the podium for the first time at Monaco. In what turned out to be a topsy-turvy race, McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya took second position and David Coulthard took the third position to secure the first-ever podium place for the Red Bull team. Though I missed the initial parts o the race, the highlights conveyed to me well enough as to who was the initial pace-setter. Kimi Raikkonen showed remarkable pace as he scorched through the field, setting fastest lap on lap 19 before ill-luck struck the finn and he had to retire with his car ablaze, on lap 50. HisKimi Raikkonen's Race is Over teammate, however, had no such problems and took over the second position and stayed there till the end, so not a bad weekend for McLaren, I must say. Other retirements included Toyoya's Jarno Trulli who was gunning for 3rd place when his engine failed on lap 73 ,Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, amongst others. Trulli's retirement played into the hands of Honda's Rubens Barrichello as he had lost that place due to a drive-through-penalty. But the real advantage went to Red Bull's David Coulthard whose one-stop strategy saw him clinch the 3rd position, in what is an important result for Red Bull. Particularly when they were promoting the hollywood blockbuster Superman Returns. In fact, DC wore the Superman cape at the presentation ceremony!

And what of Michael Schumacher? Well, after the race stewards handed him the punishment of starting from last, he changed engines -as did his teammate Felipe Massa – and started from the pits with a loaded fuel tank. He was able to storm his way upto fifth and also set the fastest lap of the race and for a few nerve-wrenching moments, was even threatening ex-teammate Barrichello for the 4th position! The big gainers this weekend were DC & Red Bull, Juan Pablo Montoya, Rubens and no doubt Renault, whose other driver, Ginacarlo Fisichella finished 6th thus increasing their lead in the Constructor's Championship to 28 points over Ferrari while Alonso's lead over second-placed Michael Schumacher increased to 21 points. They look good for a double, I say!

Links: Formula1.com | GrandPrix.com | BBC Sport 

Fanaa Movie Review

Kajol and Aamir in FanaaSo, after all that hype and hoopla about the movie and all the controversy it has managed to generate – for all the wrong reasons IMHO – Fanaa turns out to be yet another offbeat-yet-mainstream bollywood flick. Surprised by the tag that I've attributed to it? I, for one, sure felt like it. Take one of the sub-nuance of Fanaa – Blind-girl-meets-flirt – is an oft-repeated theme for bollywood. The fact that the hero leaves her just when her sight is restored, is also been-there-seen-that stuff. And so is the mish-mash of Free Kashmir and the struggle for it. In fact, all the basic premises of the film evoke a sense of deja vu in the viewer's mind. But when woven together as skillfully as it has been done and peppered with power-packed performances from the lead characters, Fanaa rises to such meteoronomic standards as few hinde movies have managed to do.

The movie is all about Choices! Choosing the correct path between Good & Bad is easy. But choosing the best alternative among two equally-appealing correct paths, is what is difficult. In other words,

"… to choose between right or wrong is simple, but what defines one's life is the decision between the greater of two goods or the lesser of two evils!"

Fanaa is the story of a blind kashmiri girl, Zooni Ali Beg (Kajol) who travels to delhi to see the world and trying to charter her own life without help from her parents (Rishi Kapoor & Kirron Kher). In Delhi, she runs into Rehan Khan/Qadri (Aamir Khan) who is a tour guide and an incorrigible flirt. Inspite of repeated rejoinders from her friends, Kajol gets closer and closer to Aamir. She feels secure & complete with him and he, on the other hand enjoys showing her around but warns her that hez not a good person and is just a wanderer..moving on from one green pasture to another (sic!). But Kajol doesn't heed all this warnings…she's ready to get destroyed in Love. The first half drags quite a bit with the sight-seeing and all such stuff and the shayaraana dialogues do sometimes get on the nerves. The pre-interval portions are right outta some Ekta Kapoor flick and the 'twist' when it comes, even if it doesn't catch the viewer unwares, its picturisation & the sheerKajol and Aamir in Fanaa flamboyance of it all does leave an impact. Songs in the first half are situational and well-placed though Des Rangila deserved a better picturisation & setting. Chand Sifarish and Dekho Naa are easily the pick of the lot …particularly the latter, which has been excellently shot.

The second half of the movie is where the plot seems to be lost and only the lead pair's actions manage to pep up the proceedings. Not to mention the Kid who plays the Young Rehan! He livens up the proceedings somewhat. A major chunk of the post-interval portion is all about how Kajol re-discovers Aamir and how they reconcile themselves to their past and look towards the future. It drags along at a lethargic pace, prompting the viewers to wish that it would end soon! In fact, some people at the theatre did shout out loud : "Finish it maan!" :mrgreen: The second half has a few glaring loopholes that are quite funny, if i may say so! Rishi Kapoor's death and the manner in which Kajol gets to know about it is pure bunkum! And so is the fact that Aamir carries along a Nuclear Trigger openly in his pocket for everyone to see!!! The climax comes across as the highpoint of the movie when Kajol is faced with the choices of Love Vs. Patriotism. And guess what does she choose???

On the whole, Fanaa stands out as a brilliant movie on the following counts:

  • A Well-woven story about Love, Sacrifice and Patriotism, which -thankfully- doesn't preach anything.
  • Bravura performances from the lead pair.
  • Aamir Khan digs so deeply into the characters that one can't help but feel that it is but natural. His characters of Rehan as the tour guide and then as the soldier, are fully potent & believable.
  • Kajol's comeback couldn't have been better. She delivers a knock-out performance and still looks as good as she was a few years ago.
  • Music stands out as one of the high-points and the songs' picturisation & placement is spot-on.
  • Cinematography is excellent. Delhi and Poland have been well-captured on screen.

On the other hand, it sure does have its share of flaws:

  • The Storyline, though feels like new, is all too often seen on screen.
  • Screenplay is one of the weakpoints of the movie. Some portions of the movie, both in the first & second halves could have been better-woven.
  • The story drags along for quite some time in the first half and more so in the second half. Few scenes could have beenchopped off to make it evenly-paced.
  • The shayaraana dialogues in the first half get on the nerves after sometime.
  • The motive behind Rehan's quest for freedom and his actions – of handing over the trigger to his people and then going away from it all to settle down with Zooni – seem to conflict one another !

All in all, Fanaa can be categorised as a well-made Offbeat-yet-mainstream hindi movie with just about the right doses of everything that would spell out box-office success. The presence of two of the highly-regarded actors and their screen chemistry , only enhances the movie further. Songs are melodious, though not chartbusters. Added to it, the fact that Yash Raj is asking multiplexes to screen multiple shows in a day, it is surely going to become one of the biggest hits of the year.

Tycoon’s Buffet @ Green Park

Yet another Friday and yet another eat-out! It has become a sorta habit (and a bad one at that!) for our team to go out gallivanting and having lunch out, leaving behind home-cooked-food brought in carriages! Today, the venue was Green Park, Hyderabad.One of the trendiest though a li'l bit outta the limelight hotel, it has three restaurants- The Tulip, Chancery and Once Upon a Time. We plumped for the classy Once Upon a Time.

Once Upon A Time
Once Upon A TimeThe speciality restaurant, one of the largest and undoubtedly the best in town, is known for its exquisite decor and choicest cuisine. Here one can actually savour the delicacies of the royal bygone era. Situated at the heart of the city, at Greenlands, Begumpet, at a close proximity of 3 kms from the Airport.

The buffet spread was aptly titled Tycoon's Buffet and we almost felt like one :mrgreen: After grabbing quick seats,we started off with some Chicken Sweetcorn & Spicy Coriander Soup accompanied with Chicken Drumsticks and Cauliflower Schezwan. One round wasn't enough and we were on for an encore. Then it was time to whet up the appetite with some chaats & savories including Chicken Chaat, Lamb n Corn roasts, Fruit Salad, Sev Chaat, Veg. Sandwich, Chicken Sandwich with Brown Bread, Curds n Cucumbers, Pickled Veggies,Coriander Egg chaat etc. Main course comprised of Vegetable Biriyani, Veg Fried Rice, 'live' Noodles , Naans & Roomali rotis, Gutthi Vankaya Koora (wholesome Aubergine curry), Aritikaya Khurma (Banana Curry) , Chamalakanda fry (Arbi fry), Shahi Paneer (Cottage Cheese) in the Vegetarian section whereas the Non-Veg section boasted of Chicken Biriyaani, Murgh Mussalam, Lamb in black beans sauce, Fish Fry and Egg curry. Other dishes which we didn't even venture close to were the Plain Ol' Dal fry, Plain Rice, Sambhar & Curd Rice. Who'd want'em when such a luscious spread was in front of you! The 'Cracker' stuff included Papads, Finger crisps, Soy nuggets & fryums. But they were more like also-rans. The piece-de-resistance of all of it were undoubtedly the desserts. The hotel whipped up a mind boggling array of fruits, sweets & desserts that would surely send a shiver up dieticians & doctors alike and make strong-willed dieting people, weak in the knees (Jus' like me :evil: ) Arranged neatly on one side were Freshly cut Mangoes, Jelly Mangoes, Pineapples, Papaya slices, Strawberries with cream and fruit salad, whereas on the other side, there lurked Kalakand, Malai Chaman, Kaajas, shrikhand, kaalajamoon, semiya kheer – both with sugar & sugarless – baked pineapples, an assortment of pastries like blackcurrant, raisin, butter scotch and pineapple, strawberry jelly, orange jelly, strawberry ice cream and vanilla ice cream (with chocolate sauce, tutti-fruity & nuts as toppings). A spread fit for a king, as they say!!!

Ambience of the hotel was well-done and cosy. Seating was plush and comfortable. With a star-tag attached to it, its service was impeccable and glitch-free! What stood out as a warm gesture was the F&B manager walking up-to me after I'd mentioned one or two things that I thought should change (in the feedback form), and politely enquiring about why I felt like that. He patiently listened to my ramblings (am never too eloquent with words!) and took in all that I had say, very cheerfully. Though whether they'll be implemented or not, remains to be seen ;) . All in all it was a marvellous outing and a tremendously refreshing -not to mention, extremely filling – lunch. Highly recommended!

Puzzling Urge

Since quite a few days, I have this stupendous urge to try my hands at some analytical or logical puzzles. Though am not a avid puzzle-lover, I do occassionally indulge in such stuff just for the fun of it! And I used to do 'em a lot during my prep for CAT but thatz another story. I mostly used to do Shakuntala Devi's Puzzles to Puzzle you and More Puzzles to Puzzle You. Also the series of Sherlock Holmes' Puzzles by Tom Bullimore. But all of those were Pen n Paper stuff…I wanted some 'physical' puzzles. So I hit upon Tangram.

Tangram's 7 PiecesTangram is an ancient chinese puzzle which consists of seven pieces , usually made from plastic nowadays , which are in geometrical shapes. There are two big triangles, two small triangles, one square, one parallelogram and one medium-sized triangle. The objective of the game is to arrange the seven pieces in various alignments so that they do not overlap each other and form several interesting shapes n designs. Combinations of ShapesThere are more than 500 possible designs and it is quite fun to be able to do atleast most of'em. I had a set of Tans as the individual pieces are called and I used to spend long hours arranging and rearranging them to complete the designs that were provided in the booklet accompanying the set. But now almost all designs are done and over with and am not getting any new books for newer patterns!

So I shifted focus onto another classicak 'physical' puzzle – The Rubik's Cube. Invented in 1974 by a Hungarian professor Erno Rubik, it consists of a 3X3 cube whose six sides are coloured in six different colours. Rubik's CubeThe smaller cubes can be rotated and re-oriented to disturb the colour arrangements and the aim of the game is to re-arrange the cube by twisting and turning groups of the smaller cubes either horizontally or vertically, and bring back the cube to its original state – with each side in the same color. Though it is very tough to explain the real intent & procedure, it is quite fun to work at and can be a real test of one's patience. The last time i tried my hand at one of those was way back in 9th grade and I remember i used to take 3-4 days to complete it! In fact, once I became so frustrated because I could not complete it, I jus' broke it apart and re-joined the pieces to make the full cube :mrgreen: And now when I'm yearning to try it out all over again, i'm not getting that at any of the big stores out here in Hyderabad! I tried out Central, Lifestyle, Himalaya Book Depot, Odyssey and even a few Archies galleries and Hallmark galleries but to no avail! Methinks I have to wait that little bit more to get to lay my hands on it! Though there are online versions of both Tangram and Rubik's cube, the fun n patience levels involved in the real deal is difficult to recreate in an online version, IMHO! ;)

Good Links:| Online Tangram | Tangram Puzzles | Online Rubik's CubeSolve Rubik's Cube

Aishwarya Rai’s Death – Nothing but Rumours

Most people ,incl. me, got this mail saying that popular bollywood actress Ms. Aishwarya Rai has died in a car crash in England. Below is an excerpt of the mail:

BREAKING NEWS:
The Highest Paid Bollywood Actress Ashwariya Rai, has been killed in a head-on car crash.Ms. Rai, 32, from India, was killed in the crash in the, near Firle, East Sussex.
She had been at a special screening of her forth coming bollywood movie at Cannes Film Festival at nearby Drusillas Park before the fatal smash involving her blue Renault Megane and a city School Bus ocuured.
A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said she was lifted from the scene by the Sussex Police and taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital, where she died from her injuries. Whereas her driver on the other hand died on the spot.
She was the sole occupant along with her driver in her car, the spokeswoman said.“It was a sheer case of reckless driving”, spokeswoman further added The City School Bus involved in the incident had three victims with severe head injuries including a monitor (58 yrs old) and two kids (7yrs old). The rest 32 escaped unharmed.

Read the Full Mail here

Now, whoever has started the hoax, didn't create it all from scratch! They took an Old BBC article and manipulated it so as to mirror the death of Aishwarya. The 'source' article is about the death of Desmond Llewelyn, the actor who played Q in Many James Bond movies before retiring. Here's an excerpt of the real news article . Notice the similarities in bold!

Bond actor killed in crash
Actor Desmond Llewelyn, famous for his role as Q in the Bond films, has been killed in a head-on car crash. Mr Llewelyn, 85, from Bexhill, East Sussex, was killed in the crash on the A27, near Firle, East Sussex.He had been at a book signing event at nearby Drusillas Park before the fatal smash involving his blue Renault Megane and another car.
A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said he was airlifted from the scene by the Sussex Police helicopter and taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital, where he died from his injuries on Sunday evening.

The Original news article can be found here

Its truly pathetic as to how people can stoop to such a low level in order to gain notoriety or to malign a successful and popular person! Fie on such individuals!:evil: