the mango is in season

The mango is in season. Blog me this, blog me that. Old lines remembered, repeated. There's something off with this new Necrophobic. Cleaner. Heavier. A mid week off is never eventful. This one was quieter than most. The mango is in season. The king is hungry. The royal taster died. In his sleep. 51 days ago. The king is hungry. The dog sleeps. Stretched out. Big fellow. This Gutslit T shirt is very comfortable. I'm sitting by the side of the road. The mango is in season. Umbrella's are out, the rain comes and goes. The light from the street is blinding me. The noise from the street can't touch me. The mango is in season.

A Breath in the Shade of Time

Saw Lunchbox. Would have been the perfect Indian film to send to the Oscars. I liked it a lot. Irfan and Nawazuddin are absolutely brilliant but that woman did a good job too. By the end of it, I was rooting for the lovers to unite.

This new Eibon is pretty great. 2 long songs than can be called sludge but a bit more varied and dynamic than the last 2 albums. File it next to the new Pombagira which is also pretty great, has 2 long songs and can be broadly classified as sludge.

Still watching Lost. Jack has to be one of the most annoying TV characters ever written and its all getting a bit unnecessarily complicated. Season 4 turned out pretty great but then Season 5 fucked things up. The whole time travel conundrum was solved with lame philosophy. Annoyed the crap out of me.

Sat through about 45 minutes of World's End and its pretty dull so far. Hopefully will get better.

Finally got my hands on The Baby. Damn that was a hard find.



Another Sunday and another show. Its not as regular as that sounds but here we are again. The air conditioning is off and the place is a sauna. We're the second band on the lineup with 50 minutes to kill. Should be fun. Couple of bombay bands to look forward to and Threinody who will hopefully play Disembodiment. They'll turn the a/c on soon. I can't remember the lyrics to Weird Tales. Oops. Soundcheck @ 3.

I finally have comfortable seating. Always at a premium. Very poor turnout so far. I hope it gets better. 5 CDs sold which is not bad. Ontologus are some kind of tech death I guess. Sound quite good. We're up next. Empty hall. Maybe 50 people if you count the waiters. Bad scene. Although considering we've played to 5 people and a dog, it's not actually bad at all. Well, the djinn fans seemed to like what we did. Major sound issues aside, old faithful Weird Tales ended things nicely. I, Zombie turned out quite well too. Shepherd are a great band but they need to sort out the vocals. Big fat grooves, good songs. When they're instrumental they give off a K2B vibe. Other times its abrasive noise rock. Very good either way. Threinody up next. Fucking killed it. Disembodiment was the wow moment for the night. Awesome song. The other 3 were pretty good too. Especially Schism and Blade. It was a genuine pleasure to see a proper thrash band. No unnecessary labels.

My pretty pink drink is over and I must make my way home.

I discovered a new coffee shop a while ago. They made a damn good cup of cold coffee. Then they didn't anymore. It's back on the menu today. All is right again.

I no longer know which day of the week it is when I wake up.

The new Fister is ridiculously good. Unbelievably heavy.

I'm about halfway through Chennai Express and I'm enjoying it. Shahrukh Khan hams it up but that's the only brand of comedy he knows. Deepika Padukone looks stunning and manages to be funny with her ridiculous accent. Sathyaraj though is an inspired piece of casting. Would have been easier to go with someone like Prakash Rai but Sathyaraj fits the bill to perfection. Hopefully, the next one hour of the movie won't drag. Silly, ridiculous fun. Way better than any of Shetty's other films so far....

And the second hour didn't drag. Silly, ridiculous fun and a new found sense of respect for SRK.



So Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor. There's some sort of backlash against Moffat for not picking a female, black or Asian as the new doctor but honestly, I think Cripaldi will be a good fit. I don't want to see a female, black or Asian Doctor Who. Does that make me a mysoginistic racist? I suppose so.

All set to watch The Conjuring tomorrow. Its been getting some rave reviews from serious horror fans so hoping for a few chills.... And missed it again. Will probably watch it at home now whenever the dvd pops up.

The new Orator is disappointing. The riffs are all kind of straight forward and that evil atmosphere of the EP is missing. Kind of a decent, modern death-thrash album.

In the time that I started this post and now, I've been watching Battlestar Galactica. Almost done with it now and its pretty fucking great. Katee Sakhoff is so hot but Tricia Helfer is simply awesome. 6 and Baltar start off awkward and annoying but once the chemistry kicks in, their scenes together is one of many highlights on the show. The show itself starts off in sci-fi territory but moves to pseudo spiritual mumbo jumbo in season 3. Edward James Olmos is perfectly cast and the other actors grow into their roles nicely.

I finished Battlestar Galactica and then some. Started watching Lost on a friend's reccomendation and season 1 was pretty good. Season 2 is a bit muddled. Either they're all dead or they're all in some strange reality show. I hope I'm wrong. Another 4 seasons to go before I'll find out.

The album is almost upon us now. Release in the first week of September and a bunch of shows to go with it next month. What I'd really like is a collage video to "7 Year Witch". Lots of clippings from old witchy movies should be fun. More excited about the album than I've been about anything in a long, long time.

Well, release didn't happen. Delays. Album's up on bandcamp and its also up on Bunalti. Considering all the albums I've stolen from there, it's probably karma. Anyway, felt pretty good to see it up there. Our best show so far was in Thane. Who would have thought. People moshed to 7 Year Witch and there were about 50 odd people nodding their heads in a suitably ponderous manner. I couldn't stop smiling. So much for bringing the doom.

I set a timer to harvest my fear.
I overslept.

I don't believe a word

Strange thing happening over the last few days. A missed call at around 11.30 from an unknown number. Yesterday and today I picked up. It turned out to be a cross connection. I eves dropped. Man and woman. Talking in Hindi. Making plans to meet. Identical conversations on both nights. The  woman is loud and the man is whispering. It's happened before. They're always having the same conversation. At least when I've answered and listened in. Maybe they talk about other stuff when I don't answer.

Don't know why I didn't put this up before. We got on a Motorhead tribute. People seem to like it.

Malazans, arrows and jubilees

An unexpected holiday. Chilled out evening. The same old faces led me to abandon ship and skip across the water. To dry land and safety.

Malazan black metal is now a thing. Caladan Brood. Pretty good Summoning worship. Is there an Anomander Rake yet?

I don't care about the CDs you've bought and don't care about your work. I'm hoping you'll shut up and in the meantime, I'm simply practicing what I preach. Reassure,  empathize, summarize and say goodbye. With a smile.

Yeah, this malazan black metal is pretty good.

In TV news, Arrow is kicking ass. The show scored a big win with its casting of Slade Wilson. The fights have gotten better and last week the whole "Moira Queen. You have failed this city" ending was badass. Community restarted. First episode was a bit lazy but I'm hoping it'll pick up.

One of the better blogs on the internet might have breathed its last. If you have any interest at all in movies of the forgotten, kvlt, B to Z type, then go pay http://ninjadixon.blogspt.com a visit. You might get lost but it'll be a trip worth taking.

The new Nick Cave is terrific. After the angular noise rock of Grinderman, Cave returns with the Bad Seeds to carve out a beautiful set of songs.

2013

Ugh! Just ugh! My feet hurt, I can't keep my eyes open and exhaustion overtakes me. Writing this now is a good way of staying awake and active. For a few more hours at least.

Oscar season has started. DVD screeners abound. Django Unchained is ridiculous fun but what's with all the animal killing? Unnecessary but way more shocking than the 100+ instances of the word "nigger". How come no one's complaining about the gratuitous killing of animals but everyone has an opinion on that word? Sam Jackson should win an oscar. He hasn't been this good ever. Don Johnson was pretty great too. Otherwise, typical Tarantino over the top violence, great dialogue and some pretty good set pieces. Not as riveting as the last one but still pretty great.

Zero Dark Thirty though was disappointing. Too bloody long, a main character who's nothing more than a cardboard cut out and loads of fine actors wasted. Also, I guess no one will know but the streets of Karachi are lined with shops with Hindu names. So much for accuracy. Its a decent thriller but nothing more. Definitely no Syriana.

Planning to watch either Hitchcock or Seven Psychopaths tonight. Probably 7 P.

God! Java City's fucking loud. And I have mosquito bites all over my neck.

I want to shout at these people and tell them all to shut up. Easier to put on my earplugs.

2013 so far has been tiring. People everywhere are talking about "all the recent rapes". Were these people not watching or reading the news till December? Suddenly, people say they were late cause they were helping a girl get home. Where was this chivalry and how long will it last? The Times group seems to have found its bone and they're using it to target every establishment figure they can find. The Today group is using the bone to target the ruling coalition. NDTV is trying desperately to divert the focus from the ruling coalition while exploiting victims quite shamelessly. Surprisingly, CNN-IBN seems to be the only channel without an axe to grind but they too have the bone firmly between their teeth and don't seem to be letting go.

I doubt if anything's going to come of all this activism though. Talk of a special session of parliament has died down. The Delhi rape case hasn't been shifted to a fast track court yet and women all over the country are still facing atrocities on a daily basis. Everything depends now on the middle class and how good their memory is.

Why are the laws that most affect us, the hardest to change? A 17 year old juvenile who raped a 6 year old, chopped her up and dumped the parts in a few dumpsters is given the maximum punishment of 3 years and then released on his 18th birthday because that's just how the law works. The accused juvenile in the recent rape is also 17 and will get the max punishment of 3 years but walk out when he hits 18. The mind boggles.

The funniest thing for me was how some Punjabi pop singer was targeted for misogynistic lyrics and the ensuing outrage he suddenly provoked over a song that's a few years old. The funny bit was the moral indignation of people who have no problem dancing to a hip hop song where all the women are bitches and ho's. Oh well. And the next metalhead who claims outrage over Honey Singh's lyrics is going to get a kick in the balls from me. Even hypocrisy must have some limits.

the mood of the nation

A day of mourning,
A day of shame.
A night of talking,
About how much we care.

Move on, move on
Say our rulers.
No more, no more
Say our leaders.

Our fear is real
Our anger is rising
Our throat is hoarse
From this endless shouting

Move on, move on
Say our rulers.
No more, no more
Say our leaders.

Our rulers are blind
to our anger and fear
Our leaders will lie
While blood flows like beer

Our voice is stifled
Our lament unheard
We are the new monkeys
Nothing spoken, seen or heard

The leader will pledge allegiance
Promise of a new awakening
The crowd will light a candle
Finally, change is coming

Outrage is the entrance fee
To a better tomorrow
But there's nothing new to see
So come, let's drown our sorrow

2 in 2

What a dull fucking day. Tired and sleepy and on the last ride home. Want to light up a fattie and fall on the bed. Probably settle for falling into bed and going to sleep.

Had a surprisingly decent masala pav today for lunch. Spicy and hot and fresh pav. Not bad at all.

The new Ancestors is really good. I have no idea why I didn't listen to more of this. There's no sign at all of the Sleep sounds of the debut and instead it feels like the perfect mix of the 70s worshiping doom sounds of the second album and the ambient prettiness of the Invisible White EP. Damn good stuff.

Sleep? Sleep! Sleep. Who has my Dopesmoker CD?

In other news, I need a break. Preferably an arm.

An ode to tomorrow
Her name is unspoken
Her face unknown
She is who we call on
The one we kneel before

Her acolytes are legion
This much is known
Suicide as sacrifice
Power flows from blood

Her name is unspoken
Her face unknown
She will defeat this hell
We call our world

The land will bleed
Brown earth turn crimson
A flood will take us all
Drowned in the power of sacrifice

The world will end tomorrow or so it's said. 
Another doomsday prophecy comes and goes. 
Like the boy who cried wolf, like a million bad movies; 
Armageddon will announce itself. 
Our greatest sin, our infinite hubris.

3 weeks and counting

Sitting in the park with my sandwich. Beautiful Bangalore weather. I watched some birds for a while. A pair of pigeons, a quail and a pair of mynahs. A few squirrels. A couple of dogs. Healthy and happy looking. Now their space has been taken over by a bunch of screaming idiots. Needless to say, the animals have all disappeared. I'm hungry again.

So Isaac received the lamest death possible and with that any interest I had in this season of Dexter comes to an end. It seems Stevenson had to report early for the shooting of the Thor sequel but regardless, I wanted more of Isaac. Now it seems the noose is tightening around Dexter. La Guerta's after him, his girlfriend is pissed with him and maybe Doakes is coming back from the dead in the season finale. Feels like the writers are dealing with an empty closet but hopefully it'll end well. So Debra kills La Guerta. Hannah escapes from the police and Dexter is still free. Fucking crappy ending. By the end of it, my sympathies were entirely with La Guerta.

Boardwalk Empire though, did end with a bang. Nucky Thompson is back to being the undisputed king of Atlantic City and there was some virtuoso television in the finale. Richard's shootout at Gillian's club, Gillian's attempt to seduce Gyp, the montage of killings at the start, and AR and Masseria screwing over Luciano and Meyer were all pretty great but Nucky turning the tables on his enemies and his ruthlessness was fucking awesome. Solid finish to an otherwise inconsistent season.

Homeland is still kicking ass on Monday nights. I think Brody might eventually run for VP and probably win. Probably not. One more episode to go and Abu Nazeer is dead, Saul has been sidelined and Quinn is stalking Brody so he can kill him. Claire Danes does a damn good job of acting crazy though. And the finale was tense and ended pretty great. Estes is dead along with a 100 CIA agents and  Brody is busted and on the run. Saul is in charge of things and Quinn gives Brody a free pass. Season 3 should be interesting.

The entry of Huntress into Arrow was also pretty good. The initial promo pic was a bit lame but the actress is hot enough and shows some decent fighting skills. The episode was pretty good too. The plot is thickening nicely.

Now just waiting for Ian McShane to turn up as a psycho Santa in American Horror Story 2. This season started off pretty lame but its turned into a very entertaining exploitation fest where the goal is pure shock. Looks like Santa's going to lay the beat down on sister Jude. Should be fun. Ian McShane was awesome. Just totally awesome as psycho Santa. Some absolutely horrific dialogue told in his inimitable style and things were great for the first 38 minutes. Then Sister Jude stuck a paper knife in his neck and the show closed with him bleeding out on the floor. Was that it? He's only there for one episode? I'll be really annoyed if he's done with the show. Oh McShane, you evil bastard. Its all good and Sister Jude is now an inmate.

Oh also, the new Antimatter. "Fear of a unique identity" is some fine music. It took a few listens to sink in but there are songs here that can stand up to anything Patterson has done. A bit more layered and a bit more rock but that whole Antimatter atmosphere is present and the lyrics are still damn good.



Rajnikant's Sivaji has gotten a re-release with 3D treatment. Must watch but preferably somewhere in Gandhinagar. Audiences in multiplexes are way too restrained. I want to see coins being thrown on the screen and people shouting out the dialogues and clapping and cheering. Saw it in PVR. The 3D conversion is pretty decent but the audience was pretty mellow apart from the mandatory whistles.

I hope there's something good to watch when I get home. One more night of Arnab Goswami confusing the BJP for the Congress and Mohinder Amarnath wanting to be on the news will piss me off. If he really wanted to show off his integrity he should have spoken about the selection when it happened and he got sacked. Not 3 months later, in the middle of a tough series against England. And his choice for captain was Sehwag. Thank god that didn't happen. A tough home series against England. Who would have thought. So, England series lost. Damn. And the news has been fucking depressing all week. Modi on his way to another win in Gujurat and unspeakable atrocities in the capital city. Fucking savages.

The title song from Drama has been stuck in my head for days now and on the way back, my taxi driver had 3 songs on his flash drive and all from Drama. Heard them on repeat through 3 cycles by the time I got home. Oh well.



Another day done with a fine layer of dust on my shoes. I hope there's something good to eat when I get home.

Obituary

Hello there. Been a while. Again.

I'm itching to talk about something that's bothering me but if I do, I might get sent to jail. So I won't. Welcome to the world's largest democracy.

Instead I'll post a couple of long overdue obituaries.

Sylvia Kristel died a while back. Oh Emanuelle! This saddened me just because of how incredibly awesome Kristel is. An awesomeness that death cannot take away.

Jaspal Bhatti died in a road accident. This was tragic. Flop Show was an integral part of growing up with DD and Bhatti was quite an accomplished satirist with a few good years left in him.



A while back I was trying to make more room on my laptop and ended up deleting my entire collection of erotic photographs. Ugh! Don't go on a deletion spree at 2 am when you should be sleeping. It will never end well. Sylivia Kristal, Soledad Miranda, Monica Belluci, Barbara Bouchet, my collection of beautiful butts. All gone in the blink of an eye. The places I got them from don't exist anymore so that's that.

Special mention to Ray Stevenson and Yvonne Strahowski in the new season of Dexter. Starhowski for being the hottest woman ever on Dexter and Stevenson for being the most badass. I hesitate to call him the villain of this season. He's almost sympathetic and there's a part of me that wants the character to live on to the final season next year. I hope the show ends with Isaac disappearing Dexter. Preferably dumping his body in the same ocean that Dex uses and then going off to find his Argentina. Stevenson is absolutely riveting as Isaac and his scenes with Dexter are the best things in this season. Excellent casting. Makes me want another Punisher movie.

In other news, Arrow is proving to be quite good. The voice over and dialogue is still hokey but I'm addicted to this show right now. Also, all of the little asides to the DC universe are a fanboy's wet dream. Deathstroke, Deadshot, China White, The Royal Flush Gang and Huntress makes her debut next week but the coolest reference so far has been "taking the last train to Bludhaven". Whether Nightwing will make an appearance is doubtful but it was pretty cool all the same.

There's been tons of great doom metal this year but the only album that physically and emotionally exhausted me was the new Worship. Terranean Wake is truly the stuff that suicides are made of.   There's a sense of hopeless despair here that just overwhelms.

There's a new Antimatter out. "Fear of a Unique Identity" it's called and I'm waiting to play it tonight once I get back and the city's fast asleep. We're almost up to December and the good shit shows no sign of stopping. Detailed report will follow the next time I'm back here.

Now, weather.
The last 10 days or so have seen biting cold, a mini heat wave and now rain. Global warming? Possibly.

Mandates and Coal. Doctors and Dinosaurs.

Been a long time since I came here. So much has happened. So much. I've been published in a newish magazine called 'Mandate'. You can find my article on comic con express in the latest issue. Sandwiched between an Amar Singh interview and an erotic photo spread. Not bad at all. Comic con express sucked a bit though. Crappy Indian comics which may not last beyond the first issue battling for space with DC and Marvel comics that you can find at Landmark, loads of kids in costume and a claustrophobic feel. I spent most of my time there outside.

The time to do a review of GoW has passed. I might be the only person in the world who loved it without reservation. Oh well.



Doctor Who!?
Rant time. New season is sucking ass. Well, not that bad but weak. As usual, episode 1 started with a bang. The Doctor had to break into a Dalek asylum. An asylum for Daleks who were considered too extremely crazy by other Daleks. Just that bit is enough to get me smiling. But it ends with a crazy Dalek helping the Doctor by wiping him off their memory banks. The Doctor goes "I'm the Doctor!" The Daleks go "Doctor.... Who?" Super ending and tied into last seasons tease nicely. Or so I thought. That first episode was followed by Dinosaurs on a Space Ship (self explanatory), A town called mercy (drab western pastiche) and The power of three (great start, weak ending). And now, we're at the halfway mark and its "The Angels take Manhattan" time. The Weeping Angels. Rory and Amy will leave The Doctor. River will turn up again in all her smug glory, the statue of liberty is a weeping angel and I'm still hoping for a surprise or two.

The new Dinosaur Jr. album has been dominating my playlist. Mellow, slightly spaced out and at times beautiful alt rock. This one and the new Torche have been my 2 biggest surprises of the year so far.

Blaming Jon Nodveidt on a slow motion sunday

I hate working on sundays. Have I mentioned that before? Today just crawled.


Weekend was pretty good. Had a decent jam session and "book of the fallen" seems to be taking shape nicely. Also, there's some classically trained vocalist who might join us next weekend to try out some vocal harmonies for "I, Zombie". Should be interesting.


Been watching Jeeves and Wooster again. Its amazing how good Hugh Laurie is the mostly clueless idle rich bachelor but in terms of acting, Stephen Fry as his know all valet might just be the weak link of this pair. Its still a lot of fun though. The farcical plots, clusterfuck endings and constant bullying by the aunts is all quite amusing.


Planning to watch Farscape next. I used to think  that blue skinned alien was damn hot when I first saw this on TV. Let's see if memory holds true.


Coffee the colour of mud
Will keep me awake tonight
Tomorrow I see another dawn
But tonight I see the sun


I'm really liking all these bands that are using Hindu mythology in their lyrics. I guess it started with Jon Nodveidt and his haunting lyrics on that Kali song but so many bands seem to have taken it as a starting point and really run with it. The new Witchrist is full of it, as is the new Rahu. Both bands also have terrific artwork and Witchrist might be coming at it from a more Thai, Malaysian perspective while Rahu have taken quite an obscure approach to the whole thing. I must get hold of that "The quest for the vajra of shadows" LP. Looks spectacular.


Last weekend, I had a surprise visitor. A friend I hadn't seen in about 5 years and who was angry with me over something I wrote suddenly turned up. Just like that. "Aah, what's happening?" It was strange but I think I've changed a bit since I last saw him. Anyway, was good seeing him but damn I know some real grumpy old men.


This new season of masterchef is killing it. The cooking has been spectacular and I'm hoping for an Andy vs. Wade final although the odds are against them. Also, Marco Pierre White has this incredible presence. Half Sean Connery in The Untouchables and half Danny Trejo. Badass.


Oh, did I mention they turned "epic beard man" into a movie with Danny Trejo? its called "Badass" and its a full on 80s c-grade action film. Trejo can't act to save his life but even at 60 he looks the part. This is one old man you don't want to mess with.


Also saw a whole bunch of horror movies. The Collector was a nasty slasher film but quite well made. The Divide was surprisingly disturbing and although a bit too long, was still pretty good. Monsters had a great premise but didn't really live up to it. The pick of the lot was Juan of the Dead. A Cuban zombie film filled with amoral but likable characters and which somehow ended up as a feel good zom-com. I really liked this one and I'm not very big on zombie films.



There was one more thing I wanted to write about but I'll be fucked if I can remember what right now. Anyway, here's the trailer for Gangs of Wasseypur 2. August 8th can't come soon enough.

kannada, my kannada

"This bourgeoisie government can only be brought down from within"

Saw Bara over the weekend. Based on a novel by U R Ananthmurthy, it stars Ananth Nag as an upright District Collector and C R Simha is a communist leader in the same district. The district, which is nameless but somewhere on the Karnataka, Maharshtra border based on dialect is drought hit and ignored by both the central and state governments. Both men work towards trying to help the people of this water less district while being rendered mostly helpless by the powers that be. One scene in the movie really got to me. Simha tells Nag that he's a big fan of the socialist literature and books that Nag's uncle writes and quotes the above line to Nag from one of his uncle's books and hints that Nag is actually part of his uncle's idea to bring down the Bourgeoisie government from within. Simha is serious but says his lines in a very casual friendly manner but Ananth Nag's reaction was a spectacular bit of acting. Half surprised that this brash and loud village leader reads his uncle's intellectual works and half amused at his conspiracy theory. Fabulous bit of acting from 2 superb Kannada actors. Its a pretty good movie and made me wonder where Simha is these days. It also reminded me of his stunning performance in and as Tughlaq in Karnad's play. That was goose bump inducing. They don't make Kannada movies like they used to.

This is the scene but the whole movie's up on youtube. No subs. 

In other news, PVR has a special Wednesday offer where you can watch a movie for a hundred bucks and seventy if its a Kannada movie. So off I went and after much inner debate, decided to see "paper boat". Naveen Krishna is the hero in what is probably the worst Kannada movie I have ever seen. Hilariously bad, Krishna manages to solve the world's problems in 2 hours. He gets a start by reselling flowers left on graves, then forms a nationwide team from society's rejects who he rehabilitates and starts a "software" business in a slum and sells laptops for 2500 rupees and finally creates a security software that solves all of the world's security problems. In between all this he also finds Osama Bin Laden and tips off the Americans, tricks Dawood Ibrahim into coming to India and kills him, eradicates hunger in the world, eradicates racism in Africa, fascism in Europe and corruption in India. All of it through his SoS organization and special software. There are plenty of moments right through this film that will make you giggle but there was one moment that will forever stay with me. Krishna launches his revolutionary laptop and there's a scene where a little boy is using it to learn the English alphabet. The graphic on the laptop screen says "A for Aero Plain" with a photo of a nice big passenger airplane to go along with it. That kid will go far. Probably go abroad and teach the Americans some English. This is how we do it. Utter shit but so many laugh out loud moments that the movie has a charm all of its own. This is a movie that I must somehow get a hold of, sub it and upload it on the great internet for the world to see. Unbelievable.


Also saw Gangs of Wasseypur last weekend and it blew my mind. The best Hindi film I've seen in ages and probably ever. Detailed review and opinion coming soon but probably after a second watch. For now, "keh ke lunga".

Flag of Hate

Blog me this and blog me that. Saw Kreator last night. Who would have thought it. Mille Petroza was everything I thought he'd be. The opening burst of Violent Revolution, Hordes of Chaos and Phobia set the tone for the rest of their set but People of the Lie, Terror Zone and Pleasure to Kill pretty much sealed it. People of the Lie was in particular, fucking awesome and surprised myself by still remembering all the words. Some things you just don't forget, I guess. Otherwise, Suidakra was really fucking boring. Dying Embrace was pretty great and Kryptos had a huge sound and were very professional even if their songs aren't really my scene.

Pretty good show overall but I wish the venue was a bit closer. Took me 2 hours to ride there including one wrong turn that took me way off course and one scary moment when an idiot in a Swift decided to back up all over me and left me on the ground. Many thanks to the auto driver who lifted my bike off me and I hope that driver gets a case of genital herpes (and severe heartburn when he went home and saw the state of his bumper). My bike's leg rest is once again crooked and my most comfortable jeans have an unfortunate rip but  otherwise no great loss. Still, such a long ride and the constant walking to and fro from the venue in a college football field to the parking lot has left me with stiff hamstrings and aching legs. If I wasn't following someone on the way back I think I might have still been there. Going round in circles.

There's a new Manowar album. Its strangely subdued and not as epic as the last one I heard but all the better for it. Kind of streamlined and a lot more focused.

Another weekend done and dusted

Another sky threatening to burst

A hope that the mayans were right

A sense that all is not yet lost

Our lives are done
Our deeds written
Trapped in these pages
Our blood stains this book


Seek out our story
We are the horde
Abandoned to history
We fell on the sword


These bloodstained pages
Hold our truths
We were not all we could be


These bloodstained pages
Hold our truths
We were simply what we were


Complex Shetty passed away a couple of days ago. I just found out now. Its strange how our families were entangled in ties from Mangalore and then right here. Still, I'll always remember him as a gentleman. Smoking his smalls, getting his waiters to shoo us away during lunch hour and then calling us back once the crowd had thinned and getting Shetty Jr. to kick us all out at 8. "Go home you useless fellows or I'll tell your parents."


Its dry and humid today. The smoke from my cigarette hangs in the air like its deciding which way to go. Kind of trippy and I'd have liked it if it wasn't so hot and insect ridden.




I saw Parinda recently. Its still a good movie but the acting is so 90s it feels dated and a bit campy. Particularly the big dramatic show downs between Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor. Every dialogue is repeated loudly. Kind of an exclamation mark for emphasis but it just feels funny now. Camp. Still, Jackie's entrance has to be one of the coolest Hindi movie scenes ever. A black Padmini, ray bans and that climb up a water tower killing Musa's men one by one. Also, Tom Alter as Musa's pretty fucking cool.


I'm feeling kind of low and dull. Frustrated, irritated, looking for a fight and completely alone. I don't mind the solitude so much but it seems like every emotion I feel is negative. Actually looking forward to work tomorrow.

What the hell man. Its been a terrific year for music so far. So much music that sounds killer and I can't keep up. I still haven't listened to the new napalm. Fucking hell. Ha Ha.


My cousin and nephew visited over the weekend. He's smart and has a predisposition to violence. He pretends to be singham when he's shooting you and chota bheem when he's punching you. He's also smart enough to do a baby voice when he breaks something. He's all of 4 years old and dangerously intelligent.


Six Feet Under sound like they finally eased up on the weed. New album's not bad. A bit boring but better than I remember them being.


The new Torche is magical. Harmonicraft.


No electricity since 2 pm. We've all been slowly cooking for the last 10 hours. Maybe that's the plan. Another day of this heat and our man eating alien creators will be upon us. Their harvest, our flesh. Such is life.


The worst part of the heat is the sweat on your neck. When you're sleeping. Sick and disgusting and wakes me up.


I want to see 21 Jump Street. And the new snow white movie with julia roberts.


Hurtling down through a pitch black tunnel at great speed. The burning man's behind me and the goat waits at the end. In a ganesha like pose. Motherfucker. That was vivid.


So there's a new St. Vitus out. Some 15 years and more since Die Healing. New album has a complicated name that I can't remember but the songs are pretty good. The solos aren't as great as I remember them being though. Also, the album's really short and has 2 pointless instrumentals.


Its so fucking hot today. I mean, seriously. Drained, tired and sweaty faces all around me. Almost like people are isolating themselves. Staying still and quiet and hoping that somehow the heat will pass them by without touching. The weatherman says 2 more days of this and the temperature needs to hit 40 before the rains come. Bangalore's never been this hot. Ever. Terrible shit.


The new Wolfbrigade is finally out on the great net. It seemed like a never ending wait and for once an album I've really been looking forward to has managed to live up to every one of my expectations. Part crusty d-beat, part motorhead worship and some superb slightly black melodic guitar riffs that seem to take their inspiration from Dissection. Damned is awesome.


Now if only I can get a copy of the new Reino Ermitano. 2 days to official release and still no leak dammit.


And it rained. A full day before the weatherman said it would. Its dark, cloudy and windy at 2 in the afternoon. Thank you.


The heart of the lettuce is tender
The flower of the zucchini is bold

The baby turnip sits motionless

Baking in the warmth of your glow

my psychosomatic water god

The behavior of the rogue may fairly be described as individual, separation from its fellows appearing to increase both cunning and ferocity. These solitary beasts, exasperated by chronic pain or widower hood, are occasionally found among all the larger carnivores and graminivores, are generally male, though, in the case of the hippopotami, the wanton viciousness of old cows is not to be disregarded.



I’ve been reading grand dad’s books one by one almost obsessively and today I started to feel nostalgic and miss him. I wish I had the balls to ask him what he thought of No Orchids for Ms. Blandish and how he came to own a treasure trove of pulp. Also, for some strange reason, I’ve come to associate grand dad and Jarboe. So naturally I spent all day listening to J2 and Mahakali. Doubt if grand dad would have liked but I certainly do.

There’s something about the way chester himes writes that I really like. His books read like blaxploitation movies. Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones could have been superstars and badasses. Just look at their names. But Himes only kept the badass bit and never let their personalities take over the plot. They were honest good police who worked hard and kicked ass occasionally. Cotton Comes to Harlem was filmed and it was Ossie Davis’s first film as director. I had no idea till IMDB told me but he was on my mind after Bubba. Anyway, it’s pretty good and holds up well but imagine Fred Williamson as Coffin Ed and Richard Roundtree as Grave Digger. That would have been something else. The potential for badassery fries the brain but it was never meant to be. Instead we got a lame ass sequel based on The Heat’s On and it ended right there. Let’s not talk about a rage in harlem and that fake piece of shit.

Anyway, I’m just rambling here and I’ve forgotten what I came to do.

kannada premi

"If you want to know about a mother's love then watch a movie by Prem, if you want to know about brother and sister relationship then watch a Sai Prakash movie but whatever you do, don't watch an Upendra movie. He'll tell you love is a brinjal and just as crappy."

Kannada movie bonanza this weekend. Saw Alemari with Yogesh alias Loose Madha as hero and it wasn't bad at all. A horribly disfigured and somewhat slow man is brought to Bangalore from a village to work as manual labour. Every night he sleeps and dreams of a time when he was a normal looking dude and living his life as a milkman, falling in love with a girl (Neeli) and getting involved in gang fights with a local rowdy who goes by the name of NIMHANS Suri. Mental fellow. The story is the by now cliched plot of love, rowdyism and longs. What makes this a bit different is you're never sure if it's a flashback of the hero's life or simply a dream. Its only when the movie's over and I was putting all the pieces together that I realised every character in the hero's dreams was someone he met on the streets during the day. His dream mother is a woman who takes pity on him and feeds him, his dream lover is the woman who lives in a house next to the shed he's staying in, his dream mentor is a man who's dead in the real world and whose giant billboard he passes by every day and his dream brother in law is a rowdy who's just gotten out of jail. Or, maybe, it all actually happened and his mom and brother in law just don't recognize him cause of how fucked up his face is. Originally running at over 3 and a half hours, the movie was then cut by about an hour before release and further cut by 20 minutes after its initial release. Its a jumbled tale and some parts don't make much sense. The fight scenes are great though. A chase where Milk Madha is running through the lanes with all of NIMHANS Suri's area boys chasing him is done nicely and the final fight is pretty good too. I have to say, Jogi has had such a huge influence on kannada movies that its scary. Its given birth to a whole new dialogue, our own street, full of sketches, deals and fittings. Hardboiled as hell for anyone willing to sit through a half assed love story and a few obnoxiously loud songs to get to the good bits. The writing is really good. The dialogue is sharp and honest. The above quoted lines lose something in translation and with no context but it made me laugh. Also, Ramesh Bhat as Shastri the brahmin music teacher, simple man and father of heroine is such a lame character and Bhat has been doing these for years now. Umashri in the role of milk Madha's mother is also on autopilot. She's done this whole loud, short tempered but loving mother role hazaar times. On the other hand MICO Nagaraj as Naganna the kind hearted moneylender and ex-rowdy and Adi Lokesh as Pulav Krishna the cold and heartless rowdy play out newer cliches like they were born for it. In fact, Adi Lokesh was quite impressive. Not hero material but maybe another solid character actor. Anyway, it's a movie worth checking out.

Tired dude. Too early to sleep so here I am. Also saw Spartacus: Blood and Sand and it was pretty crappy except for one great fight scene and Lucy Lawless who's quite hot after horrible Xena. Season 2 of the Borgias cannot start soon enough.

blog me this and blog me that

Blog me this and blog me that. What's up with all these NWOBHM revival bands? They're alright but kind of pointless.

I saw the Tintin movie last night. I think the best word to describe it is charming. Snowy was awesome and probably the best bit about the movie. The villain was pretty great and overall it was an entertaining movie. I'll watch the sequel if there is one.

Been mostly watching a WWE show called Legends of Wrestling where a bunch of ex wrestlers and management sit around and gossip about various topics. The best stories come from Dusty Rhodes, Michael Hayes and Pat Patterson but the topics are all pretty interesting. Particularly the ones on "Bad asses," "worst characters" and "heatseekers." The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes has the kind of hillbilly accent that I thought was a put on but no, that's actually what he sounds like. Nekkid. It also reminded me of probably the creepiest thing I ever saw on tv as a kid back when WWE was still the WWF. Golddust. When I first saw this promo, I remember being creeped out and very uncomfortable and wondering why Razor didn't beat the shit out of him. Now when I saw it on the Worst Characters discussion, I simply admired Dustin Rhodes' promo skills, McMahon selling his own homophobia and the fantastic job The King does on colour commentary. "Golddust is here, he may be queer. Get used to it."



I also saw Maniac Cop with commentary. Not sure why and its going to take ages to seed this back but it was fun. William Lustig, Phil Cohen and Bruce Campbell on the perils on B movie making. Not as good as Brian Trenchard Smith's commentary on Turkey Shoot but close. For whatever reason, it made me want to watch Bubba Ho Tep again. Maybe over the weekend. I wonder if it ever got a commentary version.

Its become a sort of habit to finish work and head straight to the complex for a coffee before going home. There's an ancient dog here who every evening, just as I sit down also sits down on a bed of dry leaves and naps. Very cute.

eulogy for the damned

Onto week 3. so far so good. cleared the first hurdle and 2 more to go. Should be okay. I'm steadily getting back into the groove of things.

It's been a dull few weeks apart from work. Feels like whining is such an easy thing to do and I'm trying hard not to fall into that pit. Quitting smoking seems to have failed after a period of success. So much for that.

Not much else to report and now that I have this page open, can't really think of much to write about. So I guess this is it. Till next time etc. etc.