1. The new HBO Series, Girls is taking the TV world by storm. Touted as the new-age Sex and the City, this TV show is only 3 episodes old but already has critics acclaiming it all over the place!

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2. In other news, Hollywood seems to have gotten over its doomsday visions of Youtube, with several major studios entering into a movie screening deal with the video streaming giant. The latest to join the pack is the heavyweight studio, Paramount Pictures with nearly 500 films in the kitty. The deal is only for US and Canada, but someday when the threat of hitting your high speed data limit and being abandoned with a 256 kbp/s connection is a distant nightmare, maybe we might discover this joy of cheap(?) Youtube movies as well.

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3. Check out this fascinating Fictional Characters Birthday Calendar! Find out which  fictional character shares your birthday and marvel at the dedication of the people who managed to put this calendar together.

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4. Ever watched Dexter or How I Met Your Mother and expressed doubts about their portrayal of blood spatter analysts and architects?  The Atlantic feels your pain and has rated several TV characters for how realistically they portray their jobs.

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5. Since no digest is complete without an awesome Game of Thrones link, check out this interview with the author of “The Game of Thrones Cook Book” and maybe you’ll discover the need for an authentic Dothraki recipe for horse heart or a Meereenese dragon bone soup recipe.

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1.  Anybody who has ever watched Ocean’s 11, Fight Club and more recently, Moneyball will know that Brad Pitt really likes to eat onscreen.  Some feel that what started off as a cute quirk has now replaced character development. Check out this list of all the things Brad Pitt has ever eaten on film (it’s pretty long)!

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2.  I wasn’t thrilled when Rod Hilton opened up the doors of The Editing Room for new authors.  But I was proved wrong when some of those authors turned out to be incredibly funny. Still, nothing can make your day quite like a Rod Hilton abridged script for The Artist.

*****

3.  The Hunger Games blew away box office records with ease, but polarized the book fans. So what does it take to constitute a good adaptation of book?  Scott and Tasha from the AV Club give us their views.

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4.  The knowledgeable Quentin Tarantino’s 2011 favourite films list is out (actually it’s been out for months, I just happened to notice it yesterday).  Quentin and I mostly agree on best films, but my faith in him was shaken when he included The Three Musketeers among the top 11.  Please tell me he’s screwing with us?

*****

5.  After 17 long months, Mad Men is back on television with a gorgeous 2 hour long episode! Get back in the ’60s Madison Avenue frame of mind by playing this very cool Mad Men Youtube Game.

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1.  There were zero surprises at the Oscars this year and despite having more pomp, the  ceremony is getting more boring and predictable (or so they feel, over at The Vulture).  It could be because the Academy simply does not have a sense of humour– and that’s not my opinion, the facts speak for themselves!

2.  It’s official! Community is making a comeback! For those of you who don’t seem to understand what the big fuss around this show is all about, this might be a good starting point.

3.  You thought Real Housewives of New Jersey was the pits? How about a new reality show about another bunch of rich, loud idiots except they’re from Iran. Another gem from the Ryan Seacrest treasure trove, “Shahs of Sunset” does its best to dispel myths about the American Muslim community.  And how.

4.  If you haven’t yet watched this hard-hitting video about the war criminal Joseph Kony,  you obviously do not have an internet connection.  But like anything that goes viral, this very serious subject has been deluged by a wave of ridiculousness that can only be manufactured on the internet.  Like this um, “song” by TMZ or this hilarious prank.  But then everybody knows that you aren’t really an insane despot till you get your own meme or two.

5. From time immemorial, people have despaired over the Star Wars prequels. They cant just be ignored because, like it or not, they’re a part of canon.  But how to unsee Jar Jar Binks and how to unhear midichlorians? Some have found a solution:  the Machete order, which, by rearranging the viewing order of the films, promises a far superior Star Wars experience than envisaged by George Lucas.  Or Topher Grace’s edited version which is apparently quite good, but is sorely lacking in gripping dialogue about intergalactic trade.

]]> http://www.criticaltwenties.in/mediapopularculture/movies-critical-digest-11-03-2012/feed 0 http://www.criticaltwenties.in/mediapopularculture/movies-critical-digest-24-02-2012 http://www.criticaltwenties.in/mediapopularculture/movies-critical-digest-24-02-2012#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:27:33 +0000 Lekha http://www.criticaltwenties.in/?p=4567

1.  As Hollywood’s Big Day Out approaches, newspapers and journals are filled with predictions and forecasts.  This interesting piece in The Guardian rightly pegs this year’s crop of films as a bunch of old fogies trying to feel relevant in a world where science fiction films and films about newfangled things like Facebook are taken seriously.  And while you’re at it, do check out these awesome portraits of this year’s significant actors posing as iconic villains.

2. In other news, Tinkle comic’s irrepressible simpleton Suppandi is getting his own TV show on Cartoon Network India.  I don’t know about you guys but Suppandi is the fount of my fine sense of humour.

3. Have you always narrated your life story in your head as a noir film? Are the streets always illuminated by gritty-film lighting and are all women untrustworthy dames? If so, you may need this clever little Noir Film Construction Kit to help you along. And while you’re at it, check out this collection of free film noir classics.

4. Nothing screams ‘film geek’ more than writing a long, frame-by-frame analysis of a scene or reading a long, frame-by-frame analysis of a scene.  Tarantino’s a genius; this is well known, but how much of a genius? Read about the infamous ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs at A.V. Club.

5. Your deep and burning questions about this year’s crop of films answered at Screen Rant!

1. We here at C20 believe that a month without mention of Don Draper, is as bad as not drinking at work.  Check out the gorgeous  locations where the real life Don Drapers (did those ever exist?) held forth in their heyday.

Source: NYCGo.com

2. Most of us aren’t exactly what you’d call spotlight hogs, but none of us want complete anonymity either. Despite the increasingly connected world we live in, it’s becoming easier to isolate oneself. I don’t think I’m in contact with anybody without Facebook or email. Read this compelling story of a beautiful, talented young woman with dozens of friends and an exciting social life, who had been dead for 3 years before somebody found her body in an apartment. She had been wrapping Christmas presents when she died. Her story is being made into a documentary that will be released this year.

Source: The Guardian

3. Handsome, hard-working, intelligent and impossibly cool. Apparently these type of men DO exist (who knew?).  No doubt it’s hard to not be a gushing fan around someone like Franco, but do read this piece by his professor at Yale who tries very hard to be balanced and not star-struck (and succeeds).

Source: The Slate

4. It’s official, folks! Geek baiting has left the schoolyard and made it to the sporting area.  Before you know it, competitive geek baiting will be a part of the Olympics as well. As the Elves of R’lyeh say, “May the force live long and prosper!”

 Source: Empire

5. Bilbo Baggins, Batman, John Carter, James Bond, Abraham Lincoln (circa his vampire hunting days), Jason Bourne all in ONE year? Of course the world is going to end in 2012– due to excessive awesomeness!

Apart from the much-anticipated movies like, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit, there are lots of other exciting films to look forward to.  Yes, many of them will be sequels (Bourne Legacy and Men in Black III) and reboots (The Amazing Spider-Man and Total Recall). But some others like The Dictator, The Great Gatsby, John Carter and of course, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter promise to make for an exciting and unpredictable year. And let’s not forget Tarantino’s much anticipated (and probably gloriously blood-soaked) western, Django Unchained.

Source:Yahoo Movies

Do you care about the grandchildren of the Indian representative at the latest climate change summit? As it turns out, several do. Jayanthi Natarajan, Environment Minister got a standing ovation for her defense of India’s right to grow at Durban’ s summit, in a speech that blended personal with per capita income. Responding to Canada shunning the Kyoto Protocol, Natarajan did not shy away from making India’s position on Canada clear: ‘’I was astonished and disturbed by the comments of my colleague from Canada who was pointing at us as to why we are against the roadmap. I am disturbed to find that a legally binding protocol to the Convention, negotiated just 14 years ago is now being junked in a cavalier manner. Countries which had signed and ratified it are walking away without even a polite goodbye. And yet, pointing at others,’’ she said. The speech was capped with a suitably personal note: ‘’I too raise my voice for urgency. Climate Change is the most pressing and urgent problem for us. I too have a grandson, the son of my son. Climate Change affects us too,’’ she said.

[Image: Chris Maddens]

The Durban Summit, while not a clincher in itself, is important when seen in the sequence of climate summits—and their achievements—since the epically-hyped Copenhagen climate summit in 2009. Interventions championed prominently by India and China have contributed to the Kyoto Protocol being kept alive, despite countries like Canada. Arguably, this life is one in solid deep freeze- so far, the second commitment period for the Kyoto has been agreed upon, to commence from 2013-2017. But what action will really commence? Durban promises a roadmap for all, from 2015 onwards, to be implemented from 2020. Will countries, especially industrialised (annexe 1 countries) commit to serious mitigation action between 2013 and 2020? That’s a real question, which the brackets of international convention draft texts cannot answer.

Predictably though, opinion is divided on who is the villain, the show-stealer, and the antagonist of the piece. In a previous post, I argued that words thrown about in international climate negotiations thrive much on (intentionally) benevolent ambiguity.  Equity is such a word. In a strongly worded analysis of the Durban summit, Sunita Narain postulates how equity for India has become a bad word for rich countries. This a whole universe away from what Chris Huhne, UK Energy and Climate Secretary, suggests be the space for a developing country. Scathingly, he suggests doing away with the concept of a fragile developing country, in perhaps the same way activists like Narain are asking the developed country bloc (including truants like Canada, and as an extension, US and Japan) to discard the developed-country-outraged-at-inaction-from-the developing –world mantle. On the promoted perception of India being a deal-breaker, Natarajan remarked at a Plenary session in Durban: ‘’Many people have come told me to drop ‘legal outcome’ and have blamed India for insisting on ‘legal outcome,’ I was told this would affect the outcome process. India is not intimidated by threats. But what is this legal instrument? How do I give a blank cheque signing away the livelihood rights of 1.2 billion members of our population?’’

2. DOW withdraws sponsorship from London Olympic Stadium Wrap

Arguably, concerns over climate change have contributed most to a sense of global environmental citizenship, wherein people from different necks of the wood feel moral outrage over environmental issues that may not directly affect their spatial location. This activism is marked by a strongly felt environmental consciousness- the Lion King’s Circle of Life Analogy- but also indignation bordering on issues of justice. It was a pleasant surprise when India took a strong stand against Dow Chemicals sponsoring the London Chemicals. This wasn’t just a tepid case, like that of MEA responding sheepishly to a racial discrimination case of a Bollywood export cheap jordans from china, Shilpa Shetty—this was India garnering the courage, and a certain constructed integrity, to pull out of the Olympics if its reservations were not taken seriously. This time around, what is warming is the broad support of India’s position by international press. The Telegraph, for instance, made its feelings on Dow being a sponsor clear by going so far as to publish names of celebrities who signed a petition against Dow. Successfully, as the sponsorship has been withdrawn.

3. Greenpeace for the Win

And it certainly has been a fortnight of petition wins. Greenpeace secured a win when their campaign on ‘dirty data’ got Facebook to agree to ‘unfriend coal’. Facebook has now agreed to power its data centres with renewable energy.

4. Targeting Tigers

No such luck for tigers. This is another issue with globally felt citizenship, and as a result, ownership. But even as more donors pledge money for saving wild tigers, tigers are being killed- wined, dined, and shot-with impunity.

This piece on an open auction of illegal tiger wine is a certain kind of journalism, a fairly Western gaze on the exotic spectacle at hand. But each time you read a story like this, let yourself be outraged. Outraged because you feel the sense of familiarity, of having heard vaguely of dead tigers being more coveted than live ones. Outrage that an animal known for its insouciant, iridescent beauty, becomes a glass of timepass despite the existence of domestic and international law. And be outraged again, because India isn’t doing that much better. For instance, what is to be done with a tiger you believe is a trouble-maker? Empty not one, but 15 bullets in it.

5. A Snake for a Bribe

On a less deadly note, this fortnight has seen crime-fighting straight out of the Nagraj comics. A disgruntled snake-conservationist emptied a basket of cobras and other assorted snakes in an Uttar Pradesh office, when an official asked for a bribe. Bribe-taking mortals, beware. Read Khushwant Singh’s take on this.

One for the Road:

[Image: The Telegraph]

And finally, here is the mother of what could possibly be the origin of creepy-crawly. A huge critter, considered the world’s largest sized insect, has been found in New Zealand. This lady insect can eat carrots, so it is obviously the size of a bunny. Insect conservation roadblocks better take note!

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2. Earlier this month, NASA announced the discovery of Kepler 22-b, a planet outside our solar system that orbits its star within the habitable zone. This zone, also known as the ‘Goldilocks zone’, is a region around a star where planets are neither too close nor too far from their sun, such that liquid water could be present on their surface. This makes Kepler 22-b and its moons excellent candidates for the search of extraterretrial life, or as extrasolar earth-like planets we could flee to if we really lose the plot back home. However, Kepler 22-b is 2.4 times the size of the earth (leading to a much stronger graviational pull), and scientists do not yet know whether it has a predominantly rocky or gaseous surface. However, this is a significant landmark in the search for earth-like planets. Read up on Nasa’s announcement here: http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/nasakeplernews/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=165

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3. The team at CERN has announced that it is closing in on the Higgs Boson, the particle predicted to exist by the standard model of particle physics.  However, John Ellis, a theoretical physicist at King’s College, London, argues that whether or not the Higgs Boson is found, scientists must formulate new frameworks of particle physics. I won’t reveal the reason why he says this, but urge you to read his article in Nature here http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/481024a.html

The paragraph with the subheading ‘averting collapse’ is quite chilling.

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4. Rounding off this week’s Critical Digest are a few links on Bad Science. I want to highlight practices that the scientific community has debunked and recognised as pseudoscience, yet are still prevalent in many countries, especially India.

• Reiki: Uses ‘spiritual energy’ for healing. Has been shown to be ineffective as a treatment for any condition, alone or in conjunction with other therapies in randomised clinical trials. Tell your parents!! Read the studies here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1742-1241.2008.01729.x/abstract;jsessionid=D1A896D44FC2280792CEE880654EC5FA.d02t03 and here http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0036

• Astrology: Debunked decades ago, yet is still offered as a taught degree in Indian universities. I’m not even kidding. Read this rather unfortunate article here: http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/06/stories/2004050602931400.htm as well as a takedown of this pseudoscientific discipline here: http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/skepticism/blfaq_astro_sci_pseudo.htm

• Homeopathy: As widespread as this practice is in India, it would chill your blood if you read the kind of utter quackery that it is based upon. A read of the following Wikipedia articles is highly recommended: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy#Evidence as well as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathic_dilutions I highly recommend the second article, as one single thorough read will change your mind if you believe in this practice. Darryl Cunningham has also done a spectacular takedown here: http://darryl-cunningham.blogspot.com/2010/06/homeopathy.html

I’ll leave you now with a little something from the great Tim Minchin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U

Whew, that was long. Until next time!

1. FDI in Retail

Though the political drama over FDI in retail has subsided, the debates have not. P. Sainath and Gurcharan Das differ on whether the FDI in retail episode was a victory for democracy or whether this is just the beginning of a much longer battle between left and right, the modernisers and the traditionalists, the old India and the new.

Sainath: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2706988.ece;

Das:

http://gurcharandas.blogspot.com/2011/12/when-democracy-won-but-people-lost.html

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2. Indo-Pak War of 1971

This week marked 40 years of India’s victory over Pakistan in the Bangladesh War of 1971. Ruchir Joshi recounts 1971 in Calcutta as a young boy and whether the triumphalism which with this event is greeted, was borne out on the streets 40 years ago.

http://telegraphindia.com/1111218/jsp/opinion/story_14895017.jsp;

Raza Rumi looks at how differently the stories of the war are narrated in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, modified to suit one’s perspective, in this wonderfully evocative piece:

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2721164.ece

* I couldn’t help adding this one. One of the finest interviews given by an Indian to a foreign channel, Indira Gandhi, preparing the pitch for military intervention to create Bangladesh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRAfs_LPFI4

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3. Putin Learns how to Play Hockey

Vladimir Putin was roundly criticised by most sections of the Russian blogosphere and the world media for what seemed like a rigged and patently unfair election that unfolded in Russia last week. The Economist has panned his style of functioning as “out of fashion” and advocated a deep introspection into what Russia needs to compete in a changing world:

http://www.economist.com/node/21538800

Mr. Putin however remains defiant and in an answer to an emailed question in a marathon four-and-a-half hour phone-in session brushed aside talk of emergency meetings in the Kremlin saying he was actually busy learning how to play hockey instead!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/15/vladimir-putin-mocks-moscow-protesters?newsfeed=true

He didn’t do too badly, though am not sure whether the goal-tender was in best form (See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O-Gh4yvWyw)

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4. A Head of State is Punished

Head of states, even respected ones, do get punished for their wrongs. As incredible as this may sound to an Indian, a French court this week, handed out a 2-year suspended sentence to former French President Jacques Chirac for corruption at the time he was Mayor of Paris. The rule of law wins out in France:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/15/jacques-chirac-convicted-at-last?intcmp=239

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5. The Outsider

As the Iowa Caucus in the Republican Primaries approaches, it’s anybody’s game. Still hanging on, in my opinion, is the most eligible candidate, and one of a very few sane right-of-centre Republicans to remain in America. Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah and Obama’s Ambassador to China is still in the running. But he’s Mormon, believes in climate change and has adopted an India girl. Can he really secure the ticket?

http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/jon-huntsman-the-outsider/

]]> http://www.criticaltwenties.in/nationalpolitics/politics-critical-digest-19-12-11/feed 0 http://www.criticaltwenties.in/sport/sport-critical-digest-18-12-11 http://www.criticaltwenties.in/sport/sport-critical-digest-18-12-11#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:32:42 +0000 Suhrith http://www.criticaltwenties.in/?p=4091 1. Dravid delivers a straight batted speech: Rahul Dravid became the first Indian to deliver the Sir Donald Bradman Oration, in Canberra, this past week. In a rousing speech of nearly forty minutes, Dravid touched upon a plethora of issues including the rampant corruption, the declining crowds in the stadia, and the cricketing relations that Australia and India share. While recognizing that all three formats – Tests, ODIs and Twenty-twenty have a place in the game – Dravid nonetheless advocated the importance of the sport’s longest form: “Test cricket is the gold standard, it is the form the players want to play. Test cricket deserves to be protected, it is what the world’s best know they will be judged by.” There were some who suggested that he crossed the line in virtually calling for cricketers to undergo lie-detector tests to keep the sport clean. While, this may be indeed be a step too far, the statement was clearly a product of his unbounded passion for the sport and his commitment towards maintaining its essential integrity. You can read the speech here (http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/545355.html) and watch it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF2r-ui47ow&feature=related.) Mile Selvey’s brief reaction to the speech in the Guardian World Cricket Forum is also worth a read (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/dec/15/guardian-world-cricket-forum).

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2. The 3 and half at the back: Linear reporting can rarely do full justice to a football game. For a game, over the course of the 90 minutes will have countless ebbs and flows – there could be phases of seemingly dull irrelevance that are nonetheless crucial to the final outcome. This past week, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-1 in the Clasico in a game that even if not stunningly thrilling from a lay viewer’s perspective was particularly fascinating from a tactical standpoint. Barcelona essentially started with a 4-3-3, but with Real beginning to press heavily into Barca’s half, Guardiola shifted Dani Alves further forward, pulled Puyol to the right and dropped Busquets even further back. Jonathan Wilson – the guru of football tactics – describes this as a three and a half at the back. Busquets, Wilson says, was crucial from so many different angles. “We are used to seeing Busquets dropping back from midfield to become a centre-back; but here he was doing the opposite, stepping out from the back four to become a midfielder. Perhaps this is the logical outcome for a side that flips so often between a back three and a back four: it ends up playing a back three-and-a-half.” Read Wilson’s piece here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/dec/13/the-question-3-1-4-2-formation-rise) and the ever-excellent Michael Cox’s post-match analysis here (http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/12/11/real-madrid-1-3-barcelona-tactics/). Also read some of Sid Lowe’s reflections here (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sid_lowe/12/13/clasico.thoughts/index.html). Only one word for Andres Iniesta, he says, and that’s “Astonishing.” Who would argue with that?

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3. On Boogaard and Enforcers: The former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers left winger, Canadian Derek Boogaard died earlier this year from an accidental drug and alcohol overdoes while recovering from a concussion. Boogaard fulfilled the unofficial role of the Enforcer for his teams – he was one of the NFL’s most feared fighters, and over the course of his career, he suffered multiple concussions. In a superb three-part series for the New York Times, John Branch explores the life of Boogaard, the circumstances that led to his ultimate death and the ugly role of the enforcer – “The enforcer, sometimes mocked as a goon or euphemized as a tough guy, may be hockey’s favorite archetype. Enforcers are seen as working-class superheroes—understated types with an alter ego willing to do the sport’s most dangerous work to protect others. And they are underdogs, men who otherwise might have no business in the game,” writes Branch. Read the series here (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-a-boy-learns-to-brawl.html?_r=1) and watch the corresponding videos here (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/04/sports/hockey/boogaard-video.html).

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4. The Paul and Griffin axis: Chris Paul is, without question, the best point guard in the NBA. This past week he seemed to be on the verge of a move to the Los Angeles Lakers from the New Orleans Hornets, but after an intervention by NBA Commissioner David Stern, he moved instead to L.A.’s other team, the less fancied Clippers. While this ensures a mouthwatering partnership between Paul and the league’s most dazzling slam dunker Blake Griffin, as Bethlehem Shoals argues, in The Classical, the “Clippers are still the Clippers.” The best that Paul and Griffin can do, Shoals says, is make us forget that the team exists (http://theclassical.org/articles/blake-griffin-is-the-major-market). If you’re interested in knowing how Paul is going into fit into the Clippers offense, read Sebastian Pruiti in Grantland here (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7359902/how-chris-paul-fits-clippers-offense)

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5. Gustafson fighting a speech defect: Swedish professional golfer Sophie Gustafson, a five-time winner on the LPGA tour, suffers from a speech impediment. Watch this superb, inspirational five-minute video on Golf Channel in which Gustafson “opens up about her speech and her life. (http://www.golfchannel.com/media/golf-central-november-24-sophie-gustafson/)

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