How Brett Favre Is Like A Girl...

Want to know why the Minnesota Vikings have put up with Brett Favre’s passive-aggressive behavior?

It’s quite simple, really. Think of Favre as a really, really hot-looking girl who not only has issues – both physical and mental – but has the maturity of a petulant teenager. It’s funny what some guys will put with if the girl solely if she is hot.

This is the Minnesota Viking/Brett Favre relationship in a nutshell.

2009 NCAA College Football Rankings

College football season is a mere few days off from kick-off, and both the AP and USA Today polls have been released:



[via ESPN]

No real surprises if you ask me, but things never turn out the what these pre-season polls predict. In 2008, for example, Georgia was ranked number one in both polls, only to quickly falter as the season progress. This can be chocked up to the fact that Georgia plays in the powerhouse SEC, where every game is a toss up.

Enough of this chitchat. Let’s play some football.

Review: Inglourious Basterds

Who hasn’t dreamed about killing fascists at least once in their life? I know I have. I want to massacre the bastards by the truckloads, moral and legal constraints be damned. But thanks to Quentin Tarantino’s new revenge fantasy flick, Inglourious Basterds, I can vicariously live the experience without getting my hands dirty or suffer moral qualms.

The movie is about a fictitious squad of Jewish-American servicemen whose sole purpose is to slip behind enemy lines in occupied France in order to kill (and sometimes torture) as many Nazis as possible. Body count is important here. Led by a Tennessee hillbilly named Lt. Aldo Raines, played by Brad Pitt, they rampage through the French countryside, ambushing German soldiers, scalping them like Apaches. No prisoners are ever taken, but a token survivor is always left behind as a living monument, with a swastika carved into their forehead, to scare the shit out of the Germans. And believe me, the Germans are scared shitless, including the Fuhrer himself.

Quentin Tarantino being Quentin Tarantino, naturally, this movie does not work as a conventional narrative, but in the patented Tarantino style of going forwards and backwards. His movies often read like novels, and Inglourious Basterds is no exception.

But in addition to the novel-like elements, Tarantino has added another storyline that complements, but does not compete, with the first. The movie opens up on a French farm, with a farmer cutting wood. He is met a by a charming German SS officer named Col. Hans Larda, who is called the “Jew Hunter” for his single-mindedness to rid France of all Jews. Col. Larda is played with such evil joy by Christoph Waltz; he alone is worth the price of admission. You want to like him but are reminded that his is a Nazi, and a ruthless one at that. Col. Larda suspects the farmer of hiding Jews. With wit and the interrogation skills of an experienced detective, Col. Larda manages to squeezes the truth out of the farmer. No violence is used in the process, but the Jews, on the other hand, their fates were sealed by a hail of bullets.

There was a lone survivor of the massacre, a young girl named Shosanna Dreyfuss, played by French actress Melani Laurent, who manages to escape to Paris, where she ends up running a movie theatre playing nothing but Nazi films. All the while, Shosanna nurses a grudge that eventually develops into full-blown homicidal rage: the targets of which, of course, are Nazis, a theatre full of them, in fact.

The film is derivative like many of Tarantino’s films and include his trademarks: long dialogue scenes about philosophical issues and meditations about German films of the 1920s, unconventional camera angles, and his trademark penchant for violence. It should be said, however, that Tarantino-style violence is not the cartoonish violence that are is found in bonehead Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris films. On the contrary, it is never gratuitous. One of the more interesting aspects of the film is that more than half the movie is in both French and German. For moments, I thought I was watching a foreign film. Surprisingly, it did not detract from the enjoyment of the film at all.

But why did Quentin Tarantino decide to make a film about a Jewish revenge fantasy in the first place? It this article published in Atlantic magazine, he explains why:

“Holocaust movies always have Jews as victims,” he said, plainly exasperated by Hollywood’s lack of imagination. “We’ve seen that story before. I want to see something different. Let’s see Germans that are scared of Jews. Let’s not have everything build up to a big misery, let’s actually take the fun of action-movie cinema and apply it to this situation.”

It is true that most—some might even say all—films about the Holocaust focus on the persecution of Jews. The Holocaust was very bad for Jews; this is an immovable fact of history. But Tarantino isn’t wrong to suggest that the cinematic depiction of anti-Semitic persecution can become wearying over time, particularly for Semites.

I feel the same way any book I read or any movie I see on the Holocaust, Jews are always depicted as defenseless victims. They never fight back, accepting their fate because it is God’s will, for punishment of sins, real or perceived. It is so maddening. This is one of the reasons why I admire Israel, at least it fights back whenever it is attacked.

The problem, I suppose, is both a philosophical and religious one, so I will leave it there.. Nevertheless, Inglourious Basterds is a welcome addition to both World War II and Holocaust genres, if only for its cathartic effects. The thirst for revenge must be slaked once in awhile, in my opinion, even if it is only on the silver screen.

Do You Know Who I Am

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was briefly held (for two hours or so) at Newark International Airport by the Department of Homeland Security. It seems Khan's name matched a name on some terrorist watch list, but after ascertaining Shah Rukh Khan's identity - with the help of the Indian government - he was promptly released

Of course Shah Rukh Khan was upset by his mistreatment, especially given the fact that he is an oft visitor to the United States. And the entire country of India is upset, as well, as if the nation's character was impugned in the process. Naturally, the Indian press is having a field day with countless articles and editorials blasting the United States for what is perceived to be a racist and bigoted slight.

It's hard not to notice an air of arrogance by Shah Rukh Khan and his supporters. It's the type of attitude celebrities are known to take whenever they don't get their way.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!" This is a common refrain used by celebrities the world over, and Shah Rukh Khan is no exception.

Personally, I think Shah Rukh Khan was more upset that he was not recognized by immigration officers as the legitimate superstar that he is.

In defense of the immigration officers, they did their duty safeguarding American security: they discovered a problem, investigated it, found out there was nothing there, and promptly released the Indian actor. Khan was held for two hours. He wasn't thrown in some hole, renditioned to Cuba, and tortured by the CIA. But according the India press, he might as well have.

I hope this incident doesn't become an ugly diplomatic row between India and the United States, simply for the reason that it's a petty issue.

Jermaine Says What We Are All Thinking

Jermaine Jackson said the following after hearing of his famous - and more talented - brother's untimely death:

"I Wish It Was Me."

If it makes Jermaine Jackson feel better, I wish it was him too. And Tito. And, most definitely, LaToya. But not Janet.

Basil On The Rise

IMG_1515
Originally uploaded by nagarwal

Planted some basil plants in the garden this season. As you can see, they are coming very nicely. Can't wait to put in my pasta and pizza dishes.

I'm Still Here Status

Nothing new to report from my end. Of late, I’m on an extended hiatus. Not doing much blogging as you can see – not one post for May, in fact! I’m reduced to updating my Facebook status and an occasional post on Twitter. I have stopped reading blogs altogether; but I am reading a lot, reverting to printed materials. You can say I’ve gone old school.

But I’ve made an exception for the latest issue of Pragati, the history issue, which was edited by JK Nair. It is very good, and I highly recommend it.

Thinking About Tony Soprano...

Finally settling down to watch the last nine episodes of the Sopranos.

Funny Family Guy Episode

One of the funnier episodes of The Family Guy I have seen in awhile. Stewie essentially builds a transporter and kidnaps the the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation so he can spend the day with them. The voices are those of the original cast.

Reading Update

Since I have offered very little, of late, I figure I at least provide a reading update - my only refuge from my chronic writer's block. As is my habit, I am reading five books at the same time. This time I took a picture of the books and posted it below; an idea I stole off another blog.



Apologies for the poor picture quality, I was using a camera phone.

It's an interesting grab-bag of books:

• Every Man A Speculator – a fascinating cultural history of Wall Street. Instead of concentrating on larger than life players like other histories, this book focuses on Wall Street and every day people.


• The Seekers – Daniel J. Boorstin’s three-volume survey of Western civilization and culture ends with a look at those philosophers, artists, writers and other cultural iconoclasts who search for the ideas. In Boorstin’s opinion, it’s not about destination but the journey there. Sounds familiar.


• The Foreign Correspondent – Alan Furst is one of my favorite thriller writers. Like all his novels, this one takes place in pre-World War II Europe. His characters are not Americans or English, but French, Polish, Bulgarian, Dutch, and, in this book, Italian. The book is both vivid and engrossing.


• The Great Gamble – As America’s involvement in Afghanistan continues to grow, they should take the lessons of the past very seriously. This book surveys the Soviet invasion, occupation, and retreat from Afghanistan, a country that has trapped more than one imperial power.


• The House of Cards – A riveting account of the collapse of Bear, Stearns, who disappeared from Wall Street literally overnight. Bear, Stearns, like all stuffy Wall Street firms, suffered from hubris, when they arrogantly believed they would survive the sub-prime mortgage implosion.

I figure this will keep me busy until end of summer.

Will We Ever Know Who Did It?

No doubt the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore is an act of pure terrorism, but questions remain: who and why?

Everybody, including the entire desi blogosphere, will be bandying their own pet theories; and, naturally, I have a few of my own. The pro-Pakistani bloggers will blame the attacks on a known enemy of Pakistan. This is code for India (and its intelligence agency RAW), of course. The pro-India bloggers, on the other hand, will blame Pakistani-based jihadis and their supporters (primarily the ISI).

Most people are in a fog of information regarding these matters. And we bloggers are no exception given that we get most of our information from second-hand or third-hand sources, which is hardly ideal to get at the truth. So we filter these new sources through our biases, prejudices, stereotypes, etc.

Honestly, will anyone know the truth behind this attack?

Dillan TV: Episode 18

No Mood To Write

It is end of February and I only have seven posts to show for it. The reason is that I have a lot on my mind lately: no job, no health insurance, dwindling savings, deteriorating health are just one of many of my troubles.

You figure with all this free time I would have something to write about; something to say. But I have nothing, not even a brain fart. I use to read dozens of newspapers, magazines and blogs a day to find something to write about, but these days I rarely visit any of them. As a result, I am getting more stupid and more ignorant by the day. I cannot hold any argument as I do not have command of all the facts.

I'm definitely in a funk of some kind, but I don't know when I'll get out of it. Hopefully it will be soon.

Dawn New Design Sucks

I use to be an avid reader of Dawn, one of South Asia's premier newspapers. It seems they have rolled out a complete redesign of their web site.



To be honest: I don't like it. Though aesthetically pleasing, and gentle to the eye, it is a net loss, in my opinion. What was gained by good locks was lost in functionality. For example, if you want to access the newspaper's editorial, op-ed and letter pages, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the web page - below the fold, so to speak, cleverly hidden in a gray box with opaque letter. A poor design decision.

I say bring back the old version of the web site. Sure it was an eye sore but at least everything was easy to find.

Best Super Bowl Ad

Enjoyed watching the Super Bowl this year; the Cardinals kept it close but lost it in the end. Anyway, the second great thing about the Super Bowl are the ads, and most of them were stupid or dull as dirt, except for this one:



Alec Baldwin can't fail in my eyes.