Archive for October, 2005
Two things that work great
First is the FooBar2000 Audio player. foo and bar, as my friends from the computer science field will recognise, are two variables that are used extensively in syntax examples of the subject. But this is an Mp3 playing software that does its job nicely. It has no “jazz”, no skins, no “feel-good” look but it is probably the best Mp3 player that I have come across in terms of performance, memory usage (All it takes is a little more than 2MB of RAM– Compare that to 12 MB taken by Winamp and almost 30 MB consumed by iTunes!). It is highly configurable, and very flexible. You can download it here. And yes, highly recommended for techies. We all realise how much precious RAM is!
It will take time to get used to it but this is something that seems so simple yet packs quite a punch.
Second thing that has worked great for me is Coldplay’s X&Y album. Good music to the core. Chris Martin and the gang has come of age! With the burden of expectations on Coldplay, X&Y is genius work.
If you are into music of the U2, REM, Oasis kinds, I suggest you listen to this.
This album grows on you. It will take time to get used to it but this is something that seems so simple yet packs quite a punch.
[above: Foobar2000 playing ColdPlay’s X&Y]
Update:
Not swallowed in the sea written, composed, performed by Coldplay
Oh, what good is it to live
With nothing left to give
Forget, but not forgive
Not loving all you see
All the streets you’re walking on
A thousand houses long
Well, that’s where I belong
And you belong with me
Not swallowed in the sea,
Not swallowed in the sea.
Selection from Gandhi
“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. I would have our young men and women with literary tastes to learn as much from English and other world-languages as they like, and then expect them to give the benefits of their learning to India and to the world like a Bose, a Roy or the Poet himself. But I would not have a single Indian to forget, neglect or be ashamed of his mother tongue, or to feel that he or she cannot think or express the best thoughts in his or her own vernacular. Mine is not a religion of the prison-house.”
As evident, that was Gandhi’s message to all those who have come to believe that Hindi is our second language.
More here. Also on Wikipedia, here.
Frankly, I have not read enough about the Mahatama that I may arrive at a conclusion on him. But it saddens me when I see people of his own land attributing him with “majboori” (helplessness) while people in the west find solace in his words, his life and times. It is perfectly okay to have an opinion about someone but that opinion should be backed with fact, truth and rationalism- something which I see missing in all the people who have come to criticise Gandhi.
update: Check out Dinesh’s take here.