Lethargic Reporting Part II

The Times of India does not publish the news. They prefer being the cause of it. December 1, 2007. Article on the front page, by Kavita Kukday. The reason for the furore?

"Credit card info on bhel wrapper"

The article went on to elaborately explain how a media professional found the complete details of a credit card on a bhel wrapper. Kavita also went on to claim that the details were for an American Express credit card. This was followed by the usual information, there was a name printed but withheld. Both the 16 digit card number and the 3 digit batch number were present.

No mistakes there right? Beeep! Wrong Answer! Classic case of lethargy in reporting. AmEx cards have 15 digits not 16. Their batch number is 4 digits not 3. I reiterate. How difficult is it to use Google? I really think that they have gone to enough lengths to make their interface as user friendly as possible.

If a Google search is not the problem, then what is? If you insist that the credit card number was 16 digits, then the card could not have been AmEx. If you claim that the card was AmEx and there were 16 digits noted on the paper maybe you should consider a course on spotting fraudulent credit cards.

A few must reads for Kavita:

An article with an almost exhaustive list of credit cards and ISO 7812 numbering scheme in Wikipedia

A similar article as above, without the list but explained in complete layman's terms. Fireworks Zone
I like the way the article starts. Perfect for people getting acquainted with credit cards.

I understand mistakes can happen. I make them too. I still subscribe to TOI.

Lethargic Reporting

Is there a loophole in the law that allows newspapers to put in all the wrong data in their articles? The Pune Times, a supplement of the Times of India, on November 20, 2007 had written an article titled 'Riding Their Dreams'. The TNN correspondent was Nozia Sayyed. I should commend them on their choice of fillers. If this is the kind of articles they are publishing, a typical work day just might resemble this:

"Hey we have a quarter page worth of free space left, what do we do about it?"
"Hmmm, when was the last time we ran a story on superbikes in the city? It's been a while right? Rearrange the words and just toss it in."

I have a request, please do not expect all your readers to be misinformed idiots! An excerpt from that article,

"Foreign bikes like Hayabusa, Harley Davidson, Honda CBR, Repsol, Kawasaki and Suzuki...".

Yes, very nice, you know the names of the manufacturers. You have definitely educated me. I mean here I was thinking that Repsol was a Spanish oil and gas company. I never knew that over the years of sponsoring the Honda MotoGP Class team they had gone ahead and started manufacturing their own motorcycles. My bad! I was not aware that slapping a paint job on a bike is enough to be placed in the Motorcycle Manufacturer's List.

I seriously cannot understand this. You type this out on a computer. Presuming your knowledge of computers is more than that of Superbikes, is running a Google or Wikipedia Search that difficult? I would be very particular about an article or photograph that carries my name in the byline.

If this is the level of initiative shown by TNN Correspondents, the terms 'news' and 'reporting' need to be redefined.

What! Me Sarcastic?

One of my closest friends and 24/7 tech support recently relocated back to Pune. One of the biggest advantages of that apart from having tech support hands on instead of over the phone is that we can catch up for dinner. I shall spare you the details of my continued dislike of impersonal communication.

Dinner at Burger King, he mentions with his ever increasing knowledge of things computer and internet related (not to be confused with his ever increasing paunch) that the ad network companies that supply your daily (over)dose of annoying pop ups are lobbying to make pop up blockers illegal. Their reason? It affects their revenue.

I absolutely agree. Advertising is the best way to get your product out there. So what if you have to cause a visual overload of caustic pop-ups, pop-unders and their kith and kin? People need to know you make the best goods in the market. What better way of doing it than having the loudest colours making even louder interruptions to your peaceful blogging. There is money out there to be made, don't you know the more you annoy a person the more he will like you and your product? Following are the people who should follow (law)suit.

Car and Bike Companies vs. Public Transport - They use your cheap ass buses and trains and think it's a good replacement for our products. Burn them at the stake. Pollution is good.

The general public vs. the car companies - Stop putting rev limiters on our vehicles. I want my blown engine.

Phishers vs. Companies that educate their clients about safe banking for example. Hey I bust my ass stealing your identity even when you're an idiot. Now they make you smart? I have a wife and kids to feed Your Honour.

You know what that leads to, thieves suing companies making burglar alarms. The biggest case would probably be the Criminals suing the Cops if the lawyers didn't have to worry about which side their client actually belonged too.

I say ban ad blockers. Let the revenue stream go unhindered. Companies like, umm wait what was the last ad?

Oh right, sorry, what ad? I use Firefox.

Beauty Pageants

I shall be shooting at one, in the evening today. I will try and put it up on my Flickr account asap. Incidentally they aren't up there yet, so people who have gone ahead and clicked on the link above under presumptions of viewing images of hot women need to read the post properly and check back over the week end.

Why Me?

Best explained here.

Angst Unleashed

This one is a sort of an addendum I guess to a post made by Bombay Addict. While what follows may not match the outrageous intensity of the signs on his post, these are still worth a mention. I should also probably point out here that the the images you see here were taken in Bombay . Tilak bridge off Dadar Railway Station to be more precise.

Graffiti in Pune or Bombay has generally been restricted to political campaigns (smear or otherwise) and general ads made cheaply by painting a public wall and adding the name of the product. Regulars of Bombay local trains will definitely know what I'm talking about. In Pune, there is a lot of graffiti that can be seen on ruined buildings, abandoned houses and even historic monuments. We have upturned crosses adorned with 666. They cater to all masses, even to a paradox lover like me. St. Bitch! Too bad I didn't get the snap of that one. I did click the upturned cross though.



All these snaps were taken with my cell phone cam. They were taken with the sole purpose of reference. My professional snaps can be found here.

Back to the topic at hand. I was at Dadar to pick up my Nikon D200. The silent curses that rang beneath my placid demenour on realizing that they forgot to reserve my model shall be saved for later. Suffice to say, I was in no mood to return to Pune immediately. I like being in Bombay too much, but what do I do? It was a weekday and all my friends were at work. I would be working too, if I had the camera but then I did say I wouldn't digress. I was walking on the bridge, decided to hoof it since I've developed this weird fascination for walking short to medium distances when in Bombay. The first few signs painted along the bridge escaped my attention, passed it off as random graffiti.





Then I came along one that managed to stop me in my tracks. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or raise an eyebrow and do a skeptical 'hmmm'. It is of course beyond the point here to mention that I cannot raise a single eyebrow no matter how hard I try.



MILF culture depicted by simple yet effective means.

Just kept getting better,



I am aware that I depicted the last one in unfair light and that there are cleaner interpretations of it, but I really don't care. I had a good laugh out of the whole thing and it even made up slightly for not receiving my camera.

Of course the one that completely made my day was the one towards the end of the bridge. A sort of an auto-advisory board I guess.



All and all, a fun walk, worth being soaked to the bone in sweat.

Weekly Updates

A friend of mine insisted that I need to spend more time with the blogs. The one you're reading as well as this one. He's got a point, what's the use of having a broadband connection at home and two blogs, one of which is paid web space if I do not spend enough time on it. Not like I didn't have a good reason to, I mean if you're either shooting or post processing in photoshop for the major part of the day, writing regularly tends to take a backseat.

This is my solution. I'll update on weekends. Whatever I have written here till now was generally abstract and/or fiction. That will obviously continue but I will make sure there are suitable updates in between posts. Digressing a little here since I'm unable to refer to both blogs distinctly as they have the same name.
(Note: I am not calling it version 1.0 and 2.0 and no beta cracks will be entertained. The person this is predominantly aimed at should consider that before sending in suggestions)

Anyway, while this blog will be open to all genres of writing, I will be discussing photography over here. That being said, I know tomorrow is the weekend, but I have to be in Bombay. I do have some stuff I want to put up, but if I can't do it later during the day, it will be up next week.

Ascension to a whole new plane of thought

I have ignored this place for a couple of months now, been busy elsewhere. My services as a photographer now go under the brand name Twisted Indifference. It has been a helluva ride. The actual conceptualization of having my work under Twisted Indifference started in December 2006. Pune potholes are nothing compared to the road blocks I faced. Major issue was time. I was not able to start the process fully until February 2007. Everything said and done, the site for Twisted Indifference went up in April. I was finally there. Offering solutions for both glamour and industrial/product photography in Pune and Bombay. While still in its nascent stages, I have done work for a some of the best restaurants in town while some photos have been published by local tabloids.

Check the site out, for any photographic solutions, just get in touch with me. The more recent photos will be found on my Flickr page, they will soon be updated on the main site too.

Twisted Indifference Studios

The coolest blog party ever

They dazzled us with their presence and amazed us with their hosting skills. The critics had no complaints and the revellers were left begging for more. The blog meet at Soul Fry was an unforgettable night. And now, they're at it again. Not content with resting on laurels, they're back with a Blog Party that promises to be, 'The Coolest Evah'. Without further ado, the queens of the blogging circuit... Sakshi and Melody.

Late Goodbye

Twisted Indifference, originally uploaded by Twisted Indifference.

Your breath hot upon my cheek, and we crossed, that line
You made me strong when I was feeling weak, and we crossed, that one time
Screaming stop signs, staring wild eyes, keep on flashing, flashing by...

Poets of the Fall - Late Goodbye

Destination Unknown

This one is in reply to Samir's post.

Driven By Dissatisfaction

You remember what they taught in Economics in school right? Demand always exceeds supply. Human want is endless etc etc. Everyone is driven by dissatisfaction. One thing that I have realized is that everyone wants acceptance. Everyone wants to be recognized for what they do. Everyone wants to be somewhere they belong. (Why do you think the song of the same name by Linkin' Park is so popular) If anyone tells you otherwise, they're either lying or they are deluded. In case it's the second, please refer them to an Introduction to Reality course. They can take the course anywhere they want, it's called Life.

Back to the topic at hand. The need to belong somewhere, whether it is some place to call home or gain acceptance into a community, it's all the same. Driven by dissatisfaction? I guess, to an extent... So what are you looking for? Happiness? Define it! What you call a moment of happiness or an emotion you would describe as elation or exuberance may not be similar for someone else. It's back to the whole 'One man's meat...' thing again. What remains similar here is the motive and the goal. People slaughter animals mercilessly to appease their 'Gods'. Others pose in skimpy clothes inside cages to fight for the animals' cause. Both attain their happiness here. Both gain their acceptance. Whether it is from their so called deities or from their peers.

The whole point behind this is simple. I'm not stopping you from having your own driving force. But some people spend their entire lifetime looking for acceptance, looking for one word of praise. My advice? Not resting on your laurels is admirable, but then stop and acknowledge whatever accolades that you may collect on the way. Consider it to be the shot of nitrous oxide that gives the necessary thrust to reach higher. What say you?

Necrosis of Tribulations

This post is "Rock Never Felt So Good" with a different packaging. Hey Mephistopheles, this one's for you.

The wind carried the stench of death. Rotting corpses lying in the mud stained with their blood. You tread past the disfigured bodies of man and beast alike. You survey the area, there are heavy casualties. Nausea finally sets in, you wonder what took it so long. No longer aware of your location, spatial abilities not responding. The world goes white.

The wind kicks up a few notches. It rattles the window panes blowing the curtains apart. The last few dregs of sunlight filter in. You wake up with a start. You know it wasn't just a dream. It was all real. No matter how much you wish otherwise. The mind sub consciously goes back to those days. You brace yourself, you know the stinging pain the memory is going to rebound with. The second hand on the clock completes its trip. Nothing. Ok, it's a trap. Doesn't feel like one though, it wouldn't take this long to snap. There is a new feeling however; something which earlier was a low buzz now rising to almost defeaning proportions.

Slip out of bed, walk outside. The wind rushes past you face, slowly carving a smile. Realization dawns. You know what is happening. Not encountered in a long time, but the feeling is familiar. The sun has long set and the darkness wraps around you like armour. No more pain, no longer afraid. A new lease on life. As you walk out, you wonder how you berated yourself as you did earlier but the thoughts don't last. No longer bound to anything, just one thing on your mind. The bloodlust is back! This time, there will be no remorse.

Slip in to the shadows, occassionally stepping out into the light to let the moonlight wash over you. A creature of the night was what you always were. You relish the new found energy which radiates like an aura on steroids. Right on cue, the music starts. Power chords reverb like a growling V8. Drums echo their staccato beats. Strands of lyrics float through your head. ...Was bist du, Doch nur ein Tier! The smile grows wider, no longer just happiness as the glint of evil in the eyes reveal. Carpe noctum baby! It feels so good to be back.

Rock Never Felt So Good

Insert ominous creaking of door and relevant orchestrated music. (Try a pipe organ, it's fun) Crap, where's the maid when you need one? This place is filthy, I need Garfield to get rid of all these spiders. Stupid cobwebs! This place has got all the settings for a scary movie.

A few hours and a few smokes later

Yea ok! I made a big deal about not posting anything here for a long time. But the place is clean now, that's something right? I've been away for a long time now, literally, figuratively and any other adverbs you can think of. Been down, been out. I wanted to avoid people, I wanted to things to fall back in to place. The way everything was. Can't have everything, can we now?

The last couple of posts have been kind of direct, not particularly abstract. Well I'll be a little obvious for a while since I've kept a few close friends in the dark. But then my propensity towards melodrama (Yea ok, I just downright ham everything) will not permit deviation from it for too long. I am bad, dealing with emotional pain, I really am. It feels like I am in a warzone, battling everything from the Sith Lord to the Vogons to Corpulent Women in Spandex. (Ok, I am bullshitting more than actually hamming, so I think that speaks a lot for my mood.)

If you idiots (It's an affectionate term I use for friends, again proof that overall my mood and general state of mind is normal. MY normal, before the protests start.) remember a post titled What I Really Am , I mentioned in it about falling in a bottomless pit, where at one point of time you lose sensation of the fact that you're falling. I've been there, and when I got out of it, I didn't want to go back there. Maybe because of this, I kept trying to hold on to something that wasn't there. Screwed my head up majorly in the process. For better understanding of the bottomless abyss theory, just go read that thing again, I've taken the pains to link it, knowing you people would be too lazy to actually look for it. I also know that you don't remember it too well, so just go read it. I'll go have a smoke in the meantime.

I avoided writing, partly because I was putting all my energy into photography and partly because my words were just making me worse. Leaving myself alone with my mind was hazardous. I didn't need to log my battles with my self; my feelings, my frustration. It was like medieval torture (hey the ham's back!) having my mind strapped to quartering machines or being stuffed into the iron maiden. Actually the bullshit is back. Check this out. I am actually thinking of this being used elsewhere. Not on me. That is kind of the point I'm trying to make. My healing mechanism finally kicked in. I think it needs to lubricated. It should have kicked in a long time back.

My mind was like this blog, in various states of disrepair, needed a lot of junk thrown out and having the place all cleaned up. It shouldn't have lasted this long, but it did. Big deal. I had become someone else but now I think I'm returning. Not too far off. Perspective's changing already. I'm no longer driving off into the sunset. The day has just begun. Metallica blasting on the car sterero and Rammstein all queued up. So palms facing downward, fingers to the side of my head, here's my salute to the rising sun, as I push the shift, and drive into the light.

Rock has never sounded better.