tragedy as art & soliloquy, part I

Inspired by Toski's post, I hereby dedicate a portion of my day-to-day posts to the great Shakespearean tragedies. This section will time-travel into the minds of the valiants who refused to die "many times" before their death, through pre-raphaelite and neoclassicist images that sought "refuge" in tragedies.
Please listen to Tchaikovsky's SwanLake while going at it, to heighten your sense of sadness.


She shall be buried by her Antony.
No grave upon the earth shall clip in it
A pair so famous...
Antony and Cleopatra. This was true love, in a true love-hate relationship fashion. After losing the war to Octavius, Antony denounces Cleopatra. "This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me". Cleopatra stages her own death to get Antony back in her life which backfires on her. Antony, not being able to bear the pain, takes his own life. His asks Eros, his aide, to do the dirty deed for him (which drives a guilt-ridden Eros to commit suicide) and finally after several failed attempts wounds himself bad enough to die in Cleopatra's arms. Not one to back down, Cleopatra, refuses to surrender to Octavius, and intends to meet her love in her afterlife. She silently takes the bite of an asp in her hand. "Where's my serpent of old Nile? For so he calls me".

Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear, Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.

Julius Caesar. A story of envy, ambition, power, honour and patriotism. Ignoring soothsayer's premonitions, Caesar faces death at the Senate in the hands of the conspirators, who have taken oath to save Rome from a supposedly corrupt Monarchy. And such treachery is too much to bear for Caesar. "Et tu, Brute?" says Caesar, and "Then fall, Caesar..." says Shakespeare. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears...", says Marc Antony at Caesar's death and drives the Romans against Brutus. Caesar's ghost haunts Brutus to warn him of his impending defeat in the war with Antony and Octavian "thou shalt see me at Philippi". Brutus and Cassius commit suicide rather than falling into the hands of enemies.

... and the cow goes moo

Bringing color to a mundane existence, a means of self expression, symbolism, or feeling beautiful, for whatever reason, the live body has, time and time again, become a canvas for art. On top of that, 'live' body and 'dead' paint, share a symbiotic relationship of the static and the dynamic.

my body is a wonderland

collage cow of London

give me a live elephant anyday

These days, cows seem to be our greatest sources of artistic inspiration. Dull, inane cows with body paints [CowParade] are taking over the world (Denver being the latest victim), and I find that disturbing... even more disturbing than lip plates. Somewhere, there is a disconnection. The last time I checked ART 101, there was a distinction between body paint and body art.

I ask myself, why have cows suddenly become our sources of inspiration? Have we turned towards cows for our symbolic or spiritual means of expression? If so, what good will come out of cows turning into rockets or stegosauruses, or ovens? Do we relate to cows more than any other animals for that matter?
How will these awaken me, you ask? I look at it and all I get back is a bland "moo". Now, go figure!

Boston Moo

Denver Moo 01

Denver Moo 02

Aaarrrr!!

"Isn't the ultimate treasure a child's smile? Isn't a drop of rain on the wing of a butterfly worth a million doubloons?
Yours, Calico Jack."
- A brief note found in Calico Jack's Treasure Chest, which he buried for safekeeping on an island just off the Florida keys. [ The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab]


Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Here's splicing the mainbrace to Ol' Chum Bucket and Cap'n Slappy!
More Pirate Lingo

Have you apologized to Geraldo yet?!

They exist in a small little place where they account for nothing..." Geraldo had said about Stewart and Colbert on the O'Reilly factor. Stewart's response? "... Aaah, where's the flying aluminium debris when you need it!". [ video 01 ]
Never make fun of people who run a "Comedy" show. Geraldo Rivera learnt that the hard way. Here's how Colbert makes Stewart apologize to Geraldo in 4 parts. Hilarious!

Colbert to Jon Stewart, "You sir, are on notice!" [ video 02 ]	Daily Show "Stooge" Colbert! [ video 03 ]
"Jon, why are you closing yourself off from Geraldo?" asks Colbert.	Jon walks a mile in Geraldo's moustache. [ video 04 ]

freedom [of sorts], the double-edged sword

Let the games begin: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"

keywords to play with:
freedom of speech, freedom of press, patriotism, terrorists, fear, manipulation, evil, un-american, nazi [latest addition]

Cards to draw to start a new round:
"My enemy's enemy is my best friend"
Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Better late than never

Finally saw it. The interview that brought the show down.

Did Jon Stewart actually call Tucker Carlson (that bow-tied guy from MSNBC) a d**k on National Television?? LOL!
TC reminds me of one of those puberty-angst-ridden, arrogant bullies trying hard to act like an adult, or sound intelligent. And you either try to yawn him away, or wish some other kid would come and beat the daylights out of him... right in front of you. Job well done, Jon!!!
[Jon Stewart "Crossfire" Transcript ]

So, Crossfire gets canned. CNN cut ties with TC. [No, not Tom Cruise, that's Paramount ].
And here is Jon's own spin on the show, "[Crossfire is] named after the stray bullets that kill innocent bystanders in a gangfight"... ending with a "... but tomorrow I will go back to being funny. And your show will still blow".
<- TC and his bowtie

my weekend indulgences

began with Slavin making sense in her TV interview on C-Span [sept 01, 2006], PBS Washington Week, and at some other places: view from Tehran , pink revolution, internet boom.

and Colbert playing "the Fool" [Bravo Colbert! Bravo!] in Roasting President Bush - 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner or presenting at the Emmys with Jon Stewart

Barbara Slavin and Stephen Colbert

ouch! you hit the wrong nerve!

Salman Rushdie threw a fit when New York Times scribe Guy Trebay insulted his wife, Padma Lakshmi. The "The Satanic Verses" author told Trebay: "If you ever write mean things about my wife again, I'll come after you with a baseball bat!" [ Page Six ]. Blog correspondent and author Gollum could not be reached for his thoughtful response to this article as of presstime. My guess is as good as yours.

footnote: Gollum is the co-author of Rushdie's forthcoming book "The First Amendment: Modifications since 1988", due Feb 2007 . Whether this particular incident will create a rift between the two and jeopardize the book's future is yet to be seen.

good job, fellas!

Awestruck and Besotted! This is my homage.
As if our obsession with the pair wasn't evident enough...
Kneel Before Your God, Babylon!

word of the day: mess

mess [mes] –noun
1. a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition: World in big ecological mess.
2. an unpleasant or difficult situation: The world is a mess.
3. A clumsy person who has no control over his body (with the help of alchohol or drugs): Did you trip up your heels AGAIN? You're such a mess!!
4. a dish of soft or liquid food: The Iraq mess is no surprise.
5. a state of embarrassing confusion: Urban life: No mess, no fuss... no cigarettes.
6. a dirty or untidy mass, litter, or jumble: SUDDENLY Afghanistan is a mess.
7. a group regularly taking their meals together, military personnel: Mess dress.
8. A word that is used in the place of s**t. I just took a mess. G8 summit: ... stop doing this 'mess' and its over!
9. To define having a large quantity off: Man, that guy has a mess load of stuff.
10. a sloppy or unappetizing preparation of food: George Dubya, the Eton mess.
–verb (used with object)
11. to make dirty or untidy (often fol. by up): If you mess up my hair again, I'm going to kill you.
12. to make a mess or muddle of (affairs, responsibilities, etc.): Don't mess with my flight plans.
13. to fool around with, make out: Did you and Joe mess last night?
14. to treat roughly; beat up (usually followed by up): The gang messed him up.
15. to engage in an act of self pleasure: Look at that dirty man messing with himself.
16. obscure abbreviation of MSN Messenger: Chap A: "I'll speak to you about it on mess"; Chap B: "On what?"; Chap A: "MSN Messenger, idiot".
17. gorgeous: das isch eeländ mess.
—Verb phrases
18. mess around or about, mess in or with: Messing around in Middle-East - Don't mess with me, girl.
19. mess up, to make dirty, untidy, or disordered; to make muddled, confused, etc.; make a mess of; spoil; botch; to perform poorly; bungle: Messed up Middle-East - Summary of the I/P conflict in normal language.
—Synonyms muddle, farrago, hodgepodge, predicament, plight, pickle, confuse, mix up.
—Antonyms tidiness, order, arrange.

[references: dictionary.com; urbandictionary.com]

I am Karan's hero, says SRK

"Some other clime... some fairer land...where love shall bloom immortal!
Open, then, the golden gate! And let the god of Love come in; And the old story
shall become the new song..."

The sky is still blue

Shahrukh Khan at Buckingham Mall, Denver. Pictures taken by our blog correspondent Gollum. Mr. Egg was nowhere in sight.

pointlessly poignant

"Ever seen a man lurching down your street
babbling away to himself
While those little brats swoon down on him, pelting stones
Jeering
Like each one of us he too is in search of a red
Sky or perhaps a yellow one
And each time he looks up with that sad spastic smile
He finds the sky to be still blue... ... "
Lost Horizon

bla

I am a lonely man, says KJ

top pics: Karan Johar (left) pensive at work with star of his movie 'kabhi alvida na kehna'
"We began by asking Karan to relax his muscles, close his eyes and concentrate on his toes. Karan began his soul-searching by moving his life force from the tip of his toes, past his knees, waist, and heart. And then rested his inner vision in the centre of his brows... in deep, pensive thought. Moments from Karan’s meditation."
- NANDINI RAGHAVENDRA, TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2006 12:00:01 AM]

DIVA, New Face in Fashion

It’s really big, glitzy, and glamorous and its editor-in-chief is none other than Rhea Saran.
Under her expert guidance, DIVA has grown into America's No.2 fashion magazine, outselling such national titles as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and GQ on local news stands.


Savvy and articulate, Rhea, with questionable indeterminable years of experience in the industry, frequently speaks at local events about the virtues of “hard work”, and is heavily involved with civic activities, related to singing and dancing.

When she's not hard at work or dodging advances from her only male co-worker, Rhea enjoys her outdoor lifestyle, including jogging, dancing at parties, and playing mom with her only son. She has perfected the 'balancing act' between career and family by ignoring her bitter, insecure husband's nagging presence, and feels dance-clubs can be therapeutic.


left to right:
1. dancing
2. only male co-worker
3. female subordinates
kabhi alvida na kehna

oh those firemen...

Saturday, 6:30 am. It's the second time that the fire alarm goes off. Groggy and disoriented, I run downstairs to discover someone pulled a nasty prank on us residents. The icing of the cake? I have locked myself out of my apartment. A happy start of a weekend.

And then come those firemen... aaah, thank life for those wonderful creations of nature. And thank me for goofing up. Packaged just as ordered. Yes, a happy start of a weekend indeed.

one of those days... no point to make

4 penguins perish in freak Texas truck accident: Octopus unhurt, exotic fish not as lucky en route to temporary home Yepp! They are LIVE allright... cute and cuddly too.
“The rest of the penguins kind of stayed together in the ditch... We’ve worked several wrecks involving cows, horses, pigs, even fish, but this is the first where the live animals were penguins.”

The accident could've been worse, says Texas Dept of Public Safety Trooper Richard Buchanan.
“There was another truck full of snakes and alligators that was an hour ahead of them, so luckily we didn’t have to deal with the alligators.”

In case anyone's interested, the Octopus was bound for Moody Gardens, a tourist destination in Galveston... ... nothing. Just thought it was one of those days.