Invaded

 

Depressed. Shocked, Disgusted and Disturbed. These emotions are just mild expressions of what i'am really feeling. No this is not some stupid rant about my petty life. It's about Her. The common woman. And what about her you ask? She gets raped a 1000 times a day of course.

I'am not here to introduce you all to the phenomenon of rape. It's out there. Happening right now. Could be near your comfortable home or in some dark, dingy and cursed place in the middle of no-where. She is going through it. And some prick's sexual ego is being stroked.

If you too, have the unfortunate habit of reading Google News everyday, you would notice that more than the news about some scientific breakthrough made by some nameless sonofagun, there are more articles reporting the rape of a minor girl or an old aunty or some other sick perverted BS. So these are what i see on a normal, bright and sunny morning - articles peppered with the juices of journalistic creativity: (Courtesy - Our Media Hawks)

"15 Year old gang raped in broad daylight"
"2 teens gang raped by 15 men"
"23 Year old raped in a moving vehicle"
and so ffing on...

Ok so what's so outlandish about such incidents you may wonder..some sickos may even talk about karma, that these women actually deserved it! Out of some sick and twisted ideology! Can you believe it? Go and read the comments made by our junta and you will understand.

A recent article i read shocked the bejesus out me. So this is what happened.. 2 teenagers who were being raped in some desolate place by 10 men, cried out for help repeatedly and a few workers from the nearby fields heard the commotion and arrived at the place. And guess what happened next? They joined in the act too! I was so disgusted and overwhelmed with the monstrosity of the heinous act, that i couldn't fathom the gravity of the incident completely. Yes, this is what is happening these days. Gang rapes seem to be the new fad.

It is possible that the rape rate was always the same, and the fact that these incidents are being disclosed to the public may be due to women choosing to make a stand, rather than hide in their centuries old womb of fear. Or it is possible that there are infact more number of rapes happening across the country.

End of the day, i just cannot understand or digest these acts of evil. Don't they have sisters or mothers? Would they rape their own kin? How could they? We are pagans..worshippers of the elements..and more importantly, ours is the religion, where female deities take a prominent place. So what use is a Kali/Durga in this hellish world we live in?

I won't delve into what the government did or did not do to curb these incidents. No i am not talking for or against any existing punishments that are imposed on the convicted. All i am wondering/talking about is this..

If you had invaded the sacredness and dignity of a woman, then why are you not rotting in hell?

There is a saying in Tamizh..

"Arasan andru kolvan, Deivam nindru kollum"

Meaning - The Ruler/King gives justice then and there, but God will punish after some time.
Reality - The Ruler does not give instant justice and God does not care.

This is the sorry state of affairs. My sincere prayers and sympathies to all the affected, not only in India, but all over the World.

Wishing for a crime free world is perhaps Utopian and foolish..people like you and me are blessed. We have the power of democracy and here i am talking about a social evil and unable to take any sort of real action.

Bottom line, that's what we are. Powerless.

I bet my old socks Lord Krishna would be thinking right now.."i told you that Kaliyuga would be a bitch din't i ?!"

Amen to that.

Clooney's Sentinel

Ok so i'm in a serious mood..i usually avoid current affairs and typically blog on creative topics..But that doesn't mean i don't care about what happens in India or the other parts of the world..!

According to me there are two groups of humans in this world. The Lucky and the Not So Lucky. The Lucky ones (like me) get to live a tranquil life with simple issues such as power cuts, bad roads, corrupt officials etc peppered with the luxuries of life such as movies, food, etc. If 10 random people die in the hands of some random lunatics, it doesn't affect me. Nope. Maybe i would pity those poor souls. But that's just about it. What do we care? We live in our cocooned peaceful life don't we?

But the Not So Lucky ones, suffer. Not in the hands of the Devil. But in the hands of men who have lost their souls to greed, rage, violence and madness. Thousands die for no reason. Beaten, shunned and forced to flee, their lives like a Tight Rope Walk, with no clue about what they did to deserve such a fate. They are the ones that know what Death looks like because many a times, it comes knocking on their doors. Vulnerable and broken, hell must be a bed of roses for these poor sods.

This morning, while randomly absorbing my daily dose of gyaan, i stumbled on this news article from Global Post:

Clooney satellite project shows preparations for assault

At first glance, i couldn't make sense of it, George Clooney? Danny Ocean? What satellite project? Why him? an assault on who? These were the questions that flared in my mind. Filled with curiousity i dug deeper. What i read astonished me!

Before i enlighten you on Clooney's initiative, lets talk about the issue in focus. (in simple terms)

• What? : North & South Sudan have been at loggerheads since 1955.
• Why? : Oil reserves, ethnic clashes, southern rebels, grazing land, government negligence, arab-african showdown, division of South Sudan as separate country
• Conflict Areas ? : Abyei, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile
• Effect? : Darfur Genocide, Power Struggle over oil rich Abyei, dispute over South Sudan's independence, mass graves
• Peace Agreements? : Addis Ababa Agreement (1972), Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2005)
• Ok and? : More fighting, blood spilled, innocent lives lost, survivors turn refugees
• Uhuh? : South Sudan becomes Independent in 2011.

You get the point right? So where does our Descendants star step in you ask?

The Answer is a first-of-a-kind effort at peacekeeping and deterring mass atrocities and the resumption of war between Sudan (North) and South Sudan by combining a Eye-in-the-sky approach meets Proactive Action plan, which is:

 

George Clooney while visiting Sudan in Oct 2010 (4th time) initiated this project along with Enough Project co-founder, John Prendergast. What is really cool about this initiative is that it combines satellite imagery analysis and field reports with Google's Map Maker technology to detect signs of emergency or violence in the war torn regions of Sudan.

These satellites are able to capture possible threats to civilians, observe the movements of displaced people and also any signs of open military activity, detect razed villages and note other evidence of impending mass violence!

The project has been successful in detecting any human rights crimes even before they occur and has unearthed evidences of close to 8 mass graves in the South Kordofan region.

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, runs the research, operational and technical aspects of the Satellite Sentinel Project. It is what they call the 'Crisis Mapping & Early Warning System'. Bloody awesome if you ask me..!

Mass Grave Sites (as captured by Satellite Sentinel)

George Clooney in Sudan (from TIME Photos)

Of course, there has been criticism from all quarters against George Clooney over his involvement in this sensitive issue, but nonetheless, that is what we are really good at aren't we? Stand on the greener side of the field and pelt stones at the ones who are actually doing something.

I guess this is just the beginning. I'd rather read and keep myself informed on such matters than read nonsensical articles on how our media has glorified the entry of a porn star in a reality show.

Perpetrators beware. Miles above, Clooney's Sentinel is Awake.

 

Neon Addiction

© Jayanth B Kashyap

A long time ago, when i had a lot of time to spare, i indulged in creating flashy and cool animated titles and videos for my own creative satisfaction..Andrew Kramer, the famous visual artist is my guru when it comes to vfx!

One of his tutorials involves creating a terminator-meets-tron style title effect, and so i decided that i will try it out too! (image above)

Although, the end product was not as spectacular as Andrew's, I'm still proud of it !

Each blog of mine (My Mind a Nolan Movie, Extreme Close Up and 576 Megapixels) incorporates a unique banner design carefully designed by me. But not all designs step out of the drawing board. This design was one of the many that i had created for my movie blog (Extreme Close Up)

Hope you like it too!

Cheers

He Rises

Cross Posting - Extreme Close Up

Hey all! Those of you, who have seen the Dark Knight Rises trailer in my previous post , would have definitely been wondering "What the heck was that chant all about!?"

Well, i came across ujam's site, where Hans Zimmer has actually invited people world over to lend their voice to this chant sitting from their homes! (Link)

And should i say, Hans Zimmer does it again! He blew me away with his powerful orchestra-mixed-with-synthesiser style music for movies such as The Rock, Broken Arrow,
Air Force One, Last Samurai, Inception, Batman Begins, Dark Knight and now he is back again for The Dark Knight Rises!

Just Play the video above and picturise Bane and Batman going toe-to-toe with each other! It is going to be epic!!

The Chant in the trailer is "Dey-Shay, Bah-sah-rah" It means, "He Rises"

How apt right??

I just cannot wait for 2012, because in Nolan i trust.

Cheers!

The Dark Knight Rises : A Storm Coming

Yaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!! Christopher Nolan is back!!! The Dark Knight is back!!

Im jumping up and down, somebody get a hold of me for god's sake!!

The highly anticipated trailer for the epic conclusion of the the most awesomest batman series directed by the awesome-est director and my favorite, Christopher Nolan is out and has set my pulse racing!

A Brutal Bane and a wicked Catwoman are all set to go head on against Batman/Bruce Wayne who is now 8 years older than the previous film!

Will batman triumph once again? How will Nolan end this epic trilogy? Will Bane really break the Bat's back!? O god dammit! i can't wait!!

One thing is for sure! I'am definitely going to Hyderabad to catch The Dark Knight Rises on IMAX babay!!

Watch the extremely enticing full trailer from the powerhouse that is Nolan!

The Dark Knight shall Rise!!

The Path of Ezio

Ok so i'am a BIG time Assassin's Creed fan! Even more, i'am totally crazy about Ezio Auditore, the Master Assassin of Firenze..For those who have played the 4 series game, you will relate to what i'am saying!

Last night, i was so bored that i just had to do something totally cool to lift my spirits! and so i flipped through the E3 trailers of Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood and Revelations..and suddenly i realised " what if i create a fan made video paying tribute to this immortal hero!?" And so the next 4 hours flew by..after several cuts and frustrating problems with the audio and video sync, i finally created a video that would make a non-gamer understand the chronicles of the life of Ezio Auditore!

This is the Path. The Path of Ezio.

Hope you like it! Share it with all your AC crazy friends if you'd like too :)

Cheers!

Live By The Creed

Cross Posting from my Photo Blog 576 Megapixels

 

Today, i bid farewell to one of the most memorable characters in videogame history and possibly the whole of film history too - The Master Assassin Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. Maybe this could be the first time, i actually feel 'attached' to a virtual character. I've traveled the whole of Venice, Rome and Constantinople with him and been introduced to his life and the other characters surrounding him.

Assassin's Creed Revelations, the last title to feature both the Great Altair and Ezio, made me wish the game series would never end. The non-gamers,  who have not played this beautiful game can never understand what this means. A brilliant plot, complex characters, huge and astounding cities, cinematic cuts, advanced gameplay with a healthy dose of suspense, mystery, love and action. It is a  story spread across a millenia that can be fully appreciated only by playing all 4 games in the series.

After having seen Assassin's Creed Embers, a 22 minute animated short film that neatly wraps up the life of Ezio, i can't help but  wonder what an amazing part these characters have played. Each word uttered by Ezio in his delightful italian accent, as he recounts his life as an assassin, deep in thoughts and the fear of losing his last and only chance of leading a normal life, Embers is a fitting finish to the life of Ezio Auditore.

Never have i reveled or raved about a mere video game before and i know that i never will.

Requescat in pace Ezio.  I shall miss you Mentor.