Wolfmother’s eponymous first album, released in 2005, featured powerful tracks like Dimension, the Grammy-winning Woman and the head-banging favourite Joker and the Thief. After the original bassist and drummer of the three-member band left, though, that pretty much sounded like the end of the adventure. But Andrew Stockdale, the big haired lead singer, along with new members, Ian Peres, Aidan Nemeth and Dave Atkins gave the world Cosmic Egg in late 2009. Curiosity regarding their second album was more than what most second albums get, because for all intents and purposes, this was a new band. The Wolfmother tag, of course meant that they had to live up to the sound of the original. In the event, Cosmic Egg goes along the same path that Wolfmother set in 2005. Powerful chords, howling solos and far-out lyrics, all of which sound like they’ve been transported from any number of Classic Rock albums, tell the listener exactly where Stockdale gets his musical inspiration from. The first track, California Queen, is a powerful song with a huge power riff, with Stockdale reaching out to God-alone-knows-where with his voice. The hard bassline completes the experience and makes the song almost like an adjunct to the first album. New Moon Rising is more way-out lyrics and hard guitar riffs, with Stockdale again testing the limits of his voice. White Feather is not so much heavy metal as blatantly Led Zeppelin-inspired, and is all the better for it. Sundial, on the other hand, is reminiscent of much of Black Sabbath. In The Morning attempts a mix of ballads and psychedelic lyrics with lines like Never have I felt like this before though sometimes well I’ve seen an opening door/Just like a stone, until its thrown, listen to the tone where the truth can make itself known. Somehow, the band never does get this particular combination and song right. Maybe sticking to what they do best means not attempting ballads. Redemption comes with the very next track, 10,000 Feet, with a stand-alone bassline that plays like it’s marching along in your head. Far Away is one of the slower tracks on the album, and takes some getting used to. Phoenix features a fast, slightly more modern riff and a guitar solo that keeps promising to break out of its cover. The lyrics are almost not there, both in terms of content and presence. If you’re looking for a growing up or a growing-out of their old skin, Wolfmother’s second album will not provide succour. If you’re looking for a modern album, Cosmic Egg isn’t for you. However, if you’ve listened to and liked Led Zeppelin, Beatles, The Rolling Stones or Black Sabbath, this album is definitely worth a listen, and more. My Rating: 3.5/5 ]]>
The Right to Information Act of 2005 has received much coverage in all media and is perhaps the government legislation that people are most familiar with. So what do you do if, for example, you want to know why there aren’t enough street lights on your campus inspite of a budgetary allocation? You file an application under the RTI Act. However, when it comes to actual implementation, not too many people are comfortable with the actual process.
The Youth Task Force aims at easing the process of filing RTI applications for college students. The organisation, set up in 2007, wants students to be aware of the RTI and its uses, apart from of course how one goes about actually putting it to practical use. The RTI Act can be used to procure information from the authorities for issues relating to infrastructure such as your canteen and roads to academic issues like internal assessments and moderation of marks. While the members of the Youth Task Force will not actually file the RTI application for you, they will guide you along in the process of filing one. They want to help “break the opaqueness of the system”, which of course is perhaps what the authors of the Act intended in the first place. In terms of more local issues, they want to bring about a little more “transparency in administration in North Campus”, according to Ankita, a member of the Youth Task Force.
The last issue that the YTF dealt with was the sometimes esoteric and irrational moderation of marks. Considering the fact that moderation of marks affects a large number of students across colleges and courses, this is definitely one issue that needs to be taken seriously by a large number of students.
The YTF is currently working with Awaz, another NGO that deals with students and the RTI, and based out of the Faculty of Law.
“Life on Wheels” is the latest initiative undertaken by the SRCC chapter of the Students in Free Enterprise or SIFE. SIFE is an international network of student leaders representing more than 1,400 universities in 48 countries. Despite the diversity of their backgrounds, these students are brought together by a common desire to lead, inspire and make a difference. In communities around the world, SIFE students are stepping out of the classroom and into the community to use their knowledge and skills to improve the lives of others.
The project is a unique undertaking between SIFE and the Cycle Rickshaw pullers of Delhi University and is supported by the Punjab National Bank. Most cycle rickshaw pullers hire their rickshaws and have to pay a daily rent to owners reducing their earnings. With “Life on Wheels”, SIFE ensured that a few pullers are able to get loans to buy their rickshaws, become their owners and hence don’t have to pay rent. These Rickshaws also have a new design. They have wider and softer cushioned seats, an extended roof, bottle and newspaper holders and a dustbin at the back to keep the area clean. Everyone rickshaw is equipped with a daily copy of Times of India. The backrest is also used for advertisements to generate more revenue for the rickshaw puller.
The Honorable Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit at her official residence launched the project on 18th December 2009. She hoped that more could be done for the rickshawallahs especially with the Commonwealth Games around the corner. She also commended SIFE for their extraordinary efforts. SIFE-SRCC has executed successful initiatives in the past like DU Darshan and is expected to churn out many more socially useful projects
The first week of recruitment at Central Placement Cell is completed with 371 students receiving final offers. A total of 6200 students from Delhi University have appeared for recruitment interviews so far. Genpact has made final recruitment offers to 131 students, Tech Mahindra to 68 students and HDFC Standard Life to 84 students. The highest package offered is Rs. 5.8 LPA by Akash Educational Services; 8 students have been short listed for the same. Other processes of companies like NDPL, Capital IQ, ATS, Wipro Technologies and BPO are in the offing. The placement process will resume from 8 Febuary 2010.
The work profiles offered are mostly of BPO, direct insurance or sales development but there is mass recruitment by these companies. Students, especially of colleges who do not have active placement cells, are benefiting immensely. The CPC is headed by Dr. Seema M Parihar, assisted by DU staff and volunteers from colleges such as KMC, CBS, Khalsa and KMV.
If you’re looking for a historically accurate tale The other Boleyn Girl is not the book you should pick up. However if you want a story loosely based upon a most exciting period in English History but spiced with intricate characters and well crafted flights of fancy then this book really does make for the perfect choice. A thrilling and romantic depiction of the English Court during the controversial reign of Henry VIII and the English Reformation, the book attempts to give an inside glimpse into the family that changed the course of history and religion forever. Written from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, the historically underrepresented sister of the more famous Anne Boleyn, the book retells and often reinvents history with such vivid and detailed descriptions that the very alien world of a 16th century English court suddenly transforms into a most familiar entity. However many historians have pointed out there exist glaring historical errors in Philippa Gregory’s book though the author staunchly sticks to her claim that all the incidents mentioned in the book with the exception of the characters’ private thoughts are most likely true since there is in any case no proof of their being otherwise. The story starts with Mary Boleyn having returned from the court of France at the age of 12 and her marriage of convenience at the behest of her politically ambitious family to a minor noble William Carey. However the marriage is short lived since she is almost immediately forced into becoming Henry VIII’s mistress and separated from her husband for the same. Mary Boleyn has two children by the king, though this is a debatable fact historically. While pregnant with her second child, a son, her sister Anne who is the better read and more intelligent and independent of the two is pushed by the family to engage the king’s attention and keep it from wandering to someone outside the family. Anne who had returned from the French court shortly after Mary’s marriage and had been helping her suit with the king all this while now decides to take the king for herself, and do so without prostituting herself. Her disappointment at not being allowed to marry a man she loved, as well as her own ambition and constant rivalry with her sister drive her on and she mechanically and later maniacally plots to win Henry over. What follows is political intrigue and religious upheaval as Henry desperately tries to sever his previous marriage to Catherine of Aragon who could not produce him a male heir. This results in his alienating the catholic world, since the pope, imprisoned by the Spanish king who is Catherine’s nephew, refuses to annul their marriage. The religious debate is not highlighted in the book, which concentrates on the political intrigue rather than religious implications of the various incidents. Henry VIII hence heads the Church of England, annuls his own marriage to Catherine and consequently marries Anne, all with the single minded desperate desire of producing a legitimate male heir. To all those who know their history the next course of events are known. To those who don’t the book certainly keeps up the suspense. In any case the events are narrated with gripping skill and are not a mere repetition of known facts. The book is more fiction with a historical setting than a historical novel, since it often deviates widely from known facts simply for dramatic effect or character building. However for all that ,it remains an excellent story and brings to life two of the most fascinating characters in history, of atleast one of whom little was known, hence the title ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’. The only flaw in the book, other than the oft repeated historical bloopers of course, is that it seldom ventures outside the court. Little is told about the reaction of the people of England to the major events that shook the country. The common people intrude merely in a few incidents, such as the rioting mobs hunting Anne down or her cold reception at villages she passed through when in the company of the King. Apart from these brief mentions the world of this politically charged time frame remains solely limited to the English Court. However if the historical awkwardness and lack of wider perspective disappoint, the delightfully well sketched characters and the in-depth psychological perspective into court life more than make up for it. Moreover what some historians find to be a grave anachronism- that of Mary Boleyn’s feminism- is something which I feel only heightens the charm of the book. Though it would have been inconceivable for a woman of that time to realize the unfairness of her lot and lament at the lack of agency or any amount of freedom of choice accorded to women; read from a modern perspective its perhaps an error which would gladly go pardoned, since we can scarcely read such a story without these issues coming to mind and having the protagonist anticipate and echo your objections is interesting. In any case this book makes for a delightful story, and is especially interesting in retrospect. We can now appreciate the irony for example behind the fact that Henry so desperately sought a strong male heir for his kingdom and prosecuted so many wives for failing to deliver the same, when in fact he had already been given the strongest and most able heir imaginable by Anne herself- her daughter Elizabeth. That his heir would bring the country immense power and consolidate the kingdom like never before would be a source of great solace to the paranoid dead king, while the fact of the heir being his daughter and not son probably a massive shock. Quite the historical irony. My Rating: 4/5 ]]>
Just when one thought that the season of fests and competitions in Delhi University was over, comes Mukhatib. Organised by Shunya, the dramatics society of Ramjas College, Mukhatib will be held on the 10th and 11th of February. Last year’s event featured some well-known personalities as guests and judges as complementary to performances of some of the better plays of the University. A similar experience can be expected this year by the performers and the audience. More important for the various performers, of course, will be making an impression in the last dramatics competition of the year, to round off the year as well as to set a platform for the coming year.
Travel writing must easily number as one of the most fascinating professions in the world. The job description includes: Why not indeed? Get paid to travel the world and live a life of leisure. What could be more glamorous?
Before you fall for it, remember that it is also glamorous to be a rock star, a best-selling novelist, or a starter for the Lakers. The big difference is that when you do get to that upper echelon of travel writers, you’re still not making nearly as much money as the lowest-paid bench warmer in the NBA.
Writing tales about one’s travels is not going to make you a travel writer. Like any position where supply far exceeds demand, you’ll need to follow the right steps and then pay your dues. It’s not going to happen overnight. So before you get too enamored by the idea of travel writing as a lucrative and insanely interesting , have a look at the common misconceptions associated with travel writing.
Myths of travel writing unraveled:
Some people make a living as a travel writer. They are a very small minority. Most who manage it are either writing guidebooks or working steadily for one of the top travel magazines. Neither option, however, is particularly lucrative or dependable.
Editors are hungry for travel stories from new writers. For every article slot in a magazine, there are hundreds of writers trying to fill it. It’s like an audition for a movie part or tryouts for a pro sports team. Editors are up to their ears in material and much of what crosses their desk from new writers isn’t worth printing.
A destination is a story: Don’t assume just going somewhere is a reason to write an article. Even remote corners of the globe are visited by more writers than we need. Finding a good storyline is absolutely necessary. Wherever you are going, you need to think like a journalist and dig for something an editor will find refreshing.
Readers want to hear every detail about your personal experiences: self centred narratives are the least bit desirable by readers. Stories are nearly always carefully edited for interest and the spotlight is seldom shining on the narrator.
All your expenses will be covered
Ads for travel writing courses and workshops love to talk about “all expenses paid,” but this is a rare event for most freelance travel writers. If you have an assignment letter in hand for your great idea from a reputable travel magazine, a big newspaper, or a well-known travel website, you can likely swing some freebies. If you write for some obscure magazine nobody has heard of or you write for a travel blog that’s not recognized as hugely successful or highly influential in a relevant niche, then you’ll be paying for your own room at that fancy beach resort, thank you very much.
Movie adaptations have revolutionized literature, so much so that many books are now written with the sole view of becoming material for a new blockbuster. It’s hardly surprising therefore that comics, a medium far more visual in nature than books, have chosen to go the same way. Movies about age old comic book super heroes are well known enough, but now even comics of a less dramatic turn are taking the same path. Spielberg is all set to produce a 3-D animated feature film which is to be the first ever movie adaptation of the well known Herge comic masterpiece, The Adventures of Tintin.
The Asterix series, the universally loved comics created by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, has already had many animated and three live action films based on it, and is sure to inspire many more films in the future. While the animated films always enjoy a steady audience, being rather similar to the comics they draw from, both in terms of art as well as story, live action adaptations of such ingrained and familiar characters and stories becomes quite the different challenge. After having pictured a shrimpish Asterix and gigantic rotund Obelix for all your lives it’s somewhat disconcerting to find them both disappointingly human in the live action versions. Moreover live action being rather differently filmed and planned often needs to deviate from the original plot of the comic it is based upon and ends up drastically altering the count and nature of characters as well as the situational plot settings. As such a movie adaptation of a comic, especially a cult such as that of Asterix and Obelix or Tintin has a lot to live up to, and this can only be done through really inspired scripts and direction and highly innovative acting. In this, unfortunately, two of the three live action movies made on the Adventures of Asterix fail miserably.
Both the first 1999 movie Asterix and Obelix take on Caesar and the latest 2008 release Asterix and Obelix at the Olympic Games fell flat due to bad adaptations and poor acting. Ironic considering that they were respectively the most expensive French movie of its time and one of the most expensive European film productions ever. However to be fair Asterix and Obelix at the Olympic Games did do well within Europe but it saw little enthusiasm outside the continent. However Asteric and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, which released in January 2002, more than made up for the other two. After the fiasco of the first movie it proved to many skeptics that Goscinny’s legacy could be carried successfully onto the silver screen.
All three movies are originally in French, though they were dubbed and edited later for an English audience. Claude Zidi’s Asterix and Obelix take on Caesar, though full of big names and talented actors, was a complete washout and the worst implementation possible for such an ambitious project. Asterix and Obelix at the Olympian Games had learnt much from the mistakes of the first movie, and while the direction and editing still lacked luster and the action scenes lacked excitement, the acting was in most cases quite above par, Clovis Cornillac’s depiction of Asterix probably being the best portrayal of the beloved hero seen till date. However it is Alain Chabat’s Mission Cleopatra which really takes home the laurel and justifies the movie adaptations of a classic comic series such as Asterix and Obelix. Succeeding its prequel to become the most expensive French movie ever made in its time, the movie starred the same actors Gerard Depardieu as Obelix and Christian Clavier as Asterix. However with a better story line and far better execution and direction, as well as some really hilarious scenes, this movie very deservingly became a great hit and brought on screen adaptations of comic books a new champion.
Literature in its scope is broadening to include graphic novels and movies are becoming integrally attached to every other medium of art until entertainment becomes a huge potpourri of all these various art forms and mediums and interconnects them irrevocably. The end result is that to justifiably call oneself a connoisseur of a particular comic series, for example, one can no longer stay away from movies made on the same or cartoons derived from those stories and characters. Entertainment becoming increasingly multi dimensional it is only fitting that comics too step out of their narrow pages and occupy and appropriate the screen for their own use. So here’s looking forward to the new Tintin movie soon to release, and a hope it does justice to this trend of interdependent art.