Smiles And Hemispherical Preference

Its a well known fact that the right brain (more or less) governs creativity, emotional processing and non-linearity  whereas the left deals more with reason, logic and the passage of time. It also does imply that we use different sides more actively while engaging in different tasks. However every individual has a preference for using one particular side more than the other - thereby determining what one is good at.  A simple 'pop-psychology' test would be in deciding which ear you would put onto a closed door if you wanted to listen to what is going on at the other end. Right ear implies left brain processing and the left ear would imply the right.

Then I began to wonder, could there be any other way to ascertain a preference? Thats when I decided to observe half-smiles or smirks as you might call them. Being mostly around left brained people, I realized that most of them always smirk with the right side of the lip going up (Yay! for me) and so I decided to observe  an entirely different set of people - Actors. And no surprise there! About 80% of the smirks I see across TV Shows/Movies shows that actors prefer to smirk with the left side of their lip going up first. Acting, as you may have guessed is a predominantly right brained activity requiring a sense of empathy forcing some aount of 'merging' with the character to be portrayed - something the left brain would find almost impossible.

As an example of what I've been on about, below are pictures of Andrew Scott (who plays Jim Moriarty) and Benedict Cumberbatch (who play Sherlock Holmes) in Steven Moffat's Sherlock.

Andrew Scott has a distinct right-brainer smile..

.. while Benedict has the exact opposite..

If you do observe closely, their acting styles are completely different with Andrew taking on a raw approach (maybe his character demands it, so I might be wrong) whereas Benedict's is highly cerebral (watch him here as well as in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Hope you notice this everywhere you go!

Happy New Year

The Irony

Then:

Now:

They knew..... Reality TV Sucks

High Price Rise

Breakfast

1 Plate Pongal + 1 Vada + 1 Coffee = Rs.30+Rs.8+Rs10 = Rs.48/-

125 gm Kellogs Corn Flakes + 250ml milk = Rs.36 +Rs.13/2 = Rs.42.50/-

Lunch

2 Meals with limited rice = Rs.40x2 = Rs.80/-

1 Veggie Wrap + 1 Freecharge Coupon = 1 Veggie Wrap + 1 McVeggie = Rs.67+Rs.10 = Rs.77/-

Dinner

2 x Vada Pav = Rs. 40/-

1 x Fruit Salad with Ice Cream = Rs. 25/-

Indian food is costlier than American Food

P.S. I stay in Arakere Gate - Bangalore

The Shakey Rays (As in chill, its their trip)

The Shakey Rays is (not 'are', I made that mistake too) a rock 'n roll band from Chennai whose music I've grown to enjoy a lot these past few days. From experience, I've learnt that listening to 'soft' music for the first time in a crowded city bus when you're being jammed between 2 fat smelly men is a bad idea, but that was exactly when I heard the bands new effort Tunes From The Big Belly for the 1st time and I just didn't get what all the hue and cry was all about.

However, I was inclined to give the album another listen simply because the members are famous for statements such as....

Vikram Kannan: "As in chill, its their trip" (On almost being molested by a eunuch on the street)

Dhruva: "I'm the most eligible bachelor in Alwarpet"

Rohit Ramachandran (their shrink) on 'The Shakey Rays': "Hedonists"

....and give it a good listen I did. Verdict? effing brilliant!

There's never a dull moment on the album right from start to finish. Filled with Beatles'esque melodies, inventive guitaring and perfect rhythms the songs are precise and make for easy listening at all times. As is apparent from a few hearings, a lot of thought has gone into the lyrics which as their shrink mentioned comes from them having 'bottling up' for a long time (allegorative in the album cover)

Although it may not be prudent for a track by track analysis, I must emphasize that the songs here are some of the best I've heard- Ever. They seem to appeal to that part of you that is joyous and free owing to the upbeat vocal style, 'it keeps playing in my head' type catchy choruses and the quirky guitar playing. Being a sucker for falsetto singing, I greatly enjoyed the vocal harmonies as well.

Definitely a 9/10 album for me, but don't take my word for it. Download their album Tunes From The Big Belly for free here and check it out for yourselves!

Oh! And do invite them to headline your college festivals. They pinky swear not to steal your girlfriends.

Here are some more articles for you to check out:

http://indianrockmp3.com/2011/08/17/the-shakey-rays-tunes-from-the-big-belly/

http://www.indiagigalert.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=822:the-shakey-rays-give-away-debut-album-tunes-from-the-big-belly&Itemid=216

Why Indian thought never progressed into Science & Engineering

"Philosophy suffered a setback because of the transcendentalism resulting from the search of the essential unity of things.Kalupahana explains further that reality was simply considered to be beyond space, time, change, and causality. This caused change to be a mere matter of words, nothing but a name and due to this, metaphysical speculation took the upper hand. As a result, the Upanishads fail to give any rational explanation of the experience of things. Paul Deussen criticized the idea of unity in the Upanishads as it excluded all plurality, and therefore, all proximity in space, all succession in time, all interdependence as cause and effect, and all opposition as subject and object."

Perfect.

When Is It Time?

When you're young, you don't have the money

When you have the money, you don't have the time

When do you have both?

When you do have both, make sure you have health

The "Cool Uncle" Oath

A reaction to people around me getting married.

Now repeat after me:

"I solemly swear that I shall always be upto no good in your eyes.

I solemly swear to teach your children the wrong things in life.

I solemly swear to always be cooler than you.

I solemly swear to uphold the idea of youth even when I have wrinkles and white hair.

I solemly swear that I'll be the one you turn to when you need to handle the real, "real world".

I solemly swear to always be that Cool Uncle that all parents hate to love."

When an old man said "Thank You"

It was a hot summer evening in Bangalore when I decided to walk the 5km from my office to my residence. On reaching there I was a tad lazy (ok, I am always lazy) to use the stairs to reach our 8th floor apartment and decided to use the lift. At the entrance, there stood an old couple whom I had never seen before. Most likely in their late 60's to early 70's it seemed as if they had just enjoyed a tiring walk around the building and wanted a ride up to their floor in the lift.

When the lift door opened at the ground floor I got on the lift after the couple, lost in my own thoughts, almost oblivious to their presence. I reached out across the old to press the "8" button and subconciously noticed that the "1" button was also glowing. The lift door then slowly closed and there ensued that tension when strangers are stuck together in a lift for what always seems like eternity.

When the indicator in the lift showed "1" the old man made a quick a gesture to his wife to stand near the door and the moment the door opened he gently pushed her out. Before exiting the lift himself, he did the strangest thing.. he wished me "Thank You" before walking out. Now he had my attention...

On reaching home I asked my roomates what might have been his motivation in thanking me and I got a myraid of answers

"I watch too many movies" Mr.Pooka: Maybe he had a fight with his wife and thanked you for stopping it :P

Cynical Selva: Maybe he is actually senile and mistook you for a lift operator?

Socailly Concious Me: Maybe he is afraid of modern youth and thanked me for not mugging him or groping his wife. Or maybe he just thanked me for being able to simply tolerating their presence.....

Maybe I'll never understand old people..

Laika

Laika was the first animal in space. Glorified as one of the greatest feats of modern times, Laika's journey to complete space was a triumphant crown on Soviet Russia's various feats edifying communism and its potential to lead mankind into a new era....

.... but did you know that Laika never made it back to planet Earth and was left to drift forever into deep space?

Fuck.