Fring Fring

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The decision of going in for a new cellphone has its fair share of heartburn!! Nobody likes to be on the wrong side of GPRS, UTMS, EDGE, F…. and such other other 4-letter words in English that are never quite clarified on print. So there you go…browsing the net keen to be on the right side of technology and the righter side of costs!!
The net…trusty ol' net - you come out with gems every time you surf the so called info hiway.
When my sister used to call from UK using an application called 'fring', I never gave it much thought considering it to be one of those things available on the other side of the equator. But was jolted out of my apathetic senses when I found that fring works in India and HOW? Seems almost every other mobile set is compatible with Fring.
And with phones equipped with wireless Lan or WLAN as the initated call it, you have it made, mate!! It converts your wifi gadgets to VOIP gadgets making cellphones look silly. And especially when your cellphone is wifi enabled, Fring allows you to make international calls over internet thru your cellphone - all FREE to all your online mates. This too across different IM sites like Skype, Google Talk and Net Messenger. I had refused to be enticed by "chatting" software on mobile till it enabled voice funcationality. Seems this technology arrived YESTERDAY when life was busy in everyday office work.
That creepy feeling ….when you feel you are losing touch with the unreal reality of the modern world!! Ready for a fring?

The cool factor - Anaglyph art in 3D

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Remember 'Chhota Chetan'? The 3D film that captured the imagination of an entire generation!! "We Were Young & Innocent Then!!" A few days back just for the heck of it, I e-bayed for 3D stuff. Sure enough, I found a vendor in distant Kolkata peddling 3D Anaglyph glasses for Rs. 35/- per pair with a add-on of a cheap 3D DVD at around 300 bucks. So I ordered for it and revelled in the 3D adventures of 'Sharkboy & Lavagirl".

Though the fine print claimed it would work only on a regular desktop screen (CRT for the IT- inclined), I found it to be effective on both laptop and my LCD desktop at home. Ok! Hooked! Now onto the next step! Salivating for some free stuff now (Its bad, its evil - learn to pay for your stuff!! But hey...WTH!!). Hurrah..Hallelujah...Eureka & the whole works!! Some very cool 3D images on the net that work real smooth and are great for some abstract timepass. Of course, so many downloadable comics in 3D anaglyph format - again a great pastime!


The cool factor in this and the reason for so much English - freeware on the net that allows you to convert all your images & videos into 3D anaglyph format. Tried it for fun! Glad to report it works pretty cool!! Reproducing some of the 3D images I downloaded as well as some of my own work on 3D. Go get your 3D glasses!

Freakin funny!!

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Prabhu Deva never had the going so good. All because of a man who's probably never heard of him. Hard to believe but Prabhu Deva aka Benny Lava (vide a popular concept called "buffalaxing") has become so popular they are selling Benny Lava T-shirts as an ode to the man who will probably go down as one of the best entertainers of our time unwittingly.Thats the charming part.

This concept was pretty popular on MTV sometime back. I have laughed my guts out whenever I have seen any of these videos. They used to show very popular South Indian numbers and give literal twisted hindi subtitles for the lyrics of the songs. The effect was always very innovative and very very funny. I never knew they had a word for this - "buffalaxed" - expressed it quite nicely here - "words or phrases misheard in ways that yield new meanings. "

Check out these videos. Will try posting them soon!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g
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Happy New Year!!

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For the uninitiated / agnostic / atheistic / faithless / faithful / religious / spiritual / metaphyhsical / ascetic / gypsic / nomadic / reconverted / reborn Thamizhans and of course, to the rest of the world, a very Happy Pongal to all of you!!

And also to all the rest of you 21st century naivetes, who think that Pongal is Women's day in Tamil ("after all Pon & Gal mean one & the same thing, mate!"), get real, dudes!!

Thought of junking up the net for some nostalgic Pongal songs (confession: more for the reminiscences rather than the culture) and voila, here you go...

1st day
maargazhi(th) thingaL madhi niRaindha nannaaLaalneeraada(p) pOdhuveer pOdhuminO nErizhaiyeerseer malgum aayppaadi(ch) chelva(ch) chiRumeergaaLkoorvEl kodundhozhilan nandhagOpan kumaranEraarndha kaNNi yasOdhai iLam singamkaar mEni cengaN kadhir madhiyam pOl mugaththaannaaraayaNanE namakkE paRai tharuvaanpaarOr pugazha(p) padindhElOr empaavaay

to the 30th day....
vankak katal kataintha mAthavanaik kEcavanaiththinkal thirumukaththuc cEyiLaiyAr cenRiRainjiankap paRai kontavARRai aniputhuvaipainkamalath thantheriyal pattar pirAn kOthai connacankath thamiL mAlai muppathum thappAmEinkip paricuRaippAr Irirantu mAlvaraiththOLcenkaN thirumukaththuc celvath thirumAlAlenkum thiruvaruL peRRu inpuruvAr empAvAy.
TRANSLATION
-----------------------------------------------------Oh bejewelled girls (nEr izhaiyeer)! Prosperous (chelva) young girls (chiRumeer) of the rich city (seer malgum) of Tiruvoypadi (aaypaadi)! This is the month (thingaL) of December/January (margazhi), an auspicious day (nan naaL) filled (niRaindha) with moonlight (madhi). Those of us who want to go (pOdhuveer) to perform the penance of 'paavai nOnbu' (neeraada), let us go (pOdhumeenO). The Lord (naaraayaNan), who was the son (kumaran) of NandagOpan, who could give a lot of trouble (kodun thozhilan) to enemies using his sharp spear (koor vEl); who was the little lion (iLam singam) of the beautiful (Eraarndha) eyed (kaNNi) YasOda; who is dark (kaar) skinned (mEni); who has perfect (sen) eyes (kaN); and who has a face (mugaththaan) like (pOl) the radiance (kadhir) of the moon (madhiyam); will give (tharuvaan) us (namakkE) his blessings (paRai). Hey (El)! Let us immerse in water (padindhu) and do the penance of 'paavai nOnbu' (Or embaavaai), a practice praised (pugazha) by the people of the world (paarOr).

Songs in praise of matavan kecavanWho churned the trafficked ocean;Songs in celebration of the prayers and gifts obtainedBy the moonfaced and bejewelled maids,Sung by kotai the daughter of the Pattar at Srivilliputtur,Donned in a garland of lotus –Mal the mountain shouldered and noble faced with eyes redBlesses everyone everywhere with His graceThose who recite them in cankat tamil in all piety,And leaves them blessed.The last song of the Tiruppavai formally concludes the series with a mentionof the benefits that accrue to the devotees when they recite the thirtysongs in all piety while the twenty-ninth song has clinched the pavaiobservance.


THINGS TO DO ON BHOGI PONGAL
Traditional Bath
An elaborate oil bath is done at early morning on the Bhogi day.
Drawing of Kolams
After morning bath and rituals, women make beautiful kolams (rangoli). There is sometimes a healthy competition among neighbors on design and size of the kolams. Large kolams are preferred during Pongal.
Some communities place a pumpkin flower in the middle of the kolam.
Cleaning and Burning debris on Bhogi Pongal
The most important activity on Bhogi Pongal is to clean the house, office, surroundings, courtyard and other places. All the broken and unwanted things are removed. The reason for this massive cleaning exercise is to bring new energy into life. It is believed that Uttarayana marks the daytime of the Devas and all auspicious things happen during this period. So all the unwanted things are removed and burned to ashes. Bhogi bonfire is a major activity in the evening.
Caution: Bhogi Pongal and Pollution: In the name of cleaning, people burn plastic, rubber, tyres and non-degradable material causing environmental pollution. Such practices should not be encouraged.
Bhogi Pongal Puja
There is no special puja. Daily poojas and prayers are performed. Farmers do have some rituals like consecrating their tools and doing harvest of paddy and sugarcane.
Purchase for Pongal and coming Year
There is a tradition to purchase new clothes, sugarcane and new vessel to cook pongal on Bhogi day. Some of the old things are replaced. Many people buy new broom, dustpan and other kitchen items on this day.
Food on Bhogi Pongal
A traditional home meal with Mor Kozhambu is prepared in most homes. Some people also prepare kadala parippu poli, Bhogi ama vadai etc. Sweets are also prepared in some houses.
Preparation for Pongal
In most regions, Bhogi day is used to prepare for Pongal, which happens on the next day. It is also the first day in Thai Month. From 2009, Pongal will also be the Tamil New Year day.

Translations: sourced from the Net. But of course......

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