Posts Tagged Reviews

Alaknanda’s Momowalla

Mar 30

Posted by The Nut in Food, Journal | 5 Comments

For some obscure, inexplicable reason, I’ve decided to start reviewing random food joints as well. Don’t ask me why, I just decided to, OK? My first review will be about a place I dubbed ‘Alaknanda Roadside Momowalla’.

I was returning from my maths class, which is on every Sunday morning and Monday evening. It’s in Alaknanda, and I prefer to catch Bus No. 540 from the market, which deposits me quite close to my place. This Monday, I was feeling a bit peckish in the evening. Now, I knew about the existence of the momowalla, simple because on a few previous occasions, I had seen some people roaming the market with momos. So it was a matter of just sniffing it out. That didn’t turn out to be a problem at all, since it was just facing the road.

The momos under debate

Before I set off, let me define a momo: a momo, or dumpling, is made with flour-and-water dough, with some vegetables, or optionally, chicken as stuffing. A lot of these are put into a metal contraption, and then steamed, till cooked. Now these are quite healthy, apart from the dough, which is a bit heavy. But the main thing, is that they’re steamed, not deep fried in oil, which is good for your cholesterol.

Well, there isn’t any ambience to speak of, as of such, mainly because it’s at the side of the effing road, on a pavement. But then, there’s something different about roadside food, especially if you have a friend to feast with (which I didn’t). So in that sense, the momowalla is a roadside foodie’s ideal example of a place to catch a quite bite, because it is literally on the road side, unlike places like Haldiram’s and Bikanerwala, which aren’t really that roadside.

Of course, this means that health and hygiene goes for a toss. Almost. Well, to be honest, it’s the environment which is to blame. The road doesn’t help, and there’s a dustbin right in front of the aforementioned metal contraption. But on the plus side, the momos are kept in the contraption till you ask for them, and when you do, they’re not picked with bare hands, but using mega-tweezers with flat ends.

I’m sure that’s not the technical term. Dead sure.

So I walk up to the guys manning the post and ask for a plate of momos. What I forgot, is that there are usually 10 or so momos on one plate. A plus point: there are two sauces given, and that two on a different paper plate, so as not to mess up your momos prematurely. And all this for just Rs. 20. This is what I call value-for-money!

Chief chef and sous-chef

Naturally, there’s no place to sit, and it’s a bit difficult to eat with 2 plates to hold, so I set them down on a parapet of sorts, and proceed to stuff my face. The momos are hot, and are

stuffed reasonably well. I had ordered the vegetarian ones by the way. After about 6-7, I was getting quite full (as a matter of fact, after I got home, I refused to have any dinnner, it was that filling).

One small point : The fact that they bothered to have a dustbin of sorts, means that they do bother about people dropping paper plates all over the place, which is a nice gesture.

That pretty much rounds up my review on a small place with a very limited menu. But a satisfying snack. Be sure to check it out if you stop by Alaknanda market…

P.S. Smriti, Amna, please do check out this place if you haven’t already…

Tags: Alaknanda, Momo, Reviews

Sandman : The Ultimate Sleep Manager

Mar 26

Posted by The Nut in Journal, Tech | 19 Comments

Ever wondered why it is that despite all that processing power in your PC/laptop, it can never beat a simple old alarm clock? Simple stuff like waking you up in the morning? Well, there is now a solution – Sandman. Yes, I’ve had to make up a word or two to describe this software. What it does is simple – sing you lullabies or rudely awaken you at the appropriate time. And it does this with music. And the best part is, I made it!

Using this program you can create a playlist of alarm songs, set the time you want to wake up, set a snooze timer (optional), leave your PC on, and go to sleep. Rest assured, if you’ve set the volume right, you’ll be wide awake by that time.

The program is designed to present you with a series of simple (?) maths problem at the time you’ve set. At this point, all the controls will be locked, and you have no option but to answer the problems to shut off the music i.e. you’ll be wide awake in no time. If you enabled the snooze timer, the snooze button will be enabled, which will tone down the volume, only to present you with another question after the snooze timer goes off. You need to answer 3 correct questions to switch off the alarm.

There is also an optional sleep timer, which means you can create a playlist of songs, set a sleep timer, and go to bed, knowing that the music will stop. You have the option of letting Windows shutdown after the sleep timer, or leaving it on, for the alarm to wake you up.

I’m working on a module which will allow the PC to go into standby/hibernation and switch itself on at the appropriate time to wake you up. This bit will take some time to develop, but till then, this is a relatively stable release I have here.

To download, click on the icon below.

Sandman v1.0

Just unzip the files, and run setup.exe.

This program was written using Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2, in VisualBasic. Also, you need to have Windows Media Player installed, otherwise the player won’t work. It uses .NET Framework v4, which most of you might not have installed. Don’t worry, the setup will automatically download the stuff for you. It’s a bit large, so you might have to wait a while, if you have a slow internet connection. But please, please do try out the program.

For developers: I used the AxWMP library to reference Windows Media Player i.e. create an instance of a WMP ActiveX control. Apart from that, all of it is pretty much my own work. There are still some niggles to be sorted out, but I hope that you guys can point out the more glaring errors. Thanks.

I’d really appreciate some feedback on this application.

Tags: Nair, Reviews, Sandman, Software, Vivek

Cosmic Egg : Mildly Disappointing

Mar 21

Posted by The Nut in Music | No Comments

After listening to Wolfmother’s first album, I was dying to try out their other songs. However, I was wary of the fact that after releasing Wolfmother, 2 of the band members left, and were replaced, before Cosmic Egg was released. Released last year, it was Wolfmother’s attempt at grabbing the limelight once more.

However, it’s not quite upto the mark.

Overall, the album does not pack the same energy and pace that Wolfmother had. Just like I rated almost all the songs in that album at 4/5, originally almost all of the songs in Cosmic Egg get a 2/5 or 3/5. There are just a handful of memorable songs in the entire album, which is the only saving grace for the album. But soon, the album grew on me, and a few songs were upgraded.

Cosmic Egg

California Queen – 4/5 - A good start to an otherwise mediocre album. A good song, with an interesting and thumping intro, graduating into a hypnotic verse, followed by a screaming chorus, with a lovely little guitar solo added at the end.
New Moon Rising – 5/5 – My favourite song from the album. I just love the tempo, which never lets up, in this song. The bridge and chorus are the USP of this song. I’ve never heard anything like it before. A great workout song to boot.
White Feather – 2/5 – Utterly forgettable. Too pop-like for my liking. Did not expect this from Wolfmother Just realised the band is the just the same in name, since 2 out of 3 members are new.
Sundial – 3/5 - Ambivalent about this song. Relatively slow. But with an incessant piano in the background, and decent vocals, this song deserves another look, but doesn’t quite cut it for 4/5. Quite a few of the songs in the album, are good, but not particularly great or memorable, so they’ve got 3/5, unlike Wolfmother.
In the Morning – 2/5 - A slow rolling song, a good moodsetter, but otherwise mediocre. You deserve an award if you don’t skip the song within the first 30 seconds. The song eventually improves, but it’s a bit too late by then.
10,000 Feet – 2/5 – Harsh, but not fast. Not a great combo here. Along with a not-so-memorable chorus, and a truly forgettable post-chorus.
Cosmic Egg – 3/5 – An interesting chorus, which takes quite a while to get to an interesting chorus. It’s the wait which denies this song 4/5. Expected more from the title song. An uninspiring solo at 3:20 doesn’t help either.
Far Away – 2/5 – The intro is truly shocking. Sounds like something out of a Huggies diaper ad. The rest of the song isn’t much better. A sweet melody is the only saviour for this song. It eventually does change track, but in all likelihood, you’re likely to have done so before it.
Cosmonaut – 4/5 – This song is mighty confusing. The guitar and drums make we want to give it a 4/5, but the vocals hold me back. It’s not consistent. The verse is too slow, with annoyingly long gaps between lines, but at the same time, a chorus has a nice lilt.
Pilgrim – 3/5 – Sounds like pleasant drilling at first, but then you realise that there isn’t much else to the song, which can get a bit annoying. I like some of the vocals, but it doesn’t quite cover up for the overall monotony of the song. Strangely enough, the song slows down halfway through.
Eyes Open – 4/5 – This song takes a while to get to the good bits, but once it does, it’s worth the wait. At least for me. I like the bits after 2:50 (the song’s more than 5 minutes long). The song slows down, a piano is introduced, and the vocals sound beautiful. I love that bit.
Back Round – 4/5 – The song just sounds somewhat last century. I don’t know why. I don’t care. After a while, the song is amazing. A good angry listen.
In the Castle – 2/5 – More of a lullaby for more than a minute. If you have the patience you might like the song. I didn’t.
Caroline – 4/5 – I quite like this song. It’s slow, but the vocals and the music blend in quite well. Heavy crashing, similar to Collosal, from Wolfmother.
Phoenix – 3/5 – A slightly pop-ish start, soon gives way to a standard Wolfmother song. It’s sufficiently paced, but doesn’t quite grab my imagination. So it gets a safe 3/5.
Violence of the Sun – 4/5 – A promising start. I liked the intro, because it was a bit quirky. It’s 6 minutes long. I like 6 minute songs only if they’re worth the 6 minutes. This song takes a while, but builds upto a nice crescendo…if you have the patience

Tags: Cosmic Egg, Reviews, Wolfmother

The Hurt Locker

Mar 19

Posted by The Nut in Movies | No Comments

I agree that it’s been a while since this movie has been out. I agree that I’ve bothered to review it after the Academy gave it 6 awards. I agree that I should’ve reviewed it a while back. But it just sort of slipped past my mind.

The Hurt Locker

My Rating : 5/5

Directed by : Kathryn Bigelow
Featuring : Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty

If you want to see a movie that grabs hold of you by the shoulders and rattles you, see The Hurt Locker. This movie, in one word, can be summed up as intense. Very intense. The story revolves around 3 members of the Bravo company, who form the bomb disposal squad – Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). James came in to replace Sergeant Matt Thompson (Guy Pearce), who was killed while trying to defuse an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). The 2 original members of the team try their level best to control their somewhat fearless, bordering on reckless new team leader.

The movie attempts to analyse and portray the psychology of the soldiers fighting in Iraq, and, in my opinion, succeeds. You’ve got James, the reckless bomb disarmer, with a gung-ho attitude; Sanbourne, who’s the real backbone of the entire team, and Eldridge, who is a nervous wreck through most of the movie.

James’ refusal to adhere to protocol, may result in a greater success rate at disarming bombs, and earn him his superiors’ praise, but it does not improve his somewhat strained relations with his teammates. The chemistry between the 3 protagonists is a plus point for the movie. You know Sanborn and Eldridge resent James to a certain extent, and it comes through at several instances. The tension is palpable, and you can feel it, in many scenes.

Also, the movie portrays less of real action. It’s the suspense that’s the real clincher for this movie. The team, inevitable, views anything and everything as a threat, which is not surprising. They are in a hostile environment, with a possible remote detonation imminent, and the natural conclusion is that anyone taking an unhealthy interest in the proceedings is considered a threat.

But the movie is not just about bombs blowing up. There is a particular scene, where one of our protagonists breaks into a house to pursue the killers of an innocent boy, and instead he meets a professor, who he holds at gunpoint, who just tells him:

You are a guest. Please…sit down.

I think this is one of the most important dialogues in the entire movie. It dawns upon him, that he is nothing but a temporary presence in the country. However, once he leaves the country, and returns, he is emotionally scarred. He constantly ponders over the war, the innocent civilians being killed, and eventually makes the decision to return to Iraq, this time for a 1 year stint with Delta company.

The cinematography in the movie really stands out. You’ve got super slow motion cameras to capture stuff like explosions and shells ejecting out of rifles, and that just makes the whole thing even more beautiful and surreal at one and the same time. Although a good amount of the movie is shot on cameras which are hand-held, it just adds to the raw action. While a bomb is being disarmed, the scene is shown from several different angles, including what it must look like to an onlooker, which just adds to the suspense. There isn’t much in terms of score, but what little does exist, blends in perfectly. More of a tension-builder, than a space-filler, really. But it works well.

Kathryn Bigelow does an amazing job of putting the grittiness and challenges of serving in Iraq on the screen. The story throws light on those parts of the war story that aren’t told often. This is a war movie unlike most others. And for that reason along, it deserves credit. Taking a stereotyped subject, and telling the story in a completely fresh way is indeed deserving of an award or two (6 Oscars, 72 wins and another 46 nominations at last count).

But the movie must be taken with a pinch of salt. As many real-life bomb disarming squad members say, no one is really as reckless and stupid as James, and that the movie, in general, is nothing but a big joke. Anyway, my point is that if you haven’t seen this movie already, you must get your hands on a copy immediately. The reason why I gave it a 5/5, is that there is very little that I can find wrong in this movie. That’s how I rate movies. I don’t look for the good stuff, I look for the stuff that might put you off, and frankly, this movie doesn’t have much to offer in that field.

Tags: Hurt Locker, Reviews

Dear Agony : Near Perfect

Feb 28

Posted by The Nut in Music | 2 Comments

Every once in a while, comes along an album so good, you just get hooked. Hooked in the sense, all your ringtones magically change to songs from the album. You listen to it when you wake up in the morning, in the shower, on the move, before you go to bed.

Breaking Benjamin - Dear Agony

My friend, Vinamra a.k.a. Vinch introduced me to the amazing band that is Breaking Benjamin. I’ve listened to their other albums – We Are Not Alone, Saturate and Phobia, and I’ve liked most of the songs.

Dear Agony hooked me, just like that. OK, so it’s been a while since it’s been released, but forgive me for not posting about it earlier. The sound is still quintessentially Breaking Benjamin, but with a fresher, more modern twist. There seems to be a bit less of in-your-face-screaming, and just a bit more of melody, which makes it all the more special. Here’s a breakdown of the song:

Fade Away – 5/5 – A really charged up song, with an amazing start, bridge and over-the-top chorus. Love this song. Will make a video on it one day, for sure.
I Will Not Bow – 4/5 – A slightly slower number, with a forgettable intro, but non the less, still an amazing song. Once you reach the chorus, you realise why the song deserves the rating its got.
Crawl – 4/5 – It’s the slow bits in this song that will really move you, before the pre-chorus jolts you back.
Give Me A Sign – 5/5 – If you forgive the poppy start, you’ll find that this is a really amazing song. Worth every second, from verse to coda (that’s tail)…
Hopeless – 3/5 – Personally, I find this one to be the only weak link in the album. The chorus really gets on my nerves (too much of mutant beings screaming for my liking).
What Lies Beneath – 5/5 – An amazing intro, with amazing lyrics, and a beautiful, slow rising melody, this is possibly my favourite song of the album.
Anthem of the Angels – 3/5 – Another attempt to make a slow yet soulful song, which doesn’t quite strike the chord with me…
Lights Out – 4/5 – Typical Breaking Benjamin, but delivered with such energy, that you just get hooked onto it.
Dear Agony – 4/5 – The song the album’s titled after is always important. After a spirited start, it settles down into a slow rhythm, quite unlike Breaking Benjamin, but an excellent song nevertheless. You’ve probably got a heart of stone if the chorus doesn’t move you.
Into the Nothing – 4/5 – A fast paced number, the intro, verse and chorus just jump from one to the other, never losing the tempo.
Without You – 5/5 – Perfect finish to the album. It’s definitely got the old BB charm of a mix of slow verse with head-banging chorus.

Overall, the album’s an amazing piece of music. Breaking Benjamin is Benjamin Burnley (vocals), Aaron Fink (guitarist), Mark Klepaski (bassist) and Chad Szeliga (drums, previously Jeremy Hummel).

Tags: Breaking Benjamin, Reviews