Monday, September 27, 2010

[57 so far!] Itemizing Bollywood Songs

[Update Oct 14, 2010: 50+ songs now!:] Thanks for the wonderful response folks! Now there are 57 songs in the playlist. Click the link below to open it in a new tab and see the songs. As always, suggestions most welcome :).

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CA07C99ED4161BC3.



[Context: This post is driven by my quest for peppy bollywood playlists to play in the background while I think algorithms and debug code at work]

So, Dabangg (IMDB, IndiaFM, Trailer) is out, and is a bit hit. People I know, however, have had different reactions -- M hated it, A loved it, and most importantly, my mom (and dad) loved it! [wonder what VG of JH thinks :)]

Here's the trailer, for those who are as yet untouched by this movie's PR.



Anyways, mom was talking about how Malaika Arora was awesome in the "Munni" song (first in the playlist below), which got me thinking that although she was good, there have been better item songs in Bollywood. Keeping the sexual innuendo of the dance aside for the moment, I wanted to catalog the best song+dance sequences in terms of their peppiness, and the dancing skills of the performers. So, I asked some friends for help, and the result is the playlist below.

And now, my request for help. Please let me know which songs you would like added to the list.

The Rules:
  1. At least one of the main dancer should have a guest appearance, so all songs of the type of "Tu cheez badi hai mast mast" and "Banke tera jogi" are out (I know, quite a shame. Will do a series about that later).
  2. Please post the song title, movie name, and most importantly, a youtube link (better if HD) in the comments.
  3. Needless to say, the song should be from a Bollywood movie :).

The playlist is embedded below for your listening pleasure. If you cannot see it, or want to see the whole list in one shot, please click this direct link to the playlist (opens in new tab).

So, what do you think? Any suggestions?

Sunday, September 19, 2010

A Sunny Day in Paris

My wonderful friend B is visiting this weekend, and she took the time to help me choose (well, basically choose for me) some new clothes. Another reason buying new clothes became a bit more important that day was because a can of white paint toppled from a construction site and landed right behind where we were walking, causing some minor, but clearly visible, rear splattering!

We also took some goofy pictures in that wonderful weather, which I am posting here for your viewing pleasure. They also serve as before and after pictures for my makeover :).



P.S. Another acquisition that day was my new (s)watch. :)

Monday, September 06, 2010

Resignation Letter Poem Template

Note: This is not for me. I love my job (and have recently been all-but-confirmed for a lifelong position at INRIA), but thought this might be useful for some of you :).

A close friend of mine is in the process of writing a resignation letter, and my comment on the letter included a suggestion that the following poem/verse be included. My friend had the wisdom (or not) of not including it, but maybe you, dear reader, will find the words useful for your next resignation letter :).

Here goes.
For this reason, and no
ulterior motives, I am deciding to
cut all ties with [Company Name Here]. I hope the company soars like a
kite. I will
yearn for
our relationship to be remembered fondly by both of
us.

So, what say?
-A
P.S. For those who did not quite get the context, see this gem by the Governator.