Territorial Musings

Pigs Have Flown

2006-07-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. Syd Barrett

You Will Be Missed

*************************************************************************************
Syd Barrett, founder of Pink Floyd, dies

07/11/2006 12:45 PM, AP
Jill Lawless

Syd Barrett, the troubled Pink Floyd co-founder who spent his last years in reclusive anonymity, has died, the band said Tuesday. He was 60.

A spokeswoman for the band said Barrett died several days ago, but she did not disclose the cause of death. Barrett had suffered from diabetes for years.

The surviving members of Pink Floyd — David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright — said they were "very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death."

"Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire," they said in a statement.

Barrett co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with Waters, Mason and Wright, and wrote many of the band's early songs. The group's jazz-infused rock and drug-laced, multimedia "happenings" made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene. The 1967 album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" — largely written by Barrett, who also played guitar — was a commercial and critical hit.

But Barrett suffered from mental instability, exacerbated by his use of LSD. His behavior grew increasingly erratic, and he left the group in 1968 — five years before the release of Pink Floyd's most popular album, "Dark Side of the Moon" — to be replaced by Gilmour.

Barrett released two solo albums — "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett" — but soon withdrew from the music business altogether. An album of previously unreleased material, "Opel," was issued in 1988.

He reverted to his real name, Roger Barrett, and spent much of the rest of his life living quietly in his hometown of Cambridge, England. Moving into his mother's suburban house, he passed the time painting and tending the garden. His former bandmates made sure Barrett continued to receive royalties from his work with Pink Floyd.

He was a familiar figure to neighbors, often seen cycling or walking to the corner store, but rarely spoke to the fans and journalists who sought him out over the years.

Despite his brief career, Barrett's fragile, wistful songs influenced many musicians, from David Bowie — who covered the Barrett track "See Emily Play" — to the other members of Pink Floyd, who recorded the album "Wish You Were Here" as a tribute to their troubled bandmate.

It contained the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" — "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun." The band also dwelt on themes of mental illness on the albums "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall."

The band spokeswoman said a small, private funeral would be held.

Remember The Day...Part Duex...

2006-06-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

If you still can't remember who it is...
Here is what the person looks like NOW

Remember The Day...

2006-06-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Can you identify this person ?! Think real hard !

Watch Out..!!

2006-03-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

The Master of Oblivion Cometh...Sooner rather than later ;-)

Be VERY Afraid..!

2006-03-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

N.O.T. for the feeble hearted! Put it this way...half an hour of gameplay with the lights out and surround sound can really raise your hair and get you to the edge of your seat!!

The Strogg Have Been Vanquished....

2006-03-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

...By yours truly of course!!

No Ad-Non-Sense

2006-02-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

Please Note...(especially Gyro!)...No Google Ad Non-Sense on this blog..! :-p
I see you gave in to the dark side Gyro..

Tch! Tch! Tch!

Back by popular demand

2006-02-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

Alright people, I'm back. This is a pic from exactly two weeks ago when I went skiing. More details on my life will be coming soon.

Till then...Live.Life.Love (Stolen from Karthik!)

The Graduate

2005-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

As of December 17th 2005!!

well...

2005-11-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well.. the dalai lama was here as well over the last weekend. But did not get the chance to be there in the same arena as him :)
anyhows how is the party scene coming along over there?

!~v~!

Defense!!

2005-11-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

Defended Successfully! It still hasn't sunk in though.

More Later.

About Time For an Update

2005-10-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's about time I updated the blog I guess. It's been an extremely busy month. Traveled to Boston/Worcester for a week, met D and Ash. Came back and hit my thesis hard. Submitted it this monday, 24th Oct (my mom's B'day). Defending on the 4th of Nov!

More after the defense!

Wish me luck!

War Is Outdated : Dalai Lama

2005-09-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

In attendence, among the 36000 people, was one inconspicuous Mr Vittal Balasubramanian

I Was Here

Some Pictures I Took

2005-07-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

Sunshine Through The Trees

Contrasting the young and vibrant with the old and the newborns...

Double Rainbow (Look Closely!)

The Capitol Building (Harrisburg)

Pink

2005-07-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

Pink is well...he didn't stay at the hotel...
A performance I will remember...for a long time to come

Wish you were here....

Two days to go

2005-06-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

Two days to go for the Robert Plant concert! I'm excited! This is going to be a good one. I hope he does some of the Led Zep songs :-D

About some "Men of Guts" and how we treat them

2005-05-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Men of guts

How we treat them

Read on. I feel ashamed to think this happens in India. Is there anything we can do sitting here in the US about such things? I think not. But then I think, is there something we can do about such things were if we back in India? We might not have even heard about it back home. When are we going to mature as a community?

Then again, this did happen in BIHAR. Who's to say any laws hold there?

I had a dream

2005-05-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

A very very strange one at that. I remember every part of the dream, in all it's vividity. I'll just say it involved some people from my past and was highly charged emotionally. Very very strange that I would have such a dream. I think it was sparked off by a conversation I had with a friend about the idea. I know this sounds vague, but that's all I'm going to say.

Time of dream : 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM, May 17th 2005

If you're wondering how I know the time, it was because I woke up, freshened up and went back to bed at 9. Only to wake up at 10 feeling all confused as to what is dream and what is reality.

I just don't think

2005-05-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

I drink good coffee every morning
Comes from a place that's far away
And when I'm done I feel like talking
Without you here there is less to say
I don't want you thinking I'm unhappy
What is closer to the truth
That if I lived till I was 102
I just don't think I'll ever get over you
I'm no longer moved to drink strong whisky
'Cause I shook the hand of time and I knew
That if I lived till I could no longer climb my stairs
I just don't think I'll ever get over you
Your face it dances and it haunts me
Your laughter's still ringing in my ears
I still find pieces of your presence here
Even after all these years
But I don't want you thinking I don't get asked to dinner
'Cause I'm here to say that I sometimes do
Even though I may soon feel the touch of love
I just don't think I'll ever get over you
If I lived till I was 102
I just don't think I'll ever get over you
------Colin Hay (Garden State Soundtrack)

Somewhere, this song touched a cord.

TIGER is out ....

2005-04-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
TIGER is out, one of the most advanced roll-outs of OS' since Windows 95, with over 200 new features :)
anyhows check it out at www.apple.com
check it out and watch out for the next big thing... coming out soon in my life right here :)

!~v

The Last Few Weeks...

2005-04-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

The Maestros At Work...Ghulam Ali and Talat Aziz (Saw them live in concert in New Jersey)
Without a doubt, one of the best concerts I have attended

At The Golden Gate

At Siam Royal, Palo Alto (Stanford), CA

A Room With A View (From my hotel room in San Jose)

With The Cherry Blossoms(On the day of the Cherry Blossom Festival, in Washington DC)

This Day In History

2005-03-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

Eiffel Tower Opens
March 31, 1889
To commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower's designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries, and 200 construction workers.

Relativity
March 31, 1921
Albert Einstein lectures in New York on his new theory of relativity.

Production Code Introduced
March 31, 1930
The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America formally adopt the Production Code on this day in 1930. For the next three decades, the Code imposed strict guidelines on the cinematic treatment of sex, crime, religion, violence, and other controversial subjects.

V-8
March 31, 1932
Ford publicly unveils its V-8 engine....woooohooooo...!

Dalai Lama Begins Exile
March 31, 1959
The Dalai Lama, fleeing the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet, crosses the border into India, where he is granted political asylum.

Patience
March 31, 1989
Guns N' Roses released their single "Patience."

Warsaw Pact Ends
March 31, 1991
After 36 years in existence, the Warsaw Pact-the military alliance between the Soviet Union and its eastern European satellites-comes to an end. The action was yet another sign that the Soviet Union was losing control over its former allies and that the Cold War was falling apart.

Mozilla..!
March 31, 1998
Netscape gives the code base of its browser under an open-source license agreement, thus creating Mozilla Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation to oversee the development of Mozilla.

Gmail
March 31,2004
Google announces Gmail, the first web-based mail service to offer 1 gigabyte of storage.

Birthdays
March 31, 1596 René Descartes, Philosopher (he thought, therefore he was).
March 31, 1943 Christopher Walken, Actor
March 31, 1971 Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor

Last but not the least
March 31, 1980
I Was Born...!

Fuc* "Faulkner"

2005-03-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

Sons of Bitc***, Faulkner Toyota. They've had my car for repairs since Thursday afternoon. First they quote $2600 for a car which cost me $3000, then they say you can pick it up monday morning. When I go, they say it will be ready afternoon, so I go evening, only to find out they left me a message at 4.05, one hour before they close, that I need some stuff done for the state inspection..and I find this only when I have already reached the dealership...so I have to call again tomorrow morning and then the buggers will hopefully get it done by tomorrow evening.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr...........

Red All Over..!

2005-03-22T11:35:00.000-08:00

The Funk Box@Baltimore..The Machine Concert

Ice Skating

2005-03-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

Ice Skating Can be Fun

Ouch

2005-03-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

Slipped on the snow next to my car and hurt my knee :-((
Mommy...!!

sum changes to the look

2005-02-16T22:55:00.000-08:00

I am making changes to the blog of mine
more input appreciated.....
cheerio

~v

vivekgera on blogger....oooooohhhhh

2005-01-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hey did you hear the latest vivek gera has his own blog... we must go there and post :)
ha ha ha ha..
btw vits u can curse me a lot, of that i am sure.
:)
cheerio
~v

Philly

2004-11-12T23:05:00.000-08:00

In Philly, having fun, partying out, wasting time which could be used to do constructive work, introspecting, listening to good music, Jazz concert at the Kimmel center, The Machine concert at The Funk Box, few heart to hearts, life could'nt be more funny right now.

Amidst all the fun I am having, I can't help but feel this emptiness inside for the lack of something. A goal ? A destination ? A direction ? Something else ? I don't know what I'm looking for here. Sometimes I feel like a jerk stuck in a world where you have to put a happy smiling face to every emotion that you feel inside. Love, hate, stress, pain, desire, need, elation, uncertainty, despair....the list just goes on and on. You can tell I'm not too great with words.

Despite all this, life has been great so far and I hope it carries on at least in the same vein if not better :-)

Whims and vagaries of my stressed out mind

2004-11-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

It won't let me concentrate on "any" thing whatsoever. Since 5.40 AM in the morning, I have been up and down the alley of uncertainty. Yesterday, when I got a call from main campus, it seemed like the whole world was conspiring against me and trying to push me into oblivion forever. Since the call yesterday, I've been sitting with an empty mind. Every attempt that I make at thinking of something other than the contents of the call, are promptly shot down by the ever-so-alert-to-distraction-from-the-main-concern-right-now mind. Eventually, the whole of it boils down to this. Since I got up, I have been thinking of nothing but *that*. I have made attempts, honest attempts at trying to think of something else but EVERY SINGLE attempt has come undone.

Life, for the day, has come to a standstill. I have known since yesterday that I have to meet my advisor at 2.30 for a very important call. It is 2.23 right now and I hav enot yet had a bath and I don't know when I will go meet him.

(Nov 2)
*******************************************************************************************

Hey as it turns out, I did eventually go and meet my advisor on time no less..! and subsequently, things seem to be falling into place though there is still a lot more to be done. But at least my mind is not such a wonderfull mess of wandering thoughts (actually come to think of it, that's how it is all the time anyway :-D ). I do feel a whole lot better about *that* for now.
(Nov 7)

Let your dim light shine..

2004-10-30T01:28:00.000-07:00

And lead my path..

Coz I know not where to go,
And I know not what to do.

There are doubts,
And there are doubts,
But then there are doubts,
And there are more doubts.

Doubts about what, I know not,
Or maybe I can just say not,
And life still goes on,
With or without.

( Result of a mind wandering and wavering at 4.30 AM in the morning when it should be in never-never-land maybe with peter pan...just dreaming. )

Coming Back To Life ?

2004-10-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

Where were you when I was burned and broken
While the days slipped by from my window watching
Where were you when I was hurt and helpless
Because the things you say and the things you do surround me
While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words
Dying to believe in what you heard
I was staring straight into the shining sun

Lost in thought and lost in time
While the seeds of lifeand the seeds of change were planted
Outside the rain fell dark and slow
While I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime
I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the moment had arrived
For killing the past and coming back to life

I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the waiting had begun
And headed straight..into the shining sun (---Pink Floyd)

Yes I'm headed straight..into the shining sun (---Vittal)

Ramblings of a vagrant mind

2004-10-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

What's the story morning glory?
Don't throw away your basic needs...Ambience and Vanity
Go brush your teeth
Well I swear that I don't have a gun
All Apologies
I don't have a mind
Welcome to the machine
We will never be one
Show me the money
Did I put you through any pain ?
Take me to the otherside
1/cos c
You're fallin out of reach
I can read you mind....or can I..
Explore the fish in the pond..!
Sach kate ya bate to sach na rahe...jhooth ki koi imtehaan hi nahi
See Emily Play
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
While You were wasting your time on your enemies...
I know you're out there
Somewhere out there
You know you're right
Moonlight shadows...
There's someone in my head but it's not me
I hate trash
Simulations, Simulations and more Simulations...!
Once, Just Once, Say...

Hey I Didn't Realize I Put An Audio Post On This Date..!

2004-10-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

Another Weekend Another Trip..!

2004-09-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

Yep. It's been a long time since I wrote something on this blog. The last seven weeks or so have been terrific. It's no coincidence that I bought my car seven weeks ago too. Gone were the days when I had to wake up a good friend to take me to work everyday. I do owe him a big thanks for doing this for me, even though I paid him for it. Not many would wake up at 7 in the morning and take you to work now would they? Especially when they themselves are not going to that place for work.

Welcome my friend, welcome to the machine. (Adapted from Floyd...Who else)

My machine has been at the receiving end of quiet a few miles of the road at my hand or rather my feet to be precise. In the last 7 weeks, it has taken me over 4500 miles. From New York to New Jersey to Philadelphia to Washington to Arlington to Maryland and even to Sandusky(Ohio). Yes I know, it seems like I've been out every single weekend since I got it. Well that's true but for one weekend when I decided to give "old faithful" a little rest. And rest she did. Not forever though :-)

Lets see what I did each of those weekends. New Jersey was the first trip I made after I got (what shall I call it/him/her) my machine. That was to meet an old friend from college who was near Jersey visiting her sister. I stayed over at their place. We went to see a movie and had a good time. Next morning, I left after breakfast and got back home. The weekend after, I went to Philly to my uncle's place.

*******************************************************************************

And the rest I did not bother to complete...

hi from gyro

2004-08-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

hi there all,.
so am finally writing to ur blog eh vittal.
anyways this place is bludy slow as it is
cheers
and enjoy life

Nathuram's self-prepared defense in the court

2004-08-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Nathuram's self-prepared defense in the court - Interesting Read

My Ride (Front View)

2004-07-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

My New Car..!

My Ride (Top View)

2004-07-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

My New Car...!

Car and Ride

2004-07-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Got License ??

2004-07-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

Umm...?? What ??

2004-07-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Photo

2004-07-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Photo

This was taken way back in Undergrad around the year 2000. From Right to left: Amit, Aparna, Vivek, Charu, Aman and Lastly Me :-)

Raindrop on roses...

2004-07-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

And whiskers on kittens,
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
Brown paper packages tied up with strings,
These are a few of my favourite things....

But I don't get to see them too often now do I. It has been "that" kind of a day. Not much happened today as against happening today since it is 10.21 PM right now at this instant of time. I'm sitting around at home on a saturday night listening to "The four seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi. The music is good. Just finished doing some chores at home like folding the clothes and putting them back inside after they had a good day in the sun. Cleaning of the restroom with bleach. Having "something" for dinner. I say "something" since there isn't much to go around at home. We havn't been shopping for almost 2 weeks and things have almost run out. We better get to the market and fast. This time around though, I think I am going to let people take a lead in arranging a trip to the market. I've been doing it for long enough now and it's time people do it more often at home. It dosen't have to be me everytime. Not that others havn't ever done it, but just that they've done it so few times I can count it at the tips of my fingers probably.

That apart, spend the day today pretty much just lolling about doing just about nothing whatsoever. Went to the bank in the morning to deposit my first paycheck from the internship. Followed that up with a visit to the library to pick up a book I had requested and had just come in. I didn't even bother to open the book once since I got home. Just goes to further underline the amount of laziness that this day has generated. I doubt tomorrow is going to be any different. With Sean's birthday being tomorrow, I still havn't thought of any gift for him. I don't want to give him the regular "cigar" or "bottle 'o wine". Something that stands out. Maybe one of the handicrafts I got with me when I came back from India. Maybe something else. I'll think about it. As for now, I'm just gonna go hit the sack. Why not just take advantage of the fact that it was a lazy day and just go to sleep. Might as well try and make the best use of a lazy day I say :-D

First Internship Pay

2004-07-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

Clockwork

2004-07-10T02:48:00.000-07:00

Sitting here, just watching the arms of the clock move around,
I wonder what the future holds for me.

There are so many possible directions my life can take from here. With regards to work, studies, friends, travel, leisure and most of all, my loved ones. True, I do miss home a lot even if I do not show it or even if I do not call home ever so often. Listening to some music from the gift CD set "The Gang" gave me on my birthday 4 hrs ago, I couldn't help but drift back in time a few years and remember the days bygone, friends lost touch with, opportunities coming and going, work, and of course, "The Gang".

That just gave rise to a bout of nostalgia in itself. The last 1 hour ( between the last paragraph and this one) was spent looking at old photographs from college days, from the two trips to vaishno devi, from the days of our farewell in college, from the days spent loitering around campus looking for "Photo Ops". Those were some happy days of my life. These are some happy days of my life too. Memories of time well spent. Memories of things well done and accomplished. Memories of friends. But memories are just that. Memories. The moment you start living on memories, you've lost the battle. Live for the moment. Derive STRENGTH from the memories and from knowing that eveny moment well spent will give you memories worth remembering. So don't waste this moment that you are in right now. Live life to the fullest. Make the best of it and you will die a happy man :-)

To Car Or Not To Car...That Is The Question...!!

2004-07-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

More Musings

2004-07-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

Saw car Ad, went and saw car, said will call. Like car, may buy. Driving test in 2 days. Need to pass. Hope car is right decision. Lot of money. Wanna pay back loan too. God help me.

Presentation at work on friday. Need to set up meeting. Need to get presentation/material ready for that. Need to have background info ready and understood. Understand and prepare well boy. This is your first "presentation" here.

Star Log 07042004

2004-07-05T00:10:00.000-07:00

Just In Case

2004-07-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

Just in case you are wondering about the morbid nature of these last few posts, don't bother. It's just something that came across my mind and hence I penned it down, even if without a pen as such.

I've been listening to this song for quiet some time now. I don't know what it is about the song that attracts me. It is wierd to say the least. But I still continue to listen to it as I am writing here.

It's not like I've had a bad week. It's not like I'm under too much pressure at work. It's not like I'm not doing well in school. It's not like I have issues with arranging my finances. It's not like I'm not having fun. In fact I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 today. Pretty strong documentary. I can if I was not having fun. Heck I even drove back in Ezra's car today from office. Despite all that work done in a day, I still feel the lack of something. A lack of the sense of achievement. Maybe I need to take a real break and go to the wilderness and spend some time alone there. Just go into the wilderness and sitting back and just lying around doing nothing for some timewith the sun shining through the tree leaves...wow...I can already imagine it...:-)

No One Knows What It's Like

2004-07-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks for this lovely song guys...I'm gonna be listening to it for the next few days without a break for sure...!!

No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes

No one knows what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies

But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free

No one knows what it's like
To feel these feelings
Like I do
And I blame you

No one bites back as hard
On their anger
None of my pain and woe
Can show through

But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free

When my fist clenches, crack it open
Before I use it and lose my cool
When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool

If I swallow anything evil
Put your finger down my throat
If I shiver, please give me a blanket
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat

No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes

- The Who

First Audio Post

2004-07-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like my only friend

2004-07-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

Is the city I live in, the city of Angels
Lonely as I am, together we cry

Thanks RHCP...:-)

Sometimes I Feel Like I Don't Have A Reason

2004-06-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

...............