Underworld Evolution - Soundtrack

Whew!! Back afresh after a 2 month abscence. Hmm..nothing like, 'was busy', 'didn't get time' stuff. There's simply no reason whatsoever. I can't wait for my next review!

Underworld Evolution was not a box office hit, but the film's impressive with hardcore action lovers. Put some slime into it and it caters to a different set of audiences. The part that amazed me was Kate Beckinsale; whom i percieve as an incredibly beautiful actress (WOW!!), did a film such as this. It put her with the likes of Angelina Jolie, as an action superwoman!

Alright then, the OST has a compilation of 16 songs (enough to write a lengthy review!). It opens up with "Puscifier (Renholder Mix)" performed by ' The Undertaker' . I am forewarned that maximum tracks are remixed here, if i go by the track listing. Puscifier is truly an amazing song. The rock guitar makes its sound and the basses take its place. It hits hard. I am impressed!

"Chester Bennington- Morning After (Julien K Remix)" does its best to spread the message of the film (reminds me the ending). Its a fast, racy track that does juistice by sticking to the film's concept. "Hawthorne Heights - When do i Stab Myself in the Ears (The leigion of doom remix)" is impressive as it proves to be true metal. But i found it to be drastically similar to Linkin Park, whom i adore so much.

Another remix in the line, "My Chemical Romance - To the end (RNR Cheryl Mix)" doesn't fit the bill. Thank heavens they changed the title to "To the end". Linkin Park's "In the end" is inevitable. The next track may be suited to the peaceful (hardly any) moments in the film. "Slipknot- Vermillion pt 2 - (bloodstone remix)" is silent and smooth.

"Alkaline Trio - Burn (Alleged remix)" appears next, sticking true to the film. Its a combination of rock, messages and Kate's fight to the finish. "Aiden - the last sunrise (dusk mix)" then again inspires the plot of the film. This track too sounds well.

"Senses Fail - Bite to break skin (legion of doom remix)" doesnt need a mention because it does what i hate; aping my favourite rock band. I choose to skip it. "Atreyu - Her portrait in black" followed by "Trivium - Washing away me in tides" sound fast. They have been misplaced i guess, as i feel they have no place in OST of such film. They suit NFS editions. The next track, "Mendozza - Eternal battle" need not be left out with the previous ones. The intro is impressive and stands out, but it doesn't fit the scheme of the OST of this film.

"Lacuna Coil - Our truth" follows immediately and it impresses quickly too. I am reminded of Evanascence. This track suits Kate perfectly, and describes of her responsiblities and antics. A remarkable choice of track selection. "Gosling - Cat people (Putting out the fire)" is a track that you would love to hear while you are in your car, driving home in the evening. Its a silent and classic rock song.

"Why are you up? - Bobby Gold" follows next, again fitting the plot of the film. Though its not impressive. "Suicide - Meat beat manifesto", follows the same league.

At last, finally the ending track of the compilation, "Halloween 2 - Cradle of Filth", thankfully does not ruin the OST. Its a cool track, with an element of rock. A nice ending, though not perfect.

All in all, Underworld Evolution OST is SIMPLY AMAZING. Its impressive. What impressed me was the director's selection of tracks. Nearly all of theme stay true to the theme. An OST has to carry the spirit of the film with itself, and thats what this OST does. My favourite? well, the opening track. Go on, get yourself rocked and evolve!!

Music Review / Talvin Singh : Anokha - Soundz Of The Asian Underground

The soundtrack of Boom impressed me, and i was prompted to give a try for more of Talvin Singh's albums. "Anokha" was his album released way back in 1997. Talvin Singh is known to be a pioneer of the Asian Undergrounds in the UK, and his fusion music has always managed to create waves in yet unstable world of fusion music. Trilok Gurtu could be an equal to him.

A collection of 12 tracks, the album, as for me, opened up with the immortal "Theme from Bombay"; A.R Rahman's classic. It simply refuses to fade away. Truly, it assists you to visualise the shores of Mumbai. It can never fail. Its truly a benchmark. Orchestra and the flute...oohh la la!

The 2nd track features Amar, with "Heavy Intro". The 'sarangi' is used well and it has a classical midtone touch, with an aalaap encrusted. Though it fails you to proceed to the next track.

Having said that, i still did proceed...how could i abandon my review! TS would have something good up his sleeves! Tracks 3 and 4; "Equal I Equation" and "Shangh High" are just about the same. They're fast paced, racy, and more electro. There are traces of tabla. But that didnt impress me.

Track 5 from Kingsuk Biswas, "K-Ascendent" has mixed tabla. While 6th, Lelonek's "Kizmet" sounds like unreal tournament track. Next comes Osmani Soundz, with "Spiritual Master Key'; which doesn't sound like spiritual at all! It has ample of bass and is mixed like "Shang High".

Till now i am devasted. Its just not TS!

State of Bengal perform back to back with "Chittagong Chill" which pleasantly starts with flute notes and ends in a disaster. "Flight IC408" is another crap song. It starts with announcments and Captain Dasgupta welcomes you aboard further, it continues with Chittagong. I think that flight was meant to land Chittagong. God knows!! Its a rubber!

Now i have lost the count of tracks. Amar comes back (he didnt have enough) along with TS. The same female who crooned in the 2nd track comes back.singing only one line "o mere jaaneja, aankho se door na ho". Till now i am broke.

TS performs featuring Leone. It includes the classic matka, while Leone just doesnt manage an Enigma impersonation.

The final track was, i wont say a saving grace; leave that, it was a massive impressive track. "The Milky bar Kid" is one amazing jugalbandi between a DJ and a tabla player. The tabla is very well given an attention, which it deserves. 

In all, its a big disappointer. I would suggest you to go with the 1st and the last track. The rest of them, you can play in your car as you drive. They dont need much attention! Drive safely!

Review / U2 How to dismantle an atomic bomb.

This is one album that's playing in my mind these days. I was shifted to Pune DLF location, a few weeks ago, and there's absolutely no source of entertainment. What i did, was cleaned up my memory stick and copied this album hurriedly, as i wanted to try out something which i had never set my ears on. It had to be U2.

Apple's products, particuarly iPod has been a fascinating one; afterall thats the product which turned the tables. U2's "Vertigo" was selected to brand the iconic player, of which the proceeds were used for some charitable purposes (Bono does his bit again.) "Vertigo", indeed instantly sets the tempo, and keeps you swinging.

"Miracle Drug", is a silent rock song, with superb, touching lyrics. Excellent keyboard percussion is noted. "Elevation", helps change the mood of the album, once again, matching the standard of "Vertigo". One song, has been particuarly my favourite in this album, is "City of blinding lights", a song which indeed has beautiful meaning. Its my recommendation, for those of you, who haven't heard it, please do.

Other songs such as "A man and a woman", "Crumbs from your table" amongst others have been excellently crooned by Bono. Its definately one of the best rock albums i've recently heard. In all, U2 keeps it legacy. What a rocking performance guys!

Pune v/s Vizag

Now that i've been having a bad impression about Pune is a past, and a thing to be known to all; Vizag was definitely a better place. FYI the photograph to the right taken on 23rd Oct 2007 is the road which is parallel to the Satyam Development Centre in Vizag.

I was intially apprehensive about the city, holding grudges against it due to my incompatiblity of the language. As i left the place, i found it to be having a good environment. Pune sucks big time. It has become a place of ordeal. Its not only increasingly difficult to travel in the traffic; the cost of living has increased manifold. I could easily see a different Pune, from back when i stayed during my BCS years. I saw a different side of Pune while in MCA, as i stayed near Katraj. Now i hear, a lot of buildings have come up. There isnt a single place left to set foot on, and now we could see areas like Wakad and Aundh Annexe to be stagnated in a few years; thanks to the IT Park. One could see the amount of traffic piling up on the Hinjewadi road; a road which leads to the city.

One solid splash of rain shower, makes the city kneel down; the sewage system just not being able to bear the brunt. Back in Vizag, i could not witness heavy rains, just because it doesnt rain much. Summer is absolutly humid; a perfect one for those who have stayed in Mumbai. I never tried my hands on bus travel in Vizag as it used to be loaded with passengers, but i cannot do so here in Pune. But i can say its pretty much the same condition. One could keep standing throughout the journey, as people continually out number the amount of seats. And that applies to just about anytime in the day, including afternoon, where we suppose it to be the laxing time for people sitting in their offices sipping hot tea.

There are so many homes, so many families. And people cram on their vehicles, making way, jetting past the obstacles and get to offices. They work, they sit, they have lunch, the afternoon passes by, just to make way for an evening. Evening as it comes, lures people of returning to their sweet homes, have dinner with loved ones, entertaining themselves with the idiot box; and slowly dim their lamps, to sleep into the dark. Lo! good morning! Here comes the new day, a new adventure or not, remains to be seen!!

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!!

More Notes

About .NET Framework
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework


The Base Class Library (BCL) includes a small subset of the entire class library and is the core set of classes that serve as the basic API of the Common Language Runtime. The classes in mscorlib.dll and some of the classes in System.dll and System.core.dll are considered to be a part of the BCL.

The Framework Class Library (FCL) is a superset of the BCL classes and refers to the entire class library that ships with .NET Framework.[10] It includes an expanded set of libraries, including WinForms, ADO.NET, ASP.NET, Language Integrated Query, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation among others

Difference between Abstract Class and Interfaces

An abstract class is a class that can not be instantiated but that can contain code. An interface only contains method definitions but does not contain any code. With an interface, you need to implement all the methods defined in the interface.
If you have logic that will be the same for all the derived classes, it is best to go for a abstract class in stead of an interface.
You can implement multiple interfaces but only inherit from one class.

Differences between the GridView control and the DataGrid control include:
1.Different custom-paging support.
2.Different event models.

DataReader v/s DataAdapter
Data Reader read only forward only. It's connection oriented. One should explicitly close the connection.
Data Adapter is disconnected. It's acts as a bridge between data set and database.

DataGrid Code
http://www.codersource.net/asp_net_datagrid_part1_azam.html
Grid view control in ASP .Net 2.0
http://www.codersource.net/asp_net_gridviewcontrol.aspx

Garbage Collection
The .NET Framework's garbage collector manages the allocation and release of memory for your application. Each time you use the newoperator to create an object, the runtime allocates memory for the object from the managed heap. As long as address space is available in the managed heap, the runtime continues to allocate space for new objects. However, memory is not infinite. Eventually the garbage collector must perform a collection in order to free some memory. The garbage collector's optimizing engine determines the best time to perform a collection, based upon the allocations being made. When the garbage collector performs a collection, it checks for objects in the managed heap that are no longer being used by the application and performs the necessary operations to reclaim their memory.
This section describes how the garbage collector automatically manages the allocation and release of memory for the managed objects in your application. In addition, it describes the recommended design pattern to use to properly clean up any unmanaged resources that your application creates.

Page Life Cycle
http://blogs.clearscreen.com/dtax/files/aspNET_Page_LifeCycle.jpg

Common Questions Links

For CLR/CTS
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/zw4w595w.aspx (CLR)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2hf02550.aspx (CTS)
For OOPS concepts (does not include abstraction)
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/articles/pfc/oopbasics.asp
For ADO.NET concepts in brief
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ado.net
Abstraction concept: http://forums.msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/csharplanguage/thread/8ad621b8-a915-4d7e-89c3-5dbbc47202fd/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Difference between Overloading and Overriding (http://www.dotnetspider.com/forum/ViewForum.aspx?ForumId=36)
OverLoading :- Method Name remains the same with different signatures.[mostly happens for operators]
Overriding : - Method name and signatures must be same.[mostly for functions]


Marshal Class
Provides a collection of methods for allocating unmanaged memory, copying unmanaged memory blocks, and converting managed to unmanaged types, as well as other miscellaneous methods used when interacting with unmanaged code.

Review / Jay-Z + Linkin Park (Collision Course)

I haven't heard Jay-Z's albums, but have been an ardent fan of Linkin Park. I have found the quality of their rock music, not as grungier than Godsmack. You can enjoy rock as well as listen to it, without much pain. LP's albums like 'Meteora' and 'Hybrid Theory' were highly appreciable. 'Minutes to midnight' was, i suppose their experiment in creating what i call is 'soul rock', something which you'll find in Evanascence's 'Fallen'. I didn't find that enthralling though, as their previous two albums.

With 'Collision Course', i was expecting something innovative from LP, as they've already been doing. Jay-Z has simply cashed in the success of LP's most popular songs, and has his rap act all over the place. Intrestingly, the mixers simply won't give up portions of LP's songs! In each song which the album has, you can easily observe LP overpowering the rap act!

Of the seven songs, i found "Numb/Encore" to be desirable. "What are you waiting for...", the lyrics make the song hippier and heavier. LP's lead singer has always carried out the rap act effectively, only this time its Jay-Z you could see attempting to match that.

Other songs such as "Papercut", "Faint", "In the End" and "Points of authority" lack the punch. At points you would feel it would be better if those songs would've been left untouched. In a nutshell, its a disappointment, if i see in the eyes of my favourite rock band, Linkin Park. Please do not come up with such, in coming times!

Laugh Carefree!!

I got to know an interesting fact, which I would like to share it with you, even if you know it. It takes 57 muscles in our face (facial muscles) to “create” an expression known as laughter. So, when you laugh next time, you better be aware of each and every muscle in that face of yours and give them the credit!! Laughing is such a good expression!
Now I would like to share another fact which I came across somewhere. The wrinkles on your face, most of them; are created by your own expressions! Simply put, the expressions which you come up time and again, or the expression which you repeat the most, creates a pattern of wrinkles on your face and it takes it natural form, to become embedded on your face. So the next time you frown, don’t be surprised to see the 3 layers of folded skin on your forehead prominent!!
Hmmm… well, what are you thinking now? No..no, I’m not studying these expressions and body languages! The first, yes the first expression you’ve given is…mmm..guess!! Yes! It’s crying! So that’s the way of life! But don’t be too good at it!
Now as I said earlier, laughing is such a good expression. Yes it is. But it has its caveats. The thing to keep in mind is the timing. Secondly, we’ve got to realize with whom we’re dealing with! But just see this! Where can you laugh? You laugh when you’re sharing a joke with your friends. You laugh when somebody skids upon a slimy staircase. You laugh when you watch something funny. But the scope of laughing doesn’t end here. Laughing has its semitones. The best form would be a gentle laughter, or a more purified form would be a smile. And strange it is. Laughter we would assume to be always associated with someone else other than ourselves. But the fact is we sometimes should laugh on ourselves, which is easy to say, but difficult to implement. And when do you get to implement such a thing? Of course, when you’re in a difficulty! We batter ourselves with a gentle laugh don’t we? Perhaps the best possible situation to place such laughter would be when you just don’t have a solution to a problem and things just are not in your hands. So whom do we laugh upon? God? Haaahh..!

Summer Vacations

Wonderful song this...Kehneko Jashne Bahaara hain..whatever that means. Hummable, lovey dovey song..err..don't misinterpret me please. I have had it with this blog debut. I remember starting to write my first blog somewhere in Jan my office being the auspicious location ( i admit it). Now whether i was making that attempt during the office hours or not is up to you to decide, well 99 percent it happens so that i go back home on time, so let me make that clear.

So to conclude the above paragraph, i never completed my first blog. It wasn't even a half blog, not even a one fourth of it, as could never measure the volume. Saying that, completes the above paragraph. Now why did i complete the first paragraph in the second one, is a question you should never ask. Whatever you derive the logic of that is up to you.

I am 24 and still enjoying my summer vacations, while my peers back in Pune are toiling hard at work. Ahem..i am not alone, so it doesn't anyway make me different. My colleagues have made it to their respective hometowns after we planned a precarious attempt to escape the humid conditions of Vizag. The plan turned out to be almost fool proof..err..that means for us...not for those who 'monitor' our daily office activities. Now i admit that i am not a studious guy, who would stick my head into books while i am on bench. A quite escape to solace, which adds to more solace. That's how i am in Mumbai as i write; enjoying my "Summer Vacations".

I had a stroll to Pune for a few days..two to be precise and i found my peers (classmates) quite progressive. One's handling the bugs (a strict veggie though), while three of them are occupied in resolving problems. So, that gives me an idea that we freshers are ordained for such stuff. Not that all are into this, few development opportunities arise.

Back in Mumbai, my colony friends are stuck to their jobs. Hence they don't show up much. Now this makes me frustrated. This lead to blogging!
I do write such stuff, but i have come to a conclusion. My best piece of writing has come when i am on a job. That explains why i used to write while i was in college or in school. My mind used to wander when i was supposed to study and concentrate. That made me write some of my experiences and hence it became a small habit, though it never continued for long as my interests subdue as time progresses. It doesn't have to happen always. Writing made me happy, as it was a medium to initiate a discussion and keep it alive. That made my "philosopher" side come into existence!! Enough of that now Mangesh!!

Whoosh..now i suppose that "interest subduing" part comes into actual picture! Time to end my first blog!! He he..thanks for showing patience to read this crap!
Hope to share some really good experiences and furnish the art of blogging...mystyle!

Chow!