Undoubtedly, Jesus Christ is the most influential man ever. He is the central figure of Christianity, the most powerful religion in the world. Wars have been and are still being fought over his teachings. However, as the book states "There is time, and there is what is beyond time. History belongs to time, but truth belongs to what is beyond time". History is the chronicled text which survives the test of time but is history always the same as the truth? Bible is the chronicled story of Jesus Christ but is it the true story of Jesus Christ?

Christ is not a name but a title. Christ is Hebrew for Messiah believed to be the savior of humanity. Jesus of Nazareth was bestowed the title of Christ and over centuries became Jesus Christ. The book separates the man from the messiah by literally creating two different identities. It is an ingenious way to look at the son of God.

"The Good Man Jesus" is an influential, charismatic, extrovert preacher teaching men to take care of fellow men, to follow the commandments, to be good, to be modest, to practice abstinence etc. In the story, Jesus is not all white and his his human flaws. He gets angry with his followers, his family, priests and even with God. He has the power to perform miracles but is reluctant to use them all the time. Above all, he does not give a damn about creating and propogating a religion in the name of God and believes that Kingdom of God will come by itself.

"The Scoundrel Christ" is the shy, introspective side kick who thinks like a messiah while staying in shadow of Jesus. Christ has big ideas about creating a church of God, with majestic temples, huge palaces, a body of believers who act under the authority of one supreme director, a regent of God on earth. Christ fervently believes that this is the way to bring Kingdom of God to earth and tries to convince Jesus. This leads to tensions and issues between brothers with both doing things in their different ways.

The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ is a short rewriting of the story of Jesus Christ and a contribution to Cannongate Myth Series. The author, Philip Pullman (Dark Trilogy), a staunch atheist, has dissected the myth of Jesus Christ and come up with a masterpiece. Thinly veiled insults at the Church like Jesus himself saying I can imagine some philosphical smartarse of a priest in years to come pulling the wool over his poor followers’ eyes: "God’s great absence is, of course, the very sign of his presence", Jesus having doubts over what God wants, the dilemma faced by Christ are the highlights of this thought provoking read.

The book is also a showcase for the power of story telling. History is chronicled text which gets embellished over time and gets further away from the truth without becoming a lie. Hence, Christ the chronicler defines Christianity and not Jesus the preacher. Time has merged the two into a single entity and Philip Pullman tries to separate the two. It is a tragic story of two brothers with one becoming a God even if he doesnt want to because his chronicler brother wanted him to be with a deeply disturbing, poignant end. A must read on religion, God and history.

Pages: 245

Price: Rs 499/- at Landmark

          Rs 389/- at Flipkart.com

Smartphone users can be roughly divided into two categories:

1. Business Users:  Smartphones for this category of users are an extension of the office laptop. Hence, the key functionality for a business user is email support and fast typing. This segment is dominated by RIM’s Blackberry and Nokia business phones.

2. Casual Users: Social networking, browsing, chatting and gaming are the primary uses of a smartphone for this class of users. A casual user looks for ease of use and the wow factor. This segment is dominated by Apple, HTC and Android.

The growth of the smartphone market is being fueled by the casual users. N97 Mini is the second attempt by Nokia to capture casual users and keep pace with its competitors. The importance of smartphone market to Nokia is clear by the fact that N97 Mini was pushed out of door in November 2009 merely 5 months after N97 which received largely mixed reviews and was considered a flop. So is Nokia N97 Mini worth your while? Read on to find out

Review

Looks and Build Quality

Nokia N97 Mini is the typical touchscreen phone with a candy bar looks and with only 3 keys in front for calling, disconnecting a call and for accessing Menu. At first glance, it seems too thick for a smartphone but the thickness is because of the slide-out tray with the QWERTY keyboard. N97 Mini build quality is pure Nokia with a sturdy feel and decent weight (138 grams). N97 Mini radiates the "A fall will not break me" aura that all Nokia phones have.

Rating: ****

User Interface

Post iPhone, the success of a smartphone is determined by its user interface as much as its technical specifications. Nokia N97 Mini has Symbian S60 5th edition as its Operating System which is an adapted version of Symbian OS for touchscreens. Symbian OS was not built for touchscreens and hence, its capabilities are limited when compared to other touchscreen optimized OS like the iPhone OS or Android.  The User Interface is decently fluid and reasonably fast. Nokia N97 Mini can mimic the most used multi touch functions like swipes and drags which will be enough for most users. A major plus for existing Nokia users is the familiar menus, icons and controls.

The home screen allows the user to install widgets which makes it easier for the user to get quick information without opening the application e.g. Facebook widget updates the facebook status on the screen directly without the need to open the application.

Rating: ***

User Input

Touchscreen

Nokia N97 Mini has a resistive touchscreen compared to capacitative touchscreen of iPhone. This limits the responsiveness and multi touch capabilities of N97 Mini but Nokia has done a commendable job of providing a decently fluid user interface. Resistive touchscreen allows the use of stylus which keeps away the annoying finger prints so prominent on used iPhones.

Rating: ***

QWERTY

Touchscreen is one half of the user input mechanism of Nokia N97 Mini. The slide out QWERTY keyboard makes up the other half. The slide out motion of keyboard locks with a reassuring click and the screen automatically tilts at a fixed angle to allow for typing. The keyboard is a 38 key QWERTY including direction keys with decent spacing between the keys. It takes approximately one to two days of typing on the QWERTY keyboard to reach speeds close to laptop keyboard

Rating: ****

Camera

N97 Mini has a 5 MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics and LED flash. There is no lens cover to protect the camera lens. There is a dedicated camera button to activate the camera and camera operations are pretty straight forward. The phone is capable of taking good pictures in well lit conditions and  decent ones in low light conditions. User also has the option to shoot videos at 30 fps. N97 Mini has in-built geo tagging of photos. Also, there is a low-resolution, front facing camera for making video calls over 3G networks.

Rating: ***

Media

N97 Mini has a screen resolution of 360 x 640 pixels and 16:9 aspect ratio which provides a good viewing experience. The angled screen position with the keyboard out provides a good handsfree position for watching videos. N97 comes bundled with the RealPlayer App but does not support DivX and Xvid video formats.

The music player is same as the Nokia N series and supports MP3, AAC, eAAC and WMA formats. There is support for cover art and the interface is intuitive with a draggable timeline. The audio performance is quite good and the bundled earphones are better than most mobiles and even iPod earphones. N97 has a 3.5 mm headphone jack for trying out personal earphones although unless you have a Bose or Sanheiser, it would be better to stick with the bundled earphones.

Rating: ****

Internet and email

N97 Mini is primed for internet usage with onboard Wi-Fi and 3G support. WiFi networks are easy to detect and once set as an access point can be accessed without having to re-enter the password.

Nokia browser is part of the standard package. Standard touch buttons can be used for zooming in and out, scrolling etc. N97 Mini comes preloaded with Facebook, MySpace, Hi5 etc for social networking needs.

N97 Mini includes the basic Nokia email client. However, installing Nokia Messaging is a better option if you plan to use N97 Mini for all your web based email. It supports POP3/IMAP and setting up email account involves just entering the user ID and password. The email client takes care of the rest of the settings. N97 Mini has mail for exchange for corporate email support and hence, business users can use N97 Mini to get their work emails too.

Rating: ****

Calls and SMS

The call quality on N97 Mini is beyond compare. N97 Mini provides excellent call quality with great clarity and brilliant network handling. Calls can be made without using the slide-out QWERTY by using the on-screen touch keypad.

The QWERTY keyboard makes typing SMS a breeze. However, one can type SMS without the keyboard also by using the on-screen keypad or using the decent handwriting recognition.

Rating: *****

Miscellaneous

Battery

N97 Mini includes a 1200 mAh which can provide upto 310 hours of standby and 4 hours of talktime.

Rating: ****

Business Software

N97 Mini comes preloaded with Organizer, Quickoffice document viewing software, Adobe PDF viewer, Active Notes, Calculator and Dictionary. The bundled Quickoffice provides read only capabilities and needs to be updated for document creation capabilities.

Rating: ****

GPS

N97 Mini includes GPS and A-GPS. This combined with Nokia Maps/Google Maps can be used for turn by turn navigation. Also, N97 Mini has an inbuilt compass which modifies the map view to reflect the direction you are moving in.

Rating: *****

Other features include Bluetooth, 8 GB Inbuilt memory, Micro SD Slot supporting upto 16 GB memory, proximity sensor, light meter, accelerometer for auto rotate, compass and micro-USB 2.0.

In a Nutshell

Nokia N97 Mini is a feature packed device and a brilliant smartphone for both business and casual users. It has a decent touchscreen, great QWERTY keyboard, lots of goodies and the most complete set of features in any smartphone. It combines the famed Nokia build quality with a performance to match.  The only limitation is the Symbian S60 5th edition and the resistive touch screen which curtails the user experience a little. However, these will be minor irritants for first time smartphone users. The power-packed features, Nokia durability and the attractive price tag make it the perfect choice for any user looking to purchase a smartphone. Nokia N97 Mini is available for INR 20,300 at Univercell outlets which is less than its major competitors: iPhone (INR 35,500) and Blackberry Storm 2 (INR 30,288).

Rating: ****

July 2008: NVIDIA acknowledges a packaging defect on 8600M GT graphics processor which affects Macbooks and Macbook Pros manufactured between May 2007 and September 2008.  Apple increases warranty of Motherboards with NVIDIA 8600 M GT (including Marvin) to 3 years from date of manufacture. Check out the details on http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

1700 hrs, Jan 3, 2010, Day Zero: Marvin refuses to boot kicking off one of the worst starts to a new year till date. HDD is working, fans are whirring but no video on the screen. I panic and rush Marvin to nearest iMagine store at Forum, Koramangala.  1700/- to take a look at Marvin and 2 days to report back. Anything you want my friend but please get him back to life

Day 2: iMagine- We need 2 more days

Day 4: iMagine- Operating System is corrupt. We need the Operating System DVDs which we said are not required when you gave us Marvin

Day 5: I submit Operating System DVDs to iMagine.

iMagine- Sir, give us 2 hours to install

Me- Going and coming back in Bangalore traffic !! I think I will just loiter around.

2 hours later

iMagine- Sir, we need 2 more hours to install

Me- Screw you, I will collect it tomorrow

Day 6: iMagine- We installed OS, formatted your HDD for the issue and realized that issue is not with OS but with Motherboard. We need 2 more days for analysis

Day 8: iMagine- The Motherboard is screwed up. We need to replace it. It is out of warranty and will cost you Rs 70,000 only. Yeah, we sell a new Macbook for 85,000 and want you to pay Rs 70,000 to replace just MB of your Mac. We are not joking around or anything.

Day 9: I find out about the issue with NVIDIA chipset, do some research, discover that the issues mentioned on Apple’s site are exactly the same as the ones I am facing.

Day 10: I call up iMagine and tell them about the Nvidia issue and also that it is covered under warranty.

Day 12: iMagine- We checked your Motherboard again and guess what, the issue is with whole, complete motherboard and not just the graphics chipset. We can see that your HDD is working, the fans are whirring, the OS is booting as we can hear the Apple startup chime but all these things happen even if the motherboard has gone kaboom. We need to replace your MB and it will cost you Rs 70,000.

Me- What do I look like? A Manager? I am a Computer Engineer and you are trying to take me for a ride on a computer related issue.

Tech Info: If the MB has gone kaboom, the computer will refuse to perform any action. ZERO. There will be no HDD sounds, no OS startup, nothing.

Day 13: I pick up Marvin back. Curse the iMagine staff. Try to educate their engineers and cough up 1700/- for them doing absolutely nothing.

Day 14: I find out about BCT. Another Apple authorized service provider situated in MG Road. I ship Marvin to them and inform them about the suspected issue.

Day 15: BCT- The issue is with NVIDIA chipset. Your MB will be replaced for free. However, the HDD is not working and is damaged. We need to replace the HDD which will cost 5k and will take 2 weeks to change as HDD is not in stock.

Note: HDD was working and booting when Marvin was given to iMagine

Day 30: BCT- We have replaced the HDD, Motherboard and reinstalled the OS. You can come and pick it up. Total charges: 6700/-

It has been almost 20 days since I got back Marvin and I have not faced any issue so far (fingers crossed).

Moral of the Story: iMagine is jazzy and cool looking. Under the hood, they suck when it comes to customer service or technical support. If you own an Apple gadget and face an issue, do not, do not go to iMagine. You will save a lot of dough, avoid unnecessary headache and the feeling of wanting to hurt their staff that comes from listening to their inane arguments. Search around on the internet, find out the exact issue and go to some other authorized service provider (I recommend BCT)  but not iMagine

iPad has been announced and there is a general feeling of disappointment. Apple for the first time in a decade has not met or exceeded expectations.

But lets face it, with the hype around the event, anything short of a tablet which would replace netbooks,laptops,desktops,cell phones,ebook readers,music players,portable media players, digital photo frames, gaming consoles and coffee makers would have been classified as a letdown. Apple lost out to its own hype but then the launch of a its “latest creation” was seriously underwhelming.

Firstly, iPad? Seriously? Slate was taken up by HP and hence, iSlate was out. Maybe Apple wanted to go for a name that was not rumored earlier which cuts out iTablet etc. iPad is not the most awe-inspiring gadget name ever but neither was iPhone. Apple is counting on the product being cool enough to make people look beyond the name.

Secondly, iPad does not bring a new UI paradigm to the table. iPod revolutionized music players with its scroll wheel navigation. iPhone changed the way people interacted with their cell phones because of the multi touch navigation. iPad is more of the same. The fact that there are “75 million users who already use this technology” might actually curtail the sales of iPad.

No multitasking means no chatting while watching the latest episode of Supernaturals. Or working on a spreadsheet while googling for relevant info. However, Apple has not confirmed or denied the absence of multitasking.

No flash support which translates to Apple not giving a damn if your cows, crops etc die out in farmville.

No front facing camera. Hence, no skype video calls on the move or real time pictures for twitter or FB.

No USB. So no mouse or external HDD support. 16 GB space is a seriously limiting factor to iPad doubling up as a video player as it would need regular sync with a laptop to transfer movies and videos.

iPad does come with iBooks, Apple’s foray into eReaders. My personal experience with reading ebooks on a LCD screen has not been that great but Apple’s LCD and multitouch UI could make it work. Kindle for iPhone app will work on iPad unless Amazon pulls it out of app store. Kindle and other ebook readers are facing a very real threat from iPad.

Is iPad a “third category of products” as Mr Jobs claimed? It will not be able to replace netbooks/laptops as primary computers or cell phones as primary tool for communication. Primary users of iPad will be customers of ebook readers as they can use iPad for other tasks when they do not feel like reading. So yes, iPad is indeed a 3rd category of devices as the evolutionary next step to Kindle/Nook.

It is a sleek device with Apple logo at the back, sexy LCD in the front and more of the multitouch UI that people cannot get enough of. Steve Jobs’ guarantee of an experience like none other is good enough to sell millions of devices in the first year itself. But for the 1st time since iPod, Apple seems to have made a mistake. The opportunity to take on Apple and win the war of the tablets is there. There is a 60 day window for competitors to make their case before the iPad becomes available.

Will I get one? Not sure. I have a policy of not buying any 1st generation gadgets to avoid headache and stress. However, I do want an ebook reader with ePub/PDF capabilities. So it is wait and watch for me as more information and hands-on experiences become available.

Disclaimer: I do have a very soft corner for the series. “The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes” was my introduction to English literature around 15 years ago and I was hooked from day zero. Over the years, I have read Sherlock Holmes as many times as I have seen the Matrix i.e. dozens of times. I even visited 221B Baker Street in London (which is Sherlock Holmes museum now) just to get a pic of the iconic address. As an icon, Sherlock Holmes is equal to Batman for me.

Hence, Sherlock Holmes was a movie I was looking forward to in 2010. With Robert Downey Jr playing Holmes and Guy Ritchie at the helm, it was going to be legendary.

Alas, it does not go according to the plan.Neither does it fr Sherlock Holmes in the movie, something that almost never happens in the books. A very physical Sherlock Holmes (RDJ) and Dr Watson (Jude Law) are chasing after Lord Blackwood, a practitioner of dark arts with magical, supernatural powers. Also, Dr Watson is getting engaged leading to strained relations between him and Holmes as Dr Watson will be moving out once he gets married. Holmes gets unexpected assistance from Irene Adler (a delectable Rachel McAdams) who has a vested interest in stopping Lord Blackwood. Lord Blackwood wants world domination,Holmes & Watson obviously want to stop him and Irene Adler appears to want to stop him.

The movie understandably and thankfully steers clear of any original source material but takes too many liberties with the original characters of Sir Doyle. Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is cranky, overtly funny, jealous, lover boy, drunk and too prone to making mistakes.  Doyle’s Holmes is none of these.

RDJ excels as Sherlock Holmes. He is handicapped by the story and direction which require him to be quite different from the books. There are a few welcome additions like the passion he brings to the role, the raw edge but there are too many changes that go against the character of Holmes. The deductions are to the point, delivered with a casual tone and quite engrossing. The wit is there, most notably in his exchanges with Lestrade, the highlight being the dialogue:

Lestrade: In another life, you would have made an excellent criminal

Holmes: And you an excellent policeman

Jude Law makes for an acceptable Watson as the best friend of Holmes. Watson in the book is like a student in awe of the master while the movie has Watson as an active sidekick saving Holmes on more than one occasion. Holmes-Watson team in the movie actually clicks and it is fun at times to see them bicker.

Mark Strong makes a creepy, brooding, charismatic Lord Blackwood and a worthy adversary to Holmes. He pulls out many rabbits from his hat but Holmes deductive logic makes them look like child’s play at the end of it.

Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler provides a feminine edge to the movie. Irene Adler is the only woman to have beaten Holmes, the sole reason behind Holmes respect for the fairer sex and referred always by Holmes as “The Woman”. The movie reduces her to Holmes love interest with an ulterior motive to her actions in helping Holmes.

But the biggest blasphemy is reserved for Professor Moriarty.

Professor Moriarty is to Sherlock what The Joker is to Batman. Moriarty is equal to Holmes in every aspect but a darker version of Holmes.The movie depiction of Moriarty is totally, utterly against the book. Holmes describes Moriarty in “The Final Problem” as- “He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans. But his agents are numerous and splendidly organized. The agent may be caught. In that case money is found for his bail or his detence. But the central power which uses the agent is never caught — never so much as suspected.”

Moriarty in the movie is worse than Moriarty in “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”. That’s about as worse as it can get. Moriarty has less than 15 minutes of screen time but it is enough to defame the greatest adversary of Holmes.

To put it in a nutshell, an actor playing Sherlock Holmes winning Golden Globe for “Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” says it all. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be doing cartwheels in his grave.

Sherlock Holmes does have its minor plus points. The costumes suit the era. London of late 19th century and early 20th century is magnificent with dark colors and a criminal atmosphere. The movie is gripping in parts especially when RDJ is rattling off the logic behind his deductions. The cinematography is top notch and end makes one look forward to the sequel.

Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant movie in its own right and worth watching.  Treat it as Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes and not as Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. There are many pros and the cons will be visible to Sherlock Holmes purists only. The appeal of the movie to die-hard Sherlock Holmes fans is limited because of the changes to the characters in the name of “artistic liberty”. One movie into the series and I already want a series reboot (That’s fashionable right now with Spidey & Superman getting rebooted).  Chris Nolan directing RDJ as Sherlock Holmes seems much more appealing. But then, world would be a better place if all the movies were directed by Chris Nolan.

Junior: You know Gaurav Yadav?

Me: Who the hell is Gaurav Yadav?

Junior: He who plays as Dumbledore in Titans (Titans was the Counter-Strike Clan, Dumbledore was, is and will remain Gaurav Yadav’s game handle)

Me: Ohh yeah.So say that na.Dumbledore toh I knw

Junior: ……

Resolution: I will remember names of people instead of their CS handles

Circa 2008, Bangalore

Courier Guy: I have a credit card delivery on this address for Sandeep Gupta

Me: (Thinking: hmm.I have 3 flatmates.Their names are Lancy,Mukul and Newton) No, there is no Sandeep Gupta here

Courier Guy turns around and goes

Me (having an epiphany): Newton’s parents did not name him Newton.What is his real name? Damn, he is Sandeep Gupta

Me to courier guy (After running 3 staircases): Sorry sorry, Sandeep Gupta is my flatmate

Courier guy: ……

Resolution: I will remember names of people instead of their college nicks

Circa 2009, Bangalore

I am desperate for google wave invite. Found out, a friend on twitter who has a few left. Got his number and called him at 0000 hours (Yes, I am that desperate for google wave).Some chick picks up because I dialed the wrong number

Chick: Hello

Me (at a loss): Ahem, ahem.Who is this?

Chick: Who do you want to talk to?

Me: May I speak to @daaku

Chick: …… and disconnected

Resolution: I will remember names of people instead of their twitter handles

We do not change, only the reasons behind us wanting to change do

The Lost Symbol starts with Robert Langdon accepting a last minute invitation to deliver a lecture on behest of his mentor, Peter Solomon at the Capitol Hill. Of course, nothing is what it seems. Instead of quiet evening ending with a big applause, the symbologist gets involved in more rounds of deciphering cryptic codes under duress, visiting hidden chambers and tunnels, revealing secrets of a hidden cult (whose membership as always includes one of the greatest human minds ever), saving the world by realizing but NOT revealing an earth shattering truth, trying to escape the bad guys with a beautiful woman for company, a trail of dead bodies left by a psychopathic zealot facing death etc etc. It is literally,just another day in the life of Robert Langdon.

Looking at earlier works of Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol is closer to Angels and Demons than Da Vinci Code. The basis of story is ancient, suppressed wisdom and science providing a basis for religious beliefs.This is justified by using the words of great thinkers (“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic- Arthur C Clarke”), common jargon (“mind over matter”), ancient texts and their connection to modern science.The Lost Symbol believes in existence of philosophical and religious beliefs like afterlife, soul, human consciousness, collective consciousness etc and explains them through Noetic Science- a fairly recent phenomenon.

This is where it slips up. His earlier works dealt with an alternate, possible explanation of events e.g. Vinci Code dealt with a different explanation of events in the bible. The Lost Symbol veers into the abstract and loses the reader. It even copies an experiment to calculate the weight of the soul but does not mention that the same experiment concluded that dogs do not have souls.Also,the whole idea of consciousness/God/soul has been discussed with only human species as the focus.

Personally, my first question to someone who tells me “Humans die and go to heaven/hell” is “Where do other species go?” The reply to that question is usually a blank stare or a pitying look.I could not identify with many of the concepts having a scientific basis but as said in the book, people did believe that world is flat. However, it will take more than a work of fiction to convince me.

The key to Dan Brown novels are not the plots but the stories built on those plots- The twists and turns, the “Aha moments” when everything falls in place only for next piece of jigsaw to be more convoluted than earlier ones, the fast narrative including history and symbology lessons, the secrets hidden in plain sight, the art, the architecture etc. The Lost Symbol has all of that but they are not as numerous as in his earlier works. Most of the puzzles and cryptic codes are based on a common, recurring factor being used in different ways which makes them somewhat predictable. Also, there is a role reversal with Robert Langdon playing a skeptic and others, playing believers trying to convince him.This results in fewer words and even fewer memorable monologues from the main character.

The Lost Symbol carries over the biggest flaw from earlier Dan Brown novel- the stretched, lame ending (Seriously, who did not know the answer to the last,most important puzzle in Digital Fortress except the best cryptographers in the world who took pages and pages looking for the answer. Apparently, they knew cryptography but not googling) and leaves the reader feeling foolish, though not in a good way though.

The Lost Symbol has its moments e.g. the lectures of Robert Langdon, initial puzzles, the masonic history etc which make it an interesting read but not a must read. The non-definitive end which will leave many people confused along with many negatives make it not as unputdownable as DaVinci Code. The Lost Symbol is like a movie with an engrossing first half and a tepid, predictable second half with a stretched, open-ended climax.

Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons and Da Vinci Code are some of the most engrossing books around. However, the Lost Symbol is to Dan Brown what Order of the Phoenix is to JK Rowling- Books that were fillers and the reader has to finish instead of hoping for more. Hopefully, future stories of Robert Langdon (Dan Brown recently said there will be 12 in total) will be better.

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Comments:

a.If a psychopath needs some information that only you have, it is advisable not to tell him and outlive your usefulness.Apparently, ancient wisdom missed out on that and hence, characters in the Lost Symbol did too.

b. If ancient texts like Upanishads, Bible etc talk about String Theory, Relativity etc, maybe Neanderthals knew about Unified Theory. Some say it was because of aliens, some say because of God and some say because they were wiser than us. Couldnt it be just that we are reading too much into it?

c. The Solomon Key is a far better name than The Lost Symbol. It becomes a brilliant pun with one of the lead character as Solomon. It would not have affected the story or the end. The reason for this would be a spoiler.

I cannot thank you enough for awarding Nobel Peace Prize to Mr Barack Obama. Now, millions of people worldwide whose ultimate dream is to win the Nobel prize can sleep in peace.In one move, you have taken the shine off the most distinguished award in the the world and brought peace to people.

I have the utmost respect for Mr Barack Obama as a leader, politician, thinker and visionary. However, with his inauguration as the 44th President on Jan 20, 2009, cut-off date for nominations being Feb 1, 2009 and decision on Nobel winners for 2009 taken inside of his first year as the President is something, I doubt, even he would have envisioned.

Clearly, you people did not want to fail in your efforts to give hope to millions.A unanimous decision was taken for his “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between people”.

The will of Mr Alfred Nobel said “….one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses…“.  Now, I might be wrong but this talks about “discoveries made“, “literary work produced” and “done the best work“. Efforts alone do not merit a Nobel, results do. Would you award a physicist for “extraordinary efforts to solve the mysteries of cosmos” or a writer for “extraordinary efforts to create an unmatched work of literature”? I suppose not.

The argument would be “Peace cannot be quantized like results in Physics, Chemistry etc”. Well, true.  But results are for people to see. Nuclear disarmament- In progress, Afghanistan &  Iraq Wars- In progress, Solution for poverty in Africa- In progress etc etc. Has the world become so much safer, so much more secure, so much more peaceful place in the past one year because of Mr Obama?

Nobel prize for peace is the epitome of recognition. If Mr Obama achieves peace throughout the world now, would you give him another Nobel? Most probably you will not as that would be a break from tradition which might force you to look at other issues like no posthumous Nobel or no Nobel for Mathematics.

I always assumed Nobel prize was like the justice system.Deserving candidates might not win but candidates that do not deserve it yet, will not win. I was wrong with that or maybe you know things that the world is not aware of yet.

All said and done, there will be lots of views and counterviews.Personally speaking, I will sleep better from now. Thank you for that.

Shadow of the Colossus (SOTC) defies this trend. SOTC is to games what The Godfather is to books and The Shawshank Redemption is to movies. One doesnt have to be a movie aficionado to fall in love with the story of Andy Dufresne nor a bibliophile to appreciate the inner turmoil of Don Vito Corleone or Michael Corleone. Similarly, one need not be a gamer to enjoy the experience that is Shadow of the Colossus.

Shadow of the Colossus starts simply. Girl is dead, guy wants her back, a supernatural entity asks him to complete a task and warns him that the results maybe dire for him but the girl would be alive again. And like all love struck guys, the guy goes to complete the task. The only hitch is that the task is to kill 16 colossi that inhabit the land. Sounds like just another game? Worse, it sounds like a game with a mushy love story. It isnt.

First of all, no minions to kill. Colossi are the only enemies to face. The only chick in picture is already dead and she is no Lara Croft. The colossi are mostly stone, so no blood. No guns or power ups, the guy has to kill 16 colossi with a sword, a bow and an unlimited supply of arrows. No elaborate button presses, mini games, side quests or fighting styles. As for the attitude, the guy is out to kill 16 colossi for the sake of his dead love. That qualifies him as stupid and not a badass. SOTC does not measure upto any of the established norms of computer games.

Inspite of that, Shadow of the Colossus is one of the best games on PS2 or on any platform. The environments are hauntingly beautiful with almost no living creatures. The soundtrack oscillates between depressingly melancholic and ultimate jubilation. But the biggest factor (literally) are the colossi.

The term colossus was never so apt in gaming. The colossi are seriously massive beasts of stone with most of them not even fitting in the screen. The first colossus inspires awe followed by the realization that one has to kill 16 of them, armed with a sword which is < 1% of their size and arrows that that look like toothpicks on them, which in turn leads to fear and hopelessness (The music keeps pace with these mood changes). Killing the first 2-3 colossi can be frustrating filled with swearing at the game, the developers, the colossi and God (I sincerely hope my neighbours have soundproof doors or their kids will be scarred for life). After getting a hang of the controls and camera angles, killing each colossus is akin to a roller coaster.

The developers have done things differently. The hero has health regeneration i.e. If he is low on health, he can go to what we refer to as his happy place i.e. somewhere away from the colossus to regain his health. The fact that killing a colossus takes about an hour and usually involves lot of platforming. If the player dies midway, or falls during platforming, he has to do it all again makes the player desperate, the process of killing the colossus brings a rush of adrenaline and the last blow to bring down a colossus brings about a sense of triumph unmatched in any game. Acute desperation, adrenaline rush and triumph. These psychological factors have been exploited to the hilt in the game.

There are some negatives too with awkward camera angles and controls topping the list. The end is too abrupt and story feels stupid but well, the hero was warned about the dire consequences.

These shortcomings do not change the fact that Shadow of the Colossus is a must play game. Initially, you will hate yourself for buying it, you will curse the controls and camera angle but at the end of game, you will realize the environments, music and psychological factors make Shadow of the Colossus one of the games which elevate computer gaming to an art . Sounds like a hyperbole? Just download and listen to the OST.