~ Messi & Ronaldo ~

Two contrasting individuals in the world of football. Both play their games differently and compete fairly on pitch while playing for their respective clubs. 

Last month when the documentary on Ronaldo was announced I was surprised to hear from CR7 that he wanted the documentary made. He wanted the world to know about him. After watching the documentary, it appeared narcissistic, massaging his big ego.

He happens to be so jealous of Messi winning Ballon d’Or four times he states, “To see Messi win four in a row was difficult for me. After he won the second and third I thought to myself: ‘I’m not coming here again.'”

This week I stumbled upon Messi's documentary, which happened to have released in 2014. It captures the life of Messi from childhood to international stardom. The numerous videos of Messi filmed during his childhood show how talented he was as a little boy then, till now at FCBarcelona. He definitely found the right home & coach at Barcelona.

Watch both the documentaries & decide yourself who is the better one :)

Just yesterday, Messi made his 500th appearance for FC Barcelona against Real Betis. After scoring a goal last evening he increased his goal tally to 425. No doubts for guessing, he also holds the club’s all-time leading scorer. The game also was historic coz they have 180 goals for this year, bettering Madrid’s milestone of 178 from 2014.

Here is the club's tribute to Messi on his 500th appearance.

#Messi500 by fcbarcelona

~ James Kingston | Don't look down ~

The risks urban climbers take to scale new heights. This documentary by Channel 4 captures the life of, James Kingston, an urban climber from the UK.

If you didn't know, James Kingston did hang atop a crane at Ulsoor Lake, Bangalore last August.

You can watch the Bangalore video here 

~ Amazon's retail revolution ~

This BBC documentary covers how Jeff Bezos built Amazon retailing business, how it works, disrupted the local businesses and how it is investing it's profits into new businesses. It might be making our lives lot more easier at the same time ruining someone's life.

So next time you decide on what you wanna do, support the local business or buy from an online retailing company. Homegrown e-retailing Flipkart is following Amazon's footsteps.

~ Fastfood & Obesity ~

Just another sunny Sunday afternoon lazing at home & changing channels came across this documentary "The men who made us fat" that was being shown on BCC World.

It's a 3 part documentary on how the fast-food giants have made an impact on public health & how young people are consuming more than required food with access to cheap food. The fast-food doesn't really bring in much nutrition rather adds a lot of fat to your body.

US & UK have both experienced obesity due to fast-food chains. It's time we Indians eat some health food & not indulge much in fast-food. As fast-food chains are mushrooming across various cities & towns of India, it's up to the parents to decide what makes a good diet for kids and their health. Hope the adults have enough sense between their ears to decide what to eat.

~ Episode 1 ~

~ Episode 2 ~

~ Episode 3 ~

If you wish to read additional posts related to health.

~ Music & Religion | Part I ~

All religions have embraced music in some form or another for the devotion of God. What one classifies/perceives as God could manifest into another post, so let's not go that way. Not really sure if Islam forbids people from listening or performing music. Sufism, the branch of Islam, has different thought on music. Many of the Sufi musicians perform in way to surrender themselves to God. 

William Dalrymple's "Sufi Soul" takes you into the mystical & musical side of Islam across Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Morocco & India. 

For hundreds of millions of Sufi followers worldwide, music is at the heart of their tradition and a way of getting closer to God. From the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey to the qawwali music of Pakistan, Sufism has produced some of the world's most spectacular music celebrated by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Dalrymple's film traces the shared roots of Christianity and Islam in the Middle East and discovers Sufism to be a peaceful, tolerant and pluralistic bastion against fundamentalism.

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” ― Albert Einstein

~ 50 years of Rock Excess ~

The documentary takes you from the birth of Rock in the 60's till the Nu Age metal of the 21st Century. Covers some of the iconic Rockstars who have reached the epitome of life where nothing was impossible to do & get away.

They truly led an excessive life & some paid with their life. The documentary not only covers the transformation of various rock forms, but also offers glimpse into the lifestyles of these rock bands. 

Hard to believe that none of the current Rock bands come close to producing music of the 60's or 70's. As David Wild puts it, "The way Rock music was toned down in the 90's for it to be more acceptable & marketable to the mainstream; It was Good for the World but Bad for Music".

Nir

Most of the British Iconic Rock bands were covered in the first episode but not all were covered. Also, the Big Four of thrash metal never got a mention. Don't know if there are future episodes that will cover the evolution of Rock into Sub Genres.

Be warned that the Rocumentary has 

~ Dirty Wars ~

We all have come across the popular idiom "All's fair in Love & War". One can relate to it if they have either waged a war or has been in love. I can relate to it as I have experienced the taste of Love and at times you become uncanny to get what you want.

Well this post ain't about Love nor the side-effects of it. Rather it's about War which the United States has waged over last decade in the name of National Security. No doubt every country has it's right to protect citizens and their right to live peacefully. I believe War might not be the ultimate solution for buying security in the long term. The victory might come with a shelf life, as the same War might be creating monsters thereby a vicious cycle that doesn't have an end.

Jermey Scahill, a war journalist who has covered wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and the author of International bestseller "Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army". His investigation journalism into the deaths of many innocent civilians across countries -Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia & other countries, threw light into the operations of US President's elite armed force named JSOC. 

Jermey Scahill's latest book and the film Dirty War gives an insight into the various operations of JSOC across the world and how they operate. 

After watching the film, don't think we will see any large scale war in the future. The JSOC seems to be the likely force that will be used to derive the necessary outcome anywhere in the world. President Obama might seem very liberal unlike his predecessor George W. Bush; but has definitely given JSOC upper hand in getting things done. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing for US and other countries. 

The questions at the end of the film leave you thinking as to what would happen next. The war on terror turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. How does a war like this ever end? And what happens to us when we finally see what's hidden in plain sight?

Reading: Jeremy Scahill: the man exposing the US Dirty War | Jeremy Scahill Profile

~ Back to future ~

The project titled 'Back to Future' started by Argentina photographer Irina Werning is an interesting one. The concept is simple, shoot a portrait of person by recreating the portrait from a past photograph. Take a look at this short documentary to know what I mean ;)

H/T: The Atlantic

~ Leopards: 21st Century Cats ~

The special episode from BBC Natural World provides an insight into how the Leopards & humans are living together in cities & rural areas. Rom Whitaker takes you through various parts of India highlighting the differences in each region related to how Humans live & respond to the Leopards.

After you have seen the documentary one can conclude that in the ever expanding human settlement the Leopards have adapted their lifestyles with the changes to the environment. We Humans have encroached natural habitats & caused major damage to the wild-life and the eco-system.

We are equally responsible for turn the Leopards into man-eaters. Guess what, Mumbai has the highest Leopard presence compared to any other Urban Metropolis on Earth. That's interesting isn't it :)

~ Oil, Nations & Corporations ~

Image courtesy: FIFP

Spent my Sunday evening watching the 4 part series - Secret of Seven Sisters, by Al Jazeera. The documentary showcases how the so called Seven Sisters came into existence to explore and control Black Gold across various continents under different political regimes. 

The pact by Seven Sisters which influences the foreign policies of various nations is not an eye-opener. When many of the recent wars are fought in the pretext of human rights, terrorism, WMDs, etc; but the main reason could be attributed for controlling the stake of oil reserves among - US, UK, France, Russia, China, the UN permanent members to the Security Council. 

The documentary highlights the following about the Oil Corporations:

• How the tribes in the Middle East were fooled by them for many years by paying meagre sum for oil extraction
• How Dictators, Kings, Political Leaders are influenced and used to keep their commercial interests going
• Many of the oppressing regimes have had blessing of the UNSC permanent members which favoured the Oil Corps
• French Oil Corps have a lot of stake in oil exploration in Africa
• They looted many of the African nations until each country began nationalizing their natural resources
• The money never really benefited the people of the land. Rather it helped the Oil Corps get rich & in turn compensated the Kings, Dictators, Political & Militant Leaders for their support
• The ecological habitats have been destroyed in some places by these Oil Corps
• Sanctions over Libya was removed once Gaddafi paid compensation for the Lockerbie bombing of about $2.7 billion. Seriously? Money cannot compensate the loss of people lives here. By paying money made out of oil sales, Gaddafi couldn't alter his karma. He eventually was lynched by his own people during the uprising.
• Saddam was as - friend, enemy, oppressor - over the years of his rule of Iraq by UNSC permanent members
• Even the most recent catastrophe in the Gulf-of-Mexico where BP has a lot to answer

As the now dead Libyan Minister said,"There are no friends or enemies. Everyone has their interests when it comes to dealing with Oil producing nations. It's a win-win situation for everyone".

People might be skeptical of the documentary made by Al Jazeera channel, which is based out of Qatar. I feel majority of the media is controlled these days. On the contrary the programme offers a lot of different views on how the new world order is rising up to take on the Seven Sisters in the 21st century.

India & China would be a major factor as they want to meet the growing needs  of energy for 2 billion people. Both the nations have been warming up to Iran for oil despite the US sanctions in place.

One of the reasons why I like Elon Musk's vision of alternative energy resources & expansion of human settlement beyond Earth.

H/T: Naveen, thanks for the sharing the documentary.

~ Tata Nano ~

It might be the world's cheapest car. But the vision of Ratan Tata, ex-chairman of Tata Group, was to provide an affordable 4 wheeler for many Indian families who were commuting on Indian roads.

NGC's Mega Factories has an episode on the birth of Nano. The hurdles faced during the production were not just limited to engineering alone. It faced hurdle during the commissioning of the factory, where it had to move the entire operations from West Bengal to Gujarat; nearly 2500kms.

The mega factory has 130 robots which operate along with humans to produce about 250,000 cars per year. Quite impressed with the output & modernization of the factory.

~ Finding yourself ~

From George Harrison to the late Steve Jobs, there have been countless Westerners who have been fascinated with India for Spirituality, Music, Mysticism, Gods, Culture, Food or what-ever. The documentary - Indian Gurus by Louis Theroux - highlights the number of Westerners who are living in India at various ashrams and following the Gurus. While Indians are fascinated with worshipping the Gods at Temple, the Westerns seem to be fascinated with these Gurus :P

My need for a Guru would be restricted to guidance & direction and not beyond that. I don't feel the need for so much objectivity & projecting themselves bigger than life, to sell spirituality.  For everything else, you just gotta practice to realize yourself better. Start exploring within.

~ Tesla ~

Tesla Motors, Inc. is a electric company based out of Silicon Valley. The *youngest* car company in the USA, which raises the whole game. Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla Motors, has a very fascinating vision towards the integration of technology towards a greener, economical and cleaner planet {or may be Interplanetary travel & life expansion}. 

I admire his vision and how it is being made into a reality by his group of innovators. They are bringing a massive change towards how the future of Urban Transportation would be in the next 5 years. 

Despite all the coverage Model S has been getting from the mainstream media over the last 3 months - John Broder on NYT, The Verge, Car & Driver, Auto Blog. Elon Musk says that he is not worried about critique or negative feedback, but has a problem with false reviews.

Keeping all that aside, I was amazed at the whole new approach which Telsa Motors undertook to build an electric car. The infrastructure is massive & totally different from the other combustible car manufacturers. While some of the luxury sports cars are hand crafted in European countries, Telsa brings in life-sized Robotic automation to get a car running. The way these Robots are trained by their handlers to achieve the precision output in their operations, across various floors, left me spellbound. 

I will stop talking and let you watch the NGC documentary on Tesla Motors & Model S

Feel harnessing the Solar energy to produce electricity would hold the key in many of the developing countries to make Electric Vehicles a more viable option. In a country like India where scheduled power outages are common  even in the cities, the adoption of EVs can happen only if there is holistic planning & execution by both Government & EV companies.

As of now I cannot afford a car from Telsa Motors, however have been patiently waiting for the latest version of Reva well over an year since it was announced in Delhi Motor Show Jan 2012. From what I read, Mahindra has been waiting for Govt of India's National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 which plans to provision subsidy or benefit for the consumer buying electric vehicles. Googled about it & see that Reva are set to announce something on 18th of March 2013.

I know there would be a lot of opposition & skepticism towards electrical car manufacturer, be it Tesla or Reva. Eventually people will realize the benefits  of an electric vehicle which is more economical & environmental friendly in an urban setup. A Better, Cleaner & Greener is the way to go in the future. 

Reading: Elon Musk - Wired | Youtube Interview | On Reva - Reva | Launch of E20 on Mar 18th | NEMMP Vision | A moment in Sun

Updates 

"I don't know--the whole 'winner of SXSW' thing is really weird this year," says GroupMe cofounder Jared Hecht. "You know what I think is really cool this year? More people are here to listen to Elon Musk talk about sending ships into space, and I think that's just awesome and fundamentally different than coming here to hear about the next big social media app." †

Elon Musk @ SXSW | Why Tesla Motors is betting on Model S

~ The Special One ~

Quite unusual for me to be writing posts on football this week. May be its the season of Champions League fixtures & the Gunners defeat at NLD.

You might like him or hate him, but can't ignore "The Special One" a.k.a José Mourinho. 

1. Has won Leagues cups in four different counties - Portugal, England, Italy & Spain
2. Has won an European Cup
3. Has 21 club titles in a span of 10 years
4. Has won 2 Champions League Cups with two different Clubs from two different nations
5. More honours here

If Real Madrid continues to perform the way they are playing this season's Champions League, am sure they might win the title for 10th time & Jose being the ONLY manager to win the Champions League with 3 different clubs.

He aspires to win the Champions League for an English Club. Am pretty sure that he would one day take control of Manchester United when Sir Alex quits.

Image Source: HDWallpaperBase

Updates

Mourinho headed to MUFC

~ King of Highbury ~

1. The highest goal scorer for ArsenalFC - 226
2. The first English club to beat Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Guess who scored ;)
3. The highest ever goal scorer @ Highbury which will never be broken - 100
4. Winner of PFA Players award twice
5. Winner of FWA of the year thrice

If you still haven't figured out who he is, then he is none other than Thierry Henry.

If you are Gooner or not, but loves the game of football, then do watch this documentary

~ Midway: A butterfly effect ~

As the name suggests, Midway is a an island which is equidistant between Americas & Asia. According to wikipedia,

"Midway Atoll is a critical habitat in the central Pacific Ocean. A number of native species rely on the island which is now home to 67–70% of the world's Laysan Albatross population, and 34–39% of the global Black-footed Albatross." More here.

You must be thinking as to what ticked me to write about Midway & Butterfly effect. The current state of Midway should be an eye opener for all the Humans. We are should be ashamed for the tragedy we have caused for those beautiful birds out there.

Watch the video to know what am referring to. This would be an ideal case for explaining Butterfly effect to anyone.

As citizens of the planet, I hope we have to live responsibly. More so because we RANK higher up the food chain & have come command over every other species known to us. If the above video doesn't suffice, I suggest you to watch the documentary titled Home. I bet you will be shattered to know what we HUMANS have done to our Earth.

{ Click the above image to watch }

~ Saṃsāra ~

Saṃsāra literally meaning "continuous flow", is the repeating cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth (reincarnation) within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, and Yoga. 

Ron Fricke's latest silent narrative is somewhat similar to the literal meaning of Saṃsāra, where we humans over time in a continuous manner have evolved. Saṃsāra captures the  changing eco system, consumerism, automation of many industries, economic disparity, art & religion which is all related to the way we lead our lives in the current era.

A must watch movie or documentary which binds you till the end. Here are some of the visuals from the movie & the trailer.

~ Prancing Horse: Patience, Passion, Performance ~

Yes, you read it right - Patience, Passion, Performance.  Those 3 Ps in the order is what it takes to deliver a Prancing Horse on the road. Actually those three adjectives are related to the people who work at Ferrari factory to produce the ultimate super car.

Loved the documentary on Ferrari by NGC under Ultimate Factories. It's more than a year old, July 2011 to be precise. It documents the various stages of the birth of Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

~ Visual Journey ~

Discovered the documentary 'Baraka' by Mark Magidson & Ron Fricke after watching the trailer of Samsara.

I curious to know how they shoot their documentaries. Don't think their subjects know they are being filmed. The reason I state that is due to the fact, none of the subjects react; they just continue with their chores - be it smoking in a railway station, someone enjoying ice-cream, taking bath, etc.

Most of the sequences are shot as if a camera is suspended in air and self-recording those moments. Watch the documentary 'Baraka' to know what I mean.

~ Guitar ~

Not really sure of what attracts me to this instrument. I have been fascinated with this instrument from a very young age. My maternal uncle used to play it & was used to see it at my grandparents home every time I visited them.

Been lucky to witness some great performances in Bangalore over the years. Now here is a 3 part documentary title Story of the Guitar from BBC. Enjoyed watching Part 1. Now, waiting to watch the remaining 2 parts.

Via Open Culture.
Image Credit: PRLog