(no subject)
Just finished The Da Vinci Code - found it a good fast-paced read that kept me really engaged for 450 odd pages.. It's probably perfect for a longish plane / train journey, a one-evening sort of book.
Dan Brown really isn't the greatest writer around though, his style leaves much to be desired.. Was talking to varshax and Vivek about this last night, it really feels like a made-for-Hollywood script.. To Dan Brown's credit the are some pretty cool and interesting fundas and puzzles. Unfortunately, he also profers some funds that seem more dubious, as well some really elementary puzzles.. I just don't think it would be near as much fun to read the second time around - and I tend to think that's what really separates the great books from the merely good ones ;)
Don't mean to be too critically disparaging of a book that all in all was a fun read, just not one that measures up to the likes of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose..
My latest musical obsession is this album called Kandisa from the very impressive Indian Ocean - the album link has some streaming audio links, worth checking out.. I'd never heard them before - really it was quite a revelation, fusion is a much bandided about and abused musical concept, these guys really sound good together as a band.. There appears to be a lot more to this than the music too - there are songs in here based on everything from ancient Syrian Christian hymns in Aramaic, to traditional folk songs in praise of the river Narmada which they use in a protest song and most importantly it all sounds great..
And finally what better way to wrap up this jumbled post than with an Only In India story?
Dan Brown really isn't the greatest writer around though, his style leaves much to be desired.. Was talking to varshax and Vivek about this last night, it really feels like a made-for-Hollywood script.. To Dan Brown's credit the are some pretty cool and interesting fundas and puzzles. Unfortunately, he also profers some funds that seem more dubious, as well some really elementary puzzles.. I just don't think it would be near as much fun to read the second time around - and I tend to think that's what really separates the great books from the merely good ones ;)
Don't mean to be too critically disparaging of a book that all in all was a fun read, just not one that measures up to the likes of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose..
My latest musical obsession is this album called Kandisa from the very impressive Indian Ocean - the album link has some streaming audio links, worth checking out.. I'd never heard them before - really it was quite a revelation, fusion is a much bandided about and abused musical concept, these guys really sound good together as a band.. There appears to be a lot more to this than the music too - there are songs in here based on everything from ancient Syrian Christian hymns in Aramaic, to traditional folk songs in praise of the river Narmada which they use in a protest song and most importantly it all sounds great..
And finally what better way to wrap up this jumbled post than with an Only In India story?