Putu the Cat

Cat Haiku

The mighty hunter
Returns with gifts of plump birds --
your foot just squashed one.

More here.

Snakehead terror

from this fabulous blog, which really deserves more attention. oh well, blogger buzz has found it so it's probably getting many many hits. still we like to do our part.

On love triangles and technology

In the good old days, there were machines to help you signal your jealousy, especially when your man-of-steel made out with other women in front of you.

But then, sometimes you realised that your competition had far superior technology which she was using to cut you out of the game.

Undeterred, you could always turn to your trusty time-travel machine to set things the way they should be.

Ah, for the good old days.

Arsehole

The Times classifies all comic book readers as misogynistic, frustrated, perverted geeks with body odour.

Putu says "Up yours"

These gentlemen also point out why the Times has no clue what its saying.

Evergreen Pinewood?

Pinewood Studios of Britain approaches bankruptcy in spite of HHGG and Batman Begins. This puts many productions in jeopardy, including the Bond franchise, Tombraider 3 (Thank God!), and worst of all - Watchmen.

Putu hears that Paramount is moving Watchmen to an Austrian studio, following in the heels of Harry Potter. One hopes this is true.

Daak (the Post) on Chalachitra (the Movie)

Putu was much amused by seeing what Jabberwock had to say about English transalations of Hindi movie titles.

This got Putu thinking about the recent trend of Hindi movie producers, of tacking on the English transalation of a Hindi title to the and of the title itself, like a reduntant subtitle. Some classic examples.

Ehsaas - the Feeling (2001)
Angaar - the Fire (2002)
Ghaav - the Wound (2002)
Shakti - the Power (2002)
Dhund - the Fog (2003)
Jaal - the Trap (2003)
Khanjar - the Knife (2003)
Mudda - the Issue (2003)
Sannata - the Silence (2003)
Hatya - the Murder (2004)
Insaaf - the Justice (2004)
Shart - the Challenge (2004)
Vajra - the Weapon (2004)

Then there were the slightly smarter ones who added a single adjective in the subtitle

Nayak - the Real Hero (2001)
Sur - the Melody of Life (2002)
Ansh - the Deadly Part (2002)
Talaash - the Hunt Begins (2003)
Dukaan - the Body Shop (2004)
Intequam - the Perfect Game (2004)
Garv - Pride and Honour (2004)
Wajahh - a Reason to Kill (2004)

...or a few more

Bazaar - Market of Love, Lust and Desire (2004)

In some cases, the explanatory word was in the same language

Encounter - the Killing (2002)
Bawaal - the Panga (2004)

And in some, the subtitle was completely at odds with the main title

Baaz - a Bird in Danger (2003) - (For the Hindi-challenged, a Baaz is a raptor and its prey is likelier to be in danger)
Tarzan - the Wonder Car (2004)

But the all time classic has to be

Daag - the Fire (1999)

And it doesn't end - wait for "Mazhab - the Religion" in the Nazdeeq Bhavishya - the Near Future.

More lists

Putu will also do a little write up on the 10 greatest comic book authors, one at a time. Here is Putu's list, in order.

10. Joss Whedon
9. Warren Ellis
8. Brian Bendis
7. Mark Millar
6. Grant Morrison
5. Bill Willigham
4. Frank Miller
3. Brian K. Vaughn
2. Neil Gaiman
1. Alan Moore

Awards

Its award time in comicdom, so Putu decides to institute a whole new set of them. So (drumroll), here are Putu's choices.

Enid Blyton award for best school comic - New X-Men: Academy X (De Filippis, Weir)

Louisa May Alcott award for best all-women comic - Birds of Prey (Simone)

P. G. Wodehouse award for best humourous comic - I can't believe its not the Justice League (De Matteis, Giffen)

Michael Moore award for best political comic - The Ultimates (Ellis)

Picasso award for best illlustrated comic - Phoenix:Endsong (Land)

Mani Ratnam award for most overhyped comic - Countdown to Infinite Crisis (Rucka, Johns)

On Bullshit

Go read.

Ramu G versus everyone else

Ramachandra Guha is in a particularly angry mood. First, he was irritated at JNU students and JNU professors for the hypocrisy of their politics. Recounting his experience at arguably India's premier post graduate institution he says:

"I then asked who the previous speaker was. They named a Marxist economist. And what did she speak on, I enquired. On how multinational outfits such as this one should not be allowed to contaminate the purity of the JNU campus.

I reeled back in shock. The surprise was occasioned in part by the triviality of the topic chosen by my predecessor. I was speaking on “The Contribution of the Congress Party to the Nurturing and Degrading of India’s Democracy”, and I had thought that those who had come before me had spoken on similarly grave — not to say boring — subjects. But the surprise was also caused by the topic being so much at odds with the speaker’s own biography. “Why does your professor oppose this Nescafé outlet?” I asked. “Because she feels we should encourage indigenous initiatives,” they answered. “Do you know where her own doctoral degree is from?” I asked. They didn’t know, so I supplied the answer — the University of Cambridge. “When you next meet your professor,” I said sarcastically, “ask her one question on my behalf — when she travels by plane to international meetings, does she carry a south Indian filter and Coorg coffee powder with her, or does she quietly drink the beverage offered her on the flight?”"

The JNU lot were quick to respond on their blog no less- " It is very clear from his article that his knowledge about the campaign is based solely on some conversation he had with his “wholly non-political” friends. Well, it is a shame that someone like Mr. Guha who claims to be a ‘historian’ depends solely on a conversation to write his thesis, especially in a public newspaper, thus misinforming the larger public. When an ‘academic’ like him writes for a public, it is not enough that he knows how to write good English but he also needs to convey reliable information. May be he should come back to the University and once again get familiar with his ‘academic’ skills.

And now Ramu G has hit out at the Great Man himself- Edward Said. In a recent editorial for the Calcutta Telegraph he writes that Said was a good scholar, not a great one. "It is always hard to anticipate the verdict of posterity. Still, it seems clear that Edward Said was fortunate in working where and when he did, in being a powerful professor in the American academy when that academy was becoming more multicultural and multinational than ever before. I think that time will show that his reputation at its peak was probably undeserved. Said was a very fine scholar, but not a great one. Orientalism was a useful polemic, not an enduring work of scholarship. And postcolonial theory is an intellectual dead-end. "

As evidence he suggests that Said's work in Orientalism could lead to a form of Occidentalism, a critique that he says is 'little-known'- rather surprising, given that this is the chief critique of his work. He also then argues that Said's work has been open to misinterpretation by those who followed him, and that he was lucky to have been part of academia. How either detracts from Said's work, or his main thesis, or in fact his excellent analyses of the Middle East, Guha does not elaborate.

Last time it was Willy D, then it was the JNU jholawallahs...but this time Ramu G may have bitten off just a bit more than he can chew.

Bengalis think Mao is a cat

Putu hasn't had much time to do the book round up thingie. But the spring thaw has arrived, it's time to emerge from under that blanket (thanks to You Know Who for sending it over) and tell you about what I've been reading through the winter. Well, when the cold really set in, I couldn't look any further than what you snobs call 'chick-lit' and what we, hoi-polloi that we are, prefer to call, 'candy fluff'. But the Guardian upbraids us all and suggests that in fact I may even have been engaged in serious literary pursuits under that blanket. Putu's also managed to find time to read Orhan Pamuk and Nick Hornby's latest offerings. Judgement shall be offered in a later post. Enough to say for the moment that Putu likie one, and not likie the other. In order for Putu to have an inspiring 2005, Putu read some of those 'pick me up' biographies. The one of Paul Farmer just left Putu feeling slightly desperate and not very cheered at all. But then Putu turned to some medical fiction and was appalled by the rubbish that is My Sister's Keeper. Really, what passes for best-selling fiction in Yankeeland is disturbing. No 13 year old ever talks like that....and the end is too contrived for Putu to purr. Putu is hoping to read The Time Traveller's Wife, Small Island and Cloud Atlas before the summer hits. All donations to the Putu Poyesha for Porashona will be most welcome...

And P.S. the title has nothing to do with the post. Bleaaaaggghhhh.

Old is gold

Putu believes that they always did it better in the good old days. Especially with comic books. Look at the following mix of romance, intrigue, music and superheroics from the 1950's.

Say you want chicklit...

Step aside Helen Fielding, Candace Bushnell, and all you other pretenders. The real queen of chicklit is the eminently capable Gail Simone, who is currently the brains behind DC's delightful 'Birds of Prey' series. Bringing a woman's touch to a very male industry, Simone has managed to pull off a successful superhero comic with an all-female cast. What stands out is not the action (which is good), or the cheesecake art (Drool!), but the elements of girl-bonding that the characters regularly indulge in, in between wiping the floor with a long list of (mostly male) supervillains. Putu thinks it should be renamed Sex (plenty of that), Violence and the (Gotham) City.

Here's a heads-up to the cast of this fantastic book.

Oracle: Barbara Gordon. Redhead. Glasses. Brainy as hell, but confined to a wheelchair. Used to be Batgirl, but was shot by a homicidal maniac which ended her career. Always the strong one, she conducts all operations and is the ultimate information source. The only man in her life was her adoptive father, James Gordon, until she recently started a relationship with the younger Nightwing, who she's known for over a decade. But Nightwing's recent guilt issues have made her push him away.

Black Canary: Dinah Lance. Bleached Blonde. Black leather and fishnets. The most mature of the lot, and by far the best fighter. Is a trained ninja but too ethical to kill. Dresses trashily just for the effect. Was down on her luck until Oracle asked her to join the team. Daughter of the original Black Canary, and is very much like her mother, except for the fact that her mother had a long and happy marriage - something that Dinah tries hard to live down. Dinah was married young and divorced within a year. She then had a long relationship with the much older millionaire playboy, Green Arrow, but it never lasts, mainly because he insists on protecting her, and she rightly thinks that she can take care of herself. Every time they break up, she has yet another disastrous relationship with some random guy, including one with Green Arrow's son.

Huntress: Helena Bertilleni. Brunette. Badass. Slut. Dresses in the skimpiest possible outfits, even though it leaves her vulnerable to attack. Daughter of a crime boss, who was gunned down in front of her eyes. This turned her into a vengeful woman with serious attitude, leading to many showdowns with the biggest gun of all - Batman. Is also a trained fighter, but far more ruthless. Will sleep with just about anybody. Her conquests include Nightwing and Arsenal, who is like a younger brother to Canary, thus making it difficult for them to accept her at first. However, her dependability and belief in justice have made the three of them best of friends.

Lady Blackhawk: Newest member of the team. Pilot. Feminist. War Hero. Was the only woman in a special team of agents assembled to fight the Nazis in a more unequal age. Surpisingly has managed to fit in well with a bunch of much younger girls, and can hold her own against any of them, but prefers to sit back and let them do the fighting.

And the Supporting Cast

Batgirl: Cassandra Cain. Daughter of a trained assassin. Knew only the language of violence until Barbara helped her out. Speaks very little or not at all. Is usually with Batman, but is always on call.

Nightwing: Dick Grayson. Mr. Right. Batman's protege. Moved out of Gotham to make it on his own in Bludhaven. Had a relationship with old friend Oracle, but has recently been under stress thanks to his guilt after a one-night stand with Huntress, and attraction to Tarantula.

Power Girl: The first of Oracle's team. Relations with Oracle now strained after a disastrous mission.

Catwoman: THE most dangerous woman in Gotham. Does her own thing always. Occasionally helps out, but has been known to indulge in not-entirely-legal activities. Her special relationship with Batman makes her off-limits.

Wildcat: Everybody's favourite uncle. Taught canary a thing or two. Always on call.

Blue Beetle: Ted Kord. Millionaire. Nice guy. Has a huge crush on Oracle, but has never told her, though everyone knows. Oracle isn't averse to flirting with him, though.

Batman: The big daddy. Runs the show. Superhero, but complete jerk. Thinks Canary isn't good enough, and Huntress is a cheap slut. Tells them that often. They tolerate him because he is THE BATMAN.

Pick this one up NOW, if you haven't - especially you ladies. Putu realises how the T&A could fool you into thinking its for fanboys, but Putu, being gender-neutral, finds that the stories have a solid feminine touch. But then, Putu has always had a thing for birds.

treacle tart with fatty and moonface

since putu is feeling nostalgic for golden days of unjaded kittenhood. (since putu is also feeling rather cummings-y, there will be no capital letters), since putu is also, evidently, in listmaking mood and not feeling like catnap just yet. you lucky, lucky people. behold.

the best enid blyton books in no particular order

six cousins at mistletoe farm
the children at green meadows
the treasure hunters
those dreadful children
the mystery of the missing necklace
the folk of the faraway tree
hurrah for the circus
fifth formers at st clares
the family at red roofs

putu refuses to put any of those dreadful noddy books or the famous five. putu once tried to teeth on famous five but it gave putu indigestion. plus they had a dog. so did the five find-outers technically, but that dog wasn't so annoying.

and since putu is feeling rather generous, more stuff about blyton here, here (though technically not a link about blyton just a reminder of how uninformed humans can be) and a nice radio interview with bbc four (which putu has not checked out but it looks like fun anyway).

Master of Magnetism, Ruler of the Savage Land, Leader of Oppressed Mutants, King of... Spain??

Marvel's upcoming mega-event 'House of M' has everyone in a tizzy, including his royal highness, Juan Carlos.

The preview for the Pulse: House of M edition, to be released in July, had the following cover picture drawn by Mike Mayhew.

And here is a photograph taken of the King of Spain by Alberto Schommer

Coincidence? Putu thinks not. So does this mean Genosha=Madrid? And it adds whole new meaning to

"The King of Spain's daughter came to visit me,
and all for the sake of my little nut tree"

The ratings war

Putu is deeply distressed at falling blog traffic. Something must be done about it!

The obvious solution hits Putu like a 200-calorie cheesecake. The blog needs to appeal to the masses. So Putu decides to introduce some T&A appeal.

So here is - Babe of the Week (predictable, but it works)

This is Power Girl. She used to be Supergirl, but then someone else took that mantle. Annoyed, she changed her costume and tore a hole in it just so her cleavage became visible. How this helped is as yet unclear.

When Wally Wood initially wrote her character, he drew her chest slightly larger in each story. At some point, they caught on, but by then she was already a 44D. Nobody bothered reducing it thereafter.

Currently she is a member of the JSA and nobody is entirely clear as to where she came from, especially now that there is ANOTHER Supegirl.

She is aggressive and an avowed feminist. She regularly knocks out supervillains for staring at her chest. This has forced DC to only make her fight gay supervillains.

Bated breath

Filming begins today on the movie version of V for Vendetta, to be released in November 2005.

The combination of Alan Moore, Natalie Portman and the Wachowskis makes Putu smile the Guy Fawkes smile.

More on Sin City

And why Putu is convinced that there can never be a more accurate retelling of a graphic novel on screen.

Be amazed.

Keith Simanton on Sin City

"Unlike the truly dirty, unnerving titillation that David Lynch provides... Sin City is a teenage, masturbatory form of scopophilia, mixed in with a neutered form of pubescent anger, creating a reeking pituitary gland of movie."

Since this was noticed by Putu's occipital lobe, and the pituitary gland is situated in the forebrain, the references are completely lost on Putu. But forebrain shall be back soon to explain this, hopefully.

For now read the entire review here.