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Artistes, this if for you: Coovum Art Festival

This public art and outreach project, that started with a walk, will celebrate the Coovum river and water through art.
by PA Madhavan

It gives me immense pleasure in announcing Goa Centre for Alternative Photography’s (Goa-CAP) brand new initiative, ‘Coovum Art Festival’, Chennai, India. The Coovum Art Festival is a public art and outreach project that leads people to the Coovum river banks, to take ownership and celebrate the river and water through art. It unites the works of local, national, and international artists through exhibitions, installations, performances, and educational programmes that engage residents and visitors throughout the City of Chennai/Madras.

Coming up in January 2015, the festival has now opened calls for proposals on our website for those who would like to create an installation, art exhibit, workshop, screening, etc.

In July 2015, a group of 25 artists, activists, and journalists from India led by me, walked 10 days along the river Coovum (www.walkalong.in). This walking project was conceived with the aim to bring different genres of artistic and social media together to experience the river ecosystem, its interaction with the landscape and the relationship between river and people. During the walk the participants felt strongly that a programme should be organised to bring the people of Chennai to the Coovum and change their understanding and perspective of this river. This snowballed into Coovum Art festival.

Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Chennai, the German Cultural Institute, Chennai City Connect, Confluence 10 and Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (Government sponsored trust) are principle partners to this festival.

We invite imaginative, well-conceptualised, bold and thorough proposals from artists in India and internationally for the festival. The last date for sending the proposals is October 31, 2015, 23:55 IST.

Visit www.walkalong.in/coovum for more details.

(Picture courtesy madrasmusings.com)

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Film

Review: The Intern

A heart warming story about bridging the generational gap, this one’s a must-watch for its Academy Award winning lead performers.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 3 out of 5

A 70-year-old widower, Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro), fights his boredom and looks for something to do. While buying groceries, he finds a flier mentioning a recruitment drive for senior citizen interns at an e-commerce startup that sells clothes. He decides to apply and go for the interview; in an age of Instagram and Facebook, he is confident that his experience will serve the company.

Aboutthefit.com is a small online clothing shop owned by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), which has now turned into a successful business. Jules is a hands-on, informal boss who is strict about the brand and customer service. When informed about the senior citizen recruitments, she is initially skeptical about keeping an intern, then later finalises Ben.

 

Ben is punctual, warm and hard working. Meanwhile, Jules juggles a busy career with a daughter and stay-at-home husband, Matt. At work, Jules initially ignores Ben – after all, he is just an intern – but later they develop a good understanding become good friends. There are some interesting scenes, such as Jules helping Ben open his account on Facebook and their conversations that take place while doing so.

Robert De Niro and Anne Hathway portray their roles with ease and deliver sparklingly good performances. There are some genuinely warm and funny moments in the film which will make you laugh out loud. This one is a one-time watch, especially for fans of Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.

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Tech

Review: Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe

Not much has changed from the Zenfone’s last outing. It has an improved design at the back, but little else.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

We reviewed the ASUS Zenfone 2 a few weeks back, and came away quite impressed with what the company offered under Rs 25,000. Now, there’s a slightly newer version of the device’s high-end model – the Zenfone 2 Deluxe. Let me put it this way, the only change here is its rear cover and storage options.

If you glanced at the Zenfone 2 Deluxe, you couldn’t tell it apart from the original Zenfone 2. With its blockish build and physical buttons, Power/Lock key at the top, brushed aluminium chin, rear-facing volume keys, there really isn’t much changed here. What is definitely different is the multi-face prism-like rear cover (see image below). The back feels really nice and is the standout feature in the phone.

Prism like back elevation on the phone

In fact, this multi-reflecting (Blue and Green) White back was the only thing people asked me about when I was using the device. The Zenfone 2 Deluxe weighs about 170 grams, but isn’t slippery, though certainly not a compact phone.

Let me tell what’s better in the Zenfone 2 Deluxe over the Zenfone 2, as there isn’t much changed here, and if you want complete lowdown in the device, you should check our full Zenfione 2 review.

Screen. The screen is the same 5.5-inch full HD panel, but this one seems a little brighter with same colour sharpness and accuracy. It’s good and works well for images and videos. For the loudspeaker on the back, it still has the same average output that does an okay job for videos and games.

Features. Basic features on this dual SIM (4G/ 3G + 2G and dual active) device like call quality network reception, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB OTG worked fine.

Camera. The camera performance, too, is a lot like the Zenfone 2 Deluxe – detailed, colours are quite sharp, but lags behind in low-light and macro shots. Though I did find the camera app to be a little quicker to take a shot in case of the Zenfone 2, the difference isn’t much. The device has a 13 MP rear camera, and here are a few sample images.

Battery. The battery performance was slightly short of the Zenfone 2 with the average being 14 to 15 hours. There’s a 2A charger bundled with the phone that charges it up in a little under two hours (0-50% in about 40 minutes).

Software and performance. There’s an Intel Z3580 chispet in place(2.3 GHz quad-core processor, PowerVR G6430 GPU) coupled with 4 GB of RAM. It runs on Android 5.0 with ZenUI on top. The overall performance on the phone is satisfactory. It handled games like FF Legacy and Real Racing 3 quite well, as there weren’t any frame drops or stuttering during playing. The phone does warm up a little near the dual tone flash, but not to an alarming extent.

Extensive customization options – icons packs, themes, icon text colour, double tap to wake and lock – are present here. Plus, four dozen ASUS apps are also present, something that really needs to be cleaned up ASAP. The only place it seemed to struggle a little was the recent apps list where scrolling isn’t as smooth and sometimes the selected app would take a while to load up, a known Android Lollipop issue.

All in all, it can perform most tasks well and hardly lagged during my usage. I used the 64 GB model that had about 54 GB of available space, which you can further expand using a microSD card. There’s also a 128 GB model priced a bit higher (and 256 GB in select markets).

It’s clear that ASUS really had one thing in mind for the Zenfone 2 Deluxe – the same content, but new packaging. It would be fair to say ASUS has done well with it. If you want a phone with a rear that is rather not boring, you should consider this phone that has a similar performance and experience as the original Zenfone 2.

(Pictures courtesy Manik Kakra)

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Pest proof your home

Pests can make your life miserable and your home inhabitable. Treat the problem before it gets completely out of hand.
by Reyna Mathur

All houses are attacked by pests at some point in time. While some infestations are minor and can be handled swiftly, others remain hidden for some time and quickly become unmanageable.

The problem normally starts with the entry of ants, which are then followed by cockroaches. In houses that are not dusted regularly and which are located in areas of dense traffic and construction activity, there will be an abundance of dust mites on the furniture and clothes. After cockroaches settle in and begin to multiply, they will be followed by lizards. In the meantime, if bed bugs have entered the home, they wreak their own havoc.

Don’t subject yourself to this torture. Once pests make an entry into the home, it takes a lot of effort and money to clean out the house in its entirety. It is not a problem that goes away forever after one bout, you have to be on your vigil. But if you take the right steps on time, you can save yourself a lot of trouble later.

This is what you should do:

Examine all wet areas. The wet areas of the home are the bathroom, toilet, wash basin and kitchen sink. Moisture is omnipresent in these areas, however much you try to keep them clean and dry. However, your cleaning routine in these areas should include a strong disinfectant cleaner. Wipe down all surfaces at least twice a week to discourage fungal growth, and spray all water traps with insect killers thrice a week at night. Cockcroaches tend to come out of these traps from water pipes, so they should be discouraged at the earliest. If there are any places that remain moist even without direct contact with water, have them checked for hidden leakages. Wet areas breed vegetation, mosquitoes, and certain types of bugs and worms, and are most prone to attack.

Enlist the help of a pest control agency. The first line of attack should always be launched by a good pest control system involving sprays, gels and powders. A basic pest control clean-up will comprise three rounds of spraying and powder-treating all vertical and some horizontal surfaces of the home with chemicals to repel ants, bugs, dust mites, cockroaches and lizards. Bed bug infestations will have to checked every 10 days for a month with intensive sprays in the affected areas. Borer infestations are normally controlled by special anti-borer sprays and gels with two spells of treatment. If you have rats in the house, you will require a multi-pronged strategy requiring sprays, foods laced with poison, adhesive surfaces to which the animal will adhere, and also rat traps. Explain the situation in detail to the pest control company, and they will suggest the course of treatment to you.

Bird-proof your windows. Birds are not pests, but when allowed to enter the home, they can cause infestations. Of the birds present in the cities, pigeons are the most prone to enter the homes looking for nesting places. Their droppings contain carbon compounds that cause respiratory disorders in humans and pets, and their feathers contain dust mites. Too often we ignore birds’ feathers that blow into our homes with the breeze, but we must get rid of them at once because they house several bacteria that can cause allergies and pests. A simple remedy is to install a wire mesh on your windows so that birds cannot get in. When you leave water outside the windows for the birds to drink, be sure to examine the area every day, since crows have a tendency to drop hard food like animal bones and tough rotis inside the water to soften them. This gives rise to a column of ants and bugs that are attracted to the carcass and which soon enter the home.

Examine your pets for ticks and mites. Dogs and cats have hidden ticks and mites inside their fur, and these soon multiply if the pet’s skin is not cleaned thoroughly. Chemists and pet shops stock several sprays and dips to clean out mites, and you can also invest in a firm comb to remove the animals hiding in the fur. You must get rid of these animals at the earliest, because over time, they can also infest your furniture and wherever the pet is accustomed to sleeping. They can also pose a danger to very young children who constantly play with the pet.

(Picture courtesy www.in.all.biz. Image is used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Film

Review: Pawn Sacrifice

A fine piece of work on chess, battling a mental illness and becoming a champion, this one is a must-watch.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director Edward Zwick’s Pawn Sacrifice is a film based on rise and fall of American chess legend, Bobby Fischer. Young Bobby (Aiden Lovekamp) stays with his mother sister in Brooklyn. Bobby becomes a chess champion at the age of 12, but his home life is in turmoil owing to his mother’s relationship with another man. He even orders her out of the home because he needs complete peace and quiet to focus on chess.

In 1962, the adult Bobby (Tobey Maguire) goes to Bulgaria for a chess championship event, but he leaves mid-way after accusing the Russians of cheating. Vowing never to play chess again, he lives in ignominy for three years before lawyer Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlbarg) approaches Bobby and asks him to represent his country in a chess tournament. Paul even arranges a meeting of Bobby with William Lombardy (Peter Sarsgaard), an American grandmaster and a priest.

 

Bobby agrees to participate in the match as part of a US and Soviet Union diplomacy initiative. Soviet Union gives star treatment to Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber), Soviet Grandmaster and world champion while Fischer has to depend on donations and cheap lodgings. In the match, however, Boris loses to Bobby badly and leaves the venue. This sets the stage for a classic rivalry between the two players, culminating in the legendary Game 6 match that still enjoys cult status in the chess world.

Tobey Maguire is top notch in portraying’s Bobby’s many insecurities and frustration. The film is paced well, focussing on Bobby’s genius and a mind hard at work thinking up chess moves and also battling its own demons. This is a must-watch for lovers of great acting and excellent storytelling.

(Picture courtesy hypebeast.com)

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Do

How to make a dog-friendly home

If you have a dog, you’ll have to make changes to your home for your furry little friend’s overall comfort.
by Reyna Mathur

It has become a trend to have a dog or a cat in the home these days, especially in the cities. Our four-legged friends bring joy and comfort to our lives, and take away the loneliness and despair we may feel in our interactions with other humans. Whatever the kind of person you are, what your failings are in life, or how much money you make, your dog will not care about any of these things and still love you unconditionally.

Which is why you should reciprocate this love by making your home as friendly and comfortable for your dog as possible. It will surprise you to know how little we think of this aspect getting a dog home – apart from feeding them regularly and keeping them in good health, we also have to increase their feelings of wellbeing by making some adjustments to the home.

Change your floor tiles. The first adjustment you will have to make is to change the tiles or flooring of your house. Dogs need slightly rough surfaces to walk and run on, and shiny, glossy Italian marble or granamite tiled floors will make them clench their feet with every step to avoid slipping. This causes their claws to grow improperly, and in the long term, can give the pet leg and spinal issues. Invest in rough-hewn, matte finish flooring and if you have a separate room for the pet, lay thick linoleum on the floors. Linoleum allows the dog to dig in its claws if necessary – of course, you will have to replace it periodically once it discovers it can pull out entire swathes of the material!

Change the toilet to an Indian-style one. The first thing you must do on bringing the pet home is to toilet train it so it doesn’t urinate or defecate on the floor or furniture. Most dogs don’t adapt well to the toilet training routine, not because they are incapable of learning, but because they are not comfortable with the toilet. A sufficiently well-trained dog will head to the toilet every time it wants to urinate or defecate, and will only do its business on the floor. Since dogs cannot climb on to the commode, it is better to have an Indian-style toilet for the pet’s use. Anything that is at floor level will be gladly welcomed by the dog.

Let windows be accessible. Dogs love to sit at the window, especially the ones that are alone at home while their owners go to work. Your dog will pick a favourite window in the house and claim it. A good idea is to create a comfortable seat with a rubber padding on the top for the dog to sit on. Most windows in Mumbai are not at floor level, so if your building allows, you can elongate the window your dog prefers. Alternately, create a wide seat for your dog to climb over and sit, or even snooze on after meals. The seat should also accommodate the dog’s eating bowl and a utensil for water.

Restrict the use of fresheners and harsh cleaners. We use air fresheners in spray or tablet form in the bathrooms and toilets. While the fragrance of these is acceptable to us, most dogs recoil from the smell because their olfactory senses are much more refined than ours. What is a fragrance for you might be a disturbing irritant for your dog, so if you see the dog sneezing more often or resisting attempts to go where you have used an air freshener, remove the offending item at once. Some dogs are allergic to the chemicals in these substances, so it is better to avoid them altogether.

Your kitchen should be off-limits. As beloved as your dog is to you, you will have to keep him or her out of the kitchen. This is where you cook and keep the wet garbage, both of which are very attractive to your dog. However, most pets have a tendency to shed hair on a daily basis, and if you allow your dog to enter and exit the kitchen at will, there will be dog hair all over the counters and cooking tops, not to mention in your food itself. Dogs are also immediately attracted to garbage pails, so you will have to keep the pail out of reach and difficult to knock over. Apart from training your dog to wait outside the kitchen and never to follow you inside, you can install door guards at the kitchen entrance so that the dog can’t get in. Install a lockable door for your kitchen as well, which should be locked when the kitchen is not in use.

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