It’s always great to watch a movie that you just have to discuss and argue about after you have finished seeing it, one that creates a discussion or debate. ‘Untraceable’ is just that kind of movie. It is a pretty standard, but surprisingly good, whodunnit. But the real nugget of the movie is the premise it wraps itself around – the idea of a killer that uses the involvement of web viewers to kill his victim, each viewer contributing on a miniscule scale to the torture and death of the victim.

The idea that people would log in to a website that promises a murder, with the viewers being the executioner, seems far-fetched on the surface. But is it a dystopian view of the culture that we see on the web already? Is it that far-fetched in a world where ‘Fear factor’, ‘Survivor’ and video websites like Stickam and LiveLeak thrive?

As Tanu and I argued, it is a big leap from the vision in ‘Hostel’ to the vision in ‘Untraceable’. But the premise hinges on the idea that all humans are capable of unspeakable atrocities. ‘Hostel’ portrays people who want a very hands-on experience with torture and death. ‘Untraceable’ exploits the fact that the anonymity of the web and the feeling of desensitization will lead people to tacitly participate in torture without fully comprehending that they would. The further you get away from the actual act, the more you feel that you are not really involved, and my experience on the web tends to validate that. People who will be too shy or hesitant to be rude in real life can be really vitriolic on the web, whether it be on blogs, comments or online forums. So is it really hard to believe (as the movie portrays) that 17 million plus people would log in to witness someone tortured to death, knowing that by being on the site, they are 1/17,000,000 parts involved?

Part of our pop culture is that we feel that simply being a viewer does not mean anything. There is little comprehension for the fact that by being viewers, we are endorsing the very thing we view. We can’t bemoan the paparazzi treatment of our favorite stars, and then turn around and buy the latest gossip rag. We can’t view shows like ‘Jackass’, and then get angry when kids emulate those shows. By participating in the process, we are endorsing it, and that is the issue.

I believe anonymity is a big part of this. If you did not feel the social anxiety of being judged for what you do, you would be far more open to doing things. And that also applies to doing bad things. Consequences are what keep our most base instincts in check, and the web allows us to not deal with the consequences of our actions. That is the danger that the movie throws out there for us to consider.

As our anniversary came around, I had to figure out a way to celebrate it that would not tax my better half (in her current condition). So the plan was broken up into manageable chunks.

Between work calls at the office, we managed to sneak out for a late lunch at Remi’s, a nice Italian restaurant a couple of blocks from our office. The place has a Venetian theme going in its food and ambience, and is supposedly designed by a famous architect (Adam Tihany). It was a nice, elegant setting that made me wonder if it would be more romantic as a dinner place than a lunch place. The lighting was nice and the music was pleasant and at just the right volume. The service was also very good and attentive without being obtrusive (though it may have had to do with the late hour, since lunchgoers had already left). But, most importantly, the food was great. Tanu had been craving Italian food for a couple of days, so the excellent dishes at Remi’s was just what the doctor (in this case, pregnant lady) ordered.

In the evening, we strolled across town to the AOL Time Warner towers at Columbus Circle, to get to Jazz at Lincoln Center. There I had reserved a table at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola for the 9:30 set. The place is on the 5th floor of the tower, with a great view overlooking Columbus Circle. We settled down for some really good Southern style food. Tanu actually liked my blackened salmon entree a lot and took my plate, but I didn’t mind because her lamb dish was excellent. If you are looking for a great place to spend the evening in the city, I highly recommend it. Food prices aren’t too expensive (by New York standards), and the cover for the jazz set was about $30 per person.

But the real reason we were there was to listen to the jazz set being performed by the Eliane Elias Trio. They were playing a tribute performance to jazz great Bill Evans, who I really like. In fact, one of the members of the trio, bassist Marc Johnson, was part of Bill Evans touring company. Eliane, who has recently released a tribute album to Bill Evans, told a story about one of the songs they played. Bill Evans had composed the song shortly before his passing, and had given the composition on a tape to Marc. Marc passed it on to Eliane (who it turns out he happens to be married to) to transcribe and record. They performed that song after explaining its history, and it was a really special moment.

It was an excellent performance – “one of the best live music performances we have seen”, as Tanu put it. To see three musicians playing with such soul, such obvious enjoyment of each other, and which such passion, was really moving. And the music selected was absolutely great, ranging from soulful melodies to lively foot-tapping creations. We just loved it.

The music was still in us as we left the center to head home, after a really wonderful evening filled with good food and great jazz. we will definitely be heading back at some point to the venue named for the great Dizzy Gillespie, because it is a great place to spend a pleasant evening.

Photographs: I added photographs from the evening to our website. You can check them out by going to the “Special Occasions” section of my website, clicking on “Birthdays & More”, and then going to “Our Anniversary 2008″.

Update: And a big shout out to Tanu for saving my a$$ that day. Because while I did figure out the plan for the whole day, it was her that came to the rescue when I got to the office and realized that I had forgotten my wallet at home – credit cards, ID, cash and all

It’s 2 in the morning, and I’m still on a high. The Road Warrior G-Men once again found a way to pull one out on the road. And in brutal conditions too. -4 F? Wind chill at -23F? Are you kidding me?

It’s never pretty. It darn near gives us a heart attack every single time. It always seems to go down to the wire; to the very last play. But this team manages to find a way to win when they need to. Their spirit is unbelievable. They made the Packers look a little ordinary, and anyone who followed football this year knows how far that is from the truth.

Once again at Ranjeet and Sanjeevanee’s place (see Jeeves, I learnt my lesson), we found ourselves screaming at the TV so many times, we were hoarse by the end of the night. When Webster fumbled his interception. When McQuarters fumbled the punt that almost got turned over. When the Bradshaw touchdown was called back on a borderline holding call. And never louder than when Tynes missed the 36 yard attempt at the end of regulation. After that Webster interception in overtime, when we failed to go down the field and the team was going for a 47 yard field goal, we were all screaming at the TV in anger at the decision.

And then a minute later, we were all jumping up and down and screaming in joy and elation when Tynes’ kick went through the uprights. The Giants are going to the Superbowl! Plaxico was huge in this game. Corey Webster played out of his mind, especially after being made to look foolish on that 90-yd TD by Driver. And the defense stepped up again and again. And Eli continued his path to living up to that whole pedigree thing.

0. The number of interceptions that Eli has thrown this postseason. That is the key to this improbable run. While us die-hard fans always backed the team and hoped they could do it, the team has actually made us believers. And it all started that night in the Meadowlands when Big Blue played their hearts out against the Patriots. I was there, and you could feel something special in the air that night. Clearly, we have to take that to Phoenix now, against those same Patriots, and just do a little better in two weeks.

Tynes after kicking the winning 47-yard FG in the Giants 23-20 win

The Superbowl in two weeks, against those unbeaten Patriots. To keep the streak going, we are going to be at Ranjeet and Sanjeevanee’s place again. We can’t wait. It is going to be huge!

There are a couple of updates to my website.

First, I reworked how the “Life As We Know It” section works. I wasn’t very happy with the way it ended up last time I designed it, even though technically it was really cool. I hope the new design works better in that it allows me to not only add albums easily and quickly, but also allows people to navigate to the album they want to see far more quickly. The design borrows from familiar metaphors in sites like Flickr and other photo sharing sites.

Having made the design changes, I added a bunch of albums that were long overdue to the site, covering:

• Krishna’s Reception at Mamaji-Mamiji’s house
• The Office holiday party
• Arun and Shivani’s visit during the holidays
• The Giants-Patriots game
• Dinner with the gang at Buddakan

Check them out.

It may not have been as much fun to watch as the Packers snow game on Saturday, but yesterday’s Giants win was the kind of game you love and hate as a sports fan. Tanu and I were at Ranjeet’s place with a bunch of other folks cheering on the Giants as we watched them steal one from the Cowboys. And boy, did it feel like stealing, right down to the wire.

Twice the Cowboys had long, demoralizing drives that ate up the clock and put points on the board. But the Giants somehow managed to do everything they needed to do to stay in the game and not lose the mental battle. That touchdown in the last minute of the first half, after the Cowboys had just taken 10+ minutes driving down the field for a bruising touchdown, was just the momentum builder needed at the half. Holding the Cowboys to just a field goal after the 8+ minute drive to start the 3rd quarter was key too. And then in the fourth quarter, when you just felt that the defense would give way after all the time they had been forced to spend on the field, they somehow held strong against the NFCs leading offense.

Those last 4 minutes were sheer agony as a fan. I couldn’t stay in my seat and had to walk around the whole time. One can only imagine what the Giants must have been feeling. And when McQuarters picked off Romo, everyone in the house just erupted in screams. We were jumping up and down so much, we may have damaged the new floors of Jeet’s place.

Oh well, he can’t complain. We’re going to be back there next Sunday, hoping to continue the streak.

That’s right. Tanu is pregnant, and I am along for the ride. It is the most wonderful, unsettled and weird time of our lives. And the coming attraction is starting to dominate our lives already.

We spend our time trying to figure out the things we need to take care of before the due date. We spend at least an hour each day doing research about car seats, cribs and baby supplies. There are debates over suitable baby names. And there is so much stuff to read.

The last few months have been a totally different experience. There were times when we felt like there is way too much information out there, pulling us in all different directions. Other times, we felt like there just isn’t enough information, leaving us in the dark and trying to cope. Uncertainty can be a real drag. Trying to figure out when to tell people was a real doozy. And there was that short period where I had to make sure that any photographs of Tanu didn’t show the little bulge that she was starting to show. Now there’s no hiding it.

We’re excited and terrified, all rolled up into one uncomfortable bundle. And the coming months are sure to be entertaining, if nothing else.

Last night we got together with the gang for dinner at Buddakan. The fusion restaurant in the basement of the Chelsea Market building was as close as we could to being in our old digs.

Dinner was a blast. Outside, the temperature was hitting 23F, so we all stumbled in out of the cold hoping for some libations and warm food. We got everything and more. Conversation was great as always. It was fun meeting up with Louis after so long. Well, for everyone else at least; it was only a few days since I met with him for the Giants-Pats game. The Kapadia’s told us about their recent trip to the land of Oz. And Advait was, well, Advait.

The star was the food. The appetizers were amazing, and the family style dining emphasized at the restaurant meant that we got to sample every single delectable piece. Advait and I were in agreement that it seems like the appetizers are better than the main entrees at a lot of these establishments. So if you are ever at Buddakan, order a whole meal of apps and you will be really satisfied.

An evening of good conversation and good food ended with plans to meet again this weekend, to cheer on our Giants.