GBUF - 05Oct25

 #GBUF #GoodBadUglyFunny #05Oct25 #sriGINthoughts

👋 Greetings. GBUF is back after more than four months of lethargy and excuses. I pity you. 😊

Here we go…

🤖 AI is becoming all-pervading. AI star, 20-something Aravind Srinivas (of Perplexity), has become India’s youngest billionaire with a comet-like 😉 rise. For context, almost-60 Shah Rukh Khan became a billionaire only last year. Funnily, SRK was pipped by a Physics teacher, Alakh Pandey. Age of knowledge, anyone? #MainBillionaireHoonNa

🎭 Speaking of AI and acting, last week introduced Tilly Norwood, a virtual influencer, to much fanfare. Following in the footsteps of Lil Miquela, who has virtually influenced brands such as BMW and celebrated her birthday with 2.7 million Instagram followers, Tilly is poised to be the first of many such 'actresses.' The jury is divided: some believe AI 'personification' aids SMEs in running campaigns, while others feel that actors and actresses across various 'woods' around the world are in danger. I do hear that one such character might be acting with a leading Kollywood hero 😉 #WoodenActors

💍 Two incidents last week would have caused much chagrin to the youth of South India, specifically Karnataka. OG #Srivalli – Rashmika Mandanna and OG #ArjunReddy – Vijay Devarakonda – are engaged and will tie the knot next year. As if that were not enough, booze company Diageo intends to sell the much-beloved-but-with-only-one-title #RCB to Covid vaccine maker Adar Poonawalla at a $2B valuation. #SendingShivers

😔 And then, a Kollywood hero’s meeting in Karur sent shivers down the spine. Actor Vijay is either too naïve or indifferent—or both. After having run a few conferences beset with crowd management issues, he (and his coterie) seems not to have learnt their lessons and played into the hands of the ruling DMK (who conveniently seemed to have gone easy on the arrangements). Result: 40+ lives lost in a stampede that could’ve been prevented. Blind hero worship + inexperience + organisational apathy caused the mishap. What followed was typical tweet-politics. #BlackTownMourns

🌍 Politics did not stop in the White House, Tel Aviv or Gaza. Trump was upset with Netanyahu, forced him to apologise for the Qatar bombings, and drew up a plan that was three-quarters ultimatum (to both sides) and one-quarter statesmanship (funny, I use that word in a sentence with DJT in it!). Hamas and Israel seem to have agreed, though a few dozen lives were lost yesterday. But this 7th October is likely to see the end of the war—at least temporarily. Oh, by the way, Trump is not too worried about the US Government shutdown. “It will burn the excess fat,” he would say! How far will a man go to get that Nobel Peace Prize? #NobelHostage

🏯 But Sanae Takaichi did not win a prize. She earned it. Set to become the first female PM of Japan (a mentee of the late Shinzo Abe), the 64-year-old former bike chick and rock/heavy metal fan will start ruling Japan in about a week’s time. Times are changing! Given India PM Modi’s closeness with Abe-san, he will find in the conservative Takaichi-san someone easy to work with and move things faster. The only question left – will the Modi memes now retire Meloni and start featuring Sanae riding a motorbike with a guitar in hand? 🎸🏍️ #TakaModi

💬 One can’t end this week’s chitchat without talking about #Arattai. Ever since Indian minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted endorsing Zoho’s ‘Swadeshi’ products, Arattai (a WhatsApp/Telegram wannabe) from #Zoho has skyrocketed in its usage. Infrastructure is being poured in; bugs are fixed even before people are finding them. Individuals and groups on WA and TG are shifting loyalty in droves. (Remember Signal?). Given Sridhar Vembu’s inclinations and measured approach, this can be a winner. Requests: Don’t change the name. Make UPI payments possible. Don’t compare yourself with WA or TG. Be better than WeChat. #MeaningfulChat

🙃 Personal opinions. Any hurt, unintentional.

🕊️ Peace – GBUF signing off… before AI decides it can do this better. 😂