The written word

I've lost count of the number of books I have devoured over the past few weeks. Picked up "I am Red" by Orhan Pamuk last week. When a gilder and a master miniaturist in Istanbul are brutally murdered while working on a supposedly blasphemous book for the sultan, panic strikes the miniaturists, who are struggling to keep their art alive. Translated from the Turkish, the book is set in the last days of the miniaturist school of painting in the Ottoman empire. Crisply written, the book offers a glimpse into a totally different world, where religion is deeply ingrained into and governs all aspects of life, including creativity and artistic expression. On a another note, the book is also about change, when a glorious era is coming to an end and everything as it stands will never be the same, when new is poised to leap over the old. Good read.

Go Billy!

"I want my music to be something people can hold on to" said Billy Corgan when he formed Zwan after the sad demise of the Smashing Pumpkins. The Pumpkins were trendsetters in their own way, giving us music that was rich and true. Zwan did pretty decent work too. Now, Billy is trying to bring the Pumpkins together again. "I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams" - he said in an advertisement for his new solo album. A guy who really cares about music. Bless you, Billy!

Batman begins

After a dismal Batman and Robin, Batman begins with Christopher Nolan at the helm and Christian Bale as the new Batman. The result is pretty good - Nolan has tried to liberate the movie from the trappings of its genre, though that has taken away a little bit of the excitement associated with it. Christian Bale is good, makes a convincing Bruce Wayne. Ken Watanabe is wasted in a bit role. Katie Holmes as Batman's love interest is disappointing - I mean, remember Nicole Kidman? Michael Caine as Alfred is great. Love the man. Who else can pull off cliches like "Why do we fall, Master Bruce? So that we can pick ourselves up again." Liam Neeson is a real cool baddie - "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a city to destroy". Man, what a guy! Cillian Murphy with those baby blues is creepy as Dr. Crane. Why are the villains always more sexy than the hero? Gary Oldman as Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox are great.

The movie tries to explore the fears that haunt Bruce Wayne, the guilt that drives him to fight crime in Gotham. But somehow, it never gets quite convincing, and we cant wait for Wayne to stop with the half-hearted efforts at exploring the dark side and get into Bat gear. The characters are sadly uni-dimensional and dull.

Verdict: Good, could have been more exciting.

Pink Floyd reunion

Roger Waters will join the band at London's Hyde Park on July 2nd as part of the Live 8 concerts. I wanna be there!!!

My new place

I've finally settled into my new place - which means that I am done with house hunting, packing, unpacking, and cleaning. Phew! I'd forgotten how relaxing a long, lazy Sunday in a house that actually has space can be. Dare say I deserved it.

The clock is ticking

A song that I love, even though it scares the hell out of me sometimes:

Time - Pink Floyd

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in a quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say...