What a year!

Every year starts off with great promise, gets a little muddled up around the middle, ends with mostly with a whimper. Why should 2007 have been any different? Yes? But it was. Started off on a cool, moonlit night with bisons and barbecue; should have taken a hint then. Towards the middle, it got pretty dizzy. August was the culprit, leapfrogging into mayhem with casualties all around - marriage talks and interviews (of the professional kind). September, October and November tippled through. December brought the first whiff of foreign shores, burgeoning work loads. Won't mind much if it ends a whimper, as long as the next year starts with a bang!

The apples of the valley hold
The seeds of happiness,
The ground is rich from tender care,
Repay, do not forget,
Oh, dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morning light
- The Battle of Evermore, Led Zeppelin.

Happy New Year Folks!!

Things never work the way we want them to...

... and thats the way the cookie crumbles.

Thursday Morning Blues

Sometimes the weather is just so you. Smoked out, pale and moody on a Thursday morning. Shivering in the cold morning breeze and envying the rickshaw driver all muffled up in multiple layers. Taking out your snug earphones to shut out the wind. Your head exploding with a long lost song and the words flowing through your system, the four right chords can make you cry.

Rediscovering music on a morning like this can be a revelation. One that puts things in perspective - that all is true is just you and your music. Everything else, everyone else is transient.



Inspiration? The muses drawing breath for you? God? Nah, don't believe it, you'll get entangled in Heaven or Hell
- 5 A.M., Allen Ginsberg

PS: I'm rediscovering Ginsberg as well.

Rescue Dawn, or, One more reason to love Christian Bale

I was watching Batman Begins for the nth time, when it struck me that I loved Christian Bale in Rescue Dawn. After I saw Saving Private Ryan, I told myself, "This will be the last war movie I'll see". For all its critical acclaim, Saving Private Ryan was cheesy, and played to the gallery till the very last note. So when Rescue Dawn came along, I dismissed it as another war movie, or worse still, an ego exercise for a rather intriguing actor. Eating maggots? Ew, I thought! But when I saw Rescue Dawn on the list of in-flight movies on a 5-hour flight, I couldn't resist taking a peek.

Rescue Dawn is no war movie. Yes, it is set in the thick of the Vietnam War, and the protagonist is a US Naval pilot who is shot down and held prisoner. But thats all there is to it. Like Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries), Werner Herzog wisely stays away from political statements (In this case, the machinations of the war in Nam). For instance, Dieter Dangler (Bale) is shot down in Laos (this is based on a true story), where the US is not supposed to have ever been. That the US bombed Laos to the last centimeter so that if one waters the ground there, a bomb tree would grow, is not something Herzog wants to get into. Nor does he portray the Viet Cong as black villains who indulge in horrendous forms of torture.

A lesser director would have added more drama, shown us blisters on sore feet, cut to a painful grimace of the man who is brave in the face of adversity. A lesser actor would have hammed it up, given us soulful stares and ponderous dialogue delivery. Instead, Dangler salvages a single rotting shoe and gives it to his fellow escapee Duane Martin (Steve Zahn) with the glee of a child who has found a stray marble. (Spoiler alert!) A few scenes later, he snatches away the same single shoe from the the dead Martin's foot without so much as a second thought! Bale does eat real maggots (if media reports are to be believed), but its not a big deal in the movie. Nor is it when Bale strips off a snake's head with his teeth (hope at least that was not real!).

Rescue Dawn could have well descended into a weepy, heavy handed picture. Instead Herzog and Bale work to create one of the most beautiful testaments to the human spirit that we have seen. I'd like to watch the Golden Globe nominated "Into the Wild" to see if Sean Penn even comes close! Bale is a class act, even without fancy outfits and terrible weight loss programmes (well, he had to lose some for this role, but not as bad as The Machinist). Note to self: see 3:10 to Yuma soon. Steve Zahn does some good work here as Duane Martin. In some scenes, he almost steals the thunder from under Bale's nose.

Verdict: Great movie. Bale is now at the top of the list along with Gael Garcia Bernal, and therefore earns the tag "amazing"!

Yeah, right!

A change in lifestyle, no matter how small, can range from irritating to painful.

They broke their backs lifting Moloch to Heaven!
Pavements, trees, radios, tons! lifting the city to
Heaven which exists and is everywhere about us!

Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies!
gone down the American river!
Dreams! adorations! illuminations! religions! the whole
boatload of sensitive bullshit!

Breakthroughs! over the river! flips and crucifixions!
gone down the flood! Highs! Epiphanies! Despairs!
Ten years' animal screams and suicides!
Minds! New loves! Mad generation! down on the rocks of Time!

Real holy laughter in the river! They saw it all! the
wild eyes! the holy yells! They bade farewell!
They jumped off the roof! to solitude! waving!
carrying flowers! Down to the river! into the street!
- From Allen Ginsberg's Howl

The Boss knows best

I mean Bruce Springsteen. He knows exactly how to convey the meaning of low. Enjoy.

Supergood

(Review expedited due to request from CrazyBugga)

Comparisons to American Pie (the first one, of course) are inevitable, so let me start by saying that Superbad is way better. Way grosser, yes, particularly since these kids are in high school, but way more witty. The plot is simple - 3 high school kids, bordering on the geek-nerd phenomenon, obsessed with sex in the way only teenage virgins are, attempt to get laid. Given their natural nervousness towards the opposite sex, that they are convinced that a copious amount of alcohol is the only way of getting their dream girls into bed with them.

Seth Rogan (Knocked Up) apparently wrote the script for Superbad while he was a teenager, so the kids talk nonstop about boners and girlie bits from dawn to dusk. We hope thats true, else it would be a sad case of art imitating life (Rogan plays a trigger-happy, juvenile cop in Superbad). That said, its a hilarious glimpse into the hormone fueled life of a teenager. The boys Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera, George-Micheal of Arrested Development) are perfect for the role. Hill, as the chubby loser-ish guy whose idea of friendship also includes comments on the mammary glands of Evan's mother, is amazing! The bit where he steals alcohol from a party in detergent cans - hilarious! Christopher Mintz -Plasse as Fogell, the wide-eyed nitwit who poses as McLovin with his fake id, is an absolute scene stealer. I cracked up every moment he was on screen. Cera could have done this role in his sleep, and no one could have been better.

That said, the girls in the movie are little more than cardboard sweeties who seem to fall for guys clearly out of their league. Rogan has not attempted to even give them half-brains or personalities beyond their tight tees and short pants. This is a movie written by a guy and is sympathetic towards the plight of the not-so-cool boys at high school. But its greatest failing is that it treats the girls as little more than objects of the boys' testosterone driven fantasies. And then there is this obligatory brothers-over-girls angle as well.

That said, its a damn funny movie, hilarious in most parts. And unlike American Pie, the movie doesn't try to please all sections of the audience. So, the guys will simply love it, most girls might get offended, but the rest of us will simply unhook our brains and have a good laugh!

Verdict - Didn't you read the title, folks?

Home again

Loved Singapore, the clean wide streets, the clockwork precision, the polite people, the beautiful skyscrapers, the quietness of the city. Didn't get any time to act touristy or shop, so airport duty free was all the shopping I did. Fun, but was glad to be back home. Home is best and thats where the heart is. Pictures if I get any time. Watched Superbad, Rescue Dawn, Shoot em up and Death at a funeral on the flight. Reviews to follow (hopefully).

Off to Singapore

My first trip out of the country and somehow the excitement is simply not there. Maybe when I reach the airport tomorrow...

Well, well

Imagine being a 19 year old, who incidentally happens to be the only guy amongst 2,000 women. Lucky guy? Or outnumbered wretch? Mohammad Usman is about to find out!

Work threatening to overwhelm. Weekdays are spent chasing the hands on my watch. Weekends are worse. And the first break I will get is 2 months away. Sigh!

Revisiting the master

Managed to catch Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar, part III of the famous Apu trilogy - my first time as a grown up. And it doesn't take too much effort to understand why Ray is widely regarded as a master filmmaker. Simple and clean story telling, understated acting (Soumitra Chatterjee is amazing) and a realistic approach far ahead of anybody's times. I wont even attempt to review it here, I'm far too unworthy. I'll just say that I'm eager to watch the entire trilogy again. What a thrill!

Fear - Part II

Fear is conquered by preparation, by that feeling that you will get by, pass through without breaking too much skin. And the starting point of conquering fear is to take that first step. The results will speak for themselves.

Fear...

...of not measuring up, that people will soon realize that you aren't as smart as they think you are. Or worse, that you will soon realize that you aren't as smart as you think you are. Interesting, isn't it?

Time, or the lack of it

I need more than 24 hours in a day!

Great Expectations

Week 2 off to a good start. Planning my first ever road show abroad, my first ever trip out of the country. I'm excited, to put it mildly. Some random musings - its amazing how the mind is wired up, little triggers like how we respond to a door bell, for instance. And how life keeps changing on a daily basis, but some things and people never do. In a world where we barely have time for ourselves, let alone others, its weird how people can fret over something that they really cant help. That's it folks, have a great week ahead.

Settling in

Just getting settled in with the new job. So far, so good. No time or privacy for posts though. Will try and work it into a new schedule.

Madness/Obession

Woke up on Sunday morning and was whisked away to buy jewellery. Even without the Diwali crowds, I find that shopping for jewelery is a total waste of time and money. This time, my parents had a "big reason" argument. And one can't really argue against parents when both their minds are made up in the same direction. So off we went into one shop after another, looking for the perfect diamond(s).

Now, I would be lying if I said that I don't find jewellery attractive. Its just that I am too practical to buy a single stone that I would probably wear a few times in my life and spend the rest worrying about its safety. Ditto all the pretty stuff that dazzle you with their sparkle. Great to look at, but no thanks, I hardly wear jewellery! Despite my protests, we came home with our purses considerably lighter and a tiny little box that made my folks happy. Diamonds are a girl's best friend? Not for this one. Came away sorely tempted though!

Home for the festive season

Here are the Red Hot Chili Peppers:

Ippadikku Rose

Star Vijay is set to beam a new talk show "Ippadikku Rose" (Yours truly, Rose), which will focus on social issues such as discrimination, child abuse and social taboos. How is this any different from Oprah, you say? For starters, Rose is no ordinary woman, she is India's first transgender TV anchor. Surprised? Well, I am - that the ultra conservative Tamil society is the first to announce something like this.

Actually, it shouldn't come as such a big surprise. All transvestites/eunuchs/transgender folks gather at the Koothandavar temple in Vilupuram district of TamilNadu for an annual festival where they get "married" to the diety there (Koothandavar is a transgender god himself). Given that this is the only place in India that these misunderstood and mistreated folk can call their own, it is only fitting that the first transgender TV host should be Tamil. Most Indian transgender people can speak Tamil, by the way.

Now lets not jump the gun by saying this is the beginning of better understanding and treatment of the third gender. The show is set to air in December, and I expect the usual protests from the so called moral guardians of the society. But if Pakistan can be proud of a transgender TV personality, why not us?

Off to new pastures

Last day at work is a mixed bag, usually. The expected sense of elation and excitement at starting something new combines with the tug of leaving behind something so familiar. And since its mid week, no one to party with - boo hoo! That said, I'm all smiles.

Monkey on a string

Those of you who have at any point in your existence, not been able to convince parents of something perfectly reasonable, please raise your hands! And those of you who feel that you are too young for a role reversal, please stand up!

Song:

Now its here, now its not

euphoria (yōō-fôr'ē-ə, -fōr'-) • noun a feeling of intense happiness (OED).

Well, the thing about it is that it doesn't last for too long. But it sure does feel great while it does. And the next time it hits me, I am gonna hold on to every single moment like it is the last. Happy weekend folks!

On a totally unrelated note, here's an old favourite - Carlos Santana and Everlast tugging at some heart strings:

Blogger's block

After a hectic week at work and an even more hectic weekend spent hunting houses, I can't seem to think of anything to blog about!

Blog Action Day

In 2001, I emailed my resume to the Crocodile Hunter (Steve Irwin -RIP) asking him to give me just any job. Needless to say, he didn't give me one and I continued with my pursuits in the corporate world. I love animals and wildlife and I try to do my bit my sponsoring people like the WWF. But don't be like me. Be a better person and do your bit to protect endangered species from becoming extinct. Did you know that there are over a 1,000 animal species on the endangered list? Stop buying animal products! Without our wildlife, our environment will crumble and the earth will go back to the dark ages.

Guilty Pleasure

I hope I don't get killed. Delicious!!

Gloat

M, thanks for the support and encouragement.

Give me Johnny G again

Movies like Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (LCMD) make my blood boil. Well, one could say I had it coming. I mean, what else can one expect from mainstream Bollywood? (Spoiler alert) A 'fallen' woman still stays a 'sati savitri' because she only sells her body, not her soul. And how does she find redemption? By being 'rescued' back into respectability by a man generous enough to look into her 'soul' because she chants the Hanuman Chalisa in an air pocket. Why can't she do something on her own with all that money other than buying designer clothing and Vertu phones, damn it? What made me grit my teethin particular was the repeated refrain about the daughter becoming a son!

I went because the trailer intrigued me enough to suppose that this movie would aspire to be slightly different from mainstream Bollywood fare. That, and Rani Mukerji. Instead, I got a Karan Johar-ised (read sugar coated, gloss-over-inconveniet-spot-ted) potboiler. Actually, its worse. This a throwback to archaic concepts of pavitrata and sanctity of womanhood from the 17th century. I remember watching an old Tamil movie starring Rajnikanth (don't remember the name) and Sarita. Sarita plays a street worker who struggles to make ends meet even as she conducts a bittersweet love affair with Rajnikanth - a gritty and edgy movie way ahead of its times compared to duds like LCMD. I guess they made better movies back then - Varumayin Niram Sivappu is a particular favourite. But then I digress.

I've liked Rani Mukherji as an actress, but here she is hampered by the weak characterization and script. Her Vibha/ Natasha fails to connect despite those liquid brown eyes filling up with unshed tears at the appropriate moments. Still, Rani has her moments, especially when she puts on a brave big sister act for Subhi (Konkana Sen Sharma). Jaya Bachchan plays a typical small town mother with the worry of making ends meet constantly hanging over her head and she draws some sympathy here. If the grapevine were to be believed, she really didn't have to try to hard to act as the mother who tries to keep the 'scarred' daughter away. Konkana Sen Sharma - though its great that you have managed to keep in step with the jhatkas and matkas of Bollywood, please try and do something different. I have seen you in this role a million times already. As for Abhishek Bachchan, the less said the better!

That said, the movie does have some merits. The cinematography (who did it?) is excellent. I've always wanted to visit Benares, one of the oldest cities in the world, and now I simply must go! Shantanu Moitra's score is different from the normal fare, not bad.

Verdict - Watching this movie put a daag on my friday evening!

Some thoughts

I sure we've all had those days, moments - when you are out on the road, wind in your hair. When you feel like there isn't anything in the world that can touch you, not so much as lay a finger. You look around at the faces milling around, laughing, talking, smiling and remember. Remember the wistful smiles, the unthinkable wishes, dreams caught up in everyday life. And feel nothing much but sheer gratitude for being where you are now.

And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter
- Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin.

Sigh, they dont make music (or write lyrics) like that anymore. Anyway, saw Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Bhool Bhulaiya. Reviews to follow.

I'm happy

Here goes:

Lyrics:
Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas
I need to get myself away from this place
I said yep what a concept
I could use a little fuel myself
And we could all use a little change
Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Back to the rule and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb

Round two to music

After Radiohead, its the turn of Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor posted an announcement on the band's website announcing that they're now "free agents".

"I have been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate". Expect something big to follow. Hooray for music lovers. On that note, here's NIN with "Hurt".

Now, contrast that with Johnny Cash's cover. Personally, I find it hard to choose between the two.

Fall from grace

"All I can do is continue to be clean and to be around people who are clean" - Marion Jones. A beloved hero crashes and burns. Sad.

The truth will out

And it did. Now everyone knows.

Finally, an interesting Hindi movie

A friend told me that I should watch Johnny Gaddar to appreciate how much a filmmaker could enjoy making a movie. He wasn't exaggerating. Sriram Raghavan has painstaking crafted every single frame in Johnny Gaddar, and it shows. I haven't enjoyed a Hindi film as much in recent times. And I don't just mean watching the delectable Neil Nitin Mukesh.

The movie is basically a whodunit, except we know who did it right from the very start. About 15 minutes into the movie, we know who the Gaddar (traitor) is and what he is about to do. The actual act of treachery occurs about 45 minutes into the film, and then you're like - what now? It is to Raghavan's credit that he keeps us glued to the screen with his fast paced narrative and tightly woven script. M, who was watching it with me could resist his glee at the movie's close resemblance to a James Hadley Chase thriller (In a recent interview, Raghavan cited James Hadley Chase, Vijay Anand and Amitabh Bachchan movies as sources of inspiration for Johnny Gaddar. As the title credits roll, we see the hero (anti-hero?) reading a James Hadley Chase novel).

Dharmedra not withstanding, there is no big star in the cast, which works well for the movie. Neil Nitin Mukesh as the traitorous Vikram carries the movie pretty well on his sculpted shoulders. Kudos for not choosing to debut as the standard Bollywood lover boy. Potential star in the making, provided he chooses his other scripts as well as this one. Vinay Pathak, Zakir Hussain and Rimi Sen are adequate. Govind Namdeo is excellent as the creepy, woman torturing cop(Hated that!).

The soundtrack, ah yes, the soundtrack. Shankar, Ehsan and Loy have had a field day making music for the film. The background score is cheeky, paying open homage to 70s Hollywood thrillers and their Bollywood remakes. The title track pulsates with a guitar that is reminiscent of pulp fiction films that I watched as a kid. Loved it.

Some reviewers have criticized Raghavan for not being original, one in particular said that Raghavan could be the next Sanjay Leela Bhansali if he wrote an original script. Puhleeez, give me a break. This is like watching Pulp Fiction and saying that Tarantino could be the next Ron Howard if he stuck to original scripts! Raghavan, whose last outing was the equally gripping Ek Hasina Thi (inspired by a Sidney Sheldon novel), doesn't need to be a Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In his own way, he's a truly original filmmaker and is a whiff of fresh air in an otherwise monotonous and saturated movie industry. And Johnny Gaddar is way better than much admired movies of recent times, like the overpraised Metro.

Verdict: Must watch!

Also watched Loins of Punjab Presents. Not your typical ABCD movie. The Turbantor (the Jedi life force of Bhangra) and the typical Gujju Patel family were the highlights of the film. The horny show coordinator who tries to seduce women with the the Gypsy Kings was a bit over the top. Funny when the jokes come in, but sloppily executed and slow paced otherwise. Watch on TV/DVD if you are bored.

The Radiohead phenomenon

Music in on its way to becoming free, says Michael Arrington on TechCrunch. Sample: artists and labels will stop thinking of digital music as a source of revenue and start thinking about it as a way to market their real products. Users will be encouraged (even paid, as radio stations are today) to download, listen to and share music. Passionate users who download music from the Internet and share it with others will become the most important customers, not targets for ridiculous lawsuits. Can't wait for that to happen. In the meanwhile, you can download In Rainbows here.

Better day

More or less back to normal after a few crazy weeks and a bout of illness. Have a week's respite before the earnings season starts. Gonna make the most of it. Kicking off with an old favourite, brings back memories of Styx. Miss my Bangalore days.

Sick

I need a month off!

Interesting posts.

a) Astonishing births in the Mahabaratha: Jabberwock
b) Ka: Jabberwock
c) The Mormons are coming: Salon
d) Cricket: Chronicus Skepticus

Request

I request all parents with girl children to pay attention to this message. Kindly bring up your girl child such that she grows up with no brains or personality whatsoever. In case your little girl shows signs of being pretty bright, or questions what you might believe, get her lobotomized. For if you let her grow into a person with a mind of her own, she'll only be asked to dumb it down and toe the line at all points of her life. Or she'll grow up, think she's found this cool place or this great chap, only to be asked to become a mute spectator to her own life. And if she tries to stand up for what she believes in, she'll be spat upon and torn down. Do your girl child a big favour - bring her up to be sheep. For no matter what we say, we still live in a deeply male dominated society and the norms are still sexist, if only less blatant.

25 years of smiles

The smiley celebrates its 25th birthday. Excerpts from Scott Fahlman's site:

By the early 1980’s, the Computer Science community at Carnegie Mellon was making heavy use of online bulletin boards or “bboards”. These were a precursor of today’s newsgroups, and they were an important social mechanism in the department – a place where faculty, staff, and students could discuss the weighty matters of the day on an equal footing. Many of the posts were serious: talk announcements, requests for information, and things like “I’ve just found a ring in the fifth-floor men’s room. Who does it belong to?” Other posts discussed topics of general interest, ranging from politics to abortion to campus parking to keyboard layout (in increasing order of passion). Even in those days, extended “flame wars” were common.

Given the nature of the community, a good many of the posts were humorous (or attempted humor). The problem was that if someone made a sarcastic remark, a few readers would fail to get the joke, and each of them would post a lengthy diatribe in response. That would stir up more people with more responses, and soon the original thread of the discussion was buried. In at least one case, a humorous remark was interpreted by someone as a serious safety warning.

This problem caused some of us to suggest (only half seriously) that maybe it would be a good idea to explicitly mark posts that were not to be taken seriously. After all, when using text-based online communication, we lack the body language or tone-of-voice cues that convey this information when we talk in person or on the phone. Various “joke markers” were suggested, and in the midst of that discussion it occurred to me that the character sequence :-) would be an elegant solution – one that could be handled by the ASCII-based computer terminals of the day. So I suggested that. In the same post, I also suggested the use of :-( to indicate that a message was meant to be taken seriously, though that symbol quickly evolved into a marker for displeasure, frustration, or anger.

Keep smiling :-)

Ah, well

I seem to have traded a relatively hassle-free existence for one that's stressful as hell. Somethings are meant to be stayed away from, no matter what the temptation or how sound the reasoning seems to be.

Lyrics:
Say "keep within the boundaries if you want to play."
Say "contradiction only makes it harder."
How can I be what I want to be?
When all I want to do is strip away
These stilled constraints
And crush this charade, shred this sad masquerade
I don't need no persuading
I'll trip, fall, pick myself up and
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love or leave me high...

GAAH!

That's all I have to say.

Yay

Firefox hit 400m downloads. Market share has also increased to 17.4% from 11.8% last year. Great news. In other news, if you live in Ulyanovsk, you get Wednesdays off to make babies, and get rewarded for it!

Colours

Do you ever think that people are like colours - blues, violets, reds, golds in a world thats multiple shades of gray? No, that would be an oversimplification. People, like the world, are multiple shades of colours. Take blue for instance - cool & breezy, light & summery, dark & mysterious, dull & gloomy - the list is endless. Sometimes you get the brightest, the softest, the most mellow, soft and comforting. Something that makes you feel that all is right with the world and everything will be fine. Sometimes you get the harshest, the coldest, the most violent shades, which leave you reeling in shock and pain. Close your eyes and picture the colours that we meet everyday. And pray that today's palette will be warm and soothing.


Heard it first on Pandora. Miss Pandora.

Who I wanna be today

Never Forget.

Never Forgive.

This too shall pass

Trying to breathe easy. On that note,


Love the video, love the song.

Super cool

Via Slashdot: CIO magazine rates the 7 wonders of the IT world. Candidates includes Google's top secret data centre and the computer farthest from the earth.

Shine On

Spent the better part of the weekend feeling vaguely sick. Work week not helping matters either. Anyway, here's a song:

On the bright side, I took home a haul from the Landmark book sale. Loot includes a heavily discounted copy of the System of the World, Part 3 of the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.

I need a vacation

On the bike, wind in my hair, no city in sight. And this song:

Lust

Need I say more?

They call this research??

New research findings have found(!) that men pick women primarily for their looks. No surprises there. I wonder which idiot funded that research. Ask anyone on the street and they would have told you the same! Now women supposedly know what to go for. I wonder.

New one

Matchbox Twenty is out with a new album. Can't say I like the new single too much.

In fact, I don't. Sad.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Recently, I came to know that this girl I've known for nearly 3 years suffers physical abuse at home. Needless to say, I was shocked beyond words. Reading Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" brought back the same questions - why do women put up with domestic violence? why are their men such stupid beasts? why does society tolerate, or in some cases, encourage the repression of women?

Khaled Hosseini's over-simplified book does not aim to answer any of the above. Instead, the author proceeds to milk the premise of mistreated women in Afghanistan to fill his coffers with royalty payments. Having read The Kite Runner, it was easy to anticipate the narrative in Suns - Hosseini's repertoire is quite limited. At no point in the misery laden lives of Miriam and Laila could I connect with the characters. It is easy to sympathize, but something made me stop short of truly caring about these battered women and their plight. Still, the horror of living in a country where there is no way out is staggering just to think about. When Laila is about to deliver her second baby, the doctor performs a c-section without anesthesia, under constant fear that some Talib might find out that she's taken off her hijab in order to see better while she's operating. For the sake of the Afghan women, I hope Hosseini's just exaggerating.

One thing the Hosseini does well (as he did in The Kite Runner) is bring out the rather violent and murky history of Afghanistan. Living in a country like India, which had no single ruler till the British came along, I sometimes wonder if we're meant to be a single nation. Afghanistan, by Hosseini's account clearly isn't. There are too many factions, too much aggression in these people to be a peaceful unified country. But then, that would be true of all human nature wouldn't it?

Verdict - Average. Hosseini will have to come up with something really good to make me read him again.

Eat Me, Drink Me

Picked up Marilyn Manson's "Eat Me, Drink Me" last week. Critical acclaim aside, I think this is Manson's most moody and mellow work to date. Written mostly after a manic depressive spell and through a troubled relationship, the lyrics are largely ignorable. The music is something else- listening to it on headphones transports me to a happy place where good music is still alive. Manson claims to have sung most of the album lying down on the studio floor, which makes him sound like he's tripping a little more than usual. Love it, except for the sellout club mix of Heart Shaped Glasses. Manson, if you do anymore of this, I solemnly swear to hate you. Great album otherwise. My current favourite is Putting Holes in Happiness.

Duh!

This girl just took the dumb blonde story further:

Ratatouille

The only time I was grossed out was when the entire rat population from the sewers of Paris got in gear to help Remy cook his best for the emaciated food critic Anton Ego. Even the fact that they washed up before cooking didn't help. But that was the only time that I even thought that the idea that a rat would become a chef was ridiculous, which according to me is Ratatouille's greatest achievement.

Various reviews have suggested that this is fairly routine stuff for a studio like Pixar, and I agree to some extent. This is a rather simple but warm hearted tale of Remy, a wannabe chef whose primary handicap is that he isn't human. Inspired by the Munnabhai-Gandhi-like spirit of the jowly chef Gusteau, Remy pursues his dream. With some help and co-operation from the hapless Linguini, the garbage boy with no talent for cooking.

Story wise, this is nowhere in comparison to the originality of Monsters Inc. or the hilarity of Toy Story or even The Incredibles. But its a Pixar movie after all, and the quality of animation keeps getting better and better. The landscapes are just brilliant - both rural France where Remy first lives and the great French capital are brought to life in breathtaking detail and splendour. Remy, for some reason, is blue, but he is 100% rat down to every strand of fur and his cute little nose.

The humans are highly stylized as well, especially Skinner, Ego and Linguini - one look at them and you can sum up the kind of people they are. Linguini is tall and loose limbed with the kind of wide-eyed earnestness that stops just short of total vacancy. Chef Skinner, at about 2 and half feet, is all malice; his pencil thin moustache is as expressive as the sneer he sports. But deserve all applause for Anton Ego (voiced excellently by Peter O'Tootle), the severe food critic who cannot swallow if he doesn't like the food. He is coloured like he's always a minute ahead of being 6 feet under and so painfully thin that you wish that people would cook some good food so that the poor man wouldn't starve.

While Monsters Inc. cracked me up with just the ridiculousness of the premise, the humour in Ratatouille is more physical - Remy's ingenious way of controlling Linguini and as described earlier, the very characters themselves. Regular fare for people like me who have come to expect more from Pixar. The obligatory Disney sweetness in the second half is a bit too tedious. Otherwise, not bad at all. The absence of less-talented-but-more-famous celebrities as the voices of the main cast helps as well.

The best bit about watching Pixar movies are the shorts that precede the actual movie. Lifted, the short that played before Ratatouille was freaking amazing and totally hilarious! I got my money's worth from that alone! Enjoy.

Enough

I am tired of people treating me like I know nothing about Life, the Universe and Everything. I am sick of people talking over my heads like I don't exist. I am 28 years old, I am here and now on my own steam, no matter what my strengths and failings and I'm gonna be alright without anybody to help. I am not trying to please anyone any longer. I will always be my own girl!

Haven't seen this one in a while

A second hand emotion

For as long as I can remember the whole concept of "love" has been rather puzzling to me. It beats me why Romeo would kill himself for a girl he met a few days ago and has no business being with? People tell me its a beautiful emotion, makes you feel this way and that. IMHO, its just an overrated thing. I mean, lets look at the flip side - overwrought emotions, perceptible increase in silliness, loss of space and in some cases a blurring of identity, deeper wounds and longer lasting hurt. And still I observe people getting into this everyday.

I've been attempting to understand the biomechanics behind this (see this post). The question is - can this be fixed? Can human behaviour be altered or aided through some kind of medical therapy so that we don't have to fall prey to such emotions? Or if that doesn't work out, some kind of mechanism to reassure people so that the downside can be protected?

Anyway, here's a great video.

Just one of those days?

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you've woken up on the wrong side of the bed? Your temper is set to simmer and you have to fight to keep it at bay? And on top of it, external circumstances keep throwing things at you that you wont face on a normal day? You go to the gym, sweat it out (I mean the heavy duty, rivulets of sweat kind) and come out feeling nice and de-stressed. And wham, here comes another one to crank up the nerves again. Man, I need a break. Seriously.

Wow

Here's the unbelievable (?) story of a middle aged man who pretended to be an 18-year old to an 16-year old on the Internet, who in turn was actually a middle aged woman! People can sure be pretty strange!

Some Morrison to liven up the day

For me, nothing can be more soothing than to hear Jim's voice on American Prayer. Jimbo's poetry can give me life, set me right anytime, any place, anyhow. Sampler:

POWER

I can make the earth stop in
its tracks. I made the
blue cars go away.

I can make myself invisible or small.
I can become gigantic & reach the
farthest things. I can change
the course of nature.
I can place myself anywhere in
space or time.
I can summon the dead.
I can perceive events on other worlds,
in my deepest inner mind,
& in the minds of others.

I can.

I am.
(from Wilderness - The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison).

Powerful though it is, An American Prayer isn't just about Morrison's poetry. The Doors created some pretty awesome music for the album. My favourite is A Feast of Friends:

Monday

Interesting video.

Today

They say it gets worse before it gets better. I hope this is worse. In other news, Salman Khan will go to jail for killing black bucks. Serves him right! I hope people don't forget that he's killed a man too.

Blast and damn it!

Enough said.

Creep by Radiohead. Not related at all, but helps when one wants to wallow in the feeling of being low.

Blocked

For the past few weeks, I can't seem to find anything to write about. I open up my dashboard, keep staring at it for a while, and log out. Life seems to be spinning its own way and I am just floating along, like a log in the tide (yep, that heavy!). Things I wish would speed up seem to take forever, and then some things just zip past. Sometimes I get blue, for no apparent reason. I'm getting dizzy with all the jugglery I seem to be doing. Hope this gets stable soon. On that note, here's Jimbo:

The real Deathly Hallows

Gibberish in Neutral (Thanks Sita) has a hilarious (and way better) take on HPDH. Read it here. Sampler:

Hermione: Of course you don't. Dumbledore knew you were a moron the moment you stepped into Hogwarts, and asked me to befriend you and make sure you kept your grades up so you'd make it through long enough to fulfill his plan. Six years of my life wasted feeding you answers, you dim-witted shitard.

In other news, here are some phoney tales!

Who I wanna be today

Look who's back

Fox Mulder is back! Actually, he isn't. So we have to settle for the next best thing - David Duchovny! Apparently, the new TV series Californication is pretty good. When will it hit the screens here? I would love to see DD back on my TV!

Well...

Somethings just cant be talked about, no matter how they make one feel. I just wish that things would speed up on all fronts, though. On that note,

Glad its over

Two words - Hindi movie. After all the hype, The Deathly Hallows turned out to be pretty disappointing - weak plot lines, way too much melodrama, gaping plot holes and a masala movie ending. Not that JK Rowling could ever hold a candle to Tolkien, but she seems to have run out of ideas smart enough to finish her insanely popular series. Great that we don't have to wait for more. Insipid.

Tough one

Sometimes its tough being who or what we are. On that note, here's Chris Cornell:

Crazy

This woman has had 17 children and wants more. She is definitely out of her mind! How does she run a family, let alone have a life when she's pregnant all the time? Pro-life my foot! The Duggars are just primitive!

In other news, Brian May is about to become a PhD in astronomy!

On change

What does one do when things change, or are about to change in a big way? Change is the only constant, yet we get jittery every time we realize that change is coming. Even if we have chosen it ourselves. Aristotle once said "Change in all things is sweet". But even as it feels so good, the prospect of change does send a little shiver down the spine. But when its time for a change, and you know its good- the only thing to do is just close your eyes and move ahead!

In the meantime,



The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.- Marcus Aurelius

The results of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2007 are out. Winner:

Gerald began--but was interrupted by a piercing whistle which cost him ten percent of his hearing permanently, as it did everyone else in a ten-mile radius of the eruption, not that it mattered much because for them "permanently" meant the next ten minutes or so until buried by searing lava or suffocated by choking ash--to pee.

Jim Gleeson
Madison, WI

Rest here.

Sunflower Sutra

First read Ginsberg while at college. More partial to the Sunflower Sutra than Howl. Excerpt:

A perfect beauty of a sunflower! a perfect excellent
lovely sunflower existence! a sweet natural eye
to the new hip moon, woke up alive and excited
grasping in the sunset shadow sunrise golden
monthly breeze!
How many flies buzzed round you innocent of your
grime, while you cursed the heavens of the
railroad and your flower soul?

Poor dead flower? when did you forget you were a flower? when did you look at your skin and decide you were an impotent dirty old locomotive? the ghost of a locomotive? the specter and shade of a once powerful mad American locomotive? You were never no locomotive, Sunflower, you were a sunflower! And you Locomotive, you are a locomotive, forget me not!

So I grabbed up the skeleton thick sunflower and stuck
it at my side like a scepter,
and deliver my sermon to my soul, and Jack's soul
too, and anyone who'll listen,

--We're not our skin of grime, we're not our dread
bleak dusty imageless locomotive, we're all
beautiful golden sunflowers inside, we're blessed
by our own seed & golden hairy naked
accomplishment-bodies growing into mad black
formal sunflowers in the sunset, spied on by our
eyes under the shadow of the mad locomotive
riverbank sunset Frisco hilly tincan evening
sitdown vision.

This guy was something else.

The unbearable weight of being

Women can be really stupid. When it comes to men, that is. I really don't know what it is about relationships that turns the smartest of women into bumbling idiots. Take this woman, for instance. Known her for way too long, I must say. So when this guy came into her life, the operative words were 'caution', 'time', 'no involvement', the works. But did she listen? To be fair, she tried hard not to get carried away by 'feelings' and 'emotions'. But then you know how these things go - puppy dog eyes, romantic dinners and stuff. And hey, she's only human, right? Well, evidently she forgot the pain she's been through after the last time. Whats that popular quote - Only fools make the same mistake twice? Yep, she's a total fool. Absolutely, unbelievably, mind bogglingly stupid. Sorry babe, merely stating a fact. But you know you'll be fine, don't you? It will hurt for a while, but time heals all. Amen.

On that note,

Want to see this one

28

Another year older, yet none of the I'm-older-but-wish-I-were-wiser guilt this time. Yep, could be a lot wiser, but I couldn't have asked for a better start to another year. Thanks, Moles! On that note,

Good one

Pajiba rates the cheesiest movie soundtracks of all time. Great read.

Some men are like wine...

... they get better with age, of course. And John McClane is pretty impressive vintage. I was in school when my father took me to see Die Hard 2. That's right, I watched 2 before I watched 1. And man, was I impressed! Must have spent the next couple of days trying to smirk like Bruce Willis. Watched all the Die Hard movies after that, and even though I'm no action movie buff, I've enjoyed all of them, Die Hard 4.0 included.

Agreed, the plot is too straight forward, its too clean a movie (I mean, John McClane doesn't even curse), Len Wiseman could have done a better job etc, etc. But its hard to pin down a guy like McClane and the movie is still one hell of a ride (albeit a slower one in the second half). Age has caught up with him, Holly's divorced him and his daughter wont even speak to him. He is ancient compared to the post pubescent geek who's help he needs in order to save the world this time. But you can still count on him to be the right guy at the right place at the right time. Watching him get bruised, bloodied and shot makes one worry, like he's a favourite uncle who keeps getting into trouble he shouldn't really be part of.

The action sequences seem so real, none of the hi-fi CGI stuff that we have become so used to (except for the fighter plane sequences, which get a little too much). Wiseman relies more on hands on action - Cyrill Rafaelli's (District B13) leaping lizard action sequences are just amazing. McClane has gotten old, so no big fights for him. He goes straight for the jugular, and when he is out gunned by a kung fu fighting waif of a girl (Maggie Q), he just rams a car into her. Haven't watched action sequences so gritty (and real) in a long while.

Timothy Olyphant plays Thomas Gabriel with a rather chilly psychotic edge. One look at him, and you know you're looking at a mad man. A wee bit over the top perhaps, but forgiven since he's such great eye candy. Justin Long is adequate for the cliched geek that he plays. Kevin Smith's (Clerks) cameo as Warlock was hilarious!

But Die Hard 4 is still Bruce Willis' show and he plays McClane as this rock of a man who's stood firm as the world changed around him. McClane is sad and alone, being a hero has done nothing for him. Gone is that trademark smirk, gone is the rough language. But the die hard attitude is still the same. When Farrel and McClane reach the villain's lair where his daughter is being held hostage, Farrel asks him what his plan is. Pat comes the reply, "Find Lucy, kill everybody else". John McClane might have gotten older, but he's still every bit the bad ass. And a true hero!

Verdict - Impressive, especially for a part 4.

Might have blogged this before

Morrison. Never fails to make me feel better. Even if its just a wee bit so.

What are you doing here?
What do you want?
Is it music?
We can play music.
But you want more.
You want something & someone new.
Am I right?
Of course I am.
I know what you want.
You want ecstasy
Desire & dreams.
Things not exactly what they seem.
I lead you this way, he pulls that way.
I'm not singing to an imaginary girl.
I'm talking to you, my self.
Let's recreate the world.
The palace of conception is burning.
Look. See it burn.
Bask in the warm hot coals.

You're too young to be old.
You don't need to be told
You want to see things as they are.
You know exactly what I do

Thought for the day

Some people are too dumb to learn from their mistakes. And I seem to be one of them. On that note,

What can I say, I'm just a lesser mortal

Except of course, that it happens to the best of us. Never mind the video, awesome song!

Oh crap!

On that note:

Results are here again

Bracing myself for a rather rough season of quarterly results. No energy to post anything. Yet to see Die Hard 4.0 or The Order of the Phoenix. In the meantime, does anybody know how to read minds?

Seriously.

Love the video.

I am happy

Thats all I have to say.

Who knew...

... that one would actually look forward to Monday for a change?

Indonesia dreams

Planning a trip to Indonesia to meet a dear old friend and have some fun. Wish list includes a beautiful beach, orangutans, komodo dragons and a volcano. Hope it happens. Sampler:

© Suman Sinha - http://wasteland.suman-sinha.com

An Afghanistan we didn't know

I was pretty reluctant to pick up Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. I mean, a book so popular that all of page 3 is reading it... c'mon. But curiosity got the better of me (that, and the 60 bucks pirated edition at churchgate) and I ended up reading it. Lost it halfway through, bought another one and finished it. And what can I say, its been a while since I read something so beautifully tragic.

The Kite Runner is about two boys - Amir and Hassan - growing up in pre-Soviet Afghanistan. Hassan is the servant who's totally devoted to Amir and the best kite runner in all of Kabul. Their rather rosy childhood is interrupted when a shocking incident changes their relationship forever. The Soviet invasion and the rise of the Taliban further alienate the now expatriate Amir. However, the path to salvation lies in Kabul and Amir must seek his in the land of his ancestors.

There are few books that draw the reader so well into their emotional stream, and The Kite Runner is one of them. Right from the beginning, there is this sense of gloom, a dread that something horrible will happen to tear the young protagonists apart. A feeling of guilt runs through the narrative like a little brook that is out of sight, but whose gentle sound your ears cannot ignore. The only thing that mars the gentle subtlety of emotions of the book is the ending (or rather, the last few chapters) - its too dramatic in comparison, rather like a Hindi movie climax.

Apart from the story of personal loss and redemption, the book also paints a vivid picture of Afghanistan before it became the ravaged nation that it is now. When Amir finally returns to Kabul, one can sense the author's sense of outrage at the rape of a beloved land. And sadness at the loss of so much culture and heritage. In all, a good read. Reading Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns next.

Phew... not yet

Hectic week. And I'm working tomorrow (its compulsory, you see!). Gaaaah! I'd love to be feeling like this:

Lovely

I was 11 or 12 when I first heard (saw) this song, and kept wondering if the singer was a guy or a girl. Tracy Chapman has been a favourite ever since. Needless to say, I love Fast Car. Beautiful song.

Its that time of the year... again

With the quarterly results season approaching, I can't seem to find enough hours in the day. Working in a work out schedule into the same just makes the squeeze tighter. For once, I don't want it to be Friday soon. Else I'll be in a soup and a hot one at that :). An old favourite for some respite:

Gloom on a rainy day

Appalling

Read this at feministing- women who essentially have husbands that run their lives: one husband picks out his wife's outfits and hairstyles, another insists that she shave his face and put his toothpaste on his toothbrush, there is even one woman who is blindfolded when she and her husband drive so she's not tempted to offer help with directions.

I am shocked beyond words. Surrendered wives who have no say whatsoever in anything - shopping, child bearing, finances, sex. OH. MY. GOD. How can these women put up with such stuff? How traumatized are these morons?

Nostalgia

I was in primary school when I first watched Mani Ratnam's Nayakan. The movie begins at a funeral, where a little boy knifes the policeman responsible for his father's death and runs away. Well, this post isn't really about the movie (rated amongst The Top 100 Movies of all time by TIME). Ilayaraja did some really good work for this movie, and the title track "Thenpandi Cheemayile" still brings a lump to my throat like it did all those years ago. The beauty of the song is primarily in the lyrics - about a lost little boy - that readily appealed to a little girl who was watching the movie. The lyrics are something like this:

Thenpandi cheemayile, therodum veedhiyile
Maan pola vandhavnai yaar adithaaro
Yaar adithaaro, yaar adithaaro...

Valarum piraye theiyadhe
Iniyum azhudhu thembadhe
Azhudha manasu thangadhe
Azhudha manasu thangadhe

A rough translation:
In the southern realm of the Pandiyas
In the streets where chariots race
He was skipping along like a fawn
Who could have hurt him?

O waxing moon, please don't wane
Don't sob your heart out
For your tears will break my heart
For your tears will break my heart

You can watch it here.

Aside:
The little boy goes on to become one of the most feared mafia dons in Mumbai (based on a true story). In one of the last few scenes in the movie, his little grandson asks the don "Are you a good man, or bad?". For a moment, the old man weighs all his actions and replies, " I don't know, son. I don't know."

Sometimes I get tired of all this running. My teeny, tiny brain needs a break. On that note, here's Eddie Vedder.

Its official, George Clooney is the Cary Grant of our times!

I've avoided watching most of the 3rd installments on screen recently (Spidey, Pirates, even Shrek). Was hoping Ocean's 13 would break the curse of the sequels, but... Danny Ocean and his motley crew failed to enthuse me as much as they did when they were fewer in number.

That said, Ocean's 13 is still the best 3rd installment out this season - Clooney just seems to sink deeper into the suave and debonair skin of Danny Ocean with each movie. He's clearly the biggest draw here, and his easy camaraderie with Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) has gotten even better. Loved the snatches of conversations about their respective women, offering glimpses of the regular guys beneath the cool dude veneers. Eh, regular dudes who sniffle over The Oprah Winfrey Show. Matt Damon, who was extremely likable in the Talented Mr. Ripley (I don't understand the fuss about Jude Law anyway) gets some more screen time here. He certainly doesn't need the help from the Gilroy, that guy looks hot even with that ridiculous nose!

But the real scene stealers belong to Virgil Malloy (Casey Affleck - why doesn't this guy get more work?) who incites the workers into rebellion at the factory in Mexico where he's supposed to be fixing the dice. I totally loved this subplot! Almost everybody else is wasted here - Ellen Barkin, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia, and last but not least - the amazing Vincent Cassel. François Toulour actually made Ocean's Twelve more watchable, but his blink-and-you'll-miss-it subplot in 13 is so disappointing.

The biggest disappointment is the lack of the trademark Ocean twist to the tale at the end of the movie. After 11 and 12, one comes to expect that Danny Ocean and his boys would have some trick up their slinky sleeves. Unfortunately for us, not this time.