A new study has found that single women do less housework than women who live with a romantic partner - Salon.
Attended a violin recital organised by the Symphony Orchestra of India at the NCPA on Friday. What can I say? - I was mesmerized. The first part by Kazakh violinist Marat Bisengaliev put me into almost trance-like state. I haven't heard anything so beautiful played live - he was soulful and stirring. The second half, which featured compositions by Beethoven conducted by Johannes Wildner, was equally good. I listen to western classical occasionally, but watching an orchestra play it live was just exhilarating. Came back rejuvenated!
After a lazy and pampered Saturday, I pulled myself out to watch Honeymoon Travels on Sunday. A fun ride, once you've unhooked your brains. Why is ArjunRampal so damn good looking? And why do they keep de-glamorisingKK in every movie? He's quite the head turner in real life! Spent some time practising baby talk with a colleague's baby and headed home for some R&R.
Have I mentioned that I love Pearl Jam (before that last couple of albums that is)? If Eddie Vedder gets to be lead singer of The Doors, I wouldn't really mind -that's how much I like his voice. This is one of my favourites, and I just love the tone of defiance in the song. Sampler:
Ill take the firmest path Oh, and I must refuse your test Push me and I will resist This behaviour's not unique I don't want to hear from those who know They can buy, but cant put on my clothes I don't want to limp for them to walk Never would have known of me before I don't want to be held in your debt And Ill pay it off in blood, let I be wed
And here's the video (Sims 2, but the only one I could find that wasn't a live version).
After earlier avatars as sailor, submariner and deep sea diver, my cousin Rajesh (Lt Cdr N Rajesh - he's in the Indian Navy) is now a qualified sky diver and sky diving instructor! After a mind boggling 1,130 jumps from as high as 13,000 feet, Rajesh is amongst the few skydivers in India. Recently, he was in Antarctica with his team where they carried out an extremely dangerous and unprecedented training sky dive over the White continent. Here is an extract from the Naval press release:
Instructors of the Indian navy Lt Cdr N RajeshChief Instructor and Lt cdrMVBirajdar carried out an Accelerated Free Fall Training jump (AFF Stage –1) for a novice girl (Ms ShitalMahajan) on 15 Dec 06 at a temporary drop zone near Patriot hill 80.21 S Latitude (Antarctica). The Naval Officer Instructors trained Ms Shital for her 1st ever free fall jump and made her sky dive holding her on either side from a height of 11600 ft AGL (14500 ft MSL approx).
Skydiving is a high-risk adventure and sport activity and training a novice poses a higher degree of responsibility and risk on the part of the instructors. It is extremely dangerous to carry out in a hostile atmosphere such as in Antarctica. The temperature at the exit of the sky divers was Minus 38 deg Celsius at 11600 ft AGL and the wind chill would have been about Minus 90 to 110 deg c. The 3 sky divers (2 inst and 1 student) accelerated to a abnormal speed of 208 kmph due to rarity of the Antarctic atmosphere. Also due to sudden & extreme changes in temperature the goggles froze and the white continent with its sastrugis posed a dangerous landing ground. The skydivers reported that their hands were frozen (frost bite happens in few minutes of exposure at that temperatures and wind chills) when they opened their parachute. They had difficulty in handling the control line and locate and in the DZ. It was sheer survival instinct, which drew them to bear the extreme cold and got to land the Novice safely after a rather safe free fall.
A couple of years ago, I asked Rajesh what it felt like to sky dive. His reply was that after a few jumps, "it feels like Nirvana!" What an achievement! How I wish he'd take me skydiving some day!!
Reading Immortality by Milan Kundera. Found a lovely poem by Goethe in it.
Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh, in allen Wipfeln spürest du Kaum einen Hauch. Die Vögel schweigen in Walde. Warte nur, balde ruhest du auch.
Beautiful. Makes me wish I'd taken my German classes seriously. Here's the translation, though nowhere as lovely as the original German.
On all the hilltops There is peace, In all the treetops You will hear Hardly a breath. Birds in the woods are silent. Just wait, soon You too will rest.
Remember the series of short films that BMW made starring Clive Owen (yum, yum!)? Here's my favourite. It also has Gary Oldman as a rather gay Devil and a cameo by Marilyn Manson. LoL.
Post Britney's egg head stunt, Nathaniel at Film Experience lists out the top 10 baldies of all time. And here is a song with a baldie - Chop Suey by System Of A Down. Rocking video!
... a lot of rest, that is. Neck and shoulders more or less in shape now. Just hoping that sitting at a computer doesn't make things bad again! Moved out to catch Music & Lyrics and the Roger Waters show on Sunday.
The Roger Water's show first. Long queues, total chaos and hurting feet seemed to be worth it when the show started off with In The Flesh. But at the end of the show I came out feeling...well, disappointed. I am still wondering why I didn't enjoy the show - he played quite a few of my favourite songs (Have A Cigar & Vera were the high points!), the sound was great once we hit the right spot, the crowd was roaring away to glory. But! Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't see anything on stage, or that the show seemed to run like a well oiled machine with no spontaneity whatsoever. Or maybe I have just outgrown Pink Floyd.
Movie Review: Music and Lyrics At the outset, let me make it clear that I don't like romantic comedies. I find them cliched, sappy and unbearably cloying. Music and Lyrics is cliched, a little bit sappy, but is saved from being boring and icky sweet by sheer virtue of its lead pair. Hugh Grant seems to have gotten a wacky sense of comedy when he got rid of his famous locks. And Drew Barrymore is so likable, even when she is in a bad movie. Together Grant and Barrymore redeem Music and Lyrics from descending to routine romcom fare.
Grant plays Alex Fletcher, a has-been pop star from an 80s band called Pop! (which is clearly inspired by Wham!). Reduced to playing at amusement parks and high school reunions where he happily obliges the crowd with his once famous hip shakes, Alex gets an opportunity to write a song for teen star Cora Corman. According to Alex's manager, Cora (a mix of Britney and Shakira) is bigger than Britney and Christina put together and a hit with her would help Alex's non existent career. But Alex can only write music and needs someone to help with the lyrics.
Enter Sophie Fischer, who comes in to water Alex's plants, who seems to be a natural born lyricist and plant killer. Sophie is also nursing a broken heart and crushed spirit post an affair with her professor who has used her as a model for an unflattering character in his recent best seller. Well, the rest is easy to figure. Barrymore and Grant seem mismatched at first, and as the movie progresses, we see that's why they are so right for each other. Together, they rise above all the little problems that romcoms typically have and their banter is just so causal and funny. I loved the scene where Sophie tells Alex "That's wonderfully sensitive, Alex. Especially for someone who wears such tight pants." Beat. Then Alex says, "It forces all the blood to my heart". Man, find me a guy like that!!
The soundtrack also works well for the movie, A Way Back Into Love - the song that Alex and Sophie eventually write for Cora is catchy, but I really loved Pop! Goes My Heart. Replete with weird hairdos (they were fashionable then, says Alex!), funny dancing and dream sequences, its a scream, just like the movie! Watch:
PS: I went to the Roger Waters show after I saw Music and Lyrics and I couldn't help relating Waters to Fletcher. And did I mention that I streaked my hair violet?
People I know have come back to me after my last post saying, "what the hell do you mean?" Like I said in this post, some of my favourite people died young. Morrison said that he wanted to be a shooting star, glowing bright against the sky one minute, gone the next. Extended life spans and immortality are highly overrated, IMHO. I mean, no one wants to be Wowbagger. Go figure! And if you are a fan of the Hitchhiker's Guide, try this.
Date with Roger Waters on Sunday. Can't wait. Here's a song in the meanwhile...
Last week, I posted about the controversial Ashley Treatment. In their blog, Ashley parent's have argued that the procedure also insures her against cancer, pneumonia etc. I just recalled an episode of Grey's Anatomy (yes, the doctors and interns on the show actually have time to look at patients too!) in which a woman wants a mastectomy and hysterectomy because she is afraid that she will get cancer. Agreed, this was a TV series, but what if it happens in real life? Does this mean that any body part that one can live without should be removed in order to prevent disease? Would I do the same if I was told that I had a high possibility of cancer? Would you?
Earth stained red with a poor man's blood A smile on a face so long missed Hands touch... Smells rise up from unannounced rains An explosion of feeling sears across dendrites
The city warm after a long awaited bath A shy sun hidden in the grey sky Droplets whip past the window And people drip in on a Monday morning.
In other news, another one bites the dust. And the pain is excruciating! And did I mention that I finally met AzimPremji, and actually spoke to him?
Doctors at the Seattle hospital operated on a disabled girl to keep her from reaching sexual maturity, the treatment included removing a 6-year-old girl's breast buds, giving her a hysterectomy, and administering high doses of estrogen to keep her short. OH MY GOD!
Apparently, the girl's parents requested the treatment to keep their daughter small and desexualized so they could continue to care for her at home and provide her with the "best possible quality of life."
Read the full article at Salon. The parents have a blog! How the hell could they do this to their own child! How can such things be allowed? How can you mutilate a child with disabilities just because you feel it will be easier for you to take care? Christ, I am just so appalled!!
For a change, a really sweet Tamil song. Makes me homesick - want mama around. And dad, and my bro. This is from the Tamil remake of Memento (yes, we have songs in it!)
A couple of years ago, I asked Rajesh what it felt like to sky dive. His reply was that after a few jumps, "it feels like Nirvana!" What an achievement! How I wish he'd take me skydiving some day!!
At the outset, let me make it clear that I don't like romantic comedies. I find them cliched, sappy and unbearably cloying. Music and Lyrics is cliched, a little bit sappy, but is saved from being boring and icky sweet by sheer virtue of its lead pair. Hugh Grant seems to have gotten a wacky sense of comedy when he got rid of his famous locks. And Drew Barrymore is so likable, even when she is in a bad movie. Together Grant and Barrymore redeem Music and Lyrics from descending to routine romcom fare.
