Thursday, December 30, 2004

for the longest time, i used to love the sound of Enya until i heard Dido. though they are both similar--haunting voices-- dido scores when it comes to lyrics... enya leans more towards the notes while dido combines both.

life for rent-dido
I haven't ever really found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it
I apologize that once again I'm not in love
But it's not as if I mind
that your heart ain't exactly breaking

It's just a thought, only a thought

But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

I've always thought
that I would love to live by the sea
To travel the world alone
and live more simply
I have no idea what's happened to that dream
As there's really nothing left here to stop me

It's just a thought, only a thought

But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down
While I am so afraid to fail so I won't even try
Well how can I say I'm alive

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

swish

what if you were sitting on the beach, were two tequilas down, and saw a great big wave taller than the highest mountain you have ever seen, coming your way... would you even try to run, or hold on to the one you love/d and say goodbye?

"just go with the flow" -- i am going to think twice before using that phrase again!!

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

two types

there are two types of people i know now--those who upgrade their looks and the others who upgrade their computers. both are equally interesting to know. i would never call the former ones fruitcakes nor would i refer to the latter as geeks. depending on the mood of the moment, i can connect with either one of them. one thing is for sure though: i now know more of the latter than the former. it's all about occupying different places at different stages in your life...

Sunday, December 12, 2004

shrinking

seems like the list of people i like spending time with in real life is fast shrinking. the list now largely comprises characters on screen or in books.

Monday, December 06, 2004

OHMIGOD

i am not a jokes kinda person...i mostly forget the ones i hear and don't enjoy hearing new ones either...but this is one that i keep going back to time and again coz it gets funnier with each passing day.

Monica: I can't decide between lamb or duck.

Chandler: Well, of course, lambs are scarier. Otherwise the movie would've
been called "Silence of the Ducks".

OHMIGOD

justice this

i have seen over time that people who are kind to animals are extremely unkind to people

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

words don't come easy

two words that we can't live without or so the media would have us believe
-- outsourcing and metrosexual

go shaun

saw a bizarre movie the other day called shaun of the dead...it is listed as one of the 100 movies of 2004 to not miss. the story was strange but so wonderfully executed that it left you very impressed. basically it was a horror story woven into present day humour which was so subtly done that even though it was full of cliches, the cliches were worth every bit of your Sunday afternoon!!

coming back to the list of 2004 movies not to miss, i've seen around 5, so its 95 more to go... and 2004 is fast on its way out!

Monday, November 22, 2004

quote uncoat

having a B grade emotional life can really rake in the moolah. take breakup babe, the latest blogspotter to win a book deal. she got whipped by all the men in her life and in turn she lashed out at them online. result: her blog gets a book deal from random. now this is one thing i have noticed, people who are in search mode in their private lives -- no google doesn't have a kickass solution for that -- write amazing poetry, alternate between bedroom eyes and soulful eyes and if they are lucky write a bridget jones diary that breaks all records. wanna get dumped? you might just get rich!!

jeez...sweet november or what

http://singlesclub.indya.com/espresso/singlespirit/untying.htm

it shall come to pass....

i don't know what prompted me to ask for exorcist-the beginning... especially after i had taken tom hanks'ladykillers. but that's me and horror movies. i can't ever turn down any of them. no matter how silly or how trashy. like the last flick vaastu shastra which i chanced to catch on my cable. it had its moments but the end was a hodgepdoge of bodysnatchers meets the others meets sensational sush. ok, so now i am deviating. back to the beginning or rather the prequel to exorcist. i slid it into the player at 10.45 PM right after the 2nd instalment of ZMZ Temple of doom. at exactly 11.45Pm i decided to end my ordeal. first i got scared, then i got chilled, 45 mins through the film i was convinced i would never 1) take a trip to cairo 2)pick up objects from the ground 3) laugh if i see hyenas.
one thing that really rattles me is the psychobabble that they use to scare you, what should be standing pointing upwards will be pointing down, kids will get possessed, and priests will kiss women.
also not to forget, heads will spin furiously like tops. that is what did me in in exorcist I. it was the scariest most chilling moment i have ever encountered in my horror film fest to date.

Friday, November 19, 2004

Boo!!

just realised i know better ghost stories than ram gopal verma...and they are not lifted from hollywood! ram ram

great gatsbyesque

just finished great gatsby... Fitzgerald's classic had been lying with me for four years before i deigned to open it and then i couldn't put it down. it was superfast -- i like --a jaded look at how rich playboys come to ruin in a consumeristic society where people love you only so long as you can show them a good time. the moment you fall apart they fall behind.
the interesting part is that this book written in the aftermath of world war II depicts the very same sentiments that affect today's --what do they call themselves-- happening crowd.
same shit new day?

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

all new

learnt a new phrase today-- all mouth and no trousers. it translates into "Boastful and without just reason".
E.g."You shouldn't pay any attention to him, he's all mouth and no trousers."

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha

i just know so many contenders for the above description

Sunday, November 07, 2004

coincidences

life is quite crazy, the more you avoid something the more it will follow you. its like this: if you don't like someone you can be sure you will see him or her on your next visit to an obscure spot. of all the hours on the clock, this particular person will choose the same hour and the same spot to come to as you... now isn't that odd?

Sunday, October 31, 2004

cagey musings

a wow ending always makes a hit, i heard nicholas cage say this in adaptation and thought it was a very powerful statement. in his case he was talking about a movie script but it holds so true for life too. its the end that finally makes sense of the beginning and the middles...

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

sounds

my favourite TV serial soundtrack as of now: Boston Public on star world..it's riveting to say the least

Thursday, October 21, 2004

from amsterdam with love

Close your eyes Think about your favourite song Imagine all of your favourite colours Think of magic and mythical creatures Open the gate to your imagination Step into your own fantasy world Remember old stories you used to love Think of your dreams Build your world No limits, no rules Only your imaginationLove your most impossible dreams As real as they'll ever get..
-----by Bijtje sitting in amsterdam who is tired of being mistaken for an american all the time

two much

the most bizarre thing just happened, found that a girl in the Phillipines and I are going through the very same thoughts at this point in our lives. it was hair-raising, i chanced upon her blog and found myself reading my experiences... 2 complete strangers, in two corners of the world, wow!! what if one person's life story was in fact another person's story too... what an interesting script this idea would make!
PS:and what if they should meet?

Sunday, October 17, 2004

galeish

each time i see The Life Of David Gale, i know it is one of my best movies ever. yes am partial to kevin spacey but the movie is riveting and such an eye-opener.
do you believe strongly in anything to die for?
must-watch***

annoying

which one's worse i say
a) stupid person
or
b) workin for a stupid person
or
c) stupid person with attitude
???

Saturday, October 16, 2004

good v/s bad

everyone makes films on good v/s evil, but isn't the good v/s bad theme far more riveting. i for one have just had one of the most eye-opening adventures of my tiny life here on earth. i took up a cause because i believed in it, put everything on the line, and i fought! the experience is doubly sweet because i am up against a "power". but when you fight with an urge in your spirit to just see justice for once, you can actually win. i must now run and see bhagat singh! i'm feeling a bit like him for the first time ever!

Saturday, October 09, 2004

Ash v/s sush

Who is sexier Ash or Sush? All the intellectuals say Sush while the rest of the world prefers Ash.
I for one have always liked Sush :-)
She's not a hypocrite, adopted a daughter instead of a boyfriend and takes risks with roles!
I like...

Sunday, October 03, 2004

sunday sightings

saw In America today, and found it extremely moving. everyone i know is heading there or wants to head there. you can understand the quest for a buzz- financial or emotional- but what happens when you are actually there and find yourself watching bollywood movies to feel at home. that's what most people i know do there. they wouldn't give shah rukh time of day here, but there, he's God! amen to that.

you are only as good as your last blog



hic; hic
since am now writing for a living, find i can't write for free. yikes!!

Monday, September 27, 2004

overrated

1. me thinks bdays are strictly overrated! just had one and found myself answering similar queries: hey happy bday, so what are you doing today, where are you going, how does it feel...?
2. watched shrek 2 and loved it.
3. also watched eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. the title by itself was cool, the movie even cooler.
4. am loathe to admit that i am beginning to like remixes. they r oddly entertaining!! some of them i mean.


Monday, September 13, 2004

when i'm sixty four

this beatles song brings to mind...that
Old age is the scariest thing in the world! there's nothing more depressing than seeing an old man living in misery and there's nothing more exhilarating than seeing an old lady blush. That's why it's so important to choose the right elements to spend the rest of your life with. If you're stuck with no love at the time your bones start creaking there's no gentle way to break it to yourself!
Life is the choices you make!

Thursday, August 26, 2004

where have i been?

I ask myself when I returned to my blog today after a month? Realised I have been working my butt off. One day I am frustrated next day I am calm...but that's me. I don't go under, not if I can help it.
And what have I accomplished otherwise?
well, have discovered Yahoo radio on yahoo msgr, so am on it morn and nite.

then i discovered quentin tarantino all over again, have been watching his films one after another, reservoir dogs, pulp fiction-my favourite- Kill Bill 1, 2.

realised quentin loves a good soundtrack before anything else, also he loves to dance and loves abuse.

OK, so he's not perfect, have yet to meet a creative 30 plus who is!

watched Collateral and loved Tom Cruise as a serial killer. on the whole thought the movie rocked.
have also decided to do away with upper cases for a while!

also, have learnt an important lesson: karma does exist, you always get back what you give out.

Sunday, August 01, 2004

love-hate

Why is everyone in a job they hate? Everywhere I look people are complaining about lacklustre jobs, screwy bosses and senseless work. Everybody wants to leave and join someplace else only to find that it's the same thing in different packaging all over again. Also, the more money you make the more money you spend, so actually it can never be termed an incentive.

Friday, July 30, 2004

beauty queens

Today I heard Nafisa Joseph killed herself and I am quite shocked. It also set me thinking: most of my friends have been beautiful women and most of their lives have been jam packed with tragedy. It just seemed as if the world expected too much of them and they were unable to deliver. Also, every single thing they did was cross examined minutely by those around. Which made them even more uncomfortable and so naturally more vulnerable. Quite a few of them have remained single, they just can't find the right one and even when they do, they are used as trophies to be shown off in the relationship. Is the old adage "beauty is a curse" too brutally honest? I can't say. All I know is that one old friend of mine who used to share my place at one time must be really shaken, since she lost her crown to Nafisa many years ago at the Miss India contest. Who would have thought that things would have turned out this way? All the little girls who wear flowers in their hair and say: I want to be Miss India when I grow up, will now subtly be told that they shouldn't say such bad things ever again! Life is indeed stranger than fiction.

Thursday, July 29, 2004

when people are obtuse

Someone told me that today's 20 somethings are all full of shit, pardon the expression? From what I have observed the breed can either be exceptionally worthy or full of themselves.  The latter is fast becoming an epidemic... the symptoms are cocking a snook at authority, baring midriff under the assumption that its worth baring and taking sexy to as far as it will go!
I am currently studying a particular breed of this species that is suffering from a bout of 'i'm too sexy for this world'. It is hilarious to say the least. Who said sexy is all about T&A? The most sensuous thing I know of is saying the right thing at the right time. It's much like comedy where timing is everything!!

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

no friends

I realised today that there are people in this world who actually have no friends. They have no one to talk to, to bitch with or to try out new things with.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

singletons

I look at people around me and it brings back memories of when I was not in a relationship. For the longest time I was convinced that love would always elude me till one day it hit me right in the face, packaged in unfamilar paper.  I didn't like it at first, fought it for as long as I could and then finally just let it swallow me. Now when I see people in that  familair single limbo as I refer to it, I die to tell them, to just forget that they are looking for love. The moment you do that it comes seeking you out.

From what I remember some of my most painful memories have been connected to wrong choices.  But to make the right choice, you have to learn what the wrong one looks like.

Monday, July 26, 2004

rude inc

Does one necessarily have to be rude to people who are rude to you? I for one am extremely uncomfortable about saying things that will hurt since my sarcasm is usually unforgivable!! And I know for a fact that the other person will be humilated. So I choose the safer way out and keep quiet!! Are there more like me around? I would really like to now...

Sunday, July 25, 2004

back to making a living

After lazing about for the longest time read two years I am back to the grind read work. And I don't know what has hit me.  I find no time to read/update my blog/chat on msgr or just stare into space, which is what I do best.
Do I miss all of it? I can't say.  Coz actually I love working provided the atmosphere is conducive and the boss is not over 40 and an unmarried female with mood swings.
The latter scares me to death!! You can never tell when the tide will turn against you! I like working with men- they are upfront, accessible and not paranoid about losing grip over control.

ideas n all

Oscar Wilde was right when he said "Be careful what you wish for, you might actually get it". I have wished for many things as part of growing up and haven't got any of it.  But in retrospect I am so glad I didn't..they were awful wishes.

Saturday, July 10, 2004

first impressions

i am now convinced that first impressions are worst impressions. All the people I know or want to know today, are the ones who I hated on sight. It was only later that I slowly changed my mind after I got to know them better.
I too am quite unbearable on sight. I come across as the "who does she think she is? type". Eventually all those who know me say that it is farthest from the truth. So much for creating the "right impression" huh?

Saturday, July 03, 2004

time and tide waits for no man

Someone kept me waiting today for 25 mins and I was really ticked off. Not because I was kept waiting but because I personally think that people who don't respect time are self-obsessed. They are unable to look up from themselves and see others. which is why keeping someone waiting, whether on the personal or professional front, becomes a daily chore for them. They say that time and tide waits for no man but I think that if you respect time, at some point when you really need it, it will stop for you!

Thursday, June 24, 2004

creative juices

In the past few days I have seen a really old movie - Mask, and a really new movie -The Day after Tomorrow.

Both had brilliant concepts, one was expertly executed, the other was a thorough mess.

If you've seen Mask you will realise that it couldn't be the badly executed one because the film maker took a really bizarre idea and transformed it so brilliantly on screen.

I for one like reality based movies which is why I am still dithering over seeing the Harry Potter -latest release- and Van Hesling. I would rather watch serial killers getting busted or the new spoof on Bush, Fahrenheit 9-11 I think its called.

But surprisingly I loved Mask. Similarly I loved Monsters Inc. I thought it was superbly executed.

So now I am thinking...why hasn't Bollywood ever created a smashing animation film? I hear we have some cutting edge animators in the country... so why are we still watching films with tried and tested plots like extra marital affairs, riots, cops and robbers, comedy romances, idiot ghosts... Koi Mil Gaya was a shade different, so my guess is that Indians can arguably be as creative as their western counterparts when they want to, but are poor risk takers.

Guess the market dictates most screen ventures and ours is still evolving. So we will just have to wait? And anyway, who on earth will financially back cartoon characters here?

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

debatable

Carrying off from a debate I had this morning, what matters more? Passion or perfection?
Content or packaging?

Supposing there's this writer who is brimming with exciting theories/ideas, but he is not a good communicator and is unable to get his message across smoothly enough. Does that make him a good writer or a bad one? Is good writing just about a good idea or is it about style...

Similarly what if there's this guy who has extremely sound knowledge of a certain subject, but put a mike in front of him and he starts making grammatical errors and using wrong pronounication.

Is he a good speaker or a bad one? Is a great theory presented sloppily a bad one in the end...?

angrez names

i have only just realised the advantages and disadvantages of my angrez name. First the bad: I can never get an email ID smoothly...i have to try underscores, full stops, numerals, dots, turn my name on its head...and only then will the mail service say: you have yourself a new address.

The good part is that if I type my name in google search I find over 55 entries which makes me very pleased and a little bit overawed. Only two of these are actually me...the others are athletes, chicks from Saudi etc. One of them who shares my name even contacted me once.
But that is history now.

Also within a few days of opening my gmail account I began getting invites for others...i know people with gmail accounts who are still waiting for their chance to invite 6-8-10 friends.

Maybe google thinks I am the Michelle sitting in San Jose!!
hehe
(check out gmailswap.com)

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

i want my gmail

everyone around me is obsessed with getting gmail... so much so most handles I see have gmail as a suffix. Of course some handles are quite funny...like the one that says Goodbye Hotmail.

either way I guess it makes sense to have a gmail account since it is being sold on ebay for an exorbitant sum of money. Even with yahoo all spruced up now, gmail still seems swell.

ps: i got mine free--mailmichelle@gmail--hence this post!

Friday, June 11, 2004

this or that

Someone told me the other day that I am not idealistic. I stand by that. I never was either.

I can either be practical or principled depending on my mood at that time of day.

But I am not idealistic.

Truth is I don't know anyone who is anymore...

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

in touch

what do people mean when they say "stay in touch"... i have never ever understood this phrase. Does it mean keep calling/emailing/smsing jokes..what? All my friends say "you never keep in touch". But for me keeping in touch is being able to pick up from where you left off in the blink of an eye...

This means I may not call someone up for months but the minute I meet them I know exactly whether they've been happy or sad all that time. For me that's "keeping in touch".

Over time I have come to realise that I don't have the patience to pick up the phone and "chat". I am not a "chatterbox" though I do end up having my best conversations on messenger...

Strange!

Monday, June 07, 2004

speak up

Sunday morning I woke up and there were speakers taller than me in my living room. SO naturally I am back to listening to music. And I don't mean listening to it while I surf or bathe or cook. I mean sitting down, putting on soft lights, closing your eyes and letting the sound waft towards you. Its been a while since I did that. Somehow I am always multi-tasking while I listen to music and if there's nothing to do I immediately switch on the TV. The latter will have to take a backseat now. Music is enlightening and opens the mind to countless creative ideas.... unlike the television I watch!!

And while I am at it I plan to compile a list of my 100 favourite songs of all time right here. The link on the right is not in order of preference...

100 favourite songs of all time-
First entry-- I wanna know what love is - Foreigner

Saturday, June 05, 2004

If...

If we are what we eat, do vegetarians and non-vegetarians take radically different approaches to life?

small talk

Something to think about:
men live 7 years less than women and more often than not die a violent death.

Where did they research this? America, where else!!

ice spice everything nice

Whenever I cook, I realise that I can never use a recipe. Call it laziness, lack of recipe books or whatever... But I have become an expert at following through aromas... So depending on what I smell at a particular stage in my cooking cycle will determine what ingredient I add next. Of course I have by now perfected this art. Which is why I wouldn't advice anyone to try it out as a first timer.

You have also to first decide what is your favourite spice. Mine is black pepper and garlic. So I add this to almost everything I make...Except banana fritters!!

The next thing is you have to know which ingredient will complement what food... Like green chillies go very well with baby corn in a stir fry while garlic goes well with mushroom... Similarly brinjal goes well with garam masalas and ladyfingers go well with coconut milk.

I am still in the process of experimenting...the last thing I found out was bell peppers go well with oregano and basil.

Back to the kitchen then!!

Thursday, June 03, 2004

gay fest

Taking off from an ongoing discussion I have been following on "gay morals etc", I wanted to say that men having sex with other men or wanting to have sex with other men is even more common than divorce today. Nobody talks about it but 2 out of 5 guys I have spoken to have had some gay encounter in their lives. Some of them as kids, some of them in boarding, some of them as consenting adults. Most of them look at it as another of life's experience and move on, others take to it as a fish would take to water and become closeted gays. Some of them go on to get married until such time as the truth comes out and they have to end the farce.

What is disturbing is that a lot of gays -- I hear-- are closeted paedophiles too. This is when it becomes a morality issue I think.

Otherwise who cares about sexual orientation today? I have been part of Mumbai's glam world as a journalist and know for a fact that quite a few models/actors/directors/artists are bisexual or swinging both ways. As one gay puts it,"The prettiest boys in the world are gay. That's because they are perfect and are naturally attracted only to perfection which you can only find in another good looking man..."

I am at a loss for words at this point!!

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

fake sarcasm

One thing I've learned -- not everyone can be sarcastic... You are born with it or else its fake. I have encountered many people who try very hard to be sarcastic with just one aim in mind -- to put the other person down. I think "fine" sarcasm has its roots in "wit" which most pseudo sarcastics lack. You will notice that if a person is being genuinely sarcastic, it will never hurt you. These are the ones who end up with the most admirers!!

If you have seen American Idol, the brains behind the show is Simon Fuller. He is a Brit with unmatched sarcasm standards. If you hear his insults hurled at contestants, you will cringe. But they are delivered with elan.

If a similar competition were to take place here in India and the contestants were repeatedly told how inferior they were, there would have been walkouts.

Indians I am afraid can't take criticism well! Ever wondered why?

"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast"-- Oscar Wilde

the world is obsessed with competitions

Everywhere you look today, people are competing against each other. If its not little kids competing to be geniuses then its teenyboppers competing to become American idols or women in red competing to be Miss America.

Usually the worst ones always win!! Or I am just a bad predictor...

Friday, May 28, 2004

saturday musings

Read Paulo Coelho's Eleven Minutes (recommended by Shifa:))... was quite overwhelmed that the story of a prostitute could be so moving. Finished it in 2 days. Loved the philosophy behind "11 Minutes". Conceptually, a very emotionally rich understanding of buyers and sellers in the sex trade.

Watched Girl With A Pearl Earring. Visually -- very gripping. Loved Scarlett Johannson's expressions, she has a better pout than Angelina Jolie I realised, Colin Firth was so-so.

Note to myself: I will not lend my books to anyone again.

Monday, May 24, 2004

forensics fetish

If I wasn't a journalist/writer, then what would I be? A forensics specialist. I first learnt about this exciting science when I got hooked on to CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) on Star World. Basically perpetrators are tracked down through DNA found in saliva, blood, hair fibres or skin.

In the US, they have a fascinating array of equipment for detection of parts of the human body a.ka. blood, hair, fibres etc, and it will be a while before we in India ever reach that level of investigation of violent crimes.

Down here, unsolved cases are handled through severe beatings behind locked doors. It has worked for so long that no one even cares anymore. Human Rights was never an issue here in any case. But its a different matter elsewhere. There if the cops catch the wrong person there's hell to pay.

Interesting tidbit: All unidentified victims in the US are called John Doe (male) or Jane Doe (female).

Shows that I never miss: New Detectives on Discovery, CSI, sometimes Law and Order. They prove that all crimes can be solved even if one can't place the identity of the victim.

Thursday, May 20, 2004

will the real loud speaker please stand up, please stand up!

Where before my understanding of good sound was "more treble less bass", I have now been inducted into the Sound Hall Of Fame.

Thanks to someone very close to me who is trying to set up a home theatre system that threatens to turn the neighbours into batty Homer Simpsons, I am now a pro at audio.

I have e-learned that humanly audible sound is anywhere between 20Hz and 20,000Hz. To the uninitiated Hertz is vibrations per second not Rent a car!!

Now I also know that speakers have "drivers" which carry different types of sounds -- woofer focuses on bass (bass is low Hz), mid-range (200Hz to 1KHz) and the tiny tweeter (above 1KHz) for all that treble!! Not to mention the sound imaging! Something like knowing where the sound is actually coming from.

All in a day's work and "Thanks for listening" I say.

(Note: this blog has been edited by an audiophile.)

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

one hundred years of solitude

What do Bill CLinton, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Emma Thompson, Caroline Herrera, Darryl Hannah have in common. They all vote Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred years of Solitude as the greatest book they have ever read. Marquez supposedly wrote this book in 18 months flat working day and night while his wife pawned everything they owned. Though a little difficult to read, it is worth every moment you spend with it. Then once you become a Gabriel fan, you can spend the weeekend with Love in the time of cholera, which was the first Gabriel book I ever read. And though I am terrible with names, I still remember the names of the 2 main characters in this saga. That's the power of a good story.

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

newly single is the new buzzword

I learnt a new phrase today- newly single. Since the newly marrieds are slowly on the decline it makes sense no? Newly single is defined as someone who has (naturally) just got out of a long steady relationship. In my life I know quite a few people who are closeted "newly singles". For all practical purposes they are in a relationship, but have come to realize that therein lies the catch! So they are slowly easing themselves out when they think no one is looking.

Monday, May 17, 2004

review of Athena by a phirang

This is a review on Athena (Bombay club) which I think is hilarious!!

what drunk means to people watching

I found out something interesting today. Supposedly the first thing that excessive alcohol does to you is reduce your power of "self-observation". This means that the moment you get slightly high, your image gets highly distorted and you say things like: Don't look at me as if I am drunk/I am not drunk/I am not fat/I feel grreat...
You start to feel more sociable, you begin to talk too much, you get confrontational, all this because you have crossed the line where you are able to judge yourself.
Research says you know that you are an alcoholic when you find yourself applying rules to your drinking bouts... Like --I will only drink on weekends/after 7pm/never alone, only with friends...This means you sense a danger and are trying to pretend it doesn't exist.
I have often encountered sitautions where I have met people who love their drinks so much that they dont' want to stop. And if you are the kind that loves your ONE glass of wine and then a good meal, you are left twiddling your thumbs and throwing back more than you care to have if only to avoid the "c'mon, just one more. Give me company..." routine:(
(Rules can be bent for special friends)

Saturday, May 15, 2004

when comedies don't make you laugh

I happened to catch two really bad movies which I had been eagerly waiting to watch for a while. Love Actually and Along Came Polly. Both had great storylines/star casts/publicity and both were frightfully borrring!!

Ben Stiller(Along came Polly) I have come to realise can be arguably irritating after a while. He was best in There's Something About Mary and he did direct Reality Bites, which was interesting, but things went downhill for him with Meet the Parents, where he just acted like a buffoon and an irritating one at that. And of course, with Jennifer Anniston in ACP, he was Meet the Parents all over again.

In Love Actually it was disastrous to see a stellar star cast fall flat. For one, someone must quickly tell Liam Neeson that he should not do comedy. Hugh Grant who I am a huge fan of was the saving grace here --for me at least. The rest of the crowd the likes of Keira Knightley and Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, just came and went.

For posterity, here is my list of favourite hollywood comics- Hugh (of course), Jack Nicholson, Mathew Perry, Woody Allen, Billy Crystal, Whoppi Goldberg, Diane Keaton, Ellen deGeneres...(of course the list is fairly long) So I shall stop right here.

Thursday, May 13, 2004

aam aadmi ko kya mila?

It seems that the "aam aadmi ko kya mila" (Congress) campaign won hands down even though "India Shining" (BJP) was screaming from most rooftops. Reports say that the ones who actually understood what India Shining was all about were the ones in the Mercs, who were out of town on voting day! Though that still didn't completely exonerate the BJP's performance. Govinda in tight trousers pulling the rug from under Ram Naik's feet was pure Bollywood masala. So will we have "better looking" politicians now? White pants and jhatka-matkas, with dhamaka dialogue deliveries!!

pretty girls and rich men

Oprah Winfrey was interviewing Donald Trump about his hit show Apprentice the other day and she made an interesting observation. The topic was on how Trump is invariably surrounded by men and women who spend all day just saying yes to him, considering he is one of the wealthiest men in the world. And she asked - is it true that pretty girls and rich men never get to hear the truth? It was a provocative thought. These two categories of people arguably live in a world full of sycophants. But Trump's riposte was true to form-- how about rich men who are pretty...? Oprah immediately gave the sign for a commercial break.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

are women drivers really a pain in the neck?

I have divided the women friends I know who drive into 3 groups -- "honkers", "breezers" and "angels..."
The honkers simply start honking from the time they leave their homes to the time they reach their destinations. In this way, the road is cleared and they can go pass at breakneck speed.
The breezers are those who are totally oblivious to what's going on around them. They could be sitting in a sauna or having a steam bath for all they cared. They just breeze pass their adversaries -read fellow travellers- and stare vacantly at them should they be abused. Their thoughts are on pedicure, pasta and pretty boys...
The angels are the ones for whom driving is second nature and they are responsible, calm, collected as they follow rules and conduct business on their hands-free cellphones.
I evidently aspire to be part of the 3rd, but for now, I am a combination of 1 & 3.

all the nice ones i know are single

Not so long ago, I was part of this elite group...more single than nice I might add, but very loyal to the cause. I was convinced that I would be single for the rest of my life so i went about getting organised read "Leave hometown, get place of my own, surround myself with pretty things, have a bottle of wine handy for depressing Sunday afternoons..." One day i got married. And now two years after that I still wonder -- all the men and women I know or rather most of them I wish to know today are all single. Late 20s/early 30s. Good looking, successful, single! The profile is oddly similar. All of them, are in love with the idea of Love but haven't had the time to find it. They all want loyalty, companionship, compatability... but instead encounter loudmouths and losers. Unfair? You tell me.
They say there is that exact moment in time when everything just falls into place, till then, all you can do is enjoy the stillness! But then again, you will never know the stillness until its gone.
Footnote: Barring 2-3 dear friends, all the married people I know are stuffy and extremely condescending. Who do I think are the happier ones... my single friends or this bunch? I don't think you need an answer to that!

do u have friends in the city u have chosen to live in?

I went to Bangalore recently and a dear friend of mine asked me, So, do you have lots of friends in Pune ( where I now live)? And I promptly answered, Actually I have lots of friends in Bangalore and lots of friends in Bombay...but in Pune... I am not so sure. As an afterthought actually I have just one friend. SO that set me thinking: what constitutes a good friend in an alien city? I would say someone who has seen you go through dramatic changes in your life. And has always been around for a great chat no matter how much time has elapsed since the last time you'll met... (This is an arguable point.)
The other conundrum is --do you like the city you live in? From my point of view, I have lived in Pune, Bangalore and Bombay and have come to realise that if you love the people you encounter each day whether at home or at work, the city doesn't really matter. As one person I know put it- who cares where you live, life is about a glass of whisky, some fish fry and decent conversation. If you can't get it where you live right now, then get out.
This coming from someone sitting in the heart of New York! Its amazing how divinely simple life actually is!

diabolical divas

A very good friend of mine who now lives in Singapore was chatting with me one day. And we got around to "so what are you reading right now?" She on the off chance that I might get logged out in a hurry rattled off a series of authors' names and the one that registered was Margaret Atwood. I browsed through the bookstores (I was living in Bangalore then) with the other avid reader I know,(friend of mine who buys books each time she returns home from work), and chanced upon Dancing Girls. It was a collection of short stories on different women in different situations. I thought the concept was interesting then, so i picked it up. I was actually looking for Robber Bride at the time... but did not find it. DG proved to be engaging -- at that point in my life I was a short story buff, though the Atwood that really blew me over was Blind Assassin. I found it in my neighbourhood library last week and picked it up on a whim. And what a great time I had with it. I have always liked books with dark undertones... I somehow don't like reading (or for that matter hanging out)with people who are as pure as the driven snow. And BA was pure evil! It was the saga of 2 sisters and right until the end you never did know who was the good one and who was the bad. I liked that-- the mystery. Also, often in my life, I find myself asking... why are all the women, that I love spending time with, diabolical divas? My mother surmises that it's because I was born to one!!I rest my case.

Why am I doing this?

Because I am a writer and writers are supposed to write. And I find myself writing copiously about everyone else, when I am actually the most interesting person I know;)