Monday, May 30, 2005

remembering

your memory doesn't work the same in every situation. certain factors, such as time of day, distractions, and your own internal states can affect your ability to remember things. these factors all make up what some people call the context of your memory...
http://cat.xula.edu/thinker/

i told u so

approach love and cooking with reckless abandon -- dalai lama

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

wine wine situation

my two favourite instruments of all time are the flute and the saxophone. strangely both are played by the mouth which is why they maybe speak more coherently to me? i was first introduced to the sax in college when a jazz enthusiast introduced me to the albums of spyrogyra and sadao watanabe. i got hooked. then later i had a job where i spent weekends doing music reviews which is when i began to build my collection. today i no more listen to cassettes, my tape deck lies bereft in a dusty corner, but i can't bear to part with all those tapes. whether a miles davis or an obscure african band, i hang on to them.

then recently i caught sideways, the film on two friends who take an adventure in the vineyards of california, taking copious gulps of merlot and sauvignon blanc while resolving interpersonal conflicts.

it had some very interesting music and i was lucky when somebody got me the soundtrack. trust me when i say that if you are a wine lover, and a jazz aficionado, this is a great option. its witty jazz for a sunday afternoon, just the way the movie is -- smooth!

other OSTs that i have just added to my collection: kill bill and pulp fiction.
yes am a tarantino fan!

Friday, May 20, 2005

my first glimpse of thrissur

all i can see from the sky are rows of velvet green palm trees forming a thick blanket over the city..

this after seeing the semi-thatched roofs of dharavi. big relief.
the heat hits me as soon as i disembark. it's like a blast of hot air and it acts as a revitaliser. almost!
i get into the a/c taxi.
trissur, i say, hoping i won't be asked to answer something in malayalam.
luck i see is on my side. he nods.
and we are in first gear.

the taxi speeds on. on and on. it's a never ending journey. where on earth is trissur? i wonder. my last trip was from blr and it didn't seem half as long.
the life size cut-outs of heros and heroines, both looking voluptuous from my position, stare down at the little a/c cab.
i look up and the sun gets into my eye.

the palm trees are multiplying by the minute, so are the beads of sweat on the pedestrians. though they don't seem to mind.
i feel guilty though riding in a/c comfort with my nose pressed to the window pane.
meanwhile we come upon a railway crossing. there's bumper to bumper traffic, but the cool dude driving me is not in the least bit ruffled. he just makes his way forward

along the wrong side of the road, and finds a suitable gap. again and again. how does he know he'll find a gap? only god's own country bumpkin knows between taking calls

on his cell and doing a Jim Carrey on a bulimic street.

and then it's off again. in the face of fast speeding trucks/buses, our dude doesn't budge an inch. i shut my eyes tight, i have been forewarned not to keep an eye on the

road since its bad for the heart. lesser known mortals have been known to pass out at the sight of an oncoming truck with no room for escape.

i enter thrissur, the rows and rows of shops, are full of the hustle and bustle of a saturday morning.
women with flowers in their hair and gold bordered saris are talking in high pitched voices.

the temple looks busy.

i reach the confines of my room. there i get ready to face the crowd. they all speak mal, i don't.

i make my way through the wedding hall, sit in my chair, and begin to stare.

first i stare at the stage, so many flowers... then i look at the musicians, very nice, then i look at the 700 faces... they all merge into one.

large kohl eyes are all around, as are men in mundus.

i catch sight of the one person i know, but he is very busy welcoming the guests so i look to the groom. his face is expressionless, he takes huge gulps of oxygen as he sees

more and more smiling faces.

the bride enters carrying her share of the flowers, and her share of the trepidation. what next looms large on her face...

the ceremony kicks off, i turn to look at the turnout. when i look back on the stage, the pair is already married. i blink once then blink again. goodness gracious me! this is

faster than a wedding in las vegas.

then everyone is happy, happy shining faces. some wipe away tears. these unions have a strange way of moving people. women of differing ages make their way towards --

oh no ---me? i smile. i say "malayalam areela". they remain unperturbed. not so i.

i am pulled away to wash my hands since i am about to embark on the banana leaf trail. i sit eyes wide open and watch as the leaf in front of me gets brighter and fuller. payasam heralds itself with a splash. i am too thrilled as i dive fingers first into the mounds of red, green, and mustard. my palate gets its first taste of authentic fare after a

long day of airline food. it is pleased. meanwhile i am getting full/fuller though the servers show no signs of stopping. they are merrily piling it up, and my stomach grins in the only way it knows best.

then it's over and out, as the next lot of hungry revellers amble in, hands washed, stomachs growling.

soon the couple leaves and the guests sit around waiting for phase 2, read, reception at the groom's house. for another round of appam and vegetable stew. and the ubiquitous orange crusted gobi manchurian which is fast becoming a national obsession...

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become a public nuisance. Oh for a few fools...

there's this highly addictive japanese game going around...
http://flash.qbol.net/pl;p/youxi/images/04042203.swf
There are 13 items hidden in this room in order to let you get out
of this room.
If you found:
0-6 items, your IQ is very low, total idiot
6-8 items, Low IQ, u r an idiot
9-10 items, u r normal
11-12 items, your IQ is high, above the average.
Find 13 items, get out of the room and consider yourself very rare!
Less than 4000 people in the world have got of the room! Inspiring
enough!?!


now everyone i know has found 12... and that's scary right? if everybody's IQ is above average, where have all the idiots gone to?

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

thumbs up

the theory going around is that "sending text messages via cell phone is leading to a renaissance in the use of that original human tool, the opposable thumb. a new generation of people who are growing up using their thumbs to tap out messages on their phones' tiny keypads are now putting those handy appendages to other new uses as well. Many kids in Japan now point and ring doorbells with their thumbs instead of their index fingers..."
how ironic is that!

Monday, May 09, 2005

mamma mia

all women become like their mothers. that is their tragedy. no man does. that's his!

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

angry kya?

its interesting to watch how different people react to anger, their own and someone else's.
while some just let it all out, others hold back and let it grow deep within.
the latter eventually become loonies slowly but surely without anyone knowing it.
today most people i know are suffering from some dementia or the other, which makes them so much more interesting i think.
i find sane people extremely boring since they rarely ever have anything interesting to say!
why am i saying all this? watched this really nice flick on the weekend -- a new Kevin Costner release called the upside of anger.
it's a must-see if only to realize how terribly futile it is battling demons within... it makes you laugh and it makes you think and it makes you wonder "angry kya? again?"